Bookshelf Crush turned Architect Crush turned City Crush

Today at work I was looking or inspiration for  built in bookshelf for  client.  I was trying to figure out away to create a horizontal line connecting two areas visually without making the short ceilings seems even lower with a heavy handed horizontal  presence.  So I did my normal hap-hazard internet quest, and found the below image on Remodelista. I loved the small row of shelving for horizontal books or photographs by Aidlin Darling Design of San Francisco. I am always a sucker for things which are sub-divided in a Mondrian-esque manner.

My inspiration

It's (possible) Inspiration
Piet Mondrian Composition with Gray and Light Brown
1918; Oil on canvas, 80.2 x 49.9 cm; Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Texas

I love San Francisco and regularly flirt with the notion of moving out there. Finding  firms like this Aidlin Darling doesn't hurt the wanderlust.  They have received attention for their work on  their LEED platinum  project Bar Agricole. They captured the LEED credit granted for sourcing products locally by commissioning local artists and designers to fabricate custom furniture, lighting and cabinetry using reclaimed or recycled materials, each with a unique story and role in the space. It also has an onsite garden that supplements the restaurants produce (local farmers provide the rest). They  beautifully integrated daylighting and natural ventilation with glass skylight sculptures (pictured below). LEED  is, after-all, a giant check list. It's always nice to see someone using that list as a creative challenge rather than a series of constraints. 

Glass Skylight Sculptures
Fused hot-formed borosilicate Glass Tubing
For Bar Agricole by Nicholas Weinstein Studio

Bar Agricole

There are also some great residential projects, showing off the clean lines and organic materials  frequented by Bay Area architects. This vineyard estate is no exception to the trend, but I do love it. 

Vineyard Estate

Below is an image from the project in the Mission District of the city, that housed the bookshelf that lead me here in the first place.  So there we have it, reason number 945 why I would love to live on the west cost.  Photos are from the Bar Agricole website, as well as the Aidlin Darling Design Website. 

Losa Loft