Rarely do I get excited about a young designer or a young architect – there are very few. But for me Arbel, with likes of David Adjaye, is one of the few that I will watch like a hawk.
His designs are simple and thoughtful but terribly romantic - right up my alley. And so now I am practically holding my breath since I found out about his new architectural project (first freestanding one as the previous ones have only been interiors) – a house in Vancouver that is “an unusual structure which he likens to "a piece of folded origami" (Japanese paper-folding)”[source: John Mackie, Vancouver Sun, Friday, May 30, 2008]. A few construction images posted on Arbel’s site are only exacerbating my excitement. Check it out for yourself:
Arbel has gotten a few awards (BC Creative achievement 2008 – follow the link to see him with Gordon Campbell; D&AD Yellow Pencil Award; Blueprint Best Newcomer award ) already, been featured in a whack exhibitions and has even been published in NY Times. Here is a bit of light reading if you would like it:
Here's also a new Bocci(Arbel is creative director) product making the waves - the plateless socket:
