Like Want Need: December

Narrow Houses, Avi Friedman
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Book
Narrow Houses
Avi Friedman

Narrow Houses presents a thorough overview of the practical considerations of designing a narrow-front home, including siting, floor arrangements, footprint, and interior and exterior finishing. Measuring twenty-five-feet wide or less, these “infill” or “skinny” houses, as they are often called, are on the rise in cities and suburbs around the world. The book documents twenty-eight innovative examples of narrow houses from around the world designed by today’s foremost architects.

Bathroom
Kallos and Katagami
Kohler

Now available in the Middle East are two new glass and bronze crafted sink models from Kohler, Kallos and Katagami. The two new models form part of Kohler Nature’s Chemistry and Artist Editions collections, and are inspired by the oversized banquet trays typical of Middle Eastern feasts. The new spun glass Kallos is Kohler’s first under-counter style, creating a distinctive architectural pattern reminiscent of fine crystal. Cast in bronze and finished to a warm, dark patina, the Katagami was designed to highlight the movement of water.

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Herman Miller came up with his new range of chairs after studying the design of suspension bridges, and explored whether the same principles used to suspend a bridge over water can be applied to a chair. The decided it could, and has created the first full-suspension back that is literally frameless. “We watched how people sit and work,” said Yves Béhar, who collaborated with Miller on the project. “We did over a thousand sketches. We built over 70 prototypes. We re-examined everything from back construction to the smallest knobs.”

Art
Marilyn Monroe Collection
Sicis

Seven famous artistic portraits of Monroe, taken from photographs of her best-known films like Some Like It Hot and Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, have been artistically translated onto mosaic. The collection forms part of portrait line from Sicis. There are only 25 limited edition pieces of each portrait from the Marilyn Collection.

Book
Manhattan Skyscrapers
Eric P Nash

It’s not often that you get to see the skyscrapers of downtown Manhattan when rushing around on the streets with the cars and commuters. In this stunning new book, Eric Nash lets us leisurely peruse 75 of Manhattan’s most noted buildings, spanning an 100-year history and organized chronologically. There are details here that readers could easily miss in person; for instance, built into the lobby of the gothic-style Woolworth Building of 1913 are gargoyles depicting F.W. Woolworth counting his fortune and the builder in a monk’s hood.

App
GREEN PRO
LEED

Green Pro gives architects, engineers, owners, and contractors the ability to both access and track LEED credits for new construction and major renovations. Users can access information about credit requirements and indicate when a particular requirement has been met. The app costs US$3.99 and can be used on the iPhone (OS 3.1.2 or later), iPad and iPod Touch.

Kitchen
Phantom
Häcker

German kitchen manufacturer Häcker has launched a half-tonne stone work surface known as the Phantom. The sink uses hidden guides and supports to effortlessly move, to reveal a flush mounted Miele induction hob and custom made Blanco stainless steel sink and tap. This is possible through Silent Move technology, patented by Hacker. The Phantom is available in three different designs and a variety of unique natural stone finishes.