Architecture & Design

Sleep with Rolex & Patek Philippe at Florence's Luxe L'O - Hotel L'Orologio

by Jared Paul Stern (RSS feed) — Apr 16th 2011 at 9:01AM

Under the patronage of new Italian luxury hotel group Whythebest, one of Florence's hippest and best-hidden boutique hotels is getting set to welcome the fashion crowd to the city this summer during the Pitti Uomo men's shows.

L'O - Hotel L'Orologio is unique in being inspired by the prestigious world of international high-end watchmaking as well as by owner Sandro Fratini's personal collection of over 2,000 vintage timepieces. If you appreciate haute horlogerie – and what man of style doesn't? – it's hard to imagine wanting to stay anywhere else.

Tags: Florence, Italy, luxury hotels, Patek Philippe, Rolex, Whythebest Hotels

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The $60 Million iPad-Controlled Gulfstream G550 Private Jet

by Jared Paul Stern (RSS feed) — Apr 1st 2011 at 8:01AM

Spain-based industrial designer Stefan Radev has given the $60 million Gulfstream G550 private jet a makeover, including cool iPad controls à la P. Diddy's Solemates superyacht. From the exterior livery to the seating arrangements, Radev's design scheme is simple, elegant and ergonomic. It's also full of eco-friendly touches like bamboo woodwork.

Natural light is emphasized in the airy interior design with oversized oval-shaped windows and neutral tones complementing the bamboo in an open-plan layout equally suited to working or lounging. iPads and iPods also control the various climate and entertainment functions for the passengers. It's just a concept at this point, but easily made real with enough money.

Gallery: Gulfstream G550 iPad Concept

Tags: Apple, Gulfstream, Gulfstream G550, interior design, iPad, iPad jet, iPad yacht, private jet, private plane, Stefan Radev

Refresh, Rehab, Revive: A New Facelift for The Old Hollywood Roosevelt

by Susan Kime (RSS feed) — Mar 29th 2011 at 9:01AM

Since 1927, the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel has been the local meeting place of bygone luminaries, including Clark Gable, Carole Lombard, Marilyn Monroe and Montgomery Clift. Monroe stayed when her career was just emerging, while Monty stayed during some of the filming of From Here to Eternity.

The hotel itself was named after Theodore Roosevelt, who provided some of the initial funding for the star-studded spot. It was also the first place where the Academy Awards were held.

Within our century, this was the hotel where Prince stayed in 2007, where Michelle Pfeiffer sang on a piano in the film, The Fabulous Baker Boys, and where one of the last episodes of Entourage was filmed.

And as for location, it is right in the middle of classic Hollywood: located on the Hollywood Walk Of Fame, across from Grauman's Chinese Theater.

Yet, like any 80-year-old Hollywood star, the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel, now owned by Thompson Hotels, needed to refresh and renew -- and recently, after a reported $35 million facelift, this process is complete. The 300-room hotel is again ready for the spotlight, with the redesign of the Cabana Rooms as well as the debut of three unique entertainment venues: Public Kitchen & Bar, The Spare Room and Beacher's Madhouse.

Tags: Beachers Madhouse, Cabana Rooms Hollywood Roosevelt, David Hockney underwater pool mural, Hollywood Roosevelt History, Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel, hotel, old Hollywood, old Hollywood hotels, Studio Collective Design Firm, The Spare Room ThompsonsHollywood Roosevelt Hotel, Thompsons Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel, Tropicana Pool

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The Best of Architecture Meets Interior Design in 'America's Finest Rooms'

by Jared Paul Stern (RSS feed) — Mar 25th 2011 at 10:01AM

Refinement is not about expense, notes Thomas Jayne in his new book "The Finest Rooms in America," a definitive, luxuriously illustrated record of the country's best interior design from the 18th century to the present day. Jayne, a top-drawer interior designer and scholar of American decor, includes a complete cross section of rooms covering a broad range of American periods and styles, beginning with the Tea Room at Thomas Jefferson's Monticello.

Tags: American design, American interiors, architecture, best design books, best interior design, best+interior+design+books, bestinteriordesignbooks, books, coffee table books, decor, deign books, Frank Lloyd Wright, George Washington, interior designer, Los Angeles, Monticello, Mount Vernon, Oscar de la Renta, The Finest Rooms in America, Thomas Jayne, Thomas Jefferson, Vizcaya

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Herman Miller Sayl Ergonomic Work Chair Review

by Ariel Adams (RSS feed) — Mar 11th 2011 at 11:01AM

This is my third Herman Miller chair and I am beginning to notice a trend - Herman Miller makes pretty darn good chairs. I am not exactly the don of places to sit, but I have sampled an awful lot of chairs in my life. So why is it that I put chairs like those that Herman Miller offers on a pedestal? Well the reasons are pretty simple actually. They want their chairs to be well-made, comfortable, and aesthetically pleasing. Does that sound like a simple formula? It is, but at the same time chairs are one of the most complex pieces of furniture to make - especially an ergonomic desk/work chair. As I spend more time learning about good chairs and how they are designed, I am impressed by the ingenuity and details that is taken into consideration when designing something new. This is despite the fact that chair designers have so much to look to for inspiration. There are also a lot of really bad chairs out there, so that is something to think about when planning where to plant your rear.

This is the Sayl, and it is Herman Miller's newest family of work chairs. I say family because in addition to being available in various colors and trims, the chair itself is literally available in a lot of different styles with various options, etc... What each of the Sayl chairs share is the "suspension" style chair back with the "Y" frame design. This design is based loosely on the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco where chair designer Yves Behar lives. I too live in San Francisco, and wouldn't have seen the design connection unless you explained it to me - but now I see it, and smirk at the similarity between the back of the chair and the curve of the cables from the bridge's suspension towers.

Tags: chair, desk, herman miller, office, review, sayl, work, yves behar

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Designer Conversations: Design Gurus Talk Luxury, Good Design and More

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) — Mar 5th 2011 at 2:01PM

What do some of the world's top designers think about the future of design? We've rounded up a few videos with interviews from some of our favorite names. In the video above Alberto Alessi, head of Alessi and one of our favorite designers of charming home decor, ponders whether or not good design is a luxury.

Tags: alberto alessi, andrew spade, jack spade, thom browne, yves behar

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EXCLUSIVE: Ralph Lauren to Exhibit Car Collection Classics for the First Time

by Jared Paul Stern (RSS feed) — Feb 25th 2011 at 8:02AM

Images exclusive to Luxist, courtesy of Ralph Lauren; click for high-res gallery

Some of the most precious gems in famed fashion designer Ralph Lauren's incredible car collection will be exhibited for the the first time ever in Paris this spring. Lauren's collection, in our opinion the finest one in private hands on the planet, features impeccable examples of the rarest and most valuable vehicles in the world. We can reveal exclusively that four of his exquisite automotive works of art, which have never before been seen in public, will be on view at the Musée des Arts Décoratifs in Paris from April 28 – August 28: a 1964 Ferrari 250 LM; a 1960 Ferrari 250 GT SWB Berlinetta Scaglietti; a 1956/1958 Jaguar XKSS; and a 1931 Alfa Romeo Monza 8C 2300.

13 other Lauren cars will also be on display during the exhibit, entitled The Art of the Automobile: Masterpieces from the Ralph Lauren Collection, including an amazing 1958 Ferrari 250 Testa Rossa (above), a 1962 Ferrari 250 GTO, and a 1938 Bugatti 57 SC Atlantic Coupé. The last two alone are worth about $30 – $40 million each, and are among the world's most expensive cars. The Paris exhibit will focus on European models created between the 1930s and the 1990s, "illustrating the evolution of car design in the 20th Century." They were selected by curator Rodolphe Rapetti and will be arranged by scenographer Jean-Michel Wilmotte, with the "kinetics" and sound of the vehicles conveyed by means of various films and recordings. The museum will also be producing a luxe book to celebrate the occasion.

Gallery: Ralph Lauren's Cars Headed to Paris

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Classic Works Of Art To Go On Display In Oscars Greenroom

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) — Feb 22nd 2011 at 11:01PM

The Academy Awards take place on Sunday February 27 and once again Architectural Digest is hosting a well-appointed "greenroom" for the celebrity attendees. Fine art dealer Questroyal Fine Art of New York City has announced that six of its painting are part of the Architectural Digest greenroom at the Oscars. Designer Michael S. Smith, who was tapped by the Obamas to create the look for their family quarters at the White House, went for a classic American look inspired by luxe, tailored 1940s Hollywood style. He used furnishings from his personal line with Baker Furniture and handpicked six paintings from the Questroyal collection to decorate the room.

Tags: architectural digest, michael s smith

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Converse And Marimekko Launch Sneaker Collaboration

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) — Feb 18th 2011 at 11:01PM

The partnership between Finnish textile and clothing design house Marimekko and shoe purveyors Converse is now online. The "Converse ♥ Marimekko" collaboration brings us Converse classics pepped up with the bright and boldly abstract Marimekko fabrics. In the video above Marimekko's design manager, Noora Niiininoski, explains that the brands are a natural fit for each other because they both have a timeless style. The new spring line ranges in price from $75 to $85. Marimekko seems to have an infinity for American brands, it also has a long-standing deal with Crate and Barrel.

[via Curbed]

Tags: converse, conversion, Marimekko

Brit Insurance Design Awards Finalists Go On Display

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) — Feb 17th 2011 at 1:01AM

The Brit Insurance Design Awards are called "the Oscars of the design world" and showcase some of the world's most intriguing offerings in seven categories: architecture, fashion, furniture, graphics, interactive, product and transport. Items from the shortlist for this year's Brit Insurance Design Awards are on display in an exhibition at the Design Museum in London and include everything from Swarovski chandeliers to the popular Angry Birds game. Shown above is a new chair design called 'Spun' by Thomas Heatherwick. The overall winner will be chosen on March 15 but the exhibit runs until August.

Tags: angry birds, brit design awards, design, plumen, yves behar

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Intelligence Made Visible: Travel + Leisure Design Awards 2011

by Susan Kime (RSS feed) — Feb 15th 2011 at 9:01AM

Great design is intelligence made visible, but great travel design must take this idea to the next level -- it can't just look pretty, it has to combine functionality, strength, and ease of use. Those of us who travel do NOT have time for things that don't work, aren't strong, and don't make our lives easier while on the road.

For seven years, the Travel + Leisure Design Awards have rewarded companies, products, hotels, innovators, and innovations of every type with recognition and gratitude in making the travelers lives better and their travel expereience more memorable. In addition, an overall Design Champion is named.

"The 2011 Design Awards underscore and celebrate the significant impact that good design has on travel," said Nancy Novogrod, Editor-In Chief of Travel + Leisure. "Our judges are not T+L Editors. The jurors look for exceptional function, unqiue statement and inventive reinterpretation."

The panel of jurors include:

David Childs, chairman emeritus, Skidmore, Owings, & Merrill
Paulette Cole, CEO and creative director, ABC Carpet & Home
Fred Dust, partner, IDEO
Norma Kamali, fashion designer
Danny Meyer, CEO, Union Square Hospitality Group
Nadja Swarovski, creative director, Swarovski Crystal
Henry Urbach, curator of architecture and design, San Francisco Museum of Modern Art
T+L's Consulting Design Editor Chee Pearlman was the jury moderator.

Winners of these seventh annual awards represent the best new examples of design in a range of categories from hotels and transportation to luggage and travel fashion. They will be honored at the New World Center in Miami on February 23rd.

Below is a list of the Travel + Leisure Design Award winners:

Best Large Hotel: The Yas Hotel (see above) in Abu Dhabi,UAE, is set half on land and half on water, overlooking the Yas Marina & Yacht Club and positioned on the Yas Marina Circuit, which plays host to the annual Formula 1™ Etihad Airways Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

Tags: 11 11 Lincoln Road Miami, Amangiri, Apple iPad, Ashmolean Museum, Ashmolean Museum Oxford, Bowers Wilkins PS Noise-Isolating Headphones, Brussels, FreeCity Supershop Supermat, Hussen Chalayan, Jambox Portable Speaker by Jawbone, Nissan LEAF, Norwegian Cruise Line Epic Studios, Norwegian Cruise Lines, Pantone Hotel, Pantone Hotel Brussels, Patagonia M10 jacket, Patagonia Ultralight Down jacket, Snow Peak Hozuki Lantern, Table 1 Shanghai, The Nissan LEAF, Travel + Leisure Design Awards, Travel + Leisure Magazine, Tumi Vapor Collection, Urban Mobility Pack by Puma, Yas Hotel Abu Dhabi, Yas Marina and Yacht Club, Yas Marina Circuit

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The Dramatic Plans For Greenland's New Museum

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) — Feb 12th 2011 at 2:06AM

Greenland will soon get a new museum. Arch Daily reports that the team of BIG + TNT Nuuk + Ramboll Nuuk + Arkitekti won the competition to design the new National Gallery of Greenland in the country's capital Nuuk. The circular design will be perched on a steep slope overlooking one of Greenland's beautiful fjords. This design was chosen out of six proposals from Nordic architects.

The new museum will combine historical and contemporary art. The gallery surrounds an interior sculpture garden. The external façade of white concrete is expected to acquire a patina over time, a weathered surface meant to contrast with the sleek glass interior. The circular shape of the gallery also allows for different divisions of the exhibits. Visitors will enter through a covered opening created by a slight lift in the façade into a lobby with a view towards the sculpture garden and the fjord.

Tags: architecture, greenland, museum, nuuk

Asia's Best Design Hotels

by Carrie Coolidge (RSS feed) — Feb 9th 2011 at 10:31AM

Modern architecture-loving travelers will love the destinations featured by our friends over at Departures . The magazine took a look at Asia's coolest design hotels, which are some of the most impressive properties in Shanghai, Bangkok, Hong Kong and Singapore. These properties are "sleek super towers and seemingly impossible, imagination-defying structures" according to the luxury magazine that is published by American Express publishing.

Today's Asian luxury hotels are influencing Western hotels, while once it was the opposite, according to Edwin Heathcote, architectural critic for the Financial Times. The most significant new hotels each have something that is memorable, the Departures piece explains. In some, it's the restaurant that's the most memorable; in others, it's a soaring sky bar or a penthouse suite. In others it is the structures themselves that are redefining skylines.

Hong Kong
According to Departures, Hong Kong has also opened itself up to a host of contemporary international architects who have put their stamp on the city, from Foster + Partners to Cesar Pelli to I. M. Pei. Recently, at the 117-room Upper House (from $425), local Andre Fu-known for doing the home of actress Michelle Yeoh-has created an ideal, almost spiritual, balance of uncluttered spaces. "The design is not Asian in a literal manner," Fu told Departures, "but it reflects a subtle Asian sensitivity." He has achieved this with pools of water, bamboo enclosures, natural timber, shoji glass, limestone and lacquered paper panels. Additional design highlights include the Sky Bridge on the 49th floor, which crosses a 130-foot-high atrium; the hotel's Bedonia stone façade (see photo above) by one of Britain's hottest architect-designers, Thomas Heatherwick; and freestanding bathtubs with panoramic harbor or island views.

Tags: architecture inspired clothing, art+deco+hotels+asia, artdecohotelsasia, Asia, asia+hotels, asiahotels, Bangkok, best+hotels+in+the+world+with+photos, besthotelsintheworldwithphotos, coolest+design+hotels, coolestdesignhotels, Departures, departures+design+hotel, departuresdesignhotel, design hotels, Hong Kong, hotel+designers, hoteldesigners, hotels, michelle+yeoh, michelleyeoh, modern+architecture, modernarchitecture, new+design+hotel+2011, newdesignhotel2011, Shanghai, Singapore

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Intermarine 55 by BMW DesignworksUSA

by Noah Joseph (RSS feed) — Feb 7th 2011 at 6:01PM

Following similar collaborations with the Bavaria shipyard, BMW DesignworksUSA has teamed up with Brazilian boatmakers Intermarine on a new cockpit motoryacht.

Called the Intermarine 55, the vessel carries three cabins and two bathrooms on board, amongst the other amenities. BMW's design team has focused on a light and airy feel to the yacht, with plenty of exterior deck space while incorporating innovative design cues from their core competence as car designers. See for yourself in the high-resolution image gallery below.

Gallery: Intermarine 55 by BMW DesignworksUSA

Tags: BMW DesignworksUSA, Intermarine, Intermarine 55, Intermarine 55 by BMW DesignworksUSA

Stefano Pilati Designs The Opium Experience: A New YSL Retail Space At Crystals, Las Vegas

by Susan Kime (RSS feed) — Feb 7th 2011 at 8:01AM

"I call it the opium experience," Stefano Pilati, Creative Director of Yves Saint Laurent, and of the Yves Saint Laurent's boutique retail space design. Opium is the name of the amber/reddish lacquer of the ceilings and wall panels. It is, serendipitously, also the name of the French brand's legendary perfume.

Las Vegas has two YSL Boutiques, but the one at City Center is the first to be designed in the Stefano Pilati style. Only two other YSL stores in the US feature this design at present. Historically, the store design was unveiled back in 2008 at the beginning of Paris Fashion Week. It was Pilati's hope that the design would become iconic enough to be recognizable without any logo.

"I wanted to do something that was timeless," Pilati said in an interview back then, " where the design had to go beyond my era at Saint Laurent: it had to be contemporary, with a strong, identfiable identity."

Tags: citycenter, CityCenter Las Vegas, stefano pilati, yves saint laurent

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