Design Anthology UK Issue 09 by designanthologyuk

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OW58

T-Chair by Ole Wanscher

1958

REFINED LINES

Made in Denmark to exacting standards, the sculptural piece in sustainable FSC®-certified wood has a characteristic T-shaped backrest and beautiful carpentry, embodying both classic and modern lines to give the chair a light and elegant appearance that stands the test of time.

FSC C135991

DR – bathtub, design Studio MK27, Marcio Kogan, Mariana Ruzante Square – taps, design Benedini Associati agapedesign.it

styling Agape Atelier / photography Andrea Ferrari

FROM THE EDITOR

ircling back. There’s a lot of it going on these days – in politics, in the regulations governing public life, in design. Forward and back again. We’re getting used to this pattern, aren’t we? But then again, maybe it’s always been this way. In issue 09 of Design Anthology UK, we’ve certainly taken a good, long look into the past. We decamped to the beautifully restored Kimpton Clocktower hotel in Manchester to shoot some of-the-moment design pieces for autumn (p24). The Grade-II listed structure, built for The Refuge Assurance Company in 1891 and completed over 30-plus years, tells the story of a prospering city at the tail end of the 19th century. Its Victorian Gothic arches, glazed brick, ornate tile, stained glass and carved wooden staircases were the perfect stage set for our design picks from 2021, which share the same careful attention to detail and skilled craftsmanship at their heart. We also celebrate another architectural gem of the north, the brutalist beauty that is Preston Central Bus Station. Conceived in the 1950s, this Lancashire hub was once one of Europe’s most architecturally ambitious interchanges – though by the 2000s it was neglected and threatened with demolition. On p114, photographer Samuel Ryde tells of his connection to modernist bus stations up and down the country and his reasons for capturing this particular one, which was restored in 2018: “It’s very utilitarian, it’s easy to use, but it’s also bright, crisp, simple, uncluttered. It’s just really thoughtful.” We hope you enjoy this issue of circling back. Elizabeth Choppin Editor-in-Chief

Making places friendly

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Play around with colours, shapes and dimensions and design your own furniture with our online configurator USM Modular Furniture 49–51 Central St, London EC1V 8AB, 020 7183 3470, info.uk@usm.com

MASTHEAD

September 2021

Publisher & Editor-in-Chief Elizabeth Choppin elizabeth@designanthologyuk.com Art Director Shazia Chaudhry shazia@designanthologyuk.com Sub Editor Emily Brooks Commercial Director Rebecca Harkness rebecca@designanthologyuk.com Editorial Concept Design Frankie Yuen, Blackhill Studio Words Emily Brooks, Giovanna Dunmall, Philomena Epps, John Jervis, Nicola Leigh Stewart, Dominic Lutyens, Harry McKinley, Karine Monié, Emma Moore, Alice Morby, Riya Patel Images Raul Cabrera, Helen Cathcart, Damien de Medeiros, Laura Fantacuzzi, Sam Frost, Maxime Galati-Fourcade, Jody Hartley, India Hobson, Christophe Ideal, Samuel Ryde, Daniel Schäfer

Design Anthology UK is published triannually by Astrid Media Ltd hello@astridmedia.co.uk astridmedia.co.uk

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CONTENTS

Front cover A Parisian apartment by Emmanuelle Simon. Image by Damien de Medeiros. See p56

Radar

Journey

Products Collections and collaborations of note

Read Delve into a selection of books on design, architecture and interiors

Hotel openings Plan a stay at one of these new designcentric destinations across Europe

Landmark moments Contemporary design pieces styled amid Victorian opulence

Profile Amélie du Chalard’s immersive art concept: short-stay apartments that double up as inspiring gallery spaces

Hotel, Manchester How Kimpton’s latest opening demonstrates its ability to treat every location as a unique design prospect

Landmark moments The Design Anthology UK team captured covetable objects for the home at Manchester’s Kimpton Clocktower hotel. See p24

Home 56

Paris Raw meets refined in this masterfully put together Parisian apartment by rising design star Emmanuelle Simon

Los Angeles How one Australian couple put down roots near Venice Beach, melding their native aesthetic with California’s

Florence An apartment with incredible city views – and interiors that take their supporting role very seriously

CONTENTS

Art + Collecting

Style

96 Diary The most compelling art and design events for the coming months

122 Most wanted A compilation of clothing, accessories and leisure pursuits that are beautiful, thoughtful and good

106 Menorca Hauser & Wirth has carved a new cultural hub from a former naval hospital on the Balearic island

Architecture 112 Profile How Pooja Agrawal is tackling the inequalities of the architecture industry, including a new book

Pioneer 128 Ilse Crawford The British designer who puts empathy above all else in her work

114 Photo essay Preston Central Bus Station – once one of Europe’s most architecturally ambitious interchanges

Highly transporting Photographer Samuel Ryde’s photo essay on Preston Central Bus Station, a mid-century jewel rescued from demolition. See p114

Slapstick from the Magnetic Edition - Photography by Andrew Bordwin

CARPET MAKERS

Edward Fields, a House of Tai Ping brand, has been creating area rugs for legendary interiors since 1935. Available from authorized UK retailers and Tai Ping’s new London showroom at 85 Pelham Street SW7 2NJ. taiping-homeuk.com/edwardfields | edwardfields.com

Allié stools, by La Manufacture. Read the full story on p21 Image by Studio Blanco

R ADAR Global design news

R ADAR / Products

Kelly Wearstler Alternating stripes of ebonised and bleached oak make Kelly Wearstler’s Oblique dining table a highly graphic proposition. It’s part of the designer’s Transcendence collection, inspired by a Southern Californian aesthetic and exploring the unique qualities of particular materials, including bronze, nickel, frosted glass, alabaster and timber. Oblique is available in some other inviting combinations, each with their own distinct personalities, including walnut and wenge, and walnut and natural oak. kellywearstler.com

R ADAR / Products

Frama Danish designer Jonas Trampedach has created the Recess aluminium-framed mirror for Frama. With a semi-circular shape that can be hung vertically or horizontally, it has a deep frame that reflects in its surface and creates the illusion of additional depth. A graduate of the Royal College of Art, Trampedach designed the mirror to complement his previous Rivet collection of furniture for Frama, which is made from raw aluminium sheets joined together by a hand-hammering technique. framacph.com

Mazo Furniture first designed by the late Danish architect Magnus Læssøe Stephensen has been reworked by Mazo, keeping it in the family – Læssøe Stephensen’s grandson Magnus Stephensen is one of Mazo’s partners. Its new Arch seating takes its name from the shape of its oiled oak armrest/legs, a detail lifted

from a chair designed in the 1920s in the Swedish modernist style, but heavily influenced by the simplicity of Japanese design. The collection consists of a lounge chair and a two- or three-seater sofa. mazo-design.com

R ADAR / Products

Larusi Souad Larusi has a unique eye for sourcing vintage and contemporary textiles, from Berber kilims to Anatolian throws, but she has also turned her attention to bedding, adding finely woven natural linen to complement her one-of-a kind pieces. Three new colours have been added – chalk, an offwhite, flax, an earthy beige, and havana, a rust red – designed to complement one another or look good on their own. With a pleasingly crumpled texture and soft touch, they improve with every wash. larusi.com

Jonathan Openshaw Stepping outside his role as a writer and brand consultant, Jonathan Openshaw is also pursuing a personal passion for ceramics. His latest work is inspired by “archaeological ephemera”, particularly Greek and Roman vessels such as hydria and amphora. The stoneware pieces are hand-thrown in

sections before being assembled into totemic forms; some contain sand and soil gathered by Openshaw from places special to him, adding a resonating personal element as well as an earthy textured finish. openshaw.studio

Chris Everard

R ADAR / Products

Liberty Celebrating the beloved London department store’s craftsmanship and heritage, Liberty’s new Modern Collector fabrics and wallpapers reimagine designs from the archives, playing with scale and colour to suit contemporary tastes. The results are familiar yet strikingly new, and include Palampore Trail, based on an antique tree of life artwork and printed on a fine-woven linen; and Patricia, a wallpaper inspired by a classic Indian chintz, its matt colours burnished by a soft metallic pigment (both pictured). libertylondon.com

R ADAR / Products

Sella Concept Its design projects are known for their holistic approach – from interiors to set design, furniture and branding – so it’s no surprise that Sella Concept is continuing its foray into commercially available furniture, too. A collection of stools released in 2019 has now been followed up by the Pontem table, named for the Latin for “bridge”. The gently curvaceous piece features two arched timber legs in solid oak, topped with a with a cabalho veneer top that has an unusual rippling grain. sella-concept.com

R ADAR / Products

Allied Maker Founded in a Long Island garage woodworking studio in 2012, Allied Maker creates “sophisticated yet simple” lighting, and still manufactures all its products locally. Fresh from the workshop is the Array wall light, comprising two hemispheres of hand-blown glass held in a brass and timber frame. Allied Maker’s materials are highly customisable: choose from a variety of metal finishes, from bronze to richly patinated verdigris, as well as several timbers and opal or matt white glass. alliedmaker.com

Pinch Textile artist Sussy Cazalet has teamed up with Pinch to create the latter’s first rug collection. The challenge was to devise a suite of products that had a personality of their own, but that also shared Pinch’s calm and refined aesthetic – complementing, rather than competing with, its existing furniture

and lighting. In silk and wool, Cazalet’s flatweaves (such as Pace I, pictured) have a subtle tactility, with a palette of colours that matches the warmth of the natural timbers used in many of Pinch’s designs. pinchdesign.com

Yoshihiro Makino

R ADAR / Products

Atelier de Troupe Headed up by former production designer Gabriel Abraham, LA-based Atelier de Troupe filters the language of European 20th-century design through a Californian lens. Its latest Château collection includes an upholstered chair encased in a hexagonal timber frame and matching faceted side tables with an inset top (both pictured).These are complemented by Bambou, a modular system of tubular glass lights held by metal fixings, and Shell, a pair of glazed porcelain vases with a fluted finish. atelierdetroupe.com

R ADAR / Products

La Manufacture

Studio Blanco

A stool or side table depending on your needs, Allié is a new piece for La Manufacture designed by its art director Luca Nichetto. Its polyurethane foam top and base – linked together by hands-on-hipsstance glossy metal handles – and use of contrasting colours are in-keeping with the brand's playful aesthetic. Allié is suitable for indoors or out, a quality it shares with Val, another Nichetto release for La Manufacture, a single piece of moulded plastic that comes in a palette of vibrant hues. lamanufacture-paris.fr

Carl Hansen Five of Danish design hero Hans Wegner’s earliest chairs are now available in a palette created by Ilse Crawford. The designs, which include the CH24 Wishbone chair and the CH25 woven lounge chair, were Wegner’s earliest for Carl Hansen, all released in 1950. Crawford's muted colours were inspired by

Nordic landscapes and the work of Danish artist Per Kirkeby. They include north sea, a dark blue, and falu, named after the distinctive red associated with Scandinavia’s painted pastoral buildings. carlhansen.com

RADAR / Read

Evergreen Architecture: Overgrown Buildings and Greener Living

Woman Made: Great Women Designers

From internal courtyards and heavily planted balconies to living walls and sedum roofs, buildings and nature are becoming ever-more intertwined. This book explores how architects are incorporating planting as an integral part of their plans and embracing the benefits it can bring, from biodiversity to energy efficiency and the feelgood factor of having nature at close hand. Some of the larger urban schemes appear truly startling against their concrete, steel and glass neighbours, such as Ingenhoven Architects’ Düsseldorf office block wrapped in several kilometres of hornbeam hedging; while smaller single dwellings are more focused on the detail and intimacy of living with greenery.

Product and industrial design is still all-toooften considered a man’s world. Phaidon’s new title addresses the gender disparity by shining a spotlight on more than 200 female product designers from the early 20th century to the present. There are those who were historically overshadowed by their male collaborators and partners (Ray Eames, Aino Aalto), the postmodern heroines who ditched design for art (Nathalie du Pasquier) and the names shaping design today (Faye Toogood, Ilse Crawford). The book singles out an object for each designer, from Marianna Brandt’s silver and ebony Bauhaus teapot to Anna Castelli Ferrieri’s Componibili storage units for Kartell.

by Jane Hall (Phaidon)

by Rosie Flanagan and Aoi Phillips (Gestalten)

RADAR / Read

Gio Ponti

Workstead: Interiors of Beauty and Necessity

by Salvatore Licitra, Stefano Casciani, Lisa Licitra Ponti, Brian Kish, Fabio Marino and Karl Kolbitz (Taschen)

by David Sokol (Rizzoli)

Gio Ponti’s life spanned some of the most exciting decades in Italian design. Collectively authored by a team that includes his grandson Salvatore Licitra, founder of the Gio Ponti Archives, this title attempts to capture some of the innovation, energy and curiosity that characterised his career. Ponti’s output will make you feel like a slouch – from his first job in 1923 at the Richard Ginori porcelain studio to countless architecture and interior design commissions, his editorship of Domus and the furniture, lighting and tiles he designed in the final years of his life. The book’s Art Edition – a limited run of 1,000 – comes complete with an actual Ponti coffee table, as well as four prints.

Workstead’s monograph celebrates the New York City and Hudson Valley design studio’s first decade in practice, telling the story so far via 10 projects that demonstrate its famed ability to straddle tradition and modernity, alongside interviews with its three founders. These include a 1920s Brooklyn apartment wrapped in a single paint colour (Farrow & Ball’s French Gray) with timber accents, to a 19th-century terraced house in Charleston that balances sensitive restoration with a mix of antique and modern furniture. Craftsmanship is the book’s overarching theme, from the beautiful integrated joinery to the many pieces from Workstead’s own collection of lighting.

Landmark moments

Built in the 1890s as an assurance brokerage and now a new boutique bolthole for Manchester, the Kimpton Clocktower hotel is a sumptuously restored example of the city’s gilded age of industrial wealth. Discover the new season’s most compelling launches among its opulent tiled bays, lofty stairwells and stained glass niches Images / India Hobson

Previous pages Glass candleholders, La Soufflerie (form-shop.com); Ovo lounge chair, Benchmark (benchmarkfurniture.com) Facing page Stoneware Vases, Clæ (formshop.com)

Above Trilliums decorate slender tiled columns: to the Victorians, the flowers symbolised mutuality, perfect for the life insurance company that originally commissioned the building

Above Solstice Ore table lamp, Atelier 001 (atelier001.com)

Facing page Cocher drinker’s tables, Galvin Brothers (galvinbrothers.co.uk)

Facing page Raindrop tables, Fred Rigby Studio (fredrigbystudio.com)

Above Easy to clean and resisting smoke and soot penetration, tiles were the perfect material for late-Victorian industrial Manchester’s buildings

Above With its earliest parts dating to 1890, the building has survived with its ornate tilework, glazed bricks and faience in tact

Facing page Mag table, The Conran Shop (conranshop.co.uk)

RADAR / Hotel

Singular sensation

The original boutique hotel group, Kimpton Hotels, treats every property as a “brand of one”, including its recently opened Manchester outpost

as the term “boutique hotel” lost its mojo? For several years an overused and poorly understood phrase, it’s become a bit of a woolly concept – subjective and difficult to define. Maybe the best place to find its modern meaning is by looking at what the originator of the very first example is up to now. Last October, Kimpton opened the Clocktower in Manchester (location for Design Anthology UK’s shoot on the preceding pages), following on from properties in London, Edinburgh and Glasgow. In many ways Kimpton has stuck to a formula it’s been getting right for 40 years, ever since investment banker turned hotelier Bill Kimpton launched San Francisco’s Clarion Bedford in 1981: bold buildings, individual interiors and an air of intimacy that’s missing from some of the global groups it rivals. Housed in a majestic, Grade-II listed building, Kimpton Clocktower speaks to the monikered Capital of the North in its confidence and its playfulness. Despite its grand architecture, it is human in scale – The Refuge restaurant and bar not a pompous space but a laid-back meeting place for locals, its courtyard packed with t-shirted revellers on bank holiday weekends and drag queens during Pride. It is egalitarian, with a sign at the arched entryway reading simply: “come as you are”.

The building – or more accurately, the series of three interconnected buildings – dates from 1890, the earliest rendered in theatrical Gothic Victorian style. The eponymous clocktower came later, at the beginning of the 1900s, and has become a fixture of the city’s skyline, looming over the busy Oxford Street. In 1924, the architect, teacher and author CH Reilly wrote in his survey of Manchester’s streets that the architectural trio resembled “a tall young man in flannel trousers escorting two charming but delicate old ladies in lace.” Inside, extravagantly designed tilework sidles up to glazed brick, faience and stained glass. There’s a bronze and marble staircase that runs the height of the building and, greeting visitors in the neoclassical lobby, an imposing sculpture of a horse that’s the work of Sophie Dickens (great-great-granddaughter of Charles). As far as Kimpton is concerned, then, it hardly matters how its properties are categorised today; it’s the individuality that matters. “As a brand, we don’t have signature look, or even a single thread of aesthetic continuity that connects each of our hotels,” says Ave Bradley, Kimpton’s creative director and senior VP of design. “It’s the challenge of Kimpton, but also the beauty of it. We consider ourselves brands of one, in that each of our hotels is designed

Words Harry McKinley Images Jody Hartley

RADAR / Hotel

Right Top to bottom: the Kimpton Clocktower’s inviting Winter Garden; The Refuge dining room, named after the Refuge Assurance Company, the buildings’ Victorian occupant

and concepted uniquely, which gives us the chance to take an anthropological approach to design. I go into a city without any preconceived notions of feeding in a particular brand story or making it fit within a very narrow box. That’s incredibly liberating. “Manchester is a salt of the earth, hardworking city. It’s real, honest and there’s an appreciation for simplicity,” suggests Bradley. “Yet you can see how proud the city is of a building like this. There’s a beautiful humility and yet also an elegance, soulfulness and ruggedness that feels very appropriate for Manchester.” That the building now bears the Kimpton name is testament to the role the brand aims to play in continuing to breathe life into important, sometimes even forgotten, structures. So does Kimpton still do boutique hotels? Despite being cited as the inventor, the group no longer seems wedded to the term, preferring instead to talk about their properties in terms of lifestyle. But even if that hackneyed category no longer means anything, Kimpton still aims to mean something. It has got bigger and more international but can still be seen as a risktaker. “We’re in the entertainment business and we don’t take ourselves too seriously,” says Bradley. “The last thing I would want is for Kimpton to be too safe or too comfortable.”

PARTNER CONTENT / Laufen

Finding the f low

Marcel Wanders studio fuses neoclassical and contemporary for Laufen’s The New Classic range

hat makes an icon? Thoughtful, carefully crafted design that never goes out of fashion. This was the thinking behind The New Classic, a bathroom collection by Marcel Wanders studio for Laufen. Elements including washstands, countertops, baths, toilets, taps and mirrors are set off by a palette of solid materials designed to stand the test of time. Using timber, metal and a specially formulated ultra-thin ceramic, it’s a simple, versatile concept that blends familiar silhouettes with innovative design thinking. While drawing inspiration from classical shapes, Marcel Wanders studio was also keen

to embrace a modern sense of style and functionality. Neoclassical design, cited as an important inspiration for the collection, creates a focus on “indulgence, intimacy, humanity and everyday utility” – all while calling to mind the poetry and romance of the past. The collection tells a story of quality and craftsmanship, creating a refined version of a timeless style. “For the first time, the ultramodern Saphirkeramik has been moulded into a classic and iconic form,” says Wanders. “This lightweight yet resilient material gave us the unique opportunity to celebrate the beauty of fine porcelain with elegant, soft lines.”

Facing page Laufen’s ultra-thin ceramic has allowed Marcel Wanders studio to create slim, refined profiles Below The New Classic range has echoes of the past, but with modern functionality and innovation

PARTNER CONTENT / Laufen

THINKING DIFFERENTLY ABOUT TRADITION

GALVINBROTHERS.CO.UK

The Rooster, Greece. Read the full story on p42 Image by Nick Nikolaou

JOURNEY Distinctive destinations

JOURNEY / Openings

New hotels

Unique places to stay, in destinations of note

JOURNEY / Openings

Casa Pacha Formentera, Spain Iconic nightclub group Pacha has moved away from high-energy hospitality with the launch of Casa Pacha Formentera, a secluded beachfront abode sitting on the Balearic island’s longest stretch of sand. Barefoot luxury underpins the design of the 14 seafront rooms, which have been imagined by the Madrid-based Patricia Galdon Studio. Neutral shades and tactile materials – think raw wood coffee tables, statement ceramics and natural linens – imbue each space with a sense of calm and comfort, while handcrafted objects celebrate local artistry. Outside, the laid-back vibe continues with a relaxed beachside restaurant, rooftop yoga classes and massage beds shaded by leafy palms. casapacha.com

JOURNEY / Openings

Yannis Rizomarkos

The Rooster, Greece Situated on the idyllic Greek island of Antiparos, The Rooster is a new wellness retreat designed around the ethos of “slow living”. Owner Athanasia Comninos worked closely with Athens-based Vois architects to create the hotel’s 17 guest houses. Stone and wood exteriors are in perfect harmony with the surrounding landscape, while the rooms and communal space share a muted colour palette

and furnishings crafted from natural materials such as wood, marble and cotton. Outdoor showers, private pools and gardens overlook the Aegean and further connect guests with nature. The hotel’s own farm supplies the restaurant’s local menu, and the spa uses organic treatments to soothe and rejuvenate. theroosterantiparos.com

JOURNEY / Openings

The Lost Poet, UK Notting Hill property designers Cubic Studios have made their first foray into hotels with The Lost Poet, a cool and quirky guesthouse situated on the famed Portobello Road. The four guest rooms have been eclectically styled with sculptural light fittings, abstract art and plush fabrics. In a nod to the neighbourhood’s rich history, antique furniture has been sourced from some local Portobello dealers

and timber reclaimed from school science labs has been used to create the statement panelled walls. Bathrooms have been dressed with marble floors, Spanish tiles and bespoke vanity units, with whimsical wallpaper from Maison C and House of Hackney adding a playful finishing touch. thelostpoet.co.uk

JOURNEY / Openings

Bodrum Loft, Turkey Blending into its striking hillside setting is Bodrum Loft, a collection of 36 villas offering a modern take on traditional village life. Istanbul’s Tabanlıoğlu Architects has put sustainability at the heart of this award-winning design project, crafting each abode from natural rocks and coating the brick walls of the courtyards with an ancient Aegean recipe of hay and olive oil to stay true to the centuries-old aesthetics. To strengthen the link with nature, outdoor patios have been embedded into the terrain and offer sweeping views of the bay. Inside, Scandistyle coffee tables and blown glass lighting have been married with local hand-painted mosaics to add contrast and character. bodrumloft.com.tr

JOURNEY / Openings

Hotel Ami, France For the latest property in Orso Hotels’ portfolio, founders Anouk and Louis Solanet enlisted the help of architect Gesa Hansen to transform a rundown Parisian hotel into a stylish boutique bolthole. The ground floor was reshuffled to allow for a spacious bar and lounge area, while an unloved terrace has been transformed through the use of warm-toned terracotta bricks. Hansen opted for

soft shades of pale pink, cream or green in all but one of the 41 guest rooms, which she insisted would stand alone in bold carmine red. Real wood floors, marble-topped bedside tables and textiles from the historic Maison Thevenon add unexpected luxury to this three-star address. hotelamiparis.com

JOURNEY / Openings

Le Moulin, France floors and aged beams have been blended with sleek chrome light fittings and design collectibles, and the bathrooms’ freestanding tubs sit with vintage sinks and mirrors. The finishing touch is the mix of antiques that have been peppered throughout the property, which are available to purchase. lemoulindebellequeue.com

Romain Ricard

Tucked away in the Perche region of northern France, Le Moulin is a charming country retreat set amid two hectares of lush parkland. Once a working mill (hence the name, Le Moulin), the abandoned 18th-century property has been given a new lease of life by architecture studio Hauvette & Madani, which has put a contemporary twist on rustic living. Inside, the squat stone buildings’ traditional tiled

A private view

Amélie du Chalard has used her experience as a gallerist to launch a series of short-stay Parisian apartments where all the art is for sale Words / Nicola Leigh Stewart Images / Raul Cabrera & Christophe Ideal

JOURNEY / Profile

“T

he idea is to live like a collector and to use your stay to develop a sensitivity to art,” explains gallery owner Amélie du Chalard of Ambroise, a new collection of rental properties in Paris inspired by the homes of art collectors. Moving from gallery to guesthouse was an easy transition for du Chalard. Her eponymous Amélie Maison d’Art was launched to shake up the Paris art scene by presenting abstract art in a domestic setting, allowing guests to better imagine each piece in their own home. The unconventional interiors, complete with salon, dining room and kitchen, piqued clients’ curiosity as much as the artwork, and du Chalard was inundated with questions about renting the space, or if anyone lived in it. “We thought it was interesting that people were really attracted by this idea and so we thought that we had to offer it to them,” she says. “It was really turning a request into a reality.” Although the first apartment opened back in 2019 in a pre-Covid world, the concept feels particularly well suited to the current mood of

returning to travel in a way that is more private, more unique and more meaningful. “The desire of travellers to have a new experience is one of the reasons why we developed Ambroise,” explains du Chalard, who opened her first property in the upmarket quartier of SaintGermain-des-Prés, where by chance she found an apartment just a few doors from where famed art dealer (and namesake) Ambroise Vollard used to receive his clients. To preserve the spirit of the Hausmann-style apartment, she restored original features such as statement fireplaces, wall mouldings and parquet flooring and blended them with bespoke furniture and design pieces to add a contemporary edge in keeping with the Maison d’Art style. For her second property, Ambroise Marais, du Chalard tapped architecture firm Batiik Studio to skilfully redesign a duplex apartment using a tactile combination of raw and urban materials, notably the kitchen’s mirrored surfaces and statement curved headboards in concrete and walnut. The furniture is a mix of pieces custom-made by the artists – the walnut

Above Amélie du Chalard, founder of Ambroise Facing page Ambroise Marais, where the hemp light and table base were made by German artist Yasmin Bawa Previous page Amélie Maison d’Art, du Chalard’s gallery-apartment. Art by Frédéric Heurlier Cimolai hangs on the wall, with chairs by Studio Haos

“I think that people are now more sensitive to the works of the hand, to arts and craft. They are looking for an environment with a real story, and a real life”

JOURNEY / Profile

Facing page Ambroise SaintGermain, with a work by Frédéric Heurlier Cimolai; the art changes as pieces are sold

Right At Amélie Maison d’Art, pivoting clay doors lead to a space that includes a pair of Sergio Ruffato tables

dining table from artist Yasmin Bawa is particularly striking – and design collectibles such as leather chairs by Brazilian architect Sergio Rodrigues. Most accessories are as beautiful as they are functional: blankets and towels have been custom designed and even the hammered-brass coat hangers are miniature works of art, encouraging guests to truly interact with their artistic surroundings. The immaculate white walls are the signature design feature in every Ambroise apartment, dedicated solely to the artwork, which has been selected to suit the personality of each space. Established and emerging artists both feature, and some of the more famous names include the ceramist Georges Jouve and painter Pierre Alechinsky, whose works hang not only in du Chalard’s galleries but also in the office of French president Emmanuel Macron. Since the work is for sale, the selection will evolve as guests purchase pieces, changing not only the apartment’s decor but also the ambience. Du Chalard has also curated a tailor-made artistic concierge service that includes private museum visits with an art historian and intimate lunches and soirées with artists at their studio or the Maison d’Art galleries. She also works with a group of private chefs who can prepare dinner parties at an Ambroise property. The team can also recommend exhibitions, organise day trips to Claude Monet’s home in nearby Giverny or even help guests to book a nanny. “Everything is possible,” says du Chalard. “We want to assist guests in experiencing all cultural aspects of the visit.” The next Parisian address is slated to open in Montmartre in November, while Ambroise

Provence is ready to welcome its first guests in August. Like its sister properties, the 16thcentury Provencal mas (farmhouse) has been sensitively restored to retain its sense of place, with rustic original features, antique furniture and typical regional ceramics. Du Chalard has also been busy opening her second gallery, housed in an 18th-century hôtel particulier that’s just a 15-minute walk from Ambroise Saint-Germain. The gallery’s location makes perfect sense considering that many Maison d’Art clients are now also staying at Ambroise to combine the two experiences. “Our clients know our DNA and that they will be sensitive to these places,” says du Chalard. “They appreciate the importance of an artistic experience. In general, I think that people are now more sensitive to the works of the hand, to arts and craft. They are looking for an environment with a real story, and a real life.”

23-26 September 2021 King’s Cross, London N1C The world’s first zero waste contemporary design show aimed at reconnecting people and spaces with nature. planted-cities.co.uk #reconnectingwithnature

An apartment in Paris. Read the full story on p56 Image by Damien de Medeiros

HOME Timeless spaces

Close harmony Raw meets refined in this masterfully put together Parisian apartment Words / Karine Monié Images / Damien de Medeiros

HOME / Paris

mmanuelle Simon is only 33 years old, yet her projects already reflect a deep maturity. The architect and interior designer graduated from the renowned École Camondo in Paris in 2012 before starting her professional path with big names in the field, Jean-Marie Massaud first and then Pierre Yovanovitch. But with so much talent, the French-Israeli creative was destined to launch her own studio, which she did in 2017. The same year, she won the public prize at the international festival of interior architecture Design Parade Toulon with her project La Chambre Sur L’eau (“the bedroom on the water”). Since then, and in only five years, she has worked on several public and private interiors, including the spa for the French-Japanese brand Evidens De Beauté in Paris, and has created a furniture and lighting collection. Her work calendar is teeming with projects, from developing the new concept for Vanessa Bruno’s boutiques, to a hotel in Los Angeles, to private homes.

Facing page The informal dining area, with its waxed concrete table and art and sculpture stacked against a mirror Previous page Simon has added a series of arches, emphasising the apartment’s high ceilings, to the living space

This particular apartment by Simon is located in a classic late-19th-century building in Paris’ sought-after 16th arrondissement. Flanked by houses and hôtels particuliers, it is accessible through a charming private dead-end, which leads to a flowered courtyard. The 150 sqm apartment occupies the ground floor, which opens up to a garden area. “The design brief [was to] create a haven of peace in the middle of Paris, a serene and warm

space with free flowing [energy] and a sense of harmony,” says Simon. As the starting point, the interior architect and designer couldn’t help but notice the way that the spaces were organised and how they didn’t correspond to what the homeowners – a couple with three young children – wanted. With her team, she had to fully restructure the apartment to give it a new dimension. The main living area forms the heart of this dwelling. Characterised by a series of arches, as if it were the inner courtyard of a cloister, the space is bright and airy. “The beautiful high ceilings allowed us to work vertically, with arches and big doors,” says Simon. The new design has created several nooks, connected to one another while having different functions and featuring a mix of furniture, lighting and artworks from several periods. In the understated kitchen, 1960s timber stools combine with ceramics by Quentin Marais and Benoit Audureau, terracotta pottery by Maisons de Vacances and a painting by French contemporary artist Hermentaire. For a space dedicated to family dining, backed with a large arched mirror, Simon has upholstered a madeto-measure bench with Bruder fabric, placing it with a table in waxed concrete surrounded by Simon’s own-design Baba chairs, hanging a brass and rattan from Maisonjaune Studio above. A 1980s ceramic sculpture by Pierre Martinon sits in the niche created by the

Facing page A vintage Florian Schultz Onos brass pendant hangs above a monumental travertine table in the dining area

Above Simon’s Nomad sofa and Baba cushion have been used in the living room, their soft curves creating a sense of welcome

HOME / Paris

“We chose natural colours, focusing on beige, sand and white, to reflect a calming and cosy atmosphere, in harmony with the wood”

recessed arch, and a towering floral arrangement by Sasha de Bohême adjacent to the table brings nature inside. To keep everything coherent, everything in the apartment sticks to the same warm neutral palette. “We chose natural colours, focusing on beige, sand and white, to reflect a calming and cosy atmosphere, in harmony with the wood,” says Simon. In addition to the brushed solid oak used, there is stone, travertine and natural fibres, among others. “We wanted to create an elegant, sober and relaxing ambience,” continues Simon. “This was achieved through the architectural work and the creation of round-shaped furniture.” The living room is an ode to the interior architect’s love for symmetry. The raw character of materials blends with the pure lines, soft colours and the warm textures of the furniture and accessories, sculpting a serene atmosphere influenced by the wabi-sabi philosophy that Simon particularly reveres, which centres on finding beauty in imperfection. The Japanese influence is obvious in the custom-designed bookshelf in oak with woven panels, which cleverly hide a cloakroom through a secret door, and Simon’s Raku wall lights, made using its namesake Japanese glazing method. Further objects from her own collections feature strongly here, including plaster ceiling lamps, the oak-framed Nomad sofa, doughnut-shaped Baba cushion and plaster Cone X floor lamp.

Art and design pieces sourced from galleries, such as a sculpture in ceramic by Michel Lanos from Galerie Aurélien Gendras, coffee tables from Seltz, as well as a brass floor lamp by Jacques Grange for Yves Saint Laurent, a ceramic by Georges Jouve and Pacha lounge chairs by Pierre Paulin – all from Galerie Desprez Breheret – enrich the poetic visual story Simon tells. “It is a serene ‘temple’ in the heart of Paris, where precious details bring sophistication and originality,” she says. In the formal dining area, glimpsed through the living space via the tall arched openings, Simon also designed the large travertine table, placing it with 1950s Thonet chairs and a metal ceiling fixture from 1960 by Florian Schulz. A painting by Hermentaire hangs on the wall. The delicate simplicity that pervades the whole apartment continues in the master bedroom where another of Simon’s Baba chairs sits next to a wood stool by Christian Liaigre. Carved sculptures by Jean Touret sit behind the bed, while a simple chair made while Touret was working with the craft collective Ateliers de Marolles has been placed in dialogue close by. Subtly yet undeniably, French chic finds a new dimension here – one that revisits the concept of refinement with a fresh eye and a younger twist that Simon masters like no one else. For the interior architect and designer, less than a decade into her career, the future looks bright.

Facing page The kitchen, where formal straight lines are favoured over the soft curves seen elsewhere

Above The monolithic vanity unit gives the bathroom a sculptural quality, with a simple palette of materials

Above In the master bedroom, Jean Touret sculptures line the niche above the bed; the primitive chair is also by Touret

New roots

An Australian couple’s bid to meld their native aesthetic with a classic Los Angeles lifestyle Words / Dominic Lutyens Images / Sam Frost Styling / Gena Sigala

HOME / Los Angeles

odie Fried and her husband Greig Fraser faced a quandary when deliberating on the kind of new home they would ideally own in Los Angeles. The Australian couple had lived in the city for 12 years, yet still felt strongly attached to their roots; they were after a house that would somehow capture the spirit of their home country in terms of architecture and lifestyle. “I’m from Adelaide and spent 20 years in Sydney enjoying its beach culture, gardens and plethora of gum trees,” rhapsodises Fried, co-founder of rug company Armadillo. “Greig, who’s a cinematographer, is from Melbourne, which has a great design community.”

Australia are incredibly similar in terms of their climate, the quality of light and the casual lifestyle,” she points out. On the site chosen by Fried and Fraser, in Venice – a five-minute walk from Venice Beach – was a 1920s tumbledown timber bungalow that was irreparable, so Tribe proposed starting afresh. A much bigger structure – a two-storey, timber-frame new-build – has supplanted the bungalow. This family house is shared by the couple’s children, Felix, 10, a keen skateboarder, Leo, eight, a big Lego fan, and Poppy, six, whose taste is for all things colourful, if her bedroom is anything to go by.

But there was a catch: it would be impractical to replicate traditional Australian housing – made from masonry or concrete – in a city susceptible to earthquakes. “We struggled with the fact that LA houses have wood or steel frames,” says Fried. Despite their perception of the local architecture as being insubstantial, there were also many aspects of Californian life that they wanted to embrace: “we love the abundance of plants and light,” she adds.

Yet Tribe factored in local context too, taking inspiration from the simple form of the modest bungalow – and many others dotting the area. “We like to identify and amplify items of beauty in the surroundings,” she says. Rising from the first floor, the pitched roof really stands out. As Tribe puts it, “we projected it up into the air, so the first floor reads like an archetypal house form.”

The couple’s ingenious but unconventional solution was to hire Sydney-based practice Tribe Studio Architects. “It was easier for us to employ an Australian architect who understood our needs and taste,” says Fried. Hannah Tribe, the practice’s principal, had already designed a house in California, so this wasn’t unfamiliar territory for her, and her task was made easier by the many similarities she saw between the two places: “LA and parts of the east coast of

Seen from the outside, the building, which is clad with charred wood, forms flat planes, punctuated by crisply rectilinear windows; the bitumen-dark exterior sometimes looks like it’s in silhouette, flattening the house’s volume. But if the house’s facade is striking, its scale is not intended to be imposing. “We wanted to connect with the greater context by being neighbourly – not too big, not overlooking, not overwhelming,” says Tribe.

Previous page The charred timber exterior of Jodie Fried and Greig Fraser’s home in Venice, Los Angeles, designed by Sydney’s Tribe Studio Architects

Facing page A painting by Belynda Henry hangs next to the Hem dining table; the couple made an effort to source artwork from their native Australia

HOME / Los Angeles

The house is a hybrid of Californian and Australian elements, explains Tribe: “Its link to its context conveys its Californian quality. But the space below the hovering pitched roof feels Australian.” At the back of the house, when the sliding doors are fully open, it looks like part of the wall has been peeled back, revealing a kitchen-dining space whose white walls and pale wood furniture contrast with the charcoal grey exterior. The space, with three-metre-high ceilings and beams, is open and free-flowing.

its angled ceilings shaped by a pitched roof, feels like a miniature house. Between these are skylights drawing light into the upper floor. At one end of the corridor is the main bedroom and en-suite bathroom, at the other Fried’s study. Sloping wooden beams here reference those typically found in Australian barns. Overall, the atmosphere upstairs is designed to feel serene and private. However, those allimportant connections to the outdoors are maintained here, too, albeit in a more controlled and composed way, thanks to the strategically positioned picture windows. “We used large windows to frame key views of the landscape,” says Tribe. “From Jodie’s study, you see an exuberantly flowering bougainvillea.”

This is only a few steps away from a swimming pool and spectacular ficus tree hung with swings and rope ladders, surrounded by ipe wood decking. The decking and the concrete floor inside have a level threshold between the two, enhancing the sense that the indoors melds with the outdoors. The garden, with its indigenous Californian plants, was inspired by Dutch garden designer Piet Oudolf, known for his naturalistic planting; Fried sums up its style as “curated yet unruly”.

Fried also wanted to recreate some of the laidback Australian living she loved in her LA home. The Armadillo rug in Leo’s bedroom is soft enough to kneel on comfortably but flat enough to avoid tiny Lego pieces getting lost; the composite kitchen worktops, she says, are “beautiful but robust and user-friendly”.

“We created interlocking living spaces on the ground floor that connect to specific gardens and courtyards,” says Tribe. “The links to the outdoors and the variety in the gardens really increase the sense of spaciousness.”

The couple also own art by Australian artists, including Loudon Sainthill, Belynda Henry and Marnie Wark. Much of their homeware also hails from Australia, including lighting from Melbourne-based Anchor Ceramics and ultra-soft bedding from Cultiver. “We made a concerted effort to buy Australian art and design,” says Fried. Every detail makes the couple feel connected still to their roots, in a city they’ve made their home.

Upstairs, the house again nods to the original bungalow whose interior was more traditionally carved up into rooms. Mimicking this, the upper floor is partly compartmentalised into the children’s bedrooms and bathroom leading off a spine-like corridor. Each bedroom, with

Facing page A less-is-more approach lets the natural materials become the focal point. Rugs from Fried’s company, Armadillo, are used throughout

Previous page The kitchen-diner steps directly out to the pool area, blending inside and out when the expanse of sliding doors are pushed back

Facing page The archetypal house-shaped profile of the upstairs rooms are a tribute to the simple bungalow that stood here before – as if the old house had been hoisted into the air

Above Left to right: the spine-like upstairs corridor, with the master bedroom at one end and a study at the other; windows have been carefully located to capture interesting views

“LA and parts of the east coast of Australia are incredibly similar in terms of their climate, the quality of light, and the casual lifestyle”

Facing page Rooms link to specific outside spaces and courtyards, with multiple access points to the outdoors across two levels

Above, left to right Irregular paving slabs, contrasting with the dark timber, lead to the front door; in the garden, native grasses root the house in its setting

Previous page In the living room, the modular sofa is a design suitable for outdoor as well as indoor use; a row of cacti peer in via the picture window

A room with a view

Forget the panorama for a moment: it’s the interiors that capture the heart at this Florentine apartment Words / Giovanna Dunmall Images / Laura Fantacuzzi & Maxime Galati-Fourcade/Living Inside

HOME / Florence

he first thing you notice about architect Massimo Adario’s recent project in the heart of Florence is the view. Located in the well-heeled Oltrarno neighbourhood of the city, the fifth floor, 220 sqm corner apartment in an elegant 1950s building looks directly down on to the expansive Arno river and gazes upon some of the city’s best-loved monuments: the Ponte Vecchio, the iconic Vasari corridor of the Uffizi Gallery and Brunelleschi’s cathedral dome. The city and surroundings are a strong and constant presence, says Adario: “It’s like the city comes inside the flat and, at night, when the lights are off, you feel like the landscape almost becomes a part of you.” No wonder Adario and his client (“someone in the world of fashion who would rather not be named but is passionate about design and, in my view, sophisticated in his choices”) didn’t want to create something that followed trends or that had an overarching stylistic theme. They preferred to forge their own path, creating a series of spaces that could hold their own alongside the theatre of vistas from the flat’s many windows. They also decided the interiors wouldn’t mimic the postwar period the apartment block was built in (it replaced a building that had been bombed) but would celebrate some of the “randomness and layers” of its medieval predecessor, says Adario, and adopt a similar free-flowing approach. Intended for the upper middle classes, the apartments in this building all had separate

living and service areas linked by different corridors. In keeping with the times, Adario turned the two separate corridors into one central corridor, moved the kitchen closer to the dining area and made it open plan: “the kitchen used to be hidden away in the service area as it had been designed to be used by the staff who would cook and then serve the food.” The dining area – featuring a rare glass table created by Italian designer Pietro Chiesa for Fontana Arte in 1934 and Marcel Breuer Cesca chairs with handwoven cane seats and backrests – exemplifies the designer’s wideranging approach: vintage furniture combined with contemporary pieces, industrial materials blended with natural ones, and soft surfaces mixed with hard ones. What all his material choices have in common, however, is that they grow more valuable and beautiful with age: “I don’t like materials that just stay the same as time passes,” he says. In terms of material palette, wood (both oak and walnut) and linoleum dominate. Linoleum is in fact the unexpected star of the project and used generously on all the floors except for the central corridor and bathrooms, but on many walls too. “Here in Italy, the use of linoleum in interior projects has basically been outlawed as it is considered a material you use only in functional settings like hospitals,” explains Adario with a smile, “but in reality it has a far more noble backstory. If you look at some of the interiors by Mies van der Rohe for instance,

Facing page A desk nook at the far end of the living room, with mirrored circular artwork by Riccardo Previdi Previous page The L-shaped living room is the apartment’s centrepiece, with its succession of windows that frame the unforgettable view

Above A pair of vintage leather chairs by Norwegian 20th-century designer Ingmar Relling in the living room

Facing page Green marble architraves are a tribute to elegant 1930s architecture, such as Florence’s Santa Maria Novella station

HOME / Florence

the bedrooms in Villa Tugendhat in Brno have lino on the floor. Investigating the material further I discovered that Le Corbusier also used it.” Adario was inspired to use the material by the scuffed but still beautiful lino he found in the apartment before its transformation. “Even in a house like this one, which was aimed at the upper middle classes, it was thought luxurious to use lino because it was a new material made using an industrial process.” By framing panels of lino with strips of oak, Adario created what he calls vertical interior cladding – or boiserie – in shades of mustard yellow, pistachio green, orange and maroon. It’s used on the walls of the bedrooms and study, in a pretty window bay in the hallway and, to great effect, on furniture items such as the vanity units in the high-gloss tiled bathrooms and on the doors of various rooms as well as on wardrobes. What makes this unusual wall cladding even more arresting is that it is placed like a canvas on the wall, trimmed with wooden edging and with an elegant painted skirting board below and cornice above it. In a similar vein, the built-in wardrobes don’t touch the ceiling or floor so they appear to be floating like the shimmering water outside. “I always conceive of the floor, the walls and the ceiling as a three-dimensional box and I like this container to remain legible,” explains Adario. One of the most charming elements of the apartment is arguably the contribution made by Padova-based artist Francesco Ardini who

created a series of decorative ceramic hooks for the bathrooms and ceramic insect, shell and floral rosettes that double up as handles for the wardrobes. Many are based on traditional bowl moulds used in Italian pottery firms that he brings back to life, but flattens in order create ergonomic handles. The final touch is the artistic glazing, which is done at the historic Gatti workshop in Faenza that was founded in the 1920s and used to work with the Futurists. “Ardini takes a humble and traditional form of pottery that has been practically wiped out by international competition and renders it noble and sophisticated by using beautiful and precious glazes,” says Adario. Ardini is also behind the glossy tiles covering the sliding doors used to hide away the main kitchen appliances such as the oven, stove, fridge and dishwasher. For these Ardini chose black industrial tiles on which he scattered porcelain powder and then created a naif finger painting of the surrounding landscape (you can see the Ponte Vecchio and the sun and even a cheery “ciao” on there). The tiles were then fired in a kiln so that the dust drawings became permanent. “When you enlist the participation of an artist there is always an unpredictability that can only enrich a project,” says Adario. It’s this unexpected richness of ideas, textures, materials and styles that makes this project unique but never opulent or overwhelming. The surrounding vistas may be the main protagonist, but the apartment is no slouch and takes its supporting role very seriously.

Facing page Grooved walnut wall cladding in the corridor conceals storage

“In Italy, linoleum is considered a material you use only in functional settings like hospitals – but in reality it has a far more noble backstory”

Facing page Art by Andrea Sala leads the eye through the lino-clad corridor to the bedroom beyond

Above In the master bedroom, wardrobes are adorned with handles by ceramic artist Francesco Ardini

Previous page Marcel Breuer Cesca chairs surround a rare 1930s glass table by Pietro Chiesa for Fontata Arte

Facing page Adario’s version of traditional boiserie panelling sees slim strips of timber breaking up flat masses of colourful lino

Above Softly rounded corners are one of the apartment’s recurring motifs, shown here on the basin vanity and mirror

ART & COLLECTING A cultural review

ART & COLLECTING / Diary

Agenda

Sights to behold: a calendar of shows and fairs for the coming months Words / Philomena Epps

Mixing it Up: Painting Today, Hayward Gallery, London 9 September–12 December

More than 30 contemporary painters living and working in the UK are the focus for the Hayward’s autumn exhibition, where the curatorial emphasis is on the canvas as a site of imagination and interpretation. Reflecting the international nature of the art scene, over a third of those

taking part were born outside of the UK, and the show spans three generations, with a mix of established and emerging figures. The artists include Rachel Jones (whose Lick Your Teeth, They So Clutch is pictured above) and Louise Giovanelli (whose Cameo is pictured opposite).

ART & COLLECTING / Diary

British Art Show 9, Aberdeen Art Gallery Until 10 October

The ninth edition of the British Art Show – a landmark touring exhibition that takes place every five years – opened in July, landing in Aberdeen before travelling to Wolverhampton, Manchester and Plymouth. The film, photography, painting, sculpture and performance on

show correspond with three curatorial themes: “healing, care and reparative history”, “tactics for togetherness” and “imagining new futures”. Look out for Anne Hardy’s Liquid Landscape (pictured), a sensory environment that combines sculpture with light and wind effects.

Photo: Thierry Bal

ART & COLLECTING / Diary

Folkestone Triennial, Kent

Portals, Neon, Athens

The fifth edition of the Folkestone Triennial features 20 new public commissioned works by artists. This year’s theme, “The Plot”, invites visitors to consider urban myths and their relationship to historic narratives, via a free outdoor exhibition that takes place in various locations across the scenic coastal town. Rana Begum has transformed the kilometre of beach huts on Mermaid Beach with a new colour scheme (above), while Jacqueline Donachie has created a giant outdoor dancefloor. Some installations will remain as permanent additions, joining numerous other artworks from previous editions of the triennial located in the town and harbour.

In a collaboration between the Hellenic Parliament and art organisation Neon, Athens’ former Public Tobacco Factory has been renovated and launched as a new contemporary culture centre. The title of its inaugural exhibition, Portals, was inspired by an essay written by author Arundhati Roy, in which she expressed that “the pandemic is a portal, a gateway between one world and the next.” Touching on notions of the collective, history, politics and public space, the show features 59 Greek and international artists, including 15 new site-specific installations. Pictured are Elias Sime’s Tightrope: Echo!? (2020) and Jannis Kounellis’ Untitled (2005).

Until 2 November

Until 31 December

ART & COLLECTING / Diary

Martin Margiela, Lafayette Anticipations, Paris 20 October–2 January 2022

For his first solo show, the legendary Belgian fashion designer Martin Margiela has been invited by Lafayette Anticipations to transform the gallery into a total artwork. Margiela has focused on art since resigning from his own label in 2009, and while much of the exhibition has been

kept under wraps, it will feature a series of new works, mostly made in Lafayette’s workshops and inspired by “the passage of time, disappearance, chance, mystery, aura.” Expect to find the everyday and the overlooked transformed into something wonderful and surprising.

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ART & COLLECTING / Diary

Heidi Bucher: Metamorphoses, Haus der Kunst, Munich 17 September–16 January 2022

Featuring over 150 works, including previously unseen film and archival material, this retrospective of the avantgarde Swiss artist Heidi Bucher demonstrates her unique relationship to the body, sculpture and architectural space. The exhibition will feature the wearable foam sculptures

she made while living in Los Angeles in the early 1970s, which blurred the line between art and fashion, as well as her large-scale “skinnings” from the 1980s, which she made by casting objects and clothing in gauze sheets soaked in liquid latex rubber.

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Mika Rottenberg/The Louisiana Museum of Modern Art

ART & COLLECTING / Diary

Mika Rottenberg, Louisiana Museum, Denmark

On Happiness: Joy and Tranquillity, Wellcome Collection, London

The Louisiana Collection has acquired Mika Rottenberg’s Cosmic Generator from 2017 (pictured), a film in which the artist creatively links a town on the Mexican-US border and a surreal plastic commodities wholesale market in China, through an oesophageal tunnel that is accessed through a vending trolley, pushed by a woman along the dusty border wall. This combination of absurd comedy and socio-political criticism encapsulates Rottenberg’s practice, in which she often critiques the labour economy, hyper-capitalism and globalisation. Along with film, installation and sculpture, she will also show a new body of kinetic sculptures at this survey show.

On Happiness brings together researchers and artists from the cultural, scientific and spiritual sectors to reflect on the notion of being happy. Two exhibitions explore the themes of “joy” and “tranquillity”: the former considers the diversity of euphoric experiences and the effect of positive emotion on the body, while the latter focuses on concepts of peace, balance and calmness. Historical artefacts, such as medieval wellbeing manuals, are displayed to demonstrate the storied history of these ideas. Look out for photographer Steve Budman’s image of a smiley-face peace protest (pictured), captured in 1971 while he was a student at the University of Maryland.

Until 27 February 2022

14 October–6 February 2022

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Photo: Lewis Ronald/Plastiques

ART & COLLECTING / Diary

Barbara Hepworth: Art & Life, The Hepworth, Wakefield

Prix de Rome 2021, Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam

In honour of its tenth anniversary, The Hepworth has organised the most substantial exhibition of Barbara Hepworth’s work since her death in 1975. The show presents an in-depth view of Hepworth’s life and legacy, displaying celebrated and iconic sculptures drawn from both public and private collections. Her rarely exhibited drawings, paintings and fabric designs reveal her wideranging artistic approach and how her varied interests, from music to politics to science and space exploration, influenced her vision. Paintings by Bridget Riley from the 1960s have also been included, in addition to new commissions from Tacita Dean and Veronica Ryan.

The Prix de Rome is the oldest Dutch award for international visual artists, founded in order to support and encourage practitioners under the age of 40, and to increase their public and critical visibility. This year, the nominated finalists are Mercedes Azpilicueta, Alexis Blake, Silvia Martes and Coralie Vogelaar. Each artist has received a budget in order to create new work, which will be exhibited at the Stedelijk, with the winner announced in the winter and awarded €40,000. Pictured is a still from Martes’ The Revolutions That Did (Not) Happen, part of her canon of experimental films influenced by futuristic realism and science fiction.

Until 27 February 2022

13 November–20 March 2022

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ART & COLLECTING / Diary

Lucy McKenzie, Tate Liverpool 20 October–27 March 2022

The first UK retrospective of the Glasgow-born, Brusselsbased artist and designer Lucy McKenzie will show over 80 works dating from 1997 to the present, including largescale architectural paintings and trompe l’oeil works. The representation of women and the friction between public

and private space are some of her thematic interests; her work has also reimagined historical images, often rendering realistic imitations of materials or replicating design motifs from a particular period, such as the work of Charles Rennie Mackintosh or Victor Horta.

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ART & COLLECTING / Diary

Helen Frankenthaler: Radical Beauty, Dulwich Picture Gallery, London 15 September–18 April 2022

A pioneer of 20th-century art, American artist Helen Frankenthaler played a pivotal role in the transition from abstract expressionism to colour field painting: her “soakstain” technique saw her pour diluted paint directly on to an unprimed canvas laid on the floor. Coinciding with

the tenth anniversary of her death, this show particularly highlights her foray into printmaking and woodcuts: don’t miss her evocative masterpiece Madame Butterfly (2000), which is comprised of 46 woodblocks and 102 colours and will occupy an entire room in the exhibition.

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The healing arts Hauser & Wirth carves a new cultural hub from a former naval hospital on a Menorcan island Words / Alice Morby Images / Be Creative, Menorca & Daniel Schäfer

ART & COLLECTING / Menorca

hen the very act of seeing art in person has become something we’ll never take for granted again, the idea of visiting Hauser & Wirth’s new gallery complex in Menorca is nothing short of idyllic.

Above Eduardo Chillida’s Elogio del Vacio VI (2000) greets visitors at the galleries, designed by Luis Laplace alongside a trio of local architects Previous page Naval hospital buildings dating from the 18th century have been restored to house exhibition space

Located on Isla del Rey, the new site – which opened in July – is steeped in history. Formerly a hospital established by the British navy in 1722, it provided care for sick and injured seamen and was used by both French and Spanish servicemen during their occupations on the island; during the second world war, it was used by the Italian navy. In 1964, when a new hospital was built in the Menorcan capital, Mahón, Isla del Rey was abandoned. The gallery’s co-founders, Iwan and Manuela Wirth, had been visiting Menorca for years and had long ago fallen in love with it. When they saw the conservation work being done on Isla del Rey by some dedicated volunteers, they

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had an idea. “They saw the potential in joining [the volunteers] in the preservation of such a beautiful location, and creating an art centre in the outbuildings that hadn’t yet been restored,” says Mar Rescalvo Pons, Hauser & Wirth’s Menorca director. Working with architect and serial collaborator Luis Laplace alongside local architects Miquel Sintes, Minerva Sánchez and Bià Garriga, they set about creating a space to “redefine the gallery experience”. Traditional materials have been used for the restoration – terrazzo flooring was made on site with local stone, while original wooden beams have been brought back to life. “I find Iwan and Manuela’s approach to architecture inspiring,” says Laplace. “They want you to know where you are as a viewer, and for the building to respond to the place and the culture. Collaboration with Miquel, Minerva and Bià has also been essential to creating a project so embedded in the place.”

ART & COLLECTING / Menorca

Landscape designer Piet Oudolf was brought on board to create the gardens, incorporating native species into his work, and in doing so, reinforcing the Wirths’ overarching ambition that their galleries should be truly embedded into the wider space they inhabit. In order to further embed the gallery into its surroundings, the founders felt it was vital that the inaugural artist had an opportunity to interact with the local community, its nature and its education. As such, Mark Bradford – the American artist chosen for the first exhibition – was engaged with the project from the start. “Isla del Rey is a site steeped in history, and Mark Bradford’s work often addresses historical themes,” says Rescalvo Pons. “Menorca is an island rich in history, heritage and culture, and we want to ensure that the centre becomes a cultural hub for the island and fosters connections with existing initiatives and projects.”

The exhibition, titled Masses and Movements (on until 31 October) draws inspiration from the Waldseemüller map, created in 1507 and known for being the first map to name “America” in print. It comprises an Education Lab alongside an installation that highlights the interconnected nature of today’s global immigration crisis and the history of the mass-movement of people. Bradford has made a series of canvases based on the Waldseemüller map as well as globe sculptures and a sitespecific wall painting. “For the past year it’s felt like we’re living on Mars – masked up, suited up, six feet apart on the ground that just won’t stop moving,” says Bradford. “Eventually you’ve got to decide to move with it; to recognise that the unsteadiness is just a part of the course of history.” A fitting sentiment not just for the times we’re living in, but for the space that the gallery occupies and the potential it has to bring about change.

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Above An outdoor sculpture trail includes Joan Miró’s Le Père Ubu from 1974

Unnoticeable at first glance: the new

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Preston Central Bus Station. Read the full story on p114 Image by Samuel Ryde

ARCHITECTURE Surveying the built environment

ARCHITECTURE / Profile

Emergency action

A book born from the aftermath of the Black Lives Matter movement is the latest way that Pooja Agrawal is tackling the inequalities of the architecture industry

he murder of George Floyd rocked the world in many ways. But when certain organisations began posting black squares on Instagram last summer, following a movement to raise awareness about police brutality and systemic racism, it struck Pooja Agrawal as hypocritical. The London-based architect and planner says: “You could see it as an action of solidarity. But actually we felt it was quite an easy and shallow response.” To her and Joseph Henry, co-hosts of spatial equality platform Sound Advice, the action was incongruous with personal experiences of working in the built environment. “I’d seen organisations posting who we know don’t really have the

practice. It was almost like: if they can post this, then anyone can.”

Words Riya Patel

Over the following five months, they found a range of responses to the subject unfolding in Sound Advice’s community of architects and urbanists, and felt compelled to capture them in a book, Now You Know. It includes 60 essays, interviews, poems and action plans that have grown from dissatisfaction with how race and discrimination are being addressed in the sector. Some voices take the positive from token acts on social media – public engagement with the issue in even the most fleeting way gives a reason for us to hold brands and

Left Now You Know, a compendium of ideas tackling race and discrimination in the architecture and design industry Facing page Pooja Agrawal, architect, planner and activist for spacial equality

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ARCHITECTURE / Profile

institutions to account. Agrawal says: “What’s really important for us all a year on is to ask ‘what have you actually done?’ Especially to those who posted a black square.” The anthology includes contributors’ personal experiences of racism, and stories that examine the deep roots laid by colonialism and British Empire. Closest to Agrawal’s heart are pieces that put built environment failures in a wider context, such as Jordan Rowe’s exploration of the systems of social exclusion that exist around the tower block. And Natasha Reid’s essay linking housing inequality and health, which Agrawal says feels particularly important given that Covid-19 is disproportionately affecting people of colour. “Covid. Black Lives Matter. Poor air quality. It teases out [the fact] that these things are not separate conversations.”

Ivan Jones

Agrawal has spent her career fighting for equality in the built environment, feeling out different roles in the public sector for where she can have most impact. “With a background in architecture and design I increasingly saw the opportunities the public sector has to really make long-term impact. Power, funding, policy …all the different mechanisms it has to make change.” She recently returned to the social enterprise Public Practice as CEO: she and Finn Williams co-founded the non-profit in 2017 to disrupt the notoriously bureaucratic UK planning system. The enterprise embeds selected architects, urban designers and other professionals in local authorities to encourage cross-disciplinary thinking. The programme has placed 176 associates in 36 authorities and organisations across south-east England, and Agrawal wants to grow its impact nationally. To continuously challenge the status quo takes some personal drive. Agrawal lived in India until she was 16, and says that addressing spatial equality is a mission that has always been with her. “I grew up in a seven-storey apartment block right next to one of the biggest slums in Mumbai. You live spatial inequality there. It was very much part of my everyday existence.” In the UK, the social imbalance is better hidden. Tragedies like Grenfell and the Covid-19 pandemic bring it

to the surface, but they are all too easy for built environment institutions to avoid engaging with once the spotlight falls somewhere else. Now You Know is meant to shock – provoking action that goes beyond an organisation’s polite panel talk or the endless discussions of a working group. As well as the anger, disbelief and frustration voiced in the book, there is fatigue. Two recent revelations – Barbican Stories, a publication of 100 incidents of racism at the prominent arts centre, and a student-led dossier alleging a sexist and racist culture at the prestigious Bartlett School of Architecture – show that despite conversations about race in architecture and design being more prominent than ever, huge systemic problems remain. “Even if the conversation is more pronounced, it’s still within a structure that I don’t see being completely redesigned,” says Agrawal. “Are people serious about making change? I don’t think people really want to give up their space.”

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ARCHITECTURE / Photo essay

Highly transporting

A photographer’s ode to the Lancashire bus station that was once one of Europe’s most architecturally ambitious interchanges

reston’s Central Bus Station is an unlikely mix of the seductive and the monumental. On arrival, first impressions are dominated by the graceful upward curves of its cantilevered concrete balconies, stretching the length of this 1960s megastructure. Bookended by swirling access ramps, their serried concrete ribs create ripples of light and dark across all 170 metres of its exhilarating facade. These balconies, and the parking decks they shelter, float above the glass curtain wall of the terminus below. Designed to bring the sophistication of air travel to the humdrum world of bus transport, its interior blends elegance and practicality. Grids of vertically laid white tiles rise up the walls towards ribbed concrete soffits. Barriers and benches have the rich patina of oiled iroko timber; the floor glows with the black rubber of Pirelli tiles. From the Helvetica signage to the minimalist clocks suspended from the double-height ceiling, there’s a continental feel, combining the rationality of 1960s European design with a touch of Britain’s “white heat”. For photographer Samuel Ryde, arriving here at eight o’clock one Sunday morning last year, it felt both dramatic and familiar, evoking childhood memories of Cardiff ’s own postwar bus station – now demolished – and luggage trollies rattling over those same ribbed rubber tiles at its airport. Preston had been on his radar for a while; the success of his acclaimed photographic series on hand dryers gave him the freedom to pursue the project. “I wanted to try and capture the building’s character, translating how it made me feel – it’s what I do in most projects, photographing inanimate objects and making them animate,” he says. The exterior’s heroic scale impressed, but the

interior made an equal impact: “It ticks all the boxes – it’s very utilitarian, it’s easy to use, but it’s also bright, crisp, simple, uncluttered. It’s just really thoughtful. And it’s almost monochrome. Everything about it is gorgeous.”

Words John Jervis Images Samuel Ryde

Originally conceived in the late 1950s, as Britain’s first stretch of motorway opened just outside Preston, the Central Bus Station was completed a decade later to accommodate 80 buses and 1,100 cars; the massive structure was designed by Building Design Partnership, a national practice with local roots. By then, Preston had been earmarked as the focus of a proposed Central Lancashire New Town. Plans were eventually scaled back and, as a result, Europe’s largest bus station never fulfilled its intended role. In the early 2000s, run down and threatened with demolition, it was saved by local advocacy and heritage bodies. A renovation was completed in 2017, restoring both its glamour and functionality while introducing public spaces inside and out. Since visiting Preston, Ryde has photographed the time-worn modernist bus stations of Basildon and Merthyr Tydfil, and is currently nursing fantasies of travelling across the US shooting old Greyhound stations. “The thing I like about bus stations is how democratic they are. They’re so available, and there’s a magic in that – you can get whisked away to far-flung destinations. It’s a quality you don’t get in airports. The energy’s different – more raggedy, more everyday.” For Ryde, the best comparison is with spaceports: “Whenever you see one in a film like Star Trek, they’ll always show comings and goings, it’s frenetic and quick. There’ll be a massive Preston bus station in space. It’ll be the first one, it’ll be the inspiration – everyone just loves it so much.”

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Facing page Restored in 2017, the nowlisted Preston Bus Station has come back from the threat of demolition

“It’s very utilitarian, it’s easy to use, but it’s also bright, crisp, simple, uncluttered. It’s just really thoughtful”

Above The bus station’s simple, utilitarian interiors captured photographer Samuel Ryde’s imagination as much as the external architecture

Facing page Elegant and practical, waiting areas feature iroko barriers, rubber floors and minimalist clocks suspended from lofty concrete rafters

Next page Curved concrete balconies lend the exterior a sculptural quality – and allow bus passengers to disembark in a relatively sheltered area

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THE INTER IOR DESIGN SHOW FOR PROFESSIONALS 10 th — 1 3 th O c t ob e r 2 02 1 Oly mpia L ondon 1 6 t h — 1 8 t h N o ve m b e r 2 0 2 1 V i r t u a l e ve n t

Distressed Soho bag by Hopeful. Read the full story on p124

STYLE Fashionable pursuits

Most wanted

Clothing, accessories and tech that are thoughtful, expressive, beautiful and good

STYLE / Products

Aeyde Aeyde is principally known for its footwear, but the Berlin-based brand is expanding its horizons to encompass covetable accessories, too. Its modern and minimal AW21 collection, which has a curvy aesthetic inspired by the kink in the toe of Aeyde’s bestselling Leandra boot, includes these statement globe-shaped Alice studs (opposite) and thick Alaya

hoops (above), both made from upcycled brass and plated in either 18-carat gold or palladium. Several of the new styles are available in two or three sizes, encouraging wearers with more than one piercing to double- or triple-up for greater effect. Alice studs, £295, Alaya hoops, £245; aeyde.com

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STYLE / Products

Hopeful There could hardly be a better name for an ethical business than Hopeful: the bag brand supports the British textile industry by designing and making its products solely in the UK, sticking to small-batch manufacturing for quality control and to minimise waste. In a smart black and white livery that goes with everything, the distressed cotton Soho bag was

one of its first-ever samples and started off being hand-sewn in Hopeful’s Sussex studio as a one-off piece, but proved so successful that it’s been given a proper print run. It features gold-plated hardware, a magnetic clasp and an internal zip pocket. Soho bag, £80; hopefullondon.com

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STYLE / Products

Angell With pandemic-era public transport still viewed as being less than palatable for many city dwellers, the electric bike business is booming. Putting aesthetics on a par with performance, the Angell bike was designed by Ora-Ïto, to a brief from company founder Marc Simoncini to create “the best electric bike in the world,” aimed squarely at urban use. Its

streamlined frame is made from aluminium and carbon, weighing in at under 16kg; the battery charges to full power in under two hours, which will take you around 70 kilometres at a top speed of 25 kilometres per hour, turning hills into a cinch. £2,690; angell.bike

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STYLE / Products

Nolii The market for iPhone accessories is a crowded one, so it takes something special to stand out. Tech entrepreneur Asad Hamir founded Nolii to bring thoughtful, human-centric design to the industry. Its latest product is the Set Battery, a lightweight power bank that magnetically clips on to a plug, charging your phone and battery at the same time,

with a discreet wraparound lightning cable for recharging out and about. Its tactile matt casing and cheery contrasting colours chime with other Nolii products, including Couple, a system of phone cases with twist-and-lock add-on accessories. £59.99; nolii.com

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STYLE / Products

Rejina Pyo With traditional trench detailing such as horned buttons, multiple pockets and a buckled belt, Rejina Pyo’s Hana coat breaks the mould with its material, a faux camel leather with a detachable bouclé collar. It is also available in a dark-chocolate-coloured coated cotton-blend; team either version with a pair of Pyo’s low-heeled, brightly hued sandals and an

oversized tote. Hana is the perfect introduction to the London-based womenswear designer’s modern tailoring and wearable collections. The brand has a strong focus not just on sustainable materials, but the sustainable practices behind them. £795; rejinapyo.com

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PIONEER

A better human

Ilse Crawford’s empathy, and a sense that design should enhance lives, touches all she does Words / Emma Moore Image / Helen Cathcart

lse Crawford has answered to many names over her career – journalist, designer, interior designer, brand consultant, author and tutor – but one guiding principle drives her work in all areas: a consideration for humanity and its wellbeing.

interiors with these considerations, and extending the thinking to her design collaborations with the likes of Ikea, Vola, De La Espada and Zanat. Her humane values relate not just to the end-users of spaces but to makers: a collaboration with Spanish textile brand Nanimarquina kicked off with a conversation between the studio and the Nepal workshop about what mattered to the community. Their preference was for the use of local fibres, hand techniques, and no bleach nor dyes. Creativity came out of these constraints, and a beautiful palette of textured neutral yarns resulted, worked into a hammock and rugs.

Crawford was the founding editor of Elle Decoration in 1989: she stuck her neck out from the start, moulding the magazine into a place where good design could be explored as a tool to enhance life. She left to found Studioilse in 2001, and has since transformed homes, offices and hospitality spaces – from Soho Houses to airport lounges for Cathay Pacific – into liveable spaces, all the while questioning “the ways in which good design can nudge us to better behaviour”. Long before the word biophilia was bandied about and a certain pesky virus made us all deeply consider the ways our environment could nurture our wellbeing, Crawford was investing her

Crawford joined Design Academy Eindhoven in 2000, founding the Department of Man and Wellbeing and stepping down in 2019. Twenty years of teaching means that her influence has disseminated even further around the world, and there are many now living by her mantra: “Empathy is the cornerstone of design.”

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