Art, Architecture and Design Professionals On TFOD

Trends rule décor, and become the talk of the town and the object of desire as long as they last. So, we are here to talk about a trend that is currently doing the rounds internationally, and lends itself decoratively and functionally in equal measure. Holes or perforations are being used on a variety of materials and applications indoors as well as outdoors, and becoming the tools of sophisticated aesthetic expression.

Re-purposing is a popular tool today, applied to find new uses for old, unused or redundant structures by refurbishing them to serve a different current requirement, either for the same or a new user. The motive may be any ranging from preservation of heritage to saving on land and construction costs, but re-purposing is practiced as an art today as it ususally poses a huge creative and/or technical challenge. One can come across an exhaustive number of such adaptive re-use projects undertaken in recent times, each one packed with competitive creative delivery, but none comes close to being as astonishing as the Silo-Top Studio of O-Office Architects in China.

Displacement of a community is never easy or painless. The town of Kiruna in Sweden is undergoing a relocation process because decades of iron ore mining have caused irreparable damage, and yet the mining needs to continue as it is an important source of income for Sweden. The "devastating transformation" of the landscape and effect on the environment caused by the mining has sparked a lot of debate among the residents.

But to preserve the community spirit of the town, Developer Riksbyggen commissioned Swedish artist duo Bigert & Bergstro¨m to design a commemorative social sculpture. The Solar Egg – a golden egg-shaped and portable sauna – was thus created on the site of the now-empty town.

A graduate of the B. Arch Program from the M. S. University of Baroda, Mayur Shah has been a successful practicing architect-interior designer in Baroda since 1996. His studio Mayur Shah & Associates offers consultancy services and turnkey execution of architectural and interior design projects. The firm’s TFOD Profile has claimed the week’s TFOD Profile Of The Week.

Melissa McCracken was born in Kansas City, Missouri in 1990. She graduated with a B.A. in Psychology from William Jewell College in 2013. Growing up with Synaesthesia, Melissa ultimately veered towards a career in the arts – translating the sounds she hears into colours and forms on canvas! Her paintings rich and vibrant with colours and textures depict the notes and variations in music. Here’s a peep into her unique, magical world...