Architecure Meets ... the Helmut Lang Fall 2010 Collection

Helmut Lang's designing duo Nicole and Michael Colovos directly acknowledged the architectural influence on their Fall collection for the minimalist label. Urban expansion, as in building modern structures on top of historic ones, was their main inspiration. The orginial Lang, an Austrian born designer who ahs not been affilaited with his namesake brand since 2005, gained popularity throughout the 80s for his deconstructivist (some call it severe) aesthetic. It seems architecture has been a muse to the label in the beginning and continues to be today, even through numerous corporate acquisitions and a revolving door of head designers.

Architecure Meets ... the U.S. Embassy in London

Philadelphia based firm KieranTimberlake won the international design competition to create a new US Embassy in London. The fifty four person, 25-year-old firm beat out other, more well known practices including Richard Meier, Morphosis and Pei Cobb Freed for the chance to build this give London a much-needed American HQ. This design will surely shake up the otherwise austere and classical planning that typify the London landscape. Of course, in recent years, with the Swiss Re Tower and such, London has begun to see a skyline defined by more than just Big Ben and Westminster Abby. Still, the city ordinances and zoning rules that exclude the possibility of legitimate high rises present a unique challenge to architects that want innovative and modern but are confined to small scales. KieranTimberlake was able to design something that would satisfy both modern and traditional tastes. A clean and simple glass cube punctuated by a waving glass facade, the embassy is a fine testament to American relations.

Architecture Meets ... the Rashid Blobulous Chair

Karim Rashid has become known as a designer for his generation. His industrial design work has spanned every area of art, from fashion to interiors, from fine dining to furniture. With over 3000 designs to his credit, Rashid's aesthetic has translated quite well into architecture. I've actually had the pleasure of visiting perhaps one of his most noted interior design concepts for Morimoto Restaurant in Philadelphia. The restaurant is all chic organic shapes, with fixtures inspired by waves backlit my morphing LED displays. Nature and organic forms seems to be one of Rashid's top influences. This can certainly be seen in his Blobulous Chair, which he debuted at Milan Design Week in 2008.

Architecture Meets ... Blackbird Restaurant

Fine cuisine meets fine design. With the advent of haute dining, restaurants became more than just a place for dinner before a movie or after a show. They became the main event - places to see and be seen. Trends in food began to meld with trends in architecture: Asian fusion saw design influenced by bamboo and golden Buddhas, French bistros featured rustic woods and coppered fixtures. Chicago's famed Blackbird restaurant is certainly no exception. Opened in 1998, over a decade ago, this eatery still remains one of the hottest spots in the Windy City. Thanks to its token minimalism, sleek angles and clean look, the restaurant has managed to look effortlessly modern and hip all these years later.

Architecture Meets ... the High Line

Possibly one of the most ambitious redapt/reuse urban renewal projects could only take place in a city like New York. Steeped in architectural and design history, New York has had to face the distinct challenge of figuring out how to incorporate historical structures with modern planning, making the four hundred year old metropolis a 21st century space. Of course, it has already succeeded in so many aspects, becoming the center of all that is trendy and hip.

The High Line, as its initial use as an elevated freight line along the Lower West Side, can be seen in various incarnations in many cities. Old railroad tracks skate their way through large metros like Philadelphia , Chicago and Detroit and have mostly been left abandoned to succumb to decay and graffiti. New Yorkers, with already such limited space, knew that the High Line held the potential to become more. So in 1999, a non profit started by residents around the Line began to advocate for the conversion of the 1.5 mile tract into a public park and space. By 2004, the city had pledged nearly $50 mill to the conversion project. Now, nearly a decade later, the High Line has become a model for all other American cities with similar plights. Taking inspiration from Paris' Promenade Plantee, the park has spurred development all around it, and offers one of the best walking tours of New York architecture along its rails.

Architecture Meets ... the Viktor & Rolf Spring 2010 Collection

Fashion is as much about architecture as architecture is about what's fashionable. The old Louis Sullivan adage "form follows function" seems a bit out of date in today's times. Now, design is as much about form as it is about function. While a building or a dress should surely be fitting to the user and be usable, the way it looks and feels is just as essential to the overall purpose. That is what this multibillion dollar industry known as 'fashion' is really about - the melding of form into everday function.

And few designers know form as well as the dynamic duo of Viktor & Rolf who, since the early 90s, have been pushing the envelope in their designs, creating never before seen silhouettes and dramatic structures in their clothing. Their Spring 2010 Collection is a wonderful example of how the pair inadvertantly drew inspiration from architecture's own striking shapes. Taking actual chainsaws and hacking away at mounds of tulle may seem a bit, er, unconventional, but if this brand is known for anything, is it not convention. In effect, they created some truly stunning forms that may be a bit 'out there' for eveningwear, but are surely visible in modern architecture. Their idea of destruction goes hand in hand with the deconstructivist aesthetic - manipulation of traditional forms into fragments and nonlinear elements. It is the negative space, what is not there, that stands out the most.

Architecture Meets ... the Hadid Crevasse Vase

The appeal of Zaha Hadid's work is not just the 'deconstuctivist' aspect of it. Sure, it invokes the fragmentation and manipulation that is characteristic of famed deconstructors like Gehry or Libeskind, but it also somehow departs from the traditional definition. Her style comes effortlessly. While one can readily observe the calculated and strategic placement of this angle or that curve in, say, Libeskind's Imperial War North or Gehry's Guggenheim, Hadid's work is much less premeditated. This is certainly evident in her buildings, and just as evident in her object designs.

At first glance, the Crevasse looks almost like a model for a skyscraper (Dancing Towers, perhaps?). Composed of polished stainless steel, the nonlinearity of the vase makes for very interesting angles. Every which way you turn it gives you a completely different view. You will never find a box in Hadid's design repertoire (see below).