Afarai

MINI MALL Rotterdam

afaina — Thu, 31 Mar 2011 12:08:32 +0000

The re-development of the fhe first seven arched spaces of the former Station Hofplein building is finished. The MINI MALL, a mini shopping mall for creative entrepreneurs, is ready to join Rotterdams’ city life. The first seven arches have been fully restored to their original monumental state. The existing interior has been completely stripped, to accomodate the new MINI MALL. A nightclub, restaurants, coffee bars and creative retail are connected by a internal event space. The exterior facades will create transparency and add a new visual layer to the urban space. AFARAI and Pena Architecture teamed up to get busy on this huge redevelopment project and we are very proud! For more pictures of the project, click here.

Client: De Hofbogen B.V.
Location: Rotterdam, The Netherlands
Gross floor area: 2500 m2
Completion date: May 2011
Scope of work: Architectural Design, Interior design, Urban Design, Content development, Identity & Marketing development.

TOKO MC opens its doors in Amsterdam

afaina — Wed, 10 Nov 2010 17:06:53 +0000

AFARAI is proud to present our latest project. Asian Caribbean restaurant TOKO MC recently opened its door at the Westergasfabriek in Amsterdam. TOKO MC is part of the new MC theater. The interior design reflects the warm tropical environment that signifies the cuisine and vibe of the restaurant. Two freestanding T-formed shapes arrange the dining space into six seating areas with views of the eclectic interior. We developed custom-made prints for the interior walls and handpainted them on the walls.

Client: Toko MC
Location: Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Gross floor area: 250m2
Completion date: October 2010
Description of work: Architectural Design

Wall Wonders

afaina — Fri, 10 Sep 2010 04:27:59 +0000

While working on the publication A Day in Sao Paulo in 2009, the grey surroundings of Sao paulo a new project was born. Our handmade graphics for the first time made the move from inside to the outdoors and by doing so put this city into a new light. We’re working on a new series of art prints in New York at the moment. More to come soon.

New Publication: A DAY IN SAO PAULO

afaina — Tue, 06 Jul 2010 08:45:15 +0000

Open publication – Free publishing – More urban

A Day In São Paulo is the first book in the Day by Day book series. This series offers an inspirational outlook on the artistic and creative expressions in the cities worldwide. A Day In São Paulo tells a story that goes beyond individual styles in order to show the collective impact of urban visual artists on the way we encounter our surroundings. You can order A Day In São Paulo for 29,95 euro here

Artwork Shoot Wibaut Photo Safari

afaina — Wed, 23 Jun 2010 21:28:26 +0000

Event: Shoot Wibaut Photo Safari, Amsterdam
Product: 10.000 Flyer and 500 posters
Designer: Innavisons, Marco Sterk en Orpheu de Jong
Visitors: 480 people

Artwork Cut&Paste Amsterdam

afaina — Wed, 23 Jun 2010 21:04:11 +0000

Event: Cut&Paste Amsterdam, Digital Design Tournament, Paradiso Amsterdam
Product: 15.000 Flyer and 1000 posters
Designer: Piet Parra
Visitors: 1261 people

From Station To Mini Mall

afaina — Fri, 18 Jun 2010 23:22:17 +0000

The heart of Rotterdam is in the process of being transformed. The Hofplein viaduct was built in Rotterdam in the early 20th century. This 1.9 km long viaduct starts at the monumental Hofplein Station. The arched spaces of the former Station Hofplein building is redeveloped into a mini shopping mall for creative entrepreneurs.

The first seven arches have been fully restored to their original monumental state. The existing interior has been completely stripped, the reinforcement has been cleaned and the concrete of the vaults and columns repaired to prepare the spaces for the new Mini Mall Shopping Mall. A nightclub, restaurants, coffee bars and creative retail are connected by a internal event space. The exterior facades add a new visual layer to the urban space.

Mark Magazine

afaina — Thu, 17 Jun 2010 15:25:07 +0000

Mark Magazines is one of our favorite magazines around. Since the start-up of MARK Magazine in 2005 Afaina de Jong / AFARAI has been closely involved as a contributing editor for the magazine with a special focus on urban phenomena and subjects on the crossroads of architecture. After 5 years of writing for the magazine, we’re working on the third publication of our own, while Mark Magazine remains one of the finest in the game. Big Up MARK!

Tokyo Investigation

afaina — Thu, 17 Jun 2010 15:20:40 +0000

For the Hakuhodo Think Tank HILL in Tokyo, AFARAI went deep into Tokyo to investigate life in the city and the implications of the lack of space in the city.

Even though it’s a well known fact that space is at a premium in Tokyo, the suspicion that everything was intertwined and connected to the lack of urban space in the city led us to explore this subject further. This is a story about how the structural space deficit in Tokyo has shaped the city, its architecture and the quality of life of those who live in it. The long hours of commuting; the impossibility of living in Tokyo’s city center; the lack of affordable space for small-scale entrepreneurs, are all deficiencies in Tokyo’ s urban fabric. Urban deficiencies that set the conditions for a city in which the quality of life of the inhabitants is no longer dependent on the quality of the urban surroundings but rather, on the comfort and convenience offered by Tokyo’s massive service industry.

You can download a condensed version of this special bi-lingual Japanese/English publication here

Toko MC

afaina — Thu, 17 Jun 2010 15:11:43 +0000

Asian Caribbean restaurant TOKO MC opened its door at the Westergasfabriek in Amsterdam. TOKO MC is part of the new MC theater. The interior design reflects the warm tropical environment that signifies the cuisine and vibe of the restaurant. Two freestanding T-formed shapes arrange the dining space into six seating areas with views of the eclectic interior. We developed custom-made prints for the interior walls and handpainted them on the walls.

Client: Toko MC
Location: Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Gross floor area: 250m2
Completion date: October 2010
Description of work: Architectural Design

The MC Theater

afaina — Thu, 17 Jun 2010 15:10:28 +0000

In the Theater of Architecture many players have to come together to realize the final show piece. As the project architect AFARAI created the design and concept for the new theater of theater group MC in Amsterdam.

The program is divers, a restaurant, offices, dressing rooms, backstage, 3 theater rooms, a sound studio and a lot of storage. For the main theater hall a floating steel structure with sliding doors was to be erected and for the dressing rooms and backstage another steels structure. The concept was to create a certain transparency about what goes on behind the scenes in a theater. It was also important to design the flexibility to use the spaces for other type of events into it.

Client: Cosmic Foundation
Location: Amsterdam The Netherlands
Gross floor area: 1800 m2

6ra99a: Graffiti Conquers Canvas

afaina — Thu, 10 Jun 2010 16:41:25 +0000

Ever since graffiti entered the art gallery, artists have struggled to capture the true character of their work onto canvas. It has proven to be a difficult task to maintain the special quality and energy that graffiti has in an urban environment, when it is translated to canvas.

AFARAI & The Ultra de la Rue Foundation collaborated with Rio based artist 6ragga in this special project; Graffiti Conquers Canvas. Alongside 6ra99a’s personal process to go from figurative based graffiti to abstract work, he started to experiment with techniques that would enable him to capture the energy that his work had in the urban environment onto canvas. This new way of working is in now full motion. And during his stay in Amsterdam in August of 2009 6ra99a shared his new technique for the first time outside of Brazil. A blank wall on the Java eiland was covered with canvasses. The wall and the canvasses are equal to each other and therefore capture the same energy and quality as the graffiti piece on the wall.

You can view the full publication here. All canvasses in the catalogue are for sale. For price inquiries contact, AFARAI at me@afarai.com.