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Book: Alber Elbaz, Lanvin

2012-05-30 12:11:00

Alber Elbaz has a saying: 'After fame, perfection is the most dangerous thing. There is nothing after perfection'. Yet it's this knife-edge that lends the designer's work its allure. And the new book, 'Alber Elbaz, Lanvin' - impeccably timed to coincide with the end of his first decade at the French fashion house - is yet another example of his pursuit of perfection.

Elbaz has been the sole capitulator of Lanvin’s stellar revitalisation since grabbing the reins in March 2002. Through his tenureship at Paris' oldest label, he's upped its reputation from faded heritage brand to glistening modern must-have for every closet worth its fashion salt.

The designer is undoubtedly visionary in his creative direction, and a self-deprecatingly nice guy to boot - earning him an unwaning league of adoring fashion press and buyers. With longevity in the face of a fickle industry firmly under his belt, a book is the natural next step.

Going beneath the surface, past the signature one-shouldered cocktail dresses and the chunky jewel-embellished creations that never fail to put a smile on the Paris show-goers' faces each season, 'Alber Elbaz: Lanvin' boldly steers into the depths of the atelier. Edited by Pascal Dangin, the 704-page practically wordless tome reveals the gruelling details of couture fabrication in pictures – from the raw materials to the process of it all.

Photographed by But Sou Lai, the voyeuristic journey races from start to finish through a single collection (Autum/Winter 2011), from its conception to its visual climax on the runway. It's crammed with candid snapshots, like a pair of leopard print-manicured hands cutting a pattern, a relaxed-looking Elbaz in the throes of a pre-show briefing with with his team, and a grainy shot of a huge pile of torn up sheets of paper (possibly fabric detail shots) lying by a bin next to the photocopier.

Needless to say, the handmade Lanvin-cloth-bound book, complete with gilded edging, isn’t your standard fashion book. It begins its story with a startling number of blank pages, which are not a catostrophic printing error, as they may seem on first inspection. 'I start each collection with a blank page which is the scariest part of the work,' reveals Elbaz. 'I need a story; I need to dream to start filling the white pages with women I know and women I want to know.'

Bentley Continental GT V8

2012-05-29 16:17:00

It's an old cliché, but the idea that dog owners unwittingly resemble their pets is largely down to confirmation bias - you only clock the matches made in heaven and discard the rest. Likewise, there's a similar case to be made for car owners, only this time the pairings aren't so much unwitting as carefully calculated by the owners themselves.

Fancy yourself as bold, sporty and outrageous? That'll be an Italian sports car. Classy, traditional and tasteful? Perhaps something British. Although the analogy falls short in this age of multi-car garages - at the top end of the market, the well-heeled simply buy the lot and pick their daily steed in the same manner as some people chose their socks (according to occasion, mood or even weather) - yet there's no denying an element of self-reflection in the cars that we drive.

So what to make of the owner of the Bentley Continental GT V8? Here is a car with a twin pronged sales pitch; by replacing the original GT's 12 cylinder engine with a V8, it is now lighter and therefore more fuel efficient and less ponderous on twisty roads (Bentley quote an impressive 40% improvement in the figures).

Straight up, we can probably dismiss the relevance of the V8's call to austerity. No-one buys a Bentley with a view to cutting running costs and it's a safe bet that the V8's improvements in this area get only a cursory grunt when perusing the specification. But even if frugality and cutting C02 aren't one's stated mission in life, the Bentley V8 owner can at least console themselves with a far longer range than the original 12-cylinder - all the better for putting some serious distance between Paris and piste, or Kensington and the Cairgnorms.

The new engine also gives the car a different character. It waffles and roars, whereas the original wafted and surged. Bentley is an age-old British engineering concern that has been given a thorough going over by the fine toothcombs of VW's expansive car-building and brand-shaping experience. New Bentley tries hard not to over-egg the raw numbers, preferring to harp on about 'limitless power' and the benefits of always having plenty in reserve. The company’s great racing heritage - which has continued well into the modern day - is best represented by the Speed models, pumped up W12 cars with body kits, stripped out interiors and a focus on raw power.

The V8 is a kind of Junior Speed, with subtle bodywork changes over the bigger-engined car and an almost imperceptibly improved sense of agility. The GT is always going to be a big car, regardless of how it is powered, and the V8's 500 bhp output still places it firmly in the upper echelons of the car market.

Inside, all is as it should be. The GT's comprehensive refresh last year saw parent company VW splice all manner of updated electronics, gearboxes and other elements into the traditional cocoon of leather and wood. All signs are that Bentley consider the GT to be their equivalent of the 911, a model that has stood Porsche in good stead for four decades, its endless variants all sharing a basically similar visual DNA. We can probably expect the GT to stick around for a few decades yet, and the V8 is a fine addition to an already noble family line.

Mywellness key by Technogym

2012-05-29 14:47:00

As our June issue makes clear (see 'Band Aid', page 102), the market for digital monitors and motivational aids is booming with the big boys, Nike and Adidas, going head to head with chipped-up clips, bands and of course, iPhone apps. Technogym, the Italian gym equipment specialist, is not being left behind. It’s Mywellness key is bite sized but bristling with technology.

As with Nike’s Fuelband, the Mywellness key uses an accelerometer to track your activity levels and challenges you to progress along a virtual path by the end of day. The key is fitted with a USB so your data can be uploaded easily to mywellnesskey.com. It will also fit into some Technogym equipment to give accurate feedback.

At the moment the Mywellness key is being used by the National Health Service, gyms, companies and other sporting institutions such as Liverpool Football Club. Technogym is looking to launch it on the consumer market soon.

Leica M Monochrom

2012-05-29 10:51:00

As top-end still cameras add more and more multi-media functionality, Leica has launched a camera that does a lot less. The promise of course being that what it does do, it does very well. The Leica M Monochrom (the clue is in the title) is the first digital camera to shoot only in black and white.

Leica claims that excusing the camera - a new variant of the M9 rangefinder, first launched in 2009 - of colour duties means that the sensor can concentrate on dealing with light and shade, making for sharper images with much less noise. (And what noise there is, says Leica, is a finer, better sort of noise).

Given that most photographers shooting digitally work in colour before converting to black and white during processing, the M Monochrom is a genuinely radical proposition. But it shares the M9’s rugged construction and good looks with matt black chrome top plate and super soft leather trim. And like all M-class Leicas, the M Monochrom is built like a battleship.

Leica has also launched the Leica M9-P ‘Edition Hermès’, the third special edition it has produced with the French fashion brand. It comes with an ochre leather trim and an even more pared down and elegant body design. The Edition Hermés will be available in two limited edition sets.

'Het Huis' by Robbrecht and Daem for Middelheim Museum, Antwerp

2012-05-28 14:13:00

'It's absolutely not a white cube,' says Belgian architect Paul Robbrecht about the new pavilion his Ghent-based practice Robbrecht and Daem (also responsible for the renovation and extension of London's Whitechapel Gallery) has designed for the Middelheim open-air sculpture museum in Antwerp. Pointing out the exposed columns and 'knots' where the beams have been welded into the green steel structure, he adds: 'What we really wanted to do was make a building that shows how it is built, that shows the tectonics of construction.'

Het Huis (house or home in Dutch) has been purposely laid out at diagonal angles to the straight paths of the formal gardens it was built in so that it looks 'woven into the surrounding landscape'. This is a theme Robbrecht refers to repeatedly, revealing that one of his greatest sources of inspiration was 19th century German architect and art historian Gottfried Semper's notions of the 'textile origins of building'.

The brief for the semi-open structure was straightforward. 'It was for a pavilion that would have real contact with nature, with the landscape around it, a place where smaller or fragile works of art could be shown, or works that needed a more framed setting,' says Robbrecht. The colourful but unsettling glossy ceramic heads and urns of German artist Thomas Schütte displayed here were created especially for the pavilion's inauguration and contrast ingeniously with the smooth concrete floors, geometric lines and angles of the roof and the special 'topography' of the ceiling, which 'looks as if it's moving'.

The pavilion represents nature in architecture, says Robbrecht. Two trees have been planted at opposite ends of the space and steel lattice-patterned screens (which can be pulled across the four openings to close the pavilion at night) create extraordinary dappled effects as if light is coming through the branches of a tree. 'You could almost think it's a roof of leaves above you,' Robbrect says excitedly.

After touring the 200-plus sculptures (including new site-specific works by Ai Weiwei, Philippe Van Snick and Roman Signer) in the freshly extended 75-acre park and revamped museum, visitors will find Robbrecht and Daem's angular steel-and-concrete 'house' a place of extraordinary peace, intimacy and poetry.

Tracey Emin exhibits new works at Turner Contemporary, Margate

2012-05-28 11:43:00

The English seaside town of Margate has had a strong impact on artist Tracey Emin's output, inspiring everything from her intense neon pieces to the embroidered statements emblazoned on appliquéd blankets and chairs. 'Whatever I do, part of Margate always comes with me,' she once declared. So it is with much excitement (and nervousness) that Emin embarks on her first major exhibition in the town of her childhood.

Hot on the heels of the London-based artist's 2011 'Love is What You Want' retrospective at the Hayward Gallery, 'She Lay Down Deep Beneath the Sea' is a specially-conceived show for Margate. Visitors expecting to see evidence of Emin's dysfunctional childhood will be in for a surprise. The artist seems to have made peace with her troubled past in this confrontation-free show, instead exploring themes of love, sex and eroticism. For Emin, these echo the spirit of Margate: 'There is an eroticism here, it's a very passionate place, it's very gritty,' she said in a recent interview with art historian Tim Marlow.

The show takes place at Turner Contemporary, David Chipperfield's landmark building, which dominates the seafront next to the harbour. Displayed throughout the gallery is a showcase of over 100 mostly-new works, including drawings, monoprints, sculptures, tapestries, embroideries and neons.

Patrick Seguin restores Jean Prouvé's Maison des Jours Meilleurs

2012-05-25 10:39:00

The winter of 1954 was a particularly harsh one in France. Homeless people were dying in the streets. Abbé Pierre, France’s equivalent of Mother Teresa, made an appeal for donations to build emergency housing. Then he went to see Jean Prouvé, who had proven his skill in dire situations by developing small, prefabricated homes for displaced people after the war.

For the clergyman, Prouvé designed the 'Maison des Jours Meilleurs' - a house for better days. A few men equipped with simple tools could build the house in seven hours. It measured 57 square metres, with two bedrooms and a large living area.

A steel cylindrical element painted olive green contained a kitchen on one side and a bathroom on the other, and also held up the central roof beam. Beechwood panels fitted with windows slid around the periphery to make walls. When Le Corbusier saw it, he wrote: 'Jean Prouvé has built the handsomest house I know: the most perfect object for living in, the most sparkling thing ever constructed.' But the government never approved the project, and only five were ever built.

Three years ago, art dealer Patrick Seguin saw that a Maison des Jours Meilleurs was going up for auction in Nancy, Prouvé’s birthplace, and he snapped it up, believing it to be the last one still in existence. The French dealer has pretty much cornered the market on Prouvé architecture, and now owns around 15 modular houses, most of them unique or very rare. He meticulously restores each one before exhibiting it, often alongside archival photos and explanatory films, saying 'The educational aspect is very important to me.' In the past couple of years he has mounted two for display in the Tuileries gardens - the Ferembal office and the Métropole Aluminium house - and he will show the Métropole again in Basel this June.

A team of builders specialising in Prouvé made the trip from Nancy to Paris earlier this month to assemble the Maison des Jours Meilleurs in Seguin’s lofty gallery, where it will stay until the end of September (he plans to show it at the Gagosian Gallery in Chelsea next spring.) Though the gallery still earns the bulk of its revenue from furniture, Seguin is passionate about the houses - and the lengthy process of reconstructing them. Says the gallerist: 'It’s more exciting than buying a chair on Monday, photographing it Tuesday and selling it on Wednesday.'

Galeria Leme's new home by Metro Arquitetos, Sao Paulo

2012-05-24 15:19:00

We've been closely following Brazilian gallerist Eduardo Leme's projects for years, so we have naturally been keen to reveal Leme's freshly-relocated gallery space in Sao Paulo, designed by emerging Brazilian architecture practice Metro Arquitetos. The new Galeria Leme is a mere few steps away from its former home, which was originally designed by Paulo Mendes da Rocha and Metro Arquitetos and completed in 2004.

'The move took place due to an agreement with a local construction company that was building an office tower in the area,' explains Metro Arquitetos Director Martin Corullon. 'They bought the original site and offered another, bigger one, nearby. The new gallery has the same characteristics as the original design plus an annex.'

The architect had worked closely with Mendes de Rocha and Leme on the original gallery, so the new space features a fully-reconstructed gallery which broadly reflects the original Mendes da Rocha and Metro plans. A brand new extension on a separate volume has also been designed by Corullon and his team.

The new Galeria Leme boasts an ample amount of extra storage space and a second display area. A concrete bridge connects the reconstructed concrete block with the new annex, creating an airy courtyard below. 'It was very interesting, when for some time both old and new buildings co-existed, two blocks from one another, generating an interesting déjà vu experience,' says Corullon.

Art HK 12: highlights from the contemporary art fair

2012-05-24 14:45:00

Art HK 12, the fifth edition of the East’s most prominent art event, lured 266 galleries from 38 countries to the Hong Kong Exhibition Centre. Showcasing works from 3,500 artists worldwide, the fair attracted not only collectors, but international curators, writers and thinkers – a boon for a city once considered a ‘cultural desert’.

As Western galleries jostled to participate, organisers tried to keep an even ratio of Asian to international artists. For international exhibitors, that meant showcasing Asian artists alongside their Western clients. New York-based David Zwirner featured Chinese painter Yan Peiming together with Luc Tuymans, while the Gagosian Gallery showed Picasso, Hirst, Lichtenstein and Japanese stars Yayoi Kusama and Takashi Murakami.

This year Asia One, a platform for artists from Turkey to New Zealand, threw a spotlight on the Orient. Japan’s ArtCourt Gallery showcased Kozo Nishino’s architectural sculptures; Beijing’s Chambers Fine Art and Primo Marella Gallery brought a series of paintings by Guo Hongwei and Farhan Siki, respectively.

The Art Futures award for best emerging artist went to Lee Kit of Hong Kong for his ominous installation of household items, ‘Something in My Hands’, on view at the Aike-Dellarco stand. Equally unsettling was Ai Weiwei’s ‘Cong’, his epistolary tribute to the 5,196 students who died when their schools collapsed in the Sichuan earthquake of 2008, presented by Galerie Urs Meile.

Yet Galerie Gmurzynska stole even those scenes with its booth, curated by Asia's favourite starchitect, Zaha Hadid, with a selection of her latest designs. Hadid’s stage gave necessary pomp to additional works by Joan Miró, Fernando Botero and local artist Wifredo Lam.

It may not come as a surprise that, among Asian collectors at least, homegrown artists were a priority. Taiwan’s Lin & Lin Gallery sold 12 out of 15 works by Liu Wei, billing up to £2.5 million in the first three hours of the preview. Market veterans also did well: local gallery De Sarthe sold ‘No.313’ by Chinese artist Chu Teh-Chun for nearly £2 million and Hans Hartung’s ‘T1966-H32’ for £250,000.

Not that Western art was suffering. The veteran contemporary gallery Tornabuoni Arte, from Italy, sold five works by Alighiero Boetti, including a piece from the his well-known ‘Mappa’ series for more than £800,000. American painter Robert Motherwell’s ‘Elegy to the Spanish Republic No. 45’ was sold for £635,000 at Bernard Jacobson.

All this bodes well for the fair that recently confirmed its merger with the influential Art Basel franchise. Next year the May event will rebrand itself as Art Basel Hong Kong. Thus far, all this year’s exhibitors have signed up to return. That should help ensure visitor numbers break records yet again. The rest of the work will fall to China’s exploding contemporary-art market.

ICFF 2012 report, New York

2012-05-24 11:39:00

Falling just a month after the Salone del Mobile, New York City’s International Contemporary Furniture Fair is often victim to a few repeat performances from international players on the design circuit. Yet, the growing bastion of indigenous designer-makers, burgeoning independent companies and a few charmed collaborations (this time Raleigh Denim for Bernhardt Design, and Cranbrook Art Academy for Alessi) has kept us pleasantly surprised year after year.

As the country's design force descends on the Big Apple for four days, numerous fringe venues stake their claim over its different neighbourhoods. Closest to the fair’s Javits’ Centre nucleus is Wanted Design – a platform now in its second year that boasted over 50 exhibitors, including heavyweights such as Bernhardt design, Ligne Roset and Christofle – located in the dynamic Terminal Stores building, which our more colourful readers might remember as the infamous Tunnel nightclub.

Tucked way downtown in the shadow of the Williamsburg Bridge, the non-profit design and art organization, BOFFO, turned an unused building into a wonderous show house with work from furniture label ROLU, textile designer Stefan Hengst and architect/designer Jen Turner.

The most successful however, continues to be the Noho Design District, which has grown from strength to strength in its three years of being. Apart from the usual in-store showcases from The Future Perfect and Partners and Spade, the event floated over to The Standard, East Village hotel this year, with three exhibitors: Sonos sound gallery, Irish homegoods label Makers & Brothers, and curators, Sight Unseen pitching up temporary spaces within the swanky digs.

Our hands-down highlight of the week undeniably came from Matter – the contemporary design shop and manufacturer that has steadily brought some of the country’s brightest talents into its fold via its MatterMade collection. Choosing a crumbling retail space that was once a subway entrance, with Chinatown as a backdrop, the company presented exciting new pieces including a counterweight chandelier from Fort Standard, textiles from Meg Callahan and a new modular furniture system from its in-house team, among others.

Design Hotels launches its second pop-up hotel in Mykonos, Greece

2012-05-23 17:39:00

Following on from the recent success of its first pop-up project in Mexico, Design Hotels has once again come up trumps, this time with a Mediterranean beach sojourn on the Greek island of Mykonos.

Named San Giorgio, the 34-room temporary hotel is a continuation of the group's desire to create down-to-earth lodgings with an informal, free spirited approach. ‘Designed as shifting hubs, they provide an open platform for creatives to gather and shape meaningful moments,’ explains company founder Claus Sendlinger. The result is a hotel that feels like a friend's house, a comforting bohemian sanctury, unaffected by the outside world.

Located on a blissful strip of beach which had humble beginnings under the ownership of a local fisherman in the 1990s, San Giorgio hotel is now in the capable hands of German-born Thomas Heyne and Mario Hertel (of the island’s celebrated Paradise Club) and Markos Daktilidis, owner of the nearby Paradise Beach resort.

Reinvigorated by Michael Schickinger, former creative director of Design Hotels, along with interior designer Annabell Kutucu, the hotel exhibits minimalist, airy rooms scattered with local artifacts, in a natural colour palette that complements the whitewashed exterior, itself synonymous with the Greek landscape.

The property also houses Cantina Restaurant, an open-plan 30-seater that focuses on local, organic ingredients and dishes such as mussels with smoky bacon and cider and a regional fish stew called Aegean kakavia.

Only recently opened, the temporary abode has no end date in sight. But for now it offers a serene place to retreat after a day of beach-hopping or the exertions of a night out at the Paradise Club - to which, naturally, each hotel guest receives VIP access.

Clerkenwell Design Week 2012

2012-05-23 17:07:00

There is no doubt that London’s Clerkenwell Design Week has begun to establish itself on the design circuit despite its relative infancy. Now in its third year, the three-day festival is offering an ever-increasing line-up of established and emerging designers, new venues, installations, talks and parties, ensuring a well-deserved space on our list of calendar must-sees.

As with previous years, the main event hub is the Farmiloe Building, a dramatic disused 19th century repository that was once a lead and glass merchant’s warehouse. Located south of the Clerkenwell design district, the building is this year playing host to a slew of local and international exhibitors, from Muuto and Ligne Roset, to Dare Studio and Another Country.

Across the road, new festival venue Order of St John - a 12th century crypt and priory - provides an ecclesiastical setting for brands such as Benetton's research group Fabrica and Vessel Gallery, who is exhibiting a lighting installation. A short stroll away, returning venue The House of Detention – a subterranean Victorian prison - proves an atmospheric setting for young up-and-coming designers to showcase their wares.

Organisers have also orchestrated a series of installations for this year's festival. Dotted around the area are the likes of designer Ross Lovegrove’s six-metre Solar Tree for Italian lighting brand Artemide and architect Francesco Draisci’s striking red umbrella forest in St James’ Church garden- a testament to the festival’s desire to inspire and highlight the value of art in the everyday.

Yabu Pushelberg's show apartment at the Opus Hong Kong

2012-05-23 16:50:00

Yabu Pushelberg's newly unveiled show apartment in Swire Properties' Opus Hong Kong - designed by Frank Gehry - introduces a touch of high glamour in a city where most 'super-luxury' homes are conformist or bling.

It was Gehry's innovative design and Swire's reputation for giving designers like Kengo Kuma (at Beijing hotel the Opposite House) and André Fu (its Hong Kong sister the Upper House) considerable creative freedom that enticed the globetrotting Canadian duo: 'First, the client understands the value of design,' explains Glenn Pushelberg, 'and the building itself is intriguing.'

Gehry's first residential development in Asia - an elegant 12-storey spiral featuring glass-enclosed load-bearing columns that 'float' like reeds around the façade - proved 'a challenge because of its flowery shape,' says Pushelberg. 'But that makes for a more interesting result.'

'It is one of the most significant new works of domestic architecture in Asia,' says Swire chief executive Martin Cubbon, 'and [Gehry's] breathtaking design together with the building's exceptional location demanded the very best in interiors.'

Left to their own devices, the designers have created their own narrative: a second home for a stylish, wealthy Shanghainese couple who shop and entertain. 'We made the urban side more dramatic, but not too theatrical, while the private mountainside areas are more ethereal,' says George Yabu.

The grand foyer gives a contemporary nod to chinoiserie with a series of hand-painted screens by Moss & Lam, while strategically placed designs in the living and dining areas frame the mesmerising views. A 12-seat marble dining table and distinctive pendant light by the designers is picture-perfect for parties. Lighting moods - from daytime, through cocktail hour to evening - are controlled via iPad.

Meanwhile the master bedroom, accessed through a curved corridor lit by a Lustre Facette No.283 pendant by Hervé Van Der Straeten, is an altogether more intimate space with custom two-tiered brass side tables by Scala Luxury and enigmatic Bubble lights specially designed by Caleb Siemon.

Despite the remarkable lustre throughout the space, Pushelberg emphasises the high spec and graceful flow. 'The mood of home design is changing,' he says. 'It is less about gilding the lily and more about quality of design and attention to detail. It is not about the most expensive materials. It has to function well, too.'

Porsche 911 Carrera S

2012-05-22 15:42:00

Just a few months ago, we were singing the praises of Porsche's 911 Carrera GTS, one of the finest examples of the 997-series version of this evergreen classic. Late last year the 997 Series gave way to the 991 Series, one of the most comprehensive overhauls of the 911 since the car was launched back in 1963. As you might have guessed, the 911 is an evolutionary design, but Porsche has only started from a completely clean sheet on three occasions, and the 991 Series is one such blank slate car.

Owners of an untrained eye will probably scoff at the company's claim to have started from scratch, for the new 911 is, of course, a dead ringer for its predecessors. If you know too much about cars, you can sense a slight shift in the proportions, with a longer wheelbase and a rather more pronounced, almost cartoonish, relationship between wheels and headlights, both of which seem comically large. An unfair assessment would be to call this a caricature of the 911, a basic form that is just about to start its fifth decade in the public consciousness.

But although Porsche is very much wedded to the 911 look - a family style that is clearly carried over to all its models, from Cayman through to Cayenne - the company's vast legions of engineers are more than content to see how much more efficient, dynamic and swift they can make the car within this formal framework.

In a nutshell, the 911 keeps getting better. Throughout its long history, there have been several controversial developments - the loss of an air-cooled engine, the introduction of four wheel drive on some models - causing some aficionados to bemoan the loss of the 'true' 911 character. We rather think this automotive Luddism is misplaced. The 911 has always been a technological showcase - it has just chosen to swathe its innovation in rather conservative clothes.

In any case, the Porsche driver cares not one jot what anyone else thinks. Although the press car supplied by Porsche UK wasn't exactly discrete with its Racing Yellow bodywork, there really are few contemporary sports cars with such a huge breadth of talent.

Until you get to the very high-end models like the Turbo and GT3 (not yet released as 991 Series versions), the Porsche 911 is a car you can use every day. Even lighter and more efficient than before, with stop-start engine technology and other fuel-saving tricks, the straight six engine doesn't have the bass-y rumble of a V8 or V12, meaning you can drive quietly and unselfconsciously around town without inviting unwanted stares. There are four seats, a fairly helpful chunk of luggage space and a brilliantly put together entertainment system - Porsche are getting ever closer to Audi levels of quality with their recent interiors.

On top of all that, the 911 just feels right, even at low speeds. The steering is perfectly weighted (even though the new car has switched over to a controversial electro-mechanical system for the first time) and controls fall easily to hand. It also feels compact, with excellent visibility. The view out over the front bonnet, past the raised humps of the wheel arches, is distinctly evocative, reminiscent of more curvaceous cars from a bygone era (which is what the 911's fundamental shape effectively is).

Find an empty stretch of road and there are 'Sport' and 'Sport S' buttons at your disposal to speed things up a bit. The latter is almost only suitable for the track, such is the sudden ferocity of the engine and the gearbox's desire to change only at the edge of the redline. The car also featured Porsche's new Dynamic Chassis Control, a pricey extra design that keeps the car flatter when cornering at speed. Such is the 911's balance and controllability that it seems rather superfluous on everyday roads.

All new, but still familiar, the 911 retains its place as the most poised and practical sports car on the market. Purists might opt for the smaller Cayman or far swifter 911 Turbo, when it arrives, but the Carrera S does a fine job as a fast and thrilling all-rounder that's also somewhat understated. Except in Racing Yellow.

Richard Wilson's new sculpture for Heathrow's Terminal 2

2012-05-22 15:11:00

Within the realm of contemporary sculpture, Richard Wilson’s technically wondrous creations force us to rethink our ideas of space, perspective, material and structure. Which is why Heathrow Airport needed little coaxing when it came to choosing the British-born artist to create an installation for the soon-to-be renovated Terminal 2.

Sporting a dramatic wave-like roof, the shiny new terminal – which is due to open in 2014 - is swiftly taking shape under the direction of Foster + Partners, in collaboration with Luis Vidal and HETCo. The new space will feature a central light-filled courtyard (similar in size to the Tate Modern’s Turbine Hall) in which Wilson’s oscillating structure, titled ‘Slipstream’, will be suspended 20m above the ground.

‘This work is a metaphor for travel,’ says Wilson of the design. ‘It is a journey from A to B, where sensations of velocity, acceleration and de-acceleration follow us at every undulation.’

Inspired by photographer Eadweard Muybridge, whose series ‘Human figure in Motion’ captured moving moments, Wilson’s mission was to create a sculpture that did just that. ‘If you set your lens at one thousandth of a second, you can capture that wonderful moment in time,’ explains Wilson.

Using the somersaulting, spiralling and twisting motions of a small stunt plane in flight, Wilson started off with a series of sketches and then enlisted the help of structural engineers Price & Myers as well as specialist fabricators Commercial Systems International (CSI), who used aeronautical computer technology to translate his concept into a three dimensional reality.

Measuring over 70 metres long and weighing in at 77 tonnes, the larger-than-life creation will be formed by a wooden skeleton covered in plywood, while the external layer will be fashioned out of semi-polished aluminium. ‘A very elegant sculpture, with a streamlined, undulating surface that reflects the light in all sorts of ways,’ says Wilson of his creation. 'The riveted aluminium surface will highlight the contours of the piece.’

Wilson’s sculptures never cease to inspire and provoke, and ‘Slipstream’ is bound to be a visual delight, reminding us that the boundaries as we know them are only the beginning.

Kukje gallery by SO-IL, Korea

2012-05-21 16:33:00

Earlier this month, Brooklyn-based architecture practice SO-IL was heaped with praise for a temporary tent erected for New York's first Frieze Art Fair. The 23,000sq m structure, punctuated with pie-shaped wedges that allowed it to snake along the waterfront at Randall's Island, certainly earned its recognition.

But a building completed in Seoul a few weeks earlier - and designed to stand a lot longer than the five days of the Frieze tent - deserves rather more. It is the third gallery for Kukje, a pre-eminent contemporary dealership with its own 'art campus'. And it opened with an exhibition of work by Paul McCarthy.

The works of both McCarthy and SO-IL go together well. 'The armour that wraps around our building makes it soft and hard,' says Florian Idenburg, who cofounded the practice with Jing Liu, 'and there's something of that in his work too. Edgy and kinky.' Next up, the gallery will host 'Personages' (from 23 May), a solo show of the work of Louise Bourgeois.

The SO-IL gallery is the biggest box they could fit onto the small site, with stairs that meander in and out of the building. Concrete, with polished concrete floors, it is clad in a skin of bespoke metal mesh, made in a village in northern China that specialises in working with metal thread. The 500,000 stainless steel rings had to be individually blasted with glass beads to achieve their silvery colour, and then washed at the local carwash. Altogether they weigh more than 4,000 kilos.

'The mesh is important - it makes the building feel lighter and more object-like,' says Idenburg, who also clad the New Museum in New York (completed in 2007) with a metal carapace when still employed by SANAA. 'When the sun shines and it casts a big shadow, it can look like a silvery cloud.'

Book: 'Page 1: Great Expectations', published by GraphicDesign&

2012-05-21 15:24:00

Chances are that most people will have read Charles Dickens's novel Great Expectations as a humble paperback, the typesetting and layout of the pages remaining invisible to almost everyone bar dedicated type nerds.

This was a determining factor when GraphicDesign&'s Lucienne Roberts and Rebecca Wright were deciding on the format for their first title. 'Page 1: Great Expectations' explores the relationship between layout, typography and how both affect the way we read.

Essentially a comparative exercise,

Page 1: Great Expectations centres around page one of the novel. A cast of 70 designers and typographers - including APFEL, Fraser Muggeridge, Research Studios, Sam Winston and Wallpaper's very own Editor-in-Chief Tony Chambers - have each produced typographic interpretations of the text. Great Expectations was chosen for its familiarity as a piece of text, and because of protagonist Pip's references to the lettering on his mother and father's gravestone in the novel's opening chapter.

The results of Page 1 are thoughtful and often surprising. Some of the contributors have remained steadfastly purist, approaching the text as if it's the first of a whole book; others have treated it as display text, or deconstructed it completely.

Many of the designers have considered how Dickens might have treated the novel had he published it now, through the likes of search engines, e-Readers, clip art and QR codes. All the treatments emphasise something different in the text, each of them subtly revealing more about it to the reader.

The version that perhaps resonates the most - given the current state of affairs - is Neil Donnelly's, which apes a typical British tabloid front page. Dickens would definitely have seen the funny side - Great Expectations was originally serialised in newspaper format, and he was certainly no snob. 'This cheap edition of my books is dedicated to the English people,' he wrote in a discarded dedication to an inexpensive serial edition of his works, 'in whose approval, if the books be true in spirit, they will live, and out of whose memory, if they be false, they will very soon die.'

Book: Dior Joaillerie

2012-05-18 15:31:00

That Dior’s new book pays homage to the wonders of fine jewellery is, in itself, a delight. That it focuses specifically on the work of its head jewellery and watch designer Victoire de Castellane, is even more so. This beautifully filled tome is one that all lovers of jewellery, fantasy and fabulous adornment have been waiting for.

Dior Joaillerie, published by Rizzoli, dedicates almost 400 pages to Castellane’s tenure at the maison. Since arriving at the Place Vendôme, where she launched Dior Fine Jewellery in 1988, Castellane has changed the way we look at fine jewels, with her skewed vision of what they can be.

'I didn’t set out to shock, seek a tabula rasa, or start a revolution,' she said. 'I wanted to be sincere in my work to rekindle the magic of jewellery and make it more feminine.' Her apparent notion of femininity is what makes much of Castellane’s work so compelling: a heady mix of realism and fantasy, her jewellery it is at once bright and pretty, imperfect and a little strange. And, fundamentally, it’s funny too.

The 'Nuit Blanche' bow is a fine example: it is slightly dishevelled, the idea being that it reflects the story of how an evening party unfolds, as opposed to how it should start. There’s also an undisputed dark side to her ring, earring and necklace designs. For the 'Belladone Island' collection, Castellane created a range of flower-inspired pieces. Yet, one glance tells you that these are not of the floral and scented variety. Instead, their clashing hues and misshapen organic forms warn of their poisonous nature.

Castellane’s bold, vibrant and narrative style is beautifully and carefully translated by the expert metal workers, enamellers and gem setters with whom she shares her studio at Dior, which only goes to show that those who make her creations derive as much pleasure from them as those who wear them.

Virgin Atlantic launches its new Upper Class Suite

2012-05-17 15:38:00

Travellers heading from London to New York can now experience the transatlantic trip in sublime comfort aboard 'Miss Sunshine' (as Virgin Atlantic’s new A330 aircraft has been dubbed) in the much-awaited Upper Class Suite.

The airline’s in-house design team joined forces with London-based studio Pengelly Design for the seating and with VW+BS for the bar and interior elements. The super-shiny, futuristic space comes complete with Swarovski Crystal embellishments, mood lighting, and a hefty dose of the Virgin colour palette.

Four years in the making, the sleek suites feature elegant leather seats that each conveniently have their own aisle access, beds that are longer than any other airline’s, frosted Perspex passenger divides for light and privacy, and easy access storage solutions. Meanwhile a gleaming bar, which is separate from the cabin, provides a space to mingle with other passengers.

In keeping up with our digital age, the team has ensured we will never have to go without. A programme called AeroMobile, allows passengers to use their own mobile phones in the air. Even better, the new entertainment system is smartphone, tablet and USB compatible, giving passengers the choice to read, watch or listen to their own media.

The re-designed cabin will also soon be available on the Mumbai service, from October this year. Meanwhile, the Virigin team is currently working on resizing and tweaking the Upper Class Suite to fit their 787 Dreamliners, which is due for delivery in 2015.

Houses from Within: Tel Aviv's open house weekend

2012-05-17 15:06:00

This year is set to be a good one for Tel Aviv. Not only has it seen the renovation and construction of three major cultural institutions in the city (The Tel Aviv Cinematheque, Habima National Theatre and the Tel Aviv Museum of Art extension by American practice Preston Scott Cohen), but things were made official when Mayor Ron Huldai named 2012 Tel Aviv’s ‘Art Year’.

Next on the city’s agenda is the popular Open House event, Houses from Within, for which some of architecture's finest doors will be thrown open this weekend. 'This year we will have some 150 different events, with about 30 private homes, 40 public buildings, 50 walking tours and around 30 activities, such as bike tours, office held exhibitions etc,' says curator and architect Alon Bin Nun.

With over 100 homes open to the public free-of-charge, the event is set to show off Tel Aviv’s unique architectural mix, including old, new and renovated work by local and international architects. It also features special treats, unique to this year’s event. 'We have a tour led by world-renowned Israeli sculptor Dani Karavan in the Cultural Plaza - which he designed between the main concert hall - the national theater and a museum, as an homage to the orchards and sand dunes of early Tel Aviv,' says Bin Nun. 'Also, the French ambassador's house in Jaffa is open this year for the first time. It is a beautiful International Style building in the heart of Jaffa’s Arab section, an area otherwise made up of rural vernacular Arab houses. The story behind the house is quite extraordinary. It was designed by Jewish architect Izack Rapeport for a wealthy Arab in the 1930s. The house was later sold to the French government.'

Part of the worldwide Open House family that includes similar events in London, New York, Barcelona, Dublin and Rome, House from Within is now on its sixth year and is set to attract over 80,000 visitors during the weekend-long event. Spanning new build houses, chic urban lofts and conversions, synagogues, public buildings and urban spaces, this event has something for everybody.