Ecomanta | Luxury Interior Design, Architecture and Lifestyle

Top 10 Interior designers in New York City

2026-01-07T13:54:00.000-05:00

Inson Dubois Wood has curated custom luxury homes including ground up construction in exclusive areas across America in places such as the Upper East Side Museum Mile, Aspen, Sagaponack, Palm Beach, Beverly Hills, Nantucket and Mt Desert Island. Shown above is a town house that we featured in over 7 Netflix series including Billions and Silicon Valley. Inson Dubois Wood has cultivated a clientele who value his experience and cultured eye as a tastemaker but also a creative who knows Return on Investment matters to everyone. Some of his timeless designs have given rates of return not in percentage on investment but more along the lines of 2 to 5X amount all in. This in addition to buyers often purchasing the furniture not just the home - have kept clients coming back on second third and even fourth homes.

The projects of Inson Dubois Wood were recently published in compilation design books that included top 10 world class designers such as: Juan Pablo Molyneux, Alessandra Branca, Clodagh, Peter Marino, Timothy Corrigan, Juan Montoya, Kelly Behune,

The worlds top black and white photographs

2021-02-16T16:56:00.001-05:00

Le Corbusier - The worlds greatest architect only built one building in the USA - the Carpenter Center at Harvard

2021-02-16T16:49:00.002-05:00

Le Corbusier, byname of Charles-Édouard Jeanneret, (born October 6, 1887, La Chaux-de-Fonds, Switzerland—died August 27, 1965, Cap Martin, France), internationally influential Swiss architect and city planner, whose designs combine the functionalism of the modern movement with a bold, sculptural expressionism. He belonged to the first generation of the so-called International school of architecture and was their most able propagandist in his numerous writings. In his architecture he joined the functionalist aspirations of his generation with a strong sense of expressionism. He was the first architect to make a studied use of rough-cast concrete, a technique that satisfied his taste for asceticism and for sculptural forms. In 2016, 17 of his architectural works were named World Heritage sites by UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization).

Le Corbusier was born in a small town in the mountainous Swiss Jura region, since the 18th century the world’s centre of precision watchmaking. All his life he was marked by the harshness of these surroundings and the puritanism of a Protestant environment. At 13 years of age, Le Corbusier left primary school to learn the enamelling and engraving of watch faces, his father’s trade, at the École des Arts Décoratifs at La Chaux-de-Fonds. There, Charles L’Eplattenier, whom Le Corbusier later called his only teacher, taught him art history, drawing, and the naturalist aesthetics of Art Nouveau.

It was L’Eplattenier who decided that Le Corbusier, having completed three years of studies, should become an architect and gave him his first practice on local projects. From 1907 to 1911, on his advice, Le Corbusier undertook a series of trips that played a decisive role in the education of this self-taught architect. During these years of travel through central Europe and the Mediterranean, he made three major architectural discoveries. The Charterhouse of Ema at Galluzzo, in Tuscany, provided a contrast between vast collective spaces and “individual living cells” that formed the basis for his conceptionof residential buildings. Through the 16th-century Late Renaissance architecture of Andrea Palladio in the Veneto region of Italy and the ancient sites of Greece, he discovered classical proportion. Finally, popular architecture in the Mediterranean and in the Balkan peninsula gave him a repertory of geometric forms and also taught him the handling of light and the use of landscape as an architectural background.

The Highest Prices Paid for Paintings At Auction Sothebys and Christies - DaVinci takes the top spot for $450 million USD

2021-02-16T14:50:00.001-05:00

While the auction landscape this year didn’t have a blockbuster on the scale of 2017 when
Leonardo Davinci’s Salvator Mundi sold for $450.3 million, the year’s 20 most expensive lots showed a healthy market that continued to churn out new records for major artists, despite many top lots selling on just a few bids or less. Collectors fought over paintings, furniture, and ephemera from the collection of Peggy and David Rockefeller, which racked up $832.6 million in sales—the most for an estate in history. Asian collectors continued to muscle their way into the top echelon of the auction world, both by securing major works at sales in New York and by buying big lots during sales in Hong Kong and Beijing.

And while there are plenty of fireworks below, it also serves as a reminder that the biggest stories of the year can sometimes get obscured when ordering a year’s results strictly in terms of price paid. Diddy made history he spent $21.1 million on

Kerry James Marshall

’s Past Times (1997), making him the most expensive living black artist, but that work did not crack the top 50 lots of the year. And Jenny Saville became the most expensive living female artist when a work of hers sold for $12.4 million, but that lot failed to crack the top 100.

Modigliani

Francis Bacon

Roy Lichtenstein

TOP TEN ARTISTS BY VALUE 2005-2015

While Koons has had the highest sale at auction looking at individual lots, he also tops our list of artists by value over the same period. The artists listed below have the highest aggregated sales over the past ten years, demonstrating a sustained presence at auction.

Jeff Koons                $646,151,557

Christopher Wool      $343,764,142

Richard Prince          $316,564,227

Ed Ruscha                 $230,645,436

Jasper Johns             $185,430,519

Wayne Thiebaud        $163,584,836

Robert Ryman           $139,923,825

Frank Stella               $139,517,394

Robert Indiana          $118,074,640

Cindy Sherman        $106,562,956

 artnet Market Watch is pleased to offer a complimentary Living American Artists Market Watch Report. To learn more about the auction market for living American artists, download the report here. 

DAVID HOCKNEY portrait of the artist. Pool with two figures. 1972. $90,3 million

Jeff Koons - Greates Artist on Earth. Rabbit sells for 92 Million USD.

2021-02-16T14:40:00.000-05:00

In 1977, the artist moved to New York, where he began work at the Museum of Modern Art, making a name for himself with his extravagant clothes and hair, not to mention his impressive ability to sell art. It was in this period that Koons began to work with the inflatable flowers and rabbits, using a combination of plastic, plexiglass, and mirrors to produce unexpected sculptures. Then, in 1980, he realized The New, a series of vacuums and polishers displayed in clear cases, followed just five years later by the Equilibrium series, which included sculptures of balloons floating in water: the first of Koons’ experiments on the fetishist fascination with consumer culture, which he would continue to develop over the years.

In 1986, he would showcase his stainless steel Rabbit in a collective exhibit at the Sonnabend Gallery of New York together with Peter Halley, Ashley Bickerton, and Meyer Vaisman, attracting the attention of critics.

That same year, Koons continued his research on the theme of decadent consumerism — particularly with the series Luxury and Degradation, incorporating images of liquor ads and sculptural renderings of travel bars, and Banality (1988), where he’d create oversized figurine sculptures, including the famous Michael Jackson and Bubbles.

They would be the first formal apparitions of advertising in the artistic language of Jeff Koons, which would also show up in Made in Heaven (1990-91), presented for the first time at the 1990 Venice Biennale: pornographic sculptures of the artist and his then wife, Ilona Staller (La Cicciolina). “When I made it, I was just thinking about the ideas around me. I was involved with banal images. I realised that people respond to banal things; they don’t accept their own history; not participating in acceptance within their own being. I started then to take that into the body. Where do people start to feel guilt and shame and rejection of the self? I wanted to go into Made in Heaven with biology; procreation; looking at nature, and to deal with ideas of the eternal,” he told the Guardian years later in 2015.

In 1992, he brought his Puppy sculpture to Kassel for Documenta 9, a 12 meter tall West Highland Terrier made of dirt and flowers. The piece was such a success that after the exhibit it was displayed in other cities like New York, Sydney, and Bilbao.

Over the last few years, Koons has reappeared on the international stage thanks to his exorbitantly priced pieces and the vibrantly colored Bouquet of Tulips, installed in Paris in 2016 as a memorial to the victims of France’s recent terrorist attacks.

The work of Jeff Koons has also garnered its fair share of controversy. In a review of his exhibit at the Whitney, New York Review wrote: “Imagine the Jeff Koons retrospective at the Whitney Museum of American Art as the perfect storm. And at the center of the perfect storm there is a perfect vacuum. The storm is everything going on around Jeff Koons: the multimillion-dollar auction prices, the blue chip dealers, the hyperbolic claims of the critics, the adulation and the controversy and the public that quite naturally wants to know what all the fuss is about. The vacuum is the work itself, displayed on five of the six floors of the Whitney, a succession of pop culture trophies so emotionally dead that museum goers appear a little dazed as they dutifully take out their iPhones and produce their selfies”.

The Spectator has defined him “a slick brand manager rather than a tormented creative soul,” while for Roberta Smith, “Mr. Koons is a famous perfectionist who takes many years (“Play-Doh” is dated 1994-2014), spends incredible amounts of money and often ends up inventing new techniques to get exactly what he wants in both his sculptures and his paintings, which are made by scores of highly skilled artists whom he closely supervises”.

However you look at it, the career of Jeff Koons is truly one of a kind, whose rise to success is owed to the opening of roads that once seemed closed by minimalism: the proposition of something new, both accessible and avant-garde.

Most popular contemporary artists of todays art world - ending with the best of all time Basquiat

2020-05-22T00:20:00.000-04:00

The contemporary art world is a fickle place. It is the true alchemy - where canvas and pigment is turned into pure gold. We will look at all the significant artists of the current time - ending with one that stands alone as the penultimate master - Jean-Michel Basquiat. Claiming the crown because his painting is the highest price ever paid at an auction for an American Artist - $110,000,000.

30. Cindy Sherman (b. 1954)

Cindy Sherman made a name for herself with her “Untitled Film Stills” (1977-1980), a series of self-portrait photographs of her acting out 20th century pop culture female clichés. Her work examines women’s roles throughout history and in contemporary society. She leaves her work open to interpretation, yet is generally perceived as a feminist symbol.

Cindy Sherman

29. Liu Xiaodong (b. 1963)Liu Xiaodong is known for his strong brushwork, rich colours, and precise forms. He started out with traditional brushwork to create extremely realistic subjects, but later changed his approach and started working with cropped framing, an unusual use of perspective, and the use of colours to strengthen emotion. Liu paints his subjects in their natural settings, capturing everyday people in complex places such as Israel-Palestine, Tibet, and rural China. His intimate, on-location approach and sensitivity to his subjects make his works so moving and powerful.

Liu Xiaodong

28. Cecily Brown (b. 1969)London-born painter Cecily Brown is often compared to Willem de Kooning and Francis Bacon, and comparisons are also made between her large-scale paintings and bold brushwork and the works of Abstract Expressionists. Brown is credited as one of the main influences in the resurgence of painting at the turn of the millennium. Her paintings are filled with erotic, fragmented bodies amidst vivid, pulsating colours. Critical reception of her work is mixed, but she is certainly an important presence on the art market, recently having broken her auction record with a sale for $2.2 million.

Cecily Brown. Photo: Mark Hartman

27. Liu Wei (b. 1965)Beijing-born Liu Wei is considered to be one of the most talented contemporary Chinese artists. In the early ‘90s, Liu Wei and Fang Lijun created an artistic style known as cynical realism. His work confronts the boredom and aimlessness in contemporary society, and transcends binaries like Eastern/Western culture. It is this smashing of boundaries, this not being tied to any one school of thought, that creates his unique style and makes him so beloved in the art world today.

Liu Wei

26. Miquel Barcelo (b. 1957)Spanish artist Miquel Barcelo is best known for his installation on the ceiling of the Human Rights and Alliance of Civilizations Chamber at the UN Palace of Nations in Geneva. These multicoloured stalactite forms symbolise the sea and a cave, in opposition yet simultaneously in union. His works explore decomposition, metamorphosis, and the passage of time. In 2004, Barcelo became the youngest artist ever to have exhibited works in the Louvre in Paris.

Miquel Barcelo

25. Takashi Murakami (b. 1962)Takashi Murakami, also known as the “Warhol of Japan”, is famous for his merging of fine art and popular culture, often referencing colourful anime and manga cartoons. According to Murakami, “Japanese people accept that art and commerce will be blended.” It is the West that impose such a sever hierarchy when it comes to art. Despite this, Murakami has been fully embraced in the Western art world as well, and his work is extremely in demand in the art world today.

24. Günther Förg (1952-2013)Günther Förg was part of the post-war generation of German artists who reacted against Modernism, and was one of the pioneers in exhibiting multi-disciplinary works. Förg’s works are often concerned with the political climate of his era in Germany, and are known for their brightly saturated solid colours. He was considered to be one of the most interesting artists of his time.

Günther Förg

23. Luo Zhongli (b. 1948)Luo Zhongli is one of China’s leading realist painters. His powerful photorealistic portraits of people in rural southwestern China have deeply moved people all over the world; it is as though they open up a window into the lives and souls of these people. Zhongli is best known for his painting “Father”, depicting the face of a Chinese peasant in incredible detail. He is one of the most popular artists among Chinese art collectors today.

Luo Zhongli

22. Njideka Akunyili Crosby (b. 1983)The universe Nigerian-American Njideka Akunyili Crosby depicts in her work is, according to her, neither Nigeria nor America, but some other space, the space that every immigrant occupies. Akunyili Crosby creates colourful collage paintings which weave together intimate moments with commercial images from Nigeria, and reference Nigeria’s history and postcolonial present. The paintings live and breathe her trans- and multicultural fascination and identity. Akunyili Crosby became the talk of the art world when the price of her work soared dramatically. Last year, her pieces went from selling for around $100.000 to selling for more than $3 million.

Njideka Akunyili Crosby

21. Sean Scully (b. 1945)Irish artist Sean Scully often works with stripes, grids, and dark tones to create his characteristic abstract works. There is always a dialogue between geometry and soft edges, something that Scully himself describes as the “battle between system and emotion.” Born in Dublin, raised in London, and based in the United States since the ‘70s, Scully carries a fascinating collection of cultural influences with him. Perhaps this is one of the reasons why he stated that his big Chinese retrospective in 2015 was the most important show to him, because, as he said himself, “I’ve always wanted my art to be global, not local.” And he certainly succeeded in achieving this.

20. Zhou Chunya (b. 1955)Chinese artist Zhou Chunya is best known for his Green Dog series, in which he depicted a green German Shephard in various poses and settings. His style is often described as a hybrid between Western Modernism, traditional Chinese painting, and Socialist Realism, which is what makes his art so gripping. Zhou considers himself, above all, to be a colourist, and is fascinated with the meanings colours beget when people think of them. He became the youngest artist to top the Hurun Art List in 2013, which ranks the top 100 Chinese artists by their sales revenue at public auctions.

19. George Condo (b. 1957)George Condo plays with the human form. His paintings are graced with absurd, cut-up, often carnivalesque characters. Though references to the likes of Picasso, Matisse, Cy Twombly, Goya, and Velazquez are evident, there is no doubt that Condo has developed his own very significant style. In his own words, he is exploring “the private, off-moments or unseen aspects of humanity.” After first winning over Europe, Condo later returned to New York where he had started out in the ‘80s and became recognised all over again.

18. John Currin (b. 1962)John Currin, photographed above while working on a portrait of his wife, is an American painter known for his seductive yet also repelling paintings of lustful women. He combines the beautiful and the grotesque, and influences ranging from Renaissance paintings to magazine ads from the ‘50s can be found in his often erotically charged works. It could be precisely his ability to create art that defies taste, that makes you both hate and love it, which makes Currin such a popular artist.

John Currin

17. Zhang Xiaogang (b. 1958)Zhang Xiaogang’s haunting paintings engage with the notion of identity within the Chinese culture of collectivism. His work centres around the concept of family, taking inspiration from family photos from the Cultural Revolution period. It is as though through memory, Zhang is creating an extremely personal version of China’s history.

16. Thomas Schütte (b. 1954)Thomas Schütte, who studied with Gerard Richter in the 1970s and has been leaving his mark on the art world ever since, explores the human condition through his art. He offers a critical perspective on social, political, and cultural issues, challenging the viewer with his evocative figures and expressions. In 2016, he opened his own private museum (joining an elite group of artists including Damien Hirst who have established private museums) in Hombroich, Germany dedicated solely to his sculptures.

15. Jeff Koons (b. 1955)Jeff Koons is famous for turning banal objects into high art icons. He plays with concepts like taste, celebrity, media, and commerce, holding up a mirror to society and revealing it in all its grotesque contradictions. His fascination with these subjects is also reflected in the commercial materials he uses. Whether you love him or hate him, he succeeded in taking the art world by storm and securing a permanent spot for himself.

Jeff Koons Portrait Kunsthaus Bregenz.

14. Mark Bradford (b. 1961)Mark Bradford combines his interests in modern abstraction and the urban community in his signature mixed-media collages. His work, spanning the breadth of collage, public art, installations, and video work, is explores the relationship between high art and popular culture, and is always seeking out the uncomfortable and confronting topics in society. Bradford created one of the most talked about displays outside the US pavilion at the Venice Biennale this year, referencing the Virginia plantation owned by Thomas Jefferson and inspired by topics such as the rise of Trump, police violence, and Black Lives Matter.

Mark Bradford Studio Los Angeles

13. Albert Oehlen (b. 1954)German artist Albert Oehlen, who became prominent in the ‘80s as a part of Hamburg’s burgeoning art scene, uses impulse and eclecticism in his work, often starting with a set of rules or structural limitations and using his fingers, brushes, collage, and computers as his tools. In recent years, the demand for his art has risen in the luxury zone of the art market, calling some to question whether this will change the reception of his challenging art.

Albert-Oehlen

12. Anselm Kiefer (b. 1945)Anselm Kiefer, the German artist who studied with the likes of Joseph Beuys, engages with myth, memory, and collective history. He believes it is important to confront your (collective) path in order to be able to go towards the future. Hence, his epic-scale sculptures and paintings reference, among other things, National Socialist architecture, post-Holocaust poetry, and Cold War politics, and he uses materials like burned books, ashes, and thorny branches… In 2011, Christie’s set a worldwide record for the sale Kiefer’s work when it sold To The Unknown Painter (1983) for $3.6 million.

Anselm Kiefer

11. Adrian Ghenie (b. 1977)Adrian Ghenie is a Romanian artist from the Cluj School. His works are filled with rich textures and colours, the expressive images balancing in between clarity and decay. His paintings weave together personal and collective fears, traumas, and memories, addressing the horrors of 20th century European history. These days, prices for Ghenie’s paintings have skyrocketed, and he has a long waiting list of private buyers. Experts attribute his immense popularity on the art market to a strong demand for painting, his limited output, the scarcity of masterpieces for sale, an affordable price point relative to the top of the market, and wealthy Asian buyers.

Adrian Ghenie

10. Damien Hirst (b. 1965)Damien Hirst is the most prominent member of the Young British Artists group, which dominated the UK art scene in the ‘90s. Hirst is the UK’s richest living artist, and also broke the record for a one-artist auction in 2008 when he sold a complete show, Beautiful Inside My Head Forever, for $198 million. He is most well known for his series of artworks of dead animals preserved in formaldehyde, and for his diamond skull, For the Love of God.

Photo: Anton Corbijn

9. Zeng Fanzhi (b. 1964)Zeng Fanzhi grew up in China during the Cultural Revolution, an experience that marked him as an artist. His work points to his concern with modernity’s problematic history and the isolation and instability of contemporary life. He achieved recognition in the ‘90s for his Hospital and Meat series. His works can be recognised by his signature expressionistic style, figures with large heads and exaggerated features. In 2013, Fanzhi’s The Last Supper sold for a record-breaking $23.3 million at Sotheby’s Hong Kong, making it the highest price for Asian contemporary art at auction.

Zeng Fanzhi

8. Keith Haring (1958-1990)Keith Haring’s pop art and graffiti-like work emerged from the New York City street culture of the ‘80s. He found himself in the thriving alternative art community outside of the galleries and museum institutions, instead coming to life on the streets, in the subways, and in clubs. Haring wanted to devote his career to creating a truly public art. In the subway stations, on unused advertising panels, he found his medium to experiment and to communicate with the wider audience. Haring’s works remain extremely popular to this day, selling for up to approximately $6 million at auctions.

Keith Haring

7. Yoshitomo Nara (b. 1959)Yoshitomo Nara is one of the central figures of the Japanese neo-Pop movement, creating paintings, drawings, and sculptures of child-like characters. These characters are deeply inspired by popular culture such as anime, manga, Disney, and punk rock, resulting in images which are cute, yet also unsettling and sinister. His work concerns itself with finding an identity within today’s rapidly modernizing, violent world with its non-stop visual inputs.

6. Richard Prince (b. 1949)Richard Prince is one of the most infamous appropriation artists of our time. Prince reuses mass-media images in order to question and redefine notions of authorship and ownership. In his 1980’s “Cowboys” series, he re-photographed Marlboro ads in order to create close-ups of these mythical cowboys. In 2005, his Untitled (Cowboy) became the first re-photograph to be sold for more than $1 million at auction. More recently, he has become occupied with Instagram, stealing Instagram posts from several young women and selling them for vast sums. The controversy and lawsuits that ensue are, in a sense, part of Prince’s artworks.

5. Mark Grotjahn (b. 1968)Mark Grotjahn is an American artist best known for his abstract and geometric paintings. His paintings are said to strike a complex dialogue with the works of Kazimir Malevich, Barnett Newman, and Bridget Riley. Grotjahn often explores the vanishing point of perspective, and works with bright colours. Demand for Grotjahn’s work has risen steadily in the past years.

4. Rudolf Stingel (b. 1956)Rudolf Stingel is an Italian artist based in New York. Since the ‘80s, Stingel’s work is concerned with interrogating his chosen medium of painting and subverting notions of authenticity, hierarchy, meaning, and context. He is interested in engaging the audience in a dialogue about their perception of art and including them in the process. After his 2007 show at the Whitney Museum in New York, Stingel’s prices went through the roof.

rudolf_stingel

3. Christopher Wool (b. 1955)Christopher Wool first made a name for himself in the New York art scene in the 1980’s. He is best known for his word paintings, his trademark white canvases with large black stencilled letters. Works like Apocalypse Now (“Sell the house sell the car sell the kids”) and If You (“If you can’t take a joke you can get the fuck out of my house”) made between $15 and 30 million at Christie’s auction house.

Christopher Wool

2. Peter Doig (b. 1959)Peter Doig is a Scottish artist who spent most of his formative years in Trinidad and Canada, and studied art in England. His work is described by the Saatchi Gallery as containing themes of magical realism, “capturing timeless moments of perfect tranquillity, where photo-album memory flits in and out of waking dream.” Doig takes inspiration from photographs, newspaper clippings, scenes from movies, covers of record albums, and the work of earlier artists like Edvard Munch. In 2002, he settled in Trinidad again, where he opened a studio at the Caribbean Contemporary Arts Centre. In 2007, his White Canoe sold for $11.3 million at Sotheby’s, which at the time was a record for a living European artist.

Courtesy Michael Werner Gallery

1. Jean-Michel Basquiat (1960-1988)Jean-Michel Basquiat emerged from the early ‘80s American Punk scene in New York and swiftly became recognised in the international art circuit. His “naïf” art skilfully merged styles and traditions, creating collage-type works of art which often referred to his urban and African-Caribbean heritage. Basquiat’s work is an example of how counter-cultural art practice can become a completely recognised, embraced, and celebrated form of art by the commercial masses. His works sell for the highest prices on the art market today. He will be forever regarded as the best artist to come out of the Americas. No one was able to create a true representation of the social experiment called America - where a man can become anything he wants. He was the first true Black American King - where others had fought to be equals - W E B Dubois, Martin Luther King, Malcom X, Sidney Poitier - they all paved the road for his ascent - but it was Jean Michel-Basquiat who paved the road for Barack Obama. Never before had a black man been considered an equal. He tore down boundaries in a way no one before him had. His work was so poignant, so authentic, critical of even his Patrons and those who lifted him up. Basquiats work stands on its own - He is the Davinci of our Millenium. There is nothing more real than a Basquiat painting - allegorical, political, layered, deconstructed - and down right beautiful - cartoonesque yet masterful in its proto-realism - graffiti for the ultra elite. Basquiat blew a whole in the entire cannon of the art critic world - one that it has never recovered from.

Davinci Christ - 500 million USD

Basquiat emcompasses the best of all artists...

The coposition of a Rubens...

the color of Vangogh

and the hand of Davinci.

Jean-Michel Basquiat sold for over $110,000,000

Dekooning Woman $330 million USD

He even outshines the most expensive artist Dekooning

who like Basquiat also has the hand style of the child.

Jean-Michel Basquiat will always be remembered

as the prize fighter he so often depicted in his art.

Jean-Michel Basquiat

Wolf Prix Musee des Confluences, Lyon, France

2018-04-18T17:54:00.000-04:00

The Musée des Confluences is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône. The building has 236,800 square feet of floor area and is themed on crystal and cloud, on mineral and lightness. The symbolic setting at the confluence of the Saône and Rhône rivers within the Lyon agglomeration, characterized by its scientific, economic and industrial past, called for a strong architectural statement. The architect, Hence Coop Himmelb(l)au’s idea was to approach to the cultural project of the museum by combining two architectural units, the Crystal and the Cloud, symbols respectively of the known the familiar environment of today and the unknown the sometimes unfounded fears of tomorrow.

The Base, the Crystal and the Cloud The building rests on a base which houses the production workshops, the auditoriums and the group visit reception area. The Crystal marks the north entrance to the museum, on the city side. It is designed to be an urban forum: under its forty metres of glass is an area for meeting and exchange. A complete contrast in its shape and the diversity of its materials, the Cloud rests on three piers and fourteen monumental columns. It is clad in a stainless steel skin which captures the multiple echoes of sky and city, and of water and greenery. It houses all the exhibitions. A unique cultural venue With its remarkable cultural installations, the museum has broken the mold. One of the floors of the Cloud (35500 square feet) is dedicated entirely to permanent exhibitions, while the other (29 000 square feet) offers two temporary exhibition platforms, discovery areas, a digital resources corner and the Museolab, an area dedicated to experimentation in museum technology.

The Base, which is the museum’s technology area, is also a public area with two auditoriums seating 327 and 122 respectively, available for scientific and cultural programmes and private events. The museum’s services include a brasserie, a self-service-restaurant, a cafeteria with terrace, a bookstore and shop and a 262 600 square feet landscaped garden open to the public. Permanent exhibition areas Four areas display 1,600 emblematic items from the collection. The first room considers the issue of the origins of the universe and mankind by mixing two ways and means of explaining the world: one scientific, the other symbolic.

A second room presents Homo sapiens as an animal species evolving within the complex mesh of biodiversity.The path through the room examines the existence of human beings in relation to their natural, social and personal environment. A third space provides stories, from here and elsewhere,concerning the past and the present on three themes: organization, exchange and innovation.

With an eye to the future, it raises the issue of the individual’s involvement in and commitment to building ways to live together. Finally, the last space takes up the issue of death in different societies and of how mankind has always attempted to push back its limits.

The museum includes collections of natural science, anthropology, and Earth Sciences of the Musée d'histoire naturelle - Guimet. These collections will be supplemented by exhibitions of arts and crafts.

The four major exhibitions are called "Origins - Stories of the World", "Species - the Web of life", "Societies - Human theatre," and "Eternities - Visions of the beyond". The first exhibition deals with questions of origin, both the Big Bang theory, history of the universe, as well as the birth of life and evolution of especially humans. The second exhibition, "Species", explores the links between humans and animals, and evolution of different species. The third exhibition, "societies" is about human societies and how humans build communities. And finally, "Eternities" deals with the meaning of life, the inevitable death of humans, and how that question has been dealt with in different societies.

The museum stands 44 m (144 ft) high, 150 m (492 ft) long, and 83 m (272 ft) wide. Total area will be 22,000 m² (238,000 sq ft), 6,500 of which will be devoted to exhibitions, three times greater than the museum exhibition space. Nine concurrent exhibitions (4 permanent + 5 temporary), plus four discovery spaces and two auditoriums will be available. Construction cost was budgeted for €153 million, but the controversial final cost is now forecast to approach nearly €300 million.

The world's top restaurants with modest interiors.

2018-03-26T20:08:00.000-04:00

Not all quality restaurants have elaborate Louis 16 interiors - some are quite modest in nature. Some even feel as if you would be welcome in a t-shirt and jeans... But don't be deceived because the following eats are quite strict about the dress code and the price tag is quite intimidating to say the least - that said every thing on the menu at these mess halls for the uber affluent is absolutely to die for.

Famous Architects you should know - New York Five

2018-03-26T20:00:00.001-04:00

Richard Meier's Getty Center

The New York Five refers to a group of five New York City architects (Peter Eisenman, Michael Graves, Charles Gwathmey, John Hejdukand Richard Meier) whose photographed work was the subject of a CASE (Committee of Architects for the Study of the Environment) meeting at the Museum of Modern Art, organized by Arthur Drexler and Colin Rowe in 1969, and featured in the subsequent book Five Architects, published by Wittenborn in 1972, then more famously by Oxford Press in 1975.^[1]

These five had a common allegiance to a pure form of architectural modernism, harking back to the work of Le Corbusier in the 1920s and 1930s, although on closer examination their work was far more individual.^[1] The grouping may have had more to do with social and academic allegiances, particularly the mentoring role of Philip Johnson.

The book evoked a stinging rebuke in the May 1973 issue of Architectural Forum, a group of essays called "Five on Five", written by architects Romaldo Giurgola, Allan Greenberg, Charles Moore, Jaquelin T. Robertson, and Robert A. M. Stern.^[1] These five architects [Guirgola et al.], known as the "Greys", attacked the "Whites" [Eisenmann et al.] on the grounds that this pursuit of the pure modernist aesthetic resulted in unworkable buildings that were indifferent to site, indifferent to users, and divorced from daily life. These "Grays" were aligned with Philadelphia architect Robert Venturi and the emerging interest in vernacular architecture, New Classical Architecture and early postmodernism. In the late 1970s and early 1980s, Eisenman and Robertson were in partnership, though they designed and credited their work separately.

John Hejduk, the oldest of the five, is known as a pedagogue and the visionary composer of drawings, buildings, poetry, and theoretical writings from the mid-1950s on. Charles Gwathmey is known for his prolific practice (a partnership with Robert Siegel). While Gwathmey remained true to modernist style, the purity of his work is tempered by the evolving capital realities of corporate and public commissions. Meier is similarly prolific, yet known best for a continuous refinement of the purist voyage on which they initially embarked. Meier's buildings remain truest to the modernist aesthetic and especially to a neo-Corbusian form. Eisenman, the most printed writer of the five was perhaps the one who best navigated the line between theory and practice. And along with this navigation came infamy as a critic. Eisenman is associated with Deconstructivism. Graves defected from modernism; he was the first to disavow his relationship with the others and he has worked subsequently as a post-modern architect.

Charles GWATHMEY - Graduated Cornell University

In 1965, while not yet a licensed architect, he designed a house and studio for his parents in Amagansett, NY, that became famous and revolutionized beach house design. When he did take the professional licensing exam, he was surprised to see a multiple-choice question on the test that asked "Which of these is the organic house?" The choices included the house he designed for his parents. He wanted to answer that the organic house was his, but in order to pass the exam he chose Frank Lloyd Wright’s Fallingwater House. He knew that was the answer they wanted. He passed.^[2] By 1977, Gwathmey had designed 21 houses and renovations while still under 40 years old and ten years of practice.^[3] From 1965 through 1991, Gwathmey taught at Pratt Institute, Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art, Princeton University, Columbia University, the University of Pennsylvania, the University of Texas, and the University of California at Los Angeles. He was Davenport Professor (1983 and 1999) and Bishop Professor (1991) at Yale, and the Eliot Noyes Visiting Professor at Harvard University (1985). Gwathmey was the Spring 2005 William A. Bernoudy Resident in Architecture at the American Academy in Rome ^[2]^[3]

Gwathmey's firm designed the Museum Of Contemporary Art of North Miami, Florida in 1995, and the Astor Place Tower, a 21-story condominium project in Manhattan's East Village, in 2005. In 2011 the Ron Brown Building would serve as the new home of the United States Mission to the United Nations for which he was the lead architect. The building was dedicated to him. In her remarks, Ambassador Susan Rice thanked Gwathmey posthumously. [1]

RICHARD MEIER - Cornell Graduate - Master of the Museum. Getty Center.

In New York City, Meier worked for Skidmore, Owings and Merrill briefly in 1959, and then for Marcel Breuer for three years, prior to starting his own practice in 1963. In 1972, he was identified as one of The New York Five, a group of modernist architects: Meier, Peter Eisenman, Michael Graves, Charles Gwathmey, and John Hejduk. Early in his career, Meier worked with artists such as painter Frank Stella and favored structures that were white and geometric.^[1]

Meier first gained significant recognition for his designs of various residences in addition to The Atheneum in New Harmony, Indiana (1979) and the High Museum of Art in Atlanta, Georgia (1983).

Getty Center

Though Meier was an acclaimed architect for many years, his design of the Getty Center, a massive museum complex in Los Angeles, California, which opened in 1997, catapulted his popularity into the mainstream. Some of his other notable commissions include museums such as the Barcelona Museum of Contemporary Art in Spain (1995) and the Paley Center for Media in Beverly Hills, California (1996); city halls in The Hague, The Netherlands (1995) and San Jose City Hall (2007); commercial buildings including the reconstruction of City Tower in Prague, Czech Republic (2008); and residential buildings such as 173 and 176 Perry Street in the West Village of Manhattan (2002) and Meier on Rothschild in Tel Aviv, Israel (2015).

Today, Richard Meier & Partners Architects has offices in New York and Los Angeles with current projects ranging from China and Tel Aviv to Paris and Hamburg.

Much of Meier's work builds on the work of architects of the early to mid-20th century, especially that of Le Corbusier and, in particular, Le Corbusier's early phase. Meier has built more using Corbusier's ideas than anyone, including Le Corbusier himself^[8]. Meier expanded many ideas evident in Le Corbusier's work, particularly the Villa Savoye and the Swiss Pavilion.

His work also reflects the influences of other designers such as Mies Van der Rohe and, in some instances, Frank Lloyd Wright and Luis Barragán (without the colour)^{[citation needed]}. White has been used in many architectural landmark buildings throughout history, including cathedrals and the white-washed villages of the Mediterranean region, in Spain, southern Italy and Greece.

The Mayor of Rome Gianni Alemanno included in his campaign platform a promise to tear down the big travertine wall of Meier's Ara Pacis.^[9] Mayor Alemmano has since changed his stance on the building and has agreed with Meier to modifications including drastically reducing the height of the wall between an open-air space outside the museum and a busy road along the Tiber river. The city plans to build a wide pedestrian area along the river and run the road underneath it. "It's an improvement," says Meier, adding that "the reason that wall was there has to do with traffic and noise. Once that is eliminated, the idea of opening the piazza to the river is a good one." The mayor’s office said Alemanno hopes to complete the project before the end of his term in 2013.

PETER EISENMAN - Graduate of Cornell University Professor at Cooper Union

He first rose to prominence as a member of the New York Five (also known as the Whites, as opposed to the Grays of Yale: Robert A.M. Stern, Charles Moore, etc.), five architects (Eisenman, Charles Gwathmey, John Hejduk, Richard Meier, and Michael Graves) some of whose work was presented at a CASE Studies conference in 1969. Eisenman received a number of grants from the Graham Foundation for work done in this period. These architects' work at the time was often considered a reworking of the ideas of Le Corbusier. Subsequently, the five architects each developed unique styles and ideologies, with Eisenman becoming more affiliated with Deconstructivism.

The Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe at the site of the gardens of the former Reich Chancellery in Berlin.

He currently teaches theory seminars and advanced design studios at the Yale School of Architecture.^[5] He is Professor Emeritus at the Cooper Union School of Architecture.^[6] Previously, he taught at the University of Cambridge, Harvard University, the University of Pennsylvania, Princeton University School of Architecture, and the Ohio State University. Peter Eisenman founded the Institute for Architecture and Urban Studies in 1967, serving as its Executive Director until 1981.

Another view of the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe

His professional work is often referred to as formalist, deconstructive, late avant-garde, late or high modernist, etc. A certain fragmenting of forms visible in some of his projects has been identified as characteristic of an eclectic group of architects that were (self-)labeled as deconstructivists, and who were featured in an exhibition by the same name at the Museum of Modern Art. The heading also refers to the storied relationship and collaborations between Peter Eisenman and post-structuralist thinker Jacques Derrida.^[7]

His writings have pursued topics including comparative formal analyses; the emancipation and autonomization of the discipline; and histories of Architects including: Giuseppe Terragni, Andrea Palladio, Le Corbusier and James Stirling. While he has been referred to as a polarizing figure,^{[citation needed]} such antagonistic associations are likely prompted by Colin Rowe's 1972 criticism that the work pursues physique form of European modernism rather than the utopian social agendas ^[8] or more recent accusations that Eisenman's work is "post-humanist"^{[citation needed]} (Perhaps because his references to the Renaissance are 'merely' formal). While his apathy towards the recent "green" movement is considered polarizing or "out-of-touch", this architect-artist (with drawings held by major collections) was also an early advocate of computer aided design. Eisenman employed fledgling innovators such as Greg Lynn and Ingeborg Rocker as early as 1989.^{[citation needed]} Despite these claims of polarity and autonomization, Eisenman has famously pursued dialogues with important cultural figures internationally. These include his English mentor Colin Rowe, the Italian historian Manfredo Tafuri, George Baird, Fredric Jameson,^{[citation needed]} Laurie Olin, Rosalind Krauss and Jacques Derrida.^[9]

His focus on "liberating" architectural form was notable from an academic and theoretical standpoint but resulted in structures that were both badly built and hostile to users. The Wexner Center, hotly anticipated as the first major public deconstructivist building, has required extensive and expensive retrofitting because of elementary design flaws (such as incompetent material specifications, and fine art exhibition space exposed to direct sunlight). It was frequently repeated that the Wexner's colliding planes tended to make its users disoriented to the point of physical nausea; in 1997 researcher Michael Pollan tracked the source of this rumor back to Eisenman himself. In the words of Andrew Ballantyne, "By some scale of values he was actually enhancing the reputation of his building by letting it be known that it was hostile to humanity."

His House VI, designed for clients Richard and Suzanne Frank in the mid 1970s, confounds expectations of structure and function. Suzanne Frank was initially sympathetic and patient with Eisenman's theories and demands. But after years of fixes to the badly specified and misbegotten House VI (which had first broken the Franks' budget then consumed their life savings), Suzanne Frank was prompted to strike back with Peter Eisenman's House VI: The Client's Response, in which she admitted both the problems of the building, as much as its virtues.

He has also embarked on a larger series of building projects in his career, including the recently completed Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe in Berlin and the new University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, Arizona. His largest project to date is the City of Culture of Galicia in Santiago de Compostela, Spain. He is featured in wide print and many films, including the 30 minute 2008 film Peter Eisenman: University of Phoenix Stadium for the Arizona Cardinals where he provides a tour of his recent construction. In 2001, he won the National Design Award for Architecture from the Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum.

JOHN HEJDUK - Graduated Harvard Architecture

Hejduk was Professor of Architecture at The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art, School of Architecture from 1964 to 2000 and Dean of the School of Architecture from 1975 to 2000. His arrival including the cooperation of many other influential professors (including Raimund Abraham, Ricardo Scofidio, Peter Eisenman, Charles Gwathmey, Diana Agrest, Diane Lewis, Elizabeth Diller, David Shapiro, Don Wall and many others) transformed the practice and critical thought of architecture in ways that might be compared to Ludwig Mies Van Der Rohe's transformation of the Armour Institute into the Illinois Institute of Technology.

His early work and curriculum grew from a set of exercises exploring cubes, grids, and frames, through an examination of square grids placed within diagonal containers set against an occasional curving wall, towards a series of experiments with flat planes and curved masses in various combinations and colors.^[1] To aid his research he was awarded a grant from the Graham Foundation in 1967. Eventually, John Hejduk's "hard-line" modernist space-making exercises, heavily influenced by Frank Lloyd Wright and Ludwig Mies Van Der Rohe, moved away from his interests in favor of free-hand "figure/objects" influenced by mythology and spirituality, clearly expressing the nature of his poetry.The relationship between Hejduk's shape/objects and their surroundings is a controversial subject, raising questions similar to those raised by the early houses of Peter Eisenman.

MICHAEL GRAVES - Graduated Harvard University

Graves spent much of the late 1960s and early 1970s designing modern residences. Notable exampoles include the Hanselman House (1967) and the Snyderman House (1972, destroyed by fire in 2002) in Fort Wayne, Indiana.^[18]^[19] Graves also became one of the New York Five, along with Peter Eisenman, Charles Gwathmey, John Hejduk and Richard Meier.^[20] This informal group of Princeton and New York City architects, also known as the Whites due to the predominant color of their architectural work, espoused a pure form of modernism that is characterized by clean lines and minimal ornamentation. The New York Five became the "standard-bearers of a movement to elevate modernist architectural form into a serious theoretical pursuit."^[20] Five Architects (1973) describes some of their early work.^[20]

Postmodernist[edit]

In the late 1970s, Graves shifted away from modernism to pursue Postmodernism and New Urbanism design for the remainder of his career. He began by sketching designs that had Cubist-inspired elements and strong, saturated colors. Postmodernism allowed Graves to introduce his humanist vision of classicism, as well as his sense of irony and humor. His designs, notable for their "playful style" and "colorful facades," were a "radical departure" from his earlier work.^[21] The Plocek Residence (1977), a private home in Warren Township, New Jersey, was among the first of his designs in this new style.^[9]

Graves designed some of his most iconic buildings in the early 1980s, including the Portland Building.^[9] The fifteen-story Portland Municipal Services Building, his first major public commission, opened in 1982 in downtown Portland, Oregon.^[22] The "monolithic cube" with decorated facades and colorful, oversized columns is "considered a seminal Postmodern work"^[23] and one of Graves's best-known works of architecture. The celebrated but controversial municipal office also became an icon for the city of Portland and subject to an ongoing preservation debate.^[22]^[5] Regarded as the first major built example of postmodern architecture, the Portland Building was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2011.^[24] Although it faced demolition in 2014, the city government decided to proceed with a renovation, estimated to cost $195 million.^[22]^[5]

Humana Building in Louisville, Kentucky, 1982

As a result of the notoriety he received from the Portland Building design, Graves was awarded other major commissions in the 1980s and 1990s. Notable buildings from this period include the Humana Building (1982) in Kentucky and the Newark Museum expansion (1982) in New Jersey.^[25]Some architecture critics, including Paul Goldberger of The New York Times, consider the Humana Building, a skyscraper in Louisville, Kentucky, one of Graves's finest building desgins. TIMEmagazine also claimed it was a commercial icon for the city of Louisville and one of the best buildings of the 1980s.^[1]^[22] The San Juan Capistrano Library (1982) in California, another project from this period, shows his interpretation of the Mission Revival style.^[26]

Graves and his firm also designed several buildings for the Walt Disney Company in the postmodern style. These include the Team Disney headquarters in Burbank, California;^[5] the Dolphin (1987) and Swan (1988) resorts at Walt Disney World in Florida; and Disney's Hotel New York (1989) at Disneyland Paris.^[9] Patrick Burke, the project architect for the two resort hotels in Florida, commented that the Walt Disney Company described Graves's designs as "entertainment architecture."^[27] In addition to the Swan and Dolphin hotel buildings, Graves's firm designed their original interiors, furnishings, signage, and artwork.^[28] Graves's other notable commissions for buildings that were completed in the 1990s include an expansion of the Denver Public Library (1990) and the renovation of the Detroit Institute of Arts (1990).^[5]

Postmodern architecture did not have a long-lasting popularity and some of Graves’s clients rejected his ideas. For example, his design for an expansion of the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York City in the mid-1980s was highly contested and never built due to local opposition.^[1] Graves's designs for a planned Phoenix Municipal Government Center complex were among the project's finalists, but his concept was not selected as the winning entry.^[29]

NCAA Hall of Champions in Indianapolis, Indiana, 1997

Graves's prominence as a postmodernist architect may have reached its peak during the 1980s and in the early 1990s, but he continued to practice as an architect until his death in 2015. Later works include the O'Reilly Theater (1996) in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; the NCAA Hall of Champions in Indianapolis, Indiana; and 425 Fifth Avenue (2000) in New York City, among others. Graves also received recognition for his multi-year renovation of his personal residence in Princeton.^[30]International projects included the Sheraton Miramar Hotel (1997) in El Gouna, Egypt,^[31] and the Hard Rock Hotel in Singapore.^[31] One of the last projects that Michael Graves and Associates was involved in before Graves's death was the Louwman Museum (2010) in The Hague, Netherlands. Gary Lapera, a principal and studio head of Michael Graves and Associates, designed the museum, also known as the Lowman Collection and the National Automobile Museum of the Netherlands, which houses more than 230 cars.

Best Stores in Qingdao - Shopping Capital of China

2018-01-22T13:09:00.003-05:00

Watch Out, Shanghai: Qingdao Has Big Ambitions To Become China’s Shopping CapitalA night view of the Northeast China city of Qingdao, which is on its way to becoming a major tourism and shopping center. (Shutterstock)Nicknamed “Oriental Switzerland” since German colonization in the 19th century and recently known as the future “Hollywood of China” thanks to Dalian Wanda Group’s grand development plans, Qingdao will also soon be transformed into a mecca for luxury shopping in Northeast China.The Qingdao Bureau of Commerce recently confirmed its ambition to build a “one core, three rings” metropolis when it unveiled a development blueprint that translates to “Qingdao Fashion and Retail Businesses Development Plan” in early July. The master plan focuses on developing the core city—the Fushan Bay sailing destination (Chinese: 浮山湾) and the three satellite rings nearby—Tangdao Bay (Chinese: 唐岛湾) in the southwest, the Haiquan Bay hot springs resorts (Chinese: 海泉湾) in the north, and the Jinjialing new financial district (Chinese: 金家岭) in the northeast.

Over the recent years, thanks to the rapidly growing fashion and retail market in Qingdao, a massive shopping strip along the Fushan, Haiquan, and Tangdao Bays has formed and now houses big-ticket shopping malls and department stores such as Haixin Square, Sunshine, Marina City, and Spring Plaza. Qingdao is now home to 200 international-branded stores, and 76 percent of the shops in Haixin Square are reportedly from international brandsThe Bureau’s plan in Fushan Bay will emphasize commercial construction planning of the MixC, Inzone, Haixin Plaza, and Tsingtao Center to attract international businesses. Specifically, the blueprint includes the establishment of one shopping complex, four to five luxury shopping malls, one to two multi-brand boutiques, one to two upscale supermarkets, one to two duty-free shops, and one direct import store. In Tangdao Bay, development focuses will be on the Vanly Upper Class, Phoenix Island Duty-Free Shopping Center, Qingdao Free Trade Port Area, and Dalian Wanda’s Oriental Movie Metropolis. In Jinjialing, the efforts will be the opening of Wal-Mart’s Sam’s Club and department stores in the district. In Haiquan Bay, the focus will be on the integration of luxury shopping and tourism, which include the operation of the China Travel Service Hong Kong Outlets, the Heaven Creation Grand Theatre, and hot spring resorts.The Bureau also ambitiously plans to draw examples from cities such as Zurich, Milan, London, and Dubai, according to another recently released report which roughly translates to “Implementing Regulations of Promoting Fashion and Retail Businesses Development.” The report states that from now until 2020, Qingdao aims to accelerate bringing in international upscale brands, and to further form a strong fashion and retail ecosystem that radiates through the Shandong area. One important goal will be getting the nod from the government on loosening policies related to a free-trade area, duty-free shops, foreign exchange, and customs.Below is a translation of the summary of Qingdao’s 2020 plan:

Job Team

Qingdao has plenty to be thankful for when it comes to shopping. The main commercial districts contain more shops and department stores than you could possibly expect, with the main shopping areas in Qingdao being centred around Zhongshan Lu, Qingdao Lu and in the vibrant German quarter.

Ranging from Laoshan mineral water, tea and local beer, to jewellery, shell-crafts and high fashion, shopping in Qingdao is diverse to say the least. A particularly colourful shopping experience can be enjoyed by paying a visit to the Longshan Underground Market, which is located next to Xinhaoshan Park and known for its clothing outlets.

WHEN TO SHOP AND OPENING HOURS

Shopping hours in Qingdao are long, which is typical of China as a whole. Most stores and shopping centres around the city remain open all day, every day, closing as late as 21:00 or even 22:00, although some do stick to 09:00 to 17:00 / 17:30.

WHERE TO SHOP

The main places to shop in Qingdao are listed below and include some of the city's best department stores, shopping centres and commercial districts, where you will find everything that you could possibly want - and more.

Dongtai Jusco Shopping Centre - 72 Hongkong Zong Road, Qingdao, 266071, China, CN
Tel: +86 0532 571 9600
A large mall with a huge selection of shops, expect to find clothing stores, homeware shops, electronics outlets and one of the city's best supermarkets, suiting those who are planning to self-cater during their stay.

Haixin Plaza - 9 Shandong Street, Qingdao, Shandong, 266071, China, CN
Tel: +86 0532 584 2226
Located in downtown Qingdao, the Haixin Plaza is a modern department store, which opened its doors in 1997 and has always been popular. With five floors, an excellent restaurant and plenty of reasonably priced goods, you can easily spend many hours in this one shop alone.

Qingdao Laoshan Department Store - 65 Xingyang Road, Qingdao, Shandong, 266071, China, CN
Tel: +86 0532 789 5183
A particularly historic department store dating back more than 50 years, this huge shop is spread over several floors and is a great place to pick up any essentials that you might need, or simply a souvenir of your visit.

Fada Department Store - 12 Zhongshan Road, Qingdao, Shandong, 266001, China, CN
Tel: +86 0532 296 1717
The Fada Department Store stands along the bustling Zhongshan Road and is housed in a modern high building with a superb selection of goods and many, many floors.

Zhongshan Road / Commercial Street - Zhongshan Road, Qingdao, Shandong, 266001, China, CN
A huge shopping street lined with literally hundreds of different shops and specialist stores, Zhongshan Road truly is the city's cultural centre. Zhongshan Road stands in the downtown district and is close to the bay, with highlights including the Fada Department Store, various restaurants, an underground market and a number of recreational attractions.

Sun light Mall
Parkson
Hisense Plaza

Art as Furniture - Ron Arad: Guarded Thoughts

2018-01-17T20:25:00.001-05:00

Bodyguard_Ron_Arad

"Arad was born in Tel Aviv in 1951 and studied at the Bezalel Academy of Art and Design in Jerusalem and at the Architectural Association in London. He was appointed Professor of Product Design at the Royal College of Art in London in 1997. Before and After Now, a major retrospective of Arad's work was exhibited at the Victoria and Albert Museum in 2000, a year after the publication of a monograph by Deyan Sudjic, now Director of London's Design Museum. In 2004 Ron Arad Talks To Matthew Collings was published by Phaidon. Arad's Architectural projects include the Maserati headquarters showroom in Modena, Italy, and Y's fashion store for Yohji Yamamoto in Tokyo, Japan, which opened in 2003. In 2004 he began work on the design of Magis's headquarters in Treviso, Italy and the Holon Design Museum in Israel, no completed. In the same year, he participated in the British Pavilion at the Venice Architecture Biennale."(http://www.yatzer.com/1598_ron_arad-_new_work_at_timothy_taylor_gallery)

"While continuing to interpret and engineer the values of sculpture and seating, London-based designer Ron Arad has created a new series of works which venture into previously unexplored territories for the designer.

In a departure both in scale and material sophistication, Arad uses his ability to innovate with cutting-edge technology, while perfecting the ideals and techniques of hands-on craftsmanship, to create a series of volumetric forms with unexpected and mesmerizing visual effect." (http://www.detnk.com/node/2366)

Ron_Arad:_Guarded_Thoughts

Bodyguard_Ron_Arad

‘Bodyguard_(solid)’,_Ron_Arad_2008

Bodyguard_Ron_Arad_2008

Jeff Zimmerman - Lighting as high Art - A Master craftsman takes it to the next level

2018-01-12T11:49:00.000-05:00

Jeff Zimmerman's iconic chandelier has doubled in value over the past 5 years and is considered a true collectible.

Jeff Zimmerman's hand blown chandeliers are transformative pieces of art.

The masterful quality and attention to Jeff Zimmerman's work is unparalleled amongst his peers. Few lighting designers have reached his level of perfectionism.

Jeff_Zimmerman

A celebrated master glass artist, Jeff Zimmerman (b. 1968) belongs to a group of daring contemporary artists who employ the ancient material as a means of expression rather than an end in itself. His sculptures and functional pieces exploit techniques of advanced glassmaking and the defining properties of glass itself -- the way it hovers between liquid and solid states, its reflectivity and tactile qualities, its habit of moving constantly while still molten -- to evoke a dimension of experience where things are happening that we can feel but not necessarily define. His signature organic shapes are intensely colorful but soft, mysterious but welcoming, disquieting yet familiar. Drawn formally from nature, they result from the dramatic pushing, pulling, dripping and spinning actions through which they took shape -- processes that Zimmerman exploits to suggest the mutability of the worlds around us and within us.

Raised by a painter mother and a sculptor stepfather at the Anderson Ranch Arts Center in Colorado, his early exposure to nature remains a vital force in his work. In 1988, while pursuing a degree in Anthropology in Santa Barbara, California, Jeff took his first glass blowing class. This led to learning the classical Venetian approach to glass blowing while receiving his BFA at a small arts school in the woods of Tennessee. Summers were spent on staff at the Pilchuk School in Seattle. It was there that he was exposed to master Italian glass technicians Lino Tagliapietro and Pino Signoretto. Jeff began his apprenticeship, honing his technique while developing his own artistic voice. He was also exposed to contemporary artists such as Maya Lin, Kiki Smith, and Ann Hamilton. Jeff was very influenced by the way these artists approached glass from a conceptual platform and he would go on to create work in glass for them.

Jeff's training also includes working as a master glass blower at C.I.R.V.A., a contemporary design and art center in Marseille, France. While making experimental sculpture and traveling throughout Europe and Africa, Jeff worked with such esteemed artists as Robert Wilson, Gaetano Pesce and Robert Morris.

Toward the end of his time in school, Jeff joined a collaborative, experimental glass blowing group called the B Team. The B Team traveled to colleges and universities as visiting artists. Their performances were punk rock, cutting edge "happenings." In one performance, molten glass rainstorms unleashed themselves on steel umbrellas, pouring hot and immediate over the players. The B Team received the BESSY award from the Dance Theater Workshop for their performances, as well as the Tiffany Award. Their work was exhibited at the New Museum for Contemporary Art in New York and the Grand Arts Center in Kansas City. A tour in Japan shortly followed.

His solo work began to attract attention from collectors, curators, and the public in 1999, when he presented a sprawling sculpture installation at the Robert Lehman Gallery in Brooklyn, New York, titled "

Anthropology Museum of the Future," featuring glass fetish pieces in black light. For three years Jeff served on the faculty of Urban Glass in Brooklyn as an instructor.

Zimmerman has exhibited at galleries and institutions internationally, including Sean Kelly Gallery, New York, Emmanuel Perrotin Gallery, Paris, the Brooklyn Museum of Art and the American Crafts Museum. In 2011 he completed commissions for the Hyundai Capital headquarters in Seoul, Korea, and Irvine, California. His work is in the permanent collections of the Corning Museum of Glass, New York, and the Boghossian Foundation, Belgium, as well as private collections worldwide. Zimmerman currently lives and works in New York.

World class Interior Designer, Inson Dubois Wood, on Zimmerman's work: " Jeff takes the art of lighting to a completely other-worldly level. His pieces are truly masterful one of a kind art and could be placed in MoMA or the Met - rarely will you find a craftsman making something functional that reaches such a level of tranformative creativity."

To see some examples of Jeff Zimmerman's work see Inson Wood projects here.

Timeless Architecture - Le Corbusier La Tourette Monastery - the single most important piece modern architecture of our time.

2018-01-11T20:32:00.003-05:00

The building, La Tourette by Lecrobusier for a monks was made in 1856t - it is raised on pilotis ( or columns ) allowing the hillside to flow underneath – a recurring characteristic in Le Corbusier's work – with horizontal strips of windows that are intended to provide equal light for the rooms inside. Xenakis worked extensively on the layout and design of the windows, as he did at the architect's projects in Chandigarh, India.

Flat roofs covering access ramps and cloisters are covered with grass – a feature Le Corbusier said was important in his work to compensate for the green space covered by the building.

Photograph by Fernando Schapo

The cells for the friars are arranged in a U-shaped formation around a courtyard. Sloping, glazed corridors look out over the courtyard space, while a triple-height chapel building closes it off at one end.

Deep, slanted openings in the ceilings are used to direct beams of light down into the interior and lower levels and are expressed externally as shapes that protrude from the roof.

Photograph by Oliver Martin Gambier

The building has a complicated plan, but the majority of its inhabitable spaces are divided across three main levels. The lowest provides access to the church, and houses a refectory and chapter house.

The second floor contains the public entrance with reception rooms and a porter's lodge, as well as study rooms, a library, an oratory, and common rooms. Grids of different sized windows look out over the central space.

Photograph by Fernando Schapo

The third floor is dedicated to accommodation, with small cells placed one against the other. Each cell has a balcony looking out to the surrounding landscape. A cloister occupies the grass-covered roof.

A spiral staircase at the corner of an atrium, placed off-centre in the plan, connects all three levels.

Although most of the structure is left with a raw concrete finish – the classic Le Corbusier style of Beton Brut or Brutalism – bold colours are used to mark doors, pipes and floors.

Photograph by Alicia Dobrucka

Shortly after the building was finished, the Dominicans decided to base most of their friars in the community. The convent's cells are now largely occupied by pilgrims, students and architecture devotees.

It was under the instigation of Reverend Father Couturier (one of the men who have brought about the reawakening of sacred art in France) that the Dominicans of Lyon have charged Le Corbusier with the task of bringing into being at Eveux-sur-Arbresle, near Lyon, the Convent of La Tourette, in the midst of nature, located in a small vale that opens out onto the forest. This problem, the program of which is based upon the rules of the Dominican Order established at the beginning of the 13th Century, involves the presence of fundamentally human elements in the ritual as well as in the dimensioning of the spaces (rooms and circulation). Just as for the Chapel of Ronchamp, Le Corbusier finds here a program of human scale, at the human scale. And it was his friend, the Reverend Father Couturier, who, before his death so brutally intervened, had explained to him some of its profound resonances. The buildings contain a hundred sleeping rooms for teachers and students, study halls, a hall for work and one for recreation, a library and a refectory. Next tomes the church where the monks carry on alone (on occasion, in the presence of several of the faithful). Finally the circulation connects all the parts, in particular those which appear in a new form (the achievement of the traditional cloister form is rendered impossible here by the slope of the terrain). On two levels, the loggias crowning the building (one for each acoustically-isolated monk's tell) form brise-soleil. The study halls, work and recreation halls, as well as the library occupy the upper level. Below are the refectory and the cloister in the form of a cross leading to the church. And then come the piles carrying the four convent buildings rising from the slope of the terrain loft in its original condition, without terracing.

The structural frame is of rough reinforced concrete. The panes of glass located on the three exterior faces achieve, for the first time, the system called: "the undulatory glass surface" (which is applied as well to the Secretariat at Chandigarh). On the other hand, in the garden-court of the cloister, the fenestration is composed of large concrete elements reaching from floor to ceiling, perforated with glazed voids and separated from one another by "ventilators" : vertical slits covered by metal mosquito netting and furnished with a pivoting shutter. The covered walks of the cloister are enclosed with "waves". The corridors leading to the dwelling tells are lighted by a horizontal opening located under the ceiling.

The convent is "posed" in the savage nature of the forest and grasslands which is independent of the architecture itself. The façades shall remain in rough concrete, the several infillings being painted with whitewash. The walls of the church shall be in "banchage". In the interior of the church, the "points of the diamond" shown in the section reproduced below will rot appear in the final execution because of different reasons (except one or two installed in a good place). The roof of the convent itself, like that of the church, will be covered with a thin layer of earth loft to the viscissitudes of the wind, birds and other carriers of seeds, assuring both water-tightness and isothermic protection. (The roofs of the small house on Lake Léman, constructed thirty years ago, the apartment house at 24 Rue Nungesser et Coli and various buildings in India are similarly constructed.)

Le Corbusier, Oeuvre complète

Modern Architecture in Shanghai, China - The Chinese Way

2017-11-01T19:57:00.000-04:00

The magical lane houses, which were once the dominant fabric that made urban Shanghai the intoxicating place that it was in the 1930s, are now slowly being demolished, taken over by high-density developments all over the city. Neri&Hu was commissioned to reconstruct a dilapidated lane house left with almost nothing except its glorious shell in the historic and artistic Tianzifang area in Shanghai, and the mission was to transform it into three separate apartment units.

Neri&Hu’s strategy was to rethink the typology of the lane house--keeping the split level formation, a typical trait to lane houses in this city, and add spatial interest through new insertions and skylights to accentuate the architectural integrity of such a typology, contemporizing it for today’s lifestyle.

Historically the lane houses are separated with two distinct spaces--a longer and often rectangular space with a smaller room half a level above that creates a split section connected by a winding stairway in between. These lane houses which were often occupied by single families during the turn of the century, have changed over the course of the city’s economic history. They are now typically occupied by three or more families, sharing the public stair case and landings, so that neighbors living on different levels or rooms have a chance to interact as they move in and out of their personal units.

To keep the spirit of this typology alive, a new continuous metal stair was inserted to replace the old decaying wooden stair that was not to code. It also serves to act both as a vertical connection to the three levels and at the same time a lock for the frontal room and room half a level above to be intact in its configuration. To keep these spaces pure and rigorous, all toilets were inserted into the stair spaces. The bathrooms, conceivably the most intimate spaces of each apartment, are inserted next to the most public stairway separated only with a sandblasted glass divider. Above this stairway, a clearstory skylight was added to bring light to the darkest space and also to the frontal room, the room half a level above, and the staircase space itself. The blurring of both the private and the public acts as the central concept that binds the split level together, and at the same time, bring life to the middle and darkest portion of the lane house.

Architecturally, the decorative elements added over the last 60 years were stripped off, and large openings were created on the frontal section to improve light qualities to the public spaces of each apartment. The color black was selected to make the building “disappear”, in hoping that one would experience the split-section connected by a public stairway that is so vital to Shanghai’s urban life in the 30’s. By capturing the spirit of the historic past and making new abstract insertions to meet modern needs, Hu infused life into a lane house in a neighborhood whose original fabric is dissolving too fast, too soon.

Neri and Hu's Berkley influence is obvious, but the subtlety comes from a hyper Spartan neo -Japanese minimalism that stems from masters such as Tadao Ando and Kazuyo Sejima.

The Architecture of Nature - The Unnatural Furniture of Marc Fish

2017-06-20T19:37:00.000-04:00

Fish's one-of-a-kind pieces are created through an incredible mastery of the most refined practices in micro stack-lamination today and have attracted the attention of designers, architects and collectors worldwide. His unusual and unique process, which implements only dry, cold-carving techniques, is unparalleled in the world of independent studio woodworkers.

As Fish only creates a few select designs per year, his work is highly sought after. His passion is for one-off pieces; drawing on exquisite craftsmanship and a good design ethos. Fish draws inspiration from natural forms, often exploring the Victorian obsession with natural history as with his celebrated Nautilus Table (2011), Mollusque Table (2012), and the Laminaria Series (2015).

While sculpture and architecture provide stimulation for his inimitable outlook, it is the design process itself that has inspired and propelled the success of Fish’s latest body of works: The One Piece Series.

Each of the works in the One Piece series begins as a single board that is shaved into hundreds of paper thin laminations. By stack laminating the pieces together Fish creates the primary shape of the work. It is then bent without heat, steam, or water preserving the integrity of wood. Fish hand-sculpts the work into its final form before applying artisan finishing materials and techniques such as ceruse, resin and metal compounds, or clear acrylic resin.

The creative eye of this imaginative artist whose furniture is more art than function challenges us to reconsider the use of materials what was once alive now takes on another life all to its own. Man's incessant need to tinker and tweak nature to his own particular view - recreating the old into something new - taking nature into a hybrid morphogenetics - making something beautifully natural in its utter unnaturalness.

Jude Law's Priestly Penthouse Paradise - repurposed Church in Manhattan.

2017-06-20T19:18:00.000-04:00

Add caption

A 20' wide Nana Wall retractable exterior door accordion was used to open the penthouse wall..

Its always interesting to see where Hollywood's top actors choose to live when they come to Manhattan. Here is a peek into a penthouse apartment designed by Inson Dubois Wood in a 1905 church and formerly the residence of Jude Law was recently on the market for 12.5 mil. Originally purchased for 6 mm the home was fully renovated to include a stunningly beautiful glass stair, all glass master bathroom with hidden tv and a titanium clad powder room. Other design features include a solid steel entry door with a thumb scanner for added security. A similar apartment on a lower level without the stellar views, nor the dramatic glass stair and crystalline bathroom designs sold for north of 12 million. To see more of this designers award winning eclectic designs see their website www.insonwood.com

The monograph of Inson Dubois Wood entitled Inson Dubois Wood: Interiors has been recently published by Rizzoli Press International. http://www.architecturaldigest.com/gallery/eclectic-style-homes-inson-dubois-wood

Architect Tadao Ando First Projectt in Manhattan

2016-07-07T13:05:00.000-04:00

Tadao Ando uses a zen like palette to create a soothing minimalist environment in his new Condo on Elizabeth Street.

Although 152 Elizabeth Street is considered a small-scale project compared to many other current Manhattan developments, Tadao Ando's structure is currently one of the most closely-watched projects in New York City.

"One of the building's signature design features is found in its vestibule, a floor-to ceiling water wall with grooved glass panels that are naturally backlit by diffused natural light. Residents and visitors immediately experience the tension between light and shadow, with light piercing through slits in the walls, animating the room's architectural concrete surfaces." - Tadao Ando

Legendary self-taught Japanese architect Tadao Ando is changing the residential fabric of Manhattan with his first project in New York City. The project is a concrete condominium exemplifying the thesis of his previous monumental buildings, and is located at 152 Elizabeth Street. This 32,000-square foot, 7-story, 7-residence structure will be Ando’s first residential building in Manhattan, and is expected to be complete in 2016. Prices for one of the 7 apartments at 152 Elizabeth Street are expected to start around $6 million, with the penthouse unit expecting to be over $35 million. Price is not a concern in this concrete jungle, however; The New York Times has reported that there has already been over 200 purchase inquires from local residents who are willing to pay the price to live in a truly unique and masterful structure. Ando has been glorified for creating spaces that stress sensory experiences and create lasting memories, and has won several distinguished awards including the AIA Gold Medal, the Gold Medal of Architecture, and the Pritzker Architecture Prize. This minimalist architect has proven his worth to the rest of the world - now he gets to try out his design talents in the most demanding city in the world where high realestate prices in edgy neighborhoods are the norm. - Ecomanta

Tadao Ando is known for his primary use of concrete and his emphasis on nothingness in order to stress beauty, simplicity, and nature.

As a self-taught Architect, Ando is extremely influenced by his Japanese upbringing and religion. His work is often likened to the religious term Zen, meaning the inner focus on simplicity rather than outward appearances. Ando primarily uses concrete, one of the most common materials of the 21st Century, but implements the material in a simple and holistic style which differentiates him from all other contemporary architects.

How to Design with Art and Architecture.

2015-10-23T19:41:00.000-04:00

A room by Inson Dubois Wood with paintings by Andy Warhol.

Inson Wood uses a sculpture by Rodin / Bourdelle which is a match to one in Paris. A Ron Erlich creates a back drop for a sculpture by Jaime Hayon Lladro.

New York City Designer, Inson Wood, with a painting by Ron Erlich.

A Marc Chagall hangs in a bedroom designed by New York Interior Designer, Inson Wood.

For a Greenwich Village Townhouse, Inson Wood chose a computer generated encaustic style series by Hye Rim Lee, a female artist from Korean living between New York and New Zealand.

A children's room by Inson Dubois Wood with art by Jeff Koons and

Painting by Justin Bower in a Upper Eastside Townhouse.

New York Architect, Inson Dubois Wood, who comes from a family of art dealers and art makers, shares his insights on art and design.

The Importance of Art and Architecture in Design

Too often we forget the importance of good art and good architecture when it comes to interior design. Without significant and well proportioned architecture, the decorating tends to fall apart. So often we see a potentially fantastic design composition ruined by the underlying architecture and floor plan layout. We asked New York based interior designer Inson Wood of design firm Inson Dubois Wood what his most important tips were when it comes to design, architecture and art.

E: How significant is art and architecture when it comes to design?

IDW: Too often I have observed do it yourself designers creating potentially amazing spaces only to have the proportions of the room all wrong and millwork that is too small or big to fit the room. Layout and scale are everything. I am repeatedly called in to rescue projects where a client has chosen a designer who doesn't understand architecture proportion or architects who don't know scale when it comes to furniture. Art can cause similar issues. Sometimes I am astounded to find that art is left to the last item as if it were a mere accessory. If I have my way I prefer to design an entire room around a significant piece of art. For Clients who love collecting art - important art or otherwise - I have gone great lengths to ensure there is enough room for the sculpture or painting to breathe and be appreciated.

E: How do you go about picking art for clients who do not have much experience with collecting.

IDW: First off I like to establish if the client is interested in having art as an investment or just for personal pleasure. Some pieces I have chosen are truly unique paintings that are very affordable and clients are pleased when they are valued at 10 times the buy price when they sell at Sothebys for instance. The painting should be suitable to the environment of the room - but should not try to be matchy matchy. For clients who are afraid of using color, artwork is the best solution - it can be changed, moved, or sold if you want to change the feeling of the room. When I studied architecture at Harvard, I was fortunate to study the works of Le Corbusier and Zaha Hadid - both designed furniture and created paintings and sculpture - the true architect must know all forms of art - from the spoon to the house that contains it.

Design in 2000 BC - Worth the Travel - Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City

2015-10-09T17:45:00.000-04:00

Perhaps one of the best recent shows of historical Egyptian art in the world - the latest unveiling of these specimen Egyptian treasures can now be seen on display at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. - Ecomanta.

Ancient Egypt is box office gold: Do a show, and people will come. Why? Mummies, Hollywood and Queen Nefertiti certainly contribute to its allure. Also, we tend to identify with Egyptians of thousands of years ago. In art, they look exotic, but not out of reach. They drank beer, collected cats, and wore flip-flops. They yearned to stay young and to live forever, with loved ones nearby and snack food piled high. Who can’t relate to that?

At the same time, they were foreign in ways we can barely imagine, ruled by kings they referred to as “junior gods,” and by gods who had power over all, but had to be flattered, pampered and fed. As for art, they had no word for it. What to us is gorgeous, to them was useful, a ticket to the other side, the life beyond.

Few institutions have done a better job at illuminating that art than the Metropolitan Museum. And it returns to the subject in “Ancient Egypt Transformed: The Middle Kingdom,” an exhibition notably low on King Tut bling and high on complex beauty. Opening on Monday, it’s a classic Met product. It assembles some 230 top-shelf objects from more than 30 international collections, with about a third from the Met itself, to tackle an impossibly broad and complicated piece of history.

A relief of an elite woman painted on limestone, from about 1887-1840 BC.The Trustees of the British Museum, London

Oddly, given its central place in Egypt’s past, the Middle Kingdom (circa 2030 to 1650 B.C.) has never had a comprehensive museum showcase till now. Maybe “middle” sounds unsexy, implies incomplete, in progress, unformed. But that wasn’t the case. The Middle Kingdom was a time of specific change and accomplishment. And in a sense what’s most distinctive about its art is precisely its in-between-ness, its demonstration, within a culture that wanted to believe otherwise, that all is flux; nothing is stable; the only reality is change.

A big change came to Egypt with the sputtering close of the previous period, the Old Kingdom, the so-called age of the great pyramids, with its capital at Memphis in the north. Then, for nearly a century, there was anarchic confusion as provincial leaders battled for dominance. Out of the fray, a southern ruler named Mentuhotep II, pharaoh of the 11th dynasty, emerged to take the reins. Then, under Amenemhat I, founder of the 12th dynasty, northern and southern Egypt were reunited.

A sandstone statue of Mentuhotep II, who ruled from around 2051 to 2000 B.C., opens the show. It’s carved in a calculatedly archaic style: stolid, columnar, arms stiffly crossed, knees like knobs, face locked in a noncommittal smile. Old Kingdom and proud, it seems to say, though it was, of course, Middle Kingdom, and innovations in art were underway. The body of a similar figure made later under his direct successor is all sensuous swells and curves. And in a relief depicting an encounter between a pharaoh and a goddess, the fineness of the incised detail — eyebrows, hair, fabric textures — is astonishing. We see power being visually packaged in new ways.

Such shifts in vision, reflecting political and social change, are evident in the show’s second gallery, which has been set up as a kind of royal portrait hall. In the sculpted head of the second pharaoh of the 12th dynasty, Senwosret I, we see Old Kingdom confidence: a youthful, plump-cheeked leader with a broad, no-worries smile. Some 50 years later his successor, Senwosret III, projects an entirely different mood: His face is aged, gaunt, grim. And then comes a famously haunting image of one of the dynasty’s last rulers, Amenemhat III, as a stricken, sleep-deprived child-king who has seen too much.

We don’t know much about any of these men; everything is open to interpretation. Amenemhat III’s face suggests that the Middle Kingdom never completely forgot its origins in chaos, a dreaded state. Anxiety lingers, mitigated by beauty, in other objects, beginning with a glorious female head cut from green-black stone. Identified as a queen or princess, she may once have been part beast, with the body of a sphinx. There’s still something feral in her demure but avid, now empty-eyed gaze. She’s gentle, but wild.

Wildness, implying unpredictability and loss of control, was seldom expressed in Egyptian culture, which patrolled borders and monitored hierarchies. But it’s there, a bit, in Middle Kingdom art, in a tiny pottery figurine of a distraught mourner, in a fragment of battle-scene relief in which human limbs rain from the sky. - Holland Cotter

New Construction New York City Upper Eastside Townhouse: Being at the right place at the right time...then taking action.

2015-05-13T10:19:00.001-04:00

A bleached wedge wood clad library makes for a fabulous sofa covered in Hermes leather. The rear facade is floor to ceiling glass on every floor with a glass terrace and glass stairs so even the basement level receives ample light on the south facade.

In a new construction ground up townhouse by Inson Dubois Wood an African mask contrasts perfectly against a fabulous photo by Alberto Rizzo, who is collected by MoMA and the Met. In the living room a fragmented portrait painting by Justin Bower, reminds us of the way in which society loses a little bit of its humanity with each electronic social media device it creates.

Minimalism and elegant modern luxe was the name of the game at this Upper Eastside Townhouse by Inson Dubois Wood. A limestone facade compliments the neighboring townhouses on this classic street which the classic movie starring Jack Lemmon: "How to Murder Your Wife" was filmed

The basement is incredibly well lit naturally with the help of a glass terrace above which does not obstruct the southern light.

A custom bed by Inson Dubois Wood has a touch of woven horse hair added to the headboard for elegance. Mid century modern lamps are 1960's Murano hand blown.

Architect and Interior Designer, Inson Wood runs Inson Dubois Wood LLC a turn key hi-end residential design firm that has projects in 5 countries, including Asia, Europe and Australia. The firm has recently been published in a new book on Scandanavian design by TeNeus titled: "Living in Style Scandinavia" as well as Luxe, New York Space, Resident Magazine, Haute Living, and Manhattan Magazine.

The master bathroom has phosphorous glass which makes the stunning views to the opposing religious structure opaque at the touch of a switch for privacy. The inscription on the pediment reads"Unto the Lord I would prepare a perfect people."

The rear terrace was completely reconstructed and lined with hand chased stone lining the entire wall surface. A glass top vanity has a hidden reveal to open the bleached Macassar drawers.

We had the opportunity to corner the busy designer architect, Inson Wood, of Inson Dubois Wood, a Park Avenue based Internationally Published Turn Key Hi-end Design firm and ask him to give us the background story on how he got to do all the design for the construction and interior design for a ground up Townhouse in Manhattan's prestigious Upper East Side ( the New York City's most prestigious zip code ) that was published in New York Spaces last month.

Ecomanta: Tell how this extraordinary project came about.

IDW: " I guess the biggest take away from this project is that it pays to workhard...A few years ago I met a client at a charity function. It turned out he and his wife had attended Harvard as did I - we had a few things in common. We both loved skiing, cycling, and...architecture.

Fast forward - a quick consult on a closet modification led to a search for the perfect fixer upper - which in turn led to a ground up new construction townhouse on the Upper Eastside. The townhouse originally meant to be a possible flip ended up being a complete teardown with every detail thought out - from front and rear facade, floor plan layout, lighting, stair design, rear garden, roof terrace, furniture, fabrics, accessories, lighting and even down to art curation and selection of their growing art collection. When finished it so suited the clients taste and lifestyle - they complimented me on my relentless tenacity to stick with my vision and see it to the end. The collaboration of their good taste melded with my streamlined aesthetic ended up being a true win win.

Ecomanta: What was your inspiration or basic premise with the design?

IDW: Most of my projects don't have a specific style. Instead they are like a custom suit or timeless painting - they have to last forever, or at least have that intention in the way they are built. My goal is always to create spaces and objects so beautiful they will never be thrown away. Not every piece has to be a limited edition design, however as a composition it should really sing so that if one piece is removed you immediately feel that it is missing. Some projects have been so successful that I get calls from clients who have moved to another state - but are ecstatic that they sold their home with all the furniture in tact to the new owners, that they are interested in continuing the relationship as they really experienced the value added. Conversely, I even get calls from new buyer/owners asking if I can work the same project, but to modify it slightly to accommodate their lifestyle. They love the design, instead of ripping everything out like many new buyers, they want to actually continue with my design concept in the same vein. This is the ultimate compliment - a new buyer purchases the property because they love the overall design - and then call you to continue the design process with them. The dream of any architect or designer is to create something that will stand the test of time - to be utterly timeless.

Network: Harvard, Hermes, Louis Vuitton, Morphew, Rick Owens, Mitzi Perdue, Space Sixteen Soho, Inson Wood and Jim Luce of Huffington Post.

2015-05-06T18:37:00.000-04:00

Mitzi Perdue, at her book signing recently held at www.spacesixteensoho.com - Soho's hottest new destination lifestyle boutique. Daniela Zahradnikova co-founder Space16, Mitzi Perdue, Inson Wood, Sara Herbert-Galloway, Lorraine Cancro-Silvetz, CEO of the Global Stress Initiative.

Singer performer, Cynthia Basinet, Mitzi Purdue with Jewelry design maven, Lauren Chisholm.

Six degrees of separation turns into one degree at Space Sixteen Soho when Lorraine Cancos and Sara Herbert Galloway are involved with event planning. Shown here with Huffington Post - editor and contributor and descendant of Harvard Founding Fathers, Jim Luce.

Couture visionary Maggie Norris displayed her fashion runway pieces - Maggie Norris has done red carpet Gala Gowns for Vogue and notables such as Nicole Kidman, Beyonce, Rhianna, Naomi Watts, and several presidential First Ladies.

An honor to have the former design director for Ralph Lauren Purple Label, Maggie Norris, and her incredible creations at Space Sixteen Soho.

The radiant author and Harvard alum, Mitzi Purdue, and her support team leader - Sara Galloway.

Mastermind Daniela Zahradnikova, founder of Space Sixteen Southampton and Space Sixteen Soho ( www.spacesixteensoho.com. Photos by Steve Mack

Interior designer of Space 16, Inson Wood, with Philanthropist Jane Pontarelli. Photos by Steve Mack

Philanthropist Sara Herbert-Galloway and creative director /designer / architect of space 16, Inson Dubois Wood. Steve Mack

Daniela Zharadnikova, boutique founder and anti-poverty champion for the homeless, being interviewed about her new store, www.spacesixteensoho.com and collaboration with art gallery Unix and collectible ceramics house - Lladro ( note: Lladro's black and white Guests by Jaime Hayon - loom in the backround next to an orange Fairchild and Baldwin hand Bag. Vintage Bags by Louis Vuitton, Celine and Hermes. Photos by Steve Mack

Holistic Health and Yoga specialist and founder of Super Role Models and champion in the fight against Drug Addiction, Asia Janina Dyrkacz. Photo by Steve Mack

Asia and Daniela in front of a wall unit designed by Architect/ Interior Designer, Inson Dubois Wood. A spherical handbag by Michael McElroy in Gold next to an art piece featuring Louis Vuitton as a pill/drug/ prophalactic. - Photo by Steve Mack

Inson Wood, Internationally published Architect/ Interior Designer with artist, King Saladeen at Space Sixteen in Soho, NY

A new fashion boutique, Space16 in Soho, New York, founded by an influential group of entrepreneurs, recently hosted a book signing by Mitzi Purdue. A modular wall unit designed by Inson Wood served as a chic backdrop and elegant example of furniture that can be re-purposed forever. This simple modular bookcase/ desk/ hutch comes apart and fits into an SUV for compact and easy moves. An array of beautiful fashion elements, bags, jewelry, skin care products, cashmere and silk scarves, and even some couture and vintage fashion pieces, were efficiently and beautifully displayed. Daniela Zahradnikova is a long standing member of the Soho Partnership and Ace Foundation - which made Space 16 possible. A portion of the profits from Space16 goes to support several charitable causes. As do proceeds from the sale of Mitzi Perdue's bestselling book, Tough Man, Tender Chicken, which unveils the uncompromising search for excellence her husband, Frank Purdue, sought and achieved in the food industry. In the end it was a night of giving. Pay it forward - and you will eventually get paid...even in a tough town like New York City.

Michaelangelo's Sistine Chapel and the work of Genius street artist Jean-Michel Basquiat under the mentoring of Andy Warhol

2015-05-05T20:11:00.001-04:00

Although there was a time when MOMA rejected Basquiat's work deciding not to collect his work ( and to this day do not own any ) - Jean Michel Bastiat will one day be rembered to be a more pivotal and creative artist then his mentor Andy Warhol or other contemporary pop artists such as Keith Haring or Takashi Murakami. The reality of the problem of Basquiat is that he remains the single artist of African descent that anyone knows - an irony by the pure fact that he is indeed the most creative and enigmatic of all the artists of his period. Basquiat truly captured the Warholian era of the lower Eastside, Soho, Tribeca cub scene of Madonna and other maverick artists like Mapplethorpe and not unlike Michelangelo became the hottest thing in town - both for the aesthetics he portrayed and created as well as the aesthetics of the raw intensity of an artist who had actually lived on the streets for a time. Basquiat's rise to fame (with the help of Peggy Guggenheim and Warhol ) and fall into the abyss - was more intense than the tragedy of Icarus himself. In time Basquiats pure originality, ability to critique the same people and society who cultivated and promoted his career, will show that he was indeed more of an independent thinker than the great Michelangelo himself. As one of the highest selling artists at Sothebys and Christies

Andy Warhol mentored Jean-Michel Basquiat - until the student surpassed the master.

Inson Dubois Wood is promoting and collecting a series of luxury / Street art inspired artists that are now selling at prices in the 5 digit level and above.

auction in any category, Jean-Michel Basquiat has defined himself as the reigning king less than 20 years since he has left this earth and ascended into immortalality in the heavens - long live the king, of pop.

Basquiat is the leading pop artist from the Street Hip Hop generation that came out of the 1980's

Andy Warhol - seeking to keep his brand fresh collaborated on pieces with Basquiat - entering into a world he experimented little with on his own - that of the creative composition of freehand painting and freedom of thought using controversial and quasi political texts dealing with race, oppression and social status of minorities.

Unlike his predecessors - Basquiats style was not built on the works of previous artists - his originality of color, from and style set him apart from almost all other artists. Basquiat truly reinvented the wheel - with his ability to paint and draw - and write through paint - all a powerful message about the state of mankind both internally and externally - a true shaman, Basquiat could see the future and the past simultaneously.

One of the first pop artists to grapple with the question of race inequality.

Like Michelangelo - Basquiat was a master of color and composition - although in a very different exploration of spatial relationships.

Color combinations of Basquiat took painting to an entirely different level and like Michelangelo - told a story of human suffering and oppression, of mental anguish and the true state of humanities follies and tragedies.

Michelangelo explores depth of space, color, proportion and the topic human tragedy.

Michelangelo - master of the Papel court and master of color.

Originally labeled as being "Naive Art" - Basquiat was more masterful both intellectually and artistically than many masters.

Temptation, greed and inequality are often topics in both Basquiat and Michelangelos work, although expressed in very different ways. Both explore human tragedy and tell the story of the fragility of man.

MICHEL BASQUIAT SYNOPSIS

Jean-Michel Basquiat emerged from the "Punk" scene in New York as a gritty, street-smart graffiti artist who successfully crossed over from his "downtown" origins to the international art gallery circuit. In a few fast-paced years, Basquiat swiftly rose to become one of the most celebrated, and possibly most commercially exploited American "naif" painters of the widely celebrated Neo-Expressionism art movement.

Basquiat's work is one of the few examples of how an early 1980s American Punk, or graffiti-based and counter-cultural practice could become a fully recognized, critically embraced and popularly celebrated artistic phenomenon, indeed not unlike the rise of American Hip Hop during the same era.

Despite his work's "unstudied" appearance, Basquiat very skillfully and purposefully brought together in his art a host of disparate traditions, practices, and styles to create a unique kind of visual collage, one deriving, in part, from his urban origins, and in another a more distant, African-Caribbean heritage.

For some critics, Basquiat's swift rise to fame and equally swift and tragic death by drug overdose epitomizes and personifies the overly commercial, hyped up international art scene of the mid 1980s, a cultural phenomenon that for many observers was symptomatic of the largely artificial bubble economy of the era.

Basquiat's work is an example of how American artists of the 1980s could reintroduce the human figure in their work after the wide success of Minimalism and Conceptualism, thus establishing a dialogue with the more distant tradition of 1950s Abstract Expressionism.

Childhood

Jean-Michel Basquiat was born in Brooklyn, New York, in 1960. His mother was of Puerto Rican heritage, and his father a Haitian immigrant, the combination of which eventually led to the young Jean-Michel's fluency in French, Spanish, and English (indeed, early readings of French symbolist poetry would come to influence Basquiat's later work). Basquiat displayed a talent for art in early childhood, learning to draw and paint with his mother's encouragement. Together they attended New York City museum exhibitions, and by the age of six, Jean-Michel found himself already enrolled as a Junior Member of the Brooklyn Museum.

After being hit by a car as a young child, Basquiat underwent surgery for the removal of his spleen, an event that led to his reading the famous medical and artistic treatise, Gray's Anatomy. The sinewy bio-mechanical images of this text, along with those equally linear personages that Basquiat enjoyed in popular graphic novels, would one day come to inform his mature, graffiti-inscribed canvases.

After his parents' divorce, Basquiat lived alone with his father, his mother having been determined unfit to care for him owing to mental instability. Claiming physical and emotional abuse, Basquiat eventually ran away from home and was adopted by a friend's family. Although he attended school sporadically in New York and Puerto Rico, he finally dropped out of Edward R. Murrow High School, in Brooklyn, in September 1978, at the age of 18.

A product of the hyped-up 1980s, Basquiat and his work continue to serve for many observers as a metaphor for the dangers of artistic and social excess. Like a superhero of a graphic novel, Basquiat seemed to rocket to fame and riches, and then, just as speedily, fall back to Earth, the victim of drug abuse and eventual overdose.

Manhattan based tastemaker architect interior designer advises clients on high end bluechip and secondary art purchases as well as investing in emerging artists who he sees have huge growth potential.

The recipient of posthumous retrospectives at the Brooklyn Museum (2005) and the Whitney Museum of American Art (1992), as well as the subject of numerous biographies and documentaries, including Jean-Michel Basquiat: The Radiant Child (2010; Tamra Davis, Dir.), and Julian Schnabel's feature film, Basquiat (1996; starring former friend David Bowie as Andy Warhol), Basquiat and his counter-cultural example persist. His art remains a constant source of inspiration for contemporary artists, his short, but seemingly epic life a constant source of intrigue for a global art-loving public.

A trip to the Mediterranean - Modern Architecture in Cyprus

2015-05-05T18:27:00.002-04:00

Architecture in Cyprus

The architecture of Sierepeklis Architects hints to an age of contemporary modernism.

Shigeru Ban, The rise and fall of Japanese Architecture

2015-04-27T12:26:00.000-04:00

Olivia Wilde Meadowland - food for thought - Reid Morano - Film, Feminism and #Breastfeeding

2015-04-18T01:14:00.000-04:00

Olivia Wilde has starred and produced the film, Meadowland, which premiers this week at the Tribeca Film Festival. Olivia Wilde has caused controversy as well with her newly released breastfeeding photo in Glamour.

Olivia Wilde at her panel discussion of the new film Meadowland which premiers at the Tribeca Film Festival in New York City.

Olivia Wilde has starred and produced the film, Meadowland, which premiers this week at the Tribeca Film Festival. Her role as a distraught mother makes her almost unrecognizable with a look that captures utter despair - see below.

Sex symbol Olivia Wilde almost unrecognizable in her role of a mother lamenting over the loss of her son.

Although some may accuse Wilde of partaking a controversial photo shoot as a publicity stunt to promote her new film she produced and acted in, Wilde claims her son was hungry and she fed him while she was working on the job - and thought it would be a perfect shot for Glamour to have a portrait of her actual everyday lifestyle.

“Meadowland” star Olivia Wilde admits there was stiff competition to land the film’s coveted role of a mother whose son has gone missing. Her agent even told her not to get her hopes up — something she plainly ignored as she pushed to win over director Reed Morano.

A two-hour meeting at the Bowery in New York and a reading session at Wilde’s apartment helped the two connect both creatively and collaboratively, which led to Wilde not only starring alongside Luke Wilson in the film but also signing on as a producer. She was determined that the project find the right financier and get made the way she felt it deserved to be made.

“I never would have asked Reed to make me a producer if I wasn’t going to commit to it 100%,” she said. “And I knew I had the passion to commit myself to it completely. I haven’t encountered material before that I was willing to give that to.”Morano, a d.p. known for stunning and naturalistic visuals on films like “Frozen River” and shows such as HBO’s “Looking,” knows how to talk to actors from the world of cinematography. As a director, she was worried that she wouldn’t get it right. She credits Wilde’s openness for enabling her to succeed as a first-time director — especially on such a hefty project.

“I think we analyze things in the same way,” said Reed, “which means we can talk for hours about a character. But, by that same token, we can make an adjustment with just a look if we’re in the middle of a scene. We could lay everything out on the table and it made me feel much more comfortable.”

Despite the dark themes of the story, Wilde said, “We both felt there was redemption in it, and even humor and humanity. I know it’s weird to say humor, but we felt [my character] Sarah was a real and dynamic woman and we could see ourselves in her shoes.”

In fact, impending motherhood almost kept Wilde out of the role. But Morano, a mother of two sons, promised she’d wait for her leading lady and persuaded her producer and writer to postpone the shoot dates.

“That was a really huge moment for me,” says Wilde, who exec produced the 2013 comedy “Drinking Buddies” and a couple of shorts, but never dedicated herself in that collaborative role with the director until “Meadowland.” “At that point I knew that I’d do anything for this film.”