It's been over a years since I first wrote about the potential demolition of the Prudential Federal Savings and Loan building in Salt Lake City. Since then the issue has mostly been out of the public light, but thankfully in the last few weeks there has been some discussion around the issue. Today the Salt Lake Tribune ran an article discussing the potential loss of the this great piece of Mid Century Modern architecture. It's interesting to see that almost all of the comments are in favor of saving the building. 

If you would like to know more about the building, I'd urge you to read the short article about it on SaltLakeArchitecture.blogspot.com

Want to get involved. It's easy, start by sending Mayor Ralph Becker a message to let him know what you think.

*Top 3 images via saltlakearchitecture.blogspot.com

Photo by Julius Shulman from Art in Architecture - by Louis G. Redstone, FAIA

Artist: Tom Van Sant, "Birds in Flight," 100 birds with wingspread of 4 feet, attached to three bronze-encased stainless-steel rods, each 120 feet high (electrode posited - bronze process developed from the aircraft industry); theme symbolic of seagulls which saved Morman crops by eating locusts, 1964

As much as I've been trying to avoid it, I am finally back from Paris. I can confidently say that everything went off without a hitch, and it met all expectations that I had. So what did I do? Nothing. Absolutely nothing, and it was wonderful. I didn't spend the day in any famous museums, I didn't get my picture painted on the street, I didn't go on any tours of famous sites. I just enjoyed good company, amazing food and drink, and spent all day long exploring an amazing city, and I would gladly do it all again in a heartbeat.

I'm happy to report that both my new bag acquisitions worked wonderfully. The Bexar Aviator tote became the daily carry and was perfect for everything from morning trips to the boulangerie to get some baguette to daytime shopping trips or bringing home a bottle of wine late at night. The german garment bag was an equally amazing and swallowed up 10 days of clothes with room to spare. It was a bit heavy to lug around but I didn't miss the option of having wheels at all as I carried it up and down the steps while riding the metro.

While I was gone you guys did a good job taking over for me.  We had reader submitted stories on chairs, clocks, lights, and beds. All the posts got a lot of love, but the winner was Jaren of Modern Union for his amazing submission of the best looking espresso machine I've ever seen.

I have absolutely no idea what I was looking for when I stumbled across these interior shots, but when I saw them I was awestruck. I especially like the stark white interior mixed in with the warm walnut table and brick accents. Located right next to the London bridge, you can rent this three bedroom apt for £2,250 a week.  Who's in?

Lot's more photo's after the jump.

Photos by Dominic French

Liesl Pfeffer is a photo-media artist based out of Melbourne, Australia.  I love all of her work, but I'm particularly fond of her Souvenir series, which "uses the tropes of travel photography to explore the concept of photographic truth".  Also, I live in Utah so I'm kind of a sucker for mountains.

Check out more of her work here or pick up a print or two from her Etsy shop!

LINK: www.lieslpfeffer.com

I mentioned earlier this week that DuPont™ Corian® sponsored a trip back to Chicago to look at some new things they are doing with DIRTT.  While I was fairly familiar with Corian, I had never heard of DIRTT before. Put basically, DIRTT is a modular wall system that can be used in interior spaces. Because it is modular, it can be reconfigured in the future if needed. The big news was that you can now get it with Corian panels.  I have a bit of a design crush on Corian lately, so for me this union translated to some really nice looking spaces.  Check out my DIRTT photoset on flickr for some eye candy.

I also had a chance to do an architectural river tour and snapped some pictures of the city. You can see those photos HERE. If the trip doesn't sound amazing enough yet, I haven't even touched on NeoCon. I'm still sorting through those photos. Icing on the cake? The crew I was hanging out with was the best, and I'd like to give a shout out to fellow bloggers from Dwell, Core77, DsgnWrld, and Talkitect. I had a fantastic time hanging out with all of you.

I'm SoHo bound today.  Any suggestions of must see shops, leave them in the comments.

Photo by Anita Boldt February 1980. via

Thanks to Emmas Designblogg for these gorgeous photo's by Stockholm realtors Fantastic Frank.  Not only do they represent some truly fantastic properties, they have a knack for staging a house as well. I'll take the home in picture number one please.

Fantastic Frank

More pictures after the jump.

On the surface, Justin Fantl's images have a certain sterile quality yet there's an underlying humor that seems to offset the overall sense of isolation. It's a strange combo that makes for some interesting photography. Check out his portfolio through the link below and let me know what you think!

LINK: www.justinfantl.com

More pics after the jump!

Looking for a photo framing alternative? I stumbled across Fracture recently and it got me thinking. Instead of doing a traditional print that gets framed in glass, Fracture prints directly on the glass. You get full borderless prints ready to mount to your wall. No frame needed. They print up to 18" diagonal and are priced between $8 - $35. So who's going to be the first to try them?

Fracture

Detailed photo's of Fracture prints after the jump.

Remember the House 2 project I was going to be following last year? Yeah, I didn't do too good of a job updating on the progress. Luckily the general contractor and subs did a great job of finishing it up. The owners have been in for a couple months now, and a few weeks ago my friend and amazing photographer Kim Guanzon came over to take a few pictures (above). The exterior cedar rain screen turned out fantastic, and is a great warm contrast to the white stucco. Similarly the interior has a fantastic contrast of stark white walls with lot's of fir woodwork to warm the space up. All the cabinetry, bookcases, window benches etc. were done by Salt Lake City based Modern Union, a new local company that is focusing on modern cabinetry and furniture. Modern Union is filling the gap between the low cost Ikea option and the high priced european cabinetry companies like Bulthaup, Poliform, Boffi etc.

Look for a full house tour coming soon.

Kim Guanzon Photography

Modern Union

Julius Shulman is a sort of legend when it comes to mid century modern photography. The breadth of his work over his 30+ year career is astounding, so I guess I shouldn't be too surprised to find out that he even photographed a building a few short block away from my loft. The Prudential Federal Savings and Loan building was designed 1 of 4 buildings in Utah designed by William L. Pereira. It was photographed by Shulman in 1964 a year and a half after construction was finished.

To learn more about the building, as well as it's imminent demolition, visit the fabulously thorough saltlakearchitecture.blogspot.com.

Lotta Agaton is a Swedish interior stylist and blogger whose portfolio has me running a fever... a fever of love that is. Cheesiness aside, her work really is quite gorgeous and inspiring. I love this series she recently collaborated with photographer Pia Ulin (a fellow Swede and incredible talent) on. It's a fun juxtaposition of neon colors against raw wood, black, and white.

Check out more of Lotta's styling portfolio on Agent Bauer and for an extra dose of inspiration stop by her fabulous blog.

LINK: www.lottaagaton.se

More pics after the jump!

OK, I'm just going to be completely honest. I have no idea what this website says as it's all in Swedish, but my oh my does it have some gorgeous images. I've just been blindly clicking around and it's worked for me so far. Give it a shot.

LINK: bo-laget.se

If there are any Swedish speakers in the house, a little rundown about Bolaget would be greatly appreciated! As far as I can tell, it's some sort of real estate / property listing site (but way better than any I've ever seen before)..?

More pics after the jump!

Matthew's portfolio is chalk full of beautiful interior shots, but what's really capturing my attention is this curious series of still life images he shot for Case da Abitare. I'm hoping noRipple Chairs were harmed in the making of these images! In all seriousness though, Matthew's work is absolutely stellar and worth a deeper look, so be sure to check out his site!

LINK: http://matthewwilliamsphotographer.com

More pics from his still life collection (including some sweet modern diorama action) after the jump!

It's only the first week of January, but that's not stopping me from day dreaming about swimming pools and sunshine. Especially when they look like this modern beauty designed by architectPadraic Cassidy. The ipe wood deck, the custom tiles, it's all so perfect! Take a peek, or should I say a dip, at/into more photos after the jump!

LINK: Master Stroke on Dwell

Photos by David Allee

Happy first-day-back-to-reality! Hopefully you all had a fantastic New Year's. I thought we'd take it a little easy on the first Monday of 2011 with a big heaping spoonful of eye candy. What do ya say? Yay? Fabulous. These visual treats come courtesy of Marjon Hoogervorst, a Dutch photographer with a love of (sexy) interiors and modern design. Take a peek at her images, and I think you'll see how her passion for great design shines through.

LINK: www.vorstin.nl

More pics after the jump!

[via emmas designblogg]

I'm not feeling in the way back when mood today. Maybe it's the horrible cold I have getting me down. In the meantime I present you with "Bodies in Urban Spaces". A wonderful collection of people interacting with their urban environments. Enjoy the photo's while I go chase my cold away with a big bowl of Pho.

Via my new friend in Brasil Clarissa Schneider.

Being the big technology nerd that I am I love to read engadget. While wading through pages of cell phone posts I came across this fantastic link to a Flickr page by Andreas Fuhrimann of the Swiss architectural firm AFGH . Besides being an amazing architect, Andreas has an amazing photographic collection of some of the best industrial design from the 60's and 70's. The goodness doesn't just stop there though. He also has some gorgeous architectural sets including some stunning buildings from Mexico and Brasil.

Oh, what's that you say? You wish he had some landscapes? Done.

Or maybe you prefer some gorgeous watches. Gotcha covered again.

Or how about vintage cars?

Mind = Blown. Thanks Andreas.

Wow. Absolutely gorgeous work from Canadian interior design studio Munge Leung. I love the "House on a Ravine" project the most, which is a 7300 square foot home (designed by Taylor Smyth Architects) set onto a spectacular conservation area in Toronto. It won the 2004 Design Exchange Gold Award and the 2004 Best of Canada Award for Residential Design.

Check out the rest of their portfolio here, including some great commercial spaces. Meanwhile, more pics of "House on a Ravine" below!

Gorgeous work from photographer Dean Kaufman. You may recognize some of his images, as he has photographed frequently for various architecture and interior design magazines. (He even shot all three features and the cover of the Dec/Jan issue of Dwell.) I love his soft, clean style. Check out his portfolio and let me know what you think!

Link: www.deankaufman.com

More pics after the jump!