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Bjarke Ingels, the man behind Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG), draws on poetic inspiration for his architectural designs, transforming his ideas into architectural masterpieces through innovation, intricate detailing and cultural influences. The Danish architect uses nature as a source for his passion and design, creating eco-friendly buildings that capture the wind and collect solar power. Bjarke’s dream is for us all to think BIG and to use everyday problems as challenges that inspire us to think outside the square. BIG’s building proposal for the city of Shanghai takes the form of a Chinese symbol for person (“ren”), where two buildings come together to form one. The building is symbolic of the ‘people’ of Shanghai and will coincide with the “Better City, Better Life” 2010 World Expo to be held in Shanghai. Image via FH Münster.

Sit back and enjoy the ride on a Murakami Chair. This high-tech chair is capable of making its own energy to power the attached reading lamp. The rocking motion of the chair creates the energy that is then captured and stored into a battery pack for later use. Designer Rochus Jacob’s passionate thought behind the rocking chair was to create a piece of furniture that could generate energy through normal activities. This curvaceous design has transformed the humble rocking chair into an eco-friendly stylish addition for your home. The lamp uses a flat, bendable organic light that emits diodes allowing the shape of the light to look like a traditional shape of a lamp, but instead of having a light bulb the lampshade itself turns on. The rocking chair design by Rochus Jacob shared first prize in the DesignBoom Green Life competition.

Ballet dancers are like mystical creatures that only appear on grand stages framed with elaborate draping. Wonderland, a book by The Washington Ballet (TWB), captures the magical essence of ballet dancers and the strength of their performance. TWB collaborated with photographer Cade Martin and Design Army to create a book filled with whimsical images that grace each page. Providing the reader with a rare glimpse of the inside world of ballet dancers, this book transports you into another world where magic and fairytales still exist. Become immersed within their wonderland, surrounded with playful characters and surreal backdrops. Cade Martin has an eye for inner beauty capturing the soul of his subjects in each frame. This is one book that will draw you in with its stunning imagery and leave you wanting more.

Pointe-Claire, Quebec, 1960s. A young boy sits on a street corner watching with intrigue the cultural phenomenon occurring before him. In front of him lies a world of Francophones, behind him a world of Anglophones – the two separated only by a boulevard, but their ideologies, customs and cultural references light years apart. Though he had barely travelled outside his own suburb at the time, this fascination with cultural diversity would steer Wade Davis on a life path filled with adventure, trepidation and humbling lessons in generosity. From living with a local tribe deep within the depths of the Borneo jungle, to studying the ways of voodoo in Haiti and accompanying Polynesian wayfinders on their journey across the Pacific, Wade Davis’ life has taken him to bounds of the Earth that most of us can barely fathom. An occupational chameleon (ethnobotanist, anthropologist, explorer, photographer, writer, filmmaker and environmentalist are just some of his job descriptions), Wade has made a career out of travel. His latest book, The Wayfinders, based on a series of his lectures, is a fascinating insight into the world’s most exotic cultures and the alarming factors that could potentially lead to their extinction. Continue reading ‘international dreamer: wade davis’

The mark of a brilliant actor is when all awareness of his existence outside the imaginary world he is occupying dissipates completely. Rather than seeing the famous personality onscreen, you are swept away by the character he embodies. When it comes to inhabiting a character completely – be it a lecherous scribe from 18th-century France, a hyperbolic German priest, or a schizophrenic pianist with an inscrutable music genius – Australian actor Geoffrey Rush is a master. The Queensland-born thespian who spent his formative years striding the boards of Brisbane’s amateur, and later professional, theatre spaces, has carved out his career by ‘dancing with the circumstances’ to become one of the world’s most respected actors. But with an Oscar, a Tony, an Emmy and two Golden Globes occupying his mantel, Geoffrey’s heart still lies in the country where it all began. His latest project, Bran Nue Dae, directed by Rachel Perkins, is an exuberant musical road movie filmed in the Technicolour desert-scape of Broome, which, for Geoffrey, signals an exciting new era for Australian film and indigenous storytelling. Continue reading ‘national dreamer: geoffrey rush’