Energy-Efficient Retreat Displaying a Modern Design Character in Spain

Posted: 09 Dec 2014 01:11 AM PST

The team at Nan Arquitectos were given a challenge to design an energy-efficient retreat on a budget in Pazo de Rubianes, Pontevedra, Spain. The 49 square-meter House in Rubianes consists of a concrete block pierced by glass: “In the middle of an area, where the rest of constructions are very different in terms of shape, a parallelepiped showed up from the lowest level of the land in order to establish a fluent relation between inside and outside.” The holiday retreat is open to the South and its facade is given a discrete access.
The overall construction process took two months to complete. One of the main goals was to achieve space continuity from the inside out and transform the outdoors into an intimate space for the occupant through the large window that is covering one of the facades completely. The other facade, the most exposed to the neighborhood, is closed for total privacy. Except for the bathroom, placed in a "service area" near the wardrobe and kitchen, all interiors communicate with each other. According to the architects, simplicity, austerity, efficiency and architectural quality stood at the basis of this home design in Spain. [Photography: Santos-Diez]

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Ever Wondered What Makes Modern Art so Bad?

Posted: 08 Dec 2014 09:52 AM PST

Design and art are deeply interconnected. What happens in the artistic field ripples into design and architecture and vice versa. But what happens when you start to raise questions around art? Let’s start with: What makes modern art so bad? Trying to answer this question is artist Robert Florczak for Prager University. And in this 5 minute mini course, the art professor explains what happens when personal expression replaces standards.

“For two millennia, great artists set the standard for beauty. Now those standards are gone. Modern Art is a competition between the ugly and the twisted; the most shocking wins. What happened? How did the beautiful come to be reviled and bad taste come to be celebrated? Renowned artist Robert Florczak explains the history and the mystery behind this change and how it can be stopped and even reversed.”

According to Robert Florczak, art can be objectively measured and he explains by example how that is possible. He states that “many of today’s artists merely use their art to make statements, often for nothing more than shock value. Artists of the past also made statements at times, but never at the expense of the visual excellence of their work.”

Rooting for organizations like the Art Renewal Center that “work to restore objective standards to the art world”, Robert Florczak encourages people to advocate the teaching of classical art appreciation in schools. What is your own take on all this? We would love to know how you view modern art, so share your thoughts in the comment section below.

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