Wednesday Whim - GREAT Festival of Creativity

 all images via Paul Cocksedge (photographer: Mark Cocksedge) via Design Boom

I was first introduced to London designer, Paul Cocksedge's, work when I wrote about this cool design. Recently, he "colorized" Istanbul's waterfront vista during the GREAT Festival of Creativity, which is a festival that celebrates creativity in business (and how that plays a role in global business growth). The festival explores the diverse world of fashion, design, technology, food & drink and education and offers a unique chance for industry people to create dialog with each other. The inaugural festival happened in May and the next festivals will take place in Hong Kong (November, 2014) and Shanghai (March, 2015).

For this art installation, Paul Cocksedge used translucent circles in the national flag colors of Britain and Turkey, which referenced the historical connections, and represented the unity, between the two. The varying colors eventually dissolve and fade as they meet in the middle and create a new tone made from the different colors. The effect of this installation is not only visually stunning but certainly inspires viewers to look at their surroundings differently.

Wednesday Whim - The Living Staircase

 all images via Paul Cocksedge via Dezeen

Most of you are likely familiar with the concept of a living roof but how about a living staircase? That's what London designer, Paul Cocksedge, created for Ampersand, a creative office also based in London. The design takes a traditional concept of a spiral staircase and elevates the function of moving from floor to floor to also serve as a place for people to "hang out" (to read, to draw, to converse with co-workers, etc.). The design team will expand the diameter and remove the traditional center, load-bearing pillar to create a new "hidden space" in the middle to fit three platforms. The "living staircase" will feature various plants and herbs along the balustrade meant to be taken care of by the people in the community and also allow people to use them (e.g. picking mint for a drink during the day).

The design changes the entire concept of form and function and creates a user friendly experience. How fun would it be to interact with people and socialize in this kind of space?