The Luxury Collection Hotels & Resorts group has planned a "Super Vintage" wine auction weekend at the incredible Frank Gehry-designed Hotel Marqués de Riscal in Rioja, Spain in October. To celebrate 150 years of the region's famed wines, the culinary-themed weekend will culminate in a gala dinner and charity auction of local vintages conducted by Christie's - including the Riscal Superlot, a single lot consisting of 131 bottles dating back to 1862, proceeds from which will go to UNICEF. Details on the once-in-a-lifetime event, which will take place from Oct. 24-26, can be found here.
You can now monitor progress on Frank Gehry's amazing Hall Winery project in the Napa Valley via a live video feed. Last year my colleague Deidre Woollard told you about the ambitious plan for the new facility built around the original 1885 winery south of St. Helena. Progress is proceeding apace on the project, which artfully blends avant-garde architecture with existing historic structures. The live cam is the latest addition to the Gehry plan web features, which include a project gallery and time-lapse camera showing progress to date. Hall's new 110,000-square-foot complex of six buildings, which broke ground last summer, is slated to open in 2010. Pictured above is Gehry (center) and associate Edwin Chan (left) with winery owners Kathryn and Craig Hall (right) discussing the architect's model for a new Visitor's Center, an all-glass structure supported by a "floating" trellis overhang. See the gallery for more.
Every edifice ever built by rationalist architect Richard Meier -- and then some - is featured in a new mega monograph about to be published by Taschen: Richard Meier & Partners: Complete Works 1963-2008. The extra-large $150 volume showcases Meier's entire career to date, including such stunning commissions as the Getty Center in Los Angeles, the City Hall and Library at the Hague and the beauteous Southern California beach house pictured above. Meier, one of the world's top architects - or "starchitects" as he and a select few of his contemporaries such as Frank Gehry and Rem Koolhaas are known - has an insatiable appetite for large swaths of white, but it works (to say the least). Meier will be at Taschen's New York store to sign copies on June 3rd from 6 - 8 p.m. You can preview the book in the gallery below.
Brandt Andersen, the handsome young owner of the Utah Flash basketball team is not short on money or daring. City officials in the town of Lehi, Utah (30 miles away from Salt Lake City) have approved the plans for Andersen's $2 billion residential and entertainment complex. a home for the team and much, much more. The complex is designed by starchitect Frank Gehry and sprawls over 85 acres that include an amphitheater, hotel, shopping center, restaurants and residences. The 450-foot-high hotel will be the tallest building in Utah. Groundbreaking is sets for 2008 and the arena is scheduled to be ready for the Utah Flash's 2009-10 season.
We swooned over Frank Gehry's designs for the Marques de Riscal winery/resort in Spain, now the legendary starchitect has something a bit more modest planned for a Napa winery. The above is Gehry's design for Hall Wines which is creating a new complex of six buildings on Highway 29, south of St. Helena. The facility had its groundbreaking on Friday and will be built around a historic winery built in 1885 that was once home to Napa's wine co-op. The new design includes undulating wood trellises similar to Gehry's usual metal flourishes. The wood gives the winery a slightly more traditional look. The new winery should be open in 2009 and will be open to the public for tours and tastings.
Looking like it's been poured into position, the Wiggle Chair was designed by architect Frank Gehry back in 1972 as part of the "Easy Edges" series that incorporates unusual materials, such as cardboard, in furniture. Comprised of approximately 60 layers of cardboard held together with hidden screws and a fiberboard edging, the complete "Easy Edges" series includes (in addition to the Wiggle Chair) a Side Chair, Dining Table, and Low Table Set. Made in Germany for Vitra, the Wiggle Chair is available in natural or white edge finishes and goes for $875.
A few weeks ago when I was on Grand Avenue in Los Angeles with a friend attending an exhibit at the MOCA, we got to talking about Frank Gehry's plans for the blocks around Disney Hall. Gehry's designs for Grand Avenue are supposed to help this part of downtown Los Angeles complete its transition into the land of the luxe. The plan just got another boost. Related has announced that the Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group will manage the hotel that will occupy the first 20 floors of Gehry's 48-story tower. The upper floors will be luxury residences. The 275-room hotel is expected to open in 2010. Perhaps by then people will be more willing to stay downtown.
World renowned architect Frank Gehry catapulted onto the scene with his Guggenheim in Bilbao. The landmark museum set about a revival of the Basque city and is now one of the countries top attractions. Beginning in September, it loses the title of Spain's only work by Gehry. That's when the Hotel Marqués De Riscal opens in the Rioja wine region. The hotel is classic Gehry, with layered steel and copper panels swirling around a central structure. The hotel will have 43 rooms with views of the surrounding vineyards and modern amenities and service provided by Starwood's Luxury Collection. A rooftop bar and lounge will ready guests for gourmet delights at the restaurant which promises to be gastronomic delight. I can't think of anywhere I need to be in September, so I guess I'll just go ahead and book it.
I have been steadily watching Abu Dhabi in the United Emirates as it emerges onto the world stage, transitioning toward a Dubai-like opulence. The latest move for Abu Dhabi is the announcement that the Guggenheim Foundation will create a new museum there for modern and contemporary art. The Guggenheim Abu Dhabi will be designed by Frank Gehry. It will be the only Guggenheim in the region and the largest worldwide. It is expected to be completed in 2011 and will be built on Saadiyat Island.
The Frank
Gehry-designed jewelry collection for Tiffany won’t be released until next month, but Style.com has what appears
to be some of the first pics of the architect’s designs. Prices start at $125 for the line—dubbed The Gehry
Collection—with rings, bracelets, necklaces, and studs available in silver, ebony and agate.
