| Interview: Design Seen From a Different Perspective with Sandro Lopez Posted: 21 Jul 2010 10:32 AM PDT In case you missed our interview section, here is something that will definitely keep you posted, especially if you are a young designer looking for some reassurance. What we’ve learned from Sandro Lopez is that great design can be achieved at any age (Sandro is just 28 and has started working in this business 3 years ago) if one is genuinely interested in changing something. There are some witty and very wise answers in the interview below that could count as great career advice and even life lessons. We invite you to go through them, analyze some key information and let us know if anything hit the spot. Enjoy! - Freshome: What determined your passion for design? Tell us about the moment when you decided this is the way to go.
- Sandro Lopez: There are few things that came to me as naturally as design, it felt right from the very first moment I started. I never had doubts about it since then and as a consequence never really had to make a decision whether to chose it or not.
- Freshome: Can you remember your first design project? Describe it a bit, whether it is a gizmo you worked at as a little kid or something that was sold at a large scale.
- Sandro Lopez: My first real design project is called “Limu” a seating system I designed for an Italian company called Pircher. Through this project I really learned how to imagine, conceptualize, visualize, create, improve and produce an idea.
Project: “Limu” - Freshome: What field of design are you most interested in? Do your works have anything to do with it ? (We are asking this because not many designers do what they actually want)
- Sandro Lopez:I am interested in any field of design. I would design almost anything if I could connect that something to a situation I am familiar with. I mean that if I for example design a chair, I should know or be able to imagine someone sitting on it or looking at it, someone who would really like it and be happy with it, I should be able to imagine it in a real life situation even though this real-life situation sometimes might look unreal!
- Freshome: Chronologically describe what you are going through (feeling and thoughts) on your way to work.
- Sandro Lopez: I don’t basically remember my very early thoughts in the morning, I guess I think of what I dreamt the night before. I usually take a shot of espresso and gradually come back to life by this time I’m already working.
- Freshome: What is your favorite book/magazine on design? How about your favourite site?
- Sandro Lopez: There are some books I frequently go back to and read over. Writings of Naoto Fukasawa and Kenya Hara are my favorites at the moment. I randomly flip through design magazines and visit design blogs but I do it as a passive activity .
Project: “Limu”, an original seating system, exhibited at Salone del Mobile, Milan
- Freshome: What inspires you?
- Sandro Lopez: People, nature, things, events, places, my memories and my dreams.
- Freshome: What is the most frustrating aspect of your job as a designer? And the most rewarding one?
- Sandro Lopez: frustrating – People who measure design according to its profit without understanding its benefit; rewarding – Seeing people interact with your thoughts.
- Freshome: From your point of view, is design an art or a science?
- Sandro Lopez: Design learns the art of observation from Science and the science of communication from Art, but it is a separate field of work on its own right.
Project: “Mezzanine” - Freshome: Tell us something unusual that happened in your career.
- Sandro Lopez: My career is pretty short I started 3 years ago, for the moment everything that comes is new, unpredicted, exciting and surprising for me.
- Freshome: Let’s say you entered a contest. You have to come up with a design for the first house on the Moon built for extra-terrestrial living. How would your project look like?
- Sandro Lopez: I would rather think of how to create living spaces on moon than coming up immediately with the solution of a “house”. Today we think that buildings are an inevitable factor for life but many communities and societies managed to live in other types of dwellings and spaces. Architecture is not about constructing buildings but about designing space and space is infinite; think of for example how we define space in a soccer field or how we define space on a beach when we take a sunbath. Creating buildings is a practice born in societies where the concept of power and dominance of men over nature and other men were the main issues. I would take the opportunity of being landed on moon to design completely new and exciting spaces. If the goal of traveling to the moon is to spread life in the universe then a living space on the moon should reflect life’s wisdom.
Project: “HONGO” - Freshome: If design were a product, what would it be and how would you design it?
- Sandro Lopez: If design were a product it would be both a pencil and a paper, something that creates but it is also modified through its own creation. And I would design it by leaving gaps, spaces and situations that could be freely interpreted by everyone.
- Freshome: If you had no limits (money, resources), what would you create?
- Sandro Lopez Money, resources and tools are limits but also constraints of the project, it is almost impossible to approach a project without having limits. My dream project though is to design a new device that would replace cars forever. I would design a vehicle for traveling short distances, a device for 2 people and a small storage space, weight 40 Kg, max speed 50 km/h, volume 1 cubic meter, needless of infrastructure or fuel! with a simple and elegant form not a spaceship or a Bat-mobile. The idea of having a ton and a half of material on 4 wheels powered with an extremely powerful engine running at irrationally high speeds making our cities unlivable is clearly irrelevant, not to talk about all the issues regarding infrastructure, fuel or pollution. I believe that in a near future we will look back at cars and wonder how we could live with such unintelligent objects for so long.
- Freshome: Share something you would like the world to know about you or your ideas.
- Sandro Lopez: Everything I said above.
- Freshome:. What do you think of our site?
- Sandro Lopez: I am very new to Freshome! I really like the way the articles are prepared, I would love to see it with a more refined layout. This interview gave me the chance to verbalize my thoughts and I’m pretty happy with that.
Click here to connect with Freshome on  or on 
 |
| Freshome Reader Help : “Brighten Up” Upstairs Space Posted: 21 Jul 2010 09:44 AM PDT  
NICHOLAS: I am looking to “brighten up” my upstairs space… I’d like to do something with skylights… but at the same time something that is creative and interesting… and have a dramatic effect from the floor below. There are three sets of beams running about 13 feet apart. EDITOR: Freshome Reader’s we know you have some creative ideas to add a dramatic effect to the upstairs space.. leave them in the comments section for Nicholas. BTW : Thank you all who left a comment on the previous post. If you would like to enter Help My Space Freshome! Click here for all the details. Freshome reader’s will comment on your space and help you solve your design dilemma. Click here to connect with Freshome on or on
 |
| Modern Residence in Greece, an Open Outdoor-Indoor Dialogue Posted: 21 Jul 2010 07:27 AM PDT Located just 23 kilometers away from Athenes, this imposing residence brings a new feel to this particular historic side of the world. Designed by Greek architect Nikos Koukourakis, this Dionysos home has a beautiful azure facade which combines pleasantly with the impressive pool in creating a typical contemporary home. Large and thick windows create a good connection with the exterior while ensuring wonderful views. Here is more information from the architect: “The continuous optical dialogue between the inside and the outside is achieved by the 3.50m (each panel) sliding windows that appear in the main elevation. The building dominates with its clean-cut lines, while its volume is split, without being dissolved, from the rich perimetric openings giving to it an airy sense via to their exposure to natural light. The big glass surfaces leave a permanently open dialogue with outside, without creating the least sense of isolation in the interior of the house.” 
Click here to connect with Freshome on or on
 |
| The Pros and Cons of Renting a Home Posted: 21 Jul 2010 02:40 AM PDT Whether you are right out of college or you are into your 'lived in' years, most likely you will rent a home at some point of your life. Renting as opposed to owning a home can have its pros and cons. For some, renting is the perfect option, and for some, owning a piece of real estate is right for them at this time of their lives. Depending on your situation, financial knowledge, and comfort level let's look at the ups and downs of renting a home. FINANCIAL RESPONSIBILITY: PROS: The largest financial responsibility when renting a home is coming up with a deposit, security, and possibly first and last month's rent when moving in. For the majority of renter's this is the number one reason for renting. The responsibility of paying rent every month is a plus for many. CONS: When renting a home, since there is no financial commitment, there also isn't the benefit of appreciating value in a home. This simply means – you will never get your money back to you when renting. While in an appreciating home market, the sale of your home can lead to great financial gain in the future.  LANDLORDS: PROS: When you stay at a hotel and the television doesn't work – don't you call down to the front desk for them to 'fix' the situation? This is one of the pros of renting a home, the responsibility of maintaining the appliances, repairs, and physical appearance of the home is on the landlord. For many people, this makes renting a home much more appealing than owning a home. The idea that a broken toilet is not your concern, can be a wonderful relief from renter’s minds! CONS: The world is full of bad landlords. The downside to renting is that now your health, safety and welfare may rest in the attentiveness of your landlord. If you have a repairs in your home that never get fixed, or get fixed too late, landlords may not respond to your concerns. Remember, in many jurisdictions they are 'Renter's Rights', if you feel your landlord is taking advantage look into these laws.
 PERSONALIZE: PROS: Those who rent a home have to check with their leasing company/landlord as to what can be done to personalize the home. Many landlords will let you paint, hang pictures, and will even keep up the landscaping on a rental home. If you are fortunate to get these options in a landlord, don't take it for granted, and take good care of the rental property. CONS: Many leasing companies and landlords don't want any cosmetic alterations done to the home. This can mean, no hanging pictures on the walls due to possible holes, to keeping the existing wall paint color as-is. Often times in rental homes, the turnover rate of new tenants is high, therefore the landlord doesn't want to have to put a lot of energy and money into making your space rentable to the next tenant. Talk over décor flexibility with your landlord, he/she may be more flexible than you think.
 Renting a home is an important stage for growing social relationships and taking care of life responsibilities. The decision is up to you and should be considered with careful thought. Weigh your options for you and your family, because renting a home should be a pleasant and fun experience.
Freshome Reader's, do you rent a home? Share with us what you enjoy about the experience and what you hate! Do you plan on renting for awhile? If you are in the decision making stage – what are your concerns? Click here to connect with Freshome on or on
 |
