Monica putting together a Blossom Bowl

GioGioDesign housewares are now available at Greentique in Port Jefferson

Visit Greentique in Port Jefferson, NY for a great selection of green gifts including candle holders, bowls and wine racks by GioGioDesign.

Solstice Candelabra

Here is the finished product. See more at www.giogiodesign.com!

New Designs

This a prototype for a candelabra design. It's one of many new pieces I'm working on.

Vessel Fruit Bowl

Bamboo with linseed oil finish

Check out the new items in my shop

Coming soon to my Etsy shop!

This is an mdf prototype, but the finished piece will be made from Russian birch or bamboo plywood with a linseed oil finish.

Wine sold separately...

Gio Gio Design

Architect to Build Home Using 3D Printer

"A Dutch architect is thinking a little bigger about 3-D printing than the tiny-to-midsize trinkets we've seen so far."

I've been thinking about using this technology to produce some jewelry designs, but this takes it to another level - check out the article!

Work in progress

This is a prototype for my "Vessel" fruit bowl. I was thinking of skeletons (like the dinosaurs at the Museum of Natural History in New York City) or a boat hull under construction when I designed this. I am going to complete the open corners with nylon cord. This prototype was cut out of mdf, but I'm thinking of doing the final version in a sustainable wood such as bamboo.

Gio Gio Design is now a shop on Etsy!

My Etsy shop is now open! Please check back often - giogiodesign.etsy.com - as I will be adding more cool stuff soon. I am offering my readers 15% off though the end of the year with coupon code FF201215.

Bertrand Goldberg's Hospital Designs

Prentice Women's Hospital in Chicago, a modernist concrete building designed by Bertrand Goldberg, is in danger of being demolished. I love these modernist buildings from the 70's - many architects do - but I think their charm is lost on the average person. You don't see such exuberant use of concrete today, and these buildings exhibit a celebration of the promise of the future that is typical of the era. Anyone interested in joining the fight to save Prentice Women's Hospital can visit the National Trust for Historic Preservation.

In a recent article by Michael Kimmelman of the New York Times, Kimmelman asked architect Jeanne Gang to come up with a proposal to save the building. Gang's proposal to build a new tower on top of the old building would be an exciting addition to Chicago's skyline - you can see a rendering of the design at Curbed Chicago.

Closer to my home on Long Island, I've always loved Stony Brook University Hospital's building on the campus of Stony Brook University - another of Bertrand Goldberg's buildings. (I am so far the only one who shares this view...) When viewed from Nicolls or Sheep Pasture Roads, it seems to loom above the landscape like a spaceship that has just landed. It has a crazy floor plan of interlocking circles and I've heard that the large floor-to-ceiling oval windows actually operate (scary!).

Who needs handles?

I eliminated the need for cabinet handles or pulls in my kitchen by designing cut-out openings that allow you to grasp the door or drawer and open it. The pattern of openings become a design element: creating interest, yet still sleek and unfussy.

Ok, I admit, I didn't come up with this idea all on my own! At my architecture firm, Bohl Architects, we've been integrating this design detail into our projects for many years. At left is the Baltimore Loft kitchen of principal architect Chip Bohl.

In this guest room, Chip designed a built-in armoir that takes this idea even further.

Resources - Etsy.com

If you are looking for something unique, Etsy is a great source for all sorts of home accessories and other stuff. This website features handmade and vintage items from individual sellers.

I bought these door knobs customized with my daughter's initials for her wardrobe on Etsy from SweetPeasKnobs.

When I was looking for a simple panel to cover the bottom half of a window in my walk-in closet, I checked out the fabrics offered by sellers listing curtains on Etsy. I found one I liked from Kirtam Designs and had a panel made with a pocket top for a tension rod in the size I needed.

More Photos of the Completed Addition

Interior view - looking towards the new addition

Interior view - looking towards the new addition and screened porch

Interior view - new Heat N Glo Twilight II indoor/outdoor gas fireplace

New screened porch and see-through fireplace

Louis Kahn's Four Freedoms Park - NYC

This park, conceived decades ago by architect Louis Kahn, is set to open October 24th. It is located at the tip of Roosevelt Island and according to the New York Time's Michael Kimmelman "it gives New York nothing less than a new spiritual heart."


Louis Kahn is one of my favorite architects, and I can't wait to visit this new park when it opens.

Kitchen - Finished!

It's been more than 8 months since the addition was completed, and I am just getting around to posting photos of the final result! I blame our extended stay in Argentina, but that's not a great excuse. We love the addition and new kitchen - it's great to finally have space to spread out. It's perfect for cooking and homework.

Materials:
Granite Counter Tops
Stainless Steel Sink & Faucet
Custom Cherry Cabinet Fronts & Shelving
Ikea Cabinets
Slate Floor Tile
Glass Backsplash Tile

Astral Pendant Lights

I found these pendant lights in the Vivaterra catalog. The metal globe shade has small punctures in it to create a star burst effect - very cool. These would be great as accent lighting or over a dining table. The price is great too - $149 or $189 depending on the size you choose.

I'm not sure how they define "green", but Vivaterra has some really nice housewares and accessories - it's worth a look if you want something unique.

Denver Art Museum

I didn't know what to expect from the Denver Art Museum (hey - I'm from New York), but I was surprised and impressed. It has a recently opened wing designed by Daniel Libeskind that doubles the size of an already huge building. The galleries are large and spacious and the visitors few (compared to New York City), so visiting the museum is a pleasant and serene experience.

Although Libeskind's building doesn't necessarily blend cohesively with it's surroundings, it is dynamic and engaging. And Gio Ponti's 7-story castle-like North wing hardly sets an example for merging with the neighborhood, which is a mish-mash of architectural styles including the post modern Denver Central Library by Michael Graves and the neoclassical Civic Center Park with its Greek amphitheater.

The sharp angles of Libeskind's building are supposedly reminiscent of the nearby Rocky Mountains, and the sloping walls and angled plans of the galleries are meant to provide an "entirely new and exciting environment" to view artwork. It may not go quite that far, but I felt the galleries provided an excellent backdrop for the work on display.

They have a wonderful collection of Oceanic art that mixes pieces from the 18th and 19th century with the work of contemporary Oceanic artists working today. There is an interesting temporary exhibit on the airport architecture of Fentress Architects featuring Denver's own International Airport. I flew into this airport and I did love the translucent tented roof structure (also reminiscent of the Colorado Rockies). It is quite impressive viewed in the landscape, but when you get close to the building it is almost obscured by the boxy parking garages. Design Lab: Three Studios, another temporary exhibit with installations by members of Colorado's design community: DoubleButter, MATTER, and tres birds, featured some of the designers themselves working inside the exhibit - pretty cool. And I also enjoyed Open For Design: A DAM Community Challenge featuring submissions from anyone with an idea to transform an object or material into something that makes their neighborhood a better place.

There is so much I didn't see (and I didn't mention Garry Winogrand's photographs or What Is Modern?) that I will definitely come back some time in the future. Denver is lucky to have such an enriching and enlightening institution.

Frohawk Two Feathers

The exhibit "We Buy Gold, We Buy Everything, We Sell Souls" is at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Denver through September 9th. These paintings by the artist who goes by Frohawk Two Feathers depict his re-imagining of the history of the colonial period. His exploration of themes such as racism, power, and greed is lightened by contemporary details taken from hip-hop vernacular. Altogether a very interesting, entertaining, and funny exhibit - go see it if you are in Denver!

MCA Denver

I visited David Adjaye's Museum of Contemporary art in Denver yesterday. The building is clad in tinted glass panels that let a diffused light into the galleries through a white translucent interior skin. The entrance was one of the best museum "front doors" I've ever experienced. An opening in the exterior leads to an enclosed ramp that narrows as you proceed along it. The door is not apparent, but as you approach the end of the corridor it slides open on your right side to reveal another ramp leading to the lobby.