Author: aoife (Page 14 of 28)

Isabel’s Picks for May 2011

May 9, 2011 / aoife / 1 Comment

Isabel’s Picks for May 2011

ROYAL MAGIC

Calm and balance

1. HAND PRINTED WALL PAPER

Manufacturer: David Skinner Wallpapers

Designer: David Skinner

Name: Humbert

Price Range: n/a

Material: Hand screen-printed onto quality base paper using durable, acrylic ink.

Available in Ireland from: David Skinner Wallpapers

2. MIRROR

Name: Swirl Round Mirror

Price Range: €105

Material: Crystal, metal.

Available in Ireland from: Littlewoods Ireland

3. ARMCHAIR

Designer: Bernhard Leniger

Model: Episodes

Price Range: €1200

Materials: Frame: Solid European beech. Seat and back: Upholstered and covered in fabric or leather.

Available to Ireland from: area z

4. WINDOW SCREEN FILM

Model: Linjer

Trademark: Maria Liv

Designer: Maria Liv

Price Range: €40

Key Facts: Easy to remove without leaving a trace.

Available to Ireland from: Scandinavian Design Center

5. GLASS SPLASHBACK

Price Range: €280-380/m2

Materials: 6mm Diamante Toughened Polished all round Colour coated to any RAL colour.

Applications: Kitchen splash backs, Shower walls, Bathroom splash backs, Counter tops, Cabinet doors, Partitions, Commercial Interiors, Vanity counters, Steps, etc.

Available in Ireland from: Colour Splash Backs Capital Glass Co. Ltd. Cork Glass Centre / Splashbacks Ireland

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Simon Open Door 2011

April 7, 2011 / aoife / 1 Comment

09.05.2011 Update:

The Simon Open Door event has been extended for two more weeks. Please contact RIAI to find out who are the Architects participating in your area.

To book a consultation with Isabel Barros Architects in Wexford just ring our office 053 91 789 57.

We are delighted to announce our participation in this year’s “Simon Open Door 2011”.

The Simon Communities of Ireland work with people who experience homelessness and housing exclusion in Ireland.

Anyone hoping to build, renovate or extend their home may be interested in this initiative. Isabel Barros Architects in Wexford will offer an hour long consultation in return for a donation of €50 to charity. This generous donation of time and expertise will help fund Simon’s work assisting people to move on from the crisis of homelessness, to independent living in quality accommodation. All of the money raised goes towards the work of the Simon Communities of Ireland.

This year will be the seventh year that the Simon Communities of Ireland has been in partnership with the Royal Institute of Architects of Ireland. In 2010 over 950 slots were booked by the public raising almost €51,000 for the Simon Communities of Ireland through the R.I.A.I. Simon Open Door initiative.

This is an excellent initiative where anyone can get practical advice on a range of issues, while helping the homeless.

You can sign up for an appointment with Isabel Barros Architects on either Saturday 7th May or Sunday 8th May, just log in at www.simonopendoor.ie.

Read Testimonials about the Simon Open Door. Join Simon Open Door page in Facebook.

And the Pritzker Prize 2011 Goes to…………Eduardo Souto Moura

April 5, 2011 / aoife / 0 Comments

The Pritzker Architecture Prize is often referred to as the “architecture’s Nobel” and “the profession’s highest honor”. 2011 winner is Portuguese Architect Eduardo Souto Moura.

The purpose of the Pritzker Architecture Prize is to honor annually a living architect whose built work demonstrates a combination of those qualities of talent, vision and commitment, which has produced consistent and significant contributions to humanity and the built environment through the art of architecture.

Cinema House for Manoel de Oliveira

Eduardo Souto Moura is the second Portuguese architect to have been given the prize. Alvaro Siza Vieira was the first Portuguese awarded with this prestigious prize.

Contemporary Arts Center Graça Morais

Eduardo Souto Moura was born in Porto, Portugal in 1952. He began his career as an art student, studying sculpture, but eventually switched to architecture. He credits a meeting with Donald Judd in Zurich for the switch from art to architecture.

Serpentine Gallery Pavilion, photo by iqbal aalam.

Souto Moura has achieved much praise for his exquisite use of materials – granite, wood, marble, brick, steel, concrete – as well as his unexpected use of colour. Souto Moura is clear on his view of the use of materials, saying, “I avoid using endangered or protected species. I think we should use wood in moderation and replant our forests as we use the wood. We have to use wood because it is one of the finest materials available.”

2 Houses in Ponte de Lima

In an interview with Croquis, he explained, “I began my professional practice designing houses, I don’t know why— houses for my family and for my friends. And those houses, both urban and non-urban, had a typology. I believe that housing is something universal that historically has changed very little. The materials change, the building systems change, but the idea of a house as such is not something that has changed a lot.”

House in Cascais

At a series of forums called the Holcim Forum on sustainable architecture, Souto Moura stated, “For me, architecture is a global issue. There is no ecological architecture, no intelligent architecture, no sustainable architecture — there is only good architecture. There are always problems we must not neglect; for example, energy, resources, costs, social aspects — one must always pay attention to all these.”