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| Fri 05 Dec 2008 |
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Tag: London
These items have all been tagged with the tag "London", You can see other tags in the Tag Cloud| London's Hottest Event Agency Needed |
| 2008-11-13 07:35:01 |
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The Cool Hunter Events is on the hunt for a collaborative partner in London for some major, high profile TCH branded event projects in 09. We are looking for London's hottest event agency with a strong background in large scale, design, lifestyle & fashion. If that's you, contact us or if you're in the know about London's top event agency, send us a tip. This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it |
| Paramount Bar by Tom Dixon (London) |
| 2008-10-29 10:13:41 |
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Renowned English interior designer Tom Dixon is behind Paramount, London's hottest new venue located on top of city landmark Centre Point tower. The bar's aesthetic is a blend 60s retro and futurism, articulated through the use of hard-edged materials like concrete and stone to create a kind of space-ship meets super-club. The star of course, is the spectacular view, which is only enhanced by Dixon's clean, modern interior. Anyone hoping to pay a visit to Paramount better get to work on their "applications" for membership, a process which, rather frightfully, mirrors a job application. Aspiring members must be "assed" by a panel including English actor Stephen Fry. We're not generally fans of such pretense but thanks to Dixon, it looks like all of the hoopla may actually be worth it. Start typing. - Lisa Evans |
| London’s Engine Takes A Jump |
| 2008-10-20 04:25:23 |
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London-based architecture and design firm Jump Studios believes that innovation comes from breaking barriers between design disciplines. At Jump, expertise from the worlds of fashion, art, anthropology and academia is added to the design and architecture contingent. This must have been part of the appeal when design, communications and marketing group Engine selected Jump as the designer of its new digs. Engine’s five-storey new building on 60 Great Portland Street had to please the 12 different companies operating under the Engine umbrella — and their clients. Jump director Simon Jordan and team had to conjure up an environment that could house and appeal to a vast range of tastes and cultures. Yet, somehow, it all had to reflect a coherent Engine brand as well. Interestingly, the lozenge-shaped white “meeting pods” bring to mind a Disneylandish combo of a Tomorrowland ride and the Mad Hatter’s Tea Party. One might half expect to grab the edges of the white table and feel the unit starting to turn round and round. This is not a bad thing. It all manages to look calm and cool while having a sense of whimsy. Same thing with the purple-pink loungers that look like they could have been made of a sweet, edible stiff foam, cut into bulky shapes with a gigantic saw. Even with the cute undertones, the seating stays on this side of classy and creates an imposing visual element. The large internal windows with their rounded edges evoke a feeling of a large ship, with the people inside seeming to be on a journey. Whether any of this was Jump’s intention is irrelevant. When a communications group’s space — intentionally or accidentally — speaks of imagination, whimsy and moving ahead, it surely must be a space that fits its dynamic occupants. The client list of Jump Studios includes also Nike, Red Bull, Adidas, Wieden + Kennedy, Honda and Levi’s. Projects for Bloomberg, Adidas, Fiat and L’Oreal are next on Jump’s agenda. - Tuija Seipell Created a unique office experience we should know about? Submit your projects for our upcoming book |
| Vendome Mayfair - London |
| 2008-09-25 07:06:29 |
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Following their success in London's Knightsbridge, the Vendome team has done it all again by opening a sister venue in swanky Mayfair. Fed up with the minimalist design aesthetic that many a upscale West End venue has adopted over the past decade, club guru Freddie Frampton and interior designer Paul Daly got together to see what they could do to fix all this. And fixed it they have. The club is beautifully finished and has been designed to induce patrons back onto the dance floor. And why wouldn't you want to dance when the club has installed possibly one of the coolest dance floors that we have seen in a while. The circular interactive video floor cost over a quarter of a million pounds and can display film footage, graphic effects, logos etc. It is topped off with a raised, revolving DJ booth/bar in the centre. Think 70s disco floor meets the future. Off to the left of the floor are six individually themed VIP booths, each having being designed by the likes of Jade Jagger, fashion label Core and Dom Perignon. The club has a distinct retro/futuristic feel, part mirror maze, part Xanadu, part upper-class Jetsons space shuttle, and is sure to be a hit with London's glamorous Mayfair set (read socialites, WAGs and the occasional reality-TV star). So, head on down for a 'molecularly mixed' drink – if only to check out the dance floor. Just mind you don't rest your drink on that darn revolving bar… you may never see it again. We learnt this the hard way. - Brendan McKnight |
| Virgin Media UK |
| 2008-06-18 07:29:13 |
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Mergers, acquisitions, transfer of power and takeovers are happening all around us nearly on a daily basis. The approach many companies take in a time of transition when figuring out how to seamlessly integrate a new vision into an old work environment, can present a challenge. The Virgin Media Group brought in Household Designs to re-brand over 50 buildings from Head Office to call centres throughout the UK – 150 of which had active employees. Because the average age of the Virgin Call Centre employee was 23, the design team named the new work environment ‘Our Neighbourhood’ in attempt to shift workers’ thinking from ‘them’ to ‘us.’ Primary consideration was directed at the staff’s behaviour in the space. No longer can it be acceptable to just pick a colour or a theme and apply it haphazardly into a space, which is why the Virgin Call Centres are not overly branded with oversized Vs and bright red walls. That’s not to say the spaces are boring – on the contrary, Household strived to integrate humour into the design – and they focused on underused areas of the former office – communal spaces including reception, canteen, break rooms, meeting rooms and spaces in between such as lifts, corridors and stairs. All these spaces were designed with the intention of maximising the staff’s life at work and to encourage workers to feel comfortable interacting with one another through the use of animal silhouette wallpaper, chalkboards, ‘dating car park spaces’ and more. And across the pond at the Virgin Mobile USA (pictured above) the design team at Gensler brought similar whimsical elements to the work environments. Environmental graphics, bold textures and patterns combine to create a youthful and vibrant work environment characteristic of the Virgin brand. By Andrew J Wiener |
| Bangalore Express - London |
| 2008-06-05 00:52:37 |
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Rumor has it that Bangalore Express, opened a few months ago across Waterloo Station in London, is the first of many to come. Both menu and decor of this modern, Indian fresh-food place have received mixed reviews, but we like the inventiveness of the “scaffolding” used to build the booths and the upper level. Some have called it a recipe for disaster and other thought it looked like bunk beds. Both may be true as you do need to climb step ladders to reach the second level and much of the exposed structure is, indeed, made of FastClamp, a construction-site scaffolding system. The interior colour scheme is organic in muted greens and browns. We love the peacefulness this creates. Bangalore Express is the newest venture of proprietors Charles Hill and head chef Yogesh Datta who also run the Painted Heron in Chelsea. By Tuija Seipell |
| Fiat Flagship Store - London |
| 2008-03-19 06:25:23 |
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Fiat has opened ew London flagship showroom and it is well worth the visit even if you have no desire to purchase one of the swanky new 500's. The Marylebone store features a heavily chromed interior (look out for the exhaust pipe clad columns) and is fresh and modern without being intimidating or overbearing – think Austin Powers love den meets the science lab of the future. The space is split over two floors. The first floor is the showroom with a handful of vehicles, a whole lot of shag pile carpet and a gift shop to boot. Here you can purchase pretty much anything for the Fiat enthusiast from cufflinks to handbags to miniature models that open up to become USB sticks. Yep, Team Fiat has thought of everything. Downstairs is a more minimalist white multi function space designed for corporate meetings, fashion shows and art and design exhibitions. This space currently features the 'Fiat Workpop 500' exhibition where prototypes of Fiat accessories that have been designed by 22 young product designers are on display. The public can vote for its favourites, and in a Survivor like contest, the winner's product will go into mass production and eventually on general sale. Where will you be able to purchase these you may be asking? In the gift shop of course. By Brendan McKnight |
| Oliver Goldsmith |
| 2008-02-11 00:48:54 |
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Britain’s Oliver Goldsmith has been making iconic eyewear since 1926. In 1935, it was Charles Glodsmith who made sunglasses a must-have accessory for anyone who was, or wanted to look like, a celebrity. There’s hardly a Hollywood movie icon or international celebrity who hasn’t been photographed wearing Oliver Goldsmiths. Since its 2005 re-launch, led by Oliver Goldsmith’s great granddaughter, Claire Goldsmith, the brand has experienced a strong revival. Another UK native, Aseef Vaza, burst into the limited-edition luxury handbag scene in 2004 with his collection of bags in fine Parisian silks and dyed skins of ostrich, stingray, shark, alligator and python. Today, there’s hardly a red-carpet event where the leading ladies aren’t clutching a Vaza. Now take the 1969 Oliver Goldsmith TAK sunglasses known for their unique detailing and sexy Hollywood proportions. Give the design to English craftsmen. Then give them some Bengal Blue vintage acetate discovered in an abandoned Italian factory and have them recreate TAKs by hand. Then have Vaza design a luxurious pouch in metallic graphite-grey ostrich with a black patent trim and lined in the Vaza trademark pink suede decorated with a hand-painted gold monogram. Only 50 sets of VazaTak sunglass and pouch sets were created. With £800, one of them can be yours. By Tuija Seipell |
| The Friendly Garage |
| 2008-02-08 06:02:42 |
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For many of us, taking our cars to the garage can be a daunting experience. Feeling anxious and uncertain over the price and duration over jobs, use of technical jargon and the like. This may soon be a thing of the past, thanks to the launch of the major rebranding programme for car care network HiQ, starting with their new concept centre opening in Nottingham, UK. The aim was to revolutionise the way fast fit car care is delivered and to develop a fresh retail concept that would set new standards in this sector. And it looks like they have come up with the goods. Designed by the London team at Fitch, the brand has been repositioned by using simple language, illustrations, and the centre itself has clever features like glass walls that allow customers to see onto the garage floor for themselves. We have seen this uncomplicated, tell it like it is mentality popping up all over the place, especially as banks try to re-align themselves with their customers. It is now nice and refreshing to see this evolving into other touch points of consumers' lives. I wonder if this approach would make going to the dentist any better? By Brendan McKnight Random archive Xploding Cars Geek Desk Casino Marketing Oto Kinoko |
| Tear Free Tantrum |
| 2008-02-07 10:33:27 |
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Don't you hate it when you see something and think 'why wasn't this around when I was a kid?'. Tantrum is the UK's first dedicated children's hairdressing company and has just launched their first of many salons on the oh-so chic Kings Road in London. Catering from newborns to 15 years olds, this is a hairdressing haven for everyone – especially parents who are pretty much guaranteed a tear-free experience. And why would you cry, when you are the hippest kid in hip-town. The salon is separated into two sections. The first, 'Moon' is for children up to the age of 7, and is set in an enchanted forest complete with its own locomotive train that runs around the styling stations. Children get their hair cut in a variety of vehicles from a Mercedes to a plane and also have individual flat screen TV's to keep them entertained. The second zone, 'Vogue' is a bit funkier and is for 7-15 year olds. Looking something like a mix between a pop stars' dressing room and backstage at fashion week, this is sure to bring out the inner diva in any older child. Coupled with a games room housing a huge TV with a Wii/PS3 and their very own juice bar to sit at, your children may never want to leave. What we especially love about Tantrum though (and yes there is more to love), is that to finish off the experience, children can have their photo taken with their new 'do, which is emailed to the parent and displayed on the celebrity wall at the salon ready for the child to sign on their next visit. How cool is that! By Brendan McKnight (spottted by TCH reader -Ned Gammell) |
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