The votes are in...

via Interior Design Show Toronto 2009 Blog...
Material Inspires Winning Window:

It's been a couple of weeks since the show and believe it or not, the IDS team is already busy working on IDS 2010! We would like to thank everyone who attended the show, and say a special thank you to those who shared their photos on Flickr or our Facebook Fan Page, tweeted about what they saw, or participated in our various contests...

One of our favourite IDS 09 contests was our 2nd annual Window Contest, where we challenged retailers to create a window display based on the theme of our show. Since INSPIRATION was this year's theme participating stores designed their windows to creatively convey an inspirational design. We were pleasantly surprised to see how these stores rose to the task at hand and also how many of you took the time to vote online!

We're excited to announce that this year's Window Contest winner is Relative Space/Floorworks, who was also an exhibitor in the Luxe Home feature area at this year's show. Located in the Upper Annex on Dupont Street, Relative Space/Floorworks' showroom used to be an old car garage space that has been transformed into a bright, open concept store. They carry a broad range of products for the home; from modern contemporary furnishings such as Porro, Living Divani, high end flooring, accessories and recently added to the repertoire, Schiffini kitchens.

What is particularly unique about Relative Space/Floorworks' approach to their window displays is that they are designed by artists, either emerging design students (from various design schools such as OCAD) or by established artists. The changing of the windows on the last weekend of every third month is a highly anticipated event by the neighbourhood and art enthusiasts alike.

Relative Space/Floorworks' winning window was created by Susan Rowe Harrison who called this particular installation Inflorescence. When asked about her inspiration behind the work, Ms. Harrison told us, "I wanted to engage the physical properties of space and architecture with works that explore form and content (or, form versus content) in a personal way using a mundane, commercial material—sign vinyl. At Floorworks, I started with a natural form—a group of flower heads—taken to an abstract extreme. I wanted the work to transcend its material to provide the instant impact of a huge abstract painting, which at the same time subverts the slow and labor-intensive process of hand-cutting large rolls of vinyl and applying it to the wall."

Congratulations to Relative Space/Floorworks and Susan! You can find photos of the other participating store windows in our Flickr album.

Visualizing the Bible

by way of flavorwire...


This is a really amazing set of projects by Chris Harrison on visualization (of data sets). It is amazing how information can be so beautiful...and in a way it helps us "see" the magnitude of a topic or issue.

"Do it until you do it right"-Gil Scott-Heron

Biomimicry, butterflies, and solar panels

Inspiration Jarmusch-style

via apartment therapy Image by Mark Malzarte

Michael Bierut: 26 Years, 85 Notebooks

via Kim Werker:

I never thought that I would follow so many designers but something has happened to my thinking and I think that this post from Michael Bierut goes for anyone who takes notes/makes drawings...

Kim Werker is my hero of the day after listening to her on Sister Diane's recent podcast and looking at her booklist on Amazon.com

A very quiet Bunhill Fields (cemetery of alternative thinkers in the City)

London on Monday taken by Si Harper, a friend of ours...

via DailyDose

FILM
O, National Film Board of Canada
Hundreds of free cinema classics hit the Web
Begone Dull Care Watching brilliant films online for free is a bandwagon we're happy to hop on, and today's addition is a doozy. The National Film Board of Canada just launched a new site that offers high-quality streams of its award-winning pictures and a plethora of supporting content.

The NFB nurtures the world's best animation. The Cat Came Back (1988) is a hilarious, Oscar-nominated adaptation of the classic popular song; and Begone Dull Care (1949) is a groundbreaking experimental work, painted directly on film, that interprets the vivid sounds of the Oscar Peterson Trio.

Watch an expert's playlist. The site features picks from a host of luminaries. Director Gil Cardinal showcases aboriginal filmmaking, while the NFB's chief archivist highlights the best of the 1960s.

Kill time, not brain cells. While the archive features standard searches (genre, year, director, title, keyword), films can also be sorted by length, making it easy to fill downtime with worthy fare.

Explore the site, check out some expert playlists, and browse the NFB's online store.

- Eli Dvorkin

Wowee!

japan - fujimori’s architecture and ROJO
venue: pavilion at giardini
commissioner: fujimori terunobu
deputy commissioners: okabe miki, omori hiroshi

two art movements have recently gained a lot of attention in japan
- the architecture of terunobu fujimori and ROJO (on the roadway).





‘nira house’ - leek house by terunobu fujimori and nobumichi ohshima, 1997

The only "leek-y" roof that you will find equally beautiful and useful:










‘ichiya-tei’ - one-night teahouse by terunobu fujimori
and nobumichi ohshima, 2003



model ‘takasugi-an’ by terunobu fujimori, 2006