Posted December 31, 2014

Built for 1964 Tokyo Olympics, the Yoyogi National Gymnasium was designed by architect Kenzo Tange. The main gymnasium held swimming and diving events, while the smaller hosted basketball. It will be again used at the coming 2020 Olympics.

At the time of it’s construction it had the largest suspended roof span in the world, creating it’s signature curved profile. Tange combined western modernism with traditional Japanese architecture to achieve a strong and expressive aesthetic which still feels relevant half a century on.

Posted October 24, 2014

Tokyo Skytree is the recently opened 634m telecommunications tower, currently sitting second on the table for tallest man-made structure. It is almost double the height of Tokyo Tower which it functionally replaces.

The structure of the tower subtly changes from a equilateral triangle at the bottom to circular as it approaches the first of the viewing platforms

Posted May 19, 2014

Today we finally got to meet our seven sound gentleman, Naoto Sato Adams.

Posted April 26, 2014

The works of 28 artists have been gathered for the Adelaide Biennial of Australian Art, part of the Adelaide Festival. Under the guise Dark Heart, it’s a collection that explores under the surface of the Australian psyche.

Stand out works for me included Patricia Piccinini’s multi-breasted Skywhale and Alex Seton’s marble re-creation of asylum seeker’s life jackets washed ashore in Someone died trying to have a life like mine. Rebirth by Warwick Thornton evokes the past and future of the landscape while Ian Strange pummels the blackened suburban house Landed through the forecourt of the gallery. Evolutionaura explores the melding of Chinese & Australian identities in a series of busts by Ah Xian.

The exhibition continues until the 11th of May.

• 2014 Adelaide Biennial

Posted February 16, 2014

Much of Adelaide’s contemporary architecture is boxy and safe, fuelled by developers looking for maximum returns. Thankfully though, where private development has failed to inspire, the universities and government have picked up the slack.

The most outstanding example is Woods Bagot’s spiky diamond SAHMRI. The medical research building sits on a brownfield site overlooking the rail lines and the river, catching the shifting sun in it’s hundreds of triangular panels. I hope it serves as inspiration for more Adelaide buildings to follow.

Posted February 14, 2014

Renowned design studio Nendo have designed a new stationery range under their own label. Each item is an exercise in reduction, while keeping one little ‘aha!’ moment.

My favourite items include a transparent ruler with markings that fade from black to white to maintain contrast against any item, a notebook with a corner cut so you can see which is currently in use, and a pen tray that eliminates the base as it’s unneeded when placed on a desk.

• nendo.jp