Visiting a Corbu

I share with you shots from my recent visit to "Unité d'Habitation" by Le Corbusier in Marseille, France. Also known as "Cité Radieuse".
I had mixed feelings about the building.  On the positive, I appreciated his efforts to create a mixed-use city on itself, a concept very ahead of its time.  I applaud his daring decision to keep the concrete exposed, and I enjoyed experiencing how the interiors receive beautiful shadows from the brise-soleil. But aside from that I felt that the building emanated an eerie sadness. It felt cold to another level!  I actually felt glad that only 1 building ended up being constructed out of the 3 originally planned.
Nevertheless, the visit was a great learning experience, and it was fun snapping photographs of its playful primary colors and shapes.

Love me some Kesh

Just came back from a wonderful 3-week vacation. In my last 4 days I visited Marrakesh with my cousin!  I've dreampt since a child to visit Morrocco, and I feel so blessed that it finally came true.
This 1000-year old city is sooo photogenic, but experiencing it in flesh takes you to another dimension.  Upon arrival the noise, chaos and buzzing souks made The Medina feel very overwhelming and made us wonder what what the hell we were doing in that part of the world. By morning those thoughts had gone away and the rest of the visit was nothing but deep cultural good experiences.
It is difficult to describe it in words, so here I share with you my falling in love with Marrakesh through some of my favorite pictures...

Our Hotel - Riad Dar Nimbus

Our Hotel - Riad Dar Nimbus

Fabulous Home in Mallorca

I fell in love instantly with this home in Mallorca... One of my biggest dreams is to one day acquire an old home and freshen it up with clean simple and bright spaces that accentuate it's heritage, but manage to feel layed back... This home is a great example; I'm so jealous!

from back home...

Lately I've been feeling a bit nostalgic for my home country Guatemala... I try to always include a bit of design influences from there in my work... Wanted to share some prized images I've stored as style inspiration from my country of birth... I want to go back and visit soon!

A cold one today?

My birthday is coming up soon, and I'm one of those people who really hate it.  But I do have a love-hate relationship with aging, so today I want to look at the bright side of getting older.

Architects are considered mature very well into their career. Most of the well respected and awarded architects are past their 50s and showing off white hair... It is difficult to explain why, but with every year that I've worked in the industry, I have gotten to understand it and respect it just a bit more. I've learned to be patient and have high hopes of reaching my architectural maturity some day, even it it happens when I'm a grandmother!

What I have now is 10 years experience in the architecture and design field, and can already tell you that I have developed a very selective affinity to airy spaces that are modern in their lines and execution, but still feel inviting, sophisticated and warm to the spirit through the use of materials and connectivity to its site. I've realized that most of the environments that achieve this balance seem very effortless, but that's just the genius of a well-thought design.

I did have my phase of liking stale and clinical modern spaces, most probably made up of white walls, exposed concrete, aluminum, clear glass and minimal details.  But to my surprise, today I found myself enjoying pictures of this gallery house in San Francisco that is very modern but "cold". It's been a while since a design like this one tickled my fancy.  What makes it work here is the way the house very well exhibits the colorful art collection without competing with it. Its sense of urban-place is also great, and this picture from the living room with its sliders wide open onto a green treeline just blows me away. 

{contemporist}

Eamespiration

I am one of those design enthusiast who cannot get enough of Ray & Charles Eames. The couple Eames chairs in our apartment are of my most beloved possessions, and remind me of their ahead-of-their-time genius every day.

Here is an interesting collection of pictures of the couple recently moved-in to their famous home when it was recently completed in 1950.

The pictures were taken by Peter Stackpole for Time Magazine. If you'd like to check out the original Time Mag article from Sept. 1950, you can find it here.

Dream Tree House

Probably the most annoying question that an architect gets often is, "so what would be your dream house?"

Hence, I hate to post a blog about this topic, but recently I discovered the work of Herbst Architects from New Zealand, and in specific, their Under Pohutukawa residence could easily represent what my dream home would be.

Yes the house's architecture itself is pretty cool, but to me its site and how well it's utilized is the most significant.  The fact that the architecture blends so well with the lush landscaping and that it lets you live among the green even inside the house... that's exactly what I dream of!

{herbst architects}

Inspiration from Paris

The work of Parisian designers "double g" hits all the right spots of my latest taste in interiors...  To me, a lot of the spaces shown on their portfolio have an exquisite balance between old-new; masculine-femenine; minimal-eclectic.  They make me wish my job involved more interior design.  Don't get me wrong, I feel extremely fortunate that I get to design modern residences on a daily basis, but there are times when I fancy to be involved in projects like theirs. 

Here are some of my favorite shots from double g's website for your enjoyment.

{double g}

Google in the 80s?

To continue my recent nostalgia for the past, today I'd like to share this awesome website with a WORKING Google search engine as it would have been in the 80s!  So much fun, or at least for my inner nerd :)

{80s Google}

So 1964

I'm one of those suckers who is obsessed with Mad Men, and I cannot hide my excitement about Season 5 having started this month after two long years of waiting for it! So far what has struck me the most out of the 2 last episodes is how amazing Don's new apartment is!  It feels so authentic for that time, but at the same time mod, cutting edge and super stylish.
On that subject, I ran into a very informative article in the LA Times featuring the set decoration of this fabulous 1964 NYC highrise!

{LA Times}

...from the streets of Berlin

Last week I stumbled across one of the most inspiring blogs I've seen for a while... If you have not been to Nancy Zhang's " The Sea of Fertility" blog, you should definitely check it out.  She's an artist and fashion enthusiast living in Berlin; such a chic creative girl! Her blog has a great mix of fashion pics and drawings, with her sources of inspiration... Here are some of my  favorites:

Get your freak on this weekend

It's friday night! For weekend inspiration, check out this photography project "Switcheroo" by Hana from Vancouver... Such a simple concept, and I love the way a normal cool couple turns into totally weird and freaky people just by switching clothes! Enjoy and get your freak on with me this weekend :)

Idea for our master...

The master bedroom in our apartment is still (I'm a bit embarrassed to say) in major need of a lift-me-up... I've been in constant lookout for creative, boho-chic and cozy ideas on a super tight budget!
Today I ran into an image of a fabulous headboard that could be an easy DIY, specially for our rental home.
Wanted to share my thought process here; I think this might be a winner idea, and affordable!

Stalking Starck

I was so intrigued to find this photo shoot of Philippe Starck's home in Paris by The Selby.
For me, kind a guilty pleasure visiting his quirky yet inspiring home, and to see him happily posing with his beautiful wife. Thought you could enjoy it too.

Lamp Love

I am in constant search of contemporary interpretations of the old world... The second I saw these amazing lamps by BOA, I almost flew off my chair... What a clean and streamlined collection of lamps; and yet you still get a glimpse of chandelier-sophistication... LOVE them!  Now I wonder if these will ever be UL listed and available in the US?

{BOA design}

From Down Under

I've really enjoyed peeking at  EST  magazine lately, a free online Aussie publication that showcases beautiful, uncomplicated spaces... Their latest issue did not dissapoint!

{EST Mag}

One Of My Babies...

So proud that one of our completed projects got featured on Design Milk today!  I was very involved in the design of this residence at our firm, Max Strang Arch. Below are some of my favorite images featured, or link to visit the Design Milk post.

{Max Strang Architecture}
{design-milk.com}