'Climber' coffee table by Frans Schrofer for Leolux

A Dutch designer Frans Schrofer has collaborated with Leolux on this series of coffee tables called ‘Climber’. The collection encompasses three simple tables which will be available in April in three different heights and variety of finishes such as lacquered MDF, oiled or stained solid oak and American walnut. (more…)

Detail view of the 3-seater version of 'Stream' sofa by Arik Levy for Palau

Designer, artist, technician, photographer and filmmaker – there seems to be no end to the talents of the ubiquitous Arik Levy and this time, the French-Israeli creative has collaborated with a Dutch design label Palau to create a modular, adjustable sofa system called ‘Stream’. Due to be showcased in March 2012 at Palau’s new showroom Design Post Amsterdam and Utrecht’s centre for interior design Toonkamer, the sofa is be available as either one-, two- and three-seater, with one of its elements functioning as a table with a conveniently-positioned, in-built storage unit.

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Solid 11 by Tony Fretton Architects Ltd; photo by Peter Cook

The London-based multi-award-winning architectural practice established no less than three decades ago by Tony Fretton have completed this 8000-square-meters building located near the popular Vondelpark in central Amsterdam. Intended for numerous purposes, the canal facing seven-storey Solid 11 ’has been designed to provide flexible space for a range of activities including apartments, workspaces, a hotel, shops, cafes and restaurants and public facilities such as a kindergarten.’ (more…)

'Kerameikos' vessels by Siba Sahabi

Young Amsterdam-based designer Siba Sahabi has created a collection of handcrafted vases which reference the ‘aesthetic that was originally established by ancient Greek ceramicists.’ Named after the potters’ quarter in Athens, ‘Kerameikos’ is made entirely out of paper and ‘the series conforms to the present day value placed on antique Greek ceramics where the artistic skills and characteristics determine the price of the object rather than the material.’

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Rehabilitation Centre Groot Klimmendaal; photo by Robt Hart

Koen van Velsen Architectenbureau, the namesake practice established in 1977 by the Dutch architect Koen van Velsen has recently realised this glass-and-aluminium rehabilitation centre discreetly located in a leafy forest near Arnhem in the eastern part of the Netherlands. The three-storey, 14.000-square-meters structure ‘is the result of an intensive collaboration between architect Koen van Velsen and the users of the building’ and encompasses a number of facilities such as a swimming pool, a gym, a restaurant and a theatre. (more…)

Faculty Club Tilburg University by Shift architecture urbanism; photo by René de Wit

Inspired by the work of the Dutch modernist architect Jos Bedaux, this Faculty Club is ‘a multipurpose pavilion for the academic staff and their guests’ realised by the Rotterdam-based practice Shift architecture urbanism. The neat, beautifully balanced single-storey building has been completed earlier this year and its stylishly minimalist interiors include an 80-seat restaurant, an airy overlooking-the-forest lounge, two conference rooms, a kitchen and a number of utility rooms. (more…)

‘Industrious|Artefacts, the evolution of crafts’ exhibition at the Zuiderzee Museum; photo by Rufus de Vries

Rianne Makkink and Jurgen Bey, the architects behind the Dutch practice Studio Makkink & Bey have curated the ‘Industrious|Artefacts, the evolution of crafts’ exhibition which opened last Friday (27 May) at the Zuiderzee Museum in Enkhuizen. The show, which will remain on view until 12 February 2012, explores the development of industrial processes and features works by a number of local and international artists and designers as well as projects by the students from the Applied Arts Department of the Amsterdam’s Sandberg Instituut. (more…)

House in a church by Ruud Visser. Architect.; photo by René de Wit

Dutch practice Ruud Visser. Architect. has given this 1930′s wooden church a new lease of life by converting it into a a luxurious single-family house. Located along the river De Rotte in Rotterdam, the church has been transformed by Ruud Visser Architects and Peter Boer who created a ‘house-within’ structure which allowed to preserve some of the chapel’s original features such wood-panneled ceilings and ‘leaded light’ windows while enabling the owners to ‘walk around the new house, while walking inside the church’. (more…)