American designer Neal Small will finally get recognition during his first retrospective at an exhibit at New York’s Material ConneXion. The designer is best known for his innovative use of Plexiglas and Lucite in the 60’s and 70’s. Small is referred to in the October, 1971 Time article “The Furniture of Chemistry” which discusses “the bright new plastic furniture now invading U.S. stores can transform an ordinary room into something straight out of 2001.” 2001!

Red Lamp
(©Material ConneXion)

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When not producing, rapping, mixing it up with the paparazzi, or playing death matches of Connect Four with his celebrity friends, the world’s last Renaissance man, Kanye West, is blogging. About everything. On his site, there are categories you might expect to see (music, fashion, girls, cars) and several you might not (architecture, furniture, lighting). Not that I’m shocked by the hip hop community’s contribution to the design scene—über-producer Pharrell’s Perspective chair comes to mind. But I am amazed by the consistency (daily! in every category!) of Kanye’s posts.

Kanye West on the move and simultaneously blogging? Read more…

What’s the Danish translation of kowabunga?

Six finalist’s design concepts for Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture to go on view- Diller Scofidio + Renfro, Foster + Partners, Moshe Safdie, and Adjaye Associates are in the running

Surf’s up for Fritz Hanzen, the Airstream, and the MINI Cooper

Go to Canada for a prism break

Are we designing highways to hell (or maybe a hospital stay)?

What downturn? Take part in celebrating a vibrant creative economy in Boston

Ratner’s not about to back down. Yet.

Gallery design for tiny art

Cass Gilbert’s vision for the West Virginia Capitol to be restored

Architect Speak 101

Fly the highly-designed skies with Marc Newson

Gehry springs a(nother) leak

Regardless of economic concerns, Toshiba’s consumer product division stays the course with its plan to go green

What can this contraption offer the newspaper industry?

A reprieve for designers: ASID pledges legislative support to create more opportunities

One designer’s concept to save the world’s newspapers

Coroflot’s Design Salary Survey results are in! (How you doin’?)

Try and remember the Alamo

An English architect told to keep his head (and house) above ground

The Indian rupee needs an identity

Jonathan Adler helps Barbie realize her Malibu dream

Put down the bottled water. Really.

The Colonel and the talking Chihuahua would be proud. Last week in Northampton, MA a kinder, gentler fast food moved into the neighborhood. This joint Taco Bell/KFC restaurant marks the chain’s foray into green building and more eco-sensitive business practices. And though the design is no doubt the same with garish colors and typical fast food seating (pictures are yet to be made available), this is a bold leap into potential LEED territory.

Jonathan Balas, AIA, LEED AP, is the project architect who coordinated the project. He says this project is part of the company’s “E3 Initiative focusing on the Energy, Environment and Economics of our buildings.”

A greener future—to go and with a side of fries!

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Flimmakers Joel and Ethan Coen are known for their hugely farcical and oft macabre movie making. Fargo, The Big Lebowski, No Country for Old Men—certainly these movies are in your psyche if not your Netflix queue. Now the dynamic duo has directed something for the smaller screen in a collaborative effort with The Reality Coalition.

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Discover the world’s wealthiest who are as enthusiastic about alternative energies as they are about their bank accounts

Architecture 2030’s Ed Mazria is in a tizzy over a study conducted by the Commercial Real Estate Development Association

Meet the landscape architect who helped design Beijing’s Olympic Forest Park

A new global standard to assess green buildings is on the horizon

The world’s wealthiest and most green supporters
(Be certain not to miss the Green Rich List link)

Noel Martin, graphic designer renowned for his contribution to museum branding , has died

Learn about the newly-launched program Transportation@MIT, an interdisciplinary collaboration to address the world’s increased need for transportation and the energy problems involved

San Francisco’s Transbay station—back to the drawing board?

The winners of the 2009 Canadian Society of Landscape Architects Awards are announced

Have you lived in a Ford Lately?

Norwegian architect and Pritzker Prize winner Sverre Fehn dies

One man’s trash is another man’s green residence

Los Angeles and Israel are ready for battle against the Wiesenthal Center plans for expansion

Forget green. The Netherlands may go blue.

Have a look inside the inventive (and colorful) interior of French designer Matali Crasset’s home

Tropicana rethinks its recent  graphic design misstep

Volvo tests its interior textiles to ensure low emissions

An audit you may actually want

Hey architect, what was in your toy box?

The CEO of Alessi has something to say
(Alessi’s Anna Corkscrews, pictured)

Medieval architecture: A guide to future green building techniques?

Las Vegas architects discuss how to mend their city

Learn all about the first solar powered-phone

After 39 years, Steve Frykholm still creates Herman Miller’s graphically-pleasing promotional pieces

Alberto Alessi talks about good design and innovation

The future of street furniture in Ottawa

See David Rockwell’s Oscars set design before Sunday’s show

In the February issue of Metropolis, our cover feature poses the question, “Can Design Help Kids Learn?” The article “Open-Ended Learning” features schools from all over including Canada, Qatar, and India. In Alaska (a little more local to home, and, as I’ve learned from Ms. Palin, Russia), an academic advisory board in Fairbanks is of the opinion that going outside can help children learn.

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