//December 2009
//Travel
Do you remember when it always snowed on Christmas Eve? When you lay awake at night hopeful that Father Xmas would bring the presents you desperately wished for?
A Christmas spent in Gothenburg, Sweden is as near as you can get to the fun and excitement of a childhood Christmas. There’s nothing like a traditional Swedish Christmas market to bring back those distant but fond memories and create new ones never to be forgotten.
Imagine all things delightful and delectable with the combined aromas of doughnuts sprinkled with cinnamon sugar, hot roasted chestnuts and glögg – a mulled wine laced with nutmeg and cloves. A scent you would certainly like to bottle and bring home fills the air as you wander through the fairy lit walkways illuminated by 5 million twinkling lights and marvel at the 700 Christmas trees. A visit to Lisberg Park guarantees this becomes reality.
Follow the architect-designed ‘Lane of Light’, which runs more than 3km through the city from the harbour all the way to Liseberg. Where you can capture that long lost festive feeling through the sound of snow crunching underfoot teamed with music and children’s laughter. Decorative wooden stalls are heaped with handcrafted gifts and offer a smorgasbord of traditional delicacies to feast on from sugar and spice to all things nice.
But there is more to this city than just the promise of magic and fantasy at Christmas time. As Scandinavia’s largest sea port and international gateway, the city’s 49,000 inhabitants have nicknamed their city ‘Little London’, affectionately coined during the 1800’s when many British businessmen relocated to Gothenburg and brought great wealth through trade. After donating some of their fortune toward the construction of major buildings, they left a great impression on the town. British customs became fashionable and Gothenburg took on its pet name.
In the same sense as London, Gothenburg has opened its doors to the World and continues to accept and welcome other cultures. So much so, that they have incorporated a new concept for cafes that promote multi-lingual social interaction where cultural differences do not matter. Sprakcafeet café was developed for people of all nationalities and ages to meet to practice different languages and share cultural interests set in an inspiring environment with beautiful architecture.
Gothenburg has an open outward-looking mentality and maintains extensive contact with other cities, countries and continents. Having always welcomed foreign influences, it makes the perfect destination for any culture to soak up the seasonal spirit and enjoy a very merry Christmas.
SARAH RADHANAUTH
//December 2009
//Travel
Nestled deep in a valley in the Swiss Alpine village of Adelboden, The Cambrian looks out onto one of the world’s most spectacular landscapes. Combining sleek, modern design with innovative uses of natural, local materials, The Cambrian’s exquisite interior effortlessly reflects its exterior, adding to the purifying immensity of the mountains. The central lobby’s stone fireplace and incredible mountain views set the tone immediately. After a hard day on the slopes the indoor pool and waterfall, the outdoor thermal pool that actually seems as though it is flowing right into the mountains, the Finnish Sauna with Bisazza Mosaics, and the various treatment and fitness areas all maximise relaxation. The Nova Restaurant provides a perfect culinary experience, and Scott’s Bar, the Lobby/wintergarden and the two spacious terraces are as well beautiful spaces to relax, offering exceptional mountain views and the perfect après-ski drink, or simply an opportunity enjoy the crisp alpine air and comfortable, warm décor. The Cambrian is known for its astounding location and superb design, but it is the hotel’s fabulous service above all else that makes it truly exceptional.
//December 2009
//Travel
Åre of today is best known for its ski area and the city pulse/atmosphere during the winter peak season, but Åre as a tourist resort has a long history. As early as in the 12th century, thousands of pilgrims from all over Europe visited the village on their way to St Olaf’s grave in Nidaros, nowadays Trondheim. Åre and its surroundings as a destination for tourists from far away developed in the later part of the 19th century, initiating the transformation of Åre from a farming village to an international ski resort. Up to this point, the inhabitants of the valley were mainly engaged in farming, combined with hunting and fishing. The local church, Åre Gamla Kyrka dates back to the early 13th century. The early visitors were primarily attracted by the pure air and were often referred to as the ‘air guests’. Hunting and fishing were also major attractions, as witnessed by the hunting lodges built during the period ca 1880-1915, such as Skalstugan and Rensjösätern. The main focus in the early days of Åre tourism was on summer tourism and as far as into the 1970s, Åre had just as many visitors during the summer as in the winter.
As an Alpine destination Åre is of top international class and is one of the Nordic region’s most frequented holiday destinations. It is the only ski resort in Sweden with a genuine Alpine atmosphere. The cable car takes you directly up to the top of the mountain and you can ski all the way down to the square. The range of pistes covers everything from advanced skiing on demanding slopes to relaxed skiing on easy slopes. There are many restaurants, some ten on or around the square alone, offering delicious and characteristic food from all over the world. The hotel is designed by the American architect Peter Bohlin, known for drawing Bill Gates’ private residence and Apple’s prestigious stores. Copperhill got its name from the area’s history as a copper mining town. Copper, as well as other regional natural materials, plays an important part in the interior design of the hotel.
//December 2009
//Architecture
Canadian-born architect Todd Saunders landed a creative and dynamic client when he got the job to design a new home on the south-west coast of Norway. But while the Villa G looks like a futuristic home with its white minimalist exterior and sculptural form, Saunders has managed to combine this modernist edge with traditional local building materials to ensure that the new villa stands out from its rather more ersatz neighbours.
A white landmark in a soft landscape, the Villa G rises up above the sand dunes and scrubs of Hjellestand, just outside the city of Bergen. A monochromatic white exterior allows the home to blend into its surroundings in winter months and visually distinguish itself during the summer, and its modern form – an exercise in elegant massing – is sculptural yet unpretentious. In a clever twist on traditional Nordic style, whitewashed wood adorns the exterior in planks of varying widths mounted in a random pattern, providing interest upon close inspection.
The house is large but not dominating, and is distinguished by expanses of first floor glazing offering spectacular views across the surrounding dunes and bringing the rapidly shifting light into the heart of the living spaces. A family room and three children’s bedrooms are located on the ground floor along with a generously sized play area big enough to play team sports – it even boasts its own climbing wall. The airy first floor is then given over to the parents’ space – a “sanctuary” away from the noise – with a kitchen, sitting room and master suite. A sheltered external terrace surrounds this living area, with an external stair leading down to the garden.
The clients were specific with their requirements, Saunders explains; they “wanted a house with clean lines without any visual noise and clutter.” This clean line theme is continued throughout the home, with frameless glass walls serving as room dividers, and all of the storage spaces and closets integrated seamlessly into ‘thick walls’, about 60cm deep. The white theme from the exterior is also carried through to the indoor spaces but the client has specified bold furniture pieces and colourful large-scale artwork to counter the white walls and oak floors. A dramatic staircase takes centre stage in the home and evolved through numerous conversations with the client who, Saunders says, “challenged us the whole time, but never got in the way of our design process.” Formed from a solid piece of folded galvanised steel and weighing nearly 1 tonne, it had to be craned into the house through a rooflight.
Calm, peaceful and light-infused, Villa G is an object lesson in refined contemporary design, a self-contained house that enhances its setting and gives the occupants exactly the type of space they wanted. The result is rare and beautiful, but Saunders thanks his progressive clients for the end result. They might have “simply wanted a modern house that matched the needs of their family”, but they were more than willing to go out on an aesthetic limb to produce something strikingly different.
STEPHANIE COSTELLOE
//December 2009
//Architecture
Downsizing. A word that can send shivers through many a proud house-owner, but an idea that is becoming increasingly popular - especially in the midst of these recession blues. However, downsizing one’s home or living arrangements needn’t be thought of as a reduction in lifestyle but can, in fact, have many upsides - and the clients of this creatively designed house in Richmond would certainly agree.
Having taken the decision to downsize from their large family home on Richmond Hill, but reluctant to lose one of the best views in London, the couple found the answer right on their doorstep. Squeezed into a terrace of grand Victorian houses just a few doors away they discovered this then dilapidated building, originally constructed as a library for the adjoining mansion-size house in the Twenties or Thirties. Long and thin with poor natural light and a tortuous connection to the garden from the basement stairs, the house’s redeeming feature was the wonderful first floor living room overlooking one of the best views in London, high up on Richmond Hill over the park and the Thames. However they were at a loss to see what could be done with it, until they engaged the services of highly regarded London architect David Mikhail.
“The house was a conundrum,” says David, referring to the bizarre, cramped internal layout and serious lack of light penetration. “With the street elevation too sensitive to disturb and having two significantly taller buildings either side, the proposal had to utilise the roof and rear elevation as the source of natural light”. The architect’s key move, however, was in forming a connection between the house and the garden - raising the basement up at the rear whilst lowering the garden down to meet it – thus introducing a classic split level arrangement.
Inside the house, the results of this clever reconfiguration can be seen immediately. On entering through the elegant oversize oak door, the wide front hall is flooded with natural light and a view has been created right through to the rear garden. The complicated half- floor levels are united by a dramatic central staircase which also acts as a lightwell, guiding a beautiful quality of soft natural light into the heart of the house through the new skylight.
The stringerless oak stairs float effortlessly up to the gallery study area while at the rear of the house, a glass-roofed extension with huge sliding glazed doors provide a light-infused kitchen and dining area. Located on the first floor is the only remaining original room – the living room – with its beautiful oriel window intact and framing the view that the clients couldn’t imagine losing. A second set of stairs leads up to the master bedroom and bathroom.
Despite its proximity to the road and position sandwiched between two larger properties, the house has an air of tranquillity usually associated with the countryside. The remarkably long landscaped garden adds to the sense of seclusion, with a winding path leading through tropical planting and quiet spots for relaxing. Another surprise lies at the bottom of the garden – an elegantly simple black-clad photography studio which assumes the role of gate lodge, with access to a small lane at the rear.
The ingenuity and quality of finishes in this house have not just pleased the clients, as the architects also picked up a coveted RIBA award in 2007. The jury cited that “the reconfiguration of this dwelling... is a wonderful example of how an architect may add value to an unprepossessing situation and, with vision, exceed client expectations”. No longer the poor relation in an affluent neighbourhood, the Terrace House is a wonderful example of a small property with big ideas.
STEPHANIE COSTELLOE
//December 2009
//Column
I took this picture as I was walking along a south Indian beach on Christmas day last year. Seeing Santa’s sun burnt face jolted me from my thoughts. I had been pondering on the ancient Indian building science of Vastu Shastra. This system considers the dwelling to be a shrine. A home is called manushyalaya, literally, “human temple”. It is not merely a shelter for human beings in which to rest and eat. The concept behind house design is the same as for temple design, so sacred and spiritual are the two spaces. The selection of site, layout and position of rooms, orientation, measurements and the building form all play a part in building to Vastu Shastra principles. Apparently if the house is built according to these principles the inhabitants should have a long, happy and prosperous life.
A few days earlier I had been staying with a friend who lived in a house designed using this method of design. The house was one storey high with two internal courtyards surrounded by various rooms. It sat on a stone plinth and was constructed entirely of wood. The courtyards are called Brahmasthanam, meaning the “nuclear energy field”. They should be kept unbuilt and open to the sky so as to have contact with the outer space (akasha). The courtyards are likened to the lungs of the human body. They are not for living purposes. Religious and cultural events can be held here such as yajna (fire rituals), music and dance performances and marriage.
Unfortunately I did not experience any of the positive energy created by the Vastu design. The main reason for this was that the house was no longer located on the hot and humid Keralan coast. Instead it was now precariously perched on a mountain ledge high up in the Western Ghats. The reason for this was that twenty years ago my friend’s father moved into the house when it was located in Kerala. However he soon become tired of the local communist government and its corruption. He therefore started looking for another state to live in- this was easy, the problem was that he had grown to love his wooden house and could not bear to leave it behind. His solution was to dismantle the entire house and rebuild it on a mountain top four hundred miles away.
During my stay I spent the nights shivering to keep warm as the icy rain lashed the beautiful teak walls. The design of the building was completely wrong for its location, with almost no protection from the elements. It was a clear demonstration that the form of a building should be governed by the site and its climatic conditions - exactly what the principles of Vastu Shastra are about.
HAMISH HERTFORD
//December 2009
//Shopping
We’ve all come across wooden gadgets before, but NTT Docomo’s Touch Wood concept phone is possibly the first wood-encased smart phone ever. The phone, developed in conjunction with Sharp, Olympus and a reforestation project call “more trees”, contains surplus wood from forest-thinning operations in the Kochi prefecture of Japan. The Japanese cellphone giant’s phone uses three-dimension compression molding to resist bugs, mildew and water, while each handset retains an air of originality, featuring the natural colouring and grain patterns of the wood without artificial colours. The makers also hope that potential buyers would hold on to their phones for longer as wood tends to have more of a feeling of permanence than plastic, but despite showing at several technology conferences this year, there is still no word on when the phone will be released commercially.
NTTDOCOMO.COM
//December 2009
//Shopping
This cute but totally gratuitous solar-powered birdhouse is made by OOOMS, Dutch designer of products such as the Twig USB drive. During the day, a solar panel mounted on the roof charges a small interior battery so at night the landing perch lights up in anticipation of bugs who are addicted to the glowing brightness of nightlights. The idea is that the birds can use the light to attract their prey close to their bed for a night time snack. Strangely enough, these birdhouses have been hot-ticket items and sold out when first released, so check them out on the OOOMS website.
Price on application
OOOMS.NL
//December 2009
//Art
Minjae Lee is a young South Korean artist who, although yet to break onto the commercial scene, is surely destined for a bright future. His work is characterised by drama and a semi-disturbing inner-tension that is tough to ignore, drawing you in with its powerful colours, halting imagery and the clever juxtaposition of beauty and fragility with brash and aggressive overtones. At only 19 years of age, he is mainly self-taught and uses old-fashioned tools such as markers, pens and crayons to create his illustrations, and with a style that is still developing and improving each time a new piece appears, we will likely see a lot of him in the future. Buy one as an investment your friend can hang on their wall.
On commission
RENOKIM.COM
//December 2009
//Shopping
Not since the advent of the tin can telephone have we seen such an ingenious use for cast-off cans! Designer Jack Bresnahan has created a set of nine lids that will turn any ordinary can into an industrial-chic container that is a hybrid of clean design and recycled charm. Made from biodegradable plastic, the sterile-looking white lids will transform a can into a vase, soap dispenser, sugar caster, tea and coffee canisters, toothbrush holder, money box or desk “Concentration should be given to a product’s life from birth to death and designers should take responsibility for their products when they eventually need to be disposed of,” says Bresnahan. Having showed his collection at the New Designers exhibition in London earlier this year, Bresnahan hopes to see them commercially available in the future, so hang on to your tin-cans until then!
Price TBC
By Jack Bresnahan, available at OOOMYDESIGN.COM
//December 2009
//Shopping
Although they may hold nostalgic value for some, cassette tapes are bulky, have poor sound quality, lack large format album artwork and just don’t have the same je ne sais quoi as a crate full of vinyl. However, oooMy Design is keeping this 80’s technology out of the landfill by using old cassette tapes to create a series of gorgeous glowing lamps. Linked together with just plastic ties, the cassette tape lamps are available in various sizes of floor and table lamps and the creators say that it’s possible to play with the lamps and even switch your own tapes in and out. The x-ray view in the lamps made from clear tapes is a great bonus, plus the discoball-style sprinkling of light thrown on the wall from the wheel holes is pretty special. These lamps can be purchased from the oooMy Design online shop, but designer Vanesa Moreno is also open to a barter for those willing to send a collection of tapes and donations would also go towards making her vision of cassette chairs, tables and other furniture into a retro reality.
40 to 90 euro
By Vanesa Moreno, available at OOOMYDESIGN.COM
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