Deco & Design News

French architect Jean Nouvel was last year canonized with the profession’s highest honor, the Pritzker Prize. Usually, he sticks to buildings, instead of flirting with furniture as most starchitects do. But when he does, he does it right.
The so-called SKiN sofa (arbitrary caps mandatory, per the Union of Serious Architects Wearing Black) comprises a steel frame with a leather cover attached and draped over it. But instead of looking like an expensive butterfly chair, the couch looks like a leather poncho morphed into furniture by a magical trust fund.

LES HELICOS SE POSERONT SUR LE TOIT.

Due to the rapid population growth of Ho Chi Minh City and the economic development of Vietnam, the need for office space has exceeded supply in Vietnam’s largest city. The Financial Tower development, currently under construction, will help ease the demand for office space in this  Southeast Asian metropolis.
Binh Minh Import-Export Co (Bitexco), a wholly owned Vietnamese company, is the primary investor in this mixed-use development. Designed by the architect Carlos Zapata Studio, the development consists of a high-rise office building, a five-story retail podium, and four levels of below-grade construction,devoted to parking. The shape of the tower is modeled after a lotus flower bud, the national flower. Standing at 68 stories upon completion, the office tower is destined to become a landmark in the Ho Chi Minh City skyline.
The office tower is essentially an all-concrete structure. Initially, a mixed system comprised of structural steel floor framing, composite perimeter columns and concrete core walls was developed. However, cost comparison demonstrated that the all-concrete structure had a clear cost advantage over the mixed system.