Of Note Calendar Provocations: The Architecture and Design of Heatherwick Studio September 13 www.nashersculpturecenter.org British designer Thomas Heatherwick has been hailed as a genius for the uniquely inventive nature of his work. This exhibition examines the astonishing range of Heatherwick Studio’s practice by focusing on the design concepts behind early projects, such as the handbag designed for Longchamp and the rotation-molded “Spun” chairs, as well as current large architectural projects in the U.K., South Africa, Abu Dhabi, Singapore, and China. Afloat! Boat Parade on Buffalo Bayou September 13 www.houstonartsalliance.com/transported Houston Arts Alliance presents Afloat! The event is part of “Transported + Renewed,” a major creative placemaking project that will celebrate Top and right The
steel and vinyl appliqué city map features copper pins marking a recent project location and the architect’s office. The pins are handforged and stamped.
the centennial of the Port of Houston and the inauguration of the Houston METRO East End Light Rail Line by presenting a bold mix of communitybased and contemporary art projects in the city’s historic East End. Do Ho Suh September 20 www.thecontemporaryaustin.org Architectural settings and abstracted figures inspired by the artist’s biography serve as the central tenets of Do Ho Suh’s practice, highlighting the porous boundary between public and private space as well as notions of global identity, space, nomadism, memory, and displacement. The exhibition will be on view through the fall at The Contemporary Austin.
A collaboration between Austin-based Trophyology, a design and fabrication studio, and Portland, Oregon-based Nested Yellow, a jewelry and object design shop, has grown out of a client’s desire to say thank you to her architect and contractor. The gift needed to be special, well-designed, and specific to her beautiful new home. She also wanted something that might grow into more than her initial gesture of appreciation. A map with pins marking the site of her house proved to be just the right answer. The steel and vinyl appliqué is 23.5 in by 28 in, and the pins are hand-cut, forged, and stamped copper and steel magnets finished with a patina. Pins
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identify the project site and the architect’s and contractor’s offices. The gift can remain as a testament to this one project or begin to track the firm’s project sites across the city. Both Eva Schone of Trophyology and Anna Vasquez of Nested Yellow are trained architects. “We are excited to be able to combine our architecture backgrounds with our passion as makers for this particular project,” commented Schone. “The maps connect with our understanding of our surroundings: the pattern of neighborhood blocks, street grids, and natural land formations like rivers.” The pair appreciates the complementary nature of the graphic map and the delicate pins. For the client, the map captured both the elegant sensibilities of her architect and her gratitude for her new home.
Tour of San Benito and Harlingen September 25 www.lrgvaia.org To kick off the 2014 Building Communities Conference in South Padre Island, architectural historian Stephen Fox will lead a tour of San Benito and Harlingen on Thursday, September 25.
PHOTO COURTESY THE DO HO SUH AND LEHMANN MAUPIN, NEW YORK, AND HONG KONG. PHOTOS OF MAP AND PINS COURTESY TROPHYOLOGY AND NESTED YELLOW.
Mapping Projects