Grab the spring issue of Florida Design Magazine on shelves now and be blown away with some of the best in architecture and interior design that Florida has to offer. Among the cream of the crop you will find an amazing private penthouse in Miami, specially designed by our friend Alene Workman. This residence was specially engineered to withstand hurricanes, while also providing an entertaining showplace high above the sands and lapis lazuli waters of Miami Beach.
Alene Workman created the vast social space in a 360-degree arc, surrounded by floor to ceiling windows. At the center of this, friends gather around an oversized JOHNHOUSHMAND dining table, No. 0216, to take in the breath-taking vistas of the south Atlantic.
No. 0216 was engineered to perfection to accommodate some very special requirements of this castle in the sky. The client wanted the option of expanding the dining table for especially large dinner parties. The starting length measures 10 feet but can expand to a stunning 22 feet. We engineered a custom system that silently slides the extra table leaves into place. And remarkably, there are no wheels or bearings in the engineering… Having made it with rollers first, these were ditched in place of UHMB sliding strips, as the rollers were too noisy. Additionally, the leaves were hollowed out and aircraft grade aluminum honeycomb was placed inside to make them light enough to lift and place with ease.
Overall a masterpiece of design and engineering, to perfectly match a masterpiece of special design!
Check out the video below to see No. 0216 in action!
Who cooler than Cortney and Robert Novogratz to bring the vibrancy of Brazil to life through their newest product launch at CB2! Last week’s opening of the “Brasil Collection” features the colors, energy and spirit inspired by their home in the rainforest.
But what about the sounds of Brazil? The Novogratz commissioned SOUNDWALL, the John Houshmand and Ed Potokar partnership, that brings music into the 4th dimension. A dramatic 10- foot ficus tree was installed in the storefront window. Nestled in the serpentine curves and vine ladened crevices of the tree are protruding branches that are individually programed joysticks. When manipulated they chime out with the music of marimba and bomba drums, flutes, along with clarinet and oboe-like reeds! The perimeter is constructed as if one was standing on a deck suspended in the canopy. Each post is topped with river-smoothed stones that also facilitate the melodic instruments of this musical culture.
Come stop in the CB2 SoHo store and be teleported to the lush Brazilian rainforest as you peruse the vibrant textures and patterns of the Novogratz’s new collection.
Now if only you had a caipirnha in hand!
CB2 SoHo
451 Broadway between Canal and Grand
New York, New York 10013
We were thrilled to partner with the renowned firm Diller Scofidio + Renfro to create custom pieces for this groundbreaking restaurant. Created from a single, high character 13’ black walnut slab, No. 0239 is a banquet table to seat symphony and theatergoers while they indulge their taste buds. On warm spring and summer nights when the outdoor dining space is open, No. 0173.12, No. 0131.7 and No. 0131.10 will be a big hit, as couples sip on their pre and post-show cocktails.
After a mega-dose of culture, open your palettes to flavors that reflect the American cultural landscape, while also experiencing the true sophistication of American design and craftsmanship.
Come, take a seat at our table and see what inspiration will form!
A new client came to us with a corporate challenge. She had fallen in love with the No. 0186 dining table (shown above), but needed a fully functional conference table for 11 VIP airport lounges across the country.
Always striving to make our clients’ vision a reality, we brought a business savvy piece to life with the No. 0030.14.
It is the perfect culmination of style and substance. We installed data power boxes at points of critical usage to serve travelers’ technology needs. Frequent fliers and jet setters charge their electronics while simultaneously connecting them with nature. It is a fine and fair balance we hope allows them to refresh on a level beyond the plug in.
Moreover, we found a clever way to hide dangling cables by integrating a blackened steel chase under the slab and along the coordinating legs. These hidden details keep the table streamlined and refined.
Some of our greatest design inspirations arrive when we are stuck in a pickle.
One of our lovely clients adored their cast aluminum dining table No. 0103.3 so much that they wanted a coffee table that coordinated and complimented it!
They loved the combination of wood and glass from No. 0187 and the intersecting slabs through glass of No. 0094. Yet despite their love of wood for the organic beauty of grains and wormholes, they wanted their summer home in the tropics of the Philippine archipelago to have a cool and crisp aesthetic. Along with straying away from the warmth of wood the clients wanted a round table instead of a traditional square.
Always up for a design challenge, we came up with the revolutionary No. 0265! The clean lines of glass juxtaposed with the elegant sheen of the intersecting mulberry cast aluminum slabs create an effect that is not only striking but also refreshing with the ingenuity of the seemingly impossible combining of glass and aluminum. Together, these materials beget the illusion of majestic glaciers amongst the frozen splendor of the Artic. Now our clients can escape the balmy climate by moving indoors and refreshing with this cool new addition!
At JOHNHOUSHMAND we love to sit back and chill… after the challenge has been met.
SONIC ARCHITECTURE is the next big thing in the design and music worlds! Last night’s opening of SOUNDWALL at JOHNHOUSHMAND PROJECTS was a testament of that. We had the honor of hosting 400 guests from all over the creative spectrum. JOHNHOUSHMAND PROJECTS was packed to the brim with cultural tastemakers from the realms of architecture, music, interior design and art came together to celebrate Ed Potokar‘s musical sculpture exhibition.
Last night’s opening was indeed a feast for the senses! Guests were able to touch, play and listen to the master crafted sculptural instruments and audio architecture. Festivities came to soaring heights when Ed Potokar started live musical performances with his crew of renown musicians and friends, which included Gerry Leonard, Scott Williams, Shawn Pelton, Rick DePofi, Chris Butler and Sterling Campbell .
For those of you who could not attend the opening here are some videos of the jam session of last night’s festivities!
JOHNHOUSHMAND and JEN KAO recently teamed up to create this amazing reception desk No. 0261
Collaboration has always been a fundamental process at JOHNHOUSHMAND.We love putting our heads together with other innovative designers and creatives to produce amazing, unique, and personal works. As they say “two heads are better than one!”
Some of our favorite people we love to work with are those that belong to the Fashion world! In the past we have teamed up to create one of a kind pieces for clients such as David Yurman, Barney’s New York and Saks Fifth Avenue. This past year we had the happy privilege of collaborating with the exceptionally talented Jen Kao ! Ellemagazine has described her designs as “art-inspired, intellectually approached, and meticulously executed,” and we could not agree more!
For her new fashion showroom, pictured above, we created a one of a kind reception desk that incorporates spalted maple, blackened steel and acrylic. As rose-gold is the signature element for her brand, Jen asked JOHNHOUSHMAND to integrate this metallic detail into her desk; resulting in making this piece extra personalized and one of a kind. Watch the video to hear John and Jen speak about the creative process for this remarkable reception desk!
Not long after the introduction of our tattooed woods and acrylic we received our first custom commission. Now installed at the W Hotel -Sentosa Cove, Singapore is our table No. 0241.
The architects at Rockwell Group sent us their floral graphics, which we scaled up, tattooed and filled with a custom color. The decorative, laser cut legs compliment the organic floral curves of the tattoos.
Fire up your imagination and let’s create furniture that express your vision: fine lines or bold, filled or not, colored or natural, throw down your graphics and we’ll ink you up. How do you tattoo?
The JOHNHOUSHMAND family strives to innovate and create when bringing new concepts to the market. Sometimes our research brings us back to our own design archives for inspiration. Our Table No. 0098 began as a bronze cubed side table that had an intersecting slab of wood. It was such a hit that our clients began clamoring for these in different finishes and materials!
Always up for a challenge, the incredible cube has a new feature. In keeping with the clean, minimalist, relationship that occurs at the intersection of the glass and wood, the “slab” now has a hidden drawer. Push the front of the “slab” and silently out glides the drawer. Hidden treasures, hidden pleasures … what will you keep in your drawer?
You may have been wondering what the guys at the shop have been developing with this new system of armatures. Here is the newest prototype! It may look complicated. And that’s because it is.
These rollercoaster-esque columns, or as we like to call them “stems”, are a part of our newest architectural project. The possibilities really are endless when using these ultra-flexible and elegant winding forms.
One can’t help but be reminded of one of John’s sculptures from 2008. Ladder, seen below, seems to be at the root of our newest project! This sculptural quality can really seen as a thread through all of our pieces, be it architectural or industrial. Come see it for yourself at the Soho showroom!
