Design Exchange 2014 #UrbanScape

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DE Editorial

Vol.#1 2014 ~ URBAN SCAPE

‘All cities are mad: but the madness is gallant. All cities are beautiful, but the beauty is grim.’

In this issue we aim to investigate urban territories along with the notion of the city and urban dwelling.

We express as well as examine our love for the most exciting thing man has developed, both as a territory as well as a philosophic notion; the city.

Looking at locations ranging from London and New York to Moscow, Belgrade, Cape Town and beyond, we explore cities within the boundaries of design, architecture, and urban planning while we incorporate the rich historical, socio-political and financial layers that are essential in the making and evolution of the urban context. Cities are defined by their own complexity; they emerge as urban morphologies, (re) shaped by a sequence of contradictions. They can be rough and smooth, open and accessible or secluded and isolated; cities are delineated by the art of synthesis bringing together the ephemeral and perpetual narrative of urban living. Several cities appeal to us for their sense of order; we admire their spatial articulation and symmetric coherence while other times we cannot fight falling in love with their allure of chaos, drawn to their urban mayhem.

So, what is it that makes a city interesting? Why we fall in and out of love with cities? Is there such thing as a beautiful city? As visitors, we tend to love them or hate them rather quickly, however when it comes to living in one, it certainly takes a lot of effort to truly appreciate, let alone love our own urban environment.

Our cities are part of who we are, of how we behave, and most importantly they craft the way we sense and experience space. Cities of aspirations, cities of paradox, interim trajectories, places of spectacle and spaces of desire; this issue is all about the great urban obsession.

CHristopher Morley, American author Ivi Vassilopoulou/Guest Editor {editor@demagazine.co.uk}

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URBAN SCAPE ~ Vol.#1 2014

DE contents

016 eVent entS/S S/ShowS/FAirS 2014 DeSiG Gn cALenDAr

LonG term Section 1 022 miSSion in moScow PArt 1 Building change & urBan Forum 026 miSSion in moScow PArt 2 Strelka inStitute 030 95 wiGmore Street, LonDon

meDium term Section 2 036 urBAn ScAPe John dolan 040 SiGnS oF new YorK WalknYc

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URBAN SCAPE ~ Vol V .#1 2014

DE Contents SHORT TERM SECTION 3 048 HUMAN HARP DI MAINSTONE 050 MATERIALS COUNCIL IAN HUNTER/BRAD TURNER 052 VISIONS OF LONDON GARDEN BRIDGE + SKYCYCLE

SPECULATIVE SECTION 4 058 RECLAMING OUR STREETS "LIFT" BY ROBERT TREMPE 062 NEXTSAVAMALA BELGRADE'S HISTORICAL NEIGHBOURHOOD

INTERIORS SECTION 5 070 074 078 084 088 092 096 100 104 108 112 116 120 124 128 134 143

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DE Contributors

John McRae Stefano Carniel

John McRae joined Orms in 1997 and is co-owner of the practice with Oliver Richards.

John has experience working across a broad range of sectors, including workplace, education, residential and healthcare. His focus is on creating architecture that is sensitive to users’ individual and collective needs.

John is a member of the British Council for Offices and has contributed to a number of conferences including: Ecobuild, RIBA’s good design it all adds up, Future Health & Care Expo, Future of Sustainability webinar, and BEST. He writes a regular blog for DesignCurial and instigated the practice’s THiNK initiative, which seeks to gain greater insight into the issues faced by the architectural profession.

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Industrial design is her passion and profession.

Bruna started her steps in the design world in Brazil, where she was born. After graduating from university with a degree in Product Design she moved to Spain, the country of her second nationality, to study 3D and Illustration.

Bruna currently lives and work in London and is pleased to write about creative products through Design Exchange magazine, a desire that she had for a long time.

Stefano is a graphic and web designer from Italy where he studied Industrial Design at the IUAV University of Venice. After two years working as a web marketing assistant at Arper, an Italian furniture firm, he moved to London in pursuit of that which makes him happy: design.

BRUNA AMOROS

Context and content are inseparable – Ivi Vassilopoulou is Design Exchange’s Guest Editor and Architecture critic. She has been trained as an architect in London and holds a Master’s degree in Theory and Criticism of Architecture from the University of East London. Since then she has been researching, reviewing and writing regarding matters of Architecture, Design, Fashion and Cultural Affairs for various international publications both in the UK and abroad. Ivi finds peace in the haunting atmospheres of Peter Zumthor’s architecture, enjoys the materially evocative spaces found in the buildings of Sigurd Lewerentz and adores the strict yet sensual minimalism of Mies van der Rohe’s works. Originally from Greece, Ivi lives and works in East London.

Ivi Vassilopoulou

ILLUSTRATIONS: © JASON LEAR

Jill Pope

Jill Pope is an Australian writer and anthropology graduate currently based in Paris. She has worked with the architecture and design industry for over seven years. Jill writes about design, creative culture and cities and her articles have been featured in print and online publications such as Artichoke, Houses and Gogo Paris. Jill uses her writing to explore the people and places that make up our urban environments from both an objective and subjective level, and has a particular interest in the Balkans region.

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masthead DESIGN EXCHANGE 2014 VoLume 1 iSSue 11 £10.00 eDitor-in-chieF Diana Biggs editor@demagazine.co.uk GueSt eDitor Ivi Vassilopoulou Senior eDitorS Stuart Blakley coveR Image: London skyline/Image composition by Veer-design.com

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© 2014 coPYriGht design exchange magazine claims no responsibility for the opinions of its writers and contributors contained within this design magazine.

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Every care has been taken when compiling design exchange to ensure that all the content is correct at the time of printing. design exchange assumes no responsibility for any effects from errors or omissions.

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contriButinG eDitorS Bruna Amoros Jill Pope Martin Guttridge-Hewitt Rosemary Munro internS Jessica Macnally Stefano Carniel weB/onLine FeAture eDitor Maria Passarivaki weB DeVeLoPer Kingsley Man web@demagazine.co.uk contriButorS John Dolan Jason Lear Kirsten Beith PhotoGrAPhY Caterina Ragg Luca Piffaretti Marcus Peel Art Director/DeSiGn LAYout VEER Design Studio www.veer-design.com co-FounDer / trAVeL eDitor David Morris david@demagazine.co.uk

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022 Mission in Moscow Part 1 Building change & Urban Forum

026 Mission in Moscow Part 2 Strelka Institute 030 95 Wigmore Street, London

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WorDs: IvI vassIlopoulou — iMAGes: © The uRban FoRum /moscoW nIghT vIeW (shuTTeRsTock)

part one

Urban Points of Growth & Emerging Peripheries

As Russia's administration continues to make headlines for all the wrong reasons, Design Exchange Magazine takes a look at Moscow's bright future and the expansion of a new metropolitan terrain. We look into one of the world’s most progressive design schools, the Strelka Institute, the ongoing development of Technopolis – a colossal tech hub in the making – while we investigate urban regeneration schemes, emphasising both the challenges as well as the great potential that lays in the city’s growth.

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A

fter visiting and observing Moscow in action one thing is evident; change. The overall regeneration and growth of the Russian capital is reflected in bright new architecture throughout the city.

Modern skyscrapers break the clouds; malls sprout like mushrooms; new galleries and cultural institutions betray an aspiration to become a prominent, internationally driven design and arts hub.

Although this makeover is most visible in the Russian capital’s epicentre, a series of new projects are also underway on the outskirts. Here, an urge to create new and prosperous peripheries, and regenerate old and neglected urban territories – now considered suburban – are key parts of the overall region’s plan for future success.

Any city needs to grow beyond its centre, but few with the urgency of Moscow. Its relatively small downtown area already feels cramped, as though shrieking for expansion. But any metropolitan extension needs to integrate with the existing urban layers in order to work, with the transformation of unused and often ignored outlying districts essential if this decentralisation scheme is to develop prosperous new territories.

Regeneration, though, requires deep knowledge of the past, thorough research of the present landscape and the ability to envisage sustainable solutions for the future of the city and its citizens. ¦

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Part one

MISSION IN MOSCOW

The Periphery issue

Urban: of or relating to cities and the people who live in them.

Periphery: the outside edge of an area; the area that surrounds a place or thing.

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Design Exchange

The establishment of a successful metropolitan periphery is imperative. As the city proposes this kind of radical growth it also calls for immediate change and drastic solutions.

Taking into consideration the rapid growth of the capital’s economy and the consequential migration issues the city faces, it is only a matter of time before the entire agglomeration will have to become a fully urbanised megaregion. Of course, this massive growth is exciting, but it will inevitably put a strain on the environment too – from local and regional economies to infrastructure and society. Ultimately, it could even jeopardise the future of Moscow itself; change is inevitable, yet its quality can be highly questionable.

Moscow’s ‘big idea’ is decentralisation; to effectively establish a healthy and sustainable balance between the living standards of its centre and the new peripheries. And, as a developing megacity, it needs to address the risks and challenges of that growth, with the process requiring a comprehensive understanding of its history. As rich as it is diverse, that heritage must be embraced by designs that carefully set out how interventions with the existing urban layers will take place. In short, Moscow needs to develop a strong planning strategy for the future to avoid an urban anarchy of chaotic construction patterns, and create a healthy, modern and efficient city for inhabitants.

For the time being, though, Moscow’s central territory will remain cramped thanks to its extremely compact nature. The city’s centralisation applies to all major establishments; political, cultural, financial, and business. All this happens in a highly restricted, densely populated urban area and has resulted in a city centre that is crowded, intense, and unsustainable.

This hyper-development has caused obvious problems. Epic traffic jams, for example, snake through arterial avenues, and many other major ecological and logistical issues are similarly unresolved. Moscow needs to spread this hyper-development to its larger urban territory by re-thinking and re-using old residential suburbs and the many vast former-industrial zones.

“Politically, Moscow’s periphery represents 7 million voters. Economically it represents 200 million m² of real estate and 1 trillion dollars in property value.” So says the Moscow Urban Forum manifesto, and with this in mind the peripheries hold huge potential – now more than ever- to become successful, pro-active and integrated parts of the city in the near future.

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Case Study Technopolis

The future of the peripheries

There are vast numbers of projects under development in Moscow at the moment, many of which ask questions about the notion of change and evolution within the city’s peripheries. Technopolis is arguably one of the most exciting and sustainable therein. A huge scheme situated in an old automotive plant, the entire site is being transformed into a new industrial park, aimed at providing a home for hightech manufacturers.

The project involves the rehabilitation of old buildings into a shared brownfield facility that will house dozens of international technology-driven companies.

Enormous in scale, the hope is that Technopolis will transform a once-problematic urban area into a prosperous part of ‘New Moscow’.

This business hub incorporates nearly 330,000 m² of industrial space situated in a vast 30 ha. of land. Currently, over 220,000 m² are fully renovated with more to come, and approximately 40% of the site has already been leased. Which isn’t bad at all, considering this once-desolate Soviet-era industrial development had no use, and certainly no future, just a few years ago.

The Technopolis case is a fine example of how the transformation of an old industrial zone can positively change the future and social circumstances of problematic and disadvantaged districts, replacing them with places of prosperity and success.

The Urban Forum held in Moscow last December gathered together some of the world’s leading urbanists, architects, thinkers and investors to research, discuss and reflect on the city’s current urban condition, whilst developing new ideas and solutions for future growth. Moscow’s urban expansion strategy involves new residential zones, the creation of modern technological, financial and cultural centres, new recreational areas, parks and green spaces, along with the development of communal facilities and the necessary social infrastructure.

It is essential for points of growth in these new territories to be part of a coherent social plan- for example, by offering people jobs and social facilities close to their homes, so as to prevent urban collapse and achieve polycentric development.

Moreover, a shared development strategy for Moscow and the wider Moscow Region needs to be implemented.

This would include the development of additional infrastructure and transportation links – crucial tasks for the urban evolution of the city centre and its peripheries. In doing so, Moscow’s expansion and decongestion has the potential to provide Muscovites with contemporary, friendly and efficient neighborhoods, whilst allowing the central district to breathe again. Fundamentally, Moscow’s successful agglomeration hinges on its governance and planning strategists’ ability to re-think and re-appropriate outer territories and engage with the existing urban fabric, aspiring to improve and develop these areas. ¦ part two

*With special thanks to the Government of Moscow, The Moscow Times and the Moscow Urban Forum demagazine.co.uk

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words: Ivi Vassilopoulou — images: © The Urban Forum

Part TWO

MISSION IN MOSCOW

The Strelka Institute Moscow’s powerhouse of change

T

he redevelopment of Moscow is immense, at times frustrating, yet always extremely stimulating. The city is currently undergoing an orgasmic architectural makeover; it’s a time when old and new constantly contrast, contradict and ultimately compete with each other as the 21st Century urban mosaic of Russia’s capital emerges.

The future of the city is in constant flux, and somewhere between the glorious tsarist and bold Soviet architecture is a unique territory that does not denounce its past but successfully embraces it, whilst methodically envisioning the future. A prime example being The Red October Chocolate Factory area, now widely known as Strelka, and its distinctively industrial past, which has now been transformed into one of the most stylish destinations in Moscow.

This unique project has succeeded in revamping an entire urban territory and transforming the address into an au courant place to socialise. Strelka is a meeting point, a cultural institute and success story evidencing how growth and regeneration are often far more sustainable when linked to a specific project.

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The School Socialising and partying at the front, a powerhouse for design innovation in the back, Strelka’s diverse character and ability to bring so many different activities together has successfully distinguished it from any other architectural-academic project we know. Essentially, this is where Moscow’s intellectual elite and design aficionados gather, revealing the city’s new wave of selfconscious metropolitans. Strelka is an experimental institution that aims to bridge the gap between different disciplines, most notably architecture, urbanism and the media, exploring their boundaries and intersections; a local establishment with global influence and an international perspective. ¦

The Design This unique public space, of which the Strelka Institute is part, was constructed by the architectural team at Wowhaus Bureau as part of a plan to reinstate the garages of the Red October confectionery factory on the intersection of Moscow’s Bolotnaya Island. It has essentially become a location where architects, designers and intellectuals, along with a diverse crowd of cool urbanites, meet to drink in the bar or on the terrace during summertime, and attend lectures, screenings and events in the open–air hall.

The Strelka Institute was initially founded in 2010, but even today its design continues to evolve and expand, a result of a determination to cement an ongoing place in the legacy of Moscow’s urban, social and academic pantheons. The Strelka Institute building incorporates both old and new structural elements, bringing together the industrial aesthetic of the old factory with a series of brand new interventions and spaces.

Strelka features a bar area complete with natural wood terrace, which serves as an open-air hall, providing a space for relaxation, reading (in the specially designed

nooks), and other recreational activities. Its design emphatically reflects the multiple functions of the institute and its academic diversity – where architecture, design and media meet. This interdisciplinary approach has resulted in a factory of ideas, a diverse hotspot for intellectual and creative-led innovation. In short, this is Moscow’s most exciting think tank.

The information centre offers visitors details on events the chance to sign up for seminars and lectures, and ticket sales. The institute’s auditoriums and studios are located where the factory garages once stood. For several years these were artists’ studios with a mezzanine level. Wowhaus Bureau transformed the existing building according to the needs of the school, providing as much natural light as possible, comfortable furniture ideal for studying, and customised office equipment.

Strelka’s interior features generous skylights and bespoke furniture, creating the perfect atmosphere for studying.

This spread: [Left to right] Entrance to The Strelka Institute. Strelka’s interior features generous skylights and bespoke furniture, creating the perfect atmosphere for studying. The Strelka Bar and Restaurant interior.

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Part TWO

MISSION IN MOSCOW

DE LONG TERM

shared across disciplines. This is a complex and generally messy process but it’s essential to Strelka’s personality.

What are the key elements and principles of Strelka’s educational program? What is the curriculum’s aim?

The key elements focus on Russia from an interdisciplinary method, and a generative approach that applies the findings of both academic and field research to offer new insights, plans, provocations, and fantasies.

INTERVIEW

This page: Above view of Strelka from Patriarch Bridge.

Below, Brendan McGetrick.

Brendan McGetrick is an independent writer, editor, and designer whose work has appeared in Wired, Art Review, Domus, and Vogue Nippon. His recent projects include the books MAD Dinner (Actar), Urban China: Work In Progress (Timezone 8), and Who Is Architecture? (Domus/Timezone 8). Perhaps more importantly, though, he’s also Knowledge programme director at Strelka, and was on hand to answer our questions about what the institute really stands for, its multileveled interaction with the urban fabric of the city, and the future of Moscow.

Strelka Institute brings together the schools of media, architecture & design. But what does that actually mean?

Strelka is engaged in an on-going experiment in interdisciplinarity. Media, architecture, and design are the three most prominent areas, but actually Strelka’s scope takes in many other fields - including economics, journalism, art, sociology and history. The institute’s work and workers reflect this heterogeneity. As a consequence, it’s necessary for everyone here to adopt a kind of universal language so that expertise can be

What are the highlights of this year’s educational programme?

The highlight will be the public exhibition at the end of term, in which the programme is opened up to Moscow and visitors are allowed to explore the researchers’ work and discuss their findings in person.

How do you envision the future of the Russian metropolis?

First you pursue a deep understanding of the past and present of the Russian metropolis. Then you add to it.

Finally, what three things urgently need to change in Moscow? And what three things should stay the same?

Traffic, short-term real estate speculation, and failure to integrate migrants should be addressed. Imagination, rigor, and freely accessible pickled vegetables should remain. de Who is who: In addition to his other honours, Brendan McGetrick curated Unnamed Design in 2011, a component of the 2011 Gwangju Design Biennale, in collaboration with Ai Weiwei. Since 2012 he has served as director of Strelka Knowledge at the Strelka Institute in Moscow. From 2002-2006 he served as head writer at the research studio AMO. He is a DJ in his spare time. He believes music is the answer to your problems. demagazine.co.uk

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WorDs: John mcRae — iMAGes: © maRcus peel

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" The urban landscape is a deeply complex entity that constantly evolves to meet changing social and economic needs… "

T

he number of buildings in London labelled as 'iconic' has soared over the past 10 years, so much so ‘iconic’ is now the new norm. But is this obsession with being perceived as different, unusual and stand out undermining the fabric of our cities? Or, as Alvar Aalto proposed in the 1950's, should we not "work for simple, good, undecorated things, (…) but things which are in harmony with the human being and organically suited to the little man in the street"? I want to explore if 'simple, good’ and ‘undecorated' commercial architecture – antitheses to the iconic – can respect the past, inform the future and contribute to the soul of a city.

The urban landscape is a deeply complex entity that constantly evolves to meet changing social and economic needs, and the architectural profession plays a vital role in supporting, refreshing and adding to that. Whilst an individual building or space does not make a city it should contribute positively, sit in 'harmony with the human being’, and be ‘suited to the little man in the street'.

Commercial architecture, a loose term that I will use to define the office sector, is a significant component of cities, and Aalto’s challenge of working for ‘simple, good, undecorated’ architecture has and continues to be significant for this sector. In the past 20 years major advancements in computer aided drawing, cladding materials and building systems have supported the

development of a sophisticated ‘simple, undecorated’ commercial architecture. But has this vernacular positively contributed to our cities?

Often characterised by large flat veils of repetitive glass interspersed with metal or stone cladding, do these buildings lack the scale, finesse and charm evident in handsomely crafted Victorian and Edwardian commercial buildings of the past? Many examples of mid to late-20th and 21st century commercial architecture are cited by critics as banal, beige and bland, and are often berated for their awkward massing and lack of sensitively to context. So my question is: can commercially driven, technically advanced, 'simple, good, undecorated' architecture be ‘in harmony with the human being’, or ‘suit the little man in the street?’

At Orms we have been analysing historical building design and detailing to understand whether better visual depth, shadow, proportion and contrast can be crafted from 'simple, good, undecorated’ buildings. To aid the design process we often set our own unwritten project brief, taking into account our wider duty to the fabric and context of the city to inform our architecture and balance the commercial reality of the project with the needs of people, context and place.

In 2006 we were presented with a great opportunity to transform an entire urban block north of London’s Oxford Street and demonstrate how commercial architecture can be informed by historical context, sit ‘in harmony with the human being’ and be ‘organically suited to the little man in the street.’ Now complete, 95 Wigmore Street is a 100,000 sq. ft office and retail building. It replaces a mixture of narrow mid-20th Century office buildings that contained a forest of columns and low floorto-ceiling heights. Both the demolished structures had themselves replaced 18th and 19th century townhouse bay architecture, which once existed along Wigmore Street, instead presenting strong granite-clad, horizontally-banded architecture very much of the time.

The buildings to the west of the block have large, repetitive facades that present little engagement and interest at street level. Yet three blocks to the east is the former Debenhams and Freebody building, which was a major source of inspiration in our design. Its high Edwardian facades, designed by Clarke and Russell in 1905, disguised the otherwise bland floor plates of the department store that lay behind. The scale, proportion and sense of civic duty demonstrated by the building inspired our general architectural approach and resulted in a ‘simple’ but sophisticated new addition to the Marylebone area that is in harmony with the street, pays attention to the people using the thoroughfare, and reflects the character of its wider neighbourhood. ¦ demagazine.co.uk

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This spread: Main entrance to 95 Wigmore Street.

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Design Exchange

So, how did we achieve this? For the Wigmore Street elevation we created an elegant deep cast stone facade. The main vertical expression, either two or three stories high, is on a 6m and 7.5m grid, which acknowledges the townhouse bays that once formed the site perimeter. Within each main bay there is an intermediate fin to ensure a vertical reading, break down the scale and create visual depth to the facade.

The horizontal expression highlights the retail at street level, the cornice to the east and the bulk and mass of the buildings to the west. The seventh floor is set back, creating a roofscape whilst ensuring sensitivity to the scale of the street.

The windows are expressed as two or three-storey framed windows that project on alternate bays. This playful expression contrasts with the solidity of the cast stone frame when viewed obliquely, whereas a more open glass expression is experienced on pure elevation.

The townhouse bays continue around the corner into Duke Street where the mass of the office building is broken down to complement the nearby residencies.

Here, the bays are articulated by a grey projecting aluminium box, cast stone core and brickwork with punched windows, displaying craftsmanship and creating visual interest and variety.

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The main entrance to 95 Wigmore Street is marked by a two-storey colonnade and fritted glass pavilion that slides under the body of the main building. The reception is inspired by the Palazzo Della Spada in Rome, which presents a play on perspective with a series of arches that decrease in size so that the artwork within appears larger than it is. The entrance and reception of 95 Wigmore Street changes in scale from a double height colonnade to a generous single storey height reception and lift lobby, with artwork beyond.

‘Simple, good, undecorated' commercial architecture has a vital role to play in our cities and it is imperative that it actively contributes to each city’s vitality. A balance of craft and budget constraints can be achieved so that crafted solutions are in harmony with the human being’ and suit ‘the little man on the street'. de demagazine.co.uk

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Furniture and interiors. Designed. Made.

www.tandemstudio.co.uk

036 URBAN SCAPE JOHN DOLAN 040 SIGNS OF NEW YORK WALKNYC

DRAWING: © JONH DOLAN

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WorDs: davId moRRIs — iMAGes: © maRcus peel — DrAWiNGs: © Jonh dolan

interVieW:

urBan SScaPe

If you’ve visited Shoreditch recently, you may have noticed John Dolan and his dog, George, sitting outside on the pavement of the High Street.

WWW.streetArtloNDoN.Co.Uk 36

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Last year, when we first met Dolan, he was homeless and spent most of his days drawing pictures of George and the surrounding city. Today, however, his artwork is well known and he’s recently enjoyed showings in London, including a hugely successful exhibition at the Howard Griffin Gallery on Shoreditch High Street last September. George the Dog John the Artist was a sell out, with five of his works alone going for £15,000.

Dolan currently has new shows planned for 2014 in New York and Los Angeles, and Random House are publishing his life story internationally this year. Nonetheless, even with a busy schedule, he took the time to do some exclusive drawings for Design Exchange, as seen throughout this issue. ¦

Left page: Drawing for Design Exchange Magazine by John Dolan. Spread image: John Dolan taking in the view from Broadgate Tower. demagazine.co.uk

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Tell us a bit about yourself, did you grow up in London?

Yes, I grew up on City Road, EC1 on the Kings Square Estate, opposite Gordon's Gin Factory. I could walk from my house and be at the steps of St. Paul's Cathedral in ten minutes. I would stand on a monument of Queen Victoria just opposite St. Paul's every Lord Mayor's Day and watch the processions go by. Early on in my life I made some bad choices and found myself homeless and in and out of jail for a period of 20 years. Three years ago I became an artist.

How did the drawing start? Have you always been artistic?

I have always been able to draw. I was born with natural artistic talent, passed down to me from my grandfather who was also an artist. But there were many years when I wouldn’t even pick up a pen because I was banged up, or on the streets. I neglected my talent for long periods of time. I only picked up the pen again because I had been homeless for a long time and was getting older, so it was make or break for me. I found myself in Shoreditch, the art capital of the country, and I started sitting out on Shoreditch High Street because you never know who is going to walk past you from one day to the next.

What inspires your work, is homeless life in Shoreditch a central theme?

I get my inspiration from everything around me, but initially my main inspiration were these two decrepit old buildings in Shoreditch opposite where I used to sit, and occasionally still do. I used these buildings as a study for three years and drew them hundreds of times. Shoreditch has been my greatest inspiration and has inspired me in more ways than I will ever realise. The fashion, the people, the history and the general vibe of the entire area gives me great inspiration every day.

Is there a building or urban area you would love to draw?

I like to draw the run down buildings that nobody really takes any notice of or pays much attention to. I like the grime and dark alleyways, the buildings that are just about ready to fall down. If they have street art or graffiti on them then to me that makes them more appealing and beautiful. For the 38

Design Exchange

magazine, I have been drawing cityscapes of a different style and I also prefer to draw buildings from the ground up. However, I do love how the aerial views come together on completion and I like the London architecture in the Square Mile because it fits in with all the old buildings.

There is a lot of history in London, especially the City of London, with the parts of old Roman walls running through it. The modern architecture has been built to fit in with the old architecture and as much as it is out of place, it is not out of place, it works. I've used Shoreditch as a launch pad and will branch out around the world once I have established myself more on the art scene – watch this space.

Future plans; what comes next?

I've just finished writing my life story, which will be published this July by Random House. I am also working on a big project with the Museum of London in May and planning an exhibition in Los Angeles for later in the year. de

Left page: A drawing of George the Dog. Right page: John Dolan at work and a view of Shoreditch High Street.

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words: Ivi Vassilopoulou — images: PENTACITYGROUP + NEW YORK CITY SKYLINES (SHUTTERSTOCK)

INTERVIEW:

Eoin Billings, Partner in Billings Jackson Design

WalkNYC

Work by the interdisciplinary team at PentaCityGroup "The ordinary practitioners of the city live 'down below' – below the thresholds of which visibility begins. They walk – an elementary form of this experience of the city; they are walkers, Wandermänner, whose bodies flow the thicks and thins of an urban 'text'; they write without being able to read it."

Michel de Certeau, extract from Walking in the City.

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DE MEDIUM TERM Left page: The breathtaking Skyline of New York.

This page: The WalkNYC way-finding system uses clear language and maps, featuring localized information.

This observation by the infamous cultural theorist Michel de Certeau explores the notion of experiencing the urban metropolis – New York – as he investigates interactions between humans, the built environment and everything between. In the extract we find the writer in the Big Apple during the late-1970’s, standing on top of the World Trade Centre, observing the city and the movement that takes place ‘down below.’ He is at the centre of a huge urban sprawl, but has distanced himself from ground level.

He examines the realm of the lived experience, highlighting the difference evident in each of the multiple levels, thus gaining an understanding of the urban terrain.

New York has undergone tremendous urban transformation since Certeau stood over Manhattan. The city’s massive expansion has certainly added to a more complex and diverse urban territorial existence.

Movement defines perception, whilst perception enhances experience.

The extensive use and need for urban transit – a sign that our cities are growing day by day – has changed the way we move and experience the city. We haven’t completely abandoned walking, but it feels as though walking has become a luxury rather than a necessity. Seldom the most efficient way to get around in today’s dense and complex urban territories, in contrast to cars, yellow cabs, buses or the subway- logical A-B transitwe actively choose to go by foot. ¦ demagazine.co.uk

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Reality and problems

New York is a distinguished walking city, but pedestrian oriented information is hard to find and inconsistent when presented. This complexity is compounded because the city combines numbered and named streets. Moreover, the urban fabric demonstrates a series of building numbering conventions and street grids that merge at confusing angles. A diverged mix that creates a rather confusing terrain in which to locate and find one’s way; even in Manhattan, where the ‘logical’ grid system makes more sense than the rest of New York. Whilst the city is heavily signed regarding vehicle directions, there is very little offered to improve the experience of walking and facilitate easy pedestrian exploration.

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REALISATION

THE PROJECT WalkNYC is the result of work by the interdisciplinary team at PentaCityGroup, a consortium of firms and organisations, all of which instructed their own experts and contributed to the concept, look and feel of the signs.

This collaboration involved wellestablished professionals in the urban, conceptual and industrial design field. The international design house, Pentagram, took charge of graphic design; City ID were the wayfinding design specialists; T-Kartor provided digital cartography; RBA Group delivered engineers, urban designers and project managers; and industrial design came from the globally renowned Billings Jackson Design.

An acknowledgment of the city’s problematic walking routes and the need to revive the peripatetic experience has led to the development of one of the most thorough and well–designed wayfinding systems in the world; WalkNYC. The New York Department of Transportation launched the WalkNYC programme in summer 2013, marking the beginning of a new way to explore and experience the city.

The system uses clear language and features maps, easy-to-digest localised information and smart design, with the aim of encouraging walking in the city for locals and visitors alike.

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We asked Eoin Billings, Partner in Billings Jackson Design, who was personally involved in WalkNYC, to explain more about the initiative’s design and conceptual process, along with the requirements and importance of such a large scale civic project.

What do you consider to be the parameters and challenges of designing a public infrastructure project?

Streets and transport environments are harsh places by nature. They are the connective tissue of a city and meant to be in constant flux. On their surface, people, bikes and vehicles move across them. Beneath the surface is the infrastructure to connect buildings to utility services: water, electricity, sewerage. And further below, in places such as New York, there is the subway.

Thinking about the strata of the city streets is crucial. Not only to help connect the people below and over ground, but in terms of how you need to work around, between and on top of the layers of services that make a city work. We like to think that we augment this space with designs that work as hard as the streets themselves. This was a key point in the design of the totems: how to make them stand out amongst all the visual ‘noise’ without making them alien to the streetscape, but a natural extension to the city – recognisable, familiar. To that end, we moved the totems away from intersections, since there is so much existing infrastructure, information and movement at these locations.

The first stage of WalkNYC has started in a few neighbourhoods with future expansion planned. The city has many distinctive districts, each with different atmospheres and features. How did your design respond to the urban diversity of New York?

Within every city this is an important consideration. Where do we strike a balance between what is universal, or pan–city, and what is particular, integral and a response to the specific locale? We start with the function

and work our way from there. The information is the hero in this case, and an instantly recognisable, clear anchor is more important than a nod to the local aesthetic. This is a citywide information transit system, which offers a familiar face to those venturing into new areas, so it had to be universal.

Can you tell us a bit more regarding the design of the totems? What are the standing totems made from and what concept did Billings Jackson develop?

The totems are composed of three base materials: Stainless steel, porcelain and glass. These materials are robust, selffinishing and low maintenance by necessity but the careful expression of the detailing emphasises the tactility and inherent beauty of each. Acrylic beacons on top of the totems are designed to catch the light, creating an interesting tension with the porcelain panel that grounds each at its base. We feel this helps to lift the totem from a utilitarian amenity to a beautiful object in the street.

Where did you find inspiration? Was there a signage project or wayfinding system in another city you looked to, and if so how did these inform the WalkNYC plan?

City ID invented the concept of an urban wayfinding solution that is the glue between transit systems and lifts the veil on how we see our city. They first tried the idea with great success in Bristol and they haven’t stopped since, with London, Birmingham (UK), New York and more to come. So we are working with the author of the concept and the benchmark is City ID. With each city, the reaction, team, build, brief and results are different. Each city has its own particular character, and demands.

So we all had to go back to basics and build up a system solution for New York alone.

We were able to draw on the experiences of Birmingham, London and Bristol but most of what we gleaned was about implementation and construction. The designs are totally unique, in terms of colour, scale, materials and dimension.

A metropolis like New York obviously changes and evolves constantly; how easily can the city’s wayfinding system adapt to future urban changes?

Our approach to design embraces the inevitable change and evolution of the city.

There are several details that allow the totems to adapt to changes in the urban fabric, as well as advancements in technology. We future-proofed the design with the ability to swap out map panels when changes in the street grid occur, or when a new landmark emerges, for example. The replaced glass can be taken back to the shop, cleaned, and will then become stock for additional totems elsewhere. Furthermore, each totem has the ability to be wired and has space within the displays, should the DOT choose to augment the static information with dynamic messaging. Part of that embrace of change, however, is being neutral, not bound to a particular style. We like to think our designs are timeless.

WalkNYC aims to raise our knowledge of the city; these totems are there not on their own right, they serve a purpose and eventually they become part of the urban visual landscape. Undeniably we tend to walk only fragments of our cities, as part of the vehicle oriented transit of our daily routine. Yet, with the help of mapping and urban cartography, it becomes easier to experience the city in a less fragmented way. de demagazine.co.uk

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048 Human Harp DI MAINSTONE 050 MATERIALS COUNCIL IAN HUNTER/BRAD TURNER 052 VISIONS OF LONDON GARDEN BRIDGE + SKYCYCLE

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words: David Morris — images: David Morris (PORTRAIT) & Martin Noboa — DRAWINGS: DI MAINSTONE

DI MAINSTONE

inspired me and started to develop wearable musical instruments with scientists, using motion sensors to map the movement of the wearer to different sounds. I was later approached by the Centre for Digital Music at Queen Mary University of London, to be artist in residence at the School of Electrical Engineering, and design new sonic instruments with their students. I love my job!

HUMAN HARP

After crossing New York’s Brooklyn Bridge, and wondering how an installation created on the landmark might sound, London artist Di Mainstone developed The Human Harp.

This project is now recognised by universities, musicians, researchers and artists across the globe.

This page: Di Mainstone on Tower Bridge.

Right page: Sketches for the next project above and below Hollie Miller playing the Human Harp on the 130th anniversary of the Brooklyn Bridge.

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Tell us about the inspiration for your project…

During a residency at Eyebeam Centre for Art and Technology, in New York City, I was often drawn to the Brooklyn Bridge in search of inspiration. I became struck by the sounds that I could hear as I sat there- the clonking of footsteps on the wooden walkway (which reminded me of a giant glockenspiel), the whirring of bicycles, the drone of the traffic from below and sound of voices of the visitors as they walked by. It was at this point that I noticed the bridge reminded me of a giant harp and that all of these ‘journey sounds’ were resonating through its steel cables.

Inspired, I began wondering if I could collaborate with scientists and musicians to develop a clip-on instrument that would enable pedestrians to play the bridge like a giant harp.

The project involves several technical instruments, have you always had an interest and background in technology and sound?

In 2004 I left my job as a fashion designer to explore the field of wearable technology. I was invited to The Banff Centre in Canada to collaborate with a team of engineers and develop a dress that could map the wearer’s gesture and emotional states to different soundscapes. This was the start of a new adventure in the world of research and a completely new way of thinking – I was addicted.Residencies followed in Montreal, Rotterdam, Boston and New York City. My projects involved wearable technologies that triggered light, movement and sound. I quickly realised that sound was the area that

How do you start making a wearable harp?

Human Harp was inspired by reoccurring sketches that I drew of a woman attached to the Brooklyn Bridge via colourful musical strings. I liked the idea of the body connecting to architectural space in a really visual way.

In my mind, these chords were an extension of the bridge’s cables, they were also a visual and sculptural representation of sound- enabling the user (or movician) to control pitch, intensity and volume of the vibrations as he or she lengthens, shortens and twangs the chords. I invented the term movician to describe the user of the harp - a hybrid artist who explores sound through expressive physical movement. We used these early sketches to develop the retractable string sound controller that was later tested on the Brooklyn Bridge.

Tell us about the first Human Harp performance.

In September 2012 I discovered that the 130th anniversary of the Brooklyn Bridge was imminent. I approached Mark Plumbley at the Centre for Digital Music, Queen Mary University of London, to see if they would help me develop an instrument that would ‘play’ the Brooklyn Bridge.

They agreed and a London team was gathered, with a mission to develop eight string sound-controllers in time for the anniversary.

Because of the tight deadline we split the design questions up between researchers at Queen Mary and the students at Copenhagen Institute of Interaction Design.

The day before the anniversary, dancer Hollie Miller and I packed the sound-controllers into our suitcase and headed to NYC. There we were met by Kathleen Flood from Intel’s Creators Project, who made a documentary describing our aspirations to transform the Brooklyn Bridge into a giant harp. We then spent the 130th anniversary of the Brooklyn Bridge filming Hollie on the bridge demonstrating and exploring the Human Harp.

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The Creators Project documentary amassed 370,000 hits on Youtube and we received media attention from around the globe.

Your next project will celebrate the 150th birthday of The Clifton Suspension Bridge, what do you plan for that?

Working with musicians, dancers and scientists in the Bristol area, we plan to transform Clifton Suspension Bridge into a giant harp to celebrate the bridge’s anniversary and the opening of a new Visitor Centre in March 2015. We will develop the technology for the instrument and also ideas for the performance and composition through workshops on the bridge throughout 2014. So far we have managed to record the different frequencies running through the bridge’s hangers, or cables. These sounds will then be played by movicians who will use the retractable string sound-controllers attached to the bridge’s cables to release the deep rumbling murmur of Brunel’s iconic landmark.

Each bridge structure is very different; does this mean the instruments used and performances will also differ?

Each bridge has its own structural personality, which means the sound will differ dramatically from bridge to bridge. In Bristol, for example, we have already started working with civil engineers who are researching the bridge’s vibrations caused by wind, traffic and pedestrians. We have discovered that the frequencies on the Clifton Suspension Bridge differ dramatically to those of Tower Bridge.

This will mean that we will need to create bespoke ways to capture the sounds of each bridge in response to their unique structures.

Our performances are also tailored to the individual story of each bridge, drawing inspiration for the composition from its history, as well as local people’s memories and connections to the structure.

What comes next for the Human Harp, and what are your own future plans?

We have been approached by different communities both in the UK and abroad to play their bridges. Before setting off on a global tour of other suspension bridges our main focus is to make the harp sound-controllers more robust and versatile, so that the Human Harp is intuitive, enjoyable and inspiring both to play and to watch. de

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ian hunter brad turner

words: David Morris — images: © Luca Piffaretti

The Materials Council, established by Ian Hunter and Brad Turner, former researchers at Foster + Partners Architects, specializes in research, comparison and selection of materials for architecture.

MATERIALS COUNCIL

This page: Ian Hunter & Brad Turner Right page: Top to bottom the materials on display; the team selecting; the new space, 19 Greek Street, London.

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Tell us a bit about yourselves and why did you decide to form the Materials Council?

First of all I love stuff- making stuff and understanding it. It’s a blend of art and science that really interests and excites me.

Originally Brad and myself studied product design, where we learned a process driven approach to design, focused around the selection of material and manufacturing techniques. We ended up working together as in-house materials researchers at Foster + Partners, operating the Materials Research Centre, an enormous resource with over 18,000 samples. In supporting the architectural design teams across a wide range of project types and locations we developed an understanding of the effectiveness of an industrial design approach when selecting materials for the built environment.

Working at Fosters was an inspirational and defining experience for both of us. Brad left to work in the media side of design, working at Dezeen, whilst I remained at F+P. Later we reconnected and decided to launch Materials Council, in order to continue the work we began at Fosters. The idea is to provide small and mid-scale studios with the best working methods and quality of resources, typically the reserve of the top practices.

Starting a studio was something that Brad and I had always wanted to do. We thought it would be in product design, but after our experience and meeting Nils at Architonic, our strategic partners, we found our nichesomething we were great at and had a real passion for.

You recently moved to a central London Location, tell us about this?

Moving to our new space in central London has just been fantastic. We've taken

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over the top floor of design art gallery and interior design studio 19 Greek Street in Soho.

The space is brilliant, filled with natural light, and it has a larger footprint than our humble first office in London Fields. The space is completely white, a starker aesthetic than we would have used ourselves, but actually this works really well. Our philosophy is to celebrate materials and products as items of intrigue and wonder in themselves, so a gallery is the ideal environment for that.

There is a lot of energy in this building with a furniture gallery, interior design studio, a designer making a recycled glass-based composite… Now we've installed a materials library too – it is becoming a real design hub.

Materiality and Architecture? Is this important?

Oh yes! I don't believe it’s possible to separate the two when it comes to real architecture. I have a lot of respect for architecture as an intellectual or philosophical exercise.

Conceptual designs are great for advancing ideas or raising awareness of certain issues. But, when it comes to the successful realisation of a design, the material choices and the quality of the implementation are crucial to the success of a building, and further, we believe materials offer incredible opportunities for creativity.

With an understanding of materials and processes, considering them early in the design of a building, new possibilities and ideas emerge. Just look at the work of someone like Thomas Heatherwick, who uses a very process-driven approach to design. It’s no coincidence that he has a craft-based background in furniture design.

Equally carefully considered materials and details create harmony in a space, even if you can't put your finger on exactly why you like an environment. The problem is architects and designers don't always have time to devote to research, which is where we come in.

Are there any current trends in Materiality and innovation.

There are a number of trends that we are witnessing at the moment- there is a real interest in materials that have rich and lively surfaces rather than sterile gloss. For example, in metals, polished or satin finishes are being replaced by patinated coppers,

bronzes, cortens and cast irons that will grow more beautiful, developing their finish over time like a well-worn leather.

In terms of innovation, we're seeing two major trends – the first is our ability to manipulate materials on a ‘nano’ level, leading to a range of novel performances and aesthetic effects. Trend number two, I would say, is that digital manufacturing and fabrication are beginning to catch up with the complex geometries afforded by digital design tools.

Advanced CNC capabilities, robotic assembly and 3D printing being the real poster boys for this new wave of innovation.

Name one of your favorite buildings in terms of materiality and why.

One of my favourite buildings is Space Port America by Foster + Partners.

I'm slightly biased as I was involved in the project and so have a more in-depth knowledge of the decisions made compared with some other projects. First of all I simply love the form and what the building represents regarding the birth of the democratisation of the space age. In terms of the materials the decision to use a copper roof with carefully controlled patination is brilliant - in appearance it is harmonious with the surrounding dessert environment and I think it is brilliantly restrained, almost humble in complete contrast to what I think many others would have produced in terms of a very shiny and clichéd image of 'space age' architecture.

The materials were also selected for performance, such as the use of earth from around the site to provide thermal mass, stabilising the temperature of the building from the fluctuations of hot and cold associated with a desert environment. As for the materials used on the interiors...you will need to buy yourself a £250,000 ticket to space to see how it looks.

Future plans, what next?

For us the plan is simple; growth…

A bigger library, more lectures, more workshops, more projects, more materials! We aim to get more and more people excited and enthusiastic about the possibilities of materials in design. Our ultimate aim is to be the world’s number one creative material specialists. So watch this space. de

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Garden Bridge + SkyCycle

words: Ivi Vassilopoulou — images: ARUP (GARDEN BRIDGE) / Foster + Partners (SKYCYCLE)

Visions of London Cities are shaped by people.

People are heavily shaped by the cities they live in.

‘To me, a sustainable city would be a very people-friendly city… It would be a city that really invites people to walk and bicycle as much as possible.’

Jan Gehl, architect, urbanist, and author of Life Between Buildings: Using Public Space; New City Spaces; and Public Spaces, Public Life.

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I

n a rapidly urbanising world, where cities constantly change and expand, we should always be concerned by urban growth; is it successful and sustainable, improving the everyday experience of the city dweller, or not? Transport has become an urban obsession, and a reasonable one at that, since transport both highlights and serves the urbanite’s need for constant mobility and their dependency on means of transportation. Urban expansion inevitably creates an increasing demand for innovative means of transportation that ultimately serve to eliminate the nightmare commute, or at least try to, saving us time and energy.

But suppose we attempt a redefinition of the journey within a city? What if inner-city transit was transformed from an everyday necessity into a unique experience? What if crossing from London’s Southbank involved a trip through majestic gardens?

How would you like to cycle your way to work, whilst enjoying captivating views of this sprawling man-made landscape?

At once a pipe dream and possible future scenario in the U.K. capital, the chances of this utopian fantasy becoming a blueprint for Britain’s only true metropolis are reassuringly high.

When Thomas Heatherwick released his design visualisation for London’s Garden Bridge a few months ago many people were in awe. Could London really have its own elevated-garden? Comparisons to New York’s High Line were inevitable, yet in the English instance this bridge would connect Temple station with the South Bank via a concept not based on re-use but adding a whole new layer to city. Heatherwick, together with engineering firm Arup and Transport for London (TfL), have developed a scheme that aims to decongest London, and enhance the experience of the place as a green city, eventually changing the way we view and experience it forever.

Whilst New York’s High Line essentially revamped a former railway line hanging over Manhattan, Garden Bridge aspires to be much more; a new pedestrian walkway that connects the relatively unused area around Temple to a more vibrant and popular destination on the Thames, South Bank.

Eventually, the bridge will act as mediator between two central yet very different zones, enabling regeneration of the ‘north bank’, which remains comparatively neglected and under-appreciated up against its neighbour on the opposite side of the river.

Notably, the bridge’s structure widens and narrows across its span, creating an elevated garden that enables London’s commuters and visitors to cross the river efficiently.

Moreover, it will offer pedestrians an unparalleled London experience, affording them a chance to pause for a second of thought and enjoy the spectacular skyline from a new perspective. On one side stand the imposing Houses of Parliament, to the other we have stunning views of The City’s glistening commercial towers.

This spread: Garden Bridge concept in London by Arup.

Walking through Garden Bridge will give people an opportunity to enjoy a truly unique metropolitan retreat, spanning 367m across the Thames. Therein they will find a diverse range of grasses, trees, wild flowers, and plants, all selected to suit the natural ¦ demagazine.co.uk

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riverside habitat. And, in something of a nod to traditional English stately home grounds, the terrain will be landscaped, with benches installed along a central promenade. An ultra-ambitious, but highly innovative project with a hint of romanticism (criticised by some as a vanity project of the city’s Mayor), if and when finally realised in 2017 it would change the way we engage with this part of London forever.

Another plan for Europe’s largest urban area was released to the press recently and aims to improve the terrain’s notorious cycle offering. Developed by landscape firm Exterior Architecture, in collaboration with world famous architectural practice Foster + Partners, along with Space Syntax, the SkyCycle plan is an original approach to bike-use in Britain’s capital.

Following present suburban railway corridors, a new level would be built above the train lines, creating safe cycle routes into and out of London. SkyCycle is an extremely ambitious scheme; a 21st Century concept based on principles of reusing the existing urban fabric, and would ultimately provide over

350 miles of car free cycleway. With plans to accommodate around 12,000 cyclists, minimising their journey time within the city, the project would unarguably improve the cycling experience for Londoners and could also alter attitudes towards this mode of transport.

More so, it might be an indication of how our cities will look in the future.

Indeed, it’s hard to deny that SkyCycle is a revolutionary proposal, offering a fresh take on commuting across a sprawling city. If these two ideas are realized, London could set an example to the world on how to create new urban mobility platforms, as it once did with its underground railway, and propose a real solution to the perpetual question. Our cities constantly grow; they are territories of constant movement and increasing congestion, where all established transportation methods are placed under increasing strain.

So how do we rethink the way we move around them?

Both Garden Bridge and SkyCycle provide impressive answers based on notions of wellbeing in the city and healthier living, whilst

pushing the boundaries of architecture. From a green space-turned arterial transit route to the re-use of existing urban layers to reduce road congestion and protect carbon neutral commuters, although costs remain a key issue for each- Garden Bridge has even set up its own trust fund to raise the capital– ideas such as these aim to promote innovative ideas regarding sustainable urban mobility and should be welcomed as such, suggesting London’s future could be up in the air after all. de

This page: Skycycle concept in London developed by Foster+Partners, with landscape office Exterior Architecture and Space Syntax. demagazine.co.uk

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WorDs: lucas gRaY — iMAGes: couRTesY oF cFa and RobeRT TRempe (lIFT)

Reclaiming our Streets an alternate uSe For PuBlic Pa P rking

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This spread: Installing the plants and putting the finishing touches on LIFT, outside the Center for Architecture in Portland, OR. Right page: LIFT stood guard over the sidewalk for two months this past fall, attracting tourists, residents and lunchtime shoppers.

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eemingly small urban interventions can have a dramatic impact on our city streets. For too long our streets have been designed for and given over to cars – empty cars. Entire city blocks are lined with these empty metal boxes that don’t provide value to pedestrians. Drivers believe they are entitled to park their cars on public land while Cities feel obligated to provide free parking. Yet progressive cities like San Francisco and Portland are pushing back on this practice. Each city has embraced the creation of Street Seats – tiny parklettes that take over an on-street parking space – as a way to create a more pedestrian focussed urban environment.

The rise of the street seat movement was the focus of a recent design competition run through the Center for Architecture (CFA) in Portland, Oregon. This past October the CFA worked closely with the city’s Department of Transportation to implement a competition based on this playful idea of turning parking into parks. As a lead up to the Portland Design Festival the two organizations developed a brief that called for designers to propose an installation for a parking space in front of the CFA that utilized digital fabrication techniques to create seating for the public and draw attention to the Festival.

A parking space in front of the Center for Architecture in downtown Portland was donated by the City, which has been working on implementing a street seat program citywide. The program encourages small businesses, restaurants and cafes to take over a parking spot and provide more public space. The sponsoring business is responsible for covering the lost revenue from parking meters, yet can expand their seating and serve food and drinks in this street seating area.

The competition built upon their program to prove it had potential well beyond seats for a café by creating a truly public space, open to all to use throughout the day. Digital fabrication was emphasized as part of the build technique to keep the labor costs to a minimum and ensure the seat could be fabricated within the tight schedule and showcased as part of the kick off festivities of the Design Festival.

The competition was a resounding success with over 20 entries from around the world. The winning entry “Lift,” designed by Robert Trempe, utilized Rhino’s 3D modeling software and was fully fabricated and installed in less than a week for around $5,000 USD. A marine grade plywood grid formed a flowing grass covered embankment that sheltered the bench from the street. A gently curving bench sat nestled behind this hill, facing the sidewalk and enticing residents and tourists to pause along their journey and sit for a moment. The entire structure was cut from approximately twenty 4’x8’ sheets of plywood on a CNC router. The resulting interlocking pieces were hammered together by an army of volunteers in only a few hours.

The bench was broken up into ten 2 foot sections, transported to the site and bolted together. Finally the 750 native grasses were installed on site, dropping into each square of the grid. The design addressed all of the requirements of the competition in a simple and elegant solution that was visually striking.

The CFA’s vision is to continue this design competition as part of the Portland Design Festival on an annual basis and expand it to encompass the entire side of the street – about 5 parking spaces long. The goal is to collaborate with the city, utilizing the street in ¦ demagazine.co.uk

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‘Sweetlips’ from the ‘Designs from the Deep’ collection

B e s p o k e d e s i g n s . H a n d m a d e . m ac H i n e m a d e . F r e e s ta n d i n g . F i t t e d.

554 Kings Road, London SW6 2DZ Telephone: 020 7384 4464 www.deirdredyson.com

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front of the Center for Architecture as a test case, exploring ways we could better use public land to create vibrant city streets. The single twenty foot long bench was there for only two months, yet attracted a tremendous amount of attention and was loved by the neighbors and visitors. What if rather than a single parking space Street Seats takes up an entire block? How will the pedestrian experience improve?

How will the local businesses and residents respond? By answering these questions the experiment hopes to test a program that could be replicated within Portland and spread to cities throughout the world.

These creative urban installations are being adopted by city governments, while design institutions across the country are starting to host competitions to promote this growing movement. There is so much potential within our built environment to transform the way we live and interact with our built environment. It is for this reason that street seats and parklets are thriving as people look for fun, affordable ways to transform their blocks, neighborhoods and cities.

As with any design that gets realized, there were many parties and sponsors involved in the process. Helping to make the seat a reality through financial or in-kind donations were Lucawoods, Hoffman Construction, ZGF Architects, the Center for Architecture Oregon, AIA Portland, Opsis Architecture and the City of Portland. The coordination of the effort was undertaken by Brian Cavanaugh, the festival co-chair, Lucas Gray, the competition manager, and Bob Trempe, the winning designer. de This page: LIFT Assembly diagram.

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WorDs: JIll pope — iMAGes: couRTesY: goeThe InsTITuT’s belgRade uRban IncubaToR

Next Savamala

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Belgrade's historical neighbourhood S

Left page: Top image Savamala's main street, Karadordeva Street, is a major private and public transport thoroughfare. Bottom: The dilapidated Spanish House was used as a main event space throughout the NextSavamala project.

This page: Top image, school children paint the walls of their school building as part of one of the NextSavamala workshops. Bottom: Mikser House – a mixed-use Balkans design hub – is one of the organisations to recently set up in Savamala.

avamala has undeniably good urban genes: one of Belgrade’s oldest neighbourhoods, it’s named for its prime position on the banks of the Sava River, is close to the centre of town and linked by tram to other areas, and is home to some of the city’s grandest and oldest architecture. Existing in various states since the 18th century, Savamala rose to prominence in the 1830s after its development was personally championed by the Serbian Prince, who was eager to create a city base outside of the Kalmegdan Fort and Ottoman occupation. The majestic Academist and Art Nouveau facades are no accident: by the early 20th century, this strip had become an epicentre of cultural and commercial life, and was home to much of the Belgrade cognoscenti. Today, however, Savamala stands in the shadows of its former glory, its once proud streets ravaged by years of industrialisation and war, neglected thanks to an over-stretched government trying desperately to rebuild the morale and economy of their crippled nation. The once-grand heritage streetscape of Karadordeva Street is now obscured by trucks groaning and heaving their way down the boulevard, the plumes of their exhaust adding to the black patina that already coats the buildings’ facades.

But recently, despite, or in fact perhaps due to, its deterioration, Savamala has begun to enjoy a renaissance – a creative spirit has begun to germinate and flourish there, as it has in many similarly derelict quarters around the world. Over the last few years, Belgrade’s art and design community has started to reclaim the neighbourhood, attracted by those good genes and the surplus of vacant and affordable residential and commercial space. This influx of the creative class has had a noticeable impact on the urban environment. By night a host of new bars such as Prohibica and Basta draw people to the area while by day people can explore the contemporary art galleries, or grab a coffee or lunch at a selection of design-focused cafes such as Mikser House or organic restaurant Gnezdo.

Building on the changes that the area is already starting to see, NextSavamala, a new project run by the Goethe Institut’s Belgrade Urban Incubator is giving the local community the chance to take ownership of Savamala’s revitalisation. Since March 2013, the initiative has been crowd-sourcing ideas for Savamala’s redevelopment, and after a filtering process will put together a ‘citizen’s vision’ for the neighbourhood. Kulturni Centar Grad (KC Grad) is one of Belgrade’s most prominent cultural and community associations, and it has played an important role in kickstarting the area’s regeneration – they were one of the first organisations to take the plunge and move to Savamala in 2009 after recognising the potential of the area. It believes the time is right to think seriously about the future of the area and start an inclusive debate. As Director of KC Grad Dejan Ubovic said “We are just entering the big crossroad where we need to choose the right direction. And that direction can only be possible by ¦ demagazine.co.uk

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including all the players, including the citizens, city planners, historians, architects, politicians and especially people from the cultural world”.

This page: Top image Savamala's streets are undergoing regeneration. Below the community envisages the future of their local area in one of the NextSavamala workshops.

And that is exactly what NextSavamala aims to do by asking people to envisage Savamala in 2050. Rather than viewing the current political, economic and social environment of Belgrade and Serbia as a constraint or impediment to traditional development – centred around private and public funding – NextSavamala has used this as an opportunity to explore alternative models of urban development for the area, specifically involving the ultimate stakeholders – the community – in the process. The project team sought, facilitated and ultimately received close to 200 submissions through a variety of media: online, via workshops, public sessions, an information booth and a telephone hotline. People were even able to scribble their ideas on a postcard and pop it in a special mailbox outside the information booth. In conjunction with the NextSavamala project, the Belgrade Urban Incubator has worked with Serbian and international partners to run a series of companion projects – designed to encourage people to engage with and participate in Savamala’s regeneration. These projects span disciplines and include activities as varied as re-establishing local industries and crafts through to micro-factories, to art exhibitions, performances, seminars and historical research.

The Goethe Institut has previously run a similar project in Germany – NextHamburg (which commenced in 2009) and initiatives are also underway in Lisbon. Although these projects use similar tools, the programs are always adapted to the specific needs of each location. NextSavamala Project Manager Cynthia Wagner gave one example of how the program was customised for the Belgrade location “in Savamala, many of the residents don’t have internet, or if they do they don’t use it very much, so we had to develop other ways to access these people”.

In response, they took to the streets and conducted ‘city actions’, interactive presentations set up in major thoroughfares, such as a ping-pong table where people could play in exchange for their thoughts and ideas. This was more strategic than it may originally seem “In this way, we attracted children who wanted to play ping pong and got access to not only them, but their parents”, said Cynthia. It seems fitting, given the long-term outlook of the project, that children played a big role in the program: NextSavamala ran three workshops designed to build ¦

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DE SPECULATIVE This page: Top image, initiatives such as bike lanes can help improve accessibility to a neighbourhood. Bottom: Workshops also provide a place for community members to meet and join together.

awareness and promote participation in the project, and one of these was specifically for local elementary school children. Although some of their ideas, such as flying cars, may not be realised by 2050, after the workshop the children were able to draw and paint their ideas on the walls of their school. Cynthia remarked the experience was one of her favourites of the project and she loved seeing how empowered the children felt as they were given the ability to make a positive change to their surrounding environments What’s next for NextSavamala? Now that most submissions have been collected, the project team will filter them according to the main categories and then present them back to the citizens, who will prioritise the submissions they feel are the highest priority. Cynthia says most ideas and visions fell into seven main categories: traffic, cityscape, green and public spaces, housing, economy, and leisure and culture.

Dejan agreed that a holistic approach is a crucial element of sustainable development for Savamala. Balance between commercial and public institutions and investment, small and large ventures, day-time and night-time activities, as well as retaining elements of history and heritage while allowing scope for experimentation of new initiatives and technologies.

During NextSavamala Week, the project team will display submissions and hold a series of public lectures with a panel of experts to codify the ideas and discussion from the past few months. Once a prioritised list of ideas has been developed, as with the NextHamburg project, these selected visions will be included in the final Citizens’ Vision. The next step is to explore these in more detail, researching the feasibility and beginning the long process of negotiating with stakeholders, including government, and seeking partners and funding. Cynthia is optimistic about the possibility that ideas turn into reality, although she acknowledges it can take several years for projects to be implemented. She cited the success of NextHamburg, where from the original submissions received in 2009, major projects have now started to be realised.

Perhaps no one can really know what Savamala will be like in 2050, it would have been difficult to predict the most recent history of the quarter and its surrounding city and region after all. Despite the impossibility of predicting the future, it is still nevertheless important to plan towards it. One of the most important contributions of projects such as NextSavamala is encouraging as many people as possible to consider the long-term implications of the planning and design decisions of today, and even more than that, directly involving the people who these decisions will impact the most. de demagazine.co.uk

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070 ACE HOTEL SHOREDITCH 074 THE LONDON EDITION HOTEL IAN SHRAGER 078 SHOREDITCH SPACE GROUP ARCHITECTS 084 CLERKENWELL LOFT APARTMENT INSIDE OUT ARCHITECTURE 088 ROCKMOUNT SHEDKM 092 CHRIST CHURCH NURSERY AND COMMUNITY BUILDING SCABAL 096 ARKHE BEAUTY SALON MORIYUKI OCHIAI ARCHITECTS 100 THE SENATOR GROUP 104 LAURA DEVINE IMMIGRATION LAWYERS ROCK GALPIN STUDIO 108 BLACK&WHITE BUILDING BUCKLEYGRAYYEOMAN 112 EVERNOTE OFFICES USA STUDIO O+A 116 ASOS UK HEADQUARTERS MOREYSMITH 120 THE HILL SPA CENTRE NOLA 7 124 CHOPI CHOPI YACHT CRN / FERRETTI GROUP BRAND 128 COMPANY PROFILE BRADLEY+BASSO

[PRODUCTS] 134 DE SELECTED ITEMS 143 TRAVEL CAPE TOWN

INTERIORS DRAWING: © JONH DOLAN

SECT.#

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words: Stuart blakLEy — images: SEE IMAGE.

uk #1 LONDON

ACE Hotel Hip to be Square

IMAGE © MADS PERCH IMAGE © ANDREW MEREDITH

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IMAGE © MADS PERCH IMAGE © ANDREW MEREDITH

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" This historic area has emerged over the last decade or so as hipster-central. Street artists, photographers, textile designers and computer whizzes all converge to form a nexus of creative culture. "

IMAGE © ANDREW MEREDITH

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hen friends Alex Calderwood, Wade Weigel and Doug Herrick initially dreamed of opening the first Ace Hotel in Seattle, in 1999, they wanted their venture to be linked to the local culture. An existing building in an edgy location, industrial salvage, a design aesthetic mixing uncluttered comfort with a bohemian vibe, a sound knowledge of the needs of weary travellers – this would become established as the Ace approach to hospitality.

After Seattle came Portland in 2008, New York in 2009 and Los Angeles in 2013. East London is the location for the first Ace Hotel outside the US. Shoreditch High Street was chosen specifically for being very ‘on brand’. This historic area has emerged over the last decade or so as hipster-central. Street artists, photographers, textile designers and computer whizzes all converge to form a nexus of creative culture.

IMAGE © ANDREW MEREDITH Left page: Several images of the hotel bedrooms.

Right page: [Above] Ace hotel entrance on Shoreditch High Street.

Next page: Flower shop girl at the hotel entrance.

Alex, who sadly passed away just after the hotel opened, said he wanted somewhere “of London and for London”. Architecture and interior design firm Universal Design Studio was chosen to help translate the Ace ethos into a London vernacular. Co founders Edward Barber and Jay Osgerby have both just received OBEs for their services to the design industry. Ace Hotel chose Universal because of its distinctive design aesthetic, recognisable for its simplicity and clever use of materials. The existing building, formerly a budget hotel, was given a new more contextual façade. Dark engineering brick enlivened by different finishes and bonding patterns, grey render, Crittall windows and doors, and galvanised steel details integrate the hotel into its surroundings. ¦

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IMAGE © MADS PERCH

IMAGE © MARCUS PEEL

The stripped back industrial look continues indoors. Bicycles hang from exposed brick walls below a cork tiled ceiling with copper light fixtures. A café and gallery space flow off the lobby to create a versatile and organic hub for social interaction. Individual chairs are complemented by a 16 seat communal work table made of cast iron, copper and oak. Other public areas include a seventh floor event space and a basement club.

Hoi Polloi, the hotel restaurant, is accessed separately off the high street through an independent flower shop. Menus come in the form of newspapers advertising breakfast, daytime, dinner, supper and weekend brunch. They include editorial features such as an interview with London College of Fashion alumnus Ryan Lo. In line with the East End vibe, the restaurant is a partnership with the team behind Bistrotheque, one of the best known hipster hangouts in the area.

Universal and Atelier Ace, the hotel group’s in-house creative, marketing and development team, have worked with the Hoi Polloi team to create a 20th century style English brasserie. A pared back look is formed by fluted Iroko panelled walls reaching up to a row of mirrors at picture rail height. An informal bar area of leather clad banquette booths leads into the main dining area which is lit by pendant lights

by Philippe Malouin. Flecked linoleum tabletops contrast with stone surfaces and ceramic tiles. Ercol love seats and Butterfly chairs recall classic British dining rooms.

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IMAGE © MARCUS PEEL

The approach to the 258 guest rooms was to think of them as a friend’s Shoreditch apartment. Personal touches include a curated magnetic shelf made by T Nevill & Co. Useful locally crafted pieces are provided such as maps, sketch pads and pin-up boards. A day bed spanning the full width of each room next to a circular table create informal sociable spaces. White walls, European oak and black powder coated metal fittings are softened by reverse denim upholstery.

The monochromatic bathrooms are even more streamlined.

Through collaborations with local architects, designers, artists and even a flower shop, Ace Hotel Shoreditch has already become an integral element of the streetscape. de

This page: [Clockwise] Bedroom view, images of the bar and lounge.

SUPPLIERS LIST: Architecture & Interior Design: Universal Design Studio Bar Cladding bar stools and cocktail tables: Artist Max Lamb The Sixteen-seat communal work table: Benchmark Polished brass light fixtures & and custom pendant lights: Philippe Malouin

image: ©Andrew Meredith

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Ace Hotel London lobby table.

Benchmark — An ace project image: © Ed Reeve

A desire to furnish with local, handcrafted pieces led Ace Hotel to visit Benchmark’s workshops in Kintbury, West Berkshire.

Impressed by Benchmark’s passion, facilities and sustainable philosophy, Ace commissioned over 50 pieces of bespoke furniture for their Shoreditch hotel.

Natural materials, interesting textures and attention to detail characterise the furniture.

A huge 6.4m solid oak communal table was made for the lobby. Inspired by library tables, it is split down the middle by a full length light. Powerpoints running along the length of the table enable the space to be used as a drop-in office hub.

Benchmark also made bespoke banquettes with built-in custom lighting, restaurant tables, meeting tables, maîtres de stations and www.benchmarkfurniture.com

a particularly large 5.7m waiter station made from stained iroko with beautiful finger jointing detail.

Benchmark have been making bespoke furniture for hotels, restaurants, bars, offices & public buildings for thirty years and enjoys working with many of the world’s top architects and designers both in the UK and internationally.

Often commissioned for highly complex projects, Benchmark are unique in being highly skilled in both woodworking and metalworking, using specialist metals such as zinc, copper, pewter and bronze. In addition to making loose and fitted furniture, Benchmark specialises in bars and reception desks and has their own range of contemporary furniture by leading designers. de

words: Stuart Blakley — images: Nikolas Koenig

uk #2 LONDON

The London Edition Hotel

Game Changer

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an Shrager is back in town. The man behind Studio 54 has returned to London 15 years after he introduced Sanderson and St Martin’s Lane hotels. On the same street in Fitzrovia as Sanderson comes The London Edition, the latest hotel from a brand he conceived in partnership with Marriott International. So what’s on offer this time? Defining luxury is the quest of the moment. Charu Gandhi, newly appointed Head of Design at Morpheus Developments, delivers “liveable lux” for her multimillion pound interiors. Northern hotelier Mary Colston says, “I avoid the word as everyone’s idea of luxury is different.” Ian reckons, “The definition of luxury has changed. We’d rather be known for service than anything else.

To me, luxury in hospitality is about having great taste and providing a unique experience. The only formula is no formula; being subversive to the status quo and unafraid to break the rules.”

“It’s a different reality,” is how Ian sums up The London Edition. A cubic glass vestibule opens – past immaculate staff – into “a new kind of gathering place”. “Lobby socialising” replaces his previous “hotel as theatre” theme. This is hotel lobby-meets-bar-meets-meeting room.

Times they are a-changing. Free state of the art wireless internet access is available throughout the hotel and in a corner of this cavernous space is a black walnut table fitted with Apple desktops and laptop outlets. Conference rooms, it transpires, are so passé. The grandeur of the Grade II interior is sensational. A Belle Époque ceiling dripping in stucco, the icing on the architectural cake, completes with enough marble to make Enya burst into song.

Ian smiles, “I do like an element of surprise!” In place of a chandelier dangles an outsized silver egg, a sculpture by Ingo Maurer. Equally unexpected is the oak weatherboarding of the reception at the back of the lobby. A reproduction Louis XV Gobelins tapestry behind the reception desk is one of many unexpected juxtapositions of scale, style, texture and period. But, thanks to the master hotelier’s eye, they work. Portal, a three dimensional digital artwork by artist Chul Hyun Ahn heightens the high octane eclecticism. Beyond reception is The Punch Room, a clubby fumed oak panelled den dedicated to private partying.

Next door to the lobby is Berner’s Tavern. Ian’s respect for genius loci continues. A salon hang of 185 pictures against a rich taupe backdrop rushes up past (plasterwork) scallops to another voluminous stucco cloud crescendo. Burnished and furnished with chestnut mohair banquettes and bleached oak tables, this interior ranks as the chef d’oeuvre of The London Edition. Ian’s penchant for theatricality elevates the kitchen to stage: sliding glass doors allow diners tantalising glimpse of Executive Chef Jason Atherton’s team crafting their art.

A marble staircase sweeps guests, Sunset Boulevard style, to the 173 bedrooms. Upstairs the tempo not so much changes as stops. Listen… sshh… silence. London’s busiest shopping street may be a plumped up faux fur cushion’s throw away but Ian separates the frenetic public areas from sleeping quarters both physically and acoustically. A sound insulated internal envelope inserted into the basement lets clubbers dance the night away undisturbed. Hotels tend to bring out the kleptomaniac in the most morally incorruptible but clients are encouraged to pilfer the branded glasses in the club. Good for marketing, apparently. Getting distracted, back to the bedrooms.

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Yacht cabins are the inspiration – Ian likes holidaying on boats. From the smallest 22 square metre room to the sprawling 195 square metre penthouse with its terrace hidden between Mary Poppins chimneypots, all are cocooned in either dark walnut or light oak panelling.

A “no colour colour palette” is part of Ian’s “anti design” agenda. “It’s an effort to make people feel good rather than make the place look good. It’s a compilation of unlikely pieces, designs, finishes and details put together in a way where alchemy happens.” Traditional tufted slipper ¦

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" The only formula is no formula… "

chairs by George Smith sit below gilt framed Dutch Masters. Hang on, they’re anything but. The ‘Masters’ are painterly poses remastered by photographer Hendrik Kerstens. Upon close inspection, his daughter Paula transmogrifies from a Vermeer sitter to a contemporary girl wearing tinfoil on her head. Off each bedroom, subway tiled bathrooms feature enclosed rainforest showers.

The last word – double entendre intended – belongs to Ian Shrager.

“Since we invented the boutique hotel everything has become monotonously similar. There is always room for something really unique and original. Always! The London Edition is the next generation of lifestyle hotel, one that has incredibly exciting visuals; great, friendly, attractive and personalised service; exciting food and beverage concepts; and a unique vibe. There is simply nothing else like it currently in the marketplace. We tried to capture the details of life in the details of the architecture.” de

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Previous spread: The Edition lobby bar.

Left page: [Below] Reception hall.

Right page: [Above and below] Berners Tavern and The Edition Deluxe Bedroom.

SUPPLIERS LIST: Owner, Developer & Management: Marriott International Concept, Programming & Creative Direction: Ian Shrager Design: Yabu Pushelberg & ISC Design Studio (Anda Andrei, Paul Haslhofer, Kristin Bailey, Robert Ashton & Robert Walshaw) Restaurant Concept: Executive Chef Jason Atherton Graphic Design: Baron & Baron Lighting Design: Isometrix & Patrick Woodroffe Slipper Chairs: George Smith Photographic Art: Hendrik Kerstens Clothing: Freddie Leiba Marketing: ISC Marketing Studio (Michelle Gaillard) demagazine.co.uk

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words: Ivi Vassilopoulou — images: MARCUS PEEL

#3 London UK

Shoreditch High Street Reinventing Retail

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" SHOREDITCH IS NO LONGER UP AND COMING; IT IS ALREADY HERE, IT IS ALIVE AND IT IS BUZZING. THIS PART OF LONDON HAS BEEN GRADUALLY TRANSFORMED FROM AN ARTY BUT GRITTY NEIGHBOURHOOD INTO ONE OF THE CAPITAL’S MOST DESIRABLE AREAS WITHOUT HAVING LOST ITS CHARM. ARCHITECTURAL GEMS ARE APPEARING EVERYWHERE; THEY PROVIDE THE CANVAS FOR FRESH AND SOPHISTICATED ART, AMAZING AND DIVERSE RESTAURANTS, COOL BARS FOR YOUNG AND OLD AND THE BACKDROP FOR SOME OF THE MOST INTERESTING SHOPPING EXPERIENCES. SHOREDITCH IS NO LONGER JUST A WEEKEND DESTINATION; BEING THERE HAS BECOME A LIFESTYLE CHOICE. FOR US IT HAS ALSO BECOME AN INTERESTING URBAN ENVIRONMENT TO WORK IN; WE HAVE DONE A NUMBER OF PROJECTS IN THIS ENERGETIC AREA. " MARTIN GRUENANGER Director of Space Group Architects

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This page: [Above] Entrance to services.

[Below right image] Skylight.

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pace Group Architects completed a two level retail space, in the heart of Shoreditch, East London that successfully merges the boundaries between the busy street level and internal ambiance. Considering that the building sits in a conservation area, the architects carefully renovated the historic faรงade, maintaining the distinctive ornamentation of the building, while they freed it from the redundant post-modern features, giving back to it its original sparkle.

The retail space occupies the ground floor and basement level, featuring a set of interior spaces with a strong emphasis on materiality, a unique lighting installation and state-of-the-art architectural detailing. Moreover, by the extensive use of glass and the smooth internal levels promote a visual interaction with the busy street level, connecting the interior with the city, whilst crafting a welcoming feeling and a sense of openness.

The careful selection and application of materials produce a distinctive and urbane atmosphere, whereas the extensive and multiple use of concrete as a key element introduces a playful essence to the bold, industrial feel of the interior. The architects used shot-blasted exposed concrete wall to one side and finished in a palette-matching vinyl matt emulsion to the other, resulting to the creation of a diverse space that gently transforms itself from rough to smooth and dark to light, creating an interesting and exciting atmospheric intersection. de

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This page: [Above] Interior view of ground floor retail space. [Bottom image] staircase.

Next page: [Above] The view from the top floor terrace.

[Bottom image] Exterior view.

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SUPPLIERS LIST: ARCHITECTS: SPACE GROUP OF ARCHITECTS QUANTITY SURVEYOR: MEASUR STRUCTURAL ENGINEER: FLUID STRUCTURES SERVICES ENGINEER: MALACHY WALSH AND PARTNERS PLANNING CONSULTANT: CMA PLANNING CDM-COORDINATOR: APPLEYARD & TREW LLP BUILDING CONTROL: LEWIS BERKELEY MAIN CONTRACTOR: J. COFFEY CONSTRUCTION PROJECT DATA CLIENT: CONFIDENTIAL LOCATION: CONFIDENTIAL CONSTRUCTION COST: CONFIDENTIAL CONSTRUCTION COST PER SQM: CONFIDENTIAL AREA: APPROX 700SQM CONTRACT: JCT INTERMEDIATE BUILDING CONTRACT 2011 CONSTRUCTION PERIOD: 14 MONTHSEY SUPPLIERS WINDOWS: INTERNORM SUPPLIED AND INSTALLED BY FRAMES DIRECT SHOP FRONT: STEWART FRASER SLIDING BALCONY DOORS: SMART SUPERGLIDE BY FRAMES DIRECT REFURBISHED SKYLIGHT: FRAMES DIRECT RUBBER FLOORING: THE RUBBER FLOORING COMPANY, DALSOUPLE 82

DESIGN EXCHANGE

SLATE TILING & SLATE CHIPS: ISLAND STONE STRETCHED BACKLIT CEILINGS: BARRISOL GLAZED SPLASH BACK: CHELSEA ARTISANS PAINT WORK: SANDERSON JOINERY: SUFFOLK AND ESSEX JOINERY PRESSURE LAMINATED WARDROBE DOORS: FUNDERMAX IRONMONGERY: HEWI, FROST, DORMA FOAMED ALUMINIUM PANELS: JOFEBAR RESIN SCREENS & DOORS: 3FORM KITCHEN: I-HOME INTERIORS, MOBILIA KITCHEN WORKTOP: AVONITE STAINLESS STEEL STAIRCASES, BALUSTRADES AND PLANTERS: BS STEELS STAINLESS STEEL GRATING: ELEFANT GRATINGS SANITARY WARE: TOTO, STEIGER, GEBERIT, SANEUX, CP HART BRASSWARE: STEINBERG LIGHTING: XAL AIR-SOURCE HEAT-PUMPS & VRV UNITS: DAIKIN HEATING & COOLING TRENCHES: KAMPMANN AV: GRAHAMS LOOSE FURNITURE AND WALL PAPERS: CURATED BY SIMONE DAVIDSON PLANTING: VERNALIS GARDENS

Meet the designer. Join us.

Mosa.

During Clerkenwell Design Week Mosa is launching two brand new tile collections. Mosa is also joining forces with Dutch design brand NotOnlyWhite towards an inspiring series of events during CDW. Join us 20-22 May. www.mosa.nl Grant House, Ground floor 56-60 St John Street Clerkenwell, London, EC1M 4HG T +44 207 490 0484 E macc.london@mosa.nl

words: Stuart Blakley — images: Jim Stephenson

#4 London UK

Clerkenwell Loft Apartment a concrete plan

" This area is the address of some of the most design savvy people in London as well as home to the celebrated Clerkenwell Design Week‌ "

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Contemporary architecture with personality” is how the practice Inside Out Architecture defines its work. Director Chris Parker says, “From the initial brief through to the final completion, the individuality of the project and working with the client is what inspires our team. Interpreting the client’s aspiration for the building is the initial stage but delivering the concept to exceed their expectations is where we excel.”

The practice’s portfolio features a wide range of projects including the remodelling of the interiors of various residential conversions. A few years ago, it adapted an open plan studio at the Tea Warehouse in Bermondsey Street Conservation Area to a two bedroom apartment with a roof extension and terrace. Following the success of a recent New Concordia Wharf apartment refurbishment, Inside Out was recommended to redesign the interior of an apartment in Clerkenwell. This area is the address of some of the most design savvy people in London as well as home to the celebrated Clerkenwell Design Week, and the building that houses this apartment is typical of the area with its industrial loft aesthetic. ¦

Left and right page: [above] interior open plan living spaces.

Right page: the apartment demonstrates a strong emphasis on materiality, right image with kitchen cabinets detail.

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The prior interior of Clerkenwell Loft featured concrete beams and columns. “We found these original elements to be far more interesting and emotive than the more recent additions and partitions. Our design team focused on enhancing their prominence,” explains Chris.

“We began by stripping the old apartment back to its basic shell and exposing the dramatic geometry of the concrete beams. We then ‘inserted’ a number of spaces including a TV room, two bedrooms, separate family and guest bathrooms, a utility room and an adaptable guest room.” The new partitions stop short of the undersides of the beams to express their ‘inserted’ status, secondary to the primary structure.”

Chris continues, “In the large open plan living space we added a bespoke island kitchen to provide a focal point of activity.” An aluminium track suspended from the main living area ceiling provides an opportunity for both functional downlighting and uplighting across the concrete soffit. This lighting system can be used to change the mood of the space. The project demonstrates the adaptability, versatility and sustainability of lofts. Inside Out Architecture’s Clerkenwell Loft residential refurbishment has been shortlisted for the New London Architecture ‘Don’t Move, Improve’ Awards. de

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SUPPLIERS LIST: Main contractor: AKC Europe Bespoke Joinery: Green Mark Joinery Ltd Lighting rig: Delta Light Spot Lights: Flos (via atrium lighting) Sanitaryware: Sottini/Hansgrohe/Simpsons/Geberit Concealed integrated beds: Concealed bed company Kitchen Island: DesignSpace Living Space Flooring: Kahrs Grande Manor Oak and Viva Cemento Nr. 21 tiles (via domus tiles) LED strips: OSRAM Ironmongery: Allgood Sliding Doors: Portman Trench Heaters: Kampmann Sliding Partitions: Becker Partitions

This page: [Clockwise]: views of the living room and kitchen, circulation feel of the loft.

words: Stuart Blakley — images: Jack Hobhouse

#5 Liverpool UK

Rockmount Lateral Living

" Rockmount has the Meisian box floating glass envelope which is treated as a piano nobile but in place of the pilotis beloved of early modernist protagonists‌ " www.shedkm.co.uk 88

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Left page: View from living space across the dee estuary.

This page: Top left double height entrance hall, top right full hight glazing opens onto terrace. Bottom left and right, bridge connecting master suite to rest of house and entrance elevation.

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hedkm’s Rockmount in the Wirral near Liverpool is a new take on the classic linear glazed villa. Its distinguished predecessors include Corbusier’s Villa Savoye, Philip Johnson’s Glass House, Michael Manser’s Capel Manor and of course Mies van der Rohe’s Farnsworth House. The latter architect’s œuvre gave rise to the phrase ‘Meisian box’.

Rockmount has the Meisian box floating glass envelope which is treated as a piano nobile but in place of the pilotis beloved of early modernist protagonists is a more solid sandstone lower ground floor. This level acts as a plinth. Strong horizontal banding defines the linear plan and allows the glass envelope of the upper level to ‘float’ over the garden and surrounding landscape. ¦

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site plan RIBA Awards 2013 Two linear blocks rotated at 90 degrees to each other divide the house effectively and efficiently into four zones: a fully glazed living area, children’s rooms, the master suite with a study, and a pool. The elevated design of the 450 square metre house allows for views across the River Dee to the North Wales coast. The nod to America’s west coast mid 20th century houses has geographical relevance.

Once considered radical, the boxy linear villa is now a well tried and tested classic prototype which has proved popular for more than half a century. It is apt that Shedkm’s Rockmount was shortlisted for the RIBA Manser Medal, the prize named in honour of the great modernist architect who was a former President of RIBA. de

SUPPLIERS LIST: Architect: ShedKM Contractor: Paragon Construction Group Structural Engineer: Joule Consulting Engineers Services: Progressive Services Design

This page: Top right, living space with sunken snug, bottom right: children's rooms and playroom overlook pool and gardens.

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SCALE by Hadi Teherani

IMMEDIATE MEDIA, VINEYARD HOUSE, LONDON

AROS architects have used SCALE carpet tiles at the head office of Immediate Media Company, mixing size, shape, texture and colour for a playful surface that thrills and inspires creativity, while creating a truly unique space.

We wanted something innovative and flexible, and it had to be a product that inspired staff to be creative. SCALE delivered on all these points and allowed for great freedom of design.”

Charlotte Storrar, interior designer, AROS architects

020 7096 5090 www.vorwerk-carpet.com

words: STUART BLAKLEY — images: SEE IMAGE.

#6 London UK

Christ Church Nursery and Community Building Raising the Profile

IMAGE © CATerina RAGG This spread: SCABAL Director Jon Buck.

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" Architecture is too often pastiche (Ecclesiastes 1.9: ‘What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun’) whether neo Georgian, recycled modernist boxes or Accordia-lite. "

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t appears in paintings, guides, novels and Gavin Stamp places it on the front cover of his latest book Anti-Ugly. Hawksmoor’s Grade I listed Christ Church Spitalfields is about as high profile as a building can get. Jon Buck of Studio Cullinan And Buck Architects (SCABAL) considers it to be, “A strong white stake in the dissenting soup of different interests of early 18th century London. ‘Here I am!’ it proclaims.”

A row of buildings including the original Christ Church Primary School once stood next to it on what used to be Red Lion Street, now Commercial Street. The school moved to nearby Brick Lane and the adjacent churchyard was decommissioned in 1874. An informal garden emerged along the vacant frontage and by 1970 a youth centre occupied part of the site. Nine protected London Plain trees date from the decommissioning.

The current Rector, backed by the London Diocese, has a vision for this sliver of urban space sandwiched between Fournier Street and Fashion Street. Geographically and symbolically, Rev Andy Rider sees the church as a meeting place of creative East London and the financial City to the west. An integral element of this vision is the new nursery and community building which provides much needed accommodation while opening up twice as much usable outdoor space.

For instance, the northern flank is much shorter than its predecessor resulting in a more generous space next to the church.

SCABAL won the bid. Jon believes in responsibility to the past and future. Part of the planning application was a 168 page tome of a Conservation Management Plan. Architecture is too often pastiche (Ecclesiastes 1.9: ‘What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun’) whether neo Georgian, recycled modernist boxes or Accordia-lite. Not here.

SCABAL has produced something original, subtle referencing in place of derivation. Sensitive handling instead of intrusiveness.

The barn-like pavilion is, appropriately, tripartite in plan. Clusters of rooms to the north and south are linked by glazed central multipurpose hall. With low eaves and reclaimed London Plum bricks similar to those of Fournier Street Rectory, the northwest and southwest corners are treated as a walled garden. Jon explains, “The plan arrangement is derived from that of Christ Church: 12 metres describing the nave; 5.5 metres, the aisles. In its humble way, the central gathering place is nave-like and lofty.” Large spans of section posts and beams maximise flexibility of use. Rooflights avoid overlooking in response to the sensitivities of diverse cultures. Low level windows in the nursery are child-friendly. ¦

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This page: Above interior of the school, below the planarea.

Right page: Above colourful wash area, below the exterior view taken from the current playground area.

IMAGE Š Caterina RAGG

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IMAGE © Caterina RAGG

Lime mortar is a subtler reference to the church than using dressed stone. “Copying Christ Church would look cheap,” believes Jon. “This building is next to, but not a fragment of, the church. It’s small but generous, different… ground level heroic.” An asymmetrical plan dictates the irregular shape of the half-hipped roof with its timber frame overhangs. Too shallow a pitch for slate, zinc picks up the reddish hue of the bricks.

Hailed as best practice in action by statutory bodies, it’s staggering that Spitalfields’ lowest profile new building (the church is 14 times taller) is gaining a high profile. A local group is seeking to have it demolished. Until this disagreement is resolved, the nursery and community building lies unused next to the overcrowded school. de

SUPPLIERS LIST: Architect: SCABAL [Studio Cullinan And Buck Architects Ltd] Building Conservation Consultant: Kay Pilsbury Thomas Architects Landscape Architect: Latz + Partner Quantity Surveyor: Sawyer and Fisher Structural Engineer: Heyne Tillett Steel Archaeology: Museum of London Archaeology Acoustic Engineer: Gillieron Scott Acoustic Design Building Services: Pinnacle ESP Building Control: BBS CDM: PBS Consulting UK Arboriculture: Phelps Associates Main Contractor: DGH Construction Ltd

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words: STUART BLAKLEY — images: ©atsushi ishida /nacasa & partners

#7 CHIBA/TOKYO JAPAN

Arkhe Beauty Salon Nature’s Best

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he Chiba ‘Prefecture’ or jurisdiction of greater Tokyo derives its name from “a thousand leaves”. Chiba is the capital of the prefecture. Moriyuki Ochiai Architects’ latest project in Chiba is a 120 square metre beauty salon. The unit is roughly rectangular, canted at one end, with two walls of glazing. The 40 year old architect and designer has brought his studio’s trademark love of nature to the design of the salon. Moriyuki says, “The sources of our inspirations come from being captivated by the vivacious and lively beauty of nature or life. We can also feel the influence coming from the delicate sensitivity responding to the uniqueness of Japanese nature which can be found in temples and gardens.”

Appropriately, water is the theme of the Arkhe Beauty Salon. Ancient Greek mythology credits water as the source of all creation. Indeed, Arkhe is the Greek word for origin. The walls are painted a silver hue to mimic the glimmering reflection of light on the surface of water.

But it is the ceiling where Moriyuki really lets loose with his creative juices. Billowing cornets, coils and curls of recycled aluminium are suspended in a sensual maze inspired by the flow of water and hair. ¦

This page, left above and below: centre aisle area with a stiff current and changes in height difference. Portrait of Moriyuki Ochiai. Right down corner with view to shampoo room from haircutting area.

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He relates, “This is a space made up by the charm of its raw materials. By using aluminium and bringing out the beauty of the material, we bring into existence a space filled with transient and ever-changing light.” The flow of the aluminium defines the differing functions and atmospheres of the salon from above. A gentle wave from a high ceiling distinguishes the haircutting area. A stiff current hangs over the central aisle and the ceiling lowers in the more intimate waiting area.

Moriyuki explains, “The ceiling allows customers and staff to minutely perceive the changes in light, from daytime bright white to more emotional blue and purple hues by night. This also changes according to the viewer’s location.”

SUPPLIERS LIST: Design Firm: Moriyuki Ochiai Architects/Twoplus-a Category: Hair Salon Location: Chiba Japan Client: arkhe beauty salon

Moriyuki Ochiai Architects’ homage to nature infiltrates both the design and sustainability of the project. The recycled aluminium ceiling parts can be unassembled and reinstalled elsewhere if the salon owners choose to move in the future. For now, in Chiba, customers can lie back and reflect on the thousand waves overhead. de

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This spread: Pernille Stafford, Managing Director - Resonate Interiors ltd.

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" This showroom is located on a high profile corner site opposite Euston Station, each floor with large windows clearly visible from the street scene. "

#8 LONDON UK

THE SENATOR GROUP

Redesigned Solution Centre

Rule Britannia

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ounded in 1976, The Senator Group is the largest manufacturer of office furniture and workplace solutions in the UK. It is also the leading investor in R&D and design in this sector. Senator approached Resonate Interiors to re-brand and refurbish its London solution centre. This showroom is located on a high profile corner site opposite Euston Station, each floor with large windows clearly visible from the street scene. The brief was to celebrate Senator’s heritage and diversity over the five floors, bringing creativity, humour and style to a canvas on which to present the company’s ranges.

The resulting designs incorporate a number of themes for each floor.

The ground floor theme celebrates ‘Best of British’. A red, white and blue colourway recalls cool Britannia. The restored parquet floor and red barrier ropes subdividing the space are reminiscent of country house visits. A new take is that the red barrier ropes are placed vertically, not horizontally. Instead of a reception desk, a new library and welcome bar creates a more informal approach for visitors. Bowler hat lights are a nod to earlier London days. ¦ demagazine.co.uk

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The lower ground floor office is mainly yellow with black and white accents. Once an unused part of the building, it has been brought back to life. On the first floor The Senator Group’s elegant executive furniture and meeting ranges in muted browns and beiges are set against natural veneers of oak and walnut. A sense of sophistication sets this floor apart from the more day to day ranges.

Resonate Interiors’ theme for the second floor is a futuristic workplace celebrating the best of desk solutions. It represents the modern workplace with a number of desk arrangements highlighting options.

A new sample library area has also been created to house brochures with a browsing area for architects, designers and specifiers.

Up another floor is the green rooftop café which promotes the Allemuir furniture ranges. The third floor emphasises The Senator Group’s strong environmental credentials with lots of natural timbers on display. A balcony features Senator’s outdoor furniture. Resonate Interiors’ approach allows The Senator Group’s ranges to take centre stage, telling a narrative about how the pieces can be used, and endorsing a strong family run British business. de

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This spread: Top left, looking down from the top, bottom: meeting room Top right page the Senator Showroom – Ground floor level, bottom: London views from the Showroom’s balcony.

SUPPLIERS LIST: Designer: Resonate Interiors Main Contractor: Parkeray Furniture: Senator International demagazine.co.uk

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WORDS: IVI VASSILOPOULOU — IMAGES: © MARCUS PEEL

#9 LONDON UK

LAURA DEVINE IMMIGRATION LAWYERS ROCK GALPIN STUDIO

BLACK AND RED RHAPSODY

This spread: Designer Rock Galpin in the Laura Devine offices.

Next two pages: top and middle images: the interior atmosphere is dominated by black and grey often interrupted by intense colours, such as red. Bottom image: view of the lobby space.

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" THE INTERIOR IS CLEARLY DEFINED BY SOPHISTICATION AND A REFINED YET PASSIONATE AESTHETIC AGENDA… "

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ock Galpin Studio completed a unique office interior project for Laura Devine Immigration Lawyers in Cannon Street, at the heart of the City of London. The design studio successfully transformed a bland, characterless office space into a series of playful, interactive and distinctively stylish rooms; a makeover that reflects the unique character and sense of style of its owner while it brings a fresh and sensual note to what lawyers office design.

Moreover, the overall design incorporates a set of bespoke and custommade furniture by Rock Galpin exclusively designed for the space.

The interior demonstrates a minimal aesthetic with vivid colour references and impeccable detailing together with an emphasis on materiality, all responding to issues of practicality, efficiency as well as aesthetics. The design reflects the need for spatial flexibility, as the office reception space hosts a series of various other activities.

The lobby is a multipurpose room that demonstrates remarkable flexibility; whilst the meeting rooms are designed to accommodate both temporary works though they demonstrate the capability to be transformed into meeting rooms when necessary. The interior is clearly defined by sophistication and a refined yet passionate aesthetic agenda; the space ambiance is dominated by the red colour with dashes of grey and black that complements a strong antithesis it creates in the overall atmosphere. ÂŚ

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SUPPLIERS LIST: Client: Laura Devine Solicitors, 100 Cannon Street, London EC4N 6EU Overall Design: Creative Direction/Interior Design: Rock Galpin, Rock Galpin Limited Furniture Elysium Sofas (red and grey): Designer: Rock Galpin; Supply- Rock Galpin Limited Elysium Sofa bespoke storage sofa/bench (grey): Designer: Rock Galpin; Supply- Rock Galpin Limited Scoop Chairs (red): Designer: Rock Galpin; Supply- Rock Galpin Limited.

Scoop Lounger (white): Designer: Rock Galpin; Supply - Rock Galpin Limited Tense table: Designer: Piergiorgio & Michele Cazzaniga for MDF Italia; Supply- Viaduct CaTIFa 53 Sled Chairs (two tone, red/ white) by Arper; Design: Lievore Altherr Molina; Supplier- Viaduct.

Lighting Artemide- Mercury Light (reception area); Designer: Ross Lovegrove.

System X architectural lighting system (corridor): Designer: Ross Lovegrove; Supplier- Yamagiwa.

Flooring Carpet tiles (main reception and staffroom floors): Designer; Rock Galpin; Supplier- Interface Flor, Bouclé.

Walls Wall panels: Scrunch: Supplier- Offecct.

Signage & Graphics Creative Direction/Design: Rock Galpin Limited Signage (back of reception and entrance); Supply- VVS Website/Stationary: Rock Galpin Limited Website marketing/build: Berner Marketing/Exersios

Rock Galpin has crafted a series of spaces that are sensual, breaking away from the formality usually found in a solicitor’s office. His design is the outcome of material experimentation, and thorough spatial knowledge, as well as strong engagement with the client’s personality.

The final outcome is a space where efficiency meets sensuality and together they form a space that is distinctive, while the atmosphere communicates both the business purpose it servers, nevertheless with a touch of refined eccentricity. de

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words: STUART BLAKLEY — images: © Matt Clayton / PORTRAIT: MARCUS PEEL

#10 LONDON UK

The Black & White Building An

Essay in Monochrome

This spread: Exterior views and Amr Assaad and Claire Osborne from Buckley Gray Yeoman.

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" This showroom is located on a high profile corner site opposite Euston Station, each floor with large windows clearly visible from the street scene. "

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onnecting Shoreditch High Street to Old Street, Rivington Street is a cultural vein running through the heart of London’s creative East End. Caprice Holdings’ Rivington Grill put the street on the gourmet map while Rivington Place Gallery designed by David Adjaye established it as an art destination. The regeneration continues with The Black & White Building for The Office Group. Shoreditch based practice Buckley Gray Yeoman was commissioned

by The Office Group to refurbish a 1,000 square metre former furniture factory at 74 Rivington Street. Architect Amr Assaad explains, “The Black & White Building provides comfortable, flexible office space in a building brimming with historic industrial character. Our refurbishment put a contemporary twist on the existing building. We retained and emphasised the best of the original fabric and made that the starting point for a stylish interior fit-out that celebrates the edgy character and energy of Shoreditch.” ¦ demagazine.co.uk

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Charlie Green, joint CEO of The Office Group, sees The Black & White Building as a response to changes in work patterns. “Things are rarely black and white,” he says, “and when it comes to people, no two employees are identical with no one person working in the same way every day. This building offers workers a choice of areas to work from that best suit their needs in an environment that’s been created to reflect the local urban and energetic culture.” The Office Group places a strong emphasis on creating a sense of community. Fixtures and fittings were sourced locally in support of the area.

Black painted brick on the outside, great expanses of glazing, white walls indoors – the building has been designed as a blank canvas for its users. Exposed timber beams and columns as well as black painted metal create a monochromatic fusion of old and new. External spaces have also been re-imagined. The car park is now a meeting hub formed of prefabricated containers alongside parking space for 30 to 40 bikes. A landscaped terrace created on the roof ensures the building is sustainably optimised in as focused a manner as its name suggests. de

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This spread: Top images — interior views of office spaces, bottom: the garden and the rough top terrace.

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words: STUART BLAKLEY — images: © Jasper Sanidad

#11

Redwood City CALIFORNIA U.S.A.

Evernote Offices Hitting the White Note

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o man is an island and no commission comes unaccompanied. Usual restrictions are, to put it bluntly, money and time. Not surprisingly when the client is a Silicon Valley web service, both money and time are of the essence. Studio O+A are well used to it though. This San Francisco based interior design firm was founded by Primo Orpilla and Verda Alexander in the early 1990s.

O+A’s original mission was to deliver sophisticated urban design to Silicon Valley start-ups and the venture capitalists who supported them.

In the intervening years, the practice’s mission has broadened to include a range of design services for a diverse client base that extends across the US. Primo says, “We believe work environments grow organically from the culture of the client. Our focus is on identifying and understanding that culture and translating it into spatial terms. We recognise the economic and sociological forces that are transforming the way people work and live.” That is, the blurring boundaries between home and office; the ever increasing mobility of the workforce and the fluid movement of information. ¦

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This spread: From left to right the kitchen area; the offices feature open spaces and wide stairs generating a feeling of freedom and accessibility.

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Studio O+A have more or less come full circle with their latest commission: the offices of Evernote in Redwood City, California. “At Evernote,” explains Verda, “the strict budget and swift pace of construction helped determine the direction of the design. We began with the concept of making the process of construction part of the aesthetic. In a clean and modern context, construction materials may assume the design impact of richer finishes.”

Thus the cladding of Evernote’s coffee bar and breakout areas is Douglas Fir plywood which has an integral natural pattern of texture and grain. In lieu of expensive interior branding, Evernote hired chalk artist Dana Tanamachi to create a company image with the tagline “Remember Everything”. The wallsized illustration includes an elephant (they never forget – geddit?). O+A’s emphasis on the work-life blur is evident in the placement of a coffee bar, complete with doughnut and pastry counter, in the reception.

A wide stairway between two of the floors is fitted with cushioned step seating to provide the ultimate chillout meeting zone. Other opportunities in the 7,400 square metres of refurbished floorspace for informal meetings are a large communal dining room, a fitness centre and further snack and coffee counters.

Lightness of atmosphere is heightened by a pale palette. White walls and pastel accents mix with blonde wood and plenty of windows. Tech companies know that knowledge is sharing so O+A have created a suite of conference rooms with eclectic furniture and white board walls suitable for spontaneous two and three person meetings. Small budgets and tight schedules are the norm in the design industry. But this project demonstrates restrictions need not inhibit but can actually stimulate creativity. de

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This page: top floor access and open space work area, with wall for self-group 'evernotes'.

SUPPLIERS LIST: Lighting: Delta Light and Inform Architect: Studio O+A Project Team: Primo Orpilla, Verda Alexander, Clem Soga, Denise Cherry, Perry Stephney, Elizabeth Guerrero, David Hunter, Emily Brooks, Kroeun Dav, Alfred Socias, Sarunya Wongjodsri, Alma Lopez, Caren Currie, Olivia Ward, Jeorge Jordan Contractor: DA Pope Consultants: Vaziri Structural Engineering Key materials (type/brand): Carpet: Shaw Contract, Interface Flor; Furniture: Allsteel, HPL, Inscape, Herman Miller; Cabinetry: Caesarstone, Abet Laminati, Formica, Nevamar; Flooring: Bolon, Armstrong, Capri Cork; Lighting: Daybrite, Kirlin, Amerlux, Pinnacle, Prudential, Louis Poulsen, School House, Lithonia, Intense, Omega, Delray.

words: STUART BLAKLEY — images: © JAMIE SMITH

#12 LONDON UK

ASOS Headquarters After a Fashion

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This page: open plan design with playful details inspired by textile design.

Right page: internal spaces are dominated by the essence of transparency with playful elements.

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SOS is the UK’s largest independent online-only fashion and beauty store. Architectural design practice MoreySmith was approached by the global retailer to design an interior that would inject personality and brand identity into the interior spaces of its headquarters in Camden, London.

Nick Robertson, CEO of ASOS, explains, “MoreySmith has created a space that serves as a window to the ASOS brand, taking inspiration from ASOS’s company values, and commitment to maintain the high calibre of recruits it employs. The ASOS brand is inspirational and our new space now communicates that sense of energy and vibrancy.”

The extensive 9,000 square metre refurbishment has more than doubled the floorspace ASOS formerly occupied in the building. “It was the first time the company has been on adjacent floors, so we wanted to connect them all together visually,” says MoreySmith design director Nicola Osborn. The bottom three storeys ASOS now occupies of the former cigarette have been physically linked by a new staircase connecting the reception area to a first floor café and a second floor coffee bar, creating a central hub for the 1,200 strong workforce. The timber stair treads are decorated with pictograms resembling the company’s shipping labels. ¦

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Tone. Setting. Design. Freedom.

For a demonstration or CPD seminar contact us.

Telephone: 01480 354384 Email: inspired@amina.co.uk

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This page: Top right, open plan flexible workspace. Below first down, the open plan reception room centred around the information desk. Bottom the entrance hall and atrium.

MoreySmith’s redesign covers a flexible events space, a showcase and press area, the café, fashion themed rooms and open plan offices.

Geometric patterns on the glass walls of the meeting spaces reference company fabric designs. A tour route has been created for visitors to follow the full journey of a garment from inception to completion, showcasing the innovative fashion and technology led business.

Through its interior architecture and design, MoreySmith has employed pattern, texture and colour to communicate and reflect the vibrant energy of the ASOS company ethos. Take the reception – columns behind the desk are wrapped in material used for the company’s clothing designs.

The architectural design practice was founded in 1993 by Linda Morey Smith with a mission “to deliver beautifully designed projects which reflect and embody the client, their brand ethos and their needs. In particular, MoreySmith works with both developers and occupiers, giving the practice great insight to design environments where people love to work.” de

SUPPLIERS LIST: Architectural Design: MoreySmith Client: ASOS Project: Global Headquarters, Hampstead Road, London Type: Refurbishment of 100,000 sq ft workplace for 1200 people and brand identity.

Scope: Interior design of special areas and workplace; including café, reception, event space, press showroom, team collaboration and meeting rooms. demagazine.co.uk

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words: STUART BLAKLEY — images: Š THE HILL SPA CENTRE

#13

Sunny Beach Bulgaria

The Hill Spa Centre Optical Illusion

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Left page: The Herbal Aroma sauna has been hand crafted in premium Aspen timbers and designed to include individual seating for the sauna bathers. Natural aromas are infused into the room via natural dried herbs such are lavender flower heads & sage and placed in a heated caldarium located over the sauna stove.

Right page: The aroma steam room has been hand tiled with glass mosaics which were designed and blended

by NOLA 7 design team .Specialist crafted hand-made architectural ceramics made by the NOLA 7 ceramics department compliment the area.

DE INTERIORS

S

unny Beach, as its name suggests, is a seaside resort. It’s one of the liveliest tourist destinations on Bulgaria’s Black Sea Coast. A spa centre may therefore seem like a typical development for Sunny Beach: a manmade leisure amenity to complement nature’s own. What is more atypical is that the design of this particular spa is inspired by the Op Art movement. Vasarely, to be precise.

Victor Vasarely, 1906 to 1997, was a Hungarian-French artist. He is widely accepted as the ‘grandfather’ and leader of this short lived art movement. Bridget Riley is arguably the most famous British artist associated with Op Art. An abbreviation of ‘Optical Art’, this method of painting concerns the interaction between illusion and picture plane, between understanding and seeing. Op Art works are abstract. Many are monochromatic. Op Art is characterised by an impression of movement, by swirls and flashes and vibrations.

The Hill Spa Centre is a collaboration between Nola 7 and Planex Ltd. Nola 7 is one of the largest engineering companies of water parks, swimming pools, wellness and spa centres in Europe. The company takes the process through from construction to operation and onwards with subsequent maintenance. Nola 7 has delivered several spas for hotels in Sunny Beach. ¦

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New Showroom open 585 Kings road London, SW6 2EH sales@artwood-floors.com, www.artwood-floors.com, 020 8961 6444

This page: On the left Kneipp Hydrotherapy is the process described by the Naturopath Sebastien Kneipp in the 1800’s of combining exercise with alternating immersion in warm & cold water, which he developed to alleviate his own symptoms of pulmonary tuberculosis.

On the right the NOLA 7 Hand tiled heated hot stone loungers provide passive thermal treatment whilst spa guests rest in the relaxation lounge

SUPPLIERS LIST: Wellness Design & Manufacture Steam, Sauna Ice Wellness Equipment Aromatherapy & Salt Inhalation Equipment ALL BY NOLA 7

DE INTERIORS

The design of the spa uses geometry in an Op Art fashion and incorporates illusions of space. Nola 7’s main remit was to deliver a wellness thermal suite which would differentiate the resort from the general Black Sea offerings. The reception area was designed with simple open plan themes to act as a soothing transition between the main hotel area and the tranquillity of the spa. In the relaxation lounge, Nola 7 hand tiled heated hot stone loungers provide passive thermal treatment.

The aroma steam room, with its strong geometric patterns, pays the greatest homage to Vasarely. Nola 7’s design team designed tiles with glass mosaics to cover the surfaces. Architectural ceramics complete the look. The benches have under tile heating to enhance the bathing experience for spa guests.

Kneipp Hydrotherapy is the process described in the 1800s by the naturopath Sebastien Kneipp of combining exercise with alternating immersions in warm and cold water. The Nola 7 Kneipp Walk has been designed to provide reflexology through natural stone pebbles while the lower body is energised by alternating Kneipp sensations of warm and cold wall misters. This mister spray shower design is also energy efficient.

The herbal aroma sauna is hand crafted in premium Aspen timbers and designed to incorporate individual seats for users. Natural aromas are infused into the room via dried herbs like lavender flower heads and sage. They are then placed in a heated caldarium over the sauna stove. Even in the sauna, Op Art plays a part. The architectural ceramics of the stove hark back to abstract paintings. de

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words: STUART BLAKLEY — images: © GIORGIO BARONI

#14

Chopi Chopi Yacht Not So Plain Sailing ????.com 124

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he world is divided between the haves and the have yachts. And in the one construction industry where size really does matter, the Italian shipyard CRN, along with Ferretti Group Brand, has built its largest ever mega yacht. Boasting an overall length of 80 metres and a beam of 13.5 metres, the steel and aluminium Chopi Chopi has a lower deck, main deck, upper deck, sun deck and even an owner’s private deck.

Chopi Chopi can comfortably cater for 12 guests in six VIP cabins and the owner’s apartment. It also can accommodate 31 crew members including 23 sailors and eight members of the owner’s personal staff. Conceived by the project team as a family house on water, CRN Engineering was in charge of naval architecture, Studio Zuccon International Project developed the vessel’s exterior lines and interior layout while Laura Sessa was responsible for the interior concept, furniture and furnishings. Chopi Chopi has now been sold by Alain Maraoui, Head of Ferretti Group’s dealer Sea Pros.

A direct visual contact with the sea underpins the design for its new owner. Interior designer Laura Sessa aimed for the utmost comfort and functionality in the 1,000 square metres of internal space. Luxury comes in the form of high quality materials and liveliness is added by colour schemes ranging from pastel to dashes of red in sitting rooms (cushions) and orange in bedrooms (panelling). A circular cutting edge pilot house provides first class accommodation for the captain. Laura says, “We also experimented extensively with materials throughout the interiors of the vessel. The spa, for example, features a combination of mirror with teak and woven leather. This was coupled with a bleached Oregon pine, marble and lacquered wood.” ¦

This page: Top left, dining area, bottom left: external deck, right: living room.

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Owner and entertainment spaces flow through the main deck in a visually light arrangement towards the central circular lobby. A glass lift and spiral staircase connect all the decks. Chocolate brown scratched oak furniture contrasts with walls painted varying shades of white.

The main sitting room has small armchairs by designer Eero Saarinen and custom made sofas symmetrically arranged along the longitudinal axis.

The master suite is located at the extreme bow, offering a panoramic view of the sea. It opens onto a deck fitted with a large Jacuzzi and outdoor furniture by Glyn Peter Machin. The C shaped suite is decorated with pickled oak wood. Laura uses indigo highlights (cushions and curtains) to further enliven the room. Furnishings include sculptural lamps and appliqués by Hervé Van der Straeten, a white modular braided leather headboard by Foglizzo, curtains by Loro Piana and Pierre Frey, and door handles by Les Verreries de Bréhat. On the port side of the master suite corridor is a bathroom lined, like all the yacht’s bathrooms, with Perlatino Europa cream marble. Two portholes are concealed behind mirrors. One item the owner specifically requested was a beauty salon equipped with hair styling facilities and a professional shampoo basin.

On board technology includes a home automation system (curtains, lights and air conditioning) and an audio/video entertainment system developed by CRN in cooperation with Videoworks. The upper deck cockpit is equipped with two LED televisions resistance to the elements. iPadMini devices are found in all the VIP cabins as well as a staff calling system called MyConcierge. A 21st century answer to servants’ bells for this floating stately home? de

SUPPLIERS LIST:

CRN Project Manager: Ferdinando Pilli M/Y CRN 129 Surveyor: Richard Hodgson, Mega Yacht Solutions Ltd Naval Architects: CRN Engineering Exterior Design & Layout: Studio Zuccon International Project Interior Design: Laura Sessa

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Selected Soft Furnishings: Glyn Peter Machin Selected Armchairs: Eero Saarinen Lamps: Hervé Van der Straeten Leather Headboard: Foglizzo Bathroom Marble: Perlatino Europa Curtains: Loro Piana & Pierre Frey Door Handles: Les Verreries de Bréhat

This page: Top and bottom right: treatment areas, left: aerial view of the yacht.

WORDS: IVI VASSILOPOULOU — IMAGES: © BRADLEY+BASSO (EXCEPT AS CREDITED)

COMPANY PROFILE

BRADLEY B + BASSO STUDIO

radley+Basso is an architectural glass art partnership incorporating mosaic and allied environmental media. Working from their West London studio, established by Ray Bradley in 1964, it combines a long international experience supporting the vital dynamic of a younger creative capability. The partnership with Denise mt Basso was established in 2004 and has gradually developed its current wider spectrum of creative activities. It is a development studio, where creative concepts acquire credence before being translated and manifest through the use of a relevant medium and its variable techniques. ¦

AND COLLABORATION

BIRCH WALK A request for a glass sculpture for the London Headquarters of Gazprom, the Russian owned international power supplier, was given a more significant realization by exploiting the 22m length of an atrium walkway.

A complex of ‘Birch tree’ groups was created, articulating the space to provide a perambulatory experience and a familiar image for the Russian employees and visitors. Glass textures, graded layers of colour, white gold leaf and interactions of reflections and lighting create a parallel to the lyrical experience of birch trees throughout the seasons.

INTERIOR ARCHITECTS: IOR GROUP - PROJECT ARCHITECT JANE O’CONNOR IN SITU PHOTOGRAPH BY HUFTON + CROW

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Hawksmoor Hawksmoor Air Street entrance foyer leads to a stunning marble staircase ascending to the cocktail bar and restaurant, occupying the long first floor of Regent Street’s grand crescent. It is an ode to elegance and sophistication, inspired by the rich art deco heritage of Piccadilly opposite the Café Royal.

The focal point of the bar and restaurant is created by the dramatic design of ten large arched windows, also inspired by the building’s heritage and interior design ‘art deco reinvented.’ The choice of glass used was selected on site in relation to the variable light transmission at different times of day and night and also for its affect on the high activity of the Regent Street backdrop.

They are a combination of stained glass and acid etched techniques using mostly textural and tonal combinations to fragment the view, which opens the restaurant to the city and becomes a point of interaction between the inside and outside.

The movement of people and traffic beyond is experienced as an animation of the visually fragmented glass surface as they bridge the gap between heritage and contemporary state-of-the-art design. At night with the added benefit of floodlighting to opposite buildings, together with the moving lights of traffic, the windows provide a glowing almost kinetic light-show as the glass qualities become intensified.

Interior Architects: Macaulay/Sinclair.

Photography: Darren Ciolli-Leach and Caterina Ragg

FLYING CARPET This glass canopy design was conceived to meet the functional issues requested and in response to the specific architectural context, but it contains an element of humor due to its position, ideal as a launch place for a ‘Flying Carpet’.

The house plan radiates on a curving axis, relating to and acknowledging its hillside setting, with a 180 degrees idyllic landscape view from the front elevation. The 18.5 m2 suspended glass canopy with its enameled and laminated design traces the curving axis of the architecture with full structural consideration for wind pressures and snow loading in its exposed position.

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FRAGMENTS OF LIVES ‘Fragments of Lives’ is an architectural glass installation of abstract symbolism and a rare, if not unique, inclusion of its kind into a Grade 1 listed example of Romanic Architecture, the 12th Century (1129) Priory Church of St. James, the oldest building in Bristol and remaining part of a Benedictine Monastery.

A sequential series of six related screens in the North Aisle culminating in a seventh arched screen at the East end and creating a fusion of Past and Present. Architecturally, the design of the screens is intended to visually complement the simple Norman grandeur of the Priory.

The apparent opposites of ‘fragmentation’ and ‘re-assembling’ visually and conceptually aim to explore man’s struggle towards wholeness: ‘the quality or state of being whole, entire, or sound’. The aim of the ‘Priory Project.’ A specialist centre for substance abuse victims is to heal, repair and restore lives; to ‘rebuild’ them.

ARCHITECTS: FERGUSON MANN - PROJECT ARCHITECT CORINNE FITZPATRICK

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— the people Ray Bradley studied at Wimbledon School of Art, specialized in stained glass for the National Diploma in Design and then gained admission to the Royal College of Art. During his three years at the RCA Bradley’s interest developed towards a broader use of glass as an art form, in context with its possible applications into the current developments of that time in architecture and the built environment.

Awarded ARCA, he then established his own studio in West London and over the succeeding years has considerably extended his knowledge and approach to glass, working with it in different ways and in many situations in this country and overseas, with most of his subsequent work created for secular buildings.

Fortunate enough however to find himself working with such architects as Donald Insall and Maxwell Fry on some memorable ecclesiastical commissions in the mid ‘60s and early ‘70s there have been some other varying works for religious buildings over the years, most recently in 2007 for the current partnership working with Ferguson Mann in Bristol.

His working knowledge of glass processes and techniques, far beyond the initial stained glass discipline, has enabled him to work on a wide range of private and public projects and also led to his appointment as visiting glass tutor to various colleges; most recently Chelsea College of Art & Design, where he met Denise mt Basso.

Denise mt Basso had fulfilled her ambition to follow a creative career after business training and responsible positions in the textile and mosaic industries in Northern Italy. Her transition was accomplished by periods of study at the Scuola Internazionale di Grafica in Venice as well as a BA Hons. Degree course in Design and Public Art from London’s Chelsea College of Art & and Design. ¦

DE INTERIORS

Horizon Line Doors, Screens and Walls, a progressional art installation linked by a gold leaf ‘horizon line’ on the walls and a series of related full height glass doors and screens. ‘Exploring the Labyrinth’, its healing philosophy and its unwinding relationship to the building’s inner path, from the main entrance foyer through to a complex crescendo of seven gold leaf hues and multiple texts, in the key boardroom area of a care homes headquarters.

Another light-reflecting ‘landscape screen’ was created by a moon-gold horizon line on tonally etched grey mirror to augment the particular lighting environment for the subtle illumination of the gold leaf boardroom table, which was created in context to the client’s philosophical beliefs by the use of 14 varied hues of Venetian gold leaf tessera.

Building & Interior Design Consultant: Robert Brain

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Lattice A series of screening windows to the main entrance and stairway of a private residence that provide a continuous integrated lattice module design, linking with windows in other areas of this notable Civic Trust Awarded House, all requiring an element of privacy at ground level.

The lattice subtly changes and erodes containing interplay of varying tones and clear areas in the upper sections, paralleling and complementing the natural movement of light.

The double glazed units are a composite of a selected obscure glass with a significant optical quality in combination with the variably etched lattice applied to the other inner surface.

Architects: SDA - Stephen Donald

Calligraphic Tapestry An 8.5m high Public Art Commissioned Glass Installation designed as a visual game with relevant educational content. The design concept challenges curiosity and discovery, encouraging observation toward literate understanding and was created with thermo ceramic enamels fired to the internal face of the large double glazed units.

The ‘educational’ vocabulary used was derived from student statements and discussions on video by arrangement with the school. The design is an emotional response with a contradictory softening element of free flowing watercolour transitions; landscape references linking to the situation of the school. This forms the background to a more rhythmic structure of texts that dance through the window. A letterform designed by Albrecht Durer, showing his structural geometry, defines the initial capitals of the various phrases as in illuminated manuscripts.

HLM Architects, Sheffield - Project architect Alan J. Taylor Photography by Simon Shackleton @ City School Sheffield UK

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The Partnership’s approach to projects is based around their individual and distinctive creative dualities and they essentially offer a multifaceted approach to every project. Ultimately, their work is created from an individual basis, but always as a mutually supportive process and with a strong emphasis on the intimate interaction of light, form and space, orchestrating the boundaries between interior and exterior, between glass art and design, tradition and innovation, light sculpture and architecture.

Their concepts propose an overall strategy to complement the architecture and environment for its occupants and visitors. The result is truly collaborative, but with one primary creative entity; a working formula that has continued to alternate with the varied commissions to the present time. Their work encompasses corporate headquarters, public and educational buildings as well as private residences and confidential super yachts, in addition to a series of state-of-the-art commercial and entertainment spaces.

Bradley+ Basso demonstrate exceptional expertise in working with a great variety of projects that involve both new-build structures as well as dealing with existing layers and restoration projects. Their creative process is based around working with, rather than for clients, while their approach illustrates their creative capabilities, in addition to their technical knowledge and passion for both glass and architectural design.

The Partnership’s work is unique, with an evident dedication for craftsmanship and attention to detail; however, each project still contains the independent and subjective traits of its creator, making each piece an individually created design or work of art. de

mrfdesign.co.uk

mrf new web site just launched UK furniture designers & manufacturers

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DE PRODUCTS

de SELECTed ITEMS

IN GOOD THINGS WE TRUST Products featured over the following pages are an array of new and exciting products now on the market. We have been busy visiting all the major design shows throughout the world; we hope our selection helps to inspire you! All of the items featured can also be found in the product section at www.demagazine.co.uk

FLOR CHAIR The design process offered the different outlook on a tree trunk, which is normally associated with beams utilizing its length, and focused on the rings that appear on the actual stump. This point of departure presents us with a new morpholog. www.sharonsides.com

MOMENTUM On-Ear Beautiful and compact, the Sennheiser MOMENTUM On-Ear. It transforms the concept of Sennheiser’s acclaimed MOMENTUM headphones into a lighter, smaller, refreshingly fashionable approach, while staying true to its purist philosophy and dedication to high performance in sound and style. http://en-uk.sennheiser.com/momentum-on-ear Photo©: Magne Sandnes

CLOCHE Lamp A beautiful combination of materials is represented in Cloche lamp created by the norwegian Lars Beller Fjetland. Made of iron, wood and copper, Cloche comes in separate pieces that are easily assembled with no need of tools. www.beller.no Photo©: Magne Sandnes

Splinter Works Vessel Sculptural Bath Inspired by a typical hammock shape, Vessel bath is a great match of two symbols of relaxation. Designed and produced by Splinter Works, founded by Miles Hartwell and Matt Withington, Vessel bath fits their mission that is create sculptural furniture. Made in Carbon Fibre and suspended from the walls with stainless steel brackets, Vessel can be ordered in a different range of colours and also customize the size. www.splinterworks.co.uk Photo©: Stephane Rocher Photography

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The Concealed Bed Company Remote controlled wall beds

+44 (0) 20 733 6547

www.theconcealedbedcompany.co.uk

qua l ity f r o m sta rt to fin i s h Visit www.stone-age.co.uk or scan the QR code with your mobile phone for more...

DE PRODUCTS

de SELECTed ITEMS

'CLASSICS COLLECTION' BY ADICO Adico is the oldest Portuguese manufacturer that specializes in designing and producing metallic furniture since 1920. This year Adico has recovered from their archives many of their historic designs that gave them the wide recognition of being a high quality producer of state-of-the-art furniture. They unveil their 'Classics Collection' through the art deco armchair from their 30's and 50's design cabinet above. All entirely designed and made in Portugal. www.adico.pt

PETITES ROCAILLES In the lawn, on the terrace or in the living room, Petites Rocailles (Small Rockeries) give a warm detail in the ambient. By French designer Germain Bourré, the colourful rockeries are to remind the joy of summer during the whole year. In electro-galvanized steel and epoxy paint, the three sizes pieces are sold together at Miloma. www.germainbourre.com Photo©: Germain Bourré

MUSHROOM LIGHT Created by Australian designer Nick Rennie, this playful outdoor / indoor lamp with its culbuto base is another example of Michel Roset’s poetic pieces. Its shade is made of white rotomoulded polyethylene whilst the culbuto base is manufactured in machined steel with phosphatized anti-rust treatment and finished with a double layer of Epoxy satin black lacquer. www.ligne-roset.com

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de SELECTed ITEMS Superbambi The wooden chair is composed of two movable and interlocking pieces, the orange one complementing the white, the removable cover seat is underlined by a turquoise color, it can be placed with a carved side facing down when in stepladderkid desk-bedside table mode.

There is no mechanical joints or parts, it is entirely made in wood, easy to handle and to configure. http://scoopedesign.com/

Zela – Multi-purpose seating Zela, Gresham’s latest multi-purpose seating collection is a welcomed addition to the portfolio, lending itself perfectly to large scale conferencing, meeting rooms and educational facilities.

Available in eight fashionable polypropylene colours; Green, Red, Dark Blue, Grey, Cream, Orange, White and Black; which all come with a dual linking/stacking feature and are available with or without arms and writing tablet. Upholstered seat and back versions feature Black, Grey or White plastics. www.gof.co.uk

WALNUT BURL Burl; that twisted part of the tree, so incredibly and wonderfully imperfect to make it even more unique by color, richness, uniqueness, spectacular nature and prestige. www.quadrolegno.it

ORU KAYAK A Kayak that becomes its own carrying case, Oru Kayak is an origamiinspired design created to be easy to transport and store. Made with double-layered plastic hull, Oru Kayay has a quick assembly with simple straps and buckles. Without forgetting the comfort, it has foam seat, backrest and also has fully adjustable footrest. www.orukayak.com

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Exclusively available in the UK from James Latham

Powerfully and mysteriously seductive, Allure offers six different types of beautiful, real stone laminate. It’s the perfect solution where a real stone finish is required but the use, and expense, of heavy, solid stone is impractical. And it’s flexible too, offering limitless design possibilities to create an interior environment which is highly distinctive.

See the full Allure range now by clicking on; www.lathamtimber.co.uk, or to request a sample, call us on; 0116 257 3415 or email marketing@lathams.co.uk

t: 020 3544 4002 e: sales@ajp-bathrooms.co.uk w: www.ajp-bathrooms.co.uk

1 Camps Bay, The summer bay of Cape Town area. With the fascinating back drop of the 12 Apostles mountains and the usual changeable fast changing weather in stark contrast to the beautiful light, bright powder blue coast guard look out huts lining the white sand beaches. Go to Café Caprice, on Victoria Road and watch the sun set over a fresh cocktail.

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DE TRAVEL TO

images: © ROCK GALPIN

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TRAVEL TO

Continuing a successful exchange series, Design Exchange is asking creatives for an insight to the cities they’ve recently visited. For this edition, we speak to designer Rock Galpin about Cape Town.

With ongoing development in the cultural, social and economic climate, it’s little wonder that South Africa’s capital has been named World Design Capital Destination 2014. Enhanced by the launch of Cape Town Design in 2013, the city’s design scene is continually spreading across a variety of fields from sustainable to community projects, thus allowing the area’s diverse culture to enrich the industry. Galpin explains…

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DE TRAVEL TO CAPE TOWN

2 La Colombe, Constantia Uitsig

Quite a restaurant. My favourite in the world, so far! (allow 4-5 hours for lunch).

Head out of Cape Town to Constantia Uitsig wine district.

La Colombe achivied an impressive 12th place in the San Pellegrino 50 Best Restaurants of the World Awards 2010. Serving contemporary French-meets-Asian fine dining

by Head Chef, Scot Kirton. Booking required weeks in advance or try booking for lunch.

2

3 Yours Truly cafe. Head to upper Kloof Street street for the Hip new bars and cool new restaurants.

Quirky, stylish and cool summery bars, cafe and restaurants, from the well established Bombay Bicycle Club to pictured here, an earthy new hip cafe, Yours Truly Cafe.

4 Bo-Kaap. The stunning, bright, multi coloured Bo-Kaap, has tens of stunning multicoloured townhouses all kept in pristine glowing coloured attire, each responding to the neighbours house colour quite harmoniously. Bo-Kaap was

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6 7 6 The view from Table Mountain, a precarious cable car ride away to the flat heady heights of the flat summit, where a stunning view is possible looking out to the V&A Waterfront and Camps bay and in fact a 360 degree vista.

7 Another new restaurant to open, very stylishly presented in an originally a Malay Quarter. Quintessentially a Township, situated on the slopes of Signal Hill above the city centre the area is an historical centre of Cape Malay culture in Cape Town.

5 Victoria & Alfred Waterfront in Cape Town. A healthy variety of

salubrious hotels including One & Only around the internal water ways, ship repairing, building and dismantling medium sized cargo and fishing boats adding a stunning contrast between the raw man made industrial and the natural back drop of Table Mountain with its fast moving cascade of clouds trickling down the mountain, like a waterfall.

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almost white interior that has bags of character as well as arty modern style is Manna Epicure, at 151 Kloof Street. Along with Cafe Paradiso, and a short distance away, Five Flies at 14-16 Keerom Street.

8 Bond style water jet packing fun at Shimmy Beach club, the best place to unwind on a beach with a rather magnificent restaurant.

9 Bo-Kaap- House paint matching the phone box phone, colour co-ordinating carried to an interesting new level. The inspiring colour co-ordination is impressive.

T H E D E TA I L S ARE NOT T H E D E T A I L S. THEY MAKE T H E D E S I G N. CHARLES EAMES

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