Royal Ontario Museum and Daniel Libeskind Part 2

Lauren at the ROM was kind enough to send us information and photos of Daniel Libeskind's first ever chair design, as mentionned in this post last week.

"The contemporary, multi-faceted Spirit House Chair is architect Daniel Libeskind’s first foray into the world of furniture. The chair is constructed entirely of 14 gauge stainless steel with a brushed finish and weighs 180 lbs. It is designed to be oriented in five different positions and can be used as a side-table. Each chair takes 40 hours of labour to complete. As a special finishing touch, each chair will have Libeskind’s signature etched onto it. The chair is being manufactured by Nienkämper Furniture & Accessories Inc. of Toronto and will be available for purchase after June 2nd through the Nienkämper store, KLAUS by Nienkämper, on King Street West in Toronto."

Lauren also sent us some photos of the expansion of the museum, called the Michael Lee-Chin Crystal (opening June 2). But because it is still under construction, she could only send renderings.

Hmmmmm.....I am a bit overwhelmed by Daniel's designs, both the chair and the expansion, and not really in a good way. He definitively has a thing for sharp angles.

Comments

[midcenturyjo]

He's known for those angles and intersecting lines. I like his architecture especially juxtaposed with traditional buildings. I'm still deciding about the chair. A piece of sculpture more than a chair. You can tell he's an architect and not an industrial designer.

[kim.]

Your last point is so true Jo, since I'm still trying to figure out how you sit on the chair. ;)

[J Lee]

told you kim ...
the museum is being turned into a monstrosity! i think it's such a shame.

[KNQ Associates]

Libeskind's design is always eye-catching. Take a look at his design proposal for The Reflections, a residential condominium project being developed in Singapore.

http://www.reflectionsatkeppelbay.com.sg/home.html

Now, since when have you ever seen buildings 'dancing'?:)

[becky]

The chair almost looks like a model for the expansion, especially when you look at it next to the picture building on the left!

I wonder what this architecture is supposed to mean? I'm sure there is some archi-speak explaination of deconstruction that accompanies it. The facade almost looks like a Peter Eisenmen plan or something, while one can't help but think of Frank Gehry as well. I can't really find any relationship between the lines of the building and the lines on the facade and it's bugging me.

Thanks for sharing - very interesting!

Becky