Great Design from Cheap Materials - 5

Ever since I saw the newly designed The Wright Restaurant in NYC's Guggenheim Museum I've been thinking about how this idea could be adapted for a church space.

The museum's site-specific artwork, by Liam Gillick, is of high-end custom extruded aluminum.  But it kind of looks like painted 2x4s, doesn't it?  Note how in the first photo you can see that the widths and depths of the pieces vary; as if some are mounted on their side and some on their edge.

Pick your colors, then mock your project up carefully using paper strips of varying widths on graph paper scaled to your wall size.  With a little planning, you too can have a site-specific work brightening up the children's or youth space using more thought than money!

[images by Andre Kikoski Architects]

Wayfinding Wallpaper

"Wayfinder is a line of wallpaper designed to serve a functional purpose within the context of architecture. Wallpaper is typically decorative. Symbols are typically functional. The combination of the two creates new possibilities for architects, interior designers and space planners."

And churches...these are an interesting solution for larger buildings in which bold wayfinding is needed, for contemporary retrofits, and for older church spaces in which the bathrooms are hidden down a hallway and difficult to find!  They would also be a great graphic addition to a youth space.

The Wayfinder wallpaper is by Mike and Maaike Inc, manufactured by Rollout.

Pricier Wall Fix - the Wovin wall system

Pricier, but with enough texture to make an impact in a larger space such as a sanctuary or gathering room, are these Wovin wall tiles. From Australia,but they ship world-wide.

From their site:

"The Wovin Wall System consists of a lightweight mounting grid which can be fixed to any wall or ceiling surface. The Wovin tiles are clipped into this grid in alternating directions to create the distinctive woven pattern...Walls do not require surface preparation prior to installation, as inconsistencies in finish or flatness are hidden by the tiles. Masonry and panel-lined walls can all accept the light-weight grid..."

I prefer the wood tiles, but they come in other finishes as well, including translucent models for back-lighting, metals, and custom printed options.

Cheap Wall Fix Round-Up

A few inexpensive ideas I've kept track of for making a beautiful accent out of an existing wall or part of a wall, or covering up a case of the uglies (sigh, I have known many such church walls...and having a budget of maybe $50 to improve them).

Standing pebble tiles from naturalstoneoutlet.

Wood tiles (from my files, no source unfortunately, but a relatively straightforward DIY)

Raffia wall by designer Paolo Lenti but I've seen placemats that looks like this and in fact the new heavy, architectural placemats, often made from real wood, are great en masse on a wall.

Interlocking frames or a simple pattern of thin wood strips painted the same color as the wall are a great disguise...look to garden treillage for inspiration. But don't use that ugly pre-made stuff from the lumber yard.

Divisions of Space

Church spaces have to be very flexible; not only in the short term (switching a room from a youth event to a church-wide dinner, for example) but in the long term---so that as the demographics of the church change its rooms can serve new functions.

Think beyond those ugly metal folding walls!

From top to bottom:

Link by PearsonLloyd is a modular system from which you can build flexible but still elegant spaces according to your needs. [via designspotter]

Instant Space moveable wall, housed in an aluminum column for easy handling, opaque and sound absorbent; the wall is even suitable for projection. Available from nienkamper. [via swissmiss]

More Repetitive Form

The beautiful work of Ken Gangbar...is it waves on the ocean or fish in the sea? Either interpretation is appropriate for a church setting; perfect for the baptistery. Ken works in ceramics, but the shape of the objects in this installation remind me of the flat, polished black landscape rocks often used in Japanese gardens. I see a stone wall inset with with flat rocks flowing like a river....

more great design from cheap materials - water bottles

Walls made from water bottles, simply strung like beads on tension wires for the offices of Danone (they make Evian and Volvic water) by Klein-Dytham Architecture in Tokyo. If you look closely, you can see the frames that make it possible.

Other items could be assembled this way...I'm thinking rustic squares of recycled wood, children 's toys in a nursery...other ideas?

Nice design tie-in with the water bubble-y lighting, as well.

great design from cheap materials

Good design can be expensive. It pays its own dividends, though.
More on that later, but if you think that amazing things can't be done with even inexpensive materials........

....look what artist Tara Donovan does with styrofoam cups (bottom) and silver mylar sticky tape (tops). The mylar work is currently on exhibit at the Met. [photos via scoboco]

She also works with pencils, drinking straws, paper plates and tar paper, all of which can be seen at ace gallery.

I find these works inspirational because they are basically a repetition of simple forms using an everyday material. Labor intensive to be sure, but most churches have more wealth in hands than in money. With supervision and planning, a repetitive-form project is very doable by a church group.