Trust Melbourne (the city that holds Design close to its bosom) to be the home of the latest initiative from ANZ Bank; a Breakout & Learning Centre designed by Hassell. As the title suggests, this large, flexible, multi-purpose space is designed to encourage creativity, however it is in the execution that the freedom from constraints of a “normal” office environment is apparent. Forget about boring corporate colours, obvious branding and drab office furniture (in the style of hit series “The Office”).
The use of unexpected materials and contradictory colors in the space and its furnishings produces startling results. Plywood, paint and patterned rubber with industrial raw finishes are topped off with a pop of fire-engine red and frog green! Various-size meeting rooms are equipped with state-of-the art technology to enhance the group experience. Perhaps my favorite design features are the “Tree of Knowledge” and the “Giant Foot”. Just like in a fairytale, the tree grows between floors in a natural raw shape reminding us that the childlike imagination is where creativity is ripest. Beneath the tree, the Giant Foot reminds us about reality and perception. – Kate Vandermeer
In a world where the latest buzz is all about “design collaborations” it’s refreshing to see one that is seamlessly and intrinsically linked with outstanding results. Carlos Campos
is fast becoming a star-on-the-rise with his modern menswear collections featuring well-tailored pieces constructed using exceptional fabrics. His latest collection for Spring 2009 is a study in luxe sportswear with clean shapes, attention to detail and a clean palette of eggshell grey, crisp white and electric blue. The matching shoe collection by J Shoes features all the same colors in patent, leather, canvas and the collection’s feature patterned fabric from as a highlight. Using J Shoes signature hand-crafted philosophy this collection merges function with form creating a new style of shoe that is neither classic nor casual but a comfortable in-between. The result is innovative, luxe footwear that just seems to “work” without trying too hard! – Kate Vandermeer
Hector Serrano Studio has curated and designed the exhibition Spain Emotion as well as the communication campaign of the Spanish participation at this years Tokyo Designer's Week. The event is organized by the Spanish Institute for Foreign Trade (ICEX) and will take place in the Spanish Embassy in Tokyo from 30 October to 3 November 2008.
More than an exhibition, Spain Emotion is a celebration of the best Spanish design in the Tokyo Designer's Week that encompasses not only this exhibition, but also conferences and seminars; a forum that provides with an exceptional opportunity to get to know at first hand those who are behind the products. The aim of Hector Serrano Studio this year is for emotion to be the guiding threads of their story, and the products its main characters. To this end, they have created a space that aims to surprise, entertain, seduce and encourage, rather than simply showing; four large stages where light dramatises and bathes the surroundings and the pieces in colour. Colour to communicate the vitality and energy with which the Spanish character is so often identified. In short, an experience aimed at revealing the latest in Spanish design, in a most emotive way. - Tuija Seipell
The TV world isn't exactly a trailblazer when it comes to marketing but we've discovered a fun exception. The series 3 launch of cult 'serial killer' TV show Dexter by Showtime took a guerrilla marketing approach to the launch, mounting fake pop-up news stands in heavily trafficked public spaces in cities across America including New York (positioned right by Central Park), Philadelphia (at 30th Street train station), Los Angeles (outside the Kodak Theater), Chicago (in the financial district) and San Francisco (Union square). The stands featured the show's star Michael C Hall on mock covers of high-profile magazines like Rolling Stone, The New Yorker and GQ. Snacks wrapped in suitably blood-red packaging also figured on the stands.
The two-day pop-up pieces debuted on the weekend to coincide with the airing of the first episode. The innovative idea was dreamt up by experiential marketing agency Pop2Life that also came up with last season's national launch campaign which consisted of custom-made fountains spitting fake blood. Fake blood fountains and fictitious news stands - we can't wait to see they do next season. - Lisa Evans
Great surroundings will not camouflage poor programming in movie theatres. No matter how swanky the theatre, if it shows poor movies, we just won’t go. Which isn’t to say that we have given up on movie-theatre design. We still wish that one day, somewhere, someone is going to design a decidedly different, interesting and exciting movie theatre.
Glimpses of brilliance are visible in the new Light House Cinema at Smithfield in Dublin, Ireland designed by Dublin’s award-winning DTA Architects Of course, you really need to design — and judge — a movie theatre so that it looks and functions best when people are using it. So, having not paid personal visits to the new Light House, we cannot say for sure, but the images we have received of the empty space indicate that the play of light, colour and height works exceptionally well here.
Light House cinema has been a bit of an institution in Dublin. It started showing Irish, independent, foreign-language, art house and classic cinema 20 years ago, closed in 1966, and re-opened this summer in its new, customized space. The four-screen, intimate art-house cinema includes a wonderful, inviting and open cafe that looks like something you’d see at an art museum, not a movie theatre. The leader of the Light House project at DTA was Derek Tynan and the project architect was Colin Mackay.
The new cinema benefited from the financial assistance of The Arts Council, the Irish Film Board, and the Department of Arts, Sport and Tourism. For Dublin’s city planners, this was to be a cultural magnet and a focal point for the largest mixed-use development ever in Dublin’s inner city, the massive rejuvenation plan for the historical Smithfield Market area.
And if you’d like to make our wishes come true, please let us know of any supreme movie-theatre design concepts you’ve seen, designed or commissioned. We are all eyes and ears. - Tuija Seipell
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
In most cities, strategic downtown street corners are flanked by enormous, old banks, the ornate cathedrals of capital designed to impress and intimidate. With the massive changes in real estate values and consumer banking habits, such monuments to Mammon are no longer smart or necessary. But what amazing opportunities such massive commissions must have been for the architects of the day! And what depressing alternatives we’ve experienced since! Luckily, online banking has made a bank visit almost obsolete, but when you must visit, most of the time you’ll find a boring, convenience-store-type standardized box — retail banking in the worst meaning of both words.
But we are starting to see a change. Several new bank design concepts are in the works, and some have been launched recently, including CheBanca! in Milan by Crea International. The concept for CheBanca! (translation: What a bank!) reflects the brand’s simplicity, transparency and innovation. When Crea International co-founder Massimo Fabbro will speak at POPAI Italia in November on the power of physical brand design to bring to life a brand's language, spirit and values, he will no doubt mention CheBanca!
And now that we have seen a few examples of fabulous bank design, we want more! If you’ve seen, designed or commissioned one, let us know. – Tuija Seipell
A glass of expensive champagne on a swanky rooftop bar just doesn't cut it in the competitive world of product launches, which are all vying for VIP attendees and press coverage.
Chanel decided to think outside of the square for the launch of the brand's new perfume, ‘Eau premičre,’ staging the event at a private Parisian apartment. Chanel recruited acclaimed set, window and interior designer Jean-Marc Gady to create an experiential event for guests, a "scenography" tasked with bringing the new fragrance and the heritage of the brand to life. Gady has created spaces for the likes of Louis Vuitton, Moet & Chandon and Apple.
The designer transformed the apartment into a set, which guests were encouraged to explore as the event played out. While they played with artfully arranged test sprays, a fountain sent drops of the new fragrance into the air, sweetly permeating their senses. The evening ended with the unveiling of large format photographs of Chanel's iconic "faces" over the years, from Marilyn Monroe through to Nicole Kidman. - Lisa Evans
Aesop continue to deliver outstanding, intelligent and considered design in not only their product but with their individual approach to each retail concept store they launch. Their latest offering in Zurich embodies this philosophy perfectly. Utilising a long, narrow space to advantage, the focal point of the store is located in the centre of the space allowing consumers to walk around and interact with the products which are located on a series of suspended shelves. There’s a sense of weightlessness and room to breathe due to the fact that the shelves don’t make contact with the ground and only the necessary products and shelving is featured. The repetition of the shelves seem to co-exist with ease but not at the peril of functionality. Using Aesop’s signature store sensibilities of incorporating water, merging modernity and recycled materials and not “over-designing” or adding unnecessary objects, this Zurich store is no exception. – Kate Vandermeer.
Big boys who like toys head to I-Way, a luxe, mega venue dedicated to motor sports racing simulations. I-Way provides aspiring speed racers with an opportunity to experience the adrenalin rush that comes from being behind the wheel of a Formula 1, Endurance or Rally car. The high-tech simulators offer real "piloting" sensations, mounted into a real car, which is experienced through several screens which surround the driver's field of vision.
The venue is pitched at corporate groups, who, presumably can bond over high speed racing sessions - and all without creasing their polo-necks. To enhance the experience created by the simulators drivers suit up in race outfits, helmets and gloves.
I-Way's modern design hits its target market perfectly with wide open spaces, industrial finishes and futuristic reflective surfaces. It's boys playing with expense toys - luxe style. Located in Lyon, France, the venue also houses a bar, a shop (which sells cool motoring accessories) and bizarrely, a gym and spa. Anyone for a round of weights and a facial in between races?
Have you seen any other glam big boys venues like I-Way? Send us a tip.
We've officially entered the age of the babester - where anything and everything to do with babies has undergone a designer revolution. Just like mum and dad, babesters can now enjoy design from head-to-toe and beyond; skinny leg jeans just like dads and an organic meal eaten from a glamorous designer high chair. The newest babester brand to hit the kiddie shelves is Quinny, designed by edgy Danish fashion designer Henrik Vibskov. The designer demonstrates his mutli-dicilpinary skills in the range, which consists of graphic print baby hardware and accessories including strollers, bags and sunglasses. With so much to look at, a walk in the park for baby will never be the same again. - Lisa Evans
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