Ecomanta

Fashion Week Tory Burch Flagship - Its all about the Shoes

2012-02-14T17:48:00.000-05:00

The interiors of Tory Burch's boutiques are just as fabulous as her clothing line! The Tory Burch shop at SouthPark opened last weekend. We bet you'll be swooning just like we are over all the mirrors, orange, lucite, and brass!

In each of her boutiques, Tory collaborates with architects Steve O'Neil of O'Neil Langan Architects and Daniel Romualdez, of Daniel Romualdez Architects. They have all three worked together since Tory opened her first store- what a successful relationship!

Isn't this David Hicks-inspired turquoise East Hampton shop jawdropping? She was smart to leave some of the bamboo end tables a natural color instead of automatically painting them white. The clean lines of furniture are the perfect pairing for dramatic color and pattern of the rugs and fabric.

Who says you can't mix metals? These stainless steel walls are amazing when paired with shiny brass trim. Once again, she wisely uses simple parsons tables and x-benches so that nothing seems fussy. Anything too patterned or with frenchy legs would detract from the overall look. We like the "fancy not fussy" take on this shop.

Like the Manhasset boutique, her shop in the Meatpacking District also uses stainless steel walls with brass trim. White sofas, mirrors, brass-and-glass tables, and purple velvet abound. There is a lot going on, but the use of matching pairs of sofas, benches, chandeliers, and tables makes the room balanced and symmetrical.

Your eyes are not deceiving you- the sofa in the back of the picture is upholstered in the same fabulous geometric fabric as the walls. The result is amazing. What a clever addition of brass trim to the simple white parsons table! And the classic seagrass rug is a nod to the beachy environment.

Lastly, Tory's Scottsdale shop incorporates natural wood, taxidermy, and antler chandeliers, but the result is not the least bit hunting-lodgy. Is that a patchwork cowhide rug we spot?

http://www.mattersofstyleblog.com/2010/07/open-for-business-tory-burch-boutique.html

Buried Treasure - Low maintenance modern country home

2012-02-14T17:44:00.000-05:00

Some minimalist architects boast that given enough money, they can make their architecture almost disappear. Although that claim seems to go against normal expectations about what so many architects really like to do, it often tempts those faced with a large program and a sensitive site.

Peter Gluck, for example, argues that creating an “experience” rather than building a visibly defined object should be an architect's supreme goal. With his recently completed Lakeside Retreat in New York's Adirondack Mountains, Gluck was able to prove his point—practically embedding in the earth 21,700 square feet of residential spaces for living and recreational uses. Conceptually and programmatically, the two buried buildings—a family house and a recreation building with an interior courtyard, amphitheater, gallery, and indoor pool—are essential pieces of a compound on a steeply sloped 21-acre site. The entire grouping, with two guest houses and abundant walking trails, and culminating in a 2,200-square-foot boathouse and dock, fulfills the same purpose as the nearby Adirondack great camps that cropped up in the mid- to late 19th century. The difference here in designing this family getaway, says Gluck, is that this project is done “without recreating the specific iconography of that period.” Indeed, other than the use of local materials, the buildings share no physical resemblance to their log-and-stone Swiss Chalet–style predecessors.

Visitors arrive first at a 4,800-square-foot gatehouse garage removed from the compound, where they swap vehicles for electric golf carts. Then they proceed along descending paths that lead to two 1,600-square-foot, one-bedroom guest houses—complete with small kitchens and composed of stacked and rotated boxlike volumes.

Heading on toward the lake, visitors catch glimpses of angular main buildings that appear and disappear in the topography of the sloping site. Foundations and floor slabs and walls are concrete with requisite waterproofing and underground drainage. By placing so much living and recreational space underground, the architect reduced energy loads with passive geothermal heating and cooling. Rainwater is retained via the green roof areas.

In the recreational building, dappled light from wood-screened windows and a skylight illuminate the lap pool. The family house with its master suite is more private, but it connects to nature with, for example, sleeping porches. “The entire project can be understood only by experiencing it sequentially,” Gluck says.

http://archrecord.construction.com/residential/hotm/2011/11/Lakeside-Retreat.asp

Ecofriendly modern homes are the rage. They can be low maintenance and energy efficient - make sense if they are sitting empty for several months of the year. The only lawn you will be mowing is on your roof. -Ecomata

Frank Ghery as Composer - New World Center vs Walt Disney Concert Hall

2012-02-09T13:44:00.000-05:00

Frank Gehry’s New World Center (NWC) in Miami’s South Beach, and Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles [RECORD, November 2003, page 134], are at once similar yet quite different. While the sculptural stainless steel Disney Hall remains a landmark of the 21st century, nearly every guiding principle of that hall is overturned in the more reserved, white-stuccoed concrete New World Center in Miami. Yet both the Los Angeles and the Miami Beach performing arts spaces feature single halls with no proscenium.

In contrast to the painful birth of Disney Hall, the Miami project offered Gehry the opportunity to work with a lifelong friend, the esteemed conductor and composer Michael Tilson Thomas. A big difference between the two designs was Gehry’s creation in Los Angeles of “a nice room in which nothing changes,” as he says, and, conversely, his willingness for the Miami Beach auditorium to accommodate a dazzling array of transformations.

This is an example of where Gehry's architecture is often more important when one considers how it is experienced on the inside. For example with Bilbao it was remarkable as a titanium skin and for its sculptural expterior form. In the case of the New World Center and Walt Disney's Concert Hall - the interior spaces are critical to the overall experience. There are certain times that even in the secondary spaces unusual moments of privacy and reflection occur much to the visitor's delight - Ecomanta.

Thomas founded the New World Symphony (NWS) in 1987 as an orchestral academy for gifted graduates of major music conservatories. Attentive to the wishes of the late Ted Arison, the founder of Carnival Cruise Lines, who spearheaded NWS’s $75 million endowment, Thomas chose Miami for the symphony’s home, originally in a retrofitted 1930s movie palace. Two nearby parking lots offered a site for the three-part project: a new NWC building, a 557-car garage, and the 2.5-acre Miami Beach Soundscape Park from which the public can view free simulcasts of concerts projected on part of the center’s facade. All three components were to be developed by NWC — with Gehry as the architect — for the city, which leased the land to NWC for $1 a year for 90 years. The Dutch landscape architects West 8 took over the park’s design after a budget reduction prompted Gehry to resign.

The NWC and its predominantly white walls harmonize with the heart of South Beach’s Art Deco redevelopment district located a few blocks away on Lincoln Road. A wavy canopy marks the entrance, while the walls framing the atrium’s glazed facades inflect slightly, drawing attention to the interior where the activities within some workrooms are visible from the outside. After dark, the opaque auditorium facade next to the transparent atrium lights up with video projections.

Floating within the six-story atrium are volumes in the architect’s signature sculptural style that house classrooms, rehearsal spaces, and offices. Traversed by a spiraling stair, the space is bathed in natural illumination from a skylight and east and west glazed facades. “The volumes are built,” says Gehry, “like a multistory village, like a city on a stage.”

The top floor of the NWC contains a music library and the patrons’ lounge, plus a rooftop garden designed by landscape architect Raymond Jungles.

Views into and around the concave, convex, and tilted forms perceptually expand the lobby’s space and allow glimpses of musical activities in these rooms. Two low, narrow corridors snake from the east and the west parts of the lobby into the center of the 7,000-square-foot auditorium, where tiers of seats rise steeply on all sides in an arena configuration.

The arrangement of the 756 seats varies according to the performance. Thomas’s commitment to experimental ways of presenting music encouraged Gehry to devise 14 different stage configurations within the hall’s trapezoidal container. Additionally, 247 seats can retract to make a flat floor and four satellite platforms allow musical programs in areas other than the stage.

Concerts feature theatrical, immersive lighting; specially commissioned videos; and contextual information (instead of program notes) projected onto the five huge, curved, acoustic, saillike wall panels, suspended below the ceiling. Simultaneous projections on these “sails” surround the audience and can, with the appropriate videos, create images that reinforce the musical experience. No seat in the auditorium is more than 13 rows from the stage. The sails swooping down the walls’ upper halves lower the ceiling visually and intensify the space’s feeling of intimacy, a quality that has become as important as acoustical excellence to the performance arts.

Ample daylight is admitted through a window behind the stage and a skylight, both constructed of multilayered laminated glass to mitigate outside noise. The concert hall is also protected from intrusive sound by massive concrete walls isolated from the interior ones. The soft absorptiveness of the stage’s Alaskan yellow cedar and the plaster system for the ceiling baffles offer other acoustic features. The room’s 50-foot height (the same as Disney Hall’s) and its boxlike shape also produce acoustics that are clear and enveloping no matter what size group is performing. As NWS flute fellow Matthew Roitstein remarks, “In contrast to our old hall, the musicians can hear themselves and each other.” The ensemble’s adjustment to the more balanced acoustics of their new home should counter criticism by some of the symphony’s excessive loudness.

Connections to the university-based, broadband Internet2 network allow NWS students to take part in online projects and receive instruction from musicians elsewhere — in addition to the now-standard means of streaming a concert in Miami around the globe. The hall’s acoustician, Yasuhisa Toyota, says, “The equipment is not new, but increasing the technological possibilities to this extent is.” Another technological feature aimed at a larger public was in evidence during the center’s opening week. Over a thousand people filled West 8’s park to attentively watch “Wallcasts” of each concert being played inside. These simulcasts zoomed in on musicians as well as showed the 80-some orchestra members, relaying sound via 167 speakers embedded in large metal tubes.

The NWC achieves many of the goals that are being sought for today’s concert halls, and which are more prevalent abroad than in the United States. A welcoming openness to the exterior is provided by the atrium and reinforced by the Wallcasts, and the auditorium combines intimacy with remarkable physical and acoustical flexibility. The magic sparked by the collaboration of Gehry and Thomas just might fulfill their hope to turn around a perceived faltering interest in classical music by the young.

http://archrecord.construction.com/projects/portfolio/2011/05/New_World_Center.asp

Traditional Home Magazine: Features Inson Dubois Wood Chinese New Year at Holiday House Designer ShowhouseNYC

2012-01-27T15:12:00.000-05:00

Museum quality art adorns the walls and creates a great backdrop for a 18th Century style Dragon by Lladro,

This is the same exact room ( used in a Vogue photo shoot ) just before Inson Wood lacquered it in 5 layers of Moore Benjamin Morrocan Red Paint and added the Christopher Hyland Custom Trim and window fabrics. Note the faux crocodile ceiling treatment.

Traditional Home Magazine, February/ March 2012 issue featured designer Inson Dubois Wood's room at Holiday House NYC in Leonard Blavatnik's triple wide former Woolworth Mansion at 2 E. 63rd street explored an interpretation of Chinese New Year for its theme. The Decorator show house's most show stopping room used dramatic Chinoiserie- style Pelmets, or structured pagoda shaped valences with Christopher Hyland tassels, reminiscent of the lanterns often used during the Chinese New Year. Doors, windows, and walls are painted red to bring in the good luck and usher in the year of the Dragon - a symbol of prosperity and good fortune for all. The room became the penultimate destination for many, mixing styles from Louis 16 to edgy modern and helped raise an all time show house record in contributions for Susan G. Komen for the Cure to Breast Cancer - Ecomanta

For the whole article go to www.traditionalhome.com

How to Decorate for the Chinese New Year - Holiday House NYC Inson Wood and rooms by 20 top interior designers in New York City.

2012-01-23T13:58:00.000-05:00

Chinese New Year Decorations - The structured valances or "Pelmets" with classic "Frogs" represent the knotted tassels and lanterns of the festival of lights - a common theme in Chinese New Year. Jeff Koons Puppy welcomes the visitor perched on a modernist coffee table made of Brazillian wood and crystal. The actual lantern is by Herve Van der Straeten.

This Chinese New Year rings in the Water Dragon - Inson Wood uses a blue ceramic dragon to usher in the New Year. A Larry Zox painting from Stephen Haller Gallery sets the stage for dramatic color.

Custom trim by Christopher Hyland represents the tying the knot - a symbol of stability and prosperity in Chinese Feng Shui specifically emphasized in the Chinese New Year.

Morrocan Red by Benjamin Moore provides a dramatic color for the Chinese New Year. Red and Gold are important signifiers of Good Luck - especially on doors and windows.

Chinese New Year emphasizes the new bold patterns with the zebra pattern on the chair and the silk Chinoiserie by Christopher Hyland promote health and prosperity.

Chinese New Year - Year of the Dragon. Inson Wood uses a lizard skin desk by Ruhlman designed in 1927 as an anchor point.

Chinese New Year's Festival of Lights - imported from Paris - the adjustable custom floor lamp by Maison Charles has a stunning fabric shade.

Inson Wood uses a Jeff Koons Puppy to anchor a painting by Guggenheim and MoMa canon Larry Zox.

Inson Wood and Sara Gore of NBC News

Inson Wood shows us how to decorate for the Chinese New Year with a subtle interpretation of the holiday that affects nearly half the worlds population - from China to Thailand. For his non-literal transformation - its all about the details. A Benjamin Moore deep chocolate Moroccan Red lacquer paint on the walls, crown, wainscot and windows and doors sets the drama. A bold Chinoiserie hand embroidered and painted silk wall paper by Fromenthal adds further detail and intrigue. More modernist furniture by Moura Starr create a rock star glam that is both fresh yet sophisticated.

The opening night at Holiday House NYC 2011 to benefit Susan G. Komen for the Cure, was a magical experience with a huge turnout nearly doubling last years event in this 75 ft wide townhouse owned by Leonard Blavatnik. NBC's Sarah Gore, CBS Maurice Dubois, Editor at Large - Tori Mellott and CNN's Deb Feyerick were all there for the opening night in the showhouse sponsored by Traditional Home, Benjamin Moore, Lladro, and Sferra. 20 of New York's Top designers were featured, but one of the undoubtably most show stopping rooms was the Chinese New Year theme by Inson Dubois Wood.

Throughout the space are subtle uses of the golden section, triangulation and enfilade - techniques typically used by classical architects of the Beaux Arts school. But the true complexity of the design came from its use of layers at both the compositional level and in the micro details. Hand stitched leather, embroidered silk wall paper, and hand chased bronze furniture and lighting adorned the room contrasted with Abstract Modernist sculpture by Zimmerman and Jeff Koons. The delicate balance of styles had a fresh and sophisicated presence, while upon closer inspection the details were unparalleled from a Sultanabad pure silk Persian rug to the limited edition Lladro porcelain dragon that sits perched ready to ring in the new year of the Dragon. Other focal points were the powerful MoMA caliber art - with pieces by Larry Zox and younger artists such as Ron Erlich Michael Dickey. Pollaro supplied the museum quality Ruhlmann pieces. - Ecomanta

HERZOG & DE MEURON: VITRAHAUS

2012-01-09T22:12:00.001-05:00

Only in Europe could such an outlandish minimalist maximalist piece of conceptual architecture be executed and realized in its original state. Architects Herzog and Demeuron, guest professors at Harvard's Graduate School of Design, and world renown Starchitects have come up with the vernacular as folie. The ideas was to make a house for Vitra's collection. They came up with a series of structures that represent the House as modern folie. Given the chance to do anything you want - one might have tried more outlandish things, however this tongue and cheek, Haus to house Vitra's furniture collection seems quite dynamic. A series of interesting forms frames several living rooms and creates a vignette of spaces allowing the viewer to see several arrangements of their collection. - Ecomanta

Photographs are by Iwan Baan.

Inson Wood Selected as Avenue Magazine's Distinguished Designer of 2011

2012-01-05T14:22:00.000-05:00

Zaha Hadid Goes Organic - Roca London Gallery

2012-01-05T13:41:00.000-05:00

Zaha Hadid has crossed all barriers and created a tour de force showroom for Roca London Gallery. Formerly the architect was known strictly for her architectural accomplishments and specifically for the outer shell that wrapped her magificent structures - the Diva has now shown ultimate skill in creating a dynamic space for Roca. The paired down organic minimalist space has broken all barriers with hardly a trace of a 90 degree angle to be seen. It is as if the DNA has been utilized in every aspect from desk, to bench, to light fixtures including wall mounted sconces that again reappear as integrated light coves that manifest as integrated pendant/ chandeliers.

PHOTO CREDITS: LUKE HAYES

Steven Holl - MIT Students Residence

2012-01-02T12:35:00.000-05:00

The undergraduate residence is envisioned with the concept of "porosity." It is a vertical slice of city, 10 stories tall and 382' long, providing a 125 seat theater, a night café, and street level dining. The "sponge" concept transforms the building via a series of programmatic and bio-technical functions. The building has five large openings corresponding to main entrances, view corridors, and outdoor activity terraces. Large, dynamic openings are the lungs, bringing natural light down and moving air up. Each of the dormitory's single rooms has nine operable windows. An 18" wall depth shades out the summer sun while allowing the low angled winter sun to help heat the building. At night, light from these windows is rhythmic and magical.

http://www.stevenholl.com/project-detail.php?id=47&worldmap=true

Steven Holl is one of America's top ranking architects. The dormitory at MIT shows a impressive in its sheer scale. The fenestration is unique in its massiveness and relentless grid like nature - yet there is something a bit reminiscent of early Italian modernism as seen in Casa Del Fascio yet on a bigger scale. The rigidity of form is relieved with playful cutouts that occur in a seemingly random fashion. Perhaps one of the most interesting moments occurs on the interior in the student lounge with an organic light well that contrasts beautifully against the cellular nature of the rest of the building. The concrete floors and ceilings are a bit cold - but the painted windows adds a bit of play. - Ecomanta

Frank Gehry New World Center - iTunes goes live indoors

2011-12-21T07:31:00.001-05:00

Frank Gehry_The New World Symphony

The New World Symphony's orchestral academy designed by Frank Gehry opened in Miami Beach, Florida. Called New World Centre, the building includes a 756-seat performance hall surrounded by 'sails' that reflect sound act as projection screens. The 80 foot high glass curtain wall displays activity within to the surrounding neighborhood and is designed to invite passers-by to enter the main atrium, where tumbling forms enclose the building's smaller rooms. The facade features a 7,000 square-foot projection wall onto which live concerts can be projected and enjoyed by visitors in the adjacent 2.5 acre Miami Beach SoundScape landscaped park, designed by Dutch firm West 8.

http://www.dezeen.com/2011/01/26/new-world-centre-by-frank-gehry/

Perhaps one of Gehry's least spectacular creations of late the New World Symphony Center has a few special moments. Its greatest achievement is the cube shaped envelope within which Ghery creates his usual abstract forms. The residual spaces that remain are very unique in that they are almost afterthoughts, yet become almost dominant in their ability to create intrigue. These forms are further enhanced by the play of light throughout the space. - Ecomanta.

Last Minute Shopping for the Holidays - R 2Oth Century

2011-12-21T07:11:00.000-05:00

Zesty Meyers has created the pinnacle of Haute Couture Galleries of Mid Century Modern and contemporary furniture and lighting in Tribeca. Currently he is displaying a series of highly collectible gifts by timeless designers perfectly designed for the man or woman who has everything. Each item is a piece of history and a wonderful idea for those hard to buy for friends and relatives.

The Objects Show, featuring a collection of hand-made candles curated by ITEM, Renate Muller's hand-sewn animals, hand-painted blocks by Serena Mitnik-Miller, jewelry by Kara Hamilton, Karl Fritsch, Kiki Smith and Anne Fischer, and select hand-crafted Best Made products.

Year of the Dragon - Golden Dragon Chair - Inson Dubois Wood

2011-12-17T06:37:00.000-05:00

Inson Dubois Wood is releasing a new line of furniture. His latest addition is called Golden Dragon for the upcoming Chinese New Year. The Year of the Dragon is meant to bring prosperity and dramatic change. The chair is made of bronze plates welded together - with a matte and polished bronze patina. The triangulated forms are simultaneously a symbol of stability and change. The triangles represent transcendence to higher levels - ascension to purer thoughts while allowing for a meditative calm. The chair will be fabricated in France in the top bronze foundry, in Paris. It will be released in a limited edition of 30.

The year of the dragon is traditionally associated with new beginnings and good fortune.

According to Chinese philosophy.Those with entrepreneurial spirit are particularly favored to see much success the coming year.

Generally, it's predicted that any new venture may benefit from the outstanding luck often associated with the dragon. Therefore, 2012 will be a very good year to get married, have children, or start a new business.

As the world suffers through one of the worst economic calamities in recent memory, bold new leadership will help ease the circumstances of those suffering most from recent financial setbacks.

Since 2012 is the year of the Water Dragon, the liquid element is predicted to calm the dragon's usually tempestuous nature, and will give a thoughtful perspective to the plight of the less fortunate.

Fashion Week Ralph Rucci's Spring/Summer 2012 Collection America's Only Haute Couture

2011-12-15T01:36:00.000-05:00

Ralph Rucci is Americas hottest designer and has created gowns for celebrities such as wide ranging as Martha Stewart to Whoopi Goldberg. Originally a philosophy major his designs take influence from the world of art such as Francis Bacon and architectural form often evoking forms seen in the works of Frank Ghery and Zaha Hadid. He currently holds the honor as the first American in 60 years to be given the Haute Couture honor from Paris. His clean lined aesthetic is both appealing in its modesty yet dramatically daring. - Ecomanta

Rucci was born and raised in Philadelphia, and holds a degree in philosophy from Temple University. At the age of 21, he moved to New York to study at the Fashion Institute of Technology and later trained under Halston and a Balenciaga patternmaker. He had his first formal show at New York's Westbury Hotel in 1981, but launched Chado Ralph Rucci over a decade later, in 1994, and began showing at New York Fashion Week in 1999. In 2002, Rucci became the first American designer in more than 60 years to be invited to show in Paris by the French Chambre Syndicale de la Haute Couture (the only other designer to be so honored was Mainbocher), and he showed his haute couture collections in Paris for the next three seasons. He has twice been nominated for the Council of Fashion Designers of America's Womenswear Designer of the Year Award. Rucci is also a painter, who has exhibited in art galleries throughout the U.S.

From the beginning of his career, Rucci was inspired by the style of such fashion icons as Elsa Peretti (for her "biomorphic nature") and Pauline de Rothschild (for "creating harmony out of disorder"). Rucci's influences also include the painters Cy Twombly, Franz Kline, Antoni Tàpies and Francis Bacon, sculptor Louise Nevelson, Japanese symbolism, and the designer James Galanos.^[8] Rucci's "individual mind" has been praised, as well as his "distinct point of view," as The New York Timesnoted in a review on a 2007 Rucci exhibition at the Fashion Institute of Technology.^[9]

In 2007, fashion historian Valerie Steele wrote The Art of Weightlessness, an illustrated monograph published by the Yale University Press on the occasion of Rucci's exhibition at the FIT Museum.^[10] In 2008, the documentary Ralph Rucci: A Designer and His House, narrated by Martha Stewart, premiered on the Sundance Channel.^[11] In December 2011, Bauer and Dean Publishers released Autobiography of a Fashion Designer: Ralph Rucci, with photographs by Baldomero Fernandez.

Fashion Week takes to the streets - Zaha Hadid's Eco friendly Z.Car

2011-12-08T23:16:00.000-05:00

PHILADELPHIA — Zaha Hadid, the Pritzker Prize-winning, Iraqi-born British architect and designer, is the subject of a retrospective at the Philadelphia Museum of Art, “Zaha Hadid: Form in Motion,” on view through March 25. The surprise star of the show may be the Z-Car I automobile, a nonfunctioning three-wheeler commissioned by a gallery owner, Kenny Schachter.

The Z-Car greets visitors at the entrance to the museum gallery, and decorates bus advertising and posters throughout the city. It was first shown in the United States in 2006 at the Guggenheim Museum.

At the time, Ms. Hadid and Mr. Schachter described the piece as a sculpture rather than a prototype. Its polycarbon body is made of high-density polyurethane foam, machined by computer-controlled milling machines. The finish is pearlescent. Ms. Hadid also created a building design for Mr. Schachter’s Rove Gallery in the Shoreditch neighborhood of East London.

Computer-machined forms are a critical part of Ms. Hadid’s working methods, employed in shaping buildings as well as the jewelry, tea sets, Lacoste shoes and other items on display in the show.

“Form in Motion,” which is curated by Kathryn Bloom Hiesinger, includes jewelry for Swarovski; three-legged tables that appear liquid; and an angular, calligraphic design for a chair called the Z-chair, introduced this year. According to the exhibition’s literature, Ms. Hadid’s inspirations hark back to the utopian early days of modernism, when art, architecture and design were thought of as a single pursuit, creating a bold new order.

The idea of a single designer shaping a house, as well as the furniture, dishes and other objects inside it, is celebrated throughout the exhibition. Many of the products echo the shapes of Zaha Hadid’s buildings; her Crevasse vases for Alessi, the kitchenware and home-furnishings brand, were created as part of a post-9/11 competition to rethink ground zero, and purposely evoke the twin towers at the World Trade Center site.

With its its gullwing doors, the Z-Car, which was fabricated by G.T.M. Cars, a British kit-car maker, in theory would house a hydrogen fuel-cell or battery-electric powertrain. Mr. Schachter has stated his intention to produce additional models of the vehicles, should buyers materialize.

A second Z-Car, with four wheels and a passing resemblance to some of the urban runabouts shown at the 2011 Frankfurt auto show in September, is now on display as part of “Car Culture,” an exhibition at the Zentrum für Kunst und Medientechnologie, or the Center of Art and Media, in Karlsruhe, Germany, through Jan. 8

Zaha Hadid has finally used her design skills for something truly remarkable and at the same time good for the environment. Using her mastery of the organic form - Starchitect, Zaha Hadid has developed a series of sensuous looking prototype cars that are both aerodynamic and fuel efficient. - Ecomanta.

Black Swan - Inson Dubois Wood releases new Chair for Fashion Week Paris

2011-12-03T10:31:00.001-05:00

The design house of Inson Dubois Wood has released a design for a chic neo-midcentury modern arm chair in the the style of early 1960 Paris Mid Century Modern pieces similar to those of Le Charpentirer and more recent designers such as Paul Mathieu and Herve Van der Straeten. The chair will be released in a limited edition of 300. There will another edition in hammered bronze being released next year. The interior of the high diamond polished stainless steel chair is lined with an exotic original macassar wood. It will be available in 3 colors of leather - Hermes Red, Ferrari 453 Black and Louis Vuitton Brown. Despite its hard angles the chair is remarkably comfortable. The Directors chair, titled, Black Swan, will be on view in the upcoming Fashion Week in Paris.

Corbusier Villa Savoie meets Ronchamp in Israel - Tel Aviv Museum of Art

2011-12-03T08:28:00.000-05:00

Photo Credits: Amit Geron

Preston Scott Cohen has achieved the unachievable - he has won a competition in a distant land and built an absolutely stunning piece of modern architecture at the level of Corbusier's Villa Savoie. Like Corb's Savoie - the museum sits as a monolithic mass upon a row of pilot - yet has a fantastic interior of ramps and sloped forms that create a magnificent circulation. As a graduate of RISD, Cohen often argued against formalism and was known to promote a rationalist and exoskeleton method of minimalist rationalism in his rigorous design studios. This rigor could be seen in his early works such as the Inman house and especially the Goodman House. Goodman house was the prototypical RISD method of a complex yet simple Barn Vernacular with articulated window manipulation. The Chairman of Harvard Graduate School of Design, has pushed the envelope. His new folded architecture was first realized in a wonderful plethora of twisted and folded forms -with his Nanjing Performing Arts Center, showing Cohen's true genius as his creative mind was unbridled - free from the chains of his former alma mater. An emergence of the influence in his work of master Starchitects who were at Harvard as guest professors in the early 90's - such as Frank Gehry, Rem Koolhaas, Zaha Hadid, and Peter Eisenmann.
The power of his design for the Tel Aviv Musuem of Art is seen in multivalent readings and layering. He employs the power of Ronchamp with the elegance of Villa Savoie.

Certain elements of the museum are reminiscent of Corbs use of massive concrete forms as seen at Ronchamp. This heavy monolithic mass however can be seen intertwining with the lightness of Corbs other masterpiece - Villa Savoie with light polygonal forms making up the skin and interior spaces. The circulation of the museum takes the visitor through several overlapping spaces culminating in a huge main exhibition space. In certain ways it is reminiscent of Libeskind's Jewish Museum with lacerations for windows - yet it has an almost superior use of light form and space for exhibition of art. The disciplined Zen master has countered his own koan and left us speechless. - Ecomanta

Numptia Super Yacht Italy - Too Big To Fail

2011-11-25T17:31:00.000-05:00

The bleached oak interiors are simply stunning contrasted with warm wools and embossed leathers - gives the feel of a Parisian pied -a-terre - not a mega yacht.

Curved panels in exotic Brazillian woods look sumptuous against custom ebonized woodas and Macassar. A bronze floor lamp sits gingerly on a cutom silk Tibetan rug.

Curvaceous forms of custom upholstered furniture and deco inspired mirrors are situated againd gently curved wood columns.

The details employed are unparalleled in the world of yacht making. Every lightfixture, window treatment, and even all door hardware were custom made for the 130 foot yacht - Wood paneled ceilings curve upward redefining the concept of soffit.

A spacious modernist bathroom with clean lines provides a peaceful respit usually only seen in land based residences.

The design of the vessel was completed by Design Studio Spadolini of Florence.

Numptia features lavish rooms for up to 12 guests and includes an impressive master suite, a VIP suite, three queen-size double cabins and one twin stateroom.

Motor Yacht NUMPTIA is a 70 metre Rossi Navi vessel launched from the Italian shipyard in Viareggio in April, 2011. Superyacht Numptia was designed by Design Studio Spadolini and her interior design is the creation of Studio Salvagni.

The Rossi Navi FR020 hull Numptia has a steel hull and marine grade aluminium superstructure. The 70 metre M/Y Numptia is powered by twin 3516 B DITA-SCAC Caterpillar engines. Numptia can reach a top speed of over 16 knots and a cruising speed of 15 knots, at a full load. Her large tanks holding 200,000 litres of fuel and 40,000 litres of water enable her to have a long cruising range.

The 70m displacement Numptia yacht features stunning, curvaceous lines with a dark navy blue hull and white superstructure. Large windows and floor-to-ceiling glass sliding doors ensure a smooth indoor/outdoor flow and excellent views.
L.O.A.: 70 m.

max breadth: 12.5 m.

displacement: 1440 Ton

design speed: 19 Knt

range: 6000 nm
propulsion engines: Diesel Engines 2 X CAT 3516
hull type: Steel & Aluminium Construction concept: Displacement

Design Studio Spadolini: The superyacht yacht Numptia has been designed with a very exhaustive and in person meetings with the client to determine all necessary needs. All details for the external part of the yacht build has been studied with the client and yacht owner and always in accordance with his specific requests. Smooth inside/outside communication, in the formal and guest area, with large glass sliding doors and floor to ceiling glass windows. The service features include an on board staff of 35 when needed.
Rossinavi, Yachtcad Technical project, Axis Naval Engeneer, Studio Salvagni Interior design

Type/Year: a Rossi Navi Superyacht/2011

Refit: Beam: 13.2 m

L.O.A.: 70 m Crew:

Charter Guest: 12 Max Speed: 16 knots

Cabins: 6 Engines: 2 x CAT 3516
Cruise Speed: 15 knots More Yacht Info: Builder/Designer: Rossi Navi

Numptia is available for charter through Burgess for about $646,000 per week, and for sale for an undisclosed price, rumored to be around $85 million. - Tuija Seipellhttp://www.thecoolhunter.net/design/

Museum Quality Modern Chandeliers - Luxe meets modern art with Jeff ZImmerman

2011-11-21T21:32:00.000-05:00

These exquisite chandeliers by Jeff Zimmerman are available exclusively through R 20th Century Gallery in the ultra-chic neighborhood of Tri-beca. These are just a few of the stunning pieces coming from this maverick designer and artist. More of his work can be seen at Holiday House NYC (www.holidayhousenyc.com ) at Leonard Blavatnik's 75' Beaux Arts mansion/ townhouse at 2 E. 63rd Street near Chopard, Jimmy Choo, Hermes, Barney's. Open to the public from November 16 - December 10th Hours: 11am - 5pm. Tuesdays and Thursdays until 8pm.

Time Travel in Norway - Norwegian Wild Reindeer Centre Pavilion by Snøhetta

2011-11-20T22:21:00.000-05:00

Photo Credits: diephotodesigner and Ketil Jacobsen

The Zen nature of this minimalist shelter cannot be improved upon. The glass cube in the harsh desert is so perfect that its interior becomes all consuming and morphs to emulate the surrounding topography and terrain as if it were a chameleon. This takes Phillip Johnson's Glass House one step further. It is the landscape. It is by its nature quite contradictory - the treeless landscape has been harvested for the topographic model within. This structure travels to a past where tribes carved wood into organic shapes - we are simply lucky to have it displayed in such a beautiful oversized curioso box. - Ecomanta

Holiday House NYC - Designer Showhouse Opening Night -Fashion Week goes Indoors - Inson Wood

2011-11-18T18:16:00.018-05:00

Holiday House NYC 2011 - 2 E. 63rd Street
Holiday House NYC has drawn huge crowds with its dramatic rooms by 20 top interior designers in New York City. NBC's Jane Hansen and Sara Gore came to interview several designers this year. One outstanding room was Chinese New Year by Inson Dubois Wood mixing a host of styles including museum quality Paris 1930's Ruhlmann furniture, Louis XVI window treatments and Wall Paper and modern pieces by Herve Van Der Straeten. Among the art pieces selected Museum of Modern Art caliber pieces by Jeff Koons and Larry Zox.

NBC's Jane Hansen Interviewing Inson Wood anbout his room. The Chinese New Year inspired room borrows more from Ultra-chic Paris than China. A blue crystal table supports modernist cubes by Zimmerman while a patient Jeff Koons puppy looks on.

Discussing the beauty AND FEEL of a 100 percent silk Sultanabad with NBC's Jane Hanson

Holiday House NYC at 2 E.63rd has become one of the premier Decorator Showhouses in New York City.

New Yorks Hottest Designer Showhouse - For those of you who missed the opening night of my designer showhouse ( or wish to go back for more wine tasting ), Holiday House NYC, at Leonard Blavatnik’s 75’ wide Beaux Arts Mansion at 2. E 63rd Street. It will be open 7 days a week until December10th from 11am -5pm and late til 8pm on Tues and Thurs.

TV Interviews with Jane Hansen was featured on NBC News LXTV. Full video here: https://rcpt.yousendit.com/1288694840/6ea81e5cb18801468255015964aeed29

Maurice DuBois of CBS, Sara Gore of NBC, and Deb Feyerick of CNN were there as well.

Inson Wood explains the latest trends in design toTori Mellott, from Editor - at -large

Michael Wagner CEO of Charles Paris and Inson Wood


Inson Wood and Elba Galvan

With Founder and CEO of Holiday House NYC, Iris Dankner

Inson Wood and Ji Rook Kim

CNN Correspondent Deb Feyerick and Inson Wood

CEO of Susan G. Komen for the Cure NY Chapter , Dara Richardson - Heron,MD

Designer Dakota Jackson and Inson Wood

Lladro porcelain pieces sit upon museum quality Ruhlmann dining table. To contrast the Beaux Arts panelling, Inaon Dubois Wood used an 8' tall Larry Zox painting which looms over a console and cabinet both by Ruhlmann - courtesy of Pollaro.

Inson Dubois Wood created Dramatic Pelmets with custom silk trim and tassels by Christopher Hyland to envoke the feeling of lanterns. Scalamandre provided the Chinoiserie silk and Damask. Chandelier is by Herve Van der Straeten courtesy of Maison Gerard.

A Crystal Coffee table and12'ft long modernist sofa by Moura Starr set the stage for a painting by Ron Erlich. Inson Wood procured both of these pieces from Stephen Haller Gallery. On the right a painting by Michael Dickey.

Inson Wood used a 20' wide Pure silk Sultanabad rug from Persia to set the stage for exquisite red laquer walls.

Inson Wood proves Parisian fashion styles are still in vogue with lighting by Maison Charles and Silk Velvet fabrics.

Photos by Sophie Elgort

Holiday House NYC 2011 sneak peak - Inson Dubois Wood

2011-11-14T19:54:00.000-05:00

This year Inson Dubois Wood will take part in a Designer Showhouse called Holiday House NYC located in one of New York City's most magnificent Beaux Arts Mansion's that formerly housed the Academy of Arts and Sciences. This 60' wide x 100' deep townhouse is owned by the altruistic Leonard Blavatnik, who has opened the entire 20 room mega home to be decorated by 20 of Manhattan's hottest designers.

Inson Wood's room will feature Museum of Modern Art caliber art by artist such as Jeff Koons and Larry Zox. Other emerging artists include painters Ron Erlich and Michael Dickey. Stunning sculpture by Jeff Zimmerman All floor lamps and table lamps are by Charles - Paris.Parisian style 1930's Ruhlmann furniture is made by Frank Pollaro. There is an incredible cast bronze chair by Paul Mathieu and a Herve Van Der Straeten chandelier floats above a Moura Starr sofa and coffee table all composed on a 100 percent Persian 20' long silk rug. Mid Century dining chairs surround a table with avant garde Lladro porcelain selection. Dakota Jackson designed a contrasting modernist macassar side table to John Boone's cigarette table. Benjamin Moore supplied the paint. The formal Gala is November 15th - www.holidayhousenyc.com All proceeds go to Susan G Komen for the Cure.

Event Calendar

Thursday, November 17, 6:00 to 8:00pm: Chocolate Tasting with Marie Belle Chocolatier
Tuesday, November 22, 6:00 to 8:00pm: Wine Tasting by Brooklyn Winery
Tuesday, November 29th, 2:00 to 8:00pm: Holiday Shopping Night
Thursday, December 1, 6:00 to 8:00pm: Wine and Cupcake Tasting by Cupcake Vineyards
Tuesday, December 6, 2:00 to 8:00pm: Holiday Shopping Night.
Thursday, December 8, 6:00 to 8:00pm: Author's Night—Book signings by Keith Granet, Amy Lau, Celerie Kemble, Campion Platt, Tania Vartan & more.
Sunday, December 11, 11:00 to 3:00pm: Court "Yard Sale."

Ron Arad - While Europe faces a Economic crisis, the market slowly rises

2011-11-09T21:57:00.000-05:00

Ron Arad is one of the most sought after designers on the planet. After Dolce and Gabbana chose him to be their poster boy with the release of his Body Guard collection on their runway - the rest was history. Arad's chairs and sculpture fetch upwards of 400,000 Euros. He popularity has risen so intensely that he is now doing elaborate architectural projects around the world. Never before has an academic who focused primarily on furniture for the masses - had such a unprecedented rise to fame.

New Furniture for Charles - Paris by Inson Dubois Wood

2011-11-04T20:18:00.000-04:00

New York's Hottest Townhouse goes on the market, again.

2011-11-04T20:08:00.000-04:00

The townhouse is in some ways the perfect home. One gets a little piece of backyard, 1 or 2 trees, you never have to mow the lawn, you can clean both sides of your windows, you get six story views, and you only have to paint 2 sides of your home. Unlike a Manhattan apartment - you never have any one living above you. If you are lucky you might even get a roof terrace. The beauty of a townhouse more than anything else is that you can design whatever you like and there is no co-op board to stop you - no permission required other than that of the Dept of Buildings and the occassional annoyance of the Landmarks commission.

This 25' wide townhouse located in the heart of Greenwich Village and 5th Avenue, commonly referred to as the Gold Coast, was originally purchased for 4 million dollars and completed in 2006. It later sold for $15 million. It is currently on the market for $21 million. I sourced these two 17th Century French Limestone fireplace Mantles from Provence - over a period of 3 months to find the perfect ( mismatched ) pair. I recommended we use a master builder who I had used while working with David Easton and Charlotte Moss. Knowing the right contractors and vendors is half the battle. On certain floors, non - scalloping recessed skimmed museum quality lights by Nulux - Squilux create an almost seamless museum quality lighting effect. Custom Wall Paper by Gracie ( another Easton favorite ) adorned the studio walls a space with a souring ceiling height of 19' feet. P. E. Guerin supplied custom cast bronze bathroom fittings in the shapes of sea urchins for hot and cold and wild boar snouts as a faucet filler. P.E.Guerin is one of the only foundaries doing this work in New York - located conveniently in Manhattan a few blocks away. Stephen Gamble supplied the antique French White Oak hand scraped parquet and 12" plank floors. This townhouse has been ranked as one of the most detail obsessed homes in New York City - with 1940's English toggle switches retrofitted to control Crestron lighting and Audio Visual elements througout the house. Her master bathroom shower has no threshold to step over as it is flush with the natural unsealed wood floors and also has no visible drain. On the penthouse level, the raw original 1805 ceiling in on the atelier which was left exposed and intact, was made possible by insulating the existing roof from the top and removing all insulation and plaster ceiling below. I was recently in the townhouse and was happy to see the current owners had liked so many of the original details that hardly a thing had been changed. Even the original window treatments were still intact - this is indeed a rarity in a city where people rip out 10 million dollar renovations to suit their own needs at the drop of a hat.

How To Pick Abstract Art - Larry Zox and Ron Ehrlich

2011-11-04T00:36:00.000-04:00

There are two types of abstract modern art that I absolutely love - flat and textured. Larry Zox, a contemporary of Mark Rothko and who exhibited at the Museum of Modern Art along side other such greats such as Sol le Witt, Jasper Johns, and De Kooning was a master of the taped painting. Zox cared little for the textured medium of the oil paint and in fact did what he could to ansolutely deny texture by thinning his paints in order to saturate the canvas with liquid not the medium.

A bright contemporary artist, Ron Ehrlich does quite the opposite - he loads his spatula up with so much paint that it nearly falls off the canvas. He builds up layer after layer of paint so that the paint starts to read almost like a collage. He is a master of color - conquering it with the powerful and bold thundering strokes of a Nordic god.

When selecting modern abstract art there are 2 rules one must adhere to. The first is how will the art contrast or compliment its surroundings. The second is exactly what emotions does it evoke - does it remind you of calm, violence, serenity or chaos? Often times designers will specifically contrast a traditional interior with a modern piece of art. Other times a clean contemporary space can be enhanced by yet another clean painting that is even more reductionist in its nature. In the end however, the most important thing is to see if the piece speaks to you on several levels. More than just an investment - the power of a painting is its ability to make you stop and think. It is to make you remember that life it the sum of its parts - not just the goal or endgame, but part of the journey in itself.

Both of these masterly painters works can be seen at the Gallery of Stephen Haller, on W. 26th Street in Chelsea.