Nestled into a hillside at the end of an old logging road in Wisconsin sits this stacked cabin. The 880-square foot space is arranged vertically to minimize its footprint and take advantage of the hill it’s built on. The trees may look barren on the outside, but the space seems to glow with warmth on the inside.
Source: Arch Daily
See the arc of progression from Gilda Snowden’s early days as an art student to the work she’s producing nearly 40 years later in this retrospective of the Detroit artist’s career at the Oakland University Art Gallery in Michigan. “It seems that the older I get, the more radical I am in my own visual practices,” Snowden said. “To be radical is required for forward progression.”
Source: Oakland University Art Gallery
The days are numbered for the Prentice Women’s Hospital’s punctuated concrete columns. Northwestern University started dismantling the landmark building despite an outcry from many quarters, including the New York Times. The university plans to start construction in early 2015 on a $370 million biomedical research tower that will replace Prentice. Read about the controversy here.
Source: Chicago Tribune
It’s that time of year when some of your favorite (and best) restaurants in the Twin Cities and surrounding suburbs cut the price of their meals in half. Think $10-$20 lunches; $15-$30 dinners. With prices that low, take the week of Oct. 20-25 to treat yourself to a night (or five) on the town. All you need to do is pick where.
Source: Mpls.St.Paul Magazine/Basil’s Restaurant
Curly-haired, spectacle-wearing Dan Fox is one
surprise after another. The chef and owner behind Madison’s most-anticipated
restaurant (Heritage Tavern) is as comfortable in the kitchen whipping up innovative pork dishes as he is on a farm in rural Wisconsin tending
his herd of heritage pigs.
Source: Madison Magazine
Is it a waste to leave that dead deer alongside
the road, or is it wrong to eat it? The author of this recent Modern Farmer
piece discusses why roadkill may be the most ethical meat you can find, and the states where it’s legal to get your meal from the side of the road.
Source: Modern Farmer
Madison’s food scene is getting a little more recognition these days all thanks to Forequarter, a unique restaurant space run by the Underground Food Collective (no executive chef or owner here). It’s their unique collaborative business model paired with top-notch talent (a bartender who dabbles in farming, a server who’s also a home brewer) that’s making the likes of The James Beard Foundation and Bon Appetit take notice.
Source: Madison magazine
Hygge, the Danish word meaning “modern warmth,”
describes the style of Eric and Kellie’s loft in Chicago’s Roscoe Village. They’ve
filled their home (a former pencil factory) with work from local artists and
crafters. Expansive windows and touches of green soften the space. Tour it now.
Source: Apartment Therapy
This 3,000-square-foot home sits nestled on a
swatch of land in Deephaven, Minn., that many deemed impossible to build on (there’s a pond to the east
and wetlands to the west). With this house, architect David Salmela explored
the boundaries of prefabrication and the relationship between the land and the
structure built upon it.
Source: Arch Daily
Even in the food mecca that is the Big Apple, Wisconsin
is making culinary inroads. Just off a busy avenue in Manhattan’s Greenwich Village sits
several foodie destinations owned and operated by Wisconsinites. It’s a corner
of New York, with a New American bistro and Japanese tapas joint (among
others), that celebrates the Midwest spirit.
Source: Madison magazine
Green, affordable, prefab homes in Indiana. Impossible? Don’t tell that to Ursula David. After seeing ads for modular homes in magazines such as Dwell, David thought, “Why don’t we do this here?” So she did. “It’s environmentally conscious meets cool contemporary,” David said.
Source: Indiana Living Green
The owners of this gorgeous poolside space may not be able to enjoy swimming laps much longer this season, but rest assured they’ll have a well-designed space to gaze upon all year long. The Chicago-based firm, Dirk Denison Architects, released new photos of the Midwest pool house they finished in 2012. Pool party anyone?
Source: Dirk Denison Architects
Design Within Reach pulled together a few exhibitions around the country (and even the world) you can visit to add a little more cultural richness to your life. Here are the shows in the Midwest:
Do you believe mid-century modernism was born in Michigan? If you don’t, think again, but this show just might prove you wrong.
Source: Design Within Reach/ Cranbrook Art Museum
With just over a day remaining in their kickstarter campaign, the Underground Food Collective and Underground Meats have already reached their goal of raising $40,000 to create a open-source food safety and sanitary practice plan for anyone interested in dry-cured salami production. Their goal is to create a HACCP plan to help other small salami producers start businesses. See their reasoning, here.
Source: Underground Food Collective
Whittled down from 530 artists, the Madison Museum of Contemporary Art’s “Wisconsin Triennial” brings 35 artists and five collaborative pairs together in a show widely regarded as the state’s most prestigious showcase of contemporary Wisconsin visual art. The exhibition is divided between the museum’s first and second floor, and even extends to the rooftop. Take advantage of the events happening through January, including drop-in gallery tours, artist talks and art adventures for kids.
Source: Madison Museum of Contemporary Art
In this Michigan retreat Salmela Architect creates a geometric repetition of squares and angular arched beams that gives the space a rhythm of its own. The striking black and white facade meld into a wooded entryway leading into the home and its centerpiece: a bright red kitchen.
Source: Arch Daily
Produce often travels across the country for days or longer before it hits grocery store shelves. Lengthy journeys like that don’t make sense to BrightFarms. That’s why they are bringing the farm closer to the grocery store. The group announced plans to build a 100,000-square-foot greenhouse farm in Indianapolis by 2014 to stock 97 stores. BrightFarms is also breaking ground on greenhouse farms in St. Paul, St. Louis and Kansas City.
Source: Indiana Living Green
Did you miss Ralph Rapson and Brooks Calvin on Saturday? If you did, you’re in luck, because Retro Love Affair has a recap of the Docomomo US MN modern home tour that’s almost as a good as being there. Get shots of the details inside the digs, including one reminiscent of the inside/outside planters we’ve all seen in The Brady Bunch. Hello, flashback.
Source: Retro Love Affair
Today’s the last day to catch two interesting events: one focusing on the written word in Detroit, and the other, a two-hour durational dance performance from Zephyr Dance, who will create an immersive environment of movement, sound and image where you can choose your own adventure.
Source: DittoDitto and the Examiner
This weekend Milwaukee plays host to nearly 50 crafters of custom furniture, decor and accessories at the 8th annual Fine Furnishings Show. Meet the exhibitors and designers who hail mostly from the Midwest, including Wisconsin natives Bradley Ehrsam of Bradley Ehrsam Designs of New York (think whimsical, yet industrial) and Eric Neevel of Neevel’s Fine Woodworking (focuses on accentuating the natural beauty of the wood).
Source: M Magazine
Who could say no to a tour of modern homes in the Twin
Cities? Especially when those tours are led by docents? Sounds fancy, right? Start
your day in the east metro, with tours of homes by Ralph Rapson, Lisl and Win
Close, Thomas Ellerbe and Brooks Cavin. In the afternoon bounce over to the
west side of the city to see homes designed by James Stageberg, John Polivka
and Phillip Johnson. To see the full list of properties on the Docomomo Tour
Day (because we know you want to Google street map them), head over to their
website.
Source: Docomomo MN
Workshop, a pop-up storefront set to hit the Fisher Building this October, hopes to bring “Detroit made” to a whole new level. The premise is that the storefront will not only specialize in furniture made in Detroit, but of Detroit. That means salvaged lumber originally sourced from Michigan’s virgin pine forests. If all goes well, Workshop could open a permanent spot after the holidays.
Source: Curbed Detroit
Chicago food makers are at
the top of their urban agriculture game. Two local outfits, FarmedHere and Co-op
Sauce get a shout-out for leading the trend in zeroing in on value-added crops—from
barrel-aged sauces sourced from local farmers, to herbs grown on an aquaponic
and aeroponic farm.
Source: Modern Farmer
What can you
do with paper pulp? Turns out a lot. The uncommon art material is the common
denominator among the work in the Craft Alliance’s latest exhibition, “Raw
Potential.” The show runs through the end of October.
Source: Craft Alliance
Who doesn’t love a deal? Well, we’ve got a three-for-one mini-exhibition blowout for you. Starting Sept. 28, the Art Institute of Chicago will host three shows that explore the work of individuals at the forefront of fashion (Issey Miyake), architecture (Greg Lynn) and product design (Scholten & Baijings).
Source: The Art Institute of Chicago