Winter is upon us – it’s coat, brolly, hat and gloves time. All this excess outerwear needs a home, of course, and thanks to our friends at UFL we have just the place for your winter-themed accoutrements. The Twist Coatstand by Horm, in Italy is not just an elegant hat and clothes stand, it’s a functional sculpture constructed of eight steam-curved natural beech strips.
Urbis has one Twist Coatstand (in beech with mocha stain) valued at $790.00
 to give away. Email urbanism@agm.co.nz with the answer to the following question in the subject line (hint: follow the links):

Who is the designer of the Twist Coatstand by Horm?

>> Twist at UFL

Ironbank, the steel-clad commercial building on Auckland’s K’ Road (that featured in issue 52 of Urbis) has received the 2010 New Zealand Institute of Architects’ award for the year’s best building. The mixed-use building, designed by RTA Studio for Samson Corporation, beat out some strong competition, in particular from Jasmax’s NZI Building. Fourteen other projects were also acknowledged at the NZIA’s annual awards dinner. View a gallery of winning projects here.

>> Ironbank online

You might think it hard to carve out a niche in the competitive online T-shirt market – thanks to threadless (and friends) the world is awash in designer T-shirts. However Stephen Richardson (from Richardson Design) has wrangled a stellar line up of artists and designers for his latest venture, Parinto. Ever thought you would be able to buy a Max Gimblett designed tee? Or a little something by Tank Girl illustrator Rufus Dayglo? As Richardson’s mustachioed Frenchman (right) might say, c’est possible…

>> parinto.com

Quotidian, the next exhibition at Objectspace, in Auckland, is all about finding inspiration in everyday design. Each participant – stellar designers such as Jamie McLellan, Alt Group, Katy Wallace (that’s her ‘leaning shelf’ at left), Adrian Hailwood, Matthew von Sturmer, and Cybele Wirren, amongst others – is showcasing an everyday design object alongside an object of their own making. As an accompaniment, the designers write about the understandings and discoveries brought about through considering the vices and virtues of “everyday” objects. This uncovering of how design ideas are recycled, leveraged, refined can in turn inspire new design.

>> Quotidian at Objectspace, on until 26 June

Australian fashion designer Akira Isogawa, along with our own Urbis editor, Nicole Stock, and Designer Rugs senior designer, Lia Pielli, talked to a group of rug designer hopefuls on Tuesday night. The workshop, part of the Evolve Awards, which Designer Rugs is running across both New Zealand and Australia, invites architects and interior designers to submit a unique rug design. Six selected rugs will join the Designer Rugs ID Collection, and the winning designers will be in the running for more than $20,000 in prizes – including a trip to Milan Salone de Mobile 2011. Akira talked candidly about how his own inspirations, and how he translated motifs from his fashion range into rug designs. Entries into the Evolve Awards close on 30 June. The competition is open to all interior design professionals.

>> Visit Designer Rugs for more information.

…Or equally as pun appropriate, ‘nice pile’. In the next issue of Urbis we’re off to Herzog and de Meuron’s ‘VitraHaus’, a new project that bears passing resemblance to a number of houses piled on top of each other (but cooler, naturally). Another take on the ‘pile of houses’ aesthetic is this new hotel in the Netherlands – post-post modern or Rococo revival? Who knows? Still, it’s a darn sight more interesting than this old Auckland chestnut…

Urbis, issue 56 is in stores on 31 May.

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