Featured events- 03/10/2012 - Ton Koopman & The Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra & Choir
- 02/27/2012 - Classical at the Freight: Rossini Birthday Celebration
- 02/23/2012 - Michio Kaku: Physics of the Future, How Science Will Shape Human Destiny and Our Daily Lives by the Year 2100
- 02/23/2012 - 2012: a Turning Point? And If So, Which Way?: A Talk by Robert Reich
- 02/19/2012 - Takacs Quartet
Category Archives: Design
The “before” pictures: Berkeley Art Museum/PFA
Call it “beautiful decay”: these stunning photographs, taken by David Stark Wilson, show the interiors of the future home of the Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive (BAM/PFA).
Just as with the new Magnes, which unveiled its new space on Sunday, BAM/PFA is to be housed in a 1920s-era 1939 building originally designed as a printing plant for UC Berkeley. It is located at 2120 Oxford Street at Center Street, in the heart of downtown.
Is it not fitting that, as the demand for printed thesis, documents, books and monographs has waned, the engine rooms that produced these volumes are now being put to good use while remaining in the cultural realm?
Berkeley’s new Magnes building to be unveiled on Sunday
On Sunday, the doors will open to a new cultural institution in Berkeley. The many thousands of books, paintings, prints, textiles, and photographs that make up The Magnes Collection of Jewish Art & Life – which was formerly located in an early 20th-century family home on Russell Street in the Elmwood neighborhood — will now be readily accessible to the public in a beautifully renovated, centrally located 25,000 sq ft space at 2121 Allston Way.
The building, which was designed in the 1920s as a printing plant for UC Berkeley, was most recently used by UC’s Bancroft Library, with whom the Magnes now partners. Before that, the Berkeley Public Library occupied the space. Marks left by book stacks on the stained, maple-colored concrete floors bear the stamp of the building’s history.
The building has been transformed by San Francisco architects Pfau Long in collaboration with local design and fabrication company Picassa Studios. The goal, said the museum’s Director Alla Efimova, was to create a warm, inviting place with an emphasis on transparency.
“We wanted an open space with a good flow where the community could spend time discovering the collection,” she said. … Continue reading »
Accessible beds help Kenny Cottage gardens thrive
Ripe berries and peapods thrive at Berkeley’s Friends of Kenney Cottage Community Garden. The nearly three-year-old communal farming project is booked solid with plot holders in the middle of west Berkeley’s industrial district.
Two beds at the front of the garden particularly stand out. Elevated just above three feet and standing atop a beautiful hardwood deck, these beds are in place for the neighborhood’s disabled.
The raised beds lead the way in ADA accessibility, said Gary Cromp, the president of the gardens.
“We have cutting edge technology that’s never been used in a community garden,” he said. “We also have two of the country’s only truly wheelchair-accessible beds and gardens, and they’re completely filled with plot holders.”
The raised vegetable beds are at the perfect elevation for standard and powered wheel chairs, Cromp said.
“They’re also reinforced,” he said, kicking hard at a table leg to demonstrate. “Power chairs can destroy everything, so that’s just another thing we thought of here.”
The beds are accessible on all sides—with 5 feet of space at each side—and come complete with lightweight watering wands that quadriplegics can easily use. Kenney Cottage Community Gardeners partnered with Berkeley’s Center for Independent Learning (CIL) to design these features.
Shira Leeder, the ADA coordinator for Friends of Kenney Cottage Community Garden and a member of CIL, helped Cromp draw up the high-tech beds. Leeder, who is a person with disabilities, said the beds’ height and design make gardening a breeze.
“It’s pretty easy for me to use,” Leeder said, turning on the water and demoing the watering wand. “Everything is level for me.”
The beds not only make it easy to garden, but they also serve as a way for people with disabilities to play an active role in the neighborhood, she said. … Continue reading »
Dogs get glamourous at Paco Collars
Fashion never sleeps, and it certainly doesn’t stop at your wardrobe. Luckily, the folks at Paco Collars have another way to accessorize – custom, hand-made collars for your dog, cat and pretty much anything else that looks good in leather.
That’s the way things are at Paco Collars– fewer rules and regulations, more fun times and innovation. Many of the designer collars in the company catalog were inspired by pet owners who came into the shop for a specific look they dreamt up the night before.
The people at Paco Collars welcome new ideas. In fact, they love when customers bring in their own collar schemes, rewarding them with an eternal spot in the product line named after the pet or owner for whom it was crafted.
“We encourage people to stop by and come in with their dogs,” leatherworker Aaron Mitchell said, adding that people often swing by when they’re out for a walk.
Rachel Lewin was one of those people. During an afternoon stroll through Berkeley, she spotted Paco Collars and knew she had to return with her pooch. … Continue reading »
Tagged Aaron Mitchell, Ana Poe, Bad Rap, Paco Collars, Rachel Lewin
Typewriters are making a comeback in Berkeley
By Edward Derbes
Typewriter sales have gone up in Berkeley over the past few years, and the owners of the city’s two typewriter stores can’t quite explain why. But, whether it’s the vintage appeal or just because people want to write without the distraction of the internet, the two stores aren’t complaining.
Berkeley Typewriter is on University Avenue, a few doors down from the year-old Trader Joe’s and across the street from Performance Bikes, where a Grand Opening sign is still displayed in its two-story window. The store has been operating from its squat storefront since the 1930s. Joe Banuelos, its third owner, has run the shop for nearly twenty years.
Joe’s brother, Jesse Banuelos, who works as a typewriter technician at the store, said most of the new customers are in their 20s and 40s. “It’s attorneys,” he said. “They prefer to type on these kinds of machines. They tell me, ‘They look cool in my office.’”
A fascination with vintage typewriters also accounts for the recent rise in sales, said Joe. In particular, people in Japan are buying typewriters built in the 1920s, 30s, and 40s. The store will charge $250 to repair a classic Olivetti, but that machine can be resold for $1,000 in Japan, said Joe. “They buy them because they are antique. There’s a big demand because they are part of American history.” … Continue reading »
Would you sunbathe on Berkeley’s newest “lawn” chairs?
Javier Panzar was walking in Sproul Plaza today when he spotted these “lawn” chairs, which may be a sign that Cal is almost finished for the year or an expression of hope for better weather. “This is the Berkeleyiest thing I’ve seen in a while,” Panzar tweeted (@jpanzar).
Tagged Javier Panzar, Sproul Plaza
North Branch library construction delayed
The bids to renovate the North Branch of the Berkeley Public Library came in so high that library officials are asking the City Council to reject them all.
The architects hired by the library thought it would cost about $3.8 million to renovate the historic building on The Alameda and add a two-story, 3,850 square foot addition facing Josephine Street, but the lowest bid came back more than $1 million over that estimate.
Library officials think that with a little tweaking of the design, the city can redo the building within its projected budget.
“We are disappointed but we are optimistic that we can bring the cost down,” said Donna Corbeil, the library director. “It’s important we stay within our budget.” … Continue reading »
RAW party in Berkeley showcases local artists
The party that the national arts organization RAW is throwing Thursday night at the Hotel Shattuck Plaza defies description. It’s part fashion show, part art show, and part disco bash, with a dash of liquor and plenty of attitude thrown in.
About ten local artists will show off their wares in an event that pulsates with music, lights, dancing and talking.
“I call it an artists’ circus,” said organizer Mandolin Kadera-Redmond, who was hired by the southern California group in the fall of 2010 to put on events in Berkeley and other parts of the East Bay.
Mandolin Kadera-Redmond
Patrons who buy tickets will walk into a room and see fashion models strutting around, their bodies clad by local fashion designers and their faces made up by local make-up artists. They can look at the paintings and art installations on display – including one that puts succulents in stiletto heeled-shoes – converse with the artists and even buy their work. In the background music mixed by DJs will be pulsing. … Continue reading »
Famed Balinese music troupe to move to Berkeley
An internationally respected Balinese music and dance troupe that was founded in Berkeley 32 years ago is hoping to return to the city.
Gamelan Sekar Jaya, a 65-member ensemble of musicians and dancers, is planning to move its headquarters into a vacant building at 3023 Shattuck Avenue, site of the former home of the Berkeley Daily Planet.
The building, right near the intersection of Shattuck and Ashby, would provide 1,700 square feet of rehearsal and office space, as well as a set of apartments to accommodate artists visiting from Bali.
“It feels fitting,” said Sara Gambrina-Bekamp, the group’s general manager. “It will be great for us. The place we are in currently is quite cluttered and crowded. We will be able to leave our gamelan instruments set up, and not have to cart them off to storage all the time.” … Continue reading »
On our first anniversary: welcome to our new design
Almost from the first days of Berkeleyside, we’ve been a bit restless about our design. It was something we threw up when we created the site, but we knew we wanted to change it when we grew up. It needed honing, and we needed to make room for a host of new ideas for Berkeleyside.
In September we tweeted that we were looking for a designer, and we had the great fortune to find a Berkeleysider who was also a … Continue reading »
by Email