A House Of (and to) Worship: The Chapel of La Estancia

Personally, I'm more of a believer in the culture of religion rather than the dogma, but, if you do want to get married in an actual house of worship, this is one of the more modern, private and architecturally unusual settings.

The small Chapel of La Estancia by Bunker Arquitectura.

Since Bunker Arquitctura's site is under construction and I couldn't get more info on this chapel, the article below is courtesy of Wallpaper magazine and the accompanying photos were shot by Meg Inniss and one of the architect's brothers and graphic designer, Sebastian Suárez.






About it
The owners of the colonial-era gardens in Cuernavaca, just south of Mexico City, had built up a business offering wedding packages to young couples, and originally wanted an ersatz colonial-style chapel structure in which to host the ceremonies.

Happily, Bunker persuaded them otherwise, and set to work devising a modern, functional yet undeniably romantic setting for the events. Initial plans for a glass-walled building were opposed by the client, who claimed - quite reasonably - that it would heat up throughout the day and make ceremonies sweaty and unbearable. But Bunker stuck to their guns, explaining that their solution involved a latticework of opaque glass beams, arranged vertically and set apart from one another to create a 'veil' running around the entire structure that allows air to move freely. Above this sits a solid roof, its shape devised by the shearing, pinching and shifting of the original box-shaped volume, forming a simple yet elegant shallow pitch.

The end wall contains a cross set into the glass fins, while the floor is a humble white concrete slab (toned down from the original marble due to budget considerations). The structure replaces the canvas tent that used to be used for the ceremonies, yet retains an alluring air of impermanence and lightness.

Architects Esteban Suarez and Jorge Arteaga and graphic designer Sebastian Suarez, Esteban's brother, started Bunker Arquitectura in 2004 after finishing their studies in Mexico City. Named for their studio - a former bunker - they're currently working on a new residence in Mexico City and the urban planning for the 2011 Pan American Games in Guadalajara.

No More Billy Dee & Pool Halls: Cole & Weber Hips Up Colt 45

Above: illustration by Jim Mahfood.

Pabst Brewing Co., with a campaign from Seattle boutique Cole & Weber is rebranding the old malt liquor with a hip, urban style campaign. Outdoor, digital and print ads espouse what it calls "The Tales of Colt 45," with graphic-novel-type strips that show young drinkers enjoying alcohol-fueled adventures. And in a bold and brilliant (but controversial move), some of the creative appears to be drawn on brown paper bags, featuring the artwork of Jim Mahfood. You can see the artists' myspace page here.



Above: The bags feature artwork of graphic novelist Jim Mahfood.


Click here to see a 3-minute video about it.


The tag line "Works Every Time" is still a part of the campaign, but this time around you won't see Billy Dee Williams purring it as in the still pictured above.

Above: art by jim mahfood.

Check out the re-branded new site here.

Some bonuses for you:
• Don't ask, just click, look and listen

•Fun facts and triva at a Colt 45 "experience" website

•A classic 1992 Billy Dee Williams Colt 45 commercial:

•A vintage Colt 45 commercial from 1978:

Shikisai: Alternative Interactive T-shirts

When is a T-shirt more than just a T-shirt?

When husband and wife designers, Noto Hirotsugu and Noto Miyo, add ribbons, chains, plastic, tags, buttons and more to screen printed line art to turn the clothes on your back into interactive art.


Above: talented husband and wife team, Noto-fusai ( * "Noto" is their last name. "Fu" means husband. "Sai" means wife. All together, Noto-Fusai stands for "Mr. and Mrs. Noto".)

And they call it "Shikisai"

What is shikisai?
In their words:

Incorporating the interactivity,the mundanity, and the sense of fun, SHIKISAI is trying to explore the alternative possibilities of t-shirt design, through the use of black print on white surface.

The Products

The Reversi Shirt ( In Japan, Reversi is a very popular family game for children first to learn the hierarchical relationship.):




The Blinds Shirt:




The Shoelace Shirt:




The Faucet Shirt:



The Bathtub Plug Shirt:



The Tricycle Shirt:



The Shoulderbag Shirt:




The Umbrella Shirt:



The T-shirt Shirt:



The Book Shirt:



Power line Shirt:



and they also makes shirts for children and even dogs, too!


for Kids:



And, at Design Tide in Tokyo 2006, they newly introduced a series of "shikisai dog T-shirts", which is a collaborated work with the San Francisco-based modern pet furniture company Everyday Studio.

For Dogs:




Purchase the shikisai doggy shirts here.

The Designers:

Noto-Fusai: husband (Noto Hirotsugu)

after his sudden resignation from teaching history at high school, he learned design from the designers like Susan Kralovec (everyday studio), Aaron Lown (built new york), Ted Noten and Gijs Bakker(Droog Design). Now in japan, on his native land, he is looking firmly at what he want/can/should do. shikisai is his first project.

Noto-Fusai: wife (Noto Miyo)

graduated the same design school as her husband, KIDI parsons, she chose the career school to learn technical aspect of fashion, like pattern and sewing. at the same time she started her career as an assistant of the costume designer Anan Asuka, under whom she takes parts of accessory design, hair and makeup arrangement for models. the original pictures of shikisai t-shirts are all hand-drawn by her.

Where can you buy these fabulously creative shirts?
Right here.