We often fuse physical & digital design, utilizing emergent technology and catering to markets including architecture, interior design, experience design, advertising, film, television and interactive media. NAU’s principals are active innovators, pursuing a future design initiative, yielding such concepts as the Stratocruiser, and speaking at universities and conferences worldwide.

NAU’s partners include former Studio Daniel Libeskind architects Michael Brown and Jean-Lucien Gay, former Zaha Hadid architect Pia Habekost, Hollywood production designer, Tino Schaedler and myself, Oliver Zeller.

I invite you to subscribe to the NAU newsletter and visit our new website at nau.coop. We have over twenty projects on display and also offer a sneak peek at our directorial & design work on several upcoming spec commercials and short films.

Once perceived as the scorn of urban areas, graffiti at its best has resulted in murals that transform dull architecture and even derelict neighborhoods and decrepit walls into vibrant & appealing spaces.

Graffiti is a tradition that reaches into the annals of history. Ancient Rome was rife with it, offering social commentary, satire and a reflection of the times. One graffito near Palatine Hill in Rome, the Alexamenos graffito, is believed to be the earliest known pictorial representation of the crucifixion of Jesus. Of such significance to Rome’s history, its graffiti was brilliantly brought to life by A52 in the title sequence for HBO’s series Rome.

Where as modern graffiti can truly serve aesthetic needs, its ancient counterpart appeared to lack the same lofty aesthetics. Perhaps it wasn’t as necessary in prominent cities abundant with ornate architecture and cobbled streets. Our modern urban areas maybe cleaner & more practical, but these concrete and asphalt jungles too frequently suffer from banality.

Granted graffiti has long been accused of producing “an atmosphere of social decay and neglect”, its artists subjected as criminals. A preponderance on uninspired writing in modern graffiti, amateurish chaotic scrawls, gang communications and misguided placement, lends credence to this argument. Subjective material in today’s uptight politically correct climate adds to the issue. It is understandable why local authorities would paint over or clean away such work.

However when the work is of such supreme excellence, when it clearly revitalizes an area, and its destruction produces a deterioration of the space, it is the local authorities that have committed a crime. Produced an urban tragedy.

Throughout England, the destruction of art by famed artist, Bansky, captures this disturbing trend. One that has shown a level of sheer ineptness and ignorance by local authorities. The common rebuttal that neither the cleaners, councils or organizations are professional art critics only serves to highlight their idiocy.

Several years ago London Underground workers painted over a renowned “Pulp Fiction mural visible near Old Street Tube station”, of Jackson & Travolta holding bannanas instead of guns. A mural that made a highly visible, yet ugly section of an ugly building, interesting. Its replacement, an unsightly black swath.

Ironically, several other less desirable graffiti appeared in its place, continually painted over, forming a dialog via architecture. From a request to bring back Bansky to an anti-terrorism scrawl and a philosophical comment ” with a poor sense of scale”, that declared “Nothing Lasts Forever”.

In another tragic incident, workmen hired by the infamously incompetent Hackney Council, began painting over a Bansky mural on private property in Stoke Newington, East London, despite pleas to cease from the property manager. Their initial response, “The council’s position is not to make a judgement call on whether graffiti is art.” It was later added, “Due to a problem at the land registry, unfortunately our letters stating our intention to clean this building didn’t reach the owner.”

The mural, commissioned by the band Blur for their 2003 single Crazy Beat, apparently “attracted tourists from all over the world and become a local landmark”. Its destruction possibly resulting in lost tourism revenue for the borough and leaving an uninviting black blight in its wake.

As the demolition of Penn Station spurred a historical preservation movement, it seems graffiti now needs its own preservation movement.

On July 7th, The SciFi channel rebranded itself to Syfy. The new name was perhaps the most widely derided since Nintendo’s market leading Wii. Nonetheless, it appears to be paying dividends with increased viewership. Syfy’s previous identity remained intact with expanded brand potential, in an era where the traditional television model continues to erode.

Rather than being branded as a destiantion for only sci-fi, they really wanted “to own the imagination space.” This led Syfy to commision an ident short film, House of Imagination, as part of their Imagine Greater campaign.

BAFTA & Cannes Lion award winning 4Creative spearheaded the endeavour, directed by Brett Foraker. Accompanying him, the cinematographer of Watchmen, Lost and 300, Larry Fong; and production designer Tino Schaedler, whose credits include Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, and The Golden Compass. Visual effects were provided by the Moving Picture Company.

Following is a behind the scenes glimpse of the design, courtesy Tino Schaedler. Each set focuses on a space, featuring concept art & digital set designs accompanied by construction photos and the finished shot.

Production Designer Tino Schaedler
Construction Isolated Ground
Art Director Gaston Langer
Set Decorator Klaus Hasmann
Propmaster Sebastian Ize
Graphics Kevin Kabala
Art Dept. Coordinator Jennifer Fullwood
Set Designers Owen Foley and Gregory Van Horn
3D Modeler Trevor Tuttle
Illustrators Matthias Begguer, Fabian Lacey, Thomas Tenery and David Goodwin

Over the decades individuals have become more outward in their expression, most recently exemplified by the rise of social networks. Through their Design Probes initiative, electronics giant Philips has invested considerable resources researching technologies that afford users new modes of expression from dynamic tattoos to dresses, receptive and reflective of the wearer’s mood.

What if this notion is extended to an architectural context? Not just a visual branding exercise or minor interactive quality between pedestrian and facade as produced today, but something more substantial.

Select architecture is certainly capable of eliciting emotion, in some instances it even has the potential to embody our collective emotions and mood. In New York, the external lighting of buildings had become increasingly popular by the early twentieth century, culminating in the Empire State Building’s colored floodlit exterior that mark special occassions. Following 9/11, from September 16th till November 31st, the lights were red, white and blue, a symbolic representation of the country’s unity and hope.

Asian megacities have since taken such exterior lighting to the extreme as seen in Hong Kong’s Peak Tower. Here “a 55-minute sequence and a five minute ‘Showtime’ script - illuminate the pixelated ceiling, crystal ceiling and underside of the boat and are synchronized so ‘the whole building sings and dances together’.” Perched on The Peak overlooking Hong Kong, the building almost becomes an emotive character itself.

The EDD (Embedded Data-texture Display) of Hague’s Hotel Mercure offers a true hint at the possibility of emotive architecture. Its concept involved “An interactive display incorporating a camera interface to track people’s activity on Spui Plaza. The idea is to encourage people on the street to move playfully and consciously communicate with the architecture to generate patterns. Movements captured would be instantly translated into colour traces on the panels.”

Considering this evolution, a building that senses its occupants and externally manifests their emotions and pursuits in abstract light becomes a fascinating possibility. Such architecture could be further served by a twisting structure with concave facades or a building whose surface undulates as in Gehry’s first skyscraper, the Beekman Tower in NYC. Thus allowing its own occupants to witness the visual feedback, creating a potential for dialog through architecture.

Editor’s Note: The art of Bioshock is among the finest in gaming history. That fans voted three other items over an art book for the Collector’s Edition was a travesty. Now rectified thanks to Bioshock Community Manager Elizabeth Tobey. Art reproduction is of a high quality, accompanied by numerous snippets of development insight from various team members. A thick perfect bound volume, it lacks the high end hardcover quality of the genre’s upper echelon art books. However this doesn’t detract, thanks to its styling, it almost come across like a relic from Rapture itself. If the $25 price tag is undesirable, the original and shorter PDF art book is available for download.

Paperback | 174 pages | Take 2 | May 2009

As the title states, there are 400 pieces of artwork, reflecting the ever-expanding interests of Mr. and Mrs. Davies, collected over forty years, ranging from 19th-century Hudson River School landscape, marine, genre, and still life to the work expatriate artists in Europe and the Middle East, to the transitional period of Tonalism into Impressionism, Realism, art of the American West, illustration and contemporary artists of today. For the most part, the work is academic or representational. Reflecting the personal tastes of a private collection obtained without the aid of advisers, some schools or styles are more heavily represented than others. Reflecting financial realities of the private collector, some examples by given artists are major, occasionally ironic, while others are smaller, more personal pieces.

Mr. Davies clearly states he is not attempting to add tomes of new or controversial perspectives to the grand study of art; scholars abound who are doing this on a regular basis. Nevertheless, his concise narratives on 236 artists reveal many nuggets of information about the artists, the eras in which they worked, and the individual paintings as well.

Collecting Stories appeals to art collectors as well as anyone with an interest, fascination, and desire to collect any objects. Have fun with Collecting Stories - it is a life-fulfilling journey.”

Editor’s Note: An unrivaled work on American paintings, the stunning art reproductions on glossy paper stock, are equaled by the unique & fascinating commentary. The words of a collector providing an unexpected insight from traditional writings on art, with a suitable restraint that results in a perfect balance between imagery and text. Autographed copies available directly from the publisher.

Hardcover | 364 pages | Laynfaroh | January 2008

Shapes | Part of a trilogy of books exploring the science of patterns in nature, Shapes looks at how shapes form. From soap bubbles to honeycombs, delicate shell patterns, and even the developing body parts of a complex animal like ourselves, the author uncovers patterns in growth and form in all corners of the natural world, explains how these patterns are self-made, and describes why similar shapes and structures may be found in very different settings, orchestrated by nothing more than simple physical forces. This book will make you look at the world with fresh eyes, seeing order and form in places you’d least expect.

Flow | The second volume in this trilogy of books on patterns in nature, Flow explores the elusive rules that govern the science of chaotic behavior. From the swirl of a wisp of smoke to the huge persistent storm system that is the Great Spot on Jupiter, Ball explains the mechanisms at play whenever things flow, and how these give rise to many of the patterns we recognize in Nature–from ripples on a beach to swirling galaxies. The book describes fascinating phenomena such as turbulence, which still defies complete scientific understanding; the principles of symmetry-breaking; and how chaotic behavior emerges in systems. It also looks at how patterns of flow have captivated philosophers and artists for centuries, from Leonardo da Vinci to the movement of Art Nouveau.

Branches | Many patterns in nature show a branching form - trees, river deltas, blood vessels, lightning, the cracks that form in the glazing of pots. These networks share a peculiar geometry, finding a compromise between disorder and determinism, though some, like the hexagonal snowflake or the stones of the Devil’s Causeway fall into a rigidly ordered structure. Branching networks are found at every level in biology - from the single cell to the ecosystem. Human-made networks too can come to share the same features, and if they don’t, then it might be profitable to make them do so: nature’s patterns tend to arise from economical solutions.

Editor’s Note: Nature has long been an inspiration in the arts from architecture to the use of procedural textures in visual effects. These series of books are an excellent expansion of Philip Ball’s acclaimed previous work, The Self-Made Tapestry: Pattern Formation in Nature. Shapes is now shipping.

Hardcover | 272 - 320 pages | Oxford University Press | May 2009

In a brand-new chapter in the Terminator chronicles, Judgment Day has come to pass and Skynet has destroyed much of the world?s population. In this post-apocalyptic world, the resistance, including John Connor, continues its brutal fight for survival.

This beautifully designed companion volume features hundreds of color illustrations, storyboards and intricately designed production art, showcasing the amazing talent that went into the making of this remarkable movie.”

Hardcover | 256 pages | Titan Books | April 2009

Last year while exploring and working in Marrakech I came across numerous books on or related to the topic. Following are some noteworthy selections.

If you’re ever in Marrakech, be sure to visit the oldest book store in Marrakech, open since 1948, it can be found within the medina’s souks. Publisher ACR also has a well stocked shop buried in Gueliz, the city’s French section.

Editor’s Note: Arabesques are elaborate repeating geometric forms that commonly adorn Islamic architecture. Replete with numerous photos, illustrations and even a few visualizations by french VFX firm BUF, this slipcased tome clarifies their composition and reveals the structure behind the muqarnas, stalactite elements used in archways and domes. This is the finest book on the topic and one of the few titles available in English from French publisher ACR.

Slipcase Hardcover | 440 pages | ACR Edition | April 1999

The text and illustrations cover twenty-one countries, all of which were touched by the wave of Islamisation in the course of their history.

Originating in the holy city of Medina, the current proceeded in three separate directions: North Africa and Spain, Central Asia and Central Europe. This system of geographical analysis permits a comparative study of the regional specificities of the monuments and edifices common to each zone, based on their respective architectural plans, interior and exterior volumes and decorative elements.
The first two chapters of the study contain an explanation of the religious and architectural considerations necessary for formulating a general overview of the subject, while the third chapter is devoted to specific and representative examples of Islamic architecture throughout the world.”

Editor’s Note: For Westerners, the sacred nature of Mosques allow only Muslim followers to enter, so to many, the fine architecture of Islam is not fully appreciated. This large book, featuring 1500 photos, lifts the veil. Only available in French.

Slipcase Hardcover | 480 pages | ACR Edition | March 1997

Editor’s Note: Perhaps the greatest piece of architecture in Marrakech. The Ben Youssef Medersa, now open to the public, was once the largest muslim school in all of Africa. The detail and alignment of architectural elements is a sight to behold, beautifully captured through atmospheric photographs. A complete overview with plans and detail illustrations. Unfortunately numerous copies of this French language publication are plagued by residual glue, resulting in stuck and ultimately damaged pages. Check copy prior to purchasing.

Slipcase Hardcover | 192 pages | Edisud | 1999

The Orientalists pursues perhaps the richest era of this long tradition of fascination for the Near and Middle East?the mid to late 19th century, when painters from America and from every country in Europe traveled in and painted the vast cities and peoples of North Africa, the Holy Land, Persia and India. Many of these regions had only recently become accessible to the West. The first in, the first to see ? the painters, known as “Orientalists” created a rich body of work of a world that was rapidly changing, during the last precious years before modernization.

The Holy Land, North Africa, Persia, India - these are places whose history is filled with both beauty and pain. The artists painted many sides that captured this duality?the dignity of faces, and the powerful color and beauty of architecture, calligraphy and clothing, but also the brutality of poverty and the tragic outcomes of violence.

The cinematic appeal of the images is undeniable. Hugely popular in their time, the Orientalists had an enormous influence on early film makers like D.W. Griffith and their recreations of Babylon and Biblical times. A perusal of the images in this book shows their deep influence on many aspects of contemporary visual arts, a kind of prototype of many 20th-century favorites, from the “Star Wars” films, “Lawrence of Arabia”, “Gladiator” and the many films set in the desert milieu, to the “Dune Chronicles,” Frank Frazetta and “The Lord of the Rings” illustration tradition.

Featuring over 300 images, culled from 45 different institutions in seven different countries, many of these pictures have rarely been seen publicly since their creation a century and more ago. Having both traveled and lived in the region, author Kristian Davies approaches this often misunderstood genre of art from a fresh perspective. The book is designed to be a primer, a fresh new approach and redefinition of the genre. Richly illustrated with full color pictures, many with second details, it is an art history book that puts the artwork first. Davies uses a selection of the finest pictures in the genre to illuminate the life and customs of this extraordinary part of our world. The text is intended for the general reader, exploring diverse subjects like deserts and pilgrimages, villages and bazaars, faith and spirituality, and the West?s enduring fascination with the harem and hookah.”

Editor’s Note: Atop the pantheon of books on Orientalist Painters. A highly prized volume, the Orientalists went out of print earlier this year and the publisher has confirmed that it will not be reprinted. If you can get your hands on a copy, don’t hesitate.

Hardcover | 304 pages | Laynfaroh | August 2006

Editor’s Note: Everything from Jaipur to the banks of the Godavari. Among the finest aerial photography books ever published.

Hardcover | 192 pages | Anova | November 2007

The fine touches of heaven that lie behind the colorful tiled fa�ades of palace pavilions and mosques still shine in this richly illustrated and scholarly work. Enter gardens with intricate fountains and majestic ponds fed by water that is sourced from underground aqueducts dating to the 6th century. From ancient mirrored shrines of Shiraz and geometric gardens of Kashan to the ornate domes of Ispahan, here is a glorious photographic timeline drawn in water, brick, and ceramic ornamentation along the 3,000 years of the region’s architecture.”

Editor’s Note: Perhaps the finest book on landscape architecture I came across during my work in Marrakech. Currently on sale for $27.95 (57% off) at Strands in New York.

Hardcover | 299 pages | Princeton Architectural Press | April 2002

Editor’s Note: Steps to Water captures the ancient stepwells of India, as seen in films from The Fall to Baraka. “Think of Egypt’s great pyramids, inverted and elegantly lodged in the earth to serve a subcontinent’s thirst for water. That’s the role of India’s stepwells and stepped ponds, which, from the 5th through 19th centuries, served to catch water from the monsoons and save it for drinking, washing and bathing. These stone buildings, some as deep as nine stories with elaborate carved walls, columns and towers” evoke the drawings of M.C. Escher.

Hardcover | 120 pages | Princeton Architectural Press | April 2002

Features such noteworthy projects as the Casa da Música in Portugal by OMA, the Walt Disney Concert Hall in the United States by Frank Gehry, Federation Square in Australia by Bates Smart, and the National Stadium in China by Herzog & de Meuron.

Includes a descriptive text for each project, accompanied by an extensive selection of exterior and interior photographs, plans and architectural drawings.”

Editor’s Note: This inexpensive hardcover volume will hit shelves along with 21st Century Houses. Both appear derived from the hefty Phaidon Atlas of 21st Century World Architecture.

Hardcover | 160 pages | Phaidon | May 2009

Editor’s Note: This highly recommended book features inventive boutiques from Viktor & Rolf’s Milan store to the Hong Kong based Armani Cafe. Released in 2006, the book is currently on sale, reduced from $39.95 to $12.95 at Strand in New York.

Paperback | 144 pages | Prestel | June 2006

Delisle’s deft and recognizable renderings take note of almsgiving rituals, daylong power outages, and rampant heroin use in outlying regions, in this place where catastrophic mismanagement and iron-handed rule come up against profound resilience of spirit, expatriate life ambles along, and nongovernmental organizations struggle with the risk of co-option by the military junta. Burma Chronicles is drawn with a minimal line, and interspersed with wordless vignettes and moments of Delisle’s distinctive slapstick humor.”

Editor’s Note: Another terrific graphic novel from Guy Delisle and his longest travelogue yet, most likely due to a year long furlough in the region. Some interesting observations of architecture and utilization of space in Burma.

A sneak peek is available online via New York Magazine.

Hardcover | 208 pages | Drawn & Quarterly | October 2008

Editor’s Note: Visit www.gramaziokohler.com for an overview of the fascinating projects covered in the book. Storefront for Art & Architecture in New York may still have signed copies in stock.

Hardcover Cloth | 112 pages | Lars Müller Publishers | October 2008

This book vividly brings to life a place, time and culture that few people outside Iran are able to witness. The book includes spectacular images of ancient citadels, desert ruins and rice fields spreading like a vast patchwork in a river delta, along with many unexpected sights, such as the bird’s eye view of a crowded ski resort in the Alborz mountains, within easy reach of Tehran. Persia’s densely packed cities are elegantly captured by Gerster and look so very different from Western European or North American cities of the same period ? their complex, interlocking flat-roofed buildings are both timeless and timely, with architecture that has stood unchanged for thousands of years.”

Editor’s Note: An important release in the field of aerial photography, Paradise Lost joins the upper echelon of comparable publications that include Over India and Earthsong.

Hardcover | 184 pages | Phaidon | February 2009

This is Wolf?s first body of work to address an American city. Whereas prior series have juxtaposed humanizing details within the surrounding geometry of the urban landscape, in The Transparent City, his details are fragments of life?digitally distorted and hyper-enlarged?snatched surreptitiously via telephoto lenses: Edward Hopper meets Blade Runner. The material resonates with all the formalism of the constructed, architectonic work for which Wolf is well-known, but also emphasizes the conceptual underpinnings of his ongoing engagement with the idea of how modern life unfolds within the framework of the ever-growing contemporary city.”

Editor’s Note: Following Hong Kong: Front Door/Back Door, Michael Wolf maintains his sight on dense architecture, shifting his focus from material remnants to individuals with pausing effect. The jacket copywriter’s declaration, “Edward Hopper meets Blade Runner”, isn’t mere hyperbole and Michael Wolf provides a rare photographic treatment of an American city usually reserved for Asian megacities.

Hardcover | 112 pages | Aperture | November 2008