As some of you might know, my brother’s crossing the globe photographing new projects from world leading architects. In the coming months I will share some of his new works here at Anothersomething. To start with this new building by Michael Maltzan in LA. The Carver… [ Continue reading ]

Last weekend, the extraordinary Zeitz Museum of Contemporary Art Africa (MOCAA) in Cape Town, South Africa opened its doors for the public. The museum is set to become the world's most important exhibition space for African art, and with its iconic building by Heatherwick Studio it already draws the needed attention. The London-based firm transformed the building, both on the outside and inside, from a dead industrial structure into a mind-bending icon, instantly joining the Pantheon of some of the most beautiful museum buildings to be found all over the globe. [ Continue reading ]

Park Groot Vijversburg is a beautiful park located in the small town of Tytsjerk, in the northernmost province of The Netherlands named Friesland, which has been open to the public since 1892. Throughout the year, the park hosts events such as art exhibitions, musical performances, church services and excursions. With a rich history of inhabiting a variety of flora and fauna, the heart of Park Groot Vijversburg has always been a neoclassicist mansion in the center of the park. With the  number of visitors growing significantly in the last two decade, six years ago Tokyo-based architect Junya Ishigami and Marieke Kums of Rotterdam practice Studio Maks were given the assignment to design an accommodation next to the villa that would enable Park Groot Vijversburg to host the bigger crowds.

Last May was the official opening of the new addition, next to other significant changes and additions to the park, resulting in an inspirational new face for the public area, having become one of the more beautiful spots in the country. But above all, what stands out within the reinvigoration Park Groot Vijversburg is the extraordinary vision that was materialized by Ishigami and Kums, which consists of three intersecting glass corridors that grow out of a sunken, triangular-shaped visitors centre — forming a deeply inspirational structure that, in the words of Ishigami: "melts into the environment," and is among the most impressive we have seen erupted in The Netherlands in a long time. [ Continue reading ]

Three months ago, the inspirational Taipei-based space for art exhibitions, books and good coffee named Pon Ding presented a beautiful show named 'Gold and Green', which closed last month but remains a very inspirational cultural hybrid. The project is a collaborative effort by the established Austrian ceramic artist Matthias Kaiser and the emerging Taiwanese ceramic artist Hsian Jung Chen.

After chancing across some books about Chinese medicine, Kaiser became fascinated by the odd and unusual ingredients, like the organs of rare animals, and the kinky sounding remedies. The mysterious culture of traditional Chinese medicine sent him dreaming about other worlds. Kaiser’s works include the pieces fused with Chinese philosophy and his Asian experiences, and also the tools with gold, platinum or brass luster, which indicate the alchemy-like refining process of medicine. To Chen, Chinese medicine shops have a commonplace existence in his daily life, and he seldom ventures beyond their thresholds. Through reading and field research, Chen acquires more knowledge of Chinese medicine and gets inspirations from their stories, purposes, making process or appearance features. From their different points of view and experiences, these ceramic artists re-interpret, through their individual visual languages, the dwindling and partly-lost culture of traditional Chinese medicine.

The two artistic visions combined, resulted in a project that shows a clash of old and new; sharp and organic lines; smooth and rugged surfaces. Perfectly juxtaposed to form a fascinating selection of ceramics that tell the story of East and West exchange on more than one level with both artists clearly having found inspiration in the cultural tradition of the other, which in turn really inspires us. [ Continue reading ]

There is a significant need for new personal stories in today's hype-driven, free-for-all fashion world. And despite a rather boring tradition in that realm, some of the names we find interesting and have the potential to do just that c0me from The Netherlands. Following the likes of Paul Helbers and Sebastiaan Pieter, who both are talented Dutch designers with young labels (based outside of The Netherlands), last month's Royal Academy of Antwerp graduate Rushemy Botter seems to be next in line to step up. His graduation collection (Autumn/Winter 2018) named 'Fish or Fight' formed Botter's debut during last week's Amsterdam Fashion Week, but we already seized the opportunity to briefly meet the rising star one day after his graduation show in Antwerp at the beginning of June. [ Continue reading ]

At the moment we are immersing ourselves in the world of elegant sportswear for an extremely exciting new project we are working on (which we will elaborate on whenever we can in the near future). One of the highly inspirational brands we have encountered along this research is the South Korean brand IISE [translates to second generation], founded by Terrence and Kevin Kim, two second-generation Korean-American brothers who were so inspired by their cultural roots that they decided to create a brand founded on them. Debuting in 2015 with a full collection, given the moniker 001, the brand had been producing naturally-died bags and accessories since 2013. It introduced its 002 collection two months ago, with a lot more to come in the coming months.

The new direction for IISE was received with open arms by the streetwear media ecosystem, gathering both both on- and offline widespread media attention, ensuring a quick worldwide introduction of the brand's new ambitious move into clothing. The designs by Terrence and Kevin marry the Far East with the West and are constructed from a hybrid of both traditional Korean and modern materials, such as the “mu-myung” and “guangmok” fabrics that are naturally-dyed cottons of Korea’s traditional garb. Reinterpreting these iconic textiles into a sportswear inspired vision, the unique cottons are integrated into the garments along with premium materials such as leather, raw silk fleck and nylon twill. Beyond just the interesting fabrics used, the brothers succeed in implementing graphic elements inspired by Korean woodwork throughout the collection and completing their creations with its elegant roomy and cropped cuts. For us IISE makes some of the most inspirational sportswear-inspired clothing available today. [ Continue reading ]

We recently became familiar with Danzo Studio, being a new addition to the collection of Tico Oudhuis' KOHEZI platform. The company was founded in 2013 in Taipei, Taiwan by designers Wei-Lun Tseng, who graduated from the Design Academy Eindhoven and I-Han Chen who finished her education in Sweden at HDK in Gothenburg. Starting up as an entrepreneurial design brand, the duo aspires to present superior design products to the world and with their five Landscape collection of aluminium alloy organizers they have created a set of designs marrying rugged beauty and pragmatism. The collection consists of diversified habitats specified for all tabletop gadgets and/or accessories. In the different designs function always follows form, with each box lid being outfitted with a particular terrain scene. The series contains five choices of terrains; each provides unique functions for various uses. [ Continue reading ]

The 'Round Square Teaware' is the latest creation by the talented Taiwan-based designer Chuntso Liu. The designer, who was also responsible for the fascinating 'Ripple Tray' in 2009, presents a new range of tableware, which he created for Taiwanese design company Koan Design. The collection of tableware is the result of Liu's study of the laws of the universe and his fascination for the emulation with nature, from which humans create objects. While the rounded cups and the elegant teapot are an organic and logical shape for holding water, the cube-shaped handles are a tangibly human expression left on the surface that creates a subtle yet striking contrast, transcending functionality through decoration that both adds meaning to the object and forms an emotional bond with the user - aimed for by the designer. Aesthetically the 'Round Square Teaware' is clean, modern and highly appealing. We love this work by Liu. [ Continue reading ]

Last month a very interesting new Amsterdam-based platform for craftsmanship and design from all around the world was officially launched by its founder Tico Oudhuis - who's also one of the founders behind VANOUDS, known for their beautiful handmade walnut tables. The new project named KOHEZI searches for beauty in the ordinary, finding inspiration in - as they state it themselves - clean design, dirty streets, nature life, city hectics, fresh flowers and old bricks. The first products available through KOHEZI are the fine Vørding gin, which is distilled in Amsterdam, jewelry by Berlin-based Simon&Me and finally the extraordinary pens by Y studio from Taiwan - which are incredible. The Taiwanese studio creates fine artifacts which can be used for a lifetime, and passed down from generation to generation. Their beautiful stationary collection is made from pure copper and brass, with a simple, minimalist design combined with elegant, pristine materials. The line includes two rollerball pens, a ballpoint pen, a mechanical pencil, a sketching pen, a pen container and a pen case.  [ Continue reading ]

In the Summer of last year Phaidon released this highly inspirational handbook of contemporary architecture in photography named 'Shooting Spaces', still an important source for inspiration for us. The elegant book is a visual survey of contemporary artists’ photography of architecture, featuring the work of brother Iwan Baan, next to names like Christoph Morlinghaus, Andreas Gursky, Wolfgang Tillmans, Catherine Opie, Thomas Ruff, Hiroshi Sugimoto, amongst others. Since the invention of photography, architecture has proved a worthy subject for photographers. Shooting Space: Architecture in Contemporary Photography showcases the relationship between the two practices. The book presents a broad spectrum of work from a diverse roster of renowned and emerging artists: Annie Leibovitz captures the construction of Renzo Piano’s New York Times building; James Welling revisits Philip Johnson’s iconic Glass House; Walter Niedermayr shifts perspectives on SANAA’s sculptural designs. [ Continue reading ]

The impressive exhibition named BLUEPRINT, which opened on the 24th of January in the New York City-based Storefront for Art and Architecture, asks individuals from the world of art and architecture to embark on a trip of self-reflection to identify a place of origination for their work in the literal and metaphorical form of a blueprint. The fascinating curation of 50 pieces, dating from 1961 to 2013, are presented as traces willing to bring clarity to work, practice and the context in which they were created, selected by photographer Sebastiaan Bremer and Florian Idenburg & Jing Liu of design office SO-IL. With the installation which was created for the exhibition by SO-IL, BLUEPRINT leaves the gallery in a totally new organic form, totally open, but at the same time closed and fixed. Wrapped in time and in space, the Acconci-Holl façade opens its doors permanently to the works that –while present in the show by reference– are outside the gallery walls. The space looses its literal operational transparency to become a white, translucent icon of its curatorial aspirations. Rendering everything on either side as a world of shadows, the installation denies the spatial properties and the implications of the processional exit of the platonic cave towards a world of truth. [ Continue reading ]

We have written about the beautiful CITIx60 Art Print Project by Hong Kong-based publisher viction:nary when it was released last November, and they now present another great project in the form of an inspirational book totally resolving around the Chinese character. Considered one of the most intricate writing systems in use, it holds a presence of typographic beauty comprehensible beyond language barriers. Thanks to the growing popularity of Asian cultures, graphic innovations of these centuries-old characters have begun to shine through in the world of modern design, demonstrating excellent skills at crafting ideas and visualizing abstract concepts within complicated forms. The publication by viction:ary gathers works from Japan, Korea, Taiwan, China, Hong Kong and beyond, creating an incredible curation of the most interesting contemporary examples. Stylistically categorized chapters of logo designs and applications offer a close cultural insight into the art of strokes and structure of characters. It then expands the focus to identities, posters, packaging, advertisements and set design. [ Continue reading ]

In October of last year the biggest and most ambitious private museum of Paris opened its doors for the first time. The new institute named Fondation Louis Vuitton aims to become a monumental contemporary-art museum, housed in a building designed by the legendary Frank Gehry and commissioned by the LVMH director Bernard Arnault himself. In the first months visitors could tour the building, view sketches and maquettes of Gehry's design, and discover a rotating selection of artworks from the Fondation's own impressive collection. In December the very first art exhibiting was opened, featuring tremendous new work by the Danish-Icelandic artist Olafur Eliasson named 'Contact'. Like 'Riverbed', which we were lucky to visit at the end of 2014, Eliasson once again created a highly immersive world, but instead of a rocky riverbed he takes the visitor on a virtual space odyssey after which one is intermittently plunged into darkness, making the exhibition a dark opposite of his exhibition at the Louisiana Museum of Modern Art. [ Continue reading ]

In his project '52 Weeks, 52 Cities', developed exclusively for German museum Marta Herford, my brother Iwan Baan takes the spectator on a one-year photographic journey around the world. Always on the lookout for ingenious homes in unexpected places and outstanding construction projects. Süddeutsche Zeitung described the influence of Iwan: “our image of architecture like no other”. He has been working, very successfully, worldwide for architects including Rem Koolhas, Herzog & de Meuron, Toyo Ito or Zaha Hadid. A characteristic of his pictorial language is the engagement with the close relationship between human and architecture, between social use and the various spatial situations. [ Continue reading ]

We really like the new and improved Protein Journal by the inspiring people of Protein. The subject of the first revamped issue is The City. It features articles including a write-up by design critic and author Stephen Bayley on the true value of urban living, a stunning photo piece from film maker Will Robson-Scott chronicling gang life in Chicago named 'Chi Raq' and The Urban Think-Thank piece by Tag Christof featuring the series of pictures of Torre David by my brother. A chat with Nelly Ben Hayoun, the wildly inventive mind behind NASA’s International Space Orchestra, can be found in it as well as a 30 page Insight section featuring extensive investigations into the nature of modern, urban life around the world. [ Continue reading ]

Sou Fujimoto is the latest and youngest architect who designed the prestigious temporary structure in front of the Serpentine Gallery, which this year was opened on the 8th of June. Made out of 20mm steel poles the structure has taken in nearly 3800 square feet of the London gallery’s front lawn. It is designed as a flexible, multi-purpose social space, with a café inside it. Fujimoto and his team designed the building with the ambition to persuade people to enter and interact with the pavilion throughout its four-month presence in London's Kensington Gardens. The official photography of the pavilion was commissioned to my brother Iwan Baan. [ Continue reading ]

While we are crossing Japan, enjoying some real Japanese traditions, here's some more Japanese inspired European business. Paper & Tea founder, Jens de Gruyter and his team, have made it their mission to make fine teas and tea culture more accessible to a broad audience in Western-Europe. In order to achieve this they opened a bright store on the first of December 2012 at the Bleibtreustrasse 4 in Berlin. In the store the presentation system of the teas encourages self-directed discovery, through a immediate sensory experience and dialogue in order for the customer to familiarize with the wide range of the offered. The store's interior, designed in collaboration with product designer Fabian von Ferrari, resembles a mix of aesthetically purist concept store and natural history museum. [ Continue reading ]

Tê Timer is a collaboration between Swedish Afteroom and Taiwanese Waterfall, materializing the relationship between tea and time in one product. The joint venture is a bound publication of a graphic arts collection curated by Waterfall and at the same time a container of a tea brick produced by Afteroom.  [ Continue reading ]

In our mix tapes, the seasonal collections of music we create on Spotify, we always try to integrate all the new music we like. The best tracks over the past months, which all reflects the mood of the season. This one isn’t different. 17 tracks going… [ Continue reading ]

When I started road cycling a few years back I bought a simple bike, just to see if this was the thing I wanted to do. After the first km's it felt like I was built for it! When I met Elian, a dutch craftsman building some amazing bicycles, a year ago, I instantly wanted a bike from him as my 'official' road bike. We did a little tour together with The Village from Utrecht to Antwerp and back, supported by Rapha, joint by Ajanaku a.o. and I got infected with the custom bicycle virus... We sat down, talked about steel frames, details, colors, old vs new techniques and we drew the first outlines of my new bike. More then 6 months later it is here, and it was so much worth the wait! [ Continue reading ]

My brother shot this amazing picture of New York for Architectural Record, illustrating an article on New York City and its status as a 21st-century design capital. A city with architecture, design, and planning at center stage. Read the article here > I… [ Continue reading ]

Another wonderful project shot by my brother. La Ruta del Peregrino (Pilgrim’s Route). A group of 7 designers, artist and architects created several shelters, viewpoints and sanctuaries along the route. It’s a walk of 117 kilometers through the mountain range of Jalisco, starting in the town… [ Continue reading ]

My brother shot another great museum by Steven Holl in collaboration with Solange Fabião: Cité de l’Océan et du Surf. ‘Set to open in june 2011, the museum intends to raise awareness of oceanic issues and scientific aspects of the surf and sea. The… [ Continue reading ]

Nº38. Brasilia – Chandigarh, Living with Modernity by Iwan Baan at Lars Müller Publishers >… [ Continue reading ]