Identity - June 2010

The Middle East’s interiors, design & property magazine
identity ISSUE eightyone

Year seven
june 2010
A MOTIVATE PUBLICATION
dhs 15
Infinite design: compatible aesthetic contrasts
Borderless kitchens: the invisible take over
2010 Pritzker Prize: SANNA’s sensual simplicity
New world ownership: multiple destination choices Dubai Technology and Media Free Zone Authority
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INSIDE
identity
JUNE 2010
Cover: Cliffhanger.
Photography: Mads Mogensen
DECA ARCHITECTURE
SUMAHAN HOTEL
32 60 84
SANAA
FEATURES
26 Going for gold 60 Cliffhanger

Winning ways to create beauty from cast-offs, generate power Perched atop a rugged cliff on a volcanic Greek island, a holiday
from heart-healthy exercise and reduce the ecological footprint home features simple, subtle lines that contrast with the rugged
come from innovators from around the world. natural environment.
32 Sheer genius 84 Awesome Ottomans

The talented dual winners of the 2010 Pritzker Prize for Istanbul’s creatively stylish hotels welcome guests with a blending
Architecture who comprise SANAA create deceptively simple of Ottoman inspirations and tomorrow’s aesthetics, technology
designs with an ethereal transparency. and design.
June 2010 17
INSIDE
identity
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DESIGN FORMULA
ISSUE #81
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
Obaid Humaid Al Tayer
GROUP EDITOR & MANAGING PARTNER
Ian Fairservice
GROUP SENIOR EDITOR
BOFFI’S APRILE KITCHEN

Gina Johnson | gina@motivate.ae
GROUP EDITOR
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FEATURES EDITOR
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CHIEF SUB-EDITOR 43 Menu Milanese

Iain Smith | iains@motivate.ae
Kitchens, as seen at Eurocucina 2010 in Milan
EDITORIAL ASSISTANT recently, are breaking out of the box as they
Belinda Igaya | belinda@motivate.ae
become integrated into the family’s main living
ART DIRECTOR areas, increasing the importance of design, colour
Karen Evans | karene@motivate.ae
and materials, in addition to their primary function
GENERAL MANAGER – PRODUCTION AND CIRCULATION as the home’s culinary epicentre.
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MANAGER – PRODUCTION
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CONTRIBUTORS:
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Lena Semann | Lisa Vincenti | Richard Warren
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June 2010 19
EDITORIAL
Design triumphs
The opening of the world’s first Armani Hotel brought a tear or two to
the eyes of fashion’s top designer, 75-year-old Giorgio Armani. The designer
who brought us the deconstructed jacket and who has dressed some of the
most elegant men and women of the past 30 years basked in the limelight as
his 160-room luxury hotel was opened in the world’s tallest building, the 882
metre-high Burj Khalifa.
There were no surprises, as the design is Armani through and through
– what was impressive was the standard of finishing and workmanship, the
perfection and attention to detail that has earned Armani his undisputed place
in the design world. The materials and textures used throughout ooze luxury
and richness. Even Armani himself quipped that the interiors are even more
luxurious than he expected, though some find them a little too understated.
The opening was a proud day for Dubai – the debut of the world’s newest
luxury hotel chain is housed in the SOM designed mega tower. Armani hotels
in Milan, Morocco and Egypt will follow. Without revealing any design secrets,
Armani stated that the Milan hotel will have more of a Milanese flavour.
Meanwhile, The Bonnington hotel in the Jumeirah Lakes Towers district was
inaugurated. Revealing interiors by LW Design, well known for their distinctive Clockwise from top left: Kazuyo Sejima and
and refined contemporary style, this was the last project of founder Lars Ryue Nishizawa; José Antonio Gandía-Blasco;
Waldenstrom before his recent retirement. Giorgio Armani.
Without a doubt, architect Wajih Nakkash’s 200-plus square metre stand, was
the most impressive at the Dubai Hotel Show 2010. Over the years Nakkash
has been concentrating on building a portfolio of outdoor furniture brands that
includes Dedon, Gandia Blasco, Royal Botania and Gervasoni. The flamboyant
new collection from Fendi Outdoor took pride of place at the show along with
his other new brands including John Kelly, Chillsensaciones, De Castelli, Manutti
and Ivini.
Among his special guests was the renowned Spanish designer José Antonio
Gandia-Blasco, who was also one of the main speakers at the event.
Gandia-Blasco’s family’s company has been setting design standards for some
of the most minimalist and ultra cool outdoor furniture and outdoor living
concepts for over two decades. He revealed his plans for the exciting new
Passion Resort Project. The designer has been associated with numerous cutting
edge hip hotel projects including the Adam and Eve in Turkey, the Gansevoort
South in Florida and the Farol in Portugal.
Nakkash is planning to open the UAE’s first furniture gallery dedicated
exclusively to designer outdoor furniture and accessories later this year.
Congratulations to Kazuyo Sejima and Ryue Nishizawa, partners at the
PHOTOGRAPHY: VIKRAM GAWDE
Tokyo-based architecture firm SANAA, winners of the Pritzker Architecture

Prize 2010 who share their design philosophies with id this month.
Celebrate new additions to the Dubai furnishings and accessories scene
with the id team at the Crate and Barrel Design Events, June 8 and 9 at the
Mall of the Emirates and Mirdiff City Centre, and discover this season’s bright
new trends. Group Editor Catherine Belbin.
June 2010 21
Outdoor style
With the lazy, hazy days of summer just a few calendar pages
away, the liveliest trends for outdoor living by Crate and Barrel
are bright and green.
22 identity [interior/design/property]
CRATE AND BARREL TRENDS
Bringing the latest trends for the out-of-doors to the UAE is Crate and
Barrel, a newcomer to this area. Their two stores are filled with hot colours
such as ultra-sunny yellow, succulent orange and shimmering turquoise which
are the epitome of cool this season, while vibrant botanical prints bloom
in stylised graphics on everything from textiles to plates. This is not a retro
rendition of a 1970’s fad, rather it is definitely a 21st century take on a bright
idea, reinterpreted with textural weaves and bold combinations. Regardless
of the hue, green is the watchword of the moment with sustainability and
recycling at the forefront of everyone’s consciousness.
Their fresh offerings for the new season make it imminently obvious
that taking care of the planet can also be stylish. The woods used in the
company’s products are all certified sustainable, with the teak, as in the
Trovata collection, being supported by The Forest Trust. Other materials
are also of the green variety such as the all-weather UV-resistant wicker,
which is hand-woven of 100 per cent recyclable and non-toxic resin and
the eco-conscious fabrics for umbrellas, cushions and pillow are made at
a facility that sends no waste to landfills.
June 2010 23
CRATE AND BARREL TRENDS
A path of zippy stripes on umbrellas and cushions that repeat the linear
pattern of either real wood or the look of wooden slats – but actually made
of an innovative Polystyrene faux wood treated with UV and anti-oxidant
protection - on an outdoor dining scheme, is the perfect setting for fun fabrics
or sophisticated neutrals that create an ideal platform for accenting with
colourful accessories ranging from graphic tableware to Middle Eastern-inspired
sheet metal lanterns with a soft, soothing zinc coating.
The end result is a zinging green that will cause the summer to sizzle with
lively al fresco excitement.
Furniture and accessories from the Crate and Barrel

2010 Spring Summer collection.
Going for gold
The spotlight is on conceptual plans for a Solar City Tower
in 2016 Olympic Games host city Rio de Janeiro, Johnny
Swing’s innovative Coin Chair and the sustainable credentials
of the Melbourne Convention Centre.TEXT: STEVE HILL
SUSTAINABLE OLYMPICS
Zurich-based RAFAA Architecture & Design has unveiled a spectacular concept project to
showcase Rio de Janeiro’s sustainability credentials in time for the 2016 Olympic Games.
Solar City Tower, located on Cotonduba Island, would feature a solar power system to
generate power during the day, ostensibly for the Olympic village. Any excess power would
be used to pump seawater into a storage tank within the tower, which would then be
released at night to power turbines and provide power for the city.
On special occasions, what RAFAA describes as a “machine building” could be converted
into an urban waterfall, symbolising the force of nature.
An urban plaza located 60 metres above sea level would ensure access to the tower while
the plans also make provision for a cafeteria, shop, an observation deck offering panoramic
views of the ocean and city plus a retractable bungee jumping platform.
ECO
Solar City Tower.
March
June 2009
2010 27
ECO
Clockwise from left: Johnny Swing’s Butterfly Chair

from his Coin Furniture series; Ashley Watson’s bag
made from recycled materials; Tomate d’Épingles’s
earrings made from film negatives.
LOOSE CHANGE No leather is dyed in the production process, making her bags, wallets, card
holders and belts totally unique. Watson’s recycled leather products are now
Verrmont-based Johnny Swing “repurposes” everyday items into functional sold in stores across North America and are also available in select outlets in
sculpted furniture, such as his unique Butterfly Chair. Forming part of his Coin Europe, Asia and Australia.
Furniture series, it features some 1,500 hand-welded half-dollars which are
polished to produce a stunning finish that is as stylish as it is comfortable. FILM CLASSICS
Swing, who completed his studies at Skidmore College and the Skowhegan
School of Painting and Sculpture, has also fashioned work from recycled baby Sisters Guylaine and Isabelle Martineau have established Tomate d’Épingles, a
food jars and the remnants of Italian leather floor tiles. But it is his furniture Quebec City-based company that produces quirky handmade jewellery and
that has turned most heads, including a couch fashioned from 7,000 nickels. accessories from recycled or repurposed materials.
Swing’s Coin Chair weighs 26 kilograms and is available from vivre.com, price Particularly eye-catching are their earrings and necklaces featuring vintage
on request. His work is displayed in the Robert Crowell Museum in Newfane, recycled film negatives, while they have also used recycled paper to create
Vermont, and the Storm King Arts centre in New York. origami star earrings and taken scraps of leather and turned them into
flower-style rings.
BAGS OF POTENTIAL The sisters have also created what they term faux heirloom vintage necklaces,
featuring a cork-stopped vintage glass vial containing small curios they have
Ashley Watson is a Vancouver-based designer who has been hand-crafting collected, including vintage or antique Swiss watch parts and rhinestones
one-of-a-kind leather products using recycled materials since 2005. salvaged from damaged jewellery.
She was inspired by the originality of soft and gently worn jackets she
purchased from charity shops, and incorporates these features, such as pockets POWERFUL STATEMENT
and seams, into her bags and wallets.
Watson, who created her first bag from one of her father’s old leather Powerkiss Corporation, founded in Finland in 2008 by CEO Maija Itkonen,
jackets, holds a degree in Fine Arts from the Nova Scotia College of Art and utilises the principles of electromagnetic induction to create wireless charging
Design, and also worked in New York before establishing her own company. solutions for handheld devices.
Thibet bed by
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ECO
Left to right: One of HOK’s Advanced collaboration rooms; the Melbourne

Convention Centre.
Users simply place their mobile phone on the top of a furniture surface for it
to be recharged, safely and conveniently without the need for cables, wires or
adaptors, making the world more user friendly and environmentally sound.
The concept of wireless charging is based on an inductive coupling: whenever
two components of wireless charging are next to each other, an energy transfer
starts through an invisible electromagnetic field. The components are a Wireless
Charging Transmitter, which is installed into the furniture, and a Wireless
Charging Receiver, which is plugged into the handheld device.
Powerkiss hopes to develop technology in the near future to also recharge
MP3 players and laptops in the same way. System, enabling project teams to conduct meetings while designers sketch
ideas and collaborate in real time.
CENTRE OF ATTENTION The firm’s meeting scheduling process requires users to record potential
flights saved through use of the ACRs. And in February this year alone, an
The Melbourne Convention Centre has achieved a Six-Star Green Star estimated 259,276 kilograms of CO2 – or 204 flights – were saved by avoiding
environmental rating from the Green Building Council of Australia. travel between HOK offices.
It has a long list of sustainable features, including solar hot water systems that The company is aiming to reduce carbon emissions in its projects and
can offset more than 40 per cent of general hot water requirements and also practice by 50 per cent by the end of 2010, and last year it achieved a 27 per
provide 100 per cent of public amenity hot water needs. cent reduction in carbon emissions within its operations.
Energy efficient lighting has daylight and motion detection control features “Our use of enhanced virtual technology is a high-impact strategy to help
while a black water treatment plant collects building waste water and some us shrink our carbon footprint,” said Mary Ann Lazarus, HOK’s sustainable
storm water to provide treated water for toilet flushing, irrigation and design director.
cooling towers.
Displacement ventilation – low level air delivery and high level air exhaust in GREEN HOTEL
the plenary hall and foyer areas – provides effective air flow with high indoor air
quality at low energy consumption. The Crowne Plaza Copenhagen Towers recently opened with the stated aim
And an expansive glass facade allows natural light to flood the foyer and of becoming carbon neutral and one of the world’s greenest hotels.
pre-function spaces, reducing the need for artificial light and providing good It has a host of sustainable design features, including Denmark’s first
thermal qualities in the winter months. groundwater-based cooling and heating system, using water drawn from 100
Inside, the centre makes use of FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) timber, metres below the hotel, which reduces energy demands by around 90 per cent.
which is environmentally friendly, rather than non-renewable timber, and More visible are the building’s solar panels on its exterior and roof which
sustainable furnishings and floor coverings. generate significant amounts of power, while the hotel also uses low energy
lighting as well as eco-friendly computer and kitchen equipment.
DECREASING FOOTPRINT Guests, can play their part in helping power the 366-room hotel. Anyone
visiting the gym and using special energy-producing fitness bikes can earn locally
Architectural company HOK is reducing its environmental footprint by linking 14 produced complimentary meals.
of its offices around the world through Advanced Collaboration Rooms (ACRs). Users are able to monitor how much electricity they are producing via
These combine Cisco’s TelePresence high-resolution, interoperable iPhones mounted on the handle bars. Avid fitness fans can also race against the
videoconferencing technology with PolyVision’s Thunder Virtual Flipchart hotel’s solar panel system in a bid to produce the most electricity. ID
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Installation of rubber flooring the U.S. Green Building Council or other environmental /
Ultraplan ECO, Ultrabond ECO V4 SP sustainable certified projects
Interior of the O-Museum in Nagano, Japan.
Sheer genius
PHOTOGRAPHY: HISAO SUZUKI, COURTESY OF SANAA
Ryue Nishizawa, one half of Pritzker Prize-winning SANAA

architects, discusses the deceptive simplicity of the studio’s
acclaimed work. TEXT: ASHLEE BEARD
PROFILE
With a product launch in Milan and a major architectural project underway

in France, the last thing that Ryue Nishizawa, co-principal of Tokyo-based
architectural studio SANAA, needed was to be stuck in Southern Sweden,
but as Nishizawa calmly spoke to moderator and architecture and design
critic, Mark Isitt, in front of a packed auditorium at this year’s Plåt 10 event in
Malmö, the eruption of Iceland’s Eyjafjallajökull volcano wreaked havoc around
Europe. The most obvious question was asked; “How does it feel to be this
year’s co-recipient of the most prestigious architectural award?” to which the
architect jocosely responded, “On the day of the announcement I was in Beirut
attending a competition, so I wasn’t really involved. A few of my friends sent
emails saying congratulations, so I was happy to receive so many emails from
them!” However, the more pressing query was possibly how he would make
his escape as flights came to a halt.
Over the past 15 plus years, since Ryue Nishizawa and his business partner
Kazuyo Sejima began a collaborative working partnership under the name
SANAA, they have created one of the most exciting architectural practices in
the world, as the announcement last March that they were the recipients of
architecture’s highest accolade, the Pritzker Prize Award, attests.
Standout projects, from their early Ogasawara Museum in Nagano,
completed in 1999, to the New Museum of Contemporary Art, which opened
in Manhattan last year, illustrate a unique architectural approach that catches
one’s attention not for its imposing presence, as in the case of former winners
Gehry, Koolhaas or Hadid. SANAA’s style is much more understated “We
always try to make things simple, we never like to make things complicated.
Maybe this is the Japanese way” says Nishizawa. However, in a time when
status architecture has become the ultimate trophy, the architect suggests that
their simplistic style is not so sought after, particularly in Europe, or possibly
even in the UAE where they have yet to secure a commission. When asked
how many competitions the studio wins, it is surprising to hear that SANAA’s
success rate is as low as one competition out of around every 30 entries “In
Europe competitions are done in a very precise way, but we create very simple
drawings that cannot compete against the detailed presentations of European
June 2010 33
PROFILE
PHOTOGRAPHY: CYRILLE THOMAS, COURTESY OF SANAA
Clockwise from above: Rendering of the proposed Museé du Louvre-Lens, due for completion in 2012; New York’s New Museum of Contemporary Art; the glass
pavilion of the Toledo Museum of Art in Ohio, US.
architects. They are too simple, too diagramatic and maybe too easy I think,” skylights to bring sunlight into the skyscraper, or sometimes a gap that becomes
he surmises. There is a sense of irony to this as the practice’s past misfortune a terrace so that visitors can go outside of the building to enjoy the New York
has no doubt been something of an advantage to the architects, who prefer view,” recalls the architect.
the hands-on, involved approach to each project as an alternative to certain SANAA’s acclaim is built largely on its cultural spaces as its current project,
previous winners, whose studios have grown into architectural production lines. the building of the Musée du Louvre’s Lens outpost, proves. In September
Through the use of concrete, aluminium, steel and glass – the studio’s 2005 SANAA’s plan was selected out of 120 entries - beating Zaha Hadid
materials of choice – the architects create ethereal structures that possess a and Steven Holl – to transform a twenty-hectare industrial wasteland, into a
lucid, illusionary quality. Take the glass pavilion created for the Toledo Museum major cultural centre. Working in collaboration with co-designers American
of Art in Ohio, USA, in 2006, for example. The transparent facade has no museum architects, Celia Imrey and Tim Culbert and French landscape designer
bones, just a slim, lightweight structural system to support the roof and within Catherine Mosbach, ground breaking finally began last year on the eagerly
the low-level space, glass walls create invisible partitions, creating a feeling of awaited project, which is due to be completed in 2012 - the same time as the
luminousity that highlights the works on show. Louvre Abu Dhabi. “The site is in the middle of the town. It used to be a mining
Even larger scale projects, such as the New Museum of Contemporary Art, area for coal, so they have so much archaeology from the 19th century, such as
a shrouded six story stacked gallery complex in Manhattan, seem to posess a transportation routes, so we thought it would be nice to preserve this, together
stealth-like quality thanks to an expanded aluminium mesh facade that conceals with the existing landscape,” explains Nishizawa. “The plot is quite big, like
windows, allowing visitors to look out, while passers-by cannot see in (although 40,000 square metres or something, so we broke the plot into several pieces
the effect has been slightly muted by the addition of Ugo Rondinone’s “Hell, to have a smaller scale volume to avoid disturbing the beautiful landscape. The
Yes!”, a huge rainbow sign that has been affixed to the frontage). idea was to regiment each unit to position it to define the natural flow of the
The levels all differ in dimension and are stacked like bento boxes, creating topography of the area. They look like a group of boats floating in the river.”
gaps that allow for connection with the outdoors “One of the big issues for us A cluster of low level steel and metal units with shiny, curved aluminium
was that the clients had a very small property, yet so many programmes, so we facades reflect a distorted image of Mosbach’s verdant landscaped surroundings,
began to study how we could arrange these things. One of the ideas was to much like SANAA’s cloud-like temporary structure created for London’s
stack each congruence, so that each one was shifted to create a gap, to create Serpentine Gallery in 2007. The centre pavilion is a large transparent glass
PROFILE
Ryue Nishizawa and Kazuyo Sejima of SANAA,

recipients of the 2010 Pritzker Prize for architecture.
PHOTOGRAPHY: TAKASHI OKAMOTO, COURTESY OF SANAA
“We have been exploring how we can make architecture feel open.”
PROFILE
PHOTOGRAPHY: TESHIMA ART MUSEUM, COURTESY OF OFFICE RYUE NISHIZAWA

PHOTOGRAPHY: COURTESY OF SANAA
Clockwise from above: Zollverein School of Management and Design in

Essen, Germany; Teshima Museum, a new addition to the Benesse Art Site
Naoshima; Vitra’s Flower bench.
PHOTOGRAPHY: VITRA
volume, while the second main space, the ‘Galerie du Temps’, is opaque on the would look like a water drop. This kind of shape fits very well with the organic
outside. The design is reported to be reminiscent of two outstretched wings, nature of the topography,” he explains. Instead of using a steel supporting
inspired by its stately Parisian headquarters, but the resemblence stops there. structure, or even a plywood frame, typically used when casting concrete, the
While both Lens and Abu Dhabi will run under the auspice of the Musée du 2,000 square metre form was created by pouring concrete over a soil mound,
Louvre, the new Northern French annex will be an actual extension of the which was then dug out, creating a hollow. “Inside the building you can see the
illustrious Paris institution, unlike the Abu Dhabi location, which is the result of a edge of the floor, the wall and the ceiling all go together, so there is no definition
deal between the French and Emirates government that will enable the Middle between the walls and the ceiling. I cut a section from the left to the right so
Eastern museum to loan artworks from the Louvre over a 15 year period, you can see how the curvature changes at each different point.”
enabling it to build up its own collection. Like many architects, for more than ten years Sejima and Nishizawa have
Up until now SANAA Architects has remained small in scale, allowing both created furniture and accessories that complement their spaces, from tea and
Nishizawa and Sejima to pursue separate projects through their own studios, coffee sets for Alessi, to their latest design, Flower, a bench produced by Vitra,
which are all housed together. While SANAA employs around 30 architects, which was launched at this year’s Milan Furniture Fair. The clover shaped design
Ryue Nishizawa’s studio employs around 10 and Kazuyo Sejima around five. coincides with the completion of a far grander project for the Swiss furniture
As Sejima’s staff currently prepare for this year’s Venice Biennale of which she company, the near completion of a new factory building within the firm’s
is the director, Nishizawa’s studio is working closer to home on the island of campus. Vitra’s chairman, Rolf Fehlbaum has always had an eye for architectural
Teshima to create an addition to the acclaimed Naoshima Fukutake Art Museum talent spotting. In 1986 he commissioned Portuguese architect Alvaro Siza to
Foundation, founded by the late publishing tycoon, Tetsuhiko Fukutake. In design one of the factory’s production buildings six years prior to winning the
2006 SANAA completed the Marine Station Naoshima connecting the island to Pritzker Prize and fellow recipient Zaha Hadid’s breakthrough came in 1993
Takamatsu and Uno via ferry and Nishizawa also designed the Honmura Lounge with her premier completed project, the Vitra fire station. Maybe the project
as part of the famed Benesse Art Site Naoshima. Nishizawa’s latest proposal is was an omen? It’s hard to say, but as Nishizawa explains, it seems like SANAA
the Teshima art museum, a windowless concrete space, created in collaboration were the only ones who were unaware of the anticipated announcement “I was
with artist Rei Naito. The museum could not be further from the weightless not so sure that we would win, but whenever I was in the United States with
structures with which SANAA have become associated. “It’s very natural, it’s clients, they would often say to us ‘Next year must be your turn’.” How right
not a square, it’s a more organic shape. One of the concepts was that the space they were. ID
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KITCHENS | DESIGN FORMULA
Menu Milanese
The very best of the kitchen world converged on
Milan for Eurocucina 2010. identity spent time in
the city of style to track down the hottest trends
shaping contemporary interiors. TEXT: RUBY ROGERS
DESIGN FORMULA
CONTENTS:
48 Come together
50 Material world
52 Heart of glass
53 Savvy storage
54 Home entertainment
54 Hide away
54 Can you handle it?
Create a customised kitchen solution
with this modular InDada kitchen from Dada. 57 Fashion focus
June 2010 43
DESIGN FORMULA | KITCHENS
Ernestomeda has collaborated with French designer Marc Sadler to create the Carré fitted kitchen.
With the average homeowner spending more time entertaining at home, For homeowners who shy away from bright colours, Whirlpool has
stamping one’s individuality on a space has never been more important. Colour recognised the trend towards metallics with the inclusion of stunning satin
is the ultimate mode of expression and while white is always popular, sales of anthracite and satin bronze. “Chrome has been the metallic of choice in kitchen
on-trend coloured kitchens have soared. trends for years but finally there is a shift towards warmer metals,” says trend
Lucente by Record Cucine is a new design that lends itself well to this trend. forecaster Victoria Redshaw of Scarlet Opus. “While the world of fashion has
Produced in bold glossy violet, it boasts equally slick features such as a LED TV been embracing all things gold, this has largely been ignored by the kitchen
built into the wall unit door, an extractor hood with matching coloured glass sector. But now that the fashion industry is moving in the direction of bronze
panels and wall units with Blum overhead opening doors. and coppers it seems that kitchen companies are prepared to follow suit.
Quick to cash in on colour is Italian manufacturer Zucchetti, which presented “The introduction of bronze and coppers [and even rose gold] into kitchens
new and exclusive finishes for its kitchen mixers. White lacquer was predictably creates a highly sophisticated styling that is luxurious and glamorous. These
included in its line-up of new launches in Milan, but a departure from the norm metals work well with amethyst tones, rich purples, slate grey and black-on-black
included spicy madras red and calming sky blue to strike a playful vibe. to create dark alluring kitchen schemes that perfectly suit the developing trend
Leading appliance manufacturers are equally keen to exploit the success of for dark wood finishes and cooking/dining experiences with an added sense
colour, used to make a space come alive and therefore add new value to it. Hot of drama.”
on the trail of the latest colour trends is Whirpool who has recently unveiled Contrary to its adventurous use of colour, Whirlpool has adopted a “less
its Glamour collection of refrigerators, ovens and hobs in a palette of explosive is more” approach to aesthetics. Designs have been pared down to the bare
hues – yellow saffron, lime sorbet, parsley green, orange, pink watermelon and essentials and consequently clear, pure lines are among the leading looks.
blue sugar candy – designed to transform the kitchen into a “lively, cheerful and “Nothing juts out; no superfluous shapes can be found,” says Whirlpool of its
positive experience.” chosen aesthetic. “This gives the impression of extreme simplicity although in
Architect and designer Hadi Teherani has
teamed up with Poggenpohl to produce
its +Artesio kitchen.
June 2010 47
Clockwise from top left: Express yourself with Record Cucine’s Lucente kitchen in bold violet; Zucchetti launches its kitchen mixers in new finishes including Madras
Red; the trend for florals continues with Lineaquattro’s Opal Pura kitchen.
actual fact every element and detail serves multiple visual and functional purposes.” – is set to continue. “Whether sleeping, working, cooking, receiving guests,
Pattern is another way to express personal style and has been made available exercising or taking a shower, the focus will remain on a home liberated from
by a number of leading kitchen manufacturers. Check out Opal Pura by all constraints,” he explains. “The more this flexibility is made available through
Lineaquattro, available with the option of a bold floral design, or the Q2 System easy-to-change furniture systems the less it will be necessary to define subliminal
by Pedini, which comes with decorated lacquered glass doors on request. functional boundaries through architectural means.”
“Of course you need to select wisely and choose a pattern or colour that Iran-born Teherani, who is known for seeking out the best possible practical
you love and will enjoy living with for years to come,” Redshaw advises. “But by solution while staying true to his ambition to turn sensible architecture into a
adding a bold splash of colour or a more subtle pattern you can express your sensuous experience, has recently teamed up with Poggenpohl to produce
personality and add real character to your kitchen.” +Artesio, his debut design for the kitchen. Together they wanted to liberate
the kitchen from its traditional, spatial barriers and integrate it into the overall
COME TOGETHER structure of the home.
“Right from the very beginning our vision was not only to create a kitchen,
The well-defined line that once separated the kitchen and living room has all but but an all-embracing spatial concept that no longer draws a line between
disappeared along with the conventions that dictated their layout and design. cooking and living,” Poggenphol managing director Elmar Duffner says. “When
The kitchen has been transformed from a solely functional space into the hub of searching for a designer it seemed obvious to go one step further and find
the home and the industry has responded with a host of exciting solutions. someone who thinks in terms of rooms rather than just furniture design.”
Architect and designer Hadi Teherani believes that the trend towards The designer’s concept embraces every aspect of the space including
“individualised living” – freedom from fixed structures and specific functions the floor, walls and ceiling. This is primarily achieved thanks to a “function
Top to bottom: Antonio Citterio’s new Spatia kitchen for ArcLinea; Siemens coffee machine.
arch” that integrates all the elements necessary for lighting, ventilation and featuring a built-in sink, hob and storage options (including extractable drawers
sound. Other defining features include horizontal wall and base units based and hanging cabinets), a tall unit designed to house built-in appliances and a wall-
on a newly developed type of carcass where the front and side sections are mounted storage module available in a choice of three widths. A large island
identical. A dining table and matching chairs have also been added to the unit featuring the same fixtures and fittings as the washing-cooking-storage unit is
collection, another nod to his ambition to create a kitchen where cooking and also included, enabling customers to create a customised kitchen.
eating blend seamlessly.
“For me, the kitchen is a living space within the home environment – not a MATERIAL WORLD
workshop, not a laboratory and certainly not an ancillary room,” Teherani says
of his design. “This kitchen creates an exciting living space where boundaries can With consumers hot on the trail of products that merge good design with high
be defined by the individual.” performance, manufacturers have risen to the challenge by turning to science.
Italian heavyweight Dada agrees that the modern home “With potentially limitless applications, science allows materials to be
has become more flexible with the rise of engineered to obtain exceptional performance in quality and aesthetics.
multipurpose living areas that must constantly Innovative materials become the crux of the products’ design and
adjust to changing needs. Its solution is InDada, lifecycle, helping to improve its value,” Whirlpool says.
an innovative kitchen concept that not only Its latest creation is iXelium, a range of stainless-steel hobs that use
responds to this changing contemporary nanotechnology to preserve the quality and natural shine of
domestic landscape but also recognises the the metal over time. Described as “anti-ageing”, iXelium
growing trend for unstructured kitchens, prevents surface stains and yellowing as well as reduces the
targeting a younger clientele who enjoy a sign of scratches, corrosion and marks commonly
dynamic lifestyle. found on older models.
‘Unstructured’ refers to modular units that Other innovations shown in Milan include
can be assembled to create a customised Arrital Cucine’s new Etherna kitchen, which is
kitchen solution. To this end InDada comprises covered in a thin layer of Ceramic Gres produced
a large, laminated washing-cooking-storage unit using cutting edge technology to make it resistant
Top to bottom: Whirlpool splashes out on colour with its Glamour collection of
ovens and hobs; SieMatic’s S2 features a tall multimedia cabinet designed to
transform your kitchen into a living space.
to abrasions, stains and sudden changes in temperature. Ceramic Gres is

therefore high functioning and performing, satisfying the needs of customers
who seek both aesthetic value and practical features in their kitchen.
Concrete has moved into the kitchen and is ideal because it is hard wearing,
heat resistant, hygienic and easy to maintain. Austrian company Steininger
launched its Concrete Kitchen at Eurocucina, having developed a process that
enables the concrete to be made thinner than ever before – just 8 milimetres
– without compromising its strength. The procedure, which took more than
a year to develop, means that the surface retains the natural look and feel that
you would expect of concrete while the interior of the unit is handmade using
stainless steel and wood.
The Concrete Kitchen caught the attention because it effortlessly blends
nature with man-made components. In particular the inclusion of two built-in
herb boxes that establish a connection between the natural solid wood and the
practical hard-working concrete is a winner.
HEART OF GLASS
Glass has always played an important part in the kitchen, but more recently it
has adopted a starring role thanks to the rise of glass furniture fronts. “Glass is
booming, there is no question about it,” says Berthold Müller of Alno. “Basically
you can use it almost anywhere from the floor and stairs to furniture fronts.
Today special glass is so robust that its area of use has multiplied.”
Müller believe the success of glass comes down to a universal craving
for open spaces defined by freedom and lots of light. “As a building material
Top to bottom: Steininger’s Concrete Kitchen effortlessly blends elements of

nature with man-made components; fashion’s leading man Giorgio Armani
has collaborated with Dada to create Checkers.
SAVVY STORAGE
Wall systems found in living rooms where elongated horizontal units are still a
popular choice have influenced the current crop of solutions for the kitchen.
Among them is the 36e8 by Lago; a system based on 36.8 centimetre x 36.8
centimetre modules intended to be used like building blocks to create an endless
number of combinations according to individual kitchen storage requirements.
The reason for the system, Lago says, is that homes are increasingly versatile
and contemporary storage solutions should acknowledge this. Consequently
the 36e8 system can be adapted to the needs of the kitchen as well as the living
room, more evidence of our ongoing romance with open-plan living.
Working on a similar premise, British born designer Michael Young created
Tetrix for Scavolini. “This new project sprang from the desire to create a
in modern architecture, glass is getting more popular because it gives you horizon-free aesthetic, playing with elements on horizontal axes and discovering
this openness in your house without – in the case of large window fronts – all the possible layouts,” he explains. Inspired by one of the world’s most famous
technical requirements such as heat insulation being neglected,” he explains. video games, Tetrix comprises rectangular modules measuring 36 centimetre
“In the kitchen, its transparency means it can blend with various styles from the x 60 centimetre that are combined on a horizontal axes – again according to
country kitchen to the purist kitchen. Glass fronts generally create a ‘soft’ crossover individual needs – allowing for a creative approach to kitchen design.
between the living room and kitchen, between comfort and functionality. Therefore The system is defined by freedom of colour as well as composition, with
they correspond ideally to the trend of open living concepts.” doors designed using sheets of glossy or matt tempered glass, flush-fitted to
Working with appliance brands Schott and Bosch, Alno has recently launched a panel and available in a palette of bold colours. Fashioned without visible
its Alnostar Satina kitchen featuring sanitised matt glass fronts designed for spaces handles to satisfy the latest looks in interior design, the range is completed by
in which living and eating come together. In order to create a soft, flowing tables and chairs specifically designed to match the style of the units.
transition between the two, Bosch has introduced a solution for its oven doors A final word must go to the trend for combining open and closed kitchen
whereby the glass inserts are only partially sand blasted, which allows a clear units exemplified by Kalea, the star of Cesar’s Eurocucina proposal for 2010
view of the displays and the cooking food without spoiling the overall aesthetic comprising units with doors of different widths and heights (allowing them to be
of the kitchen. arranged according to the needs of the homeowner) as well as a set of open
Alnostar Satina recently went into production and is now offered in white, units – 12 milimetre thick and in various sizes – designed to fit into base units,
magnolia and platinum blue as well as the prototype terracotta colour larders and wall units. These units are available in wood laminate but also in a
showcased at Eurocucina. range of lacquers to create bold colour contrasts.
June 2010 53
Michael Young’s Tetrix kitchen for Scavolini comprises a series of rectangular modules.
HOME ENTERTAINMENT zone with space for appliances and storage; a kitchen and washing zone featuring
all the usual suspects (hob, sink, storage); plus a tall unit to house a standard
Multimedia technology is now crossing over the breakfast bar into the kitchen sized fridge. When the doors are closed the kitchen disappears from view (along
where it has become a crucial part of the planning process. According to lifestyle with the washing up) and the space is transformed into a clutter-free oasis.
researcher Harry Gatterer, “the traditional family home is going through a An alternative solution is from Lineaquattro whose Ambra Arca kitchen
transition towards an entertainment centre.” includes a contemporary cupboard unit equipped with electronically automated
SieMatic’s S2 has been designed to accommodate this lifestyle trend and sliding doors that neatly conceal the domestic appliances stored within
features a tall multimedia cabinet designed to integrate all the elements needed (refrigerator, slide-in oven and warming drawer). An island unit comprising a
to transform your kitchen into a living space. Highlights include a stylish flat cooking zone serviced by a down draught hood, which is also hidden when not
screen television-cum-computer that can be pulled out and swivelled for ease in use, completes the project.
of use with storage space behind the screen for an air mouse and keyboard
to ensure a clutter-free environment. The cabinet also houses an iPod docking CAN YOU HANDLE IT?
station, great for those who love to listen to music while cooking.
Ulrike Siekmann of SieMatic is keen to stress that the technical advancements The inventor of the handleless kitchen, SieMatic, is celebrating 50 years of
of S2 are intended to do one thing – “and one thing only” – to enhance and kitchen innovation. Working according to the design philosophy “something is
improve the life of the user. “That is what has always guided us and always will perfect not because there is nothing to add but because there is nothing more
when we develop and improve our kitchens,” he says. “That is also what makes to reduce,” SieMatic has frequently reinvented its handle free kitchen since its
for good design and good design is – as we know – timeless.” The S2 is also inception in the 60s. According to managing partner Ulrich Siekmann, it has
on-trend in terms of aesthetics, available in increasingly popular gold-bronze. reached a degree of visual and ergonomic perfection that stands alone. “Just as
the button does not make a coat, the handle does not define the design of a
HIDE AWAY kitchen,” he says.
Appliances are now following in its footsteps, wanting to achieve the same
Investing in show-stopping appliances does not necessarily mean people want must-have minimalist look together with practical benefits, making the user’s
them on display. Sliding and shutter-style doors are two ways in which to keep life easier. Take a busy chef who wants to check on dinner in the oven but has
appliances well hidden where simplicity is the defining characteristic. This trend his hands full. With Baumatic’s new handleless touch opening oven from its
goes hand-in-hand with the desire for a kitchen-cum-living space whereby minimalist Studio Solari collection this becomes an effortless task.
homeowners can hideaway kitchen clutter while they entertain or relax. The growing trend for appliances with soft-close doors also takes its cue from
Antonio Citterio’s new Spatia kitchen for ArcLinea is an excellent example kitchen furniture. AEG-Electrolux has introduced Velvet Closing, designed to
comprising a series of sliding doors that open-up to reveal a laundry-cum-ironing remove the slam-bang noise normally associated with oven doors and replace
Kitchen by Varenna-Poliform available at Obegi.
June 2010 55
Clockwise from left: Arrital Cucine’s new Etherna kitchen is covered in a thin
layer of Ceramic Gres; Scavolini’s Attitude kitchen; Karbon by Kohler; Lago’s
36e8 system is based on 36.8 x 36.8 centimetre modules intended to create an
endless number of kitchen combinations.
it with a system that uses a hydraulic damper to close the door silently and
gently. AEG argues that the innovation not only aligns its products with the rest
of the kitchen furniture but also communicates a feeling of “high quality” and
“robustness” to consumers.
When kitchen handles come into play they are usually pared down to an
absolute minimum. German manufacturer Schüller has recently received a
honourable mention from red dot for its NX830, a hidden recessed grip that
creates the look of a sleek handleless kitchen. Italian manufacturer Ernestomeda
has collaborated with French designer Marc Sadler to create the Carré fitted
kitchen defined by a “non-handle handle” whereby the conventional fixture has
been transformed into a convenient recess in the door.
“A lot of people say they detest the rigid structure of the many minimalist
kitchens on the market,” Sadler says of his design. “And everyone agrees that
the kitchen is also the room that best reflects the taste of the people who live in
the home, who personalise it with their favourite symbols, family heirlooms or
holiday souvenirs. This is the starting-point for Carré: if I had to choose just one
word to describe it, that word would be ‘multifaceted’ reflecting its ability to be
all things to all persons.”
Final mentions must go to Record Cucine whose Miami kitchen features
a bright white door with a recessed handle that can be lacquered in various
colours upon request or the Cube collection by Bravo Cucine comprising a
matt white lacquered island unit featuring a recessed ‘line’ handle that draws a
continuous line along its length.
FASHION FOCUS
Fashion’s leading man Giorgio Armani has once again collaborated with Dada,
this time to create Checkers, which recently debuted at Eurocucina in Milan.
“Checkers interprets the home workspace through a sensorial approach
that develops from a refined and exclusive research of materials, finishes and
colours,” Dada says. “At the same time, from a formal viewpoint, the project
is based on an extremely simple, sober and linear language that completely
reflects the expressive elements that distinguish the work of Giorgio Armani.”
Designed for large spaces and available in a wide range of materials, finishes
and colours that allow customers to personalise components, standout
features include a workbench with a stunning black granite counter and wall
units in back-painted glass with a chessboard design. These are equipped with
an innovative system of LED lights arranged horizontally along the wooden
crosspieces that divide the doors, illuminating the workspace but also allowing
for atmospheric lighting.
Fashion is the focus for Stefano Spessotto and Lorella Agnoletto’s Attitude
kitchen for Scavolini. “The first step was to ask ourselves exactly what values,
sensations and emotions we wanted to transmit and if, in order to do so,
we needed to explore new aesthetic languages. The answer came from the
fashion industry… hence we have the exclusive design handles inspired by the
accessories from the female wardrobe,” the design duo explain.
The doors are the true protagonists of Attitùde, available in wood, lacquer,
laminate and glass, each with its own personality. Lacquers are available in a
range of glossy and matt colours including new Alaska blue; laminates come in a
fabric-effect finish, another nod to the fashion industry; and glass is proposed in
matt black, featuring a contrast metallic silk-screen print. ID
June 2010 57
Aprile kitchen from Boffi available at Purity.
Design sources
alno.de
arclinea.it
armanidada.com; tel: (04) 3344478
arritalcucine.com
baumatic.com; tel: (04) 3357433
bosch.com; tel: (04) 8030400
bravobravo.it
cesar.it
dadaweb.it
electrolux.com; tel: (04) 3309295
ernestomeda.com; tel: (04) 3488140
cosmit.it
lago.it
lineaquattro.com
palmongroup.com; tel: (04) 8817000
pedini.it
poggenpohl.com; tel: (04) 2831331
poliform.it; tel: (04) 394 8161
purity.ae; tel: (04) 3349943
recordcucine.com
scarletopus.com
scavolini.com; tel: (04) 2691003
schueller.de
schott.com; tel: (04) 8872571
siematic.com; tel: (04) 8864202
steininger-designers.at
teka.com; tel: (04) 2833047
whirlpool.com; tel: (04) 3376600
zucchettidesign.it
identity [interior/design/property]
58
Cliffhanger
Holiday home on the Greek island of Antipáros has been designed
to sit gracefully and respectfully in the rugged volcanic landscape,
sheltered from the offshore breezes but still offering magnificent views
of the Agean Sea. TEXT: LENA SEMANN PHOTOGRAPHY: MADS MOGENSEN
Deca Architecure opted for style and subtlety

when designing this Greek holiday home.
DESIGN@LARGE
June 2010 61
Clockwise from top left: Outdoor BBQ area covered by a wooden screen. The
high wall has been designed to stop the wind, while on the side looking to the
horizon and the sea the wall has been kept low to preserve the view of the
sunset; part of the outdoor living area; part of the house with white walls and
shutters surrounded by the Mediterranean garden.
Dramatic cliff top sites often encourage dramatic design statements, but taken to build a stone wall that responds organically to the slope with constant
Deca Architecture has taken an extremely subtle approach to a holiday home variations in height and inclination.
on the Greek island of Antipáros. This popular tourist destination, set in the On the front edge, the infinity-style swimming pool appears to hang on the
heart of the Cyclades Islands cluster and just a 35-minute flight from Athens, slope, complemented by a sequence of exterior living areas that enhance the
boasts a raw, natural beauty inextricably linked with its volcanic origins. Deca landscape’s natural qualities and create a relaxed feeling.
Architecture has carefully and respectfully appreciated these factors in conjuring The outdoor barbecue area is covered by a wooden screen, providing
up a stylish property that instantly commands attention in this rugged landscape. much-needed shade for cooks and diners, while the walls here have been
It is set on a steep slope which provides unrivalled and unbroken views of the specifically designed to hold back the wind but still retain side views of the
shimmering Aegean Sea but which is simultaneously exposed to the elements. horizon, ensuring that sunsets can be fully appreciated in all their glory.
The first challenge for Deca was to create a buffer from the formidable Sunbathers have been provided with their own cushion-lined rooftop
offshore winds for the external living areas. And the second was to immerse area, and the white exterior walls and shutters as well as a low-maintenance
the house itself in the landscape, ensuring an arresting presence but without Mediterranean garden further underline a design commitment to simple,
diminishing any of the impact of the proposed structure itself. The decision was uncluttered lines.
DESIGN@LARGE
Simple, uncluttered lines accentuate the magnificent views.
Outside seating area.
June 2010 63
DESIGN@LARGE
Clockwise from top: In the living area, the red sofa is by Piero Lissoni, two
mirrors by Philippe Starck, table by Isamu Noguchi; black Trois Bras lamp by
Serge Mouille; the kitchen and dining area. Kitchen block by Boffi, red rubber
chairs by Komplot design for Kallemo. Background painting by Anna Malagrida.
The living area, for example, boasts two unusually shaped Philippe Starck
mirrors, a red sofa by Piero Lissoni and an Isamu Noguchi table. A dramatic
square window, which sits at floor level, ensures the owners and visitors can sit
in comfort, staring out to sea and enjoying the brilliant light of the Cyclades.
At night, a black Trois Bras lamp by Serge Mouille provides plenty of light for
reading. The Boffi kitchen, meanwhile, is also open and light filled, with an Anna
Malagrida painting, and red rubber chairs by Komplot design bringing important
The interiors of the home, an Antipáros Design properties Project, developed added points of visual interest.
by Oliaros, also maintain harmony with the raw, delicate landscape. Other highlights include a Bambu dining table by Artek Studio and a white
Natural materials and colours are strongly favoured throughout with the Pipistrella lamp by Gae Aulenti.
owners making a determined effort to avoid anything that might remotely Deca, an Athens-based creative platform of international architects established
resemble the feeling of a beach house. four years ago, has compiled an interesting portfolio that includes two hotels, a
It has been furnished sparingly with strong yet simple design pieces that park and a housing development. And its Antipáros home further enhances its
further enhance and underline the property’s striking ambience. growing reputation for bespoke design. ID
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Official venue Official car sponsor Official beverage partner Sponsor of the
Achievers Category
idProperty
CONTENTS:
68 Paint the town red
72 Paid vacations
CAROLYN TREVOR DESIGN
78 Antennae
80 Portfolio
June 2010 67
Entrance hall in the ground floor apartment.
INTERNATIONAL | idProperty
Paint the
town red
Overcoming some wide-ranging
opposition, designer Carolyn
Trevor has injected colour into a
couple of London flats, a small
victory against a prevailing public
preference for neutral decor.
TEXT: RICHARD WARREN
June 2010 69
Clockwise from above: Penthouse lounge; stairwell and skylight; ground floor apartment entrance hall.
Why do so many people fear colour these days? The Georgians

didn’t have a problem with it, they had loads of colour within their beautifully
proportioned houses and their large windows allowed plenty of light into
rooms, which meant hues could be seen at their brightest. Red was their
preference for dining rooms – the colour of their dietary staples, port and beef, Football Club manager Bill Shankly had his team play in an all-red kit from 1964
if Dickens is to be believed. But today, we are told, the dining room is “dead” because he felt it made them look bigger and more imposing.
and when it comes to designing interiors many people wish that was true for Bearing all that in mind, it is no wonder interior designer Carolyn Trevor
the colour red and other bright shades. found herself having to fight hard to persuade one of her clients to accept
Many contemporary designers and their clients are in the better-red- floor-to-ceiling-length scarlet curtains for an entrance hall at his central London
was-dead camp. They prefer to decorate a home in neutrals, sometimes apartment. But persuade him she did and she also managed to get more red
emphasising texture rather than colour because it is a more subtle decorative and other bright hues into this Belgravia residence. Ironically, Trevor doesn’t
option, less likely to offend sensitive eyes. Many estate agents have no qualms in have much red in her own home, preferring blue, which fills people with a
bringing design down to a lower common denominator, believing homes ought sense of calmness and serenity. As a side-point, wealthy Georgians may have
to be decorated according to the so-called “BMW mantra” of beige, magnolia been less gluttoness and prone to gout if they had decorated their dining rooms
and white. The seriously reductive among them want magnolia dumped, in blue, because psychologists have found that this colour suppresses appetite.
because it “looks cheap”. To be fair, some beautiful, Zen-like homes have been Back to the present day, reds, browns and bronzes appear throughout the
created by minimalists using bucket-loads of white and this trend has caught the Trevor-designed ground and lower ground floor duplex conversion, giving
imagination of many people. warmth to this family home. To distance herself from today’s fashionable fear of
Of the bright colours, red rouses the greatest hostility. Those designers who bright colours, she declares: “I am not afraid of colour. I would use more colour
do like it sometimes struggle to find a client who feels the same way, possibly if given a free reign, but many clients take a lot of persuading, such as with the
because this colour can have a strong negative impact on people psychologically. red curtains in the Belgravia flat. I like monochromes with some bright colours,
Studies show that red and other colours from that part of the spectrum, but not so that they are splashed all over the walls.”
including brown, orange and pink, are people’s least favourite and red can There is a bright yellow bedspread in the youngest daughter’s bedroom at
provoke a strong physiological reaction – when a person sees this colour their the duplex and there is a bright red headboard, lamps and accessories in the
heart rate increases. It is associated with anger and danger. Drivers are more other daughter’s bedroom. The expansive lounge has bright red chairs at one
likely to want to overtake a red car than any other coloured car. The Liverpool end while bronze cushions and lampshades complement blue curtains at the
Clockwise from top left: Lounge of the ground floor apartment; penthouse, with
lounge in the background, glazed stairwell and skylight in foreground, as seen
from the dining room/kitchen; daughter’s bedroom in ground floor apartment.
expansive views can be enjoyed that take in landmarks like The London Eye and
the Swiss Re Tower, more popularly known as “The Gherkin”.
The penthouse’s lower floor has a more private feel, symbolised by secret
doors leading to a bathroom and wardrobe in one of its three bedrooms. This
floor has its own entrance, so occupants can come and go without having to
pass through the reception rooms upstairs.
other end. The lounge’s brown carpet and grey upholstered sofas hold the Colour usage also helps differentiate the two floors. The top floor is
colour scheme together but the walls are mainly white throughout, so colour predominantly grey, white and brown with a couple of pieces of red furniture.
combinations are not overpowering. Its stained oak floor, dark enough to look like wenge, is complemented by a
One set of walls that are not white are those in the master bedroom grey silk carpet in the lounge. Downstairs the walls are predominantly brown
downstairs. Here they are brown. These combine with the dark brown bed, and floors mainly grey. Textural features focus on glossy, smooth elements, like
and grey carpet and bedspread to make for a warm, calm environment. The the grey silk carpets and gold and silver-coloured cushions, complementing
glossiness of the silk carpet complements the matt walls, one of several similar coarse, matt, beige seagrass wallpaper. This apartment was styled for a bachelor.
textural combinations in the apartment. Unusually, part of the wall in the “The penthouse is designed for a man about town,” Trevor says. “It’s very slick,
neighbouring ensuite bathroom slides open, so that natural light coming into the very James Bondish.”
bedroom through large windows can filter across. Both apartments are filled with bespoke furnishings created by the designer’s
Deep in the heart of London’s diplomatic quarter, the apartment is in a company or by specifically hired crafts people, such as chairs, tables, light fittings
former embassy residence – a five-storey, white stucco Regency block that and kitchen work surfaces.
houses several other embassies. National flags adorn many buildings in the area, “I prefer bespoke, because as soon as you put in something ready-made it
their bright patterns bringing their own bit of colour to this part of the city. devalues the interior design immediately,” says the designer who finds much of
Upstairs from the apartment is the multi-million dirham penthouse duplex her inspiration in hand-crafted objects made by others.
designed by Trevor. The penthouse’s two floors have distinct roles. The open Trevor takes an architectural approach to interior design, because it is
plan top floor is designed for entertaining, and has a lounge and kitchen/dining more holistic than simply focusing on decoration. “It is essential that functional
room either side of an entrance hall and stairwell, with noise from the kitchen/ requirements are recognised and integrated fully within the aesthetic,” she says.
dining area kept out of the lounge by closing glazed, sliding doors. Daylight filters The designer may find it easy to convince clients to think about the structure
down through a large skylight above the stairwell into the apartment and more of their home and not just its decorative elements, but she is likely to continue
light enters the lounge through French doors that open out onto one of the to encounter resistance to using bright colours during this neutrals-obsessed,
apartment’s two terraces. The second terrace is on the roof above, from where late-New Elizabethan age. It is like showing a red rag to a bull. ID
June 2010 71
Paid vacations
Holiday homes are available, provided you are happy
to share them with others, and the ways and means
of doing so are widening. TEXT: RICHARD WARREN
K Club, Ireland.
June 2010 73
idProperty | INTERNATIONAL
Clockwise from above: Banyan Tree Ungasan Resort, Bali; Palheiro Village,
Feeling more optimistic following the recent economic maelstrom, and still Madeira; Pracondu Il Nendaz, Switzerland ski apartments.
dreaming of having your own holiday home? Well, you can rest assured; the
world’s property developers are becoming more innovative. To boost sluggish
sales, some developers are offering alternatives to conventional property
ownership that make holiday homes less expensive to buy.
That’s the good news. Now here’s the bad – these alternatives take a bit of
understanding and can be less reliable investments than conventional property returns are guaranteed for a limited period. Condo-hotels are found in cities
ownership. However, if you are looking for an affordable holiday home or even and holiday resorts across the world.
a bolthole in a place where you often do business, and are not too bothered Lucy Russell, managing director of buyer agency Quintessentially Estates, says
about the long-term fiscal consequences, then read on. condo-hotel investment is strongest in financial centres like London, Hong Kong
Condo-hotels, timeshare, leaseback, fractional ownership and destination club and New York, where it appeals to visiting businessmen.
membership are five alternatives to conventional residential property ownership. “If you are in a city on a regular basis and you would normally be in a hotel
Furnished and maintained by management companies, they are mostly found at room I think it works out quite well and is financially viable,” she says. “If you are
purpose-built resort communities and city centres. looking at it as a long-term investment, then I am not sure if it is the best route
Destination clubs have a portfolio of properties in various locations for to take. You may be better off buying an individual unit somewhere.”
members to use and jointly own, with beachside villas, ski chalets and city However, hotel rooms and apartments could be less expensive to buy than
apartments generally available. They are flourishing in the United States, where a one-bedroom flat, so they attract some investors. “I think also people are
they were invented, but are struggling to take hold in Europe because high much more transient than they used to be,” Russell says, “so things like hotel
annual service charges put off potential members. investments are more popular than they would have been five years ago.”
The newest destination club, London-based Safe Haven, hopes to get Buyers ought to take professional advice before investing in condo-hotels
around the service charge problem by not having it. Rather ingeniously, the cost advises Charles Weston-Baker, director at estate agency Savills. “The model can
of maintaining its portfolio of holiday homes is paid for by investment in high be good,” he says, “but like all property it is dependent on location. It needs to
yielding rental properties. Most of the club’s holiday homes are in Europe, with be somewhere with high occupancy rates.”
some others in New York, Kenya, Morocco, the Caribbean and Thailand. For a On the popular Philippines holiday island of Boracay, 56 guest apartments
minimum Dhs295,000 investment, a member enjoys at least a couple of weeks are being offered at the Continent Fairways condo-hotel at prices starting from
in a city centre apartment or a week in a large, seaside villa or ski chalet each year. Dhs404,000 and the developer, Paradisya Land, guarantees investors a 14.2
If you’re happy to settle for something smaller than a villa or apartment, then per cent rental return for at least one year. The condo-hotel is being built in the
a hotel room could be the answer. Guest rooms can be purchased at condo- grounds of the Fairways and Bluewater Golf and Country Club, which has an
hotels, which are also sometimes known as apart-hotels. A guest room or suite 18-hole golf course for investors and hotel guests to use.
owned by an investor is let out to visitors, and cleaned and maintained by the Dating from the 1960s, timeshare is the oldest alternative to conventional
hotel company in the same way as a guest room at a conventional hotel. This property ownership and in these schemes the right to use a holiday home for a
option produces an income, because it is let to other visitors, with proceeds specified length of time is offered. Timeshare is not a property purchase and has
shared between investor and condo-hotel operator. In some cases, rental been abused by fraudsters over the years, but it is very affordable.
DUBAI: Mazaya Centre • Arabian Center
idProperty | INTERNATIONAL
Clockwise from top left: Pestana Promenade Ocean Hotel resort, Madeira;
Continent Fairways, Varacay, Philippines; yooPhuket, Thailand; Regency
Country Club, Tenerife, Spain.
In Ireland, 33 fractional homes are on offer at the K Club, which counts golf,
archery and fly fishing among its attractions. Prices start at Dhs730,000 for a
completed, two-bedroom duplex apartment that buyers can use for at least
six weeks each year. Fractional owners can swap their time at this estate with
On the Atlantic holiday island of Madeira, Pestana Promenade Ocean weeks at other resorts around the world in an exchange programme run by
Hotel has timeshare apartments available, with prices starting at Dhs32,000 Interval International.
for a studio that can be used for one week a year for 15 years. Pestana’s Leaseback can sometimes be the best option for buyers with one eye on
timeshare users can exchange their weeks with it to spend time at other resorts making a profit. This allows an investor to buy a villa or apartment from a
worldwide in a programme run by Group RCI. developer and then lease it to the scheme’s management company to rent
Fractional ownership is sometimes confused with timeshare, but is quite to visitors in return for a guaranteed rental income. Investors can stay at the
different. In a fractional ownership scheme, a share of the property is purchased property for a few weeks each year or increase their rental return by not using it.
and this entitles the buyer to use it for some of the year. Normally, a fractional Leaseback originated in France, where a government-backed scheme
property has between four and eight owners, with each owner having an equal provides investors with a guaranteed rental return for up to 11 years. Most
share of the property and time that can be spent there. non-French schemes guarantee rental returns for shorter periods, often only
Russell says fractional options have been popular with buyers during the two years.
recession. “People are being more careful with their money,” she says. But leaseback properties with short guaranteed rental periods can be
“However wealthy you are, in the last year you will have cut back slightly.” problematic Weston-Baker warns. “Leaseback is often guaranteed for a period,
However, the recession killed off some high profile schemes, so buyers need but that level of return is not always realistic after the scheme ends,” he says.
to exercise caution when investing off-plan and Russell says they must ensure a “You need to be sure there is a very professional system driving visitors there.
developer can afford to finish a project and that a brand-name hotel group will You also need to be realistic about the split between what the operator and the
run its facilities. owner gets. Quality always wins.”
Charles Weston-Baker says buyers are better off purchasing a whole Banyan Tree Holdings has a leaseback scheme for investors in Bali. Investors
property than fractions of it when doing so for investment. “Buyers are paying are guaranteed an eight per cent gross return for two years and can use their
considerably more for their fractions than the divided price, so owners will property for 21 days each year at the Banyan Tree Ungasan Resort. Prices start
make less on capital appreciation, and they can be hard to sell,” he warns. at Dhs3.6 million for the 73 villas at this completed project. ID
lagranja
design
365 days of ideas and passion

Feria Hábitat Valencia / Spain
Trade Fair for Interiors: furniture / decor / home textiles / lighting
the contract sector / nude (young talent) / kitchen R, D & i workshops
idProperty | ANTENNAE
Singapore is booming and hopefully things are not be as bad as they seem in Greece, Spain, Britain,
Thailand and the United States. But who cares, June is all about the World Cup and that means South
African homes are in vogue. TEXT: RICHARD WARREN
BACK TO BLACK GREAT BRITAIN?

VOLCANIC DOWNTURN
In theory, Greek property prices ought to So is Britain a safe haven or a banana republic?
That pesky Icelandic volcano, the name of which plummet thanks to austerity measures introduced Britain’s budget deficit is heading towards a huge
nobody can pronounce, is not only bad for to erode the country’s debt mountain – higher 12 per cent, just one percentage point short of
airlines, travel agents and their customers, but taxes, lower wages, smaller pensions and fewer the Greek total, and this scares Britain’s bankers,
also for estate agents selling European holiday jobs mean less money to spend on flats and currency traders and tabloid newspaper editors
homes and investment properties. ProVenture houses. But this is Greece, so things are not – but has not fazed the Greeks. The number
Property, a company that sources German that simple. The Greek government says the of Greeks buying central London homes has
homes for investors had sales delayed when “black economy” accounts for one quarter of the doubled over the past 12 months, estate agency
buyers could not fly over from Britain because nation’s GDP. You can be sure people employed Knight Frank says, with six per cent of buyers
of the air flight ban. It expects property viewings in this sector pay little tax and rarely cut their of London homes valued at Dhs11 million-plus
by overseas investors to drop by one-third until own wages, so their money could support being Greeks trying to get their money out of
the volcanic eruptions are safely over. Still, it has property prices. Indeed, they may be the only their own imploding economy. Germans, Italians
found a way around the problem of completing Greeks who can afford to buy. So who are these and others from the troubled Euro-zone are
sales, by carrying out formalities at German people that beaver away so productively in the piling in behind them, while wealthy Chinese
embassies in investors’ home countries. Other black economy? According to the government, families are making their presence felt at London
estate agents think sales to overseas buyers could which has included its output in official GDP estate agents for the first time. They are buying
be down by half until everyone is sure they can figures since 2006 to make the nation’s budget homes so their children can be educated in
fly normally. European train passenger numbers deficit seem smaller, they are prostitutes, money British schools and “enjoy a better life”, estate
are booming, so homes close to train stations launderers and cigarette smugglers. Estate agents agents reveal. Somebody should tell London’s
may become popular with buyers now. won’t care one jot. sterling-bashing currency traders.
LION CITY ROARS
Singapore’s residential property prices will be

22 per cent higher by the end of 2010, bringing
them back to 2008 peak levels, according to
pundits. Values were already up 7.4 per cent
in the last quarter of 2009 before this year’s
surge began. Government attempts to cool
the market and a doubling in the number
SCORING A HOME of uncompleted homes offered for sale by
developers are doing little to dampen price rises.
It’s June, it’s the World Cup, it’s the month all eyes (except the eyes of those who hate football) are Fuelling all this euphoria in the property market
focused on South Africa. Making the most of this opportunity, estate agents there are urging us to spare is a mind-boggling expansion of the island state’s
a glance for all the juicy properties they have for sale. The boldest among them tell us hosting the World economy – up 32 per cent in the first quarter
Cup will give a boost to South African property values, partly because of the euphoria surrounding it, but of 2010 – its biggest leap since the government
mainly because of new infrastructure, such as better roads, that have been created to make it possible. started recording quarterly figures 35 years ago.
The hype probably exceeds the reality, but South Africa does have some lovely homes in stunning Few people fear a bubble is forming, because
locations. Aylesford International is marketing homes on the Erinvale Golf Estate in the Cape village of Singapore’s resurgence is supported by rapid
Somerset West. Prices start from Dhs10.6 million for a four-bedroom home, which has views of the sea, growth elsewhere in East Asia. The West must
vineyards and mountains. The 150-hectare estate also has an 18-hole golf course. just look on and weep.
SMALL IS SUCCESSFUL
THAI-ED MARKET
THE SAGE HAS SPOKEN Spain’s big property developers are struggling,
Thailand’s political turmoil is bad for its property with the country’s biggest holiday home
market. Estate agency Savills says its property US mortgage company Fannie Mae may want developer, Polaris World, narrowly avoiding
management arm is receiving requests from an additional Dhs30.8 billion government loan bankruptcy in the spring while other large
residents to beef up security at premises in as its losses grow and home loans continue to developers have already gone bust. However,
central Bangkok, where anti-government go bad, but some powerful figures consider the some smaller developers remain in the game.
protesters, the Red Shirts, have fought running worst is over for the housing market. The Sage In Andalucia, Surmarly Promociones, a developer
battles with the police in recent months. The of Omaha, Warren Buffett, the world’s most that specialises in small renovation projects
estate agency says images of political street successful investor, says that “within a year or so, and building individual villas, has completed its
violence broadcast around the world have put residential housing problems should be largely conversion of a 19th century “senorial home,”
off potential holiday home buyers from overseas behind us”. Others feel the same. Hedge fund Palacete Thebussem, into four two-bedroom
from coming to popular resorts like Pattaya, manager John Paulson says property prices in apartments and one three-bedroom townhouse,
Phuket and Koh Samui. Savills insists the political battered California will begin to rise this year, in the “oldest town of Europe” Medina Sidonia,
situation is better than the media makes out, setting the stage for a wider recovery. Following near Cadiz. Prices for the apartments start at
that violence is localised and it says the market the Buffet dictum that investors ought to get Dhs1.4 million. Prices started to rise month-on-
for homes bought by Thais is “performing greedy when others are fearful, the dearth month at the start of this year, but the number of
exceedingly well”. However, it concedes hotel of homebuyers in the market means bargains sales completed is half what it was at the height
occupancy levels are likely to fall. This means are available for those who look hard enough. of the market in 2007 and purchases made by
anybody looking to let out their holiday home Property marketers Experience International foreigners are at their lowest levels for a decade.
will find tenants tougher to find. Oh well, at least says homes can be bought for up to 72 per cent Deutsche Bank considers a sustained recovery
there will be more room on the beach. below recent selling prices in Florida. unlikely until 2012 at the earliest.
June 2010 79
Haute spots
The optimism created by ecologically-conscious
projects continues to light up the region as completions
and handovers continue apace. TEXT: LYNN DAVIS
HIGH HOSPITALITY
A new stratum in hospitality has been

achieved with the opening of the world’s
first Armani Hotel in Burj Khalifa, the world’s
tallest building. Giorgio Armani himself
attended the gala grand opening, which,
like his fashion collections, emanated the
timeless, refined elegance of the hotel.
Characterised by high technology and
furnishings by Armani/Casa the 160-room
hotel will be joined by 10 additional Armani
hotels and resorts, which are scheduled to
open over the next decade.
Armani Hotel Dubai.
PORTFOLIO | idProperty
Clockwise from above: Al Barari; Mohammed Bin Zaal; Kamelia Zaal.
NURTURING ENVIRONMENT we anticipate similar success for these modern spacious apartments when they
are available for leasing in mid 2011.”
At the opening of the expansive Mediterranean Garden, the first of six
uniquely themed garden venues in the multi-billion-dirham Al Barari HAPPY ANNIVERSARY
residential project, Mohammed bin Zaal, CEO of Al Barari, said: “The gardens
that form such an integral part of our development encourage outdoor living Godwin Austen Johnson (GAJ), which is celebrating its 21st anniversary in the
and enable Al Barari residents to enjoy unique landscapes within their own region this year, is opening a new office in Abu Dhabi, its third in the region.
residential environment.” With more than 80 per cent of the development The award-winning UK architectural and design practice has been responsible
reserved for botanical gardens, lakes, waterways and other open spaces, for such projects as Zayed Cricket Stadium in Abu Dhabi, the Bab Al Shams
the property, whose name means “the wilderness,” has one of the lowest Resort and the Dubai Creek Golf Club.
densities of any development in the region and is the region’s first luxury
eco-conscious development designed according to water management and FRENCH FLAIR
sustainability principles.
More than a business proposition, Al Barari is the passion of the Zaals, an The WA International-designed Sofitel, located at Jumeirah Beach Residences,
Emirati family that has combined its talents in the creation of the only private, officially launched recently. With additional properties under construction in
family owned residential development in Dubai. Zaal bin Zaal is the visionary Doha, Bahrain and Abu Dhabi, the company’s French flair merges with local
and chairman, his wife Lesley is the interior designer, his son Mohammed is the design elements to create unique, site-specific environments. The Dubai
CEO and his daughter Kamelia is the Landscape Director. property incorporates important water elements as well as accenting the brilliant
Handovers have begun with a number of families already in residence, while the stars of the desert night sky.
remaining villas of the 275-strong first phase are on track for a 2010 completion.
NEW HOMES
LIFE’S A BEACH
Handover of the 555 apartments in the MAG 218 residential tower in Dubai
Leading US architects JZMK and AN Design have designed the Saadiyat Beach Marina has commenced, with more than 70 per cent of the owners moving in
Apartments to be built near the Cultural District and Saadiyat Beach Marina themselves. The apartments have appreciated at least 10 per cent a year since
Village, which is due to open in the latter part of 2012. Lee Tabler, CEO of the the project’s inception in 2006, despite falling prices elsewhere, according to the
Tourism Development & Investment Company (TDIC), the master developer Dubai-based Moafaq Al Gaddah Group of Companies (the MAG Group), which
of cultural, residential and tourism destinations in Abu Dhabi, commented: was established in 1978 and now has 18 offices in eight countries throughout
“Following the success of the sale of phase one of Saadiyat Beach Villas last year, Europe, the Middle East and Asia.
June 2010 81
idProperty | PORTFOLIO
Clockwise from top: Exterior and interior of Rihan Gardens; Nation Towers;
Fabio Angele, owner, with barista at Italian café Brunetti.
STAR-CROSSED quarter of 2011. Solar gain is reduced in the environmentally friendly design by
wrapping the residential towers with horizontal fixed brise soleils, which add
The St Regis Abu Dhabi, the fifth of the Starwood brand’s projects under shade and provide architectural interest to the facades. Sky garden pods and a
development in the Middle East (along with Doha, Bahrain, Dubai and Saadiyat serpentine swimming pool add refreshing touches.
Island) will be located on the top of The Corniche Nation Towers, a mixed-use
development by the waterfront in downtown Abu Dhabi. Starwood Hotels SHOPPER’S HAVEN
and Resorts Worldwide currently operates more than 45 hotels throughout the
Middle East with more than 20 projects in development. With between 16,000 and 20,000 new hotel rooms entering the Dubai market
Also scheduled to debut in the UAE capital is another of the Starwood by the end of the year, and even more available on line when Abu Dhabi and
brands. The design-led W Abu Dhabi will be located on the waterfront of other emirates are included, the challenge to attract more visitors to the UAE
Al Bateen Wharf. “Abu Dhabi is an important market for Starwood as we becomes all the more evident. One major draw is the country’s reputation
continue a strong growth pace in this booming, vibrant capital of the UAE,” as a retail destination. The UAE is ranked second, behind the UK and ahead
said Roeland Vos, president of Starwood Hotels & Resorts, Europe, Africa and of the USA, in the availability of international brands, with London being the
Middle East. first-place city and Dubai ranking next, above Paris and New York, according
to CB Richard Ellis’ How Global is the Business of Retail? 2010 report.
ECO-SEEKERS Among the new offerings for shoppers and tourists is the renowned Italian
café Brunetti, which is considered one of the most popular restaurants in
The first GCC project by Sparch Designs, Rihan Heights, a 250,000 square Melbourne, Australia, known for its gelateria, cioccolateria, pasticceria and more,
metre luxury residential development, is on track for completion in the first opened in Dubai Mall. ID
Awesome Ottomans
With a long history of innovation and a well-deserved pride in
its rich history, today’s Turkish designers have created a new
strand of contemporary hotel design. TEXT: DOROTHY WALDMAN
Bosphorus Terrace Suite, Radisson Blu.
DESIGN@LARGE
From the days of Sinan, a famous Ottoman architect who designed a

number of grand buildings 500 years ago, to the award-winning Turkish
architects of today, Istanbul has been an eclectic blend of the cutting-edge fused
with tradition.
Europe’s first W Hotel, a US import that is part of the Starwood family, is an
excellent example of how different centuries and cultures can merge to make a
21st century statement. Originally built in the 1870s as living quarters for officers
of the Dolmabahce Palace, the Akaretler Row Houses in the Besiktas section
of the city had fallen into disrepair. “We started with trying to figure out how to
marry an American with an Ottoman,” says Mahmut Anlar, the hotel’s designer.
“Our expressions were Ottoman and we combined it with the contemporary.”
Keeping only the façade, the inside was recreated into a jewellery box of
a bygone era. The black Marmora marble floors of the entrance lead to the
reception desk, whose concept was based on the ornate back of a ladies’ silver
hand mirror. Crystals backlit with colourful LED lighting reference displays of
precious gems at Topkapi Palace, with an emerald-green cut glass tree stretching
across the ceiling.
Passing through billowing, transparent silver curtains evokes the sensation of
entering an exotic world, a sensation that continues into the corridors of black,
back-lit mirrored glass and squared archways illuminated with Ottoman-inspired
calligraphy, which is lit in fuchsia LEDs on the way to the 134 guest rooms.
Above an open wooden staircase leading to the restaurant level, the ceiling is a
typical Turkish pattern.
Wall panels based on eight traditional patterns, some from the 17th century
and some that date back to before the Ottoman Empire, feature on the walls,
while other walls feature contemporary, almost abstract versions of the letter
“W” – an important symbol in the local culture, in addition to being the name
of the hotel. With lighting by Tom Dixon and furniture from Moroso and B & B,
as well as custom-designed pieces such as stools where the seats are set like a
gem in a ring, the result is most definitely very 21st century.
Across the Bosphorus, on the quieter Asian side of the city, is the Sumahan,
a boutique hotel that has successfully managed to combine its historic roots
with contemporary aesthetics and, in the process, been named as one of the
world’s best hotels by the editors of Luxury Travel Magazine and won the 2010
Reader’s Award by Condé Nast Johansens and the 2009 Istanbul Tourism
Award – Creative Project.
June 2010 85
DESIGN@LARGE
Clockwise from above left: Lounge and hamam at the Sumahan hotel;
cabanas for individual rooms at the W Hotel.
This spectacular family heirloom has been given new life as a small, 20-room the über chic Angelique, which was recently redesigned by the Wallpaper
hotel. During the transformation of the mid-19th century structure, which was award-winning duo Seyhan Ozdemir and Sefer Caglar, otherwise known
originally built as a distillery, the Turkish-American architect/owners, Mark and as Autoban, who have gained recognition for creating awareness of great
Nedret Butler, mixed different eras and design elements while accentuating the contemporary Turkish design.
spectacular views of the Bosphorus from every room. Included in their vast portfolio is the design of the Vakko luxury department
Stone walls from the original structure, which had been in Nedret’s family stores, a brand encompassing fashion, interior design and fine chocolate, further
for generations, provide a sense of history and add texture, while the clear expounding today’s Turkish design ethos – a blend of the contemporary with
glass elevator and exposed steel structural beams present a contemporary a sprinkling of Ottoman inspiration. An outstanding example of this style is
counterpoint, accented by hot red seating from B & B in the street-level lounge/ the Vakko Suite of the hotel, a comfortable, contemporary interpretation of
reading room. The smooth grey Mamara marble in the traditional hamam on a traditional Turkish design. Decorated by interior designer and Ottoman art
lower level features taps by award-winning industrial designer Ross Lovegrove expert Serdar Gulgun, it features fabrics and designs custom tailored by the
and relaxing neutrals are injected with cool turquoise in the form of cushions and renowned Vakko, creating a timeless, yet regal experience.
the custom-designed place settings in the restaurant on the Bosphorous level. Interior architect Sinan Kafadar, the designer of the hotel’s interior, injected
Everything from the handmade ceramic pieces in the restaurant and lobby to unexpected dashes of colour, such as the glowing yellow in the entrance,
the bedside tables with a low rim (because Mark frequently knocked his glasses vibrant accents like the lime green chairs and mirrored panels that reflect the
on the floor during the night) was created with a purpose. Even the shower honeyed woods on the floors and walls of even the standard rooms, providing
amenities are in custom-designed packaging printed with a mini English-Turkish a fresh, very contemporary yet elegant aesthetic. Celebrating the local affinity
dictionary aimed at teaching basic words in a rather non-traditional way. for enjoying the outdoors, the StarBoard Terrace offers waterside dining
Near the Bosphorus Bridge linking the continents of Europe and Asia, on the beneath a flowing white canopy, where the predominate design feature is the
European side, in the trendy Ortaköy section of the city, is the Radisson Blu ever-changing view of boats and ferries.
Bosphorus Hotel. Though often considered a business hotel, it is located just Istanbul offers a plethora of choices that reflect and interpret its four millenia
metres from the some of Istabul’s hottest nightspots, such as Zuma and of history in a thoroughly modern way. ID
;<J@>E<M<EKALE</0#)'('
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June 8, 2010 June 9, 2010
19:00 – 21:00 19:00 – 21:00
June 2010 87
ANTENNAE
Sparch’s spectacular Shanghai International Cruise Terminal, a new cultural complex for the Southern
Taiwanese city of Kaohsiung and Pritzker Prize-winning SANAA’s acclaimed Rolex Learning Centre in
Lausanne share the spotlight in this month’s global architectural journey. TEXT: STEVE HILL
5
6 3
8
2
2. KAOHSIUNG
1. ADDIS ABABA 3. LAUSANNE
CULTURAL COMPLEX
GREEN FOR GO TIME IS RIGHT
Mecanoo’s Wei-Wu-Ying Centre for the Arts has
The British Council, the UK’s leading institution broken ground in this southern Taiwanese city. The awarding of the Pritzker Prize to Kazuyo
for cultural relations, has recently moved into The new cultural complex will be the largest Sejima and Ryue Nishizawa, who together
new offices in the Ethiopian capital which in Asia at 141,000 square metres, housing a founded Tokyo-based architectural company
showcase a commitment to environmental 2,000-seat concert hall, 2,250-seat opera house, SANAA, has focused even more attention
design. The 550 square metre resource centre a playhouse capable of accommodating an on their most recently completed work, the
is naturally ventilated using wind-catchers set into audience of 1,250 as well as a recital hall, public Dhs364 million Rolex Learning Centre. It houses
the roof structure and the mass of the building’s library and studios for music and dance. the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology and is
envelope, while the way the windows have A huge roof provides shade and protection from essentially one continuous structure spread over
been positioned in the façade minimises the solar Taiwan’s tropical climate and forms an informal a site of 88,000 square metres. The building
heat gain and the amount of energy required public space where city residents can stroll, is rectangular in plan, but appears to be more
to heat and cool the building. Sun pipes have practise Tai Chi, meditate or relax, while a park organic in shape because of the way that its roof
been installed in the roof, bringing natural light to features light slopes, valleys and water pools and floor undulate gently, always in parallel. The
the heart of the centre and saving the need for creating intimate public spaces. It is due to open main library contains 500,000 printed works
electrical lighting for most of the day. in 2013. while there is also a 600-seat amphitheatre.
5. LONDON
CREATIVE SOLUTION
Studio Seilern was forced to think in an

extremely creative manner when devising
the best way to proceed with this mixed use
4. SHANGHAI development in fashionable Mayfair. A relatively
small street frontage exists with the majority of
GOING UNDERGROUND land situated on an inner site with no natural light
at ground or lower levels. The response was to
English architectural company Sparch master-planned the site for Shanghai’s new International Cruise place a garden on the complete first floor and
Terminal. The 800 metre riverfront site recently became a new gateway to the city and, when fully to divide the complex into two volumes, with
complete, will deal with an expected passenger flow of more than 1.5 million people per year. The apartment balconies and windows being covered
project covers a total area of 260,000 square metres and features six low-rise buildings with 50 per cent in vegetation which will eventually cover the
of the development below ground. The focal point is the Shanghai Chandelier and its four architectural glass-fronted apartments. Building work is due
‘eggs’ – each weighing 750 tonnes – while sustainable features include an innovative river water cooling to begin in November and be completed in
system which, in tandem with photovoltaic membranes on the roof, will reduce energy consumption. May 2012.
IMAGE COPYRIGHT SYMBOL-RICHARD BARNES/TAMPA
MUSEUM OF ART
7. SYDNEY
6. QUEBEC
NEW TECHNOLOGY 8. TAMPA
CASCADING GALLERIES
Denton Corker Marshall has won a two- BLANK CANVAS
Due to be completed in the autumn of 2013 stage international competition to design the
is an expansion of the Musée national des Broadway Building for the Faculty of Engineering San Francisco architect Stanley Saitowitz has
beaux-arts du Québec. OMA won an and Information Technology, which will form the designed the new Tampa Museum of Art, which
international competition for a new 12,000 gateway to a revitalised University of Technology recently opened to critical praise. The 6,100
square metre structure linked underground Sydney city campus. Enveloping the building square metre building features a shimmering
with the museum’s three existing buildings. It are four tilted and skewed plates which form a pierced aluminium exterior and state-of-the-art
features a cascade of three stacked galleries series of triangular corner openings extending gallery spaces with innovative translucent ceilings
of decreasing size, capable of housing to ground level and marking the building’s and polished concrete floors. Seven expansive
contemporary exhibitions (1,500 square metres), entrances. Screens of aluminium sheets are interior galleries, one exterior sculpture gallery,
the permanent contemporary collection (950 perforated with binary code digits and this and educational classrooms equipped with the
square metres) plus design and Inuit Galleries shading will help secure a 10-15 per cent latest technology offer visitors a wide variety of
(550 square metres). The new galleries ascend operational energy saving. Concealed within are visual art experiences. The south facade features
from a park towards the city, forming a dramatic 12 floor levels above ground, with another four 1,100 square metres of LED lights, enabling it to
cantilever towards a 14 metre-high grand hall, levels below, for research laboratories, lecture become a blank canvas for public art installations
welcoming the public into the new building. theatres and offices. by digital light artist Leo Villareal of New York.
June 2010 89
DRESSING UP
Like a little girl’s twirly dress, the Skirt lamp by

Axo is inspired by fashion and the shape of
a full skirt. Made of a single layer in a vast
selection of colours or with a black
net outer skirt, almost like a reverse
petticoat, the lamp projects a light
on dressing.
Fun, funky and fantastic

Everything from African tales, honeybees and even deep-sea fish
are among the quirky sources of inspiration for designers to create
new products and improve existing models. TEXT: ANNA HANSEN
FORUM
FUNKY AND FUN
For something entirely different, Desert River has launched Filini.com, a fresh,
funky design web shop offering the GCC cool, contemporary and sometimes
rather whacky designs. Whether you pine for the illuminated Konkord stool from
the Italian SLIDE Design, eggshell-shaped Blos inflatable seating, a Freek beach
carpet or an Edison grand lamp, the growing selection of European and American
brands will truly stand out from the design crowd.
FAST FORWARD
The red dot Award for Product Design for 2010 was recently presented to
Puma for three of its innovative PowerCat football products: 1.10 football, 1.10
iFG football boot and Italy home shirt for the FIFA games. Springtech foam in the
shark-like gills on the side of the boot is engineered to enhance each kick, while the
bladed studs ensure maneuverability and smooth ground penetration.
CLEAN AIR
Jean-Marie Massaud has expanded his extensive design

portfolio with the addition of the sleek Airwake air purifier for Air
Sur. Known for his clean lines and visual weightlessness, he used
ash wood casing harvested from sustainably managed forests and
finished with soap to avoid chemical varnish. With a depth of only
141 millimetres, it will be available in the UAE at Squisito after its
official launch.
ORANGE TEA
Blending the tradition of the French tea salon

with today’s aesthetics, Salontea mixes its teas
with herbs and botanicals to create refreshing
brews and then offers them up with a line
of contemporary accessories. The vibrant
Orange Lacquer Tray is sharply square in the
signature colour contrasting with the central
graceful silhouette, which lends a zany note
to grandmother’s cuppa.
June 2010 91
FORUM
TAKE OFF Design agenda

Plane, a new bench by Hector Diego for DeLaOliva of Madrid, Spain,
Cityscape Saudi Arabia; Jeddah, June 7-9
is an aeronautical-inspired design that elevates laser cut sheet steel to a
more refined level. The soft angular lines curve to create a comfortable American Institute of Architects; Miami, June 10-12
timeless elegance while new technology creates strength and durability. Expo World Middle East; Abu Dhabi, June 14-16
Neocon World’s Trade Fair 2010; Chicago, June 14-16
Light & Design Days Conference; Abu Dhabi, June 16-17
Office Furniture Japan 2010; Tokyo, July 7-9
Trendset; Munich, July 10-12
Furnitex 2010; Melbourne, July 15-18
Manchester Furniture Show; Manchester, July 18-21
TIME TO DESIGN
A bookcase by the winners of the 2009 Normann Copenhagen’s new

talent design competition, Wai & Lanzavecchia was shown at Salone de
Mobile in Milan recently. The bookcase from the Spaziale Series, which
also includes a commode and chair, secures books, allowing them to
leave their impressions on the colourful skin, creating interplay between
the structure and content. And whenever the outer skin warrants
freshening or a change, it can be easily washed or replaced. Entries for
the 2010 competition must be in by June 16.
LIGHT IN AFRICA
Inspired by the African children’s tale Kirikou and the Sorceress,

Karaba for Bernardaud, a large votive candle designed by India
Mahdavi is engraved with a relief pattern derived from tribal
themes. The candle glowing inside accentuates the translucency
of the bisque porcelain.
June 2010
Inspirations
93
Inspirations
June 2010
Inspirations
95
BOOKS
BOOKS FCOURTESY KINOKUNIYA DUBAI MALL. PHOTOGRAPHY: NAVEED AHMED
identity’s reading list this month focuses on good design, which affects all areas of our lives including the
stores we shop in, the tools we use, the homes we live in and even the future of our planet.
INTERIORS NOW! CLIMATE DESIGN STORE & RETAIL SPACES OBJECTIVITY

ANGELIKA TASCHEN PETER BROEGE RETAIL DESIGN INSTITUTE DAVID USBORNE
TASCHEN ORO EDITIONS MEDIA GROUP INTERNATIONAL THAMES & HUDSON
DHS163 DHS172 DHS161 DHS98
A collection of intriguing interior Addressing the various aspects of Among the wide variety of winners The subtitle of this book: A designer’s
designs from around the world, this climate change and the depletion of the 2009 Retail Design Institute book of curious tools, explains the
volume offers a peek into the homes of non-renewable resources, a panel and VMSD magazine annual awards premise behind the beautifully
of some of the most renowned of international experts in fields such featured here is Kira Plastinina, an designed objects featured. Dividing
names in the industry. This includes as architecture, urban planning, opulent pink store in New York tools by their function – hitting,
the editor’s, Angelika Taschen, whose hydrology and energy discuss the aimed at teenage girls, the brainchild cutting, gripping, holding, rubbing,
white Berlin apartment has a design issues relating to sustainability. of an innovative Russian socialite, shielding, moulding, spreading
dual-personality – half in the original These involve building design which provokes a completely and testing – the author presents
1865 style, half filled with straight lines and orientation, transportation, different atmosphere from the Brown colourful illustrations and explanations
and cubic built-ins linked by a black urbanisation, carbon emissions, University Bookstore in Providence, of everyday as well as specialised
stucco corridor. Proving that size is water and food production, and Rhode Island, which won for its objects from across the continents
not a criterion for good design is the maintaining delicate eco-systems. effective renovation. The 44 retail and centuries. The earliest tools,
38 square metre flat of two Belgium Recognising that many of our current spaces in this book, all beautifully probably rocks, were used for
designers, which utilises every problems are the direct result of photographed, span the globe from hitting, while the opposite end of the
centimetre with multifunctional curved actions during the previous century, Jakarta, Indonesia, where Harvey spectrum involves testing, whether
furniture, lighting and a sense of the panel agrees that a shift towards Nichols incorporates local artisanship it is a plywood apple gauge with
humour. Contrasting the old and the sustainability is needed to influence and motifs, to the Olympic Shop at holes of various sizes once used by
new, and the glossy with the raw, the the necessary change, hopefully The Bay, a store-within-a-store in markets to ensure standardisation,
home of architect Seyhan Ozdemir by allowing these challenges to be Vancouver, Canada, where a flowing or builders’ callipers, which are used
took inspiration from his native viewed as opportunities to improve tree made of blue and white stretched to record measurements. Once
Istanbul, while an architect in Mexico the quality of life. Specific suggestions fabric was one of seven original organic used to ensure beautiful vegetables,
lives in a ferro-cement house shaped are given, such as integrating designs incorporated into this space. the glass cucumber forcer itself
like a shark. The Milan apartment agriculture into urban landscapes, Travellers may recognise World Duty is a long, elegant cylinder, while
of designer Roberto Cavalli, the 26 not only for food production but Free at London’s Heathrow Airport pharmacists pill moulds address not
rooms belonging to architects Doriana also because such projects make Terminal 5, where colour-changing only how to form the pill, but also
and Massimiliano Fuksas and a former residential areas more pleasant chandeliers and stacked video screens how to release them from the form.
Berlin air-raid bunker that has been places to live. To implement generate buying excitement. The Shields take many forms including a
converted into a light-filled home for change, the interests of consumers, Middle East is also featured, with the leather baseball catcher’s mask and a
an art collector are also featured in policy-makers and the private sector pilot Mobility store in Jeddah winning Chinese bamboo sun hat. ID
the book. must all be considered. first place in the service retailer sector. BOOKS AVAILABLE FROM MAJOR UAE BOOKSTORES
“C OM IN G H OM E”
HANDWO VEN O UTDOOR FURNITURE CREAT ED WITH WEATHER-RESISTANT D EDON FIB ER
www.dedon.de/treehouse
Nakkash Gallery · Al Garhoud Street · P.O. Box 26767 · Dubai-UAE

Tel: 00971 4 2826767 · Fax: 00971 4 2827567
nakkashg@emirates.net.ae · www.nakkashgallery.com
'('21B0DQ'RQNH\+XJB,GHQWLW\B[LQGG
ICON
Meccano
TEXT: STEVE HILL
Inspiration takes many shapes and forms, and for Sir Norman Foster and Hornby’s invention of re-usable metal strips, plates, angle girders,
Richard Rogers – two of Britain’s most celebrated architects – hours spent wheels, axles and gears, complete with nuts and bolts, very quickly became
playing as children with sets of Meccano proved crucial in deciding their hugely successful as children constructed everything from cranes and planes
eventual choice of careers. to ocean liners and trains.
Hundreds of engineers and designers around the world also had their Meccano also soon had its own magazine – a cross-marketing device
imagination fired as youngsters by a toy that Frank Hornby wanted to that today is taken for granted in any promotional campaign but which at
be educational and representative of “engineering in miniature”. The the time was visionary and innovative.
British inventor was clearly a man of vision because decades later Alex The parent company went bust in 1964 and fortunes dipped, but
Issigonis used Meccano to help figure out the transmission design of the Meccano, now fully owned by a French company, is enjoying something
original Mini. of a resurgence. Meccano and Erector sets are now sold in more than 80
Hornby’s first construction sets appeared in 1901 under the name countries while new ranges – still designed to Hornby’s original Imperial
Mechanics Made Easy, but six years later the new moniker of Meccano was measurements but now featuring Wi-Fi and Bluetooth technologies – appeal
adopted, drawn from the phrase “make and know”. In the United States, it to modern youngsters while plans were recently announced for the toy to
has been sold for almost 100 years under the Erector Set brand name. star in an animated Hollywood 3D movie. ID
Obegi Home
Umm Al Sheif Road at Jumeirah Beach Road
Umm Suquaim 1st | Dubai
tel: +971 (4) -394-8161
Obegi Better Home
Jal El Dib | Beirut
tel: +961-4-711-623
w w w. o b e g i h o m e . c o m

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The Middle East’s interiors, design & property magazine

identity ISSUE eightyone

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Tokyo-based architecture firm SANAA, winners of the Pritzker Architecture

Furniture and accessories from the Crate and Barrel

Solar City Tower.

Clockwise from left: Johnny Swing’s Butterfly Chair

Dubai Showroom 1 Dubai Showroom 2

Left to right: One of HOK’s Advanced collaboration rooms; the Melbourne

Our commitment to the environment.

Ryue Nishizawa, one half of Pritzker Prize-winning SANAA

With a product launch in Milan and a major architectural project underway

PHOTOGRAPHY: CYRILLE THOMAS, COURTESY OF SANAA

PHOTOGRAPHY: HISAO SUZUKI, COURTESY OF SANAA

Ryue Nishizawa and Kazuyo Sejima of SANAA,

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Top to bottom: Steininger’s Concrete Kitchen effortlessly blends elements of

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Deca Architecure opted for style and subtlety

Simple, uncluttered lines accentuate the magnificent views.

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FOR MORE INFORMATION, VISIT WWW.EMIRATESWOMANAWARDS.COM

Why do so many people fear colour these days? The Georgians

365 days of ideas and passion

BACK TO BLACK GREAT BRITAIN?

Singapore’s residential property prices will be

A new stratum in hospitality has been

Armani Hotel Dubai.

Clockwise from above: Al Barari; Mohammed Bin Zaal; Kamelia Zaal.

Bosphorus Terrace Suite, Radisson Blu.

From the days of Sinan, a famous Ottoman architect who designed a

Crate and Barrel Crate and Barrel

Studio Seilern was forced to think in an

Like a little girl’s twirly dress, the Skirt lamp by

Fun, funky and fantastic

FUNKY AND FUN

Jean-Marie Massaud has expanded his extensive design

Blending the tradition of the French tea salon

TAKE OFF Design agenda

Neocon World’s Trade Fair 2010; Chicago, June 14-16

Light & Design Days Conference; Abu Dhabi, June 16-17

Office Furniture Japan 2010; Tokyo, July 7-9

Trendset; Munich, July 10-12

Furnitex 2010; Melbourne, July 15-18