A 21st Century Palace Vol II

geoffrey bradfield

a 21st century palace Jerusalem

with Roric Tobin Architect: Don Goldstein Written by: Jorge S. Arango Foreword by: The Hon. John L. Loeb, Jr. Photography: Kim Sargent

foreword

“Character is destiny,” as Heraclitus wrote in the 6th Century BC. There exists no better embodiment of this maxim than the designer Geoffrey Bradfield, whom my wife, Sharon, and I have known for some 20 years. It is easy to see that destiny has afforded Geoffrey many gifts—a natural elegance, an understated sense of glamour, an unpretentious erudition, an encyclopedic knowledge of design and a discerning eye for fine art. His rare talent has propelled him into the upper echelon of his field and placed him amongst the few designers working in the world today who are truly global.

The subject of this magnificent book tells the story of a superlative penthouse in the old Palace Hotel, now the new Waldorf Astoria, in Jerusalem. With the building’s own history as inspiration, Geoffrey has deftly created an unquestionably innovative interior, embracing both the Ancient and Modern, rich in imagination and garnished with Biblical reference.

One is hard-pressed to find words to describe this extraordinary palatial home—it is quite simply a design tour de force. The interiors are gorgeous and take full advantage of the panoramic views of the Old City. Not one to readily accept the design conventions as law, his inventive selections are daring and eloquent. Here we encounter Bradfield’s definitive signature, where coolly spare interiors showcase thought-provoking contrasts: pre-Christian mosaics marrying with abstract expressionist paintings; 16th-century French statuary gazing upon a conceptualist art dining table; Bronze Age artifacts countering mid-Century modern icons.

Geoffrey, without doubt, has created a palace for the 21st century. In these pages we come to recognize a design career that is a testimony to how destiny rewards fine character by opening doors to a life rich, and full of beauty.

—The Hon. John L. Loeb, Jr., Former United States Ambassador to Denmark

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PREFACE

Ancient and Modern The story of Jerusalem is the story of humanity. For over 3,000 years, it has remained at the epicenter of the development of Western civilization. Today, almost half the world’s population considers Jerusalem a sacred city.

“The devotion to a holy place or a holy city is a near-universal phenomenon,” writes Karen Armstrong, author of Jerusalem: One City, Three Faiths. “Historians of religion believe that it is one of the earliest manifestations of faith in all cultures. People have developed what has been called a sacred geography that has nothing to do with a scientific map of the world but which charts their interior life.” For most of these people, Jerusalem represents the destination at which we arrive at the conclusion of our spiritual journey. Indeed, in Beatine maps that first surfaced in the 8th century AD, Jerusalem inhabited the center of the known world.

Jerusalem continues to inspire unbounded, sometimes explosive, emotions. It is also a thriving contemporary metropolitan center. Skyscrapers, bustling traffic, cuttingedge technology, fashion, fine cuisine—all of these co-exist alongside ancient holy sites and excavations. Thanks to Lieutenant Colonel Ronald Storrs, the military governor of Jerusalem from 1917 to 1920, the character of these old historic monuments were what set the tone for the future development of the city. Storrs established the Pro-Jerusalem Society, a body of religious leaders from the three main monotheistic faiths, to preserve these sites and also develop urban plans for the city’s expansion. It was this farsighted organization that decreed all new buildings be constructed using the local limestone, thus maintaining the aesthetic continuity of what eventually was to become the capital of the State of Israel.

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above and right: The late-1800s Frédéric-Eugène Piat andirons from Steinitz boasting lion heads and fleurs de lis.

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A simple washing station of the recurring Chinese bluestone hollowed out to create the sink is inserted into this enveloping rendition of the Old City, composed of thousands upon thousands of tesserae. The design team collaborated with Sherle Wagner in Massachusetts to fabricate custom faucets that also incorporated bluestone veneers. And finally, the washing station was illuminated from underneath, creating the effect of floating in the Kidron Valley just outside Jerusalem’s fortified ancient wall.

The washing station leads into an inner powder room for guests. Here a custom wallcovering made in Korea was used, consisting of metal leaf overlaid with cork. The silvery shimmer of the lower layer glistens discreetly through broken spaces in the cork, imparting a magical effect. The room is dominated by a custom bluestone-and-nickel vanity, also created in conjunction with Sherle Wagner. In fact, it is double the size of the company’s standard vanity, and thus required yet another extraordinary effort to produce. Textured glass sconces manufactured by the venerable Austrian firm Kalmar in the 1960s finish off the solemn design with a quiet hint of glamour.

The rite of ablution is given the feeling of a pilgrimage from which guests emerge transformed.

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