SoVibrant Opinion8: October 2012

31 October 2012

Happy Halloween - Round 2

It’s that time of year again where Halloween, or All Hallows’ Eve has today come round to haunt us!

So, following on from Helen’s Halloween “pumpkin carving” blog this morning, I thought I would continue the Halloween theme and share with you some Halloween designs I have seen flying around Facebook, Twitter and emails over the last few days.

These designs range from "designer" pumpkins, “haunted paper houses", all the way through to fancy dress outfits seen by some of my nearest and dearest! Take a look and see which is your favourite?

Happy Halloween all!!

Click here to see how to make haunted paper houses!

www.sovibrant.co.uk

HALLOWEEN!

Images courtesy of google images, Facebook, Twitter and my lovely chums!

Happy Halloween!

I thought I should just create a little blog to get you all in the Halloween Spirit! Having a five year old daughter is a great excuse to justify sitting for hours carving out pumpkins and to try and out-design your friends. I wanted to share our handy work from last night and introduce Hello-ween Kitty.

There are some amazing carved pumpkins out there (way batter than mine) but its not about that its about getting involved and allowing the inner child to get out for a few moments! enjoy and Happy Halloween!!!!

30 October 2012

The Exchange - Harrogate

Welcome to another of one of our recently completed schemes, very close to home, - a newly refurbished office building - The Exchange, in Harrogate town centre. The Exchange is the tallest office building at ten storeys high on Station Parade, adjacent to the main bus and rail stations.

Leading UK developers Commercial Estates Group instructed SoVibrant to redesign the reception and common areas of a building that was once voted the ugliest in Harrogate and nicknamed the ‘Battleship’. However, since it was recently refurbished, including new cladding to the exterior, the building has definitely turned a corner. SoVibrant’s brief was to design a striking new reception to welcome all its visitors and tenants, in place of the 1990’s space that had become very dated over time.

The building’s location next to the main transport interchange of Harrogate and its name were the main drivers for the concept, with transport references, movement and direction all key to the design and flow of the spaces. The building was given a new brand identity and logo with a more contemporary feel and we’re sure this vibrant commerical premises will be a new talking point with many of the office workers in Harrogate town centre and will no doubt, like most of the developments we work on, fly off the shelves.

If you have a reception or offices that you want to stand out in the market or that is struggling to let, drop us an email at info@sovibrant.co.uk or call our offices to see how we can help.

Interior Design - Graphics - Brand Identity

www.sovibrant.co.uk

26 October 2012

Artist of the Week #72 : Kyle Bean

Readers of our regular 'Artist of the Week' post will have noticed a particular bias towards the dark arts of CGI. That's because our nerdy in-house CGI team usually get to choose the subjects who've worked on their favourite geeky/cult Sci-Fi films.

Today, for a refreshing change, we're showcasing a young artist who believes in 'honesty to materials' and creates his work in a naturally-lit studio, rather than the evil trickery of CGI, created by loners sitting in darkened rooms feeding on Pot Noodles. In their underpants.

Although only recently graduated, Kyle Bean is already making waves in the world of sculpture. His originality and use of materials sets him apart.

According to his own website, 'Kyle Bean is a designer specialising in hand crafted models, set design and art direction. Since graduating in 2009, Kyle has worked for a variety of international clients for a diverse range of projects including installations, window displays, editorial illustration and advertising. Kyle’s work has been recognised by the prestigious Art Directors Club in New York and the International Design Biennial held throughout Europe. His work has been featured in a range of international art and design publications, praising him for both his conceptual thinking and craftsmanship. Kyle splits his time between working from his studio by the sea in Brighton and London where he often collaborates with photographers and directors. Kyle is represented by Blinkart.

Here are a few examples showing the diversity of Kyle's work:

What came first - chicken made from eggshells

'Disposable Technology'

Wood portraits

Computer Arts magazine cover 'Apps'

Stick Insects (made from matchsticks)

Pencil shaving portraits

Mobile Evolution....

......(Russian doll style)

'Wall Street Rocket Scientists'

Tube Map (made from drinking straws)

There's a really good interview with Kyle here that includes embedded video of animated commercials - well worth a visit.

Design at SoVibrant www.SoVibrant.co.uk

Related Links:

Disappearing Sculptures
Artist of the week : Syd Mead

Artist of the Week : Fausto De Martini

Artist of the Week : Scott Robertson

Artist of the Week : David Levy

etc

23 October 2012

CGarchitect - Modo 601 review

Hi everyone,

CGarchitect have recently added a review of the latest release of Modo from Luxology.

Modo is already very widely used despite it still being relatively young compared to its competition.

Head on over to CGarchitect via the link below to check out the review.

Click here for the Modo 601 review

Modo user interface - Courtesy of Google Images

Modo render - Courtesy of Google Images

Happy reading!

Media Production
www.sovibrant.co.uk

16 October 2012

New Jensen Interceptor

The original Jensen Interceptor was launched in 1966 by Jensen Motors in West Bromwich. Powered by a 6.3 litre Chrysler V8 (later by a 7.2), the 2-door, 4 seat grand tourer was an instant classic. (Actually, this isn't strictly the original - the name had already been used in the 50's, but I don't want to confuse this with the new 2012 model - more later)

The body was designed by Carrozzeria Touring of Italy and is reminiscent of the Brasinca Uirapura, especially the rear window.

Jensen Interceptor rear window

Brasinca Uirapura

The Interceptor was way ahead of its time with electric windows, power steering and the FF (Fergurson Formula) model had 4 wheel drive, mechanical anti-lock brakes and traction control.


Interceptor FF

The Interceptor was the car Simon Templar, alias the Saint, drove (in the Simon Dutton era). Incidentally, a new series has now been confirmed to start production in Spring 2013 with English actor Rupert Penry-Jones in the lead role.

Anyway, Interceptor fans, Jensen have announced an ALL NEW MODEL to be launched in late 2012:

According to the press release, 'The all-new Jensen Interceptor will be designed, engineered and hand-built in Britain by the low volume automotive specialists, CPP Global Holdings. The new Jensen Interceptor is a thoroughly modern interpretation of the four-seat grand tourer original built between 1966 and 1976, and is based on an all-new aluminium chassis and handcrafted aluminium body. The public unveiling of the Interceptor is planned for late 2012, with deliveries to customers beginning in 2014.'

Design at SoVibrant

Related links:

Jensen Cars
Jensen Owners Club

Design Classic No.007: Aston Martin DB5
Design Classic No.28: The Triumph Bonneville
Design Classic No.38: AEC Routemaster Bus
Design Classic No. 166: The Supermarine Spitfire 1936
Design Classic No.234: Sinclair C5
Design Classic No.246: Ferrari Dino
Design Classic No.300: Mercedes 300SL Coupe
Design Classic No.325: Ferrari 512 S Modulo
Design Classic No.412: BMC Mini
Fords on Film/TV
50 years of Ford Cortinas
Classic car of the week - Mark 1 Lotus Cortina

15 October 2012

The Kingdom Tower v The Mile High Tower

Further to my blog on the 10^th January 2012 about Kingdom Tower, I was interested to hear about how the project was progressing.

The first skyscraper to break through the kilometre mark appears to have secured all its funding and work has already started on site . Bauer Group have just confirmed that they will once again be providing the foundations for the world’s tallest building, having previously worked on the foundations for the Burj Khalifa in Dubai.

The 270 bored piles of 1.5 and 1.8 metres in diameter will be drilled to depths of 110 metres in order to stabilise this immense structure, using two state of the art drilling rigs owned by the Bauer Group . These works are scheduled to begin in December and should take about 10 months, with a contract value of EUR 25 million, the first big bill for Kingdom Real Estate Development Co., who are said to have a total of 1.2 billion American dollars to spend on the building.

The architects of Kingdom Tower, Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill, also have a history of working on the Burj Khalifa, which was designed by Adrian Smith while at Skidmore, Owings & Merril, demonstrating that the developer is utilising the expertise of those with "super tall" experience.

The Kingdom Tower was originally called the Mile High Tower as it was planned to reach heights of 1,600 metres (1 mile), nearly twice the height of the Burj Khalifa . Eventually the project team came to the conclusion that the kilometre mark was a more realistic target . However, one man who thought a Mile High Tower was achievable was Frank Lloyd Wright, who designed The Illinois Tower back in 1956, a concept tower eons ahead of its time and remarkably similar to the current design of The Kingdom Tower . Had it been built, it would have been the tallest building in the world by far, being more than four times the height of the then tallest building in the world, the Empire State Building.

Attached below is a series of images of the Kingdom Tower from the architect’s website and a short animation by visualhouse of the proposed development, followed by images of Frank Lloyd Wright’s Tower conceived over 56 years ago.

The Kingdom Tower