Glass farm for Dutch town

After waiting 23 years for their market square to be redeveloped, the people of the Dutch town of Schijndel have an incredible new structure that pays homage to the local farming heritage.

Architects MVRDV noticed that the area put aside by the town planners resembled the layout of a traditional local farm. They used this idea to create a 1.6 times bigger model of a farm, made from glass and printed with images of a variety of different buildings from local farms, taken by artist Frank van der Salm.

The structure isn't just for show, it also houses several retail and business premises on the 1600sqm of Schijndel’s large market square.

Images from MVRDV and Persbureau van Eijndhoven.

A couple of book reviews

We saw a great review for two new books on lighting design in Lighting Journal recently – ‘Detail in Contemporary Lighting Design’ by Jill Entwistle and ‘Lighting for Interior Design’ by Malcolm Innes.  

We haven’t had a chance to look inside either yet, but if the review and images showing for Entwistle’s book are anything to go by the content will inspire and give insight into “some of the most sophisticated lighting designs from around the world in recent years”. The visually striking image of the Deloitte HQ, with lighting design by Steven Scott, is stunning and certainly whet’s the appetite to see more.  

Whilst Innes’s book is described by reviewer Carl Gardner as, “a good attempt to summarise the theory and practice of interior lighting design in an attractive and graphic manner”.

You can get hold of these books on Amazon - see the following links:

‘Detail in Contemporary Lighting Design’

‘Lighting for Interior Design’

Google open their doors to the internet

Google has opened the doors on its data centres for the first time giving us a glimpse of where the internet lives.

These beautiful photos are quite impressive.

See many more on Colossal.

Vintage Car Dealerships

If you're bored with the minimalist looks of today's car dealerships then take a look at these images of some classic dealerships.

Oh for the days of chandeliers and medieval dining halls.

Saatchi & Saatchi revamps Thailand office

Saatchi & Saatchi Advertising in Thailand engaged Supermachine Studio to revamp their offices and have come up with a very creative space.

The brief was to enhance the social atmosphere within the space and encourage staff’s creativity and imagination. Everyday objects have been used throughout and the office has been separated into two zones: the creative zone and the managing zone.

Arch Daily reviews the space and says, 'The creative zone was designed to be open and bright where people can communicate broadly, share ideas and get inspired together as it was important for them to work as a family. On the other side, the managing zone has a darker tone atmosphere yet with colorful decorations in order to show that they too need excitement at work. In between, their lies a playful trophy wall and a bicycle wall for passer-by and facility zone with pink colored walls to create liveliness for the lifeless programs.'

Great fun and very inspiring - see more on Arch Daily.

Photographs © Wison Tungthunya

Martin Creed redesigns London restaurant Sketch

We are great fans of London's iconic restaurant Sketch.

The new interior is designed by Turner Prize winning artist Martin Creed who has transformed the Gallery restaurant in the first of a new long-term programme of artist-conceived restaurants at the venue. The project seeks to blur the boundaries between art, food, design and functionality.

Every piece of furniture is different in this eclectic design. Work No. 1347 consists of 96 different types of marble, in a formation of zigzagging lines across the floor, along with a series of paintings and large-scale wall paintings. Work No. 1343 is specially made for the restaurant in which every single piece of cutlery, glass, chair and table is different. This work brings together a mix of the mass produced and handcrafted, from classic antiques to contemporary design from all around the world.

See more on Dezeen.

Unilever Headquarters unusual interior design

Camenzind Evolution, a Swiss interior design agency that focusses upon 'emotional comfort' and how it influences our living and working environments, has designed a rather unusual new office interior for Unilever's headquarters in Switzerland.

This interesting interior design has been created to inspire the highest levels of creativity and innovation. What do you think?

See a complete range of images on Contemporist.

Photography by Soguel Fotograf

Ege introduces digital print carpets

EgeCarpets has launched their “Out of Nature” digital print carpet collection with the aim of 'allowing the beauty of nature indoors, right into your interior design scheme'.

These great digital print designs are available in wall-to-wall or custom sizes and in stone, wood or tile effects.

An interesting statement piece for any home.

See more of these great designs here.

The Think Tank appointed PR agency for B3 Designers

The Think Tank is delighted to announce that it has been appointed to provide PR support for Shoreditch-based B3 Designers.
This award-winning interior design studio specializes in creating distinctive, fresh and contemporary designs for the interiors of hotels, bars, restaurants and for retail spaces.
The B3 Designers team has currently been working on a number of projects including some exciting new ‘eateries’ in the Selfridges store in Manchester… watch this space for more news.

Google's office interior is a walk in the park

If you're sitting in your uninspiring office looking forward to escaping at lunch then take a look at Google's new decor. With the purchase of other social channels, such as YouTube, Google has been bringing together its businesses into one building in London and the interior is as different as you would expect.

Including deck chairs, a Routemaster bus and a bath tub for a table this certainly is an interior to inspire creativity.

See more here on WIDN

'Showrooms' app launched for New York

If you are heading off to New York then Designer Pages has the app for you. They have launched an app called Showrooms that helps you to quickly locate architecture and interior design products and materials across the city. Find that showroom you’re looking for and map it, create itineraries for your visits, curate lists of showrooms to share with friends, and even check in using Foursquare. They plan on expanding to other cities in the future. They have even added a scavenger hunt at Architectural Digest Home Show in New York next week. Can't wait for the London version.

Download the 'Showrooms' app here