The Paris Motor Show kicks off today but will be open to the public on October 2nd, 2010, but here is a glimpse of what to expect from car manufacturers worldwide featuring over 300 models from 20 countries at the Porte de Versailles exhibition center.
Over 100 world premiers are promised by the global car manufacturers to be revealed in this 2-week biennial international event.
Pierre Koukjian is an award winning Lebanese painter born in Beirut in 1962. He left Lebanon in the mid 1970’s when the civil war broke out. He worked in jewelry making in numerous workshops around Europe and was really good at it until he discovered his passion for painting. He painted as a hobby at first and many clients requested to keep some of his paintings, most of his early ones are owned by celebrities. In 2002, Pierre Koukjian launched delaCour atelier, gaining immense amount of artistic freedom.
These are some photos from Day one of Feria Habitat Valencia, Please bear in mind these are taken with a Blackberry, for those who couldn’t attend see what’s new and renewed , the photos here are of items from Kettal, Kartell, Andreu World, Moroso, B&B Italia, and more, Enjoy!
SIGG have partnered with Vivienne Westwood to provide an eco-friendly alternative to plastic water bottles at fashion shows. Available only in a limited qty. in selected stores, the SIGG Webshop as well as in Vivienne Westwood stores. She designed the limited-edition reusable bottles with SIGG for her Fashion Week guests.
Unveiled at the Spring/Summer 2011 presentation of Vivienne Westwood Red Label at London Fashion Week, the bottle is the third and final design in the Westwood’s SIGG series
Emblazoned on the bottle is a call to stop climate change, one of Westwood’s pet causes.
Today the Feria Habitat Valencia starts, it takes place in Valencia, Spain. This is an annual exhibition mainly for interiors comprising of most trades that fall under this category. Among the exhibitors :
Andreu World: They will present their latest chairs and on On September 28th the prize awards of the 10th International Design Contest will be celebrated at the Andreu World stand at 13:30pm.
Artemide will showcase their latest in lighting , Saint Honore ,and Andrew Martin will present their latest Fabrics & textiles. For the full list of exhibitors you can press this link.
McDonald’s is undergoing a process of redesign. What is more important than design itself is its study for exploring more sustainability in certain locations.The chain’s first self-proclaimed “green” restaurant, located in Chicago, is LEED Gold-certified, while a North Carolina location features Charge-Point electric vehicle charging stations. And in Brazil, Chile, and Argentina, 270 McDonald’s restaurants deliver used oil to be converted into biodiesel.The packaging however still has a long way to go. Most McDonald’s packaging is paper-based and can be composted,yet still haven’t found biodegradable materials that don’t retain heat.McDonald’s can never truly claim to be green as long as it sells meat products–the average Holstein cow produces up to 180 kilos of methane each year. Ultimately, cows produce 18% of all greenhouse gas emissions, and the meat industry is one of the leading contributors to climate change.
The new ‘design’ concept is revolving around the idea of a community center, a place for young people to hang out especially since slow food is the trend now with more attention on the eating experience itself as opposed to gulfing food down. France was the first country to have a redesigned McDonald’s. All the plastic will be replaced with clean and modern lines, wood, brick and softer lighting from modern lamps. The signature mansard roof is being replaced by a flat roof topped and a newly designed golden sloping curve. The emblematic red and yellow colors will be revamped to terra cotta, olive and sage green.All this with the aim of attracting more adults and young professionals to their customers.
“ Each new situation requires a new architecture.” Jean Nouvel
Jean Nouvel is a name synonymous with bold architecture and creativity beyond the ordinary with concentration on incorporating buildings and landscape within their surroundings. Jean Nouvel is now a name not only known to architects, but among the general public as well.
Educational, Cultural, & Entertainment Center, Kuwait
It would have been a great achievement if this project was realized, Kuwait lacks impressive and meaningful architecture similar to the projects Jean Nouvel has been providing in the other Gulf countries. In 2004 Ateliers Jean Nouvel , Pritzker Prize-winning architect, along with SSH International won the International competition for the Educational, Cultural and Entertainment Center in Kuwait City. Bartproject were the digital media bureau hired to do the animation for this project. The main aim of this animation is to render, in just 3 minutes, the architectural complexity and atmosphere of some of the key places of this huge city centre project. The 135.000 m2 complex includes a concert hall,cinemas,shops,restaurants and recreational facilities, a business center, a technology school, and a 25-hectare park.The location of the project was on Abdullah Al Ahmed Street close to Heritage village, a project whose destiny is also unknown. It was supposed to start in June 2005, 5 years later we know nothing about the project. Its a shame, it would have been great to associate the works of such a great architect with a center in Kuwait. Abu Dhabi and Qatar now have a few projects by Jean Nouvel that are being realized and making the news on most architecture and design sites.
The “supposed” location for the project:
National Museum- Qatar
Qatar Museum Authority and Jean Nouvel unveiled plans for the new National Museum of Qatar. The cultural center is inspired by the desert architecture and lives of the Bedouin culture as well as a deep-seated respect for the hot desert climate. The new museum will be the first monument travelers see from the airport and the sustainable design of the complex and surrounding landscapes will help prove Qatar to be a forward-looking country. The museum is presently closed during construction with an anticipated reopening in late 2013.The entire complex will seek LEED Silver certification (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design), relying mostly on traditional building practices to create shady and cool areas with thermal buffer zones. The interlocking disks of the building will provide deep overhangs for outdoor promenades and minimize the transmission of heat into the interior spaces. Steel and concrete will be the main building materials, both of which will be sourced locally.
Source and source
I personally am always in search of references for the best of everything, that’s one of the reasons I refer to Nathaniel and Andrew Lande’s expertise, experience, and reviews. Below is a list of their selection for the best coffees,a review which was done in 2008. Coffee lovers will criticize, as this is a matter of taste, as the case is with all gourmet food and beverage items. Although the brands listed are American brands, as we all know the bean origin varies from continent to another. Bring your cup and enjoy !
1- Peet’s Coffee
Each day they hand-roast 32 varieties of coffee in small batches then ship them within 24 hours to give the freshest, most deeply flavored cup of coffee possible.Peet’s sample each batch to make sure the roast tastes just right. www.peets.com
2- Terroir
They specialize in medium roast styles that bring out the character of the green coffee. They sell only single origin coffees no blends. Terroir™ freezes its green coffee in nitrogen flushed containers. The reason behind this strategy is because they believe that one should not blend truly fine coffees, just like one does not blend fine wines, because they are already complete statements.
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