Design & Lifestyle Blog

15 Nov ’11

Yotel In New York, The Affordable First Class Hotel | Hotel Design

Filed under: blog,Interiors — Tags: affordable luxury, first class affordable hotel, futuristic hotel, hotel for tech savvy, New york hotels, Yotel — Sahar @ 8:00 am

The first location for the Yotel Hotel outside of Europe is on West 42nd Street and 10th Avenue in Manhattan’s theater district. The YOTEL New York at Times Square is sleek, futuristic, and compact, inspired by luxury airline travel with a hint of Japanese influence. Most of the 669 “cabins” are 170-square-foot modular spaces, except the VIP Two Cabin suites, which measure 1,100 square feet and boast 180-degree panoramic views of the city.The project on Yotel Hotel NYC involves the collaboration of Rockwell Group and Softroom – UK-based design firm, it features 20,000 sqft of flexible and dynamic entertainment space including the largest hotel terrace in the city.

Rockwell group created this particular hospitality design with a series of façade, public spaces and guest rooms which will capture the senses of travelers who are always on the go and tech-savvy. Amenities include: Automated check in and out, Free WiFi, Monsoon showers with all over body wash, Flat screen TV’s, Workstations with multi power points.

It has a fully automated check-in service featuring the Yobot – theatrically lit robotic baggage drop-off machine. There is nothing classic about the Yotel Hotel NYC from the robot porter to the different amenities and even on its design everything is contemporary.

YOTEL was created by YO! Founder Simon Woodroffe OBE and YOTEL CEO Gerard Greene. The idea was conceived by Simon after he was upgraded into first class on a British Airways flight. He decided to translate the language and the luxury of airline travel and a touch of Japanese influence into a small but luxurious cabin.

Gerard had spent years staying in boring and expensive hotels and decided to do something about it. In 2002 he met with Simon, secured funding for a prototype cabin from our partners IFA Hotels & Resorts and then pulled together a team to evolve Simons idea into reality. Together they embarked on an incredible journey to to open the first airport hotel in 2007.

Yotel

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14 Nov ’11

Artist Kyle Beans Creates Portraits From Pencil Shavings | Art

Filed under: Art & Photography,blog — Tags: art, handmade, kyle bean, pencil shavings art, Sculpture, wallpaper magazine — Sahar @ 8:30 am

British artist Kyle Bean, best known for his intricate sculptures made out of unusual materials, has created a series of portraits from colored pencil shavings for the contributors page of Wallpaper* Handmade 2011.

Kyle is a Brighton based designer specializing in hand crafted models, set design and art direction. Since graduating in 2009,he worked across a variety of platforms including installations, window displays, editorial and advertising.

His clients are: Wallpaper*, Financial Times, Diesel, Wired, New York Times, Selfridges, Hermes, Liberty, Rimmel, BBC, GQ Magazine, Rizzoli/Universe, Rubbish Magazine, HOW, Viewpoint Magazine, Casio, VMAN, Louis Vuitton, Scientific American, Intersection, Design Museum, CUT Magazine, Computer Arts.

Among his popular previous work:

One of my favorite pieces he has worked on was the chicken above, which came first, the egg or the chicken?

Kyle Bean

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11 Nov ’11

MisuraEmme Design Noir Club Restaurant | Restaurant Design

Filed under: blog,Interiors,Restaurants — Tags: hospitality, Interiors, misura emme, noir club restaurant, Restaurant design — Sahar @ 8:00 am

MisuraEmme is a leading Italian brand specialized in cabinetry, walk-in closets, and furniture. For this project in particular and which they are partners in, MisuraEmme designed Noir Club using changing LED lighting, modern seating, beautiful wall units, and mellow partitions, leaving the area open and subtle. Looking at the space, you could feel its more of a living area than a restaurant, which was the purpose in the beginning. Clubbing in a comforting environment happens to be the trend now. Tables, sofas, and wall units are all part of the MisuraEmme collection.

Noir Club

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10 Nov ’11

The Monocle Magazine Opens A Café | Restaurant Design

Filed under: blog,Interiors,Restaurants — Tags: magazine cafe, Monocle magazine cafe, tokyo — Sahar @ 8:30 am

Monocle Magazine has just opened its second store in Tokyo, which also houses its first ever café.Located in a department store targeting the male shopper, the café is just what you’d imagine from the brand: clean, understated and stylish in a contemporary yet classic way.

Furniture is designed by the Japanese brand Maruni in collaboration with Naoto Fukasawa. Coffee and sweets by Omotesando Koffee and are available to buy. The entire experience matches the needs of the discerning local male customer.

The café also follows the launch of the magazine’s new 24-hour internet radio station (which will broadcast a mix of current affairs, culture and music), which will also no doubt be a hit amongst the young male professionals that frequent the Ginza area.

It would be cool if style oriented magazines do the same, I think this is a creative idea.

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7 Nov ’11

Stone Towers In Cairo By Zaha Hadid Architects | Architecture

Filed under: Architecture,blog,Famous Designers — Tags: architecture, Cairo, Stone Towers, zaha hadid architects — Sahar @ 4:00 pm

From Zaha Hadid Architects:

Stone Towers, named for an ancient petrified tree at the heart of this new development, comprises state of the art office facilities for a rapidly expanding city, alongside a five star hotel, serviced apartments, restaurants, bars and a central landscaped area, the ‘Delta’.

Our design mediates two distinct ‘edges’ – high speed ring road to the north and residential component to the south. Deliberately pursuing a rhythm of interlocking, yet individually differentiated building forms, static repetition is avoided and structures successfully merged within a cohesive landscape.

Ancient and contemporary Egyptian stonework is referenced on building surfaces – producing external skins that respond and change under intense sunlight thanks to the use of protrusions, recesses and voids. Both sunlight and deep shadow serve to further define Stone Towers.

North Edge buildings set a strong vertical presence in response to the ring road, forming a gentle S-curve. The skewed orientation of these buildings creates two different effects when observed driving either west or east. From one direction the louvered East Façade is more prevalent. From the other, the curving, solid pre-cast façade dominates. Additionally, the building setout creates a high degree of self shading for the more transparent east and west façades. Each building follows a similar set of rules, yet is entirely unique.

South Edge buildings, adjacent to the residential development are lower in height, seeming to emerge from the landscape as a series of ribbons. They connect to the North Edge via the ‘Delta’ – a landscaped area marked by water features, cafes, retail outlets and shaded areas, which effectively weaves the entire Stone Towers composition together.

Stone Towers

Cairo, Egypt
2008 – TBC
Rooya Group
Design
179,970m²
Retail: 20,813m²
North Office Buildings: 226,163m²
South Office Buildings: 231,134m²
Hotel: 85,500m²

Set between ring road and residential area, Stone Towers avoids the monolithic repetition of static building masses – comprising higher structures, articulated through a series of ‘ripples’ to create North Edge Buildings and lower, softer ‘ribbons’ at South Edge Buildings – a central, outdoor landscape, the ‘Delta’ fusing these key elements.

ZHA

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6 Nov ’11

Frank Is A New Bank For The Young Only

Filed under: Interiors — Tags: Bank design, Bank for young people, Bank in Singapore, Frank by OCBC, Interiors — Sahar @ 4:00 pm

This has to be one of the very smart ideas a bank in Singapore has come up with.

Frank by OCDC is a bank aimed at 18-30 year olds, with services, products, and branches tailored specifically to this group’s needs. Their focus is on attracting the young by introducing a customizable bank card by selecting different colors and theme prints. Recently they introduced the Smurfs theme to their cards. By looking at the bnk design, you would sense its actually a record shop and not an actual bank.

As for the services on offer, the bank account has a management system that lets customers separate savings from their expenses – a handy tool to have for a generation struggling to find their first job while paying off their debts.

The art canvas behind the counters in the FRANK Store is created by a popular local artist known as Wong Lip Chin.

Here’s his interpretation of “FRANK”:
An artwork that depicts FRANK’s brand values of being simple, stylish and meaningful, its rawness translates honesty and a ‘no-gimmicks’ attitude. The starkly contrasting colors also represent constellations against a night sky, a symbol of the brand new way to bank.

I was wondering however, what would happen when one turned 31 years old? do the transfer the account to a different bank?

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5 Nov ’11

Abu Dhabi Luxury Landmark: Emirates Palace By Kempinski | Hotels

Filed under: Architecture,blog,Interiors,Restaurants,Travel — Tags: Abu Dhabi landmark, Emirates Palace, kempinski, Luxury resort, travel UAE — Sahar @ 4:00 pm

Emirates Palace is an iconic landmark managed by Kempinski in Abu Dhabi representing luxury at its best. It is located on sandy beach spanning 1.3 km along the shores of Abu Dhabi. The architecture and design is inspired by the Emirates culture, bragging luxurious rooms, spa, restaurants, and services. Oriental elements mark every single area of this luxury destinations.

The 394 luxury rooms and suites are nestled within traditional domes which span 85 hectares of lush landscaped gardens. In addition to the Anantara Spa, there are16 internationally renowned restaurants including Haakasan and Mezlai, the UAE’s first traditional Emirati restaurant. Emirates Palace regularly welcomes celebrities, staging world class events including the Abu Dhabi Film Festival, the Laureus World Sports Awards and concerts from the likes of Andrea Bocelli and Elton John.

The Palace continually strives to set new standards for luxury and hospitality excellence, further enhanced by the resort’s Kempinski management, “As Europe’s oldest luxury hoteliers, Kempinski understands luxury. We are known for our stunning properties, and the luxury of our signature personalized service that anticipates the needs of our guests and exceeds their expectations.”

Via: Adelto

For more images check the Hotel’s website.

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30 Oct ’11

A-Cero Design The Ultimate Dream House | Residential Design

Filed under: Architecture,blog,Interiors — Tags: A-Cero dream house, architcture, Interiors, Joaquin Torres residence, modern, residential design — Sahar @ 7:00 am

This has to be the most spectacular villa I have ever seen so far, of all the magnificent works out there, A-Cero outdid themselves with this beautiful project. I think I am over excited posting this, but I couldn’t help my enthusiasm, I am actually calling it my dream home.

This residence belongs to none other than Spanish architect Joaquin Torres himself, and is located in La Finca, a residential area near Madrid, Spain with a total area of 1700m2. It has two levels, ground floor and first floor.All the rooms are decorated with items designed by A-cero, alternating with classic designs, antiques and works of art.

The house is accessed from the outside by a door 5 meters high, flanked by two wooden blinds in the center, a rim of Jerez well, dating from the seventeenth century of Marita Segovia, handmade carpets from Turkey, orange-white and black picture of Mercedes Rodriguez Parrizas. On the right pedestal, So-fha sculpture from the Thailand gallery of Antonio Martin. The decorations in the home are in an open dialogue between classic and contemporary.

The living room window of 15 meters, lies on the floor automatically, leaving open to the terrace.

The living room is the most public place of the house where the client receive the guests, a large space with a considerable height. The decoration carried out by the department of interior design of A-cero, as throughout, features pieces of their own design that coexist with more traditional elements:

A-cero designed the sofas, executed by Manama, upholstered in white silk. Coffee tables design by A-cero, made by Herranz Brothers in DM with high gloss and white lacquered sheet steel for the inside.

Two Mies Daybed, Barcelona model in white. India silk white carpet of Naim.

The kitchen is also designed by A-cero, executed by Aries kitchens in high gloss lacquered with DM in white, gray and countertops of graphite and gray Corian . A large central island of white Corian, which ends in a flight of 5 meters serving as a dining area /office. Appliances are from Siemen.

On their blog, A-Cero describe the details and the process of the works on this beautiful work of art. You can check photos as well of the work process.

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