Nicole Bryan

Bohemian guesthouse in the California desert

2021-05-12T19:38:11.062Z

Three friends from Los Angeles bought an abandoned house in the desert with a hammer and turned it into a cozy retreat from the hustle and bustle.
None of the three owners of this Airbnb-rentable guesthouse are professional architects or designers. Max Ostrov is a TV producer, Eric Bach is an entrepreneur, Alexandra Piotrowski is a landscape design student and owner of the popular Instagram account West and Wild. In it, she collects various examples of architecture and design that reflect the author's love for escapist interiors for a life at a relaxed pace.

Friends decided to come up with a joint project that would help monetize the Instagram account, which at that time had more than 50,000 subscribers. So the idea was born to arrange a space for recreation and events, and a suitable house was discovered at an auction, where it was purchased for mere pennies. The building, located on a vast site in the Yucca Valley, a desert area in western California, was in dire condition, but it had several important advantages: high ceilings, preserved wood paneling, a pool and a mezzanine with a gable roof.

The transformation of the hacienda was supervised by Aleksandra Piotrowski. One of her original ideas was painting the pool with abstract patterns, reminiscent of cacti growing around. Minimalist sun loungers and flat concrete slabs stand out against the gravel-strewn courtyard. The main space inside the house was a spacious living room with a nine-meter-high ceiling: the walls of the room were painted white, and the wooden ceiling was left unchanged. A mustard-colored velvet sofa and a huge chandelier successfully adjust the proportions of the living room.
The mezzanine features an ethnic loft with built-in perimeter benches, patterned rugs and colorful cushions. The benches are designed in such a way that they can serve as additional sleeping places. Despite the penchant for laconic interior design, the authors did not use white walls everywhere. Instead, they opted for textured plaster in warm colors, which lends the rooms a rustic charm. There are many craft details here: stools and tables made of uneven slabs of wood, wicker baskets, artisan ceramics. Vibrant abstract canvases and figurative works by contemporary artists - some from the personal collection of Eric Bach - make the interior feel familiar and charismatic.

The best ways to get your work noticed on Behance

2021-05-12T19:32:56.534Z

Now that you have a Behence portfolio, you may be asking yourself, what's next? Here are some tips and tricks to get noticed on Behance.
So you've built your Behance portfolio. Now what? How do you get people to visit it?

One of the ways you can gain more popularity is by getting your portfolio on Behance curated galleries.
When someone opens the Behance homepage, the first thing they see is a "Featured Gallery" - a selection of projects selected by the Behance team of curators. Behance writes on its Team blog: “Behance curators are trying to select particularly innovative and well thought out work. They consider all sorts of factors when reviewing the project, including the quality and originality of the work, the presentation of the project (ratings, comments, etc.). "

Behance also offers over a dozen additional curated galleries for specific creative directions such as illustration, photography, and branding, to name a few. The projects curated for these galleries and the shared gallery represent only one percent of thousands of projects, Behance said.

The million dollar question: How do you get one of your projects selected for a curated gallery? Unfortunately, there is no secret password or magic formula, but there are a few things you can do while building your project to help get your work noticed.

01. Highlight work

A missed opportunity is uploading one image to your project to represent the work.
You have to think of your projects as advertising, you are selling yourself. Offer a job in a creative and professional way.

Since you cannot physically show your work to visitors, try including enough detailed images to give them an idea of how it would be in their hands.
Remember, length is key. You don't want your project to be too short or too long. Behance recommends a range of six to 20 images without duplicates, good size, and clear of distracting watermarks.

02. Select a cover image

When choosing a cover image to represent your project, remember that it is this image that prompts the viewer to click on your work. In general, it's a good idea to stay away from using text in the cover if your project isn't about typography.
A text cover may not be a good way to attract people if you say you are a photographer, show off your last photo shoot. Let the work speak for itself. Your cover image should leave a good impression on your visitors.

03. Only publish when finished

You should only publish your project if it is completely finished and you are completely satisfied with the end result. Once the project is published, people will be able to see it. You wouldn't want to try to sell a home that was only half painted, would you? Remember that you can save projects that you are still working on.

04. Ask the professionals for help

It must be emphasized that the above tips will only bring you closer to getting to the top, but they will not definitely put you there. They will become the so-called preparation of your account before it reaches wide audiences. Promotion to the TOP with the help of special services is considered a more effective way. Often, designers have certain stereotypes regarding such services and believe that the principle of their work is to artificially cheat ratings. As a result, there is a fear that this could harm your profile, because from such activities there is a threat to get banned.
But in fact, in order to experience the benefits of this method of promotion, you need to choose a service that attracts real people. This is how you can significantly raise the rating of your account, attract new customers and thereby increase your sales. For example, one of these is the gorillaroni.top promotion service, whose job is to use motivated traffic.
Here's how it works: Social media users view your work, leave likes and comments. This increases your popularity on the platform and automatically submits your designs to the top of the week and then to a specific thematic gallery.

05. Create some movement

Once your project is published, try creating some buzz around it. There is a feature that will allow you to simultaneously send notifications about your project to Twitter, Facebook and Linkedin.
Use these tools, as well as other social media like personal blogs, Pinterest, or Tumblr, to expand your project's visibility to your friends and followers. Buying likes and comments can be another great way to get noticed by Behance's curators. As stated at the beginning by the Behance team, they are looking for projects that create traction among the community.
These 5 tips can not only improve your chances, but also help you make sure that you are presenting your work in the best possible light to anyone who can view it.
To stay up to date with the latest developments on Behance, and to find additional tips on how Behance is curating projects, feel free to visit the Behance group blog for more information.

The world's largest greenhouse will be built in France

2021-05-12T19:00:02.221Z

Zuecca Projects Bureau and coldefy will present the Tropicalia Project will be presented at the Venice Architecture Biennale 2021.

Visitors to the Venice Biennale will be the first to see architectural models, blueprints and sketches of the world's largest tropical greenhouse by Zuecca and Coldefy & Associés, to be built in 2024 on the Cote d'Opale coast in northern France.
The Tropicalia Conservatory will immerse guests in a tropical area of 20,000 m² under a 35-meter dome. Here you can see different birds, butterflies, fish, reptiles, as well as enjoy exotic plants, waterfalls and aquariums.
The structure is fully integrated into the environment due to the absence of internal load-bearing columns. The double dome of the building will also provide optimal thermal insulation of 26 ° C, and all the heat generated by the greenhouse effect can be constantly recirculated.

The exhibition of the project will be held at Piazza Castello from May 22 to November 21, 2021. On it, visitors will learn about the architecture and engineering systems of the project, as well as about special technologies for air purification.