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March 07
in this issue...


bullet  Sun Mun Way Cool
      /spaces

In Los Angeles, California, a family of four inhabits a polychrome fantasia in the heart of Chinatown. Formerly a restaurant, punk rock night club, and furniture warehouse, the Berniers’ loft is anything but boring.
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bullet  The Spot :
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A routine trip to a local coffee hot spot for morning java turned fateful for three young entrepreneurs, Topher, Kandy Russell and Holly Stanley. Cruising down 16th Street on his way to grab breakfast and a latte, Topher rushed past a quaint historic home on the corner of Cheery Lynn Road. A bright for sale sign swung in the front yard of the charming cottage.
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bullet  Design Details - Doors:     /spaces
  

A door may be a metaphor for a choice or an opportunity, but today’s architect, designer or homebuilder has a lot of them—choices, that is.

A door. You go in, you come out. Doors divide inside from outside, this space from that. Easy access, right? Yes, except there are a myriad of choices available today for making an entrance.
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bullet  Architecture Interruptus
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Architects are often praised for achieving the impossible so it should come as no surprise that one of the most influential architects of the 20th century has built a radical new church - even though he passed away in 1965.
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bart

Planes, Trains, and a Monorail

By: Christopher Bright
http://www.dwell.com/daily/blog/5677821.html

For me, traveling is usually a pleasure, especially when it’s on the company dollar. So it was with great anticipation that I prepared for my most recent trip to the International Consumer Electronics Show in the homey little town of Las Vegas, NV. Flight arrangements came easily, but only after nine phone calls to various hotels did I find a place to rest my weary head after the full days of power walking and technical jargon ahead. I steeled myself for the onslaught of unwashed masses and overstimulated gaming enthusiasts. What I wasn’t ready for was the small matter of getting there.

When I awoke at 5 am, the sky was still an inky ominous black. I braved the elements en route to BART (Bay Area Rapid Transit), the public train system here in the Bay Area. Standing there alone with my thoughts, the station looked different than it usually did during my daily commute. It looked foreign, and I saw it as if it were the first time I had been there.

Had I missed my train? Why were the overhead monitors streaming Orwellian phrases like “Remain vigilant!” instead of the one relevant data point I was looking for—the time of the next train. “Platform 1” and “Platform 2” gave no indication of their direction. For some poor tourist, the interaction was very poorly designed, deliberately punitive even. How was this possible? I thought information design was popularized way back in 1972 by Otl Aicher and his pictogram designs for the 1972 Olympic games in Munich.