Gift Guide by Budget

Architizer News

Gift Guide by Budget

December 2, 2010

‘Tis the season to be jolly, and by jolly we do mean generous. Even if you’re broke as a joke, it behooves you to show appreciation to the people in your life. Especially if those people are architects.

We’ve sorted through the entire internet to bring you a selection of design-minded gifts, organized by budget, from grad student (-$) to starchitect ($$$$). Follow along after the jump, and to see all our best gift picks, check our Svpply page.

GRAD SCHOOL (-$)

Stainless steel Sharpie markers ($6.47 each). A virtually indestructible version of everyone’s favorite sketching instrument.

Crumpled Tyvek city map by Emanuele Pizzolorusso (€12,00). Impossible to destroy, even while doing the requite architecture-sightseeing backpack trip across Europe/Asia/South America.

Evil People in Modernist Homes in Popular Films booklet by Benjamin Critton at Printed Matter ($10). Self-explanatory, though if you’d like an explanation, please read on here.

1/100 city model by Naoki Terada from MoMA ($18). GIVEAWAY: We have one set depicting a Tokyo street scene to send to a lucky reader. Comment below and enter your name to win!

FIRST-YEAR INTERN ($)

Gold wide-angle Superheadz camera from Four Corner Store ($30). Wide angle is the best angle when it comes to shooting buildings. And $30 for bling ain’t bad.

Snap Circuits Alternative Energy Kit ($45.18 at Amazon.com). Everything a budding contractor needs to learn doorbells, car alarms, sirens, and more, but with a LEED-approved focus on alternative energy.

Floating magazine rack from The Future Perfect ($60). A sleek way to save clips of inspirational projects and profiles written about your grad school professors.

JUNIOR DESIGNER ($$)

Hermitage Random Geometry wallpaper ($128 a roll). Fractals? Geometry? Do you even have to ask?

Limited-edition “Urban Growth Strategy” print by Brooklyn architect Olalekan Jeyifous on Etsy ($124). Architects love maps, almost as much as they love addressing problems with urban planning. GIVEAWAY: Jeyifous is giving us one print from his Etsy shop for a lucky reader. Comment below for a chance to win!

Alessi Adagio Thermo Insulated Jug by Alessi ($146). Sleek lines and bold materiality. If only facades were always so cooperative.

PARTNER ($$$)

Naef Bauhaus building blocks at The Lollipop Shoppe (£99.00). Self-made men (and women) have a penchant for revisiting the heady days of their youth.

Ace Hotel Pendleton elk blanket ($275). Roman & Williams vintage-referencing yet design-forward interiors for Ace hotel group are being mimicked across fashion, food, and lifestyle. Get in on it with an exclusive Pendleton blanket design.

Enclosed bed by Metrofarm — price upon request. Like building blocks, but larger and cozier. We love customizable space.

Emerson Dollhouse from Brinca Dāda ($329). It’s got six rooms, and finished to stunning detail with mitered-glass corners, two fireplaces, sliding glass doors, solar panels, and recessed LED lights.

STARCHITECT ($$$$)

Modernist Cuisine ($475 on Amazon.com pre-order). Financed by Microsoft billionaire Nathan Myhrvold, this six-volume set is way more than a simple cookbook, it’s a manual for the true perfectionist. Check out a full spread here.

Buckminster Fuller Geodesic Home model, circa 1960 (roughly $7,500). This one was sold at auction, but what architect aficionado isn’t a sucker for Bucky and models?

Jean-Paul Gaultier for Roche Bobois ‘chariot’ chair — price upon request. The Fountainhead meets Post-Modernism in the squirmiest possible rendition.

Bonus quote! “Almost all the pieces in this collection have wheels because I wanted people to be able to move each item from one room to another. I feel that it is good that when you’re at home, you are able to move things that you love. It’s even better when you are in a chair, like my Ben-Hur chair, you can move around your home in your chair. I don’t do roller skates but I can roll around in my chair.”