Check out this interesting hotel design by Dutch architecture firm WAM architecten. The design looks like a pile of typical green wooden houses stacked on top of each other. It’s the new Inntel Hotel Amsterdam in Zaandam, a town North of Amsterdam. The 4-star hotel has 160 rooms and a total of 11 floors.
What do you think?
Inntel Hotel Zaandam
Inntel Hotel Zaandam
Dutch coffee table book lovers; max out your credit card AND your coffee table! German publisher Tasschen, known for their budget friendly books on anything related to design, art, architecture, fashion and photography, is opening a flagship store on glitzy PC Hooftstraat!
Tasschen
A spokesperson for the company that imports Tasschen commented “The store will sell the budget friendly books, as well as luxurious high-end books and limited editions worth thousands of dollars”.
Tasschen previously opened shops in London, Paris, New York, Hollywood, Beverly Hills, Berlin and Brussels
The Homevoyeurs webshop also sells books to fill your coffee table. For instance this one: Constructive Furniture by Jean Prouve, Ray Eames and Charles Eames for $29,95.
Constructive Furniture
My personal heroes at Apartment Therapy shared some wonderful photographs taken by a guy in his apartment. He was forced to spend some time at home due to a sprained ankle which was a break from his otherwise hectic working life. He started playing with his Hipstamatic app on his iPhone. The result was an amazing series of pictures of his home. “I started looking for unique angles, small vignettes arranged by my girlfriend, or gathered in their own organic way (messes). I looked for textures and viewpoints that I miss in my daily busyness. I even caught a couple of cat naps that I rarely see when working late hours.”
The pictures made him look at his place with different eyes. Only after seeing these images he realized the uniqueness of it. He saw things he never noticed or never appreciated up to then. Apartment Therapy recommends trying this yourself. They say “This is such a great exercise on multiple levels – it adds to your emotional connection to your home and creates an opportunity for design improvements. Taking a step back and seeing your home’s objects, arrangements, colors and textures through photos allows you to evaluate and appreciate them in a different way, opening up the door for both change and acceptance.”
So I did. I didn’t use the same lens as I believe that is one of the ones you pay extra for but I still like the result, a lot. And it works. I see my place through the eyes of a first time visitor now. It’s great! I had to force myself not to look as a photographer or as a designer but just look for unusual angles, shapes, forms or items I would otherwise not have captured. A lot of the pictures didn’t work at all, but quite a few came out pretty nice if I say so myself.
If you feel like sharing pics of your own apartment journey please do. But also please share them with the guys at Apartment Therapy as they inspired me in the first place. They always do.
Some of you design buffs based in the Netherlands might have seen this before as it was heavily featured in the national press, but I still want to share it on my blog.
De Omval Houseboat designed by +31 architects
This houseboat in the Amstel river in Amsterdam was designed by +31 Architects. They are known for other houseboat projects in the Amsterdam area. The boat is a streamlined glass panes design allowing maximum use of natural light. It reminds me a bit of the Elicium building at the Rai conference center, designed by Benthem Crouwel architects.
Houseboat de Omval by +31 architects
The boat might be very modern, but it was designed to reflect the shape of other houseboats in the canals and rivers of Amsterdam. Neighbours and council alike are very enthusiastic about it. Personally, I feel like I have seen it before.
What do you think?
Posted in Design, designers and online finds, Unusual homes
Tagged +31 architects, Amsterdam, Boat, Boats, Canals, De Omval, Dutch Design, house, Houseboat
