István Orosz was born in 1951 and after training as a graphic designer, he first gained recognition as a stage designer and for his work in animated film as animator and director. His posters and graphic art have featured in countless international design exhibitions, and he is well-known as a printmaker and illustrator too. He is perhaps best known for his renewal of the technique of anamorphosis.

Anamorphosis is an art of distorted projection or perspective requiring the viewer to use special devices or occupy a specific vantage point to reconstitute the image. The art of Anamorphosis was invented in China and brought to Italy in the 16th century, about the time Renaissance artists like Leonardo da Vinci were mastering 3-D and discovering slant anamorphosis.

István Orosz specializes in mirror anamorphosis, where a conical or cylindrical mirror is placed on the drawing to transform a flat distorted image into a three dimensional picture that can be viewed from many angles. He also does slant anamorphosis.

István Orosz’s best creation is probably the one called Mysterious Island. It’s a sketch of a seashore with a sail pushed along by the wind, and two men trekking.

But if the image is turned upside down, and a cylindrical mirror placed over the circular sun, a portrait of Jules Verne emerges.

His other works

Playhouse by Aboday

26 August 2010

A spiralling concrete slide connects the kitchen and child’s bedroom of this family house near Jakarta designed by Indonesian architects Aboday and photographed by Happy Lim. Update: this project is included in Dezeen Book of Ideas, which is on sale now for £12.

Play House is part of a gated cluster of 120 residences in Bumi Serpong Damai, Tangerang.

Apart from three enclosed bedrooms the interior is an open-plan space with whitewashed walls and exposed ten-metre concrete ceilings.

An open staircase sits between the library and living area on the ground floor and leads up to a gallery on the first.

The two-storey house has an exposed concrete exterior covered in part by climbing plants, and punctuated by slit windows and ceiling-height glazing.

The house has a large thermal mass due to its concrete construction, relying on natural ventilation and shading, heat-resistant finishes, and a forty-millimeter wall cavity to prevent overheating during the summer.

All photographs are by Happy Lim Photography.

Here’s some more from the architects:

‘Play’ House, Bumi Serpong Damai,Tangerang

This 2 storey house is located in Bumi Serpong Damai, Tangerang. Part of a new gated housing cluster, the house is an amalgamation of an existing 120 type house with a new building in its adjacent 200 sqm empty plot.

Restricted by its corner setback, the building occupies only 150 sqm of the total 320 sqm land. The look is straight forward, mimicking the sloping roof of neighboring house.

The material is almost bare, with dominantly exposed concrete as its main pallete, punctuated by small glass incision and opening towards the main road.

Generally, it appears as an inward orientation building with plenty of vertical green walls providing a friendly gesture to otherwise staid looking house.

The house will be mostly occupied by a multi generation family of 3. However, the king of the house is a 5 year old boy who thinks that life is all about play, hence the design of the house.

There is a sculptural slider of concrete, tuck in the corner between 2 main building massing.

It is his choice of ‘transportation mode’ from his bedroom in 2nd floor to dining room in the 1st floor, instead of the normal open staircase located between the small library and living area.

This slider also his favorite place to play after his hectic tuition schedule, covered sometimes with pieces of plastic and clothes on both end to be his secret cave.

Except for the 3 enclosed bedrooms, the rest of the house is an open space dominated by white and grey palette of exposed concrete wall and ceiling.

Some flaws during the concrete pouring on the wall and ceiling left trace of ‘elements’ that become a natural ornamentation in the house.