Week 3, Plastic Laminates, Reading: The Plastics Age by Penny Sparke

Image From www.amazon.com

This week's reading is a compilation of essays all discussing plastics in the new era.  The first essay treats plastic as a sort of magical innovation of man.  It can be used to create a myriad of objects and is an entirely man made, manufactured product.  However, it does suggest that even though it is a wondrous material, it is also a cheap material, falling somewhere under the marginal section on the hierarchal list of design materials.  The article suggest plastic's unnatural origin is its undoing, from the artificial colors it can hold, to the sound it makes when struck, plastic is a cheap imitation product.  In fact, the author of the essay states that plastic, "...is the first magical substance which consents to be prosaic.  But it is precisely this prosaic character is a triumphant reason for its existence:  for the first time artifice aims at something common not rare."  The author finishes the essay by basically stating that for every natural substance there is a plastic alternative and that new items can be created because plastic exists, and not the other way around, as is the case with natural materials. 

This essay is really interesting because it brings up the issue of the established value system certain materials receive.  Such as real versus the fake (and albeit usually plastic) alternative and why the real is more highly prized than the imitation.  This idea is especially interesting when applied to interior design, as in who assigns this value system.  Is engineered wood so much worse than natural wood flooring?  If the value system designers used was strictly a numbers game than plastics would win most of the time as it is a less expensive material.  But designers and their designed spaces don't work on a purely value engineered scale. They work on an artistic scale, and in that scale I think originality of design is highly coveted.  Thus real walnut is coveted over walnut laminate.  But, I do think there are some modern plastic alternatives that offer original design, and thus are not inexpensive, in fact they are very expensive.  Case in point being the line of plastic chairs from Kartell, known as the Ghost Chairs.  The starting price for this chair line begins at $375.00 for a single plastic (polycarbonate) chair (see below).

Image From www.neimanmarcus.com

About a year ago I decided I was going to buy one of these chairs, to my dismay I found out the price and went stomping into my local Design Within Reach store to ask them how on earth a plastic chair could cost that much money.  The response I received did seem to justify the price.  They said the entire chair is a product of a single mold injection of polycarbonate.  Meaning that the chair did not have a single joint, it was one solid, fluid piece of plastic.  The fact that the chair is without any joints only adds to the durability of the chair (I know plastic and durable seems like an oxymoron), because the chair can withstand up to 450 pounds of pressure in any direction without breaking or cracking.  Here Kartell has reinvented a classic chair silhouette with a modern material, plastic, and they figured out how to make it durable.  Thus Kartell seems to be in striking contrast with the first essay's author.

The second essay in the reading suggest that the tug of war created between the natural and artificial and their respective value systems is simply a moral dilemma.  The author suggests that the materials are simply and objectively the materials, and one should/is not more highly valued than the other.  He suggests that in plastic designers have the ability to further abstract materials, and that abstraction transcends the argument between natural and synthetic and ends with the conclusion that they are all just building materials.  Keep in mind that my review of this article is a gross over simplification, but the appearance of the essay in the reading does seem to answer (at least partially) the paradox proposed in the first essay, thus offering a small resolution.

Week 2, Color and Paint, Reading from Dimensional Color by Lois Swirnoff

Image from www.amazon.com

For our second class reading we read Lois Swirnoff's Dimensional Color.  As the title suggests, the locus of Swirnoff's book focuses on the idea that color should be considered another dimension.  What Swirnoff means by dimension is a dimension such as the height, width, and length of an object, and she suggests that color too is such a dimension.  The glaring problem here and my initial question is, how one goes about quantifying color?  With standard dimensions there is an established units measurement, and thus we can quantify an object's height as exactly a certain measurement.  But, even if we use labels to identify color, such as red, each person may choose any number of a wide range of color choices that qualify as red.  Lois however, is not as concerned with quantifying color as she is with explaining how color is much more dynamic than objective measurements, in that color serves so many purposes within and around a structure.  Original here is her idea that color creates a perspective, similar to the way merged lines on paper to a single point creates the perspective of depth, she writes that color can create this sort of perspective by including and centering the viewer as part of the space.  Color also can appear as a series of surfaces that form the parameters of a given space, again creating perspective.  While I understand her point, I still think that color by itself does not define a space, but the depth and distance between colors and spatial planes create that perspective.

Lois also introduces the idea of form versus color, where she believes exists a strong bias in design towards forms over their surfaces.  A good example of this would be where a color is selected subsequent to a car being created.  Lois believes that a relationship exists where form and color are cohesive and color is not simply a surface, but offers more dimension.  The example she offers in her book is from Persian architecture, where the surface is emphasized over the form, thus the surface creates the form.  This is where she lost me in her explanations, because the fact is that the surface is still wrapping and sitting on top of the form, thus acting as a surface.  Even when form and color are integrated, such as with solid colored plastic, the final product is still plastic that is colored, right?

Lois goes on to review and discuss the many theories about how people perceive and process color in the brain.  This excerpt was very obviously well researched and thorough, as evidenced by the technical nature of the discussion, which seemed to require a background in anatomy, physiology, and a little psychology.  While I understood that each theory presented did offer morsels of how color is processed by humans, I hope never to have to refer to that section in her book when I need to understand why my brain selected a certain paint color.  In case I ever do find myself in such a situation,  I will always have that special section in her book to look forward to.


On another note, I thought I should put up some photos of interesting color combinations and how they seem to really dominate a space.  I also thought I would put up some photos of how designers have used paint within a room to really set the tone for the space.  Of course, when I talk about color I have to give a nod to the queen of hue, Kelly Wearstler.  Besides being just a design goddess in general, she is most well known in the design community for her use of color.  Most of the picture I am posting below are of her work.  

Image from www.kwid.com

 These are Kelly Wearstler's limited edition prints of her book, Hue.  She really is the color guru, and this book is a photo graphic documentation of her feats with color. 

Image From www.kwid.com

I love this combination of dark green and black,  it is really masculine and vintage at the same time, but the subway tile pattern makes it modern and clean.  Kelly Wearstler here!

Just such a simple kitchen with some great green paint slapped on.  I think this is a great example of how strong of an influence paint can have on a space.  This could be in any apartment or condo, with just a single rich hue to offer an updated look to older kitchen cabinets.

Image from www.elldecor.com

This is just some very simple furnishings with a strong paint color influence.  The turquoise color is calming and serene, and the brown furniture seems beachy next to it, instead or old or worn out.  The paint color also provides a great background for the bright paintings in the background. 

This is a great example of how color can define a space.  Here the rainbow book collection really defines the space and adds interest.  I really like this application because it wouldn't be that difficult to emulate this design in ordinary residential applications.

Great patterns and great color, with pops of that hot pink, very feminine and vintage.  The color looks great with the rich tones of the wood furniture.  

This is just a great example of a fantastic color combination, orange and purple.  I just thought it was aesthetically appealing. 

Image from www.kwid.com

Kelly Wearstler here again.  I love the bright orange with the dark charcoal gray.  The pattern in the wall paper is also pretty neat, I like the organic feel of the wood grain, but in such an obviously unnatural color. 

Journal For Week 2, Color and Paint, Reading: Atmospheres, by Peter Zumthor

For our first reading in class we read Peter Zumthor's book, Atmospheres.  This book is a printed version of a lecture that the Swiss architect Peter Zumthor gave to an audience in Germany.  For me this reading served as a sort of lecture on Peter Zumthor's personal design ideology.  His aim was to answer a seemingly simple question, which he asked his audience at the beginning of the book and that is, "What do we mean when we speak of architectural quality?  While the question is basic and the answer simple, the explanation of that simple answer occupies the subject matter of the book.  Zumthor suggests that 'atmosphere' is the single word answer to his question of what constitutes architectural quality. But, what is especially intriguing is how he explains this answer. It is not so much a concrete thought as it is an ephemeral, elusive idea.  However, Zumthor does offer a series of nine personal guidelines on how he creates this 'atmosphere'.  Interestingly, Zumthor's account of what concerns him most when he is creating an atmosphere are the things that most people take for granted when they walk by a building or into an interior space.
 He is exceptional at spelling out those design characteristics that someone would not notice unless there was a problem.  For example, Zumthor mentions the sound of a space as one of his design considerations.  I found this especially interesting, because acoustics are something I only notice when there is a glaring issue.  Where I am from in Boulder there is a beautiful bistro style restaurant that serves healthy European food at reasonable prices.  The entire front of the restaurant is floor to ceiling glass and it has direct views of the foothills that fringe the Rocky Mountains.  The interior is spacious, simple, and clean, with a creamy and serene color palate and features organic and green sources for finish materials.  The reason I mention the restaurant is because while I love the food and the aesthetics of the space, I cannot hear a single word anyone says while I am there.  Not a single word.  Now, I am not hard of hearing and as it turns out lip reading is not in my skill set.  So, I spend every meal there either in complete silence or frustrated because I think everyone around me is deaf and I yell my sentences across the table with the same volume a cheer squad would use at a pep rally.  This restaurant would probably be my favorite in the area, but for the fact that I have to go their to eat by myself because socializing in that space is out of the question.  Back to Zumthor, he spells out acoustics as his second factor he takes into consideration the design of a space, therefore the people who later occupy his buildings are not fighting with the walls to get a sentence out.

Some of the other factors Zumthor takes into consideration include the temperature of the room, materials and their compatibality with the structure and the other materials, and the idea of the tension between the interior and exterior of a building.  As a first year design student I have only given seriuos thought to the inside of a structure as if it were in a vacuum and the outside was irrelevent.  Through introducing the idea of tension between the inside and the outside of a space, Zumthor opened my mind to an entirely new set of schemata to take into consideration when I walk into a building, and how the inside reflects the out and vice versa.  I have never though of interior design in those terms and the mere suggestion was refreshing.  Some of the stray thoughts and questions I had regarding this reading that I brought up during class discussion included:
1. Zumthor really focuses on those factors that he says "moves a person", but what moves each person is very individual and almost too anecdotal to study academically.  However, Zumthor does a good job with bringing to light the fundamentals of a space and thus highlighting some of the common factors that may in fact "move a person".
2.  One common thread that links the factors Zumthor takes into consideration when he designs a space has to do with his idea of a tension between opposing forces with in a building.  Such as hot and cold, loud and quite, inside and outside.  He describes finding a sort of homeostasis between these forces in the buildings he designs through trial and error and even through trying to emulate the feeling certain spaces have evoked within Zumthor himself.
3.  This idea of balance can really be found in the final product of a building.  Where, according to Zumthor, the end product of the building should seem effortless.  With this idea of an effortless product Zumthor couples the idea of magic within the space, such that the balance between the nine aspects he mentions is delicate, and yet when done correctly should produce a sort of effortlessness, as if by magic.

Image from www.archnow.com

The image above of Zumthor's Thermal Baths certainly does seem to be a bit magical, so maybe Zumthor is on to something here.