Friday Finds 10.9.09

Jordan: Rare Clouds and the Physics Behind Them

Wow. Thanks to Wired for posting these beautiful, fascinating, and in some instances a teensy bit terrifying cloud images, along with the explanation of why these sky pillows form the way they do. My favorites are the mammatus and the Kelvin-Helmholz waves, while the deceptively cheery-sounding Morning Glories look very holy-cripes-the-world-is-about-to-be-swallowed-up-whole. They've also got a piece up from the magazine about the similarly foreboding undulatus asperatus ("turbulent undulation"), a potential new addition to the International Cloud Atlas.

Sarah: Bilbao Jardin by Diana Balmori

As if Bilbao weren't already rich in amazing architecture by world-class names, the new Bilbao Jardin design by Diana Balmori (of Balmori Associates) has taken it to the next level. I'm completely mesmerized by Iwan Baan's photos of the garden. Seasonally rotating native and exotic plants are contained within a curved metal frame that runs up the steps to Calatrava's pedestrian bridge, turning a throughway into a place in and of itself.

Aaron: Madrid's 2010 Olympics submission

Though I'm quite happy to see the 2016 Olympics head to Rio (South America has waiting long enough, now if only they'd get a pope) Madrid's submission at least looks amazing. This dossier submitted to the International Olympic Committee was designed by Tres Tipos Graficos and Tau and is an incredibly beautiful document that would certainly have gotten my vote. And considering how the Barcelona games helped revive that city, Madrid may very well have stood to join her big hermanas Paris and London as one of the premier cities in Europe.

Miyoko: Merus Winery by UXUS Design

It's no surprise that I love modern design, but what I love most is when modern elements are mixed with another aesthetic or pop up in unexpected places. This is beautifully displayed in the new Merus Winery interiors by UXUS Design, which I spotted this week on design blog Yatzer. What caught my eye the most are the pendant lights: Tom Dixon's Beat Lights surrounded by cubbyholes filled with wine bottles in the winery's tasting room, and Foscarini's Allegro lamps hanging above a long table surrounded by wine barrels in the events space. It's a stunning mix.

Image by Dim Balsem.

Michele: Fred Flare's Elephant Cutting Board

After a long hiatus, I checked out the fredflare site to see what's new. I fell in love with this cheap and adorable elephant cutting board from Japan. I'm thinking of getting a bunch to give as housewarming presents. And who wouldn't want a Mini Panda Skillet, also from Japan, to go with?