Identity | July 2010

The Middle East’s interiors, design & property magazine

identity

Bijoux with a view: Our man in Paris Power Tower: Armani’s guilded lily Art scores: Coloured in Cologne Work ethics: Design that pays

ISSUE eightytwo Year seven july 2010 A MOTIVATE PUBLICATION

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INSIDE

identity

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ÂŽ

Cover: A French affair.

Photography: Stephan Julliard.

IAN PHILLIPS

LACE HILL

DECA ARCHITECTURE

JULY 2010

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FEATURES

20 Art Cologne

32 Metrospectives

Art aficionados braved the volcanic ash cloud to experience the sensory eruption of soundsuits, vibrant colours and even ordinary people at Art Cologne.

Crate and Barrel and identity teamed up to present the latest trends and colourful homewares from America at two in-store design events.

26 Move any mountain

52 A French affair

Rapid-growth bamboo and kudzu are making eco headlines as the sun continues to power new facilities and refuse is recycled into jewellery and floating islands.

Not wanting to detract from the stunning views, the subdued Paris apartment of identity’s Ian Phillips was inspired by the sky and rooftops of the City of Light.

July 2010

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INSIDE

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DESIGN FORMULA

ISSUE #82 EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

Obaid Humaid Al Tayer GROUP EDITOR & MANAGING PARTNER

Ian Fairservice GROUP SENIOR EDITOR

Gina Johnson | gina@motivate.ae GROUP EDITOR

ARTFLEX

Catherine Belbin | catherine@motivate.ae FEATURES EDITOR

Dorothy Waldman | dorothy@motivate.ae CHIEF SUB-EDITOR

Iain Smith | iains@motivate.ae

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Work pods Flexibility and mobility are the new buzz words when if comes to work spaces today, whether at a central office or at home. Changes in work activities demand furnishings and equipment – from chair to computer – be accommodating and versatile.

EDITORIAL ASSISTANT

Belinda Igaya | belinda@motivate.ae ART DIRECTOR

Karen Evans | karene@motivate.ae GENERAL MANAGER – PRODUCTION AND CIRCULATION

S Sasidharan | sasidharan@motivate.ae MANAGER – PRODUCTION

C Sudhakar | sudhakar@motivate.ae GENERAL MANAGER – GROUP SALES

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CONTRIBUTORS:

Ashlee Beard | Steve Hill | Ian Phillips | Lisa Vincenti | Richard Warren

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Darryl Wiley | Darryl@motivate.ae

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July 2010

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EDITORIAL

Clockwise from top left: Ronan and Erwan Bouroullec; Philippe Grohe; Beau McClellan.

PHOTOGRAPHY: VIKRAM GAWDE

The spotlight this month was on Beau McClellan as he unveiled Reflective Flow, the world’s largest chandelier installed at the Al Hitmi premises opposite the IM Pei designed Museum of Islamic Arts on the Doha Corniche.

Weighing in at 20,000 kilogrammes with a linear measurement of 38.5 metres and a width of 12.5 metres, it is composed of over 2,300 hand-ground optical crystals and approximately 55,000 LEDs. The Portugal-based, Scottish industrial designer combined the worlds of art and science to create the ultra sensitive sculpture that changes colour and characteristics, depending on the mood of the person or people close to it.

Meanwhile, Qatar’s Sovereign Wealth Fund has been very much in the news of late as it continues a global property investment spree by snapping up major landmarks, including London’s iconic Harrod’s department store and the Park House office and retail project, which is said to be the largest development on London’s Oxford Street. The Qatari fund recently became the largest shareholder in Songbird Estates, which owns most of the Canary Wharf office estate. It is rumoured that they want to further increase their stake in that property, joining major investments in Paris and New York, to satisfy their quest for high-profile property acquisitions.

Ronan and Erwan Bouroullec, the blue-eyed wonder kids of the contemporary design, scene joined Philippe Grohe for the global launch of the new Hansgrohe Axor Bouroullec collection in Paris.

Journalists, buyers, architects and designers congregated at the Maison des Metallos for the unveiling of the design duo’s first bathroom collection. After six intense years of collaboration, the leading German manufacturer presented the naïf collection, which entices one to play with the faucets and levers, placing them wherever your heart desires. The free flowing design allows for you to almost totally customise the bath to tailor-make a no-fuss bathroom to fit your space and personality. This collection allows for individual expression that is less dictatorial than some of the company’s other best-selling collections by Citterio, Masaud etc. The regional launch of the collection will take place over-looking the Bosporus in Istanbul in July.

Abu Dubai’s focus continues to be on sustainable development and resource management. Recently Masdar, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Mubadala Investment Company, announced that it is to join Total and Abengoa Solar in building the world’s largest concentrated solar powered plant at a cost of US$ 600 million. It will sell power to the national grid when it comes on stream with an initial 100 megawatts capacity within the next two years.

Meanwhile, Masdar’s goal of building the world’s first zero-emission ‘eco city’ is said to be under reconsideration.

We hope you enjoyed the duo of in-store design nights where readers and designers discovered the latest collection from the iconic American brand Crate and Barrel. The events held at the newly opened stores in Mall of the Emirates and Mirdif City Centre were co-hosted by id and our sister publications Hello!

Middle East and Emirates Woman.

PHOTOGRAPHY: MORGANE LE GALL

Interactive compositions

Group Editor Catherine Belbin.

Congratulations!

Sireesh Reddy, winner of a Geneva sound system in id’s May competition.

July 2010

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Art Cologne Nature, the biggest inspiration for many artists, can sometimes be a hindrance too. For Germany’s Art Cologne a volcano in Iceland was a big obstacle to overcome. TEXT: RICHARD WARREN The eruption of Iceland’s Eyjafjallajökull volcano in April meant some collectors were unable to visit Art Cologne, Germany’s biggest art fair, that month. With volcanic ash clouds blowing south over mainland Europe, German air space was closed, but the five-day event still managed to attract 60,000 visitors, 4,000 more than in 2009.

On show at Koelnmesse, the Cologne trade fair campus, were thousands of paintings, photographs, sculptures, textiles and installations exhibited by 202 galleries. Most works were by German artists, including long established names like Karl Otto Göetz and Imi Knoebel. Among works by overseas artists were English landscape oils by David Hockney, a portrait by Pablo Picasso and sculptures by Anthony Caro. One of the highest priced pieces was an oil painting by Norway’s Edvard Munch, Sitzende Junge Frau, valued at 9.5 million euros.

Many up-and-coming artists from around the world were at the show too, including Yin Xiuzhen, from China, and Ukranian-born Zoya Cherkassky.

Running since 1966, Art Cologne showcases 20th century art and contemporary pieces. The organisers try to include the full breadth of what is being produced, including examples of work that incorporates non-fine art disciplines, such as Nick Cave’s soundsuits, clothes that bring together the worlds of fine art, fashion and dance.

Visitors arriving at the exhibition hall’s south entrance were confronted with a dozen over-sized, white rocking chairs created by French artist Lilian Bourgeat. Tired from walking around the exhibition halls, many visitors were glad to sit on them on their way out – who says art cannot be functional!

Creating Everyman German artist Stephan Balkenhol creates reliefs and sculptures of ordinary people, mostly from wood which he then paints. Carrying on the German tradition of figurative sculpture, his work has been described as “German Expressionism without the expressionism”, because his figures show no emotion. They are not created to appear heroic or individual, but representative of “everyman”, those people who would not normally stand out in a crowd. By having his figures stand on a plinth, sometimes carved out of the same block of wood as the sculpture, he elevates the ordinary person to a higher level.

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TRENDS

Abstracting Reality Tatjana Doll paints super-sized pictures of ordinary objects to draw attention to the importance of the everyday. Cars, maps, luggage, street signs, cinema chairs and even computer keyboards appear as huge images in her lacquer paintings.

Her car paintings are as big as the actual size of the car she depicts. Her largest work is a 30-metre long painting of a Japanese train. Based in Berlin, the German artist’s work is sometimes likened to Pop Art, and is seen to move between realism and abstraction, because she can sometimes simplify an image into its basic component shapes as in the painting Poisonous Mentality.

Taking Inside Out Thomas Kilpper is famous for his “floor cuttings”, woodcuts made from entire floors, usually from buildings about to be demolished. These woodcuts are inspired by the building’s architecture and history, and can refer to unknown facts and stories he gathers through research. To expose these hidden details he makes giant textile prints from carved floors and hangs them outside these buildings. Sometimes it is possible to see his carved floors, such as at the former Berlin headquarters of the Stasi, East Germany’s secret police, where his State of Control linoleum floor-cuts refer to that regime’s repression and injustice. The 54-year-old German comes from Stuttgart.

Art As Commodity Superstring Worms is typical of Ryan McGinness’ colourful works. A former curatorial assistant at Pittsburgh’s Andy Warhol Museum, the New York-based artist takes Pop Art’s focus on consumer culture as a starting point to create works of art that are commodities themselves. He produces paintings, videos, sculptures, installations and consumer products, including a tongue-in-cheek, corporatestyle manual for studio artists. Having started out as a designer, the 39-year-old uses visual aspects of advertising, including corporate logos and public signage in his work. Many galleries in the United States, including the Museum of Modern Art in New York, have his pieces on permanent display.

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TRENDS

Infinite Variations Some recent works of established German minimalist Imi Knoebel were on show at Art Cologne. He combined elements of painting, sculpture and architecture to create geometrical, abstract pieces that have an almost three-dimensional quality, because layers of monochrome strips frame canvasses painted in a single colour. Using these modular components, seemingly endless variations on form and colour can be created that can affect a viewer’s perception of space. The 70-year-old painter and sculptor’s most famous work, 24 Colours for Blinky, is 24 irregular-shaped wood panels, each painted in a different, unmixed colour, with three of those panels superimposed on each other. Knoebel lives in Düsseldorf.

Still Going Strong The oldest artist with work on show at Art Cologne was 96-year-old painter Karl Otto Göetz who has experimented with many types of media during his lifetime, including abstract film, photo-painting and photograms. His early abstract paintings and collages were destroyed during World War Two. He produced his trademark abstract paintings from the 1960s by moving black paint around on white canvas with a spatula, not a brush, to emphasise the function of structure as rhythm. Since the 1990s he paints with black on white paper, or white on black cardboard to create what he says are noncontrolled, automatic sketches produced at high speed.

Hearing Clothes It may be tricky to see anyone wearing this suit, but it will sound good if they do. This is one of dozens of soundsuits created by New York artist and fashion designer, Nick Cave.

The soundsuits are designed to make sounds when the wearer moves, and can be made from a mix of materials, including yarn, sequins, bottle caps, vintage toys, rusted iron sticks and hair. His first soundsuit was made out of twigs gathered from Chicago’s Grant Park. He says the soundsuits bring together the disciplines of fine art, textiles and modern dance, which are his main interests. Their designs draw on African and Caribbean cultures and haute couture.

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TRENDS

Post-Communist Surrealist Considered Germany’s most important contemporary artist, Neo Rauch’s paintings are influenced by his experiences of living through the last days of Communism in East Germany and its eventual collapse. Scenes show people at work in confused, sometimes collapsing environments. Typically, peculiar creatures mix with ordinary people from different time periods and obstructive, uniformed men amid socialist architecture and rolling, German countryside as in Die Kontrolle. Some commentators sum up the Leipzig-born painter’s work as Post-Communist Surrealism, though Rauch denies being a surrealist. The 50-year-old painter’s strange, colourful works are popular with collectors in the United States.

Collecting Memories Chinese artist, Yin Xiuzhen’s sculpture, Collective Subconscious, was one of the show’s largest works – a mini-bus cut in half with its two ends reconnected by a corridor on wheels, the whole piece is 14-metres long. The corridor’s covering is made from old clothes, its floor from stainless steel. Chinese pop music plays from speakers at the back of the vehicle and visitors are encouraged to sit on benches inside, chat with one another and contemplate. Like her other pieces, this sculpture is inspired by China’s rapid social and economic transformation, its impact on people, and the importance of retaining a collective memory.

Satirical Work Ukrainian-born Zoya Cherkassky satirises establishments of all kind. Sometimes she makes her work appear grotesque to shake viewers out of their apathy, she says. She created The End of Capitalism, pictured right, at the height of the global financial crisis in 2008, to describe what she felt was happening to the world economic order. As well as sculptures, the 34-year-old artist creates paintings, many of which depict scenes of human violence, including in art galleries, her way of questioning the art establishment. She is based in Germany and the Middle East. Early 20th century Russian art is among her biggest inspiration.

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Move any mountain Forrest Fulton Architects’ proposal for a living mountain in the Armenian capital of Yerevan, ‘ultimate green’ bags made from kudzu vine and conceptual plans for a habitable floating island made from waste plastic currently polluting the Pacific Ocean are put in the sustainability spotlight. TEXT: STEVE HILL

Lace Hill.

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ECO

MAKING MOUNTAINS

Proposals for Lace Hill, a new model mixed-use building in the form of a mountain, have been revealed for the Armenian capital of Yerevan by Forrest Fulton Architects of Alabama, United States.

This competition entry is for an 85,000 square metre living hill that would feature a series of tower-voids acting as cooling devices in the city’s semi-arid climate. Window walls set deep within the terraces shade summer sun. Planted surfaces absorb solar heat, filter air and water-borne toxins, and support insect and animal life. Geothermal wells and radiant floors efficiently heat and cool spaces. Recycled grey water irrigates agriculture and hill plantings. The lace perforated surface ventilates the hill.

The major structure is found in the perforated concrete exterior surfaces, allowing for columnless and beamless flexible spaces. The undulations of the surfaces form structurally efficient vaults and arches while creating a variety of views and maximising area. Vehicular traffic is completely separated while all parking will be underground.

March July 2009 2010

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ECO

Clockwise from left: Nature Bag from the Khmu people of Laos; Jacob and Michelle Fausset’s Upcycled Jewellery; Dell’s bamboo-based packaging.

COMPOSTABLE PACKAGING

Dell’s bamboo-based packaging has been certified compostable by the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM), and could soon be used to protect an increased number of products.

The computer company began experimenting with this eco-friendly alternative to cardboard when shipping its Mini 10 and Mini 10v notebooks as well as its Inspiron laptops. And the recent certification by ASTM will help Dell cut the volume of its packing materials while at the same time increasing the recycled content.

The packaging is made from mechanically pulped bamboo from a Forest Stewardship Council-certified bamboo forest in China, and will compost and biodegrade at a rate comparable to known compostable materials when added to a hot, active compost pile.

Bamboo is a member of the grass family and is among the fastest growing woody plants in the world. It is also extremely strong while its deep root systems protect against land erosion.

BAGS OF POTENTIAL

The Khmu people of Laos in Southeast Asia use kudzu vine to make reusable and biodegradable bags that are sold in the West as a central feature of a poverty reduction project.

Nature Bags have been essential to the survival of the Khmu for the secure gathering of essentials. They are versatile, stretchable, minimalist and an example of sustainable style thanks to the vine, which is extremely strong, durable and grips the cargo.

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Nature bags, available through www.naturebag.org, have been described as “ultimate green” because kudzu vine is not cultivated and requires no manufacturing, while the end products are made in individual homes, allowing good child nurturing and preservation of traditional life.

Their production and use also appears to be carbon negative because the kudzu vine removes carbon gases from the atmosphere as it grows.

PRECIOUS REPOSSESSIONS

Jacob and Michelle Fausset own a small business in the state of Kansas that manages repossessed properties, accumulating around 2,350 kilograms of rubbish a month that is separated and recycled wherever possible.

They’re particularly careful to take apart electronic items and remove circuit boards, which are transformed into totally unique necklaces and earrings, and marketed as Upcycled Jewellery.

These pieces do not contain any lead, mercury or cadmium with any contaminants eliminated during a painstaking preparation process that also includes the use of an acrylic coating.

“I have always been fascinated by the Earth’s environmental harmony, being able to recycle its own wastes,” Jacob says. “As humans, we have a harder time so I use found or discarded items to create art.”

BROUGHT TO BOOK

Green Dream, the latest publication of The Why Factory, an independent think-tank and research institute run by MVRDV and the University of Technology Delft, comprehensively explores the current state of the debate

ECO

Clockwise from top left: Recycled Island; Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation’s National Solar Energy Centre; the Nissan Leaf.

and practice of sustainability. It features 22 essays that suggest solutions for a new approach in this ever-growing field with The Why Factory concluding that green is ultimately about performance.

A calculator is proposed, which can measure how green cities are, making their efforts in the field of sustainability comparable and ultimately effective.

Visionary projects illustrate the green future that contextual, large-scale, imaginative and measurable architectural and urban projects might produce.

ISLAND DREAM

Dutch architectural company WHIM is focusing attention on the vast amounts of plastic polluting the Pacific Ocean with research plans to convert this waste into a habitable floating island.

The project, currently in its conceptual phase, estimates that the Pacific is currently home to a staggering 44 million kg of plastic waste which could be recycled on the spot into hollow blocks that would become central to the construction of Recycled Island.

Solar and wave energy would provide electricity for an island the size of Hawaii capable of accommodating 500,000 residents in an urban setting with the cultivation of seaweed making this new land fertile. Designers envision it as a modern and green version of Venice that would revolutionise the character of plastic waste from garbage to building material.

The project is currently looking to collaborate with oceanographers, chemists and civil engineers as plans are fine tuned.

POWER OF THE SUN

Construction began earlier this year on a new solar thermal field, tower and research facility at the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation’s (CSIRO) National Solar Energy Centre in New South Wales.

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The project is part of a Dhs310 million commitment to support solar thermal and solar photovoltaic research and development, and is due to become fully operational by March. The new field is the largest of its type in the world and will utilise a solar Brayton Cycle system that will pave the way for the creation of solar power that requires only sun and air to create electricity.

Most solar thermal power stations need water to operate a steam turbine, unlike CSIRO’s Solar Brayton technology, which is suited to many parts of Australia – and the world – that receive only minimal rainfall.

The project requires the design and construction of a new 30 metre solar tower and 4,000 square metre field of more than 450 mirrors – known as heliostats – which will power a 200kW turbine. And a new high temperature laboratory will be established to support research into thermal storage systems.

Although the facility will be used for research, a field of this size could generate enough electricity to power almost 100 homes.

TURN OVER A NEW LEAF

The Nissan LEAF billed as the world’s first affordable zero-emission car, is due to be launched later this year in Japan, the United States and Europe.

Designed specifically for a lithium-ion battery-powered chassis, this medium-sized hatchback comfortably seats five adults and has a range of more than 160 kilometres. The LEAF can be charged up to 80 per cent of its full capacity in less than 30 minutes with a quick charger. Charging at home through a 200V outlet is estimated to take approximately eight hours – ample time to enable an overnight refresh for consumer and car alike.

An on-board remote-controlled timer can also be pre-programmed to recharge batteries.

There is no tail pipe and no emission of CO2 or other greenhouse gases, while headlights are designed to split and redirect airflow away from the door mirrors, reducing wind noise and drag. They also consume about 50 per cent of the electricity of conventional lamps, which helps the Nissan LEAF to achieve its world-class range autonomy. ID

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The Crate and Barrel stores, designed by architect Nick Effler, in Mall of the Emirates and Mirdif City Centre gave Dubai a taste of the Big Apple recently. Designers, id readers and special guests enjoyed seeing the latest colourful trends that can also be found in the company’s famous New York store at a duo of in-store design events sponsored by identity and sister publications Hello! Middle East and Emirates Woman. Copies of Home by identity were given away as raffle prizes and one lucky winner at each store was awarded a Dhs 5,000 gift voucher. ID

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OFFICES | DESIGN FORMULA

Work pods Workspaces within the home are being reinvented as more people conduct their business from where they live, which means the work environment is being re-engineered to meet the functional and aesthetic needs of the at-home businessperson. A new generation of workspace concepts were seen recently in Milan. TEXT: LISA VINCENTI

DESIGN FORMULA

CONTENTS: 36 Occupational hazards 42 Corporate culture 45 All hands on desk 48 Personal touch

Rewrite, a cave-like workstation

by Danish designers GamFratesi.

July 2010

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DESIGN FORMULA | OFFICES

The prefab, minimalist OfficePOD offers at-home workers an inventive solution with a commute that can’t be matched.

The home office is the final frontier in the quest for at-home style. For years, the workspace wallowed in an unused room of the home, often filled with unappealing furnishings and the derelict leftovers from earlier years. But as laptops and wireless systems entered our homes more often work at home was done at the dining table or on the sofa.

Today, neither of those scenarios will do. As the global economic downturn has squeezed many out of the corporate environment, the home office or dedicated workspace has become essential for many – and the resulting attention has created a host of smart products designed for entrepreneurial aesthetes.

Whether a prefab modern pod set up in the garden, a sophisticated workstation built into the living room, or a separate room replete with all the bells and whistles of traditional executive suites, the home work area incorporates not only practical, ergonomic and functional features, but also leaves ample room for sophistication.

“During the economic downturn many jobseekers turned freelance, or set up on their own, running their businesses from home,” says Dubai-based Shelley Pond, an interior designer and forecaster with UK interior design practice and trend consultancy Scarlet Opus. “With developments in technology allowing us to be anywhere and still communicate easily with clients and suppliers around

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the world, post-recession we see a growing trend and requirement for home offices. Working in this way provides the opportunity to reclaim our home and family lives, something that is increasingly important to us as we desire more quality personal time.”

Pond is right on point. During the past few years, more and more people began working from home due to a number of factors, including the economic forces that resulted in widespread layoffs; the increasing trend of telecommuting to cut business overheads; or simply based on a lifestyle choice that places family needs ahead of climbing the corporate ladder. Whatever the reason for joining the ranks of the stay-at-home worker, a sophisticated home office setup has become critical for running a successful venture and also for creating a much-needed separation between personal and work demands.

OCCUPATIONAL HAZARDS

One of the major dilemmas facing the at-home worker is being able to maintain a division between work responsibilities and family life. Experts agree that it is crucial to set up the home office in a dedicated area, preferably away from the noise of the family. This minimises distractions and also makes it easier to

From Italian glass furnishings maker Fiam comes an airy interpretation of the desk that was exhibited in Milan.

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OFFICES | DESIGN FORMULA

July 2010

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DESIGN FORMULA | OFFICES

In the spirit of the Bubble chair, Artifort’s multi-purpose Globus is a pod-like workstation that can be closed when not in use.

prevent work from spilling into family life, and family life from straining workflow – two major challenges for anyone working from home.

However, many have not heeded the advice of experts. Furniture maker Herman Miller began a research project to study the habits of the at-home worker and found that home-based workers carry out business at 2.4 different locations throughout the home. Eighty-seven per cent work in their home offices, 65 per cent work in the living area and 48 per cent work in the bedroom. What’s more, 43 per cent of women work from the kitchen counter, as do 33 per cent of men.

“In short, the home office, enabled and untethered by technology, has expanded its reach throughout the home, reflecting the ongoing blurring of the lines that separate home life from work life,” says Victoria Redshaw, Scarlet Opus’s lead forecaster. “The struggle for a better work-life balance is a battle increasingly fought in our own houses. Previously we sought refuge in our home from work and the outside world. Now, as areas of the home turn into office space, it is more difficult for our homes to act as the essential sanctuary we need.”

Last year, one company, OfficePOD, launched a prefab home office designed to be set up anywhere in the yard. The chic, modern OfficePOD, which provides 2.1 x 2.1metres of workspace and storage, features a built-in desk, a wall of storage and floor-to-ceiling windows, with a commute that can’t be beaten.

The next best thing to an OfficePOD would be a quiet room as far from distractions as possible, and some people have even chosen to set-up their home office in their home theatres. A recent installation completed by

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Swiss-based Goldmund paired a traditional home cinema room and office space. For this client, who needed to be able to video conference with his employees around the globe, the space functions not only as an area for hosting teleconferences and watching movies with family and friends, but also serves as his fully equipped home office.

Still, even when space doesn’t permit, an inventive home office can be tucked away in an unused area of the home, a stunning example of which came from Paul Raff and his eponymous Toronto-based architecture studio. In his ecodriven Stack house, which is currently under construction, he makes fantastic use of often-overlooked space to carve out a minimal yet highly usable work area. Tucked under the stairs, a desk, built into a wall-to-ceiling system, offers intimacy and privacy in the home’s vast, triple-height open-concept living space.

The system of wall cabinets, in addition to offering a strong visual demarcation, offers plenty of storage space for files, books and computer equipment, all hidden neatly away behind anthracite-painted cabinet doors.

Then there are some cutting-edge inventions that fall somewhere in between OfficePOD and Raff’s design. In the spirit of the famous Bubble chair, Michiel van der Kley has created a similar profile for Artifort’s pod-like, computer workstation, Globus. Closed, the Globus offers a sense of intrigue as to what awaits inside. When open it proves a useful multi-functional all-in-one workspace complete with a height-adjustable work top and a comfortable swivel chair.

“As not everyone is fortunate enough to have space for a separate office in their house, it is crucial that interior designers work with clients to achieve a degree of ‘division’ between work areas and personal living space,” Redshaw

DESIGN FORMULA | OFFICES

Top to bottom: From Porro comes two dynamic, minimalist solutions to working at home. Homework, caries a wide but thin profile; while Piero Lissoni’s Modern conceives a geometric, rigorous system.

says. “The ability to be able to ‘shut down’ from work in the evenings or weekends is essential when you work from home and so consideration must be given to ‘creative separation’.”

CORPORATE CULTURE

In the office suites of global corporations, a design restructuring is taking place and it proves a noteworthy development from which residential designers and homeowners should take note. The Industrial Revolution gave birth to what is now considered the traditional office design, where executive offices and managerial offices flank the premium spaces on perimeter walls, and lower-level employees are corralled into what has become known as the cubicle farm.

As real estate costs soared during the 1990s and web-based technologies boomed, more companies began assessing how they use their brick-andmortar facilities. Now, companies attempting to cut costs and deal with the new knowledge-based economy, which often thrives on collaborative efforts, are rethinking the office.

The initial hierarchical structure, where the coveted walled-off office of the upper ranks encircled rows of cubicles, has begun shifting to a more democratic structure that has brought down the cubicle walls and moved many top-rankers into an open layout. In fact, traditional office work, characterised by repetitive clerical tasks, has largely given way to knowledge work, where information processing, intellectual capital and idea generation are the primary tasks of employees. Perhaps more importantly, knowledge is what gives successful businesses their competitive edge.

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The geography of the office gets a fresh interpretation with Zanottaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Quaderna desk paired with the Eva armchair.

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OFFICES | DESIGN FORMULA

The distinctive asymmetric design of Carlo Mollino’s workplace classic the Cavour writing desk, by Zanotta, is still relevant.

Duncan Sutherland, chairman of the consultancy Sutherland Group, dubbed the phenomena “officing”, in other words, the intellectual work that is necessary to meet a commonly agreed upon set of organisational goals and objectives, which today is completely independent of time and space. “If our goal is to take fullest advantage of our intellectual resources… we can no longer afford to adopt a monolithic approach to the office,” Sutherland states. “We can no longer afford to constrain our most valuable asset – the human mind – by forcefitting it into what amounts to an anachronistic straightjacket called ‘the office’, no matter how pleasant and well-planned that office may be, and no matter how many design awards it may have won. We have to find ways to exploit the fact that not only do we often do our best intellectual work at strange times and in strange places (and sometimes even in strange company), but that the mind ‘works’ 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, for as long as we live.”

The realities facing global corporations are forcing designers to at least begin addressing some of the issues suggested by Sutherland. High real estate costs, decreased corporate profits, a shrinking workforce and increased cost-cutting measures have resulted in designers creating far more flexible spaces, where workstations and furnishings can be reconfigured easily and cheaply depending on needs.

“What we’re seeing the most is the need for lots and lots of flexibility, and for teams to be regrouped or moved around on a daily basis,” notes Irene Pujol, director of interior design for H2L2, a Philadelphia-based architectural firm. “And the only way to achieve that – especially if it’s [done] often – is to have flexible

workstations or a one-size-fits-all concept. For those who need to team up, furniture must be on casters so it can be rearranged by the workers themselves.”

Current introductions by top office product makers all stress flexibility. Knoll, a manufacturer of modern residential and commercial furnishings, initiated a research project in 2008 called “Integrated Work” to study workflow. Based on those findings it introduced a series of products, including the just-released Antenna Workspaces, created by Masamichi Udagawa and Sigi Moeslinger, the principals of Antenna Design.

Antenna Workspaces is a new approach to the workplace that supports freedom and mobility: desks, tables, screens and storage combine and recombine in a seemingly infinite number of ways for both commercial and residential offices. Even its MultiGeneration task chair is designed to be dynamic, featuring an open design for 270 degrees of sitting, a rolled top and passive flex in the shell to encourage movement and personal expression.

The message for all of us is that home office design should also be reconsidered in light of our new approaches to working and our continual changing work responsibilities.

ALL HANDS ON DESK

As more and more people earn a living from home, the work area is being given far more thought than before in terms of furnishings, lighting and accessories. In fact, the at-home workforce is expected to swell, not only due

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Patricia Urquiola never fails to surprise, her Scriba desk for Molteni&C was exhibited in Milan and is loaded with chic and pragmatic details.

to cost-cutting measures at companies but also because of the tremendous strain commuting to work in cars places on metropolitan areas and the environment in terms of congestion, quality of life and energy consumption.

According to research firm IDC, the number of worldwide mobile workers will reach one billion by next year.

“Working from home, once stigmatised as peripheral or reserved for the self-employed, is now a mainstream reality for many types of workers, including those whose employers, for a variety of reasons, are either encouraging or mandating it,” the Herman Miller report says. “As a new kind of work habitat, the home is the unexpected office of the future, increasingly accepted as a viable, even preferable, workplace alternative. In addition to changing the

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meaning of the home office, this blending of work and home is also changing the meaning of work itself.”

Even the desk, the traditional symbol of status in corporate life, is being rethought or at the very least being given a fashionable update. “The word ‘desk’ has been used so long that it suffers meaning fatigue. For most people it simply conjures up in their minds a stylised image with little mobility, freshness, or relevance to their actual work life. A traditional desk comes from a departing era of simpler tasks, conducted in sequence and of short time duration,” stated Robert Propst, former president of Herman Miller Research and the inventor of cubicle forerunner Action Office, in an interview with Contract magazine prior to his death.

OFFICES | DESIGN FORMULA

Top to bottom: For those that need to set up shop in the living room, Valcucine Living’s Operam proves an agile and sophisticated solution; Anneau chair by Ligne Roset.

“This kind of work is rapidly disappearing into machines, especially the computer. We see that tasks are generated, that they become mental meaning structures that properly should be maintained, sometimes for days or weeks.

We see that our complex affairs may require places for numerous simultaneous task structures.”

The result is that office geography should be rethought according to how one manages information and the intellectual process behind knowledge creation. The ideal space proposed by Propst would include: “surfaces for work generation, open storage for tangible information assembly, perhaps covers for some kinds of work in process, and a minimum of drawer storage”. “Working with this kind of vocabulary, a tremendous variety of offices can be established,” he stated. “Everyone has different needs and some of us obviously need much more elaborate work areas than others. Equally important, some of us need simpler offices that are good at self-purging.”

Office design experts agree that in this day and age, it is far wiser to do without lots of paperwork and filing. They encourage a system that forces people to get rid of papers by moving important documents into a digital system thus helping to streamline the workspace by simplifying organisation and reducing clutter. “The key to an effective home office is organisation,” says Thomas Wright, co-founder of New York-based Atlas Industries. “The old saying: ‘A place for everything and everything in its place’, can describe a work environment in which options equal organisation.”

Yet for the contemporary workspace another key direction, directly influenced by the corporate workplace and the new needs of employees, is adaptability.

Italian furniture atelier Porro introduced its minimalist solution to the residential work area with the introduction of its Homework series. The multipurpose and

dynamic range features a wide but thin profile and includes table, chairs and bookshelves without neglecting ergonomic accuracy and functionality.

For another Porro collection, Modern, architect Piero Lissoni conceived a geometric system that is both rigorous and elegant, the hallmarks of his work.

Modern’s Material House composition, which at almost 9 metres long, is designed for those who require a hardcore storage solution, with an interplay of closed boxes (which can be used for storing hanging files) and open bays. From Valcucine Living comes its latest collection, Operam, designed by Gabriele Centazzo. It is an agile system that offers a home office solution for those who need to set up shop in the living room.

Made up of storage modules that are developed horizontally or vertically, the collection includes bookcases, wall units with lift-up doors and a wall-hung desk to use as a workstation. A seamless aesthetic can thus be employed in the design of the workspace, one that also offers a simple way to hide paperwork, supplies and computers when not in use.

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IF award-winner LIM, a multi-task LED light, reworks task lighting giving it a wafer-thin, contemporary aspect.

When Atlas Industries developed its as4 line, it designed a system that is meant to be highly adaptable and movable. The series includes bookshelves, deep open shelves, racks for electronic components and computer peripherals, desk surfaces, file drawers, pencil drawers (for use under the desk) and drawer storage.

“It’s one thing to design the perfect working environment, but what happens when the requirements of that work change?” Wright asks. “With the as4, components can simply be added and/or reconfigured as needed. When moving, entirely new configurations can be created to suit a new location. This is obviously a point at which we win out over custom built-ins. Most built-ins are by their nature static, and have to be left behind.”

PERSONAL TOUCH

Today, there are more fashionable and stylish options available for the workspace than ever before, and it has become quite easy to create a work area that is in harmony with the rest of the home. A wide selection of products are now on the market that are sustainable and designed with future needs in mind so that homeowners can hold onto them despite a move or changing at-home work needs.

Equally as important is that this space can also convey the personality and personal style of its users. In fact, workplace research shows that one of the top contributors to workplace satisfaction and comfort is completely immeasurable.

“The effect of beauty – the aesthetic element of a work environment – may be

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the most unquantifiable contributor to psychological comfort in the workplace,” states Herman Miller in another research report.

Hence the design of the home office or work area deserves more attention than it has garnered in the past and it can be executed in a manner that complements the design of the rest of the home. With the broader design trends of eco-friendly, sustainable, natural and organic being major drivers of new product introductions at the major furniture fairs this year, home and workspace have numerous options for incorporating the latest in fashionable furnishings.

Famed contemporary Italian glass furnishings maker Fiam Italia turned a new chapter this year when it premiered its first series specifically designed for the workspace. In developing the Home Office range, Fiam hoped to achieve a new concept of the ‘study’ by rethinking the frontiers between domestic and professional space, between the rigidly defined time of work and the fluid time of private life”.

The Luminaire collection by Roberto Paoli, comprised of desk, drawer unit and cabinet, is inspired by the use of curved and broken lines. Fulfilling the typical function of an office table but with the added expressiveness of curved glass, the desk is transformed into an interior design object in its own right, giving beauty and distinction to the working environment through its transparency.

With its elegant balance of glass and metal, the Eiffel desk designed by Lissoni interprets contemporary style in the minimalism of its forms and its versatility, which allows it to be personalised with a vast assortment of finishes and dimensions. And, the Home Office version of Rialto marks a major milestone for

OFFICES | DESIGN FORMULA

Top to bottom: The Data Chair, from Fornasarig, fits into any office topography; this modular bookshelf by Pallucco pulls double-duty by infusing any home office set-up with ambiance.

Fiam and a real breakthrough in curved glass in which new technology allows for the desk to be “made-to-measure” with variable height, width and depth.

Finally, Fiam also released a fresh interpretation for a historic icon: Danny Lane’s Atlas, which proves a fascinating synthesis of art and design in a dual-purpose table, capable of creating striking effects in both living or office contexts.

For Molteni&C, Patricia Urquiola developed a clever and stylish multi-function desk as part of the company’s 2010 offerings. Scriba, a light-toned wood desk, features clean, airy lines but leaves room for chic – and pragmatic – details such as the decoratively carved support element and a leather side pocket. The piece conveys a sense of lightness while still offering several convenient amenities, including a practical lateral drawer, a built-in metal mesh book support and a customised computer niche complete with pullout keyboard tray.

Beyond ensuring a functional work area and storage solution, thought can be given to other items that set the mood of the space, whether via the introduction of a lounge chair for those times when sitting at the desk seems too serious, the hanging of a striking chandelier or the introduction of ambient light features. Italian lighting company Pallucco dreamt up an ingenious solution when it released Lalinea, a modular bookshelf system that can be hung vertically or horizontally. The real beauty of it, however, is that different coloured lights can be alternated freely to cast a personalised glow.

“It’s important that home offices make a design statement about the homeowner and the work that they do,” Victoria Redshaw says. “Home offices should communicate the character of the user and convey their business message. Creating an inspiring area or room to work in helps design clients to be disciplined when working from home and helps them to get ‘into the zone’.

We need to create spaces that promote creativity, that clients will want to spend time in, that make their working day easier and more enjoyable… and to do this you have to think outside the office.” ID

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DESIGN FORMULA | OFFICES

Design sources atlasindustries.com artifort.com; tel: (04) 3291800 Fiam. tel: (04) 3383341 fornasarig.it gamfratesi.com goldmund.com h2l2.com hermanmiller.com; tel: (04) 515 6565 knoll.com; tel: (04) 7017531 modoluce.com molteni.it; tel: (04) 2971777 officepod.co.uk pallucco.com palmonade.com; tel: (04)3488140 paulraffstudio.com porro.com; tel: (04) 3349943 purity.ae; tel: (04) 3349943 reyami.com; (02) 6430305 scarletopus.com valcucine.com; (04) 3488140 zanotta.it; tel: (04) 4257888 zoluti.com; tel: (04) 3291800

Atlas Industries designed its as4 system to be highly adaptable and movable.

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A French affair identityâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Paris correspondent Ian Phillips fell in love with a historic, stylish and character-filled apartment in Paris, one of the most beautiful, fashion-conscious and romantic cities in the world.

TEXT: IAN PHILLIPS PHOTOGRAPHY: STEPHAN JULLIARD

TRIPOD AGENCY

Tulip dining table by Eero Saarinen, Finale dining chairs by Gustavo Pulitzer; painting by Nancy Lorenz.features silver leaf and mother of pearl inlay; In the Lake stainless steel coffee table and Last Night ceiling light by Damien Langlois-Meurinne; re-edition of a Robin Day sofa; custom goat skin rug.

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INTERIORS

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Left to right: Ian Phillips; 1970’s Lucite armchair; Hal concrete side table by William Earle.

There are times in life when you just have to seize the moment. That morning in May was one of them. We’d been searching for a new flat for several weeks when my mobile phone rang. “Jump in a taxi immediately,” exhorted my partner.

Ten minutes later, I pulled up and the two women responsible for letting out the apartment were thoroughly charmed, one had apparently turned to her colleague and exclaimed approvingly: “Enfin un bel homme!” (“At last, a good-looking man!”)

Looking back, I now find it incomprehensible that, at first, I was not equally enthusiastic about the space itself. I think it must have been the previous décor, which was done with taste, just not mine. There were Oriental carpets, light fixtures that looked like tortoise shells and bright, bright flashes of colour. One of the walls in the living room was fire engine red and a bedroom had been kitted out in a vivid royal blue.

Still, within no time, the flat’s undeniable advantages had won me around.

It was situated on Rue de Rennes, not far from both Montparnasse and Saint-Germain-des-Prés. Its 118 square metre wrapped around a central courtyard in a boomerang shape, which exaggerates the sense of space. The

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kitchen was large enough to eat in (something of a rarity in Paris) and one of the three bedrooms could serve as an office.

Then, there were the stunning views. Located on the seventh floor, the apartment affords a breathtaking panoramic vision of the Parisian cityscape. From its windows, you can see the Sacré Cœur, the Arc de Triomphe, the Grand Palais, the Invalides and that most iconic of French monuments, the Eiffel Tower.

The building itself is pretty extraordinary, too. Its bulbous corner tower (which is right in front of one of my bedroom windows) bears the inscription “Félix Potin” – the name of one of France’s most famous grocers. In 1860, he opened Paris’ very first gourmet department store and the following year constructed his own factory at La Villette. He died in 1871, but by the beginning of the 20th century the company he had founded was the most important purveyor of food in the world. In 1923, it had 70 branches, 10 factories, five wine stores and 650 horses. Four years later, its employee count had reached 8,000.

The Rue de Rennes building was commissioned in 1904 and has been described as “one of the most demonstrative and emblematic of Paris’ Art Nouveau edifices”. Its architect was Paul Auscher, who also created numerous pieces of furniture that are now part of the permanent collection at the Musée

INTERIORS

Top to bottom: Photos from White Sands Beach series by Julia Christie, Laurel table lamps with Lucite box vase; a peacock adds a dash of colour and fun.

d’Orsay. But it was not just a stylistic success, it also marked the first use of reinforced concrete in the construction of a department store.

Inside, an escalator led to a tearoom and photographic studio on the first floor. Outside, the façade boasts a number of typical Art Nouveau flourishes.

There are stylised floral motifs, curvaceous balconies and a gold mosaic adorned with the names of products which could once be bought inside: “Biscuits”, “Chocolats”, “Parfumerie” and “Poissons de mer et d’eau douce” (“Sea and Fresh-Water Fish”).

In recent times, the building’s history has been marked by rather more tragic events. On September 17, 1986, a bomb was detonated in front of it and seven people were killed. But today, the lower two floors are home to a branch of Zara – a godsend to many people, though I must admit I’ve still not set foot in there.

We moved in with very little furniture in tow. Our old flat had been dominated by brown tones, dark wood and Scandinavian design. Not only did we feel like a change, but we also reasoned that the new place called for something else. Its greatest assets are its views and our starting point for the décor was to distract as little as possible from them.

Therefore we chose a subtle colour palette inspired by the sky and roofs of Paris: whites, off-whites, pale blues and greys. Thanks to the genius of a decorator friend, Chahan Minassian, there are also some sage accents. I had turned to him for advice with the fabrics and explained that I wanted to re-upholster the dining chairs in either cream or sky blue. When I turned up at his office, his assistant, Marie-Françoise, told me: “Chahan thinks you should have

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Top to bottom: View of the Eiffel Tower and Hôtel des Invalides; convex mirrors from Sentou.

this green instead!” Remarkably, he’d never actually set foot in the apartment, I’d simply described it to him, yet his choice turned out to be perfect.

For the past decade, I’ve worked as an interiors journalist and, quite naturally, a number of things I’ve seen have made their way into the apartment. I first spotted the William Earle Hal concrete side table in a house Chahan decorated in Beverly Hills. The white goatskin rug, meanwhile, was inspired by one I’d seen in a flat he designed in Miami. He’d placed his in the master bedroom, which is no doubt a more practical option than using one in the living room as many of our visitors daren’t walk on it for fear of marking it and we never serve red wine anywhere near it. That said, it acts as the perfect camouflage for my mother-in-law’s dog, a white Westland terrier, who more or less disappears when she lies down on it.

I also recalled the words of John Janik, the owner of a beautiful Modernist house in Dallas, who explained that the classics of Modern design have become so familiar that they visually almost disappear – perfect for our goal of creating a low-key interior. Thus, two Florence Knoll side tables and Eero Saarinen’s Tulip dining table were acquired.

We also bought pieces from two people whose work we particularly admire.

The stainless steel coffee table and satellite-style chandelier were both created by the young French designer Damien Langlois-Meurinne. The New York-based artist Nancy Lorenz, meanwhile, came up a remarkable custom painting for the dining area. That had to be shipped from the United States, as did many other

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INTERIORS

Top to bottom: K22 desks from Haworth, ICF’s Una chairs; Raindrops sculpture by Curtis Jere, stainless steel and cream marble bedside tables

by Nicos Zographos; Big 5 coat hooks by James Irvine for Danese.

pieces: testimony to our love of 20th century American design. The console in the entrance hall was discovered in Miami; the lamps in the living room were bought at an auction house in Illinois; the bedside tables came from Los Angeles; and the Curtis Jeré wall sculpture in Connecticut.

My favourite find, however, was the set of Gustavo Pulitzer Finale dining chairs, originally designed for the MV Victoria I cruise liner in 1959. They came from a dealer called X21 in San Francisco, who rather unscrupulously omitted to mention on the condition report that the metal legs were completely wonky.

“It looks like someone threw them out of a third-floor window!” remarked my upholsterer. Fortunately, he managed to straighten them for us.

But that was not the only problem – the goatskin rug, for example, had to be sent back several times after we kept discovering holes in it. My favourite story, however, concerns the office desks, which came from a firm called Haworth.

Originally they were supposed to include an elaborated shelving system, but the company was incapable of installing them. Ironically, they did not know how to mount their own products!

Now that everything is in place, I only have one remaining difficulty: the daily struggle to keep my mind on my work. Instead of looking at my computer, my eyes are constantly drawn towards the windows of my office. Outside, I glance at the green roof of La Madeleine or the shimmering golden dome of the Invalides. As I do so, I tell myself something I’ve known for a very long time: that Paris really is the most beautiful city in the world. ID

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ARMANI HOTEL

idProperty

CONTENTS: 60 Style and substance 66 To the manor born 70 Antennae 73 Portfolio

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TEXT: DOROTHY WALDMAN

In Burj Khalifa, a tower that reached new heights in engineering and architecture, is the new Armani Hotel, which sets new standards in hospitality design.

Perfection personified

INTERNATIONAL | idProperty

A glowing curved wall of back-lit black and white creates a dramatic entrance to the nightclub.

It is only appropriate that Giorgio Armani’s first hotel should be positioned in the world’s tallest building, Burj Khalifa, which towers over Dubai, a city where firsts and superlatives reign. Occupying the first eight floors of the tower, whose shape is based on the trefoil Hymenocallis, an indigenous desert flower, and then two additional floors above, the 160 rooms and suites evoke the timeless elegance of the designer’s runway collections as well as the magnificence of the landmark building.

Every element of the hotel, from the sophisticated colour palette and clean lines to the textural elements, was designed and planned by Armani himself to realise the creation of a hotel that exemplifies the “Stay with Armani” experience. “It has long been my dream to have a hotel in which I myself would like to stay and entertain family and friends, where the Armani aesthetic is combined with Italian style, warmth and hospitality,” he said at the opening.

“I wanted something very important, something to be remembered, not something just for the present.”

Yet in the beginning, when the Italian was first approached to design the hotel

by Mohamed Alabbar, CEO of Emaar Properties, the designer was hesitant because of his preference for less rather than more, to take out rather than to add. “We spent two years getting to know each other,” Alabbar said and the result is the first of a series of hotels bearing the Armani name to be located in major cities throughout the world.

The soaring arches of the hotel logo, a stylised variation of the designer’s initials, form an open canopy in the lobby, enveloping everyone who enters.

But Armani points out that the process of designing fashion is different from designing a hotel. “The starting point in creating something is always comfort and style. Designing a hotel is a bigger commitment, which is why I love it,” he said. “When I saw this, I was very emotional. After five years of working on this project, I finally saw it. It was marvellous to see how it came to life.”

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The towering arches in the lobby envelop guests in an open canopy referencing both traditional and contemporary architectural forms.

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INTERNATIONAL | idProperty

The subtle infusion of colour and shapes give a sense of place in Amal, the Indian restaurant.

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Top to bottom: Red adds a lucky element to the design of Hashi, the Japanese restaurant; Giorgio Armani.

Throughout, variations of Armaniâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s soothing, sophisticated design themes prevail. From the lounges to the guest rooms, to the multitude of restaurants, the different spaces each use materials such as Eramosa stone floors, zebra wood panelling, fabric covered walls, bamboo and metals; rich shades of browns, taupes, creams and greys in an array of fabrics and patterns to create textural contrast; the minimal injections of red, orange and turquoise strategically placed for maximum impact as in the Japanese restaurant, where black and red are woven together to form chairs and stools; and classic shapes with smooth, unadorned edges that blend into curves and straights.

All the furnishings, from the bedroom desks and chairs to the displays at Armani/Peck, the prestigious deli that features rows of gourmet olive oils and pastas arranged in presentations as graceful as in a jewellery store, to the round leather banquets in Mediterraneo, are custom designed and produced for this specific hotel by Armani/Casa.

As in all his designs, Armani was involved in even the most minute of details.

Take for example the guest amenities: the shape of the dark brown soap and tops of the toiletries in the Armani/PrivĂŠ collection replicate the form of a smooth, beautifully shaped stone the designer found while taking a walk along an Italian beach. The sensuous shape provides a fluid counterpoint to the angular granite bathrooms, which feature basins and toiletry nooks with sharp right angles, counterbalancing the curvilinear walls, passageways and furnishings throughout the hotel.

Entering the sophisticated yet striking black and white world of Armani/PrivĂŠ is a haute departure from the subdued ambience of the outside world. Designed to become the ultimate place to see and be seen, the sweeping curved black staircase reflects the black and white backlit entrance as it descends to the lower level. Vibrating to the beats of the resident DJ, catwalk collections strut across a massive screen that can be viewed from the intimate white circular seating areas, and from both the upper and lower levels.

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INTERNATIONAL | idProperty

Clockwise from left: ARMANI/Galleria for haute-couture fashion accessories; control centre for the high-tech rooms; ARMANI/Peck captures the gourmet experience of Milan’s prestigious 125-year-old deli; light and airy Mediterraneo for elegant dining.

In contrast, overlooking the Dubai Fountain is the serene lounge, which creates a sense of place with a sand dune inspired landscape sculpture beneath a Bedouin tent. Stepping into the entrance of Amal, a restaurant that serves inspired Indian cuisine, is like entering a royal palace, the result of an innovative 3D effect created by five layers of backlit fabric. Inside, the restaurant is awash with pale blues accented with deep turquoise lights suspended above the round tables, while subdued greens and oranges accent the background of more traditional Armani colours at other tables. Giving another special touch to the tastes of India, the cutlery repeats the arches in the logo, while the services in each of the other restaurants are unique, specific to each location.

Every suite from the category Classic onwards consists of two rooms, a lounge complete with a glistening black desk and comfortable seating, and a bedroom, separated by a curved textured green panelled wall that reveals the entertainment and security centre when opened by a remote, which also controls a variety of other functions in the room, from lighting to temperature.

Levels nine through 16 of Burj Khalifa house the Armani Residences, 144 private residences, which, like the hotel, have been personally designed by the great man to be luxuriously elegant in his timeless, understated style.

To complete the experience, the Armani/Galleria, Fiori and Dolci offer the Privé collection, quintessential flower designs and signature sweets, biscuits and chocolates.

Next year, his second hotel will open within the fashion district of Milan, near the famous La Scala theatre and the Piazza del Duomo. The Armani Residences Marassi, at Sidi Abdel Rahman Bay in Egypt, will be his first villa offerings.

“Our dream was to create a special hotel in the Burj Khalifa,” Alabbar said. “It was easy to build, but difficult to create.” ID

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To the manor born In Britain these days it often pays rich dividends to have a lord as your landlord TEXT: RICHARD WARREN

Ainwick Castle, Northumberland, home of the Duke of Northumberland.

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INTERNATIONAL | idProperty

There may be talk of removing more hereditary peers from Britain’s House of Lords, but don’t be fooled into thinking the country’s aristocracy are being consigned to the history books. Unburdened by whatever little responsibility they had left for running Britain, they have made use of their new found freedom to turn themselves into successful property developers, with their schemes sometimes providing knock-on benefits for communities and property prices. The impact is felt across Britain because the gentry and aristocracy own one-third of the country’s land, including some of London’s best streets.

Only 92 hereditary peers remain in the House of Lords following reform in 1999 that stripped several hundred of their colleagues of their right to sit in Britain’s upper legislative chamber. Now, Britain’s new coalition Government wants elected representatives to replace most, possibly all, peers. Taking the hint, landed aristocrats are spending more time on their estates, taking advantage of tax incentives introduced in 2007 to convert redundant outbuildings into offices and to build new work premises for country folk fed up with commuting into the cities.

Some aristocrats are building holiday homes on their estates to tap into the growing popularity for cottage holidays. In northern England, the Duke of Northumberland, Ralph Percy, plans to build 200 new houses, 40 holiday chalets and a couple of supermarkets at three villages on his 40,470-hectare Northumberland estate near Newcastle.

“It is part of an ongoing process that has helped shape communities,” he says.

“It helps to provide vital revenue to maintain historic buildings, landscape and art, enhance tourism, increase employment and contribute to the local economy.”

Britain’s royals and aristocrats are a growing presence in Britain’s towns and cities, where they have been buying up and developing office blocks, shopping centres and homes, in some cases providing useful impetus for economic regeneration. Prince Charles’ Duchy of Cornwall estate is developing urban expansion schemes in the towns of Newquay and Dorchester that will provide 6,000 new homes, shops and business premises.

Mike Harrison, partner in charge of the landed estates group at accountants Saffery Champness, says most aristocrats have become property developers,

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83 Eaton Terrace living room.

with many using existing landholdings as collateral to raise funds and some setting up more than one development company. “The vast majority will have done property development in some shape or form,” he says, adding that many are now turning their attention to property acquisition.

Cash-rich aristocrats took advantage of the recession to expand their estates by buying up neighbouring farms that had been repossessed while some bought estates in Eastern Europe following the global property bust in 2008. The Duke of Northumberland is building up an international commercial property portfolio and the Duke of Westminster’s Dhs13.3 billion Grosvenor Estates empire is expanding across five continents.

However, it is in London where Britain’s aristocratic developers are most prominent, with seven families having built homes, shops and offices on their land since the 18th century. High taxes may have reduced the size of their estates during the latter half of the 20th century, but they remain large.

The most powerful estate is Grosvenor, which owns 121 hectares of Mayfair and Belgravia. To the west, the Earl of Cadogan owns 36 hectares of Knightsbridge and Chelsea, and to the north, the Howard de Walden Estate owns 37 hectares of Marylebone. The Portman Estate owns land around Portman Square, the Bedford Estate has 180 buildings in Bloomsbury, Ilchester dominates Holland Park and parts of Kensington, and Phillimore owns a chunk of Kensington.

These estates are now undergoing a renaissance as their owners improve public amenities and housing stock, and expand their role as shop landlords.

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Increasingly, these estates are lean, mean, corporate-style enterprises run by professional managers and property specialists, with the families largely taking a back seat. At least four estates – Bedford, Grosvenor, Cadogan and Howard de Walden – plan to buy more property over the next couple of years.

Ironically, the resurgence of these estates follows legislation in the 1960s, 1990s and noughties aimed at allowing residential leaseholders to buy their freeholds from aristocratic and other landlords whose control of housing stock would be weakened as a result. The big estates responded by using money from residential freehold sales to buy commercial property, mainly shops, and to build up portfolios of homes for rent. They have redeveloped old buildings and built new premises; a new, purpose-built cancer centre on Harley Street opened by the Howard de Walden Estate this year, for example.

Estate agents say development schemes by London’s aristocrats boost house prices in surrounding streets. Over the past 15 years, the Howard de Walden Estate has revitalised Marylebone High Street, where it owns many shop premises, by attracting big name retailers. Estate agency Knight Frank says this regeneration has helped Marylebone become a prime residential area.

According to property website zoopla.co.uk, residential prices in Belgravia, where Grosvenor Estates owns 81 hectares, are 50 per cent higher on average than in neighbouring Pimlico, where no single freeholder dominates the area.

Grosvenor invests in maintaining properties and local facilities, including a new Dhs53 million programme to plant trees, improve street furniture and make streets more pedestrian-friendly.

INTERNATIONAL | idProperty

Clockwise from above: 63 Eaton Square, Belgravia; 9a Grosvenor Square, Mayfair; 7 Wilton Place, Belgravia.

It lays down strict rules on building maintenance, even for homes sold as freeholds. For example, every building on the estate’s best residential streets must be painted in the same shade of “Grosvenor Cream” every seven years.

Other estates enforce similar agreements with residents.

Oliver Gilmartin, senior economist at the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors, says a holistic, community-minded approach can be beneficial.

“There is something to be said [for this] as the aristocrats want to maintain the community spirit and impose certain conditions and minimum standards which brings the quality of the properties up and, potentially, that can maintain an area and add to its attraction,” he says.

Mike Harrison believes aristocrats are motivated by a strong sense of history and responsibility to future generations of their family. “They are custodians of these assets,” he says. “If you are a traditional landowner and you own the village, you won’t want to be the one who sold it off. You will want to pass it down to succeeding generations.”

“Haute Couture” property developers like Finchatton, Balleroy and Rigby & Rigby are attracted to these estates’ involvement in community development.

Grosvenor is considered particularly influential. “In other cities it is usually left to

the urban planners to take charge of how a city is shaped,” says Alex Michelin, director at Finchatton. “This can result in fractured city centres and a slipping of standards throughout. Grosvenor take a much longer-term view spanning hundreds of years, which generally makes for better decisions.”

Finchatton has developed properties for Grosvenor Estates, including 63 Eaton Square, a five-bedroom house with new, thoroughly modern interiors behind its classic stucco facade. Also in Belgravia, Rigby & Rigby has renovated 83 Eaton Terrace, a five-bedroom house on the market for Dhs36 million, and 7 Wilton Place, a five-bedroom house with a 43-square-metre entertainment room that is priced at Dhs37 million. Rigby & Rigby makes bespoke furnishings for all its properties. Meanwhile, in Mayfair, Balleroy has redeveloped 9a Grosvenor Square, part of the former home of John Adams, the first US ambassador to London. On sale for Dhs45 million, this three-bedroom house features an 85 square metre ballroom and courtyard garden.

For something less pricey try Poundbury, the urban extension being built on the outskirts of Dorchester by the Duchy of Cornwall. Here, a three-bedroom house with garden is on the market for Dhs1.7 million, through Dorchester-based sales agents Greenslade Taylor Hunt. ID

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idProperty | ANTENNAE

Malaysia and Singapore want you while Britain may want your money, however, Australians would like you to stay away. TEXT: RICHARD WARREN

70

HOME HELP

COAST GUARDS

TIMELY OPTION

Italy’s Lake Como ranks alongside the Swiss Alps and the French Riviera as a place to live.

The world’s rich and famous certainly think so, as Madonna, George Clooney, Ronaldinho and Sylvester Stallone are just some of those who own or have owned homes there. However, buying its lakeside properties can be tough and very few of the best homes come to market because they exchange hands privately. Few international estate agencies have offices there while local estate agencies are not always helpful – often they market the same homes at different prices. Hoping to fill a gap in the market, Ultissimo, a London-based property developer that renovates property around Lake Como, has set up a property finding service for overseas homebuyers. The developer is using its local contacts to help buyers find homes. “We are approached with a constant flow of private sales opportunities,” the company’s Paul Belcher says.

While Britain’s coalition Government considers which of its properties to sell to reduce the national debt, at least it knows the last of its World War Two debt to Canada and the United States was paid off in 2006 and its Napoleonic War debt is nearly cleared. An example of how past British governments have bit into their Napoleonic War debt is Tower W, which is one of 17 artillery towers known as Martello Towers, left standing on the Suffolk coast where they were built in 1809 to ward off a possible French invasion. After Napoleon’s defeat, the government sold off towers to citizens looking for unusual homes, raising valuable funds and providing editors with useful “property of the week” material. Converted into a three-bedroom weekend retreat in 1986, Tower W will be auctioned by Suffolk-based estate agents Clarke and Simpson this month, guide price Dhs2.4 million.

Last December, you completed on the purchase of your very own ski chalet, enabling you to enjoy a White Christmas rounded off by some serious black piste skiing on New Year’s Day. Now it’s July and there’s no skiing to be done, and you are wondering whether it was such a great idea buying that chalet. Well, there was a different option you could have tried, provided you were happy to swap property ownership for timeshare. Vacation clubs offer timeshare members an opportunity to swap time spent at the resort where they hold their share for weeks elsewhere. For example, two Swedish ski resorts, SkiStar Vacation Club Fjallhotell and SkiStar Vacation Club Snotorget, have linked up with US-based holiday exchange operator RCI so their timeshare users can exchange time skiing in Sweden for weeks bathing on the beach in the Canary Islands or in 100 other countries where the scheme runs.

identity [interior/design/property]

PHOTOGRAPHY: PHOTOEVERYWHERE.CO.UK

BUST IS BUSTED

The global housing bust is over. Global Property Guide’s latest survey of official house price statistics shows home prices rose in 29 out of 36 countries during the year to April 2010. In countries where prices continued to fall, like Switzerland, Croatia, Slovakia and Holland, rates of decline slowed. And fewer countries were in severe crisis – only Ireland, Bulgaria and Thailand show no signs of recovery, the website says, with each suffering double-digit falls. The website’s statistics are inflation adjusted to give a more realistic picture than that available from nominal price changes, the data preferred by estate agents. Hong Kong topped the website’s list of high risers, enjoying a 27 per cent increase in home values and closer to home, UAE prices rose one per cent. The website says Eastern Europe’s slump is easing, but warns a possible bubble is forming in East Asian markets where huge Chinese investment is driving up prices.

END OF YEAR SALES

Expect massive sales of British government property soon. It must find Dhs830 billion to wipe out its budget deficit and that means selling assets. Surprisingly, even after decades of Thatcherite and Blairite privatisations, the State remains the country’s biggest landowner – three million acres of land are owned by the Ministry of Defence and Forestry Commission, but even that would only fetch Dhs88 billion if sold at current average farmland prices of Dhs29,000 per acre.

Fortunately, national and local government owns lots of valuable city property, and KPMG says the State owns Dhs532 billion of it, much of which could be sold. Other experts are doing sums too. Property website Findaproperty.com says 10 Downing Street is worth Dhs28 million, and the National Trust’s Stonehenge could fetch Dhs271 million, Windsor Castle, Dhs2.08 billion, the Houses of Parliament must be a tad more, Brighton’s Pavilion, Dhs276 million...

…SO DOES MALAYSIA

…BUT AUSTRALIA DOESN’T

The Malaysian Government has made capital gains tax rules less onerous for foreign investors, who now only pay it if they sell a property within five years of purchase. Estate agents have welcomed the change, saying it will draw more long-term, overseas investors to the country’s property market. In addition, Malaysia’s Foreign Investment Committee is planning to deregulate investment guidelines to make it easier for overseas purchasers to come to the country. Malaysia has steadily opened its doors to foreigners over the past decade; it runs a Malaysia My Second Home programme that allows non-Malaysians to buy a property and take up residency for up to 10 years in the country. Foreigners can buy any property valued at Dhs278,000 or more and can own up to two homes. Analysts say Malaysia has made these changes because it fears its own property market will be eclipsed by that of resurgent Singapore.

Australians say too many property investors are coming over and pushing up property prices out of reach of ordinary Aussies. In response, Canberra is tightening investment laws. Nearly 5,000 property purchases, worth Dhs54.7 billion, were made by foreigners in 2009, with Victoria attracting most investment, followed by Queensland and New South Wales.

Singaporeans led the foreign investor pack, followed by Americans and Britons in 2008/09, but UAE buyers were the third biggest group of foreign buyers in 2007/08 before Dubai’s debt crisis broke. Eighty per cent of foreign investment last year went into brand new flats and houses, 20 per cent into existing homes. From now on, the approval process will be more stringent and foreigners who leave Australia must sell their homes. Critics want tighter curbs, so if you want to buy a place Down Under do it fast before more restrictions come in.

SINGAPORE WANTS YOU…

Singapore wants more foreigners to live there, a policy that is bound to buoy property prices for years to come. Today, one in five of Singapore’s 4.7 million residents are not Singaporean and its Government wants to expand the population by a third over the next 40 to 50 years, mainly by immigration. Estate agency DTZ says 40 per cent of luxury home buyers come from overseas, with numbers from India and China growing particularly strongly as they are drawn to Singapore’s mix of Chinese, Indian and Malay cultures. By increasing immigration levels, the Government wants to bring in new talent and expand the local market for goods and services to boost the economy. Foreigners are allowed to buy condominium units on Singapore island and property with land on Sentosa Island. Most condo units are on 99-year leases and Singapore banks will lend 70 per cent of a property’s price.

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EXPAND YOUR LIBRARY THIS SUMMER!

The Essential Arabian Library 17 Arabian Heritage Titles

In celebration of the centenary of Sir Wilfred Thesiger – The Last Of The Great Explorers – we offer three books and a limited edition print together with 14 other selected Best Selling books from The Arabian Heritage Collection.

Free Limited Edition Print of Wilfred Thesiger’s unique photograph Launching a Dhow, taken in Abu Dhabi in 1948 after his legendary second crossing of the Empty Quarter. Size: 16” x 12”, valued at Dhs 350.

Sir Wilfred Thesiger. Born June 1910.

Dhs 120 Described as a “Masterpiece” in The Times, this classic of travel literature is a must-read for anyone interested in the Arab world and its people. The special Centenary Edition celebrates the anniversary of Wilfred Thesiger’s birth in 1910, and includes 87 photographs and a fold-out map.

Dhs 185 This enchanting book is a showcase of the people of the Emirates during the mid-20th century.

A superb collection of photographs by Ronald Codrai, documenting times gone by.

Dhs 185 This book is a breathtaking pictorial edition of the travel classic Arabian Sands, and contains the same colour map which appeared in the first edition of Arabian Sands in 1959.

Dhs 185 A wonderful photographic memoir by world renowned photographer Ronald Codrai. This book focuses on Codrai’s time spent in the Arab world during the past half-century.

Dhs 165 The ultimate authorised biography of Sir Wilfred Thesiger – written with Thesiger’s support before he died in 2003 and with unique access to the rich Thesiger archive – investigates this fascinating figure’s family influences, his wartime experiences, his philosophy as a hunter and conservationist, his writing and photography, and his friendships with tribal people.

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This personal record of the seafarers of the Emirates is a true historical jewel – a must for every library!

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A wonderfully illustrated book that covers the fascinating history of shawls from their earliest origins. The history of the Kerman shawl, which has never been revealed before, is one of its delightful highlights.

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Dhs 55 Arabian Destiny is an insightful autobiography and a very personal account of the life of the late Edward Henderson â&#x20AC;&#x201C; a man whose life was inextricably linked to the history of the UAE.

John Loring, Design Director, Tiffany & Co.

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A concise but complete description of the Arabian countries benefiting most from 21st century affluence sweeping the Middle East. Edward Oâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Sullivan summarizes years of experience and specialized knowledge into a single volume. A fascinating read!

The UAE - Visions of Change is part of Noor Ali Rashidâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s â&#x20AC;&#x153;Royal Collectionâ&#x20AC;?, and comprises of beautiful historical images, in black and white, sepia and colour.

This book highlights the extraordinary transformation undergone by the UAE over the past 40 years.

Dr Frauke Heard-Beyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s definitive history book of the UAE is a must-read for all individuals fascinated by life in the seven Trucial States before the wealth of oil, and events leading up to the 21st century UAE.

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A beautifully written heartfelt tale of the coming together of two cultures, and a love and understanding between a Western and Arab family.

The Times called this book â&#x20AC;&#x153;a deeply sympathetic evaluation of a cultureâ&#x20AC;?.

A stunning compilation of poetry by Dubaiâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s visionary leader, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Sheikh Mohammed reveals his passions but tempers them with justice and tolerance. These two qualities make for a legacy of any man on this earthâ&#x20AC;?.

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Patrick Lichfieldâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s photography has spanned four decades of change. His iconic images from the early 1960s to the present day, include notable personalities and events that characterised their times.

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Dubai

an aerial tour

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Spanning the globe

PHOTOGRAPHY: NIGEL YOUNG BY FOSTER + PARTNERS

Hospitality is one sector that continues to expand both across the Gulf and around the world. TEXT: LYNN DAVIS

UAE Pavilion, World Expo 2010, Shanghai.

WINDOW TO THE WORLD

GAME DAY

The theme of the World Expo 2010 in Shanghai is “Better Cities, Better Life”, focusing on the challenges of burgeoning urban populations. Among the pavilions is the 6,000 square metres sand dune-inspired “Power of Dreams” pavilion from the UAE, which expresses the important role the natural environment plays in culture and lifestyle.

Just in time for the 2010 World Cup, Fairmont Hotels opened the Fairmont Zimbali (a Zulu word meaning “Valley of Flowers”) Resort located along the eastern coast of South Africa, a short drive from Durban, one of the nine host cities for the tournament. The 154-room property joins the 76-room Fairmont Zimbali Lodge in KwaZulu-Natal, which is also home to historical Zulu battlefields and two UNESCO World Heritage sites nearby: the iSimangaliso Wetland Park and the Khahlamba/Drakensburg Park.

OVERSEAS AMBITION

“Regardless of the state of the economy, global companies will still need to send their key people abroad, thus the resilience of our sector despite the downturn,” said Peter Blackburn, CEO of Cristal Hotels and Resorts, whose Abu Dhabi property has blossomed since its opening in 2009. In announcing the plans of the fast-growing hotel group to open eight new hotels in Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Hong Kong and mainland China, he added: “We want to take advantage of this steady flow of business and establish a strong presence in the emerging markets of Asia as part of our overall Middle East & Asia growth strategy.” Plans to expand in Qatar and in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, particularly in Riyadh, Jeddah, Khobar and Mecca, have already been announced.

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HAPPY HOLIDAY

A new 176-room Holiday Inn is on track to open at the end of 2011 in Seeb, Muscat’s business district, according to His Excellency Sheikh Mubarak Abdullah Al Mubarak Al Sabah, chairman of Action Hotels. “Oman is committed to developing the hospitality sector and Action Hotels is equally as committed to playing a role in this development with a fixed eye on the mid-scale segment,” he said. “This property fits perfectly into our development criteria. We are looking to service niche corporate and tourism traffic in gateway locations within cities, specialist zones and iconic tourist destinations. The Holiday Inn Seeb Muscat will deliver all of these elements and more.”

PORTFOLIO | idProperty

Clockwise from above: The One&Only The Palm; Anantara Qasr Al Aarab Desert Resort; Aloft London ExCel; Fairmont Zimbali.

DOWN AT THE PALM

Designed by WA International, the One&Only The Palm hotel blends Moorish and Andalusian architectural design with contemporary Arabian chic. Scheduled to begin welcoming guests in October, the hotel will feature sumptuous bathrooms with oversized freestanding tubs and soothing rain showers.

Flourishes of silver leaf, cut-quartz crystal, deep earth tones, floor to ceiling windows and beautifully landscaped gardens will create a stylish oasis for an international clientele.

ABOVE IT ALL

Also expanding into new markets is the Starwood Hotels and Resorts’ chic urban brand Aloft Hotels, which will open a new mid-market property, Aloft London ExCel, in 2012, in advance of the London Olympics. It is being developed by ExCeL London’s parent company, Abu Dhabi National Exhibitions Company

(ADNEC), which also owns Aloft Abu Dhabi, the Middle East’s first Aloft hotel, which is located adjacent to the Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre. Aloft London ExCeL will mark the brand’s UK debut and will be the second Aloft property in Europe following the Aloft Brussels Schuman, which is scheduled to open this autumn. Designed by the Rockwell Group, the brand’s signature ceilings are nearly three metres high and the rooms feature large walk-in showers.

DESERT INN

Anantara Kihavah Villas Maldives will open towards the end of this year, and the Anantara Al Madina A’Zarqa in Oman, Anantara Uluwatu in Bali and Anantara Sanya in China will celebrate their openings in 2011. Meanwhile, Qasr Al Sarab Desert Resort by Anantara, which opened late last year and was developed by Tourism Development & Investment Company, is inspired by the indigenous desert culture and reflects the Emirati lifestyle. ID

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ANTENNAE

Sparch’s first completed project in Beijing, a luxury boutique hotel in central London plus bespoke homes in Central Mexico and Sydney capture the architectural imagination this month. TEXT: STEVE HILL

5 1 4

7

2

3

6

AS&P/VISUALISATION: HHVISION, COLOGNE

8

1. BEIJING

3. QATAR 2. MORELIA, MEXICO

GLASS ACT

SPORTING CHANCE NATURAL APPROACH

Raffles City Beijing is international architectural company Sparch’s first completed project in the Chinese capital. The 150,000 square metre development comprises a 21-storey office tower, a five-level retail podium, a 17-storey serviced apartment tower and a 15-storey residential block. A unique feature is the sweeping day-lit enclosure and the Crystal Lotus glass cantilevering structure at the centre of the retail atrium which encloses the main elevators. The project also features a pixelated facade of black and white glass modules, backed by aluminium panels featuring the same dot pattern. At night, the building is animated by a colourful play of light pixels framing a large public LED screen.

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Casa Montaña Monarca occupies a natural ledge on a hillside in a panoramic valley in central Mexico. Designed by Parque Humano, a multi-disciplinary design firm based in Mexico City, it has been conceived as a homogenous stone mass, hollowing out a huge opening that slopes from ceiling to floor, framing the hillside panorama. Locally collected rocks were placed in metal wire boxes to form the home’s walls, which are thick enough to maintain and control interior temperatures, while its huge opening faces south to maximise the use of natural light.

Electrical equipment and lights are run off solar panels located on the structure’s roof.

Qatar’s ambitious bid to stage football’s 2022 FIFA World Cup features proposals to build what officials claim will be the first carbon-neutral stadia in the world, the majority of which were developed by Albert Speer & Partner GmbH. The stadium proposed for Al-Khor, in the northeast of the island state, takes the form of a giant asymmetrical seashell set in its own park. It would accommodate more than 45,000 spectators across two tiers and include a flexible roof providing shade over the pitch. All stadia would be equipped with an ultramodern ecofriendly cooling technology providing excellent outdoor comfort. The venue of the 2022 event will be announced in December.

PHOTOGRAPHY: ANDY RYAN

5. LONDON EASY ON THE EYE

4. CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS LAB WORK

The Media Lab at the renowned Massachusetts Institute of Technology has expanded into a new six-floor structure featuring around 15,100 square metre of laboratory, office and meeting space designed by the Tokyo-based architectural firm of Maki and Associates. Together with the existing Wiesner Building, the complex will serve as a showplace for new concepts in design, communications systems and collaborative research. The building is designed to maximise social and intellectual interaction, and offers important public space for exhibitions and social gatherings. It is organised around a central atrium that connects public spaces on the ground and upper floors, forming a vertical street.

Plans have been approved for a 247-room luxury boutique hotel designed by Squire & Partners that will sit opposite Moorfields Eye Hospital. Inspired by the hospital and the 1980s artwork of Bridget Riley, the facade is expressed as a triple glazed skin enlivened with differing patterns of transparency, opacity and solidity.

On the first floor, a business centre will provide serviced offices designed to meet the needs of small and medium-sized local firms. Floors two to six will feature hotel bedrooms, while a sky bar on the 17th level will offer far-reaching views across the city.

6. PENANG ON THE WATERFRONT

7. RIYADH

8. SYDNEY

Construction is about to begin on the Quayside Seafront Resort Condominiums, which are set on 8.5 hectares and feature an exclusive water park for residents. The project is the last major residential component within Seri Tanjung Pinang, a new waterfront community that includes a marina, retail and residences.

The entire development’s master plan and architecture were conceptualised by WATG in collaboration with Malaysian-based architectural firm GDP. It features five high-rise towers and two low-rise blocks, while an adjoining green open park forms part of a 1.4 kilometrem jogging and cycling track. The resort-style clubhouse has an outdoor dining terrace, lounge, games room and gymnasium.

STANDING TALL

HOME WITH A VIEW

Urban Art Projects, in collaboration with Fairweather Proberts Architects, recently completed the 60 metre Breakwater Beacon which is the centre piece of the new Dhs25 billion King Abdullah University of Science and Technology. The tower, part of a major international art programme at the university, comprises 187 individually cast hexagonal blocks, weighing up to 18 tons each. The design’s structure acts as a natural cooling tower similar to that of a minaret on a mosque. The tapered tower draws up the hot air, bringing in breezes at the lower level to cool the internal space and the surrounding plaza.

Tony Owen Architects’ latest project, a family home looking out onto Sydney’s Opera House and Harbour Bridge, utilised parametric modelling software that can respond to small changes to design input criteria regarding view and solar corridors. The house has a fluidity of space that is a direct result of having a strong relationship with the surrounding landscape.

Due to the structure’s complex geometry and the need for such fine tolerances, a new system of fabrication and assembly was evolved which more closely resembled that of a car. Therefore the home is made from a steel frame skeleton clad in metal panels that were pre-cut in China.

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FORUM

Nature's visions Whether plant, animal or mineral, the inspiration for some of the best new designs comes from the natural world that surrounds us. TEXT: ANNA HANSEN

SIGHT AND SOUND

Bang and Olufsen has transformed the home media centre so it is the television itself that is the main event, not just the programming. Creating new interest is the BeoVision 7-55, a versatile 55-inch full HD TV designed by David Lewis and one of the very few flat screen TVs designed for floor placement. The motorised solutions controlled by the Beo5 remote allows for the adjustment of viewing positions: higher or lower, turned or tilted to face you, giving you the full picture and sound experience from all viewing angles. Or the viewing position can be preset to the preferred angle.

Available in red, blue and dark grey, as well as natural aluminium and black – the thin screen with LED-backlight technology that makes facial expressions clear, especially during fast-paced action such as sporting events, can also be fixed close-to-the wall as part of a surround sound set-up.

“We believe that BeoVision 7-55 gives excellence, simplicity and elegance physical form, from the velvety feel of soft-touch lacquer to the silent, graceful movement of the disc loader. The choice of materials and colours, as well as the craftsman’s constant attention to detail, make this TV much more than the sum of its parts,” states Ole Moltsen, Senior Product Manager.

For sound that complements the quality of the picture, the BeoLab 7-6, developed exclusively for the BeoVision 7-55, can be either wall-mounted or placed on a special tabletop stand.

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CRYSTAL CLEAR

Swarovski crystals are providing sparkle in refreshing new ways. The Crystal Collection by Bisazza, launched at the Milan Design Week includes six mosaic patterns of stylized sea-life images of corals and seahorses, rain, stars, skulls in corsair style and royal crowns and a playful pattern with cartoon-like robots and flaming hearts. Across the Atlantic, Swarovski architect Andreas Altmayer incorporated over 1.9 million Swarovski crystals into almost every element of the design of Sparkling Hill Resort and Wellness Hotel in British Columbia, Canada. Chandeliers, fireplaces, walls and stair handrails create an illuminating effect, filling the space with light and dimension.

CHILD’S PLAY

Bridging the gap between fantasy and reality in a child’s world, the interactive Flexa Pim Pom chair, a Copenhagen Furniture award- winner for stimulating children’s furniture, is part of a collection of well-designed, yet sturdy, child-sized furnishings at Iddesign, which excites and inspires a child’s imagination.

THE DEPTHS OF TIME

The timeless mysteries of the depths have risen to the surface in honour of the 10th anniversary of Chanel’s J12 Marine diving watch. Three new versions in two sizes have been created in celebration, each eminating the essence of the original design. The amphibious sports watch with a pierced rubber strap features luminous raised hands for easy readability, a toothed unidirectional revolving bezel and a case back engraved with stylised waves that alludes to the force of currents.

PACK IT IN

Once an essential for travel by steam ships and trains, the trunk has now taken on a new role. TT Trunks of Paris blends the traditional outward appearance of the elegant French travelling box with contemporary design and interior fittings to create custom-designed chests for the 21st century. Whether for clothes, cigars or trophies or fitted with pool or spa necessities, each leather trunk, perhaps covered in an exotic skin such as ostrich, python or crocodile, is made according to traditional craft techniques, which involves over 250 man hours and more than 3,000 nails to fashion the Valet Trunk. For functionality, each is equipped with electrical outlets for recharging portable devices and the result is a bespoke piece of furniture with the advantage of mobility.

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FORUM

BIG APPLE

Inspired by the New York City skyline, @home’s new Manhattan collection of home accessories presents a strong 80s theme with graphics, geometrics, colour blocking and even stripes.

In vibrant city colours of red, black, grey and midnight blue with a focus on metalics, the textures of knits and velvets, there are fashionable products for every room, including linens and appliances.

FLOOR FOLIAGE

Three-dimensional sculpture for the floor, the result of exploring textures and techniques, is the specialty of designer Esti Barnes, the award-winning founder and design director of Top Floor, a London-based bespoke contemporary rug design house. “I like pushing boundaries in rug design,” she says. “Why should a rug always have a symmetrical shape?” Why, indeed – when you see her new design, Ethereal. Its soft cream wool, accented with light taupe, incorporates the surface beneath the rug as leafy tendrils unfold at the edges in contrasting sculpted pile. Playing with different pile heights and textures, the pile in her Esquire rug is sculpted by hand into a 3D cutaway effect that resembles the facets of ice crystals. Silk and wool are sometimes mixed with other natural fibres such as banana, bamboo, hemp and nettle to create unique textures and tonal patterns.

BRANCHING OUT

Botanical, branch-like shapes, interpreted in spare, contemporary, yet timeless candelabra by Ora-Ito for Christofle, capture the essence, the aborescence, or untamed nature, of the items. The four branches of the witty 4-light Candelabra can be swivelled into a variety of positions to be viewed as a new object with many different lighting options.

Also in the collection is the limited edition of only 20 of the 1.2m-high Grand Candelabra, a silver tree created in the Haute Orfèvrerie workshop of the Christolfle factory.

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COLOURFUL REFLECTIONS

Elizabeth Garouste created 10 designs for the SICIS Parisian showroom, expressing the innovation, craftsmanship, experimentation and technology of the Italian art mosaics.

“I was seduced by the richness of the brilliant, translucent, opaque materials, with an endless range of colours and a unique savoir faire, so I decided to create an oneiric path, a magical journey for SICIS,” Garouste said of her fantasy creations made of thousands of mosaic shapes.

COOL ART

A collection of Smeg appliances, including the iconic Union Jack, pink and retro refrigerators by designers such as Mario Bellini and Guido Canali, Marc Newson and the Piano Design Studio, was unveiled at the Mojo Art Gallery recently and will be available at Better Life showrooms.

“Smegs philosophy of working with some of the worlds best architects and designers to create a range of unique and exclusive products is the point of differentiation that people are looking for these days. We are emphasising the design and innovation of these products by launching the collection here,” said Ajai Dayal of Better Life.

STARRY NIGHT

Italian artist, architect and designer Paola Navone has created Bluette, a collection of obliquely cut cobalt blue vases and accessories for Egizia.

The architectural pieces that balance delicately on pointed bases are awash with cascades of 980/1,000 silver drops that brilliantly reflect the light, suggesting twinkling constellations in the night.

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Obegi Home Umm Al Sheif Road at Jumeirah Beach Road Umm Suquaim 1st | Dubai tel: +971 (4) -394-8161 Obegi Better Home Jal El Dib | Beirut tel: +961-4-711-623 w w w. o b e g i h o m e . c o m

FORUM

Design agenda 2nd International Office Furniture Expo; Tokyo Japan, July 7-9 2010 International Building & Decoration Fair; Guangzhou China, July 8-11 Trendset; Munich Germany, July 10-12 Furnitex 2010; Melbourne Australia, July 15-18 LIGHT BOTTLE

With the Bottle vase as the starting point, Cuproom, a brand created by Italian Celato Rito fifty years ago, has extended its aesthetics by transforming it into a handcrafted lamp. The tall, slender copper or brass neck of the Bottlelamp extends from a sensuous bulb and can be either natural or painted one of several colours.

The Manchester Furniture Show; Manchester Central UK, July 18-21 Movinter; Sao Paulo Brasil, July 20-23 SAITEX 2010; Midrand South Africa, July 25-27

COOL AND CURVY

Designed by the winner of the prestigious Maison & Objets Createur de l’ Annee award, Noé Duchaufour-Lawrance, for Bernhardt Design, the Corvo chair merges structural form with fluidity, creating visual contrasts between the contours of the inner arms and back, and the straight edges of the external structure.

Hand carved, shaped and sanded from either solid walnut or maple, it has been certified according to the Greenguard Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) Certification Program for Low Emitting Products, making it as clean to live with as its sleek lines.

SUMMER SAGA

As part of the Summer of Love collection, Élitis’ embroiders have combined shantung silk with cashmere patterns in vibrant hues to create Saga, which, like an impressionist painting, references textures and the brilliance of fleeting light. Other patterns in the collection, such as Dragon Dor, bring the mythical world of dragons to life in a colourful and whimsical Pierre Loti style.

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Inspirations

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Inspirations

BOOKS

identity’s reading list this month celebrates good design across the world, from Paris to the Middle East and from hospitals to teenage lairs.

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NEW PARIS INTERIORS

HOSPITAL ARCHITECTURE

ROOM FOR CHILDREN

NEW FRONTIERS IN

ANGELIKA TASCHEN

CHRISTOPH SCHIRMER

SUSANNA SALK

ARCHITECTURE

IAN PHILLIPS

PHILIPP MEUSER

STYLISH SPACES

OSCAR BELLINI, LAURA DAGLIO

TASCHEN

PAGE ONE

RIZZOLI

WHITE STAR PUBLISHERS

DHS182

DHS325

DHS225

DHS195

With text by Ian Phillips, an identity contributor whose Parisian apartment is featured in this issue, this beautifully photographed volume takes you on a tour of the homes of some of the most interesting residents of the City of Light, including shoe designer Christian Louboutin and French Vogue editor-in-chief Carine Roitfeld.

Featured on the cover is the glass veranda which overlooks the rooftops of Paris in the flat occupied by American architect Sean McEvoy, who created a free-flowing space that is focused on this spectacular view. World traveller Jean-Louis Deniot filled his 45 square metre pied-à-terre with a plethora of objects, creating storage and interest in equal measure, while still finding space for a hidden office, two walk-in dressing rooms and a kitchen. Located in the area where Bonnard, Miró and Arp painted, Hubert Le Gall’s colourful home and bucolic courtyard display his own quirky works alongside other artists. As individualistic as each home is, they all celebrate the views and architecture of this magnificent city.

Patient care requires that the function and form of hospitals incorporate the expertise of many complex fields so that diverse specialised medical treatments can be accommodated.

Recognising the importance of natural light and cheerful spaces, these are now universally incorporated into hospital design. For example, the Woman, Mother and Child Medical Centre in Berlin, featured on the cover, is shaped like a halfcartwheel, with a large skylight crowning the entrance foyer, while diagnosis and treatment areas are grouped and patient rooms access the enclosed patients’ park via hung baloneys. Meanwhile, the Ausschau Orthopaedic Paediatric Clinic encourages activity with play areas located in walkways that widen out to reveal them, while a colourful climbing wall at the entrance is a cheerful enticement. A centre for occupational rehabilitation assessment is located on the ground floor for easy access, and includes areas to evaluate and teach necessary skills such as food preparation and personal hygiene.

Children’s rooms are where they spend most of their time, so it must be designed for working, playing and storage as well as sleeping. Because children grow and their interests change so rapidly, their spaces must also be adaptable to meet evolving sizes and needs. No longer restricted by antiquated design rules mandating only whites and pastels for the youngest family members, today children’s rooms mix fantasy, humour and colour. For example, one vibrant nursery in acid green and navy features white trim that acts as a border between the bold colours.

Four children who share a room in a small New York apartment each have their own private space inspired by the Orient Express, with curtained sleeping compartments – one above and one below – with individual bookcases, while a corridor lined with chalkboards and corkboards leads the way to the children’s wing of a larger home. This beautifully photographed book provides a wealth of inspiration for children of all ages and rooms of all sizes.

Architecture in the UAE has merged modernity and the timeless desert with a veritable Who’s Who in the design world, to create magnificent structures. Illustrated by photographs, computer graphics and artist renditions, the architectural examples range from the realised to those still in the conceptual stage, and are divided into categories determined by the function of the structure. Burj Khalifa, the tallest building in the world, which is featured on the cover, is a mixeduse tower designed by SOM that anchors the Downtown development.

The wave-shaped Jumeirah Beach Hotel and the sail-shaped Burj Al Arab, both by WS Atkins & Partners, and the Emirates Twin Towers by Norr Group, are already recognisable landmarks in Dubai, while the Sheikh Zayed Bridge by Zaha Hadid and the Saadiyat Island museums by Frank Gehry, Jean Nouvel and Asymptote are expected to do the same for Abu Dhabi. Equally important is Masdar, which is aiming to be the prototype for an ecologically sound future. ID

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BOOKS AVAILABLE FROM MAJOR UAE BOOKSTORES

“C OM IN G H OM E”

HANDWO VEN O UTDOOR FURNITURE CRE ATED WITH WEATHER-RESISTANT DE DON FIB E R

www.dedon.de/treehouse Nakkash Gallery · Al Garhoud Street · P.O. Box 26767 · Dubai-UAE Tel: 00971 4 2826767 · Fax: 00971 4 2827567 nakkashg@emirates.net.ae · www.nakkashgallery.com

ICON

Pininfarina TEXT: STEVE HILL

Italian design house Pininfarina recently celebrated its 80th anniversary by unveiling prototypes for the Nido, an all-electric vehicle that could change the face of motoring around the world.

The company conceived, designed and built the ‘city car’ which has drawn on research focusing on the use of alternative materials that are lighter and recyclable as well as utilising active and passive safety systems.

The Nido – thanks to an emphasis on finding aerodynamic shapes that can reduce consumption needs and emissions – appears certain to have a profound influence on the next generation of electrical vehicles thanks to the use of a 100 per cent recyclable battery and special ‘green’ tyres developed by Pirelli.

But this attention to detail, style and innovation should come as no surprise thanks to the remarkable effect Pininfarina has had on the automobile industry since being founded in 1930 by Battista ‘Pinin’ Farina.

Originally a small auto body shop, the company soon carved out a glowing

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reputation thanks to its work on pre-war Italian cars such as the Alfa Romeo 2300 and the Lancia Aprilia.

In the 1950s, it also caused ripples thanks to its pioneering design partnership with Ferrari and Peugeot while the slender styling of the Alfa Romeo Giulietta Spider simply led to more manufacturers approaching Pininfarina which, now led by Sergio Pininfarina, influenced body stylings of virtually all the world’s leading manufacturers.

Tellingly, New York’s Museum of Modern Art included the company’s Cisitalia sports car – along with just seven others – in an historic exhibition on automotive design.

Pininfarina’s long-standing work on aerodynamic research has also had an important impact on the cars we drive today, as has its approach to process engineering and manufacturing while still maintaining an aesthetic sensitivity. In more recent years it has been brought to bear on trams, high-speed trains and trolley buses in the United States. ID

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