November 08, 2011, 3:48am
May 13, 2010, 9:56pm
Travel: Mandarin Oriental Hotel (Barcelona)
The latest hotel launch capturing design media attention is Mandarin Oriental Barcelona. The Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group operates in 25 countries, but this is its first entry into southern Europe. Mandarin Oriental Barcelona’s official opening was celebrated in November 2009 with a lavish gala attended by the city’s style leaders and elite.
The hotel’s cool factor is a lucky combination of three elements: The convenience of the central location on Passeig de Gràcia, the good bones of the refurbished 20th-century former bank building, and most significant, the tour de force of design by Spanish-born Milano-based architect, Patricia Urquiola, responsible for the interior decor of the 98-room hotel, including most of the furnishings.
Urquiola is best known for her prolific career in designing clean-lined furniture and accessories for brands such as Foscarini, B&B Italia, Alessi, Capellini, Cassina, Knoll and Moroso. At Mandarin Oriental Barcelona she has created a strong sense of timeless elegance by using white confidently and lavishly, and by applying a Scandinavian sense of scale and clean lines.
To soften the linear angularity, Urquiola added beautiful touches that reflect the weightlessness and precious fragility of origami or intricate lace. The overall effect is stunning. - Tuija Seipell
April 30, 2010, 3:02am
Architecture: Murdock Young
Murdock Young practices an architecture of pragmatic response. Creative exploration and thorough investigation of the essential facts and distinctive possibilities of each site and client’s needs lead to organic, apt, and inevitable solutions that are true to their time and place. Whether architecture, interior, furniture, object, or landscape, the firm guides every project from conception to completion with passion and commitment. Each design decision integrates aesthetic and contextual imperatives with those of budget, program, materials, technology, and construction techniques.
April 29, 2010, 11:52pm
Architecture: The Vivienda 19 House by A-cero
Description by A-cero:
The structure of this new house is made of clear volumes, straight lines and simples shapes. The house’s front is made of marble travertino and there are many windows in it. Both elements give a lot of lightness to the house.
It has a 1.600 m2 surface and three floors (basement, ground and high floor). The structure adapts itself to the slope (4000 m2) where the house is. The garage and service spaces are in the basement, while the most public spaces (lounge, dining room, living room …) are in the first floor. Bedrooms and more private rooms are in the high floor. A-cero has designed also a 80 m2 spectacular and geometric swimming pool. It harmonizes with the clean architecture of this A-cero project.
April 28, 2010, 2:15am
April 28, 2010, 1:52am
April 28, 2010, 1:51am
April 28, 2010, 1:50am
