The Mercer Hotels Group has just opened the Mercer Barcelona in the city’s Barri Gòtic. The project represents an important recovery of Barcelona’s ancient heritage, as the hotel’s structure incorporates part of the old Roman Wall along with remains dating from the 1C AD. The project was carried out by the architect Rafael Moneo over a four year period.

More on Rafael Moneo in diarioDESIGN.

Stone is the hotel’s star material, as it was used in the numerous stylistic periods of the buildings history – from the first century to the 19th. Its medieval facade is replete with balconies and a threshold featuring an enormous door made of natural wood welcomes guests. A patio featuring orange trees and XVII columns sheds light on the interior.

The original ceiling height and wooden beams have been conserved in the Mercer’s 28 rooms. Moneo’s guiding principal in the project was to integrate the building’s heritage and restored elements with contemporary pieces made of the finest materials. Examples include the use of Corian in the bathrooms and other simple and austere pieces of furniture.

The two watchtowers form the old Roman Wall crown the hotel’s terrace, from where guest can see the dome of Santa Maria del Mar, the San Just i Pastor basilica and Barcelona’s cathedral. At sundown, the terrace opens to the public and offers a rare rooftop view of Barcelona’s Barri Gòitc.

The hotel also features the Mercerino Restaurant, which is led by the chef Josep María Massó It’s situated under the shadow of the Roman Wall, surrounded by colourful 18th C frescoes,  and looks out onto the interior patio. A more informal tapas bar, the Vermut Mercerino, has direct street access.

The hotel is full of historic references. Its first floor its library, is situated on the chemin de ronde between bastions 28 and 29 of the old wall and  features medieval frescoes that were discovered during the restoration process. In the reception area, a 16th C beam decorated with medieval paintings was also discovered. Throughout the project, assistance from Patrimonio de la Generalitat de Catalunya and the Universidad de Barcelona was required.

Photos: Xabier Mendiola

 

 

Tord Boontje likes flowers. The natural delicacy has always been a major source of inspiration for this Dutch designer who recently introduces a luxury service for the Cuveé Belle Epoque from French house Perrier-Jouët,, founded in 1811.This prestigious champagne, with a recognizable floral bottle designed in 1902 by Emile Gallé in Art Deco style, wanted to celebrate spring with an Enchanting Tree which collects all its esthetic and artistic heritage.

Photo by Michaël Boudot, MKB Agency

Perrier-Jouët carries in its DNA the Art Deco. Not only its brut champage more known and recognized is named Belle Epoque, its bottle is adorned with white anemones and a graphic icon of the early twentieth century. At its headquarters in Epernay (France), Perrier-Jouët has a collection of 200 authentic Art Deco pieces of great artistic and historical value.

Photo by Angela Moore

Photo by Angela Moore

This symbiosis with the world of art has led the firm to perform constant collaborations with leading artists and designers. This time, it was the turn of Tord Boontje, the renowned Dutch designer based in London, whose nature-inspired style has been the guarantor of the aesthetic baggage successfuly reflected in the mark of the Enchanted Tree.

Photo by Angela Moore

Photo by Angela Moore

Photo by Angela Moore

The creation of Boontje consist in a metal tree of anemone flowers, able to hold 6 Belle Epoque champagne glasses for a perfect service. Beside the golden tree of white flowers, is arranged an ice-bucket to maintain the proper temperature of the bottle

Photo by Michaël Boudot, MKB Agency

Photo by Michaël Boudot, MKB Agency

Photo by Michaël Boudot, MKB Agency

For the presentation of the collaboration between Perrier-Jouët and Tord Boontje, a big Enchanting Tree was exposed on 22 March at the Saatchi Gallery in London. The big tree, a hand-made modelled metal sculpture , leaves and flowers laser cutted and carved in hammer by artisans, also will tour several emblematic places for end up in the Art Deco gallery of the French house. The iconic piece combines elements of theater, poetry, crafts, tradition and contemporary design. All this combined to recreate a magical world in honor of spring.

Photo by Angela Moore

More about Tord Boontje

Born in 1968 in Holland, Tord Boontje studied industrial design at the Design Academy Eindhoven (1986-1991) and in the London Royal College of Art (1992-1994). He founded his studio in London in 1996. “My ideas come from my walks in the woods, when I observe the interaction between light and nature,” says the designer, who constantly explores the relationship between nature and technology. Tord Boontje has worked with international brands such as Shiseido, Alexander McQueen and Swarovski. In our country he developed a collection of rugs for nanimarquina. His works are exhibited at the Victoria and Albert Museum, MoMA and Copper-Hewitt Mueseo New York, the Design Museum and the Tate Modern in London.

Read more about Tord Boontje in diarioDESIGN

Photo by Angela Moore

All kind of design novelties and old design classic reviews have been shown in the recently celebration of Euroluce in Milan.

Here it is a compilation of the new lightings by the brands Marset, Vibia, LZF-Lamps, Santa&Cole and Lladró, the porcelain spanish company introducing their savoir faire now in lighting decoration.

NENÚFAR by Joan Gaspar for Marset.

The outcome of the designer’s arduous quest to create a fixture that seems to float on air, the Nenúfar takes its name and its delicate shape from the water lily.

The Nenúfar is a cluster of pendants, based on LED technology, made up of several discs connected by the same stem, but separated from each other in a way that the beams emitted by the different elements are not broken by the lowest component, which also projects its ray of light downwards.

The result is a strong, uniform, direct beam that emerges beneath the discs of an item that is midway between decorative and architectural, and can be applied to both purposes with ease. Sober and well finished, the Nenúfar utilizes topquality materials and the power of LED to radiate an exquisite luminosity and create warm, welcoming atmospheres.

This fixture is in its element installed in a series – creating areas lit at different heights and with various combinations of discs – or on its own as a surprising, well balanced and subdued centerpiece. Choose from one, two, or three white or black discs supported by a polished chrome stem.

SCOTCH CLUB by Xavier Mañosa and Mashallah’ for Marset. Toward the end of 1959, in Aachen, Germany, the now-famous “Scotch Club” had its opening night. The owner, seeing that the patrons were growing bored, asked a journalist to announce the songs as they were played – this was the birth of the discotheque as we know it today.

Xavier Mañosa and Mashallah’s latest collaboration, the Scotch Club ceramic collection takes its inspiration from that discotheque, with a design reminiscent of the widely popular

revolving disco ball. Its 72 faces reflect light from the interior in all directions, casting elegant, complex visual patterns around the room.

Made from a meticulous and traditional design process, the lamps are fired four times – using glazes specifically developed for Marset – and incorporate warm, high-quality materials, such as gold. Available in white, blue, terracotta, or black ceramic, with brilliant white or gold enamel interiors, the collection includes three sizes of pendant, as well as wall and ceiling models

 

FUNICULÍ
Throughout his career as a designer, Lluís Porqueras has always sought an absolute simplicity in his designs, doing    away    with    everything superfluous to leave the essence of the useful, simple object. The Funiculí is the epitome of that concept; 30 years after it first appeared, it is still cutting-edge.
While the standard Funiculí was updated last year, the collection    has    also    been extended to incorporate table and wall versions, which retain both the purity of the fixture’s style and its original attributes. Using the same double-clip mechanism of the original, these    scaled-down    models allow easy height adjustment and 360o shade rotation to fit the needs of any room or user.
The base of the table model has been fitted with a black rubber sleeve to prevent cold-contact between the metal and the table, and to impart additional stability. Funiculí is available in
black, white, red, beige, and moss grey.

LA DISCRETE
La Discrète aims to be something more than a light source– hidden within its design is the clear desire to be highly useful while retaining the decorative beauty of a well made object.
Perfect for use as a desk lamp or to highlight treasured ítems, its configuration is simple yet forceful, and contains a carácter we wish to preserve in the Marset line: of something time will prove to be superior and essential quality. This fixture comes with an incorporated switch for ease of use, and the wooden base, far from being employed as a fashion element, harks back to origins much more related to pieces of furniture. La Discrète can be turned into a back- lit, wall-mounted shelf.

LLADRÓ
The Spanish art porcelain brand premieres a new concept of porcelain lamps updating classic chandeliers and decorating them in a striking palette of colors. The Belle de Nuit collection is on view from 9 through 14 April at the International Lighting Exhibition in Milan, together with a selection of décor and lighting products from Lladró.
Lladró is shining with its own light at Euroluce 2013. Famous worldwide for its figurines, Lladró is currently celebrating its 60th anniversary with its sights set on the future and with a strong focus on its lighting fixtures which are now on view in Milan from 9 through 14 April. The lighting industry’s benchmark show is the chosen setting for the world premiere of Lladró’s Belle de Nuit collection. The new line of ceiling, tabletop and wall lamps is made in porcelain and comes in various formats and colors in tune with happening trends in interiors and home décor.

The concept for this new collection is based on the classic crystal chandelier, updating it not only in terms of the material used, but also changing the expressive language. This reinterpretation gives rise to contemporary lamps in different sizes and models which fit in to perfection with all kinds of interior styles, and in which porcelain and color play an
important role.
The sensation Lladró lamps transmit in comparison with those made in other materials is the greater sense of warmth. The inviting and comforting effect of porcelain is enhanced in this new collection with the use of porcelain lampshades, known as lithophanes, instead of the usual textile shades. When they are lit, the transparency of the porcelain brings out the designs etched on the surface, creating a subtle lighting with a very evocative effect.
However, the most striking feature of the Belle de Nuit collection is the application of the original Lladró palette of colors, surprising us with a wide spectrum that ranges from the sober version in white to a multicolored version, as well as pure tones, combinations of colors and gradated tones.

With this new line Lladró is taking another step forward, consolidating its range of lighting and décor products. Porcelain lamps which boast the differential values imbued by the artistic qualities of this noble material and the brand’s creative capacity.
Like all Lladró creations, the pieces on exhibit at Euroluce 2013 are handcrafted at The City of Porcelain, in Tavernes Blanques (Valencia). There, around one thousand people give life to the creations that Lladró exports to over 120 countries on the five continents. With sixty years already to its credit, the brand continues making all its pieces following the same entirely artisan process that has won it worldwide fame.

“Home is a state of mind” (George Frankinsson, 1829)

Since 1985 Santa & Cole has been publishing products that meet our concept of good design, timeless quality and decent designers. We publish objects that move us: indoor lamps for happier living, but also street furniture that makes cities more human, trees that bring nature back into our lives and books that teach us.

 

 

These are the criteria that underpin our new range of Indoor products for 2013, which fit comfortably in the home and can also be used to decorate large common spaces. It is an extensive collection of our most global designers along with a few new ones: Miguel Milá, Antoni Arola, Luis Viñas, the Raw Color studio and the in-house work of the Santa & Cole team are once again putting themselves up for their public examination.
Look closely at all the details. We enjoy what we do.” S&C

On the occasion of Euroluce, the International Biennial of Lighting 2013, Vibia presents a series of proposals which confirm one more time its innovative vision for decorative lighting. Bringing out new concepts of interior and outdoor luminaries, the latest collections allow objects, light and space to integrate into each new design.
Vibia welcomes visitors into a warm and cosy environment, based on pine wood and other natural materials. A combination of openings creates a surprising game oflight and shadow, bringing dynamism and lightness to the ensemble. The stand is located at
The location conceived by Vibia within Euroluce highlights the new collections of luminaries by internationally renowned designers such as Arik Levy, Nendo, Toni Arola, Ramón Esteve, Cornelissen, Jordi Vilardell, J.L. Xuclà, Lievore Altherr Molina, Martín Azua and Ramos & Bassols.

HALO
The hanging lamp is part of HALO collection, designed for Vibia by Martin Azúa. HALO floats in the air composing harmonious and relaxing shapes. Designer Martín Azúa has done a masterly job of synthesising technology, design, art and life form to create this unique family of hanging lamps. HALO adds light in a subtle, magical fashion; it is a light element that blends naturally into the environment. This lamp can adopt multiple forms thanks to the Crea project, the brand’s online software that interior designers can use to personalize the design for each space. Materials: Methacrylate.

WIREFOLW by Arik Levy Exploring geometries in two and three dimensions, Arik Levy designed WIREFLOW, a hanging lighting fixture and, at the same time, a sculpture of light in space. Its structure formed by thin rods and LED (3W) terminals builds a visual continuity of lines and light spots, which gives to the immaterial a definite objectual character.

NUNO by Nendo Delicate layers of linen (‘nuno’ means ‘fabric’ in Japanese) cover the surface of a screen and create a luminary for interiors, characterized by gorgeous and complex textures and a warm light effect. Nendo’s first collection for Vibia, includes six different hanging lighting fixtures, two table models and two standing luminaries.

SET by J.Ll. Xuclà SET plays with light, shades, luminous and volumetric effects. J. Ll. Xuclà created for Vibia an absolutely unique and versatile wall lighting fixture. A series of mobile pieces produce and reflect light onto the walls, while in the mean time, they elegantly dress and decorate the space around them. SETis the new proposal of Wall Arts by Vibia.

SKAN Giving a new interpretation to volume & light, Vibia ’s SKAN pendant lamp brings the elaborated simplicity of a classic with a touch of contemporary design and light functionality.
In the search for essentials, SKAN light designed by Lievore, Altherr, Molina, features pure and delicate graphic lines, where light is the key element while volume is minimized and shape becomes thinner, almost invisible: the lamp simplified to its minimum expression. From a colorful red look, to black & white basics, SKAN blends perfectly into a modern interior design decoration, both for residential and commercial use.

LED technology enables high-lumen output and energy efficiency, to create a warm and comfortable lighting effect. Available in two sizes (30 – 60 cm/diameter), as built-in and surface fitting, in matt white, red & graphite lacquer. SKAN also includes an electronic dimmer on its 60cm version, to regulate the light source.

BRISA is an outdoor lamp that is revolving and adjustable. It is ideal for illuminating garden spaces and paths.    Designed    by    Liévore, Altherr, Molina its sleek silhouette seems to be inspired by the wild bell flowers: soft, delicate and discreet, BRISA blends with nature while    its    light    becomes    the absolute protagonist. The lamp provides a beam of intense yet warm    light,    accenting    those surfaces that require higher levels of illumination. BRISA uses LED technology    which    is    energy- efficient    and    low    in    power consumption (LED 3W 700mA).

The lamp is available in four different models, as built-in and surface fitting and comes in khaki and matt oxide lacquer.

LZF LAMPS
Music has always been part of LZF’s DNA and has accompanied them from the very beginning. But never before had they brought their lamps together with music in such an explicit, conscious and deliberate manner. At last, the new “High Fidelity” collection has provided them with the opportunity to pay this long overdue tribute.
The new lighting collection brings past aesthetics into the present while at the same time exploring new ways to make light and shadow intertwine and propose new lighting solutions from delicately treated wood.
Marivi Calvo brings us Candelabro, a pure fusion of lamps and hummingbirds that dance around light. Yonoh, has designed Chou, a lamp that transports us into a games of chinese shadows. Burkhard Dämmer gets up there and plays high notes with light coming from the ceiling in the form of the Cuad and I-Club Slim suspension lamps. Domo, by RQR Estudio is a hanging bellflower of petals of light. Escape by Ray Power is an exodus of wood veneers creating a dramatic visual domino effect. Marivi Calvo & Ray Power have created the LinkChain, a spectacular system for room division. And the Raindrop Cluster by Javier Herrero Studio, is a splashing of three, five or seven wood drops floating like notes in a playful pentagram.

CHOU Inspired by the film “The World of Susie Wong” designers Yonoh studio plunge us into the cinematic aroma of Hong Kong with the Chou series. An object that decorate any room with tales from the Far East.

DOMO The seventies was a great decade for the invention of dome shaped objects, like the transparent dome umbrella, the dome hat with those round orange sunglasses incorporated into it; but what we most cherish from this decade is the dome of silence from the TV. series Get Smart. When the designers, Rqr studio, brought this design to us, we just had to have it, in memory of agent 86.

ESCAPE The domino effect in lighting, a chain of self supporting squares falling into a ring of light. This new proposal by Irish designer Ray Power creates a domino circle caught in a constant state of gravity defiant falling.

CUAD The author of this piece, Burkhard Dammer, presents us with an archtectural model of great sobriety but which hides in its interior great beauty and demonstrates to us how simplicity can be of great impact. Equipped with T5 electronic technology it has great versatility for use in the home or the office.

Posted by RED press
http://www.red-aede.es

A resolute character and feelings of lightness, a new pragmatism and a flash of eccentricity. These are the new traits of Living Divani’s 2013 collection, which expands to include articles with a multiform look and a multiple identity, generating a new “family” of furniture with a playful spirit; furniture to be reinvented each day, giving free rein to our imagination.

Rodwood

 

Polo Grace

 

 

Pin-Up Grace

This year the upholstered systems, entrusted to the meticulous supervision of the brand’s art director, Piero Lissoni, are distinguished by an unusual combination of lines and surfaces, raw and sophisticated materials, technique and innovation, for products that have never been so versatile and comfortable.

Metrocubo

Fold

In addition to these, a new range of furnishing accessories makes its debut. Multipurpose objects which reveal, to the attentive eye, many different ways of looking at them, opening the way to multiple usage depending on whether we observe them close-up or at a distance and how we interact with them.

Track

Strato

Now more than ever, people want objects with an impeccable aesthetic, quality materials, luxury finishes, but also flexible and adaptable,  that can be freely interpreted according to changing tastes and requirements.

Mate

Mandarin Grace

Eton Grace

www.livingdivani.it

You can follow Living Divani on:
www.pinterest.com/livingdivani
www.youtube.com/user/LIVINGDIVANI
google.com/+livingdivani

The 52nd edition of iSaloni has received a very positive outcome, placing to the top of the world habitat-design  to more than 2,500 Italian and foreign exhibitors, divided at the Salone Internazionale del Mobile, the biennial meeting SaloneSatellite, Euroluce and SaloneUfficio .

324.093 visitors in total, 9% more than in 2012. 285,698 industry professionals from 160 countries representing the 68% of total visitors (compared to 63% of the 2011 edition, with Euroluce and SaloneUfficio) have made it possible for this fair  gets to position itself as the most International.

Also Important was the participation of visitors from around the globe, and particularly those in the Far East, USA, South America and Africa. It is confirmed the interest in the fair of professionals from Russia and the former Soviet republics that consolidate their participation with significant representation of operators interested in the full range of products at the fair, with a significant increase to the proposed high- Design. Important also were the delegations of Chinese manufacturers and American architects.

“The Salone del Mobile is confirmed as the most important instrument for promoting the creative company says Cosmit’s President, Claudio Luti. I’ve Lived a very positive atmosphere during these days, which shows that even in times of difficulty, the innovation, design and communication are the levers in which to invest. Companies with large investment efforts to highlight in Milan’s fair, have attracted the attention of international professionals. The numbers confirm that the fair is a platform that rewards exhibitors here offered real business opportunities with operators of high quality. ”

“The success of this year’s Salone del Mobile is an important signal to our companies. But do not let your guard down with respect to the domestic market, we have signs of concern requiring effective action quickly,” said Roberto Snaidero, President of FederlegnoArredo.

Milan, April 14, 2013
Press Cosmit: Marva Griffin Wilshire
Translation: RED press

Marset, a Barcelona’s based company, takes many years hitting target with his new lighting fixtures. Their collection, has become an amalgam of different solutions that provide originality and breadth of styles, again to target with new proposals submitted in Euroluce.

More about Marset in diarioDESIGN

Download Marset’s app for iPhone or iPad here

Scotch Club,  by Xavier Mañosa & Mashallah

The Scotch Club ceramics collection is a tribute to the discoteque’s mirror ball, composed of 72 facets that reflect light from the inside in several directions, producing a complex visual effects. Its name refers to what is considered the first club in the world, in Aquisgran, where was used a DJ for first time. The result of the tension between the digital and the handmade, the work process between Hande and Murat from Mashallah Design in Berlin and Xavier Mañosa in Barcelona using the fax as a communication medium for obtain a careful ceramic lamp manufacturing process.

The collection comes in 3 sizes of suspension, one wall version and another ceiling available, in white ceramic blue, terracotta and black, and white enamel interior with bright or gold ..

Nenúfar, by Joan Gaspar

Nenúfar is a system of hanging lamps with LED technology that appears to be floating in space. It consists of several discs united by a common “stem” and separated from each other, which emit direct light, powerful and uniform.

 

The result is a whole product between decorative and architectural,  convenient for the repetition creating light volumes combining different heights and different numbers of disks, and solo:  surprising, balanced and quiet. Discs can be white and black, with support always chromed.

La Discrète, by Fabien Dumas

La Discrète is a lamp that attempts to go beyond a simple luminaire, with a clear intention to “decorate” and “be useful” simultaneously.

 

Can be used as desk lamp, and lit small space where we keep our favorite memories: a picture, an object, a letter … A concept closer to furniture to lighting that stands out for its simplicity and yet formal cogency.

With an accessory, you can hang it on the wall as a light rack.

 

Funiculí,  by Lluís Porqueras

Actual and in full force despite its 30 years of life, increases Funiculí family with two new table and wall versions, maintaining its purists forms and its performance .

 

By the same double clamp mechanism, these two new smaller size models allow you to change the screen height to suit user needs. The screen offers a 360 ° rotation to direct the light beam where needed.

They are available in black, white, red, beige and gray moss.

 

Polo, by Joan Gaspar

Polo is a Flexo with perfect fluid movements and stability ideal for all types of situations, taking the minimum space

 

Made in LED technology, are available with a range of accessories: base, clamp, table stand or wall, and a new floor stand, comes in white and black.

 

Lab, by Francesc Rifé

Superb, architectural, functional … Lab is an outdoor wall light with LED technology that integrates or highlights in space because the different materials that can be used on the front: stone, iroko wood, aluminum painted white, black or gray.

Completes the range the inclusion of a lacquered metal pole that extends the usability of the product like an external signaling. It may also include specific signage.

 

Once finished “Salone del Mobile in Milan 2013” we have seen the consolidation of retro design trend coinciding with the global crisis with a certain fatigue in the aesthetic.

Funiculí by Marset

It’s because we do not like the present and the future frightens us?. This might be the cause.

The quickness with which the design industry adapts to changing times makes it an indicator of what happens in society, especially in Europe. In recent years, consumer goods sectors such as fashion, footwear or habitat, dictate a retro feel, with “vintage” as a trend and rage.

Both designers in fashion, as the industrial designers that now colonize new habitats alternative in neighborhoods in London, New York and Barcelona ​​have taken this trend, similar in culture and its manifestations such as film, art, music or literature.

This look back today has an economic cause. In times of crisis and uncertainty, the industry plays it safe, and safe is to minimize risk, or go to what has worked before, and many brands have sought this balance between tradition and innovation.

In this line of risk minimization many brands have entered this year in different planes. Just had to go through certain stands and meet construction scaffolding, metallic woven with plastic ribbons or silk-screened walls stands.
When in Milan, the Italian companies have marked both imbalance between investment and innovation of products and materials, and decoration of exhibition spaces?. We were accustomed to magic and the new trends!

RO chair by Jaime Hayón

Another factor that may have caused this retro look between our industry can be fatigue of the new aesthetic which leads on the one hand a certain obsession with the past, seen in many brands, and in the other hand this approach as an insurance fact as a value for the prestigious brands, that had experienced many years working as a creators of trend and now repeated vanguard elements, ie ancient design with an actual look. Example the new RO chair by Jaime Hayón for Fritz Hansen. Were the Danish firm looking for one reprocessed EGG?

In this latest edition of the Milan fair re-topicality has been the keynote of the Salone.

 

 

Written by: Joan Mellen, RED Executive’s Director

Open interviews returns to our magazine in which readers become real journalists. If you like architecture, it’s your turn to ask what you always wanted to know to our character chosen. This time you can interrogate Benedetta Tagliabue, the famous Italian architect based in Barcelona.

On the occasion of the next presentation of the chair Tina, created by the architect as her first furniture design for home, we did not want to miss the opportunity to ask Benedetta everything you want. Tina, manufactured by Expormim was presented last week at the Milan Furniture Fair.

More about TINA chair in diarioDESIGN

How to make your questions to Benedetta

You have three weeks to write your question AT THE END OF THIS POST IN THE COMMENTS AREA. Once collected all, we’ll refer to Benedetta and within days we’ll publish your feeds . Feel free and ask whatever you want to one of our favorite architects.

Benedetta Tagliabue (1963) studied at the Istituto Universitario de Architettura in Venice, later she completes her training in New York, before settling in 1989 in Barcelona. A few years later would be associated personally and professionally with the architect Enric Miralles creating the studio Miralles Tagliabue EMBT , which has retained the name despite the death of Enric in 2000.

Roof covering on the Santa Caterina’s market in Barcelona

Together they worked on projects such as Barcelona Diagonal Mar Park (1997-2002), the rehabilitation of the Santa Caterina Market (1996-2005) or the new headquarters office tower of Gas Natural (1999-2006).

In Europe, they designed the new Scottish Parliament (1998-2004), the School of Music in Hamburg (1997-2000) and the expansion and restoration of the City of Utrecht (1996-2000). Benedetta Tagliabue was in charge of most of these works after the death of Miralles.

Office headquarters of Gas Natural in Barcelona

One of his most important works of that period was the Scottish Parliament, a project that won in 1998 and was completed in Edinburgh in 2004. Its design was highly acclaimed by the combination of a double feature organic and technological language, which has already become a hallmark of the study. Also for its many sights and different faces, all fitted perfectly in a place dominated on one side by a large cliff, the other on the streets and some luster on the outskirts of the city and at the same time by the ancient Palace Holyrood dated to the twelfth century, right now still the residence of the Queen of England in Scotland.

Her subsequent activity has gone beyond architecture also covering scenography and interior design, having worked for The Dance Company of Merce Cunningham (2009), exposure of the play by Isabel Coixet “From I to J” (2010) and interior design for Camper stores in Seville and Barcelona (2009-2010).

More of the Camper stores designed by Tagliabue in Barcelona y Sevilla

Among her recent completed works are the Square Ricard Vines in Lleida (2010), the design of the park for Xi’an International Horticulture Exhibition 2011 in China and the new L’Oréal Academy in Barcelona (2013).

More about L’Oreál in diarioDESIGN

In this last stage highlights especially the Spanish Pavilion for Shanghai Expo 2010 by its impressive facade wicker, designed by Benedetta Tagliabue as a bridge between Spanish and Chinese cultures.

More about the Spanish pavilion in Shanghai 2012 in diarioDESIGN

With this same idea just created the chair Tina for Expormim Made of rattan with traditional basketry techniques, his inspiration from the fishermen’s nets, hence casual Mediterranean appearance. It was presented at the Salone del Mobile de Milán.

 

Her works have received numerous awards, the latest, the lifetime honors involving the International Fellowship, awarded by the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) in its 2010 edition. Today she combines her professional work with teaching at numerous universities and international schools, such as Columbia (2010) and currently teaches at Harvard University (2012). In 2004 she received an honorary doctorate from the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, Napier University (Edinburgh, Scotland).

Gandia Blasco presents his News: a variety of outdoor furniture pieces manufactured with thermo-laquered aluminum, nowood, 100% recyclable polyethylene in a range of colors: white, bronze, sand, anodized… A good example is the unique collection Tropez designed by Stefan Díez, recently awarded with the Wallpaper* Design Awards 2013.

Flat, designed by Mario Ruiz, awarded with the prestigious Red Dot Design, and by Wallpaper and MD magazines:

Atlantic, designed by José A. Gandía-Blasco, incorporates the NOWOOD, a material matter, 100% recyclable, a mixture of natural fibers and plastic, that gives the warmth of wood and a higher weatherability.

Módulos, designed by José A. Gandía-Blasco, an extension of our Outdoor Spaces Collection, in which we incorporate NOWOOD, ceiling lights and floors to our pieces:

This year we are committed to the talent and fresh ideas of young creative designers. Of this bet is borned Young Talents, with pieces like Textile, a design by Ana Llobet, a project inspired by fashion that applies techniques used in textiles to the world of furniture design:

Arumi, a design by Emmanuel Gardin, is an individual module or multiple modules places together will form an exquisite and unique table in any outdoor space:

Dozequince, by Francesco Silliti, a piece inspired in the observation of the thick cable connections in the city of Sao Paulo:

GAN by Gandia Blasco is launching a new concept: Gan Spaces: One rug, one image, endless possibilities. The rug is the starting point, the main concept, and now you have the option to elaborate on its design by adding coordinating cushions, poufs and accessories.

The first of its kind, the Mangas Collection revolutionized the rug industry. An exceptional design by a unique designer, Patricia Urquiola is now expanding the collection by presenting Mangas Spaces. With the same texture and comfort of the rug collection, the spaces collection is comprised of modular components that can used interchangeably to create a multitude of different configurations. The combination of the rugs and modules will guarantee a warm and harmonious environment: modules, poufs, rugs…

Canevas Space, designed by Charlotte Lancelot, revisits classical techniques: a cross, a pixel. Carpets, pouf and cushions made using a perforated soft felt base with interwoven threads of wool in a range of colors:

Sail Space, by Héctor Serrano, where the wool dhurrie transforms and grows in volume. Urban, sober and essential, it affords a plethora of possibilities.

Trenzas Space, a design by Gandia Blasco: wool and cotton on manual looms, the braided collection displays nature in a pure form while evoking comfort and quality:

Glaoui Space, designed by Sandra Figuerola, Moroccan tradition, indian crafts and your home with Alexandra and Tumbuctú poufs:

GAN is releasing new items. Its accessories are a new line of small objects that complement the rugs and make our lives more comfortable, yes, but also more beautiful. And to begin with, the design offers delicate and essential Nendo. Aram, a collection of handy multipurpose tables and stools you won’t get tired of looking at. High tables, low stools … in white, taupe and green.

Finally our Kilim rug Collections of Sandra Figuerola and Odosdesign; wool rugs by Gandia Blasco; and hand tufted rugs by José A. Gandía-Blasco, Pablo Gironés and Enblanc. Basic carpets, classic, practical, sober, surprising … and now contemporary craft.

You can download the latest Gandia Blasco and GAN catalogues:

www.gandiablasco.com

http://shop.gan-rugs.com

 

www.gandiablasco.com

http://shop.gan-rugs.com

More on Gandia Blasco in diarioDESIGN, here.

This year, Nanimarquina has designed a new rug collection that will immerse us into the stunning world of nature. The Natural Collection has been produced with an exclusive selection of natural fibres that reflect the plurality that nature has to offer: nettle, afghan wool, silk and jute.

These fibres are twisted together into continuous thread: a highly laborious manual process that enriches the design, giving each carpet a soft and unique texture. Each thread, each knot, transports us to the world where this rug began.

The Natural Collection has been made using biodegradable, chemical-freecleaning products. This takes Nanimarquina a step further in the fight against environmental degradation.

After 25 years designing rugs, our thinking has been that true innovation lies precisely in creating rugs using what our environment gives us, like the plant that grows around us.

A range of seven different rugs created by using the four fibres (nettle, silk, afghan wool and jute) and four different manual techniques: Dhurrie, Hand knotted, Kilimor Hand-woven sumac. Each one shows the natural colour of the fibre or a colour variation consistent with the desire to create a pleasant and natural atmosphere. All our carpets are handmade, so colour variations may be found due to the handmade process or due to the characteristics of vegetable fibres… this makes them even more unique.

More information at www.nanimarquina.com

Discover more on Nanimarquina at diarioDESIGN, here.

 

 

Braids often used in the world of Fashion and accessories that now Naturtex has transformed into rugs. An interesting exercise on how re-interpretating a traditional process to create totally contemporary products. Naturtex rugs are made of polyurethane and/or cotton braids with the traditional braiding machines, and  sewed one by one afterwards.

Grit Net

Grit Link

Grit Collection: Rugs 100% Elegance. Braids’ rug line made of braided waxed cotton shoelaces fruit of the collaboration with Dutch designer Grit Roetgering. Available in several designs and versions…matt or glow in order to adapt to elegant and timeless decorations, sometimes more discrete but sometimes showing achic touch. Always elegant, contemporary and with a warm touch.

More info about Grit Line, Grit Link and Grit Net.

Grit Line

Belts: Fashion inspiration! Rug made with poliurethane and cotton braids, which are more commonly used in the fashion world. The value of the traditional detail is translated into a contemporary look product, even timeless.

Circus 

Circus: Come in and check Naturtex’s new ride: Circus! Circus is the new braids rug inspired by the elegance and details of classical Circus and also customizable with a tool available on our website.

This is a simple and intuitive App available on our website that will allow you to fully customize your own Circus rug, and you will be able to make endless combinations to let your imagination run free. This tool to customize the Circus rug allows you to choose the size of the rug and what’s more fun: select among 18 colours.

Circus 

Custom Fit Service: Do you want to see some of the rugs we have already created?

Belts 

Naturtex: Fabrics, rugs and more. At Naturtex we imagine, design, develop and produce unique textures which become rugs, upholstery and decoration fabrics, wall panels, carpets, etc… suitable for all kind of spaces and decorations whether they are for domestic or contract use.

Belts

www.naturtex.es

More on Naturtex in diarioDESIGN, here.

 

 

Recycle bins Berna by Stone Designs and Zurich Plus by Joan Gaspar, modular panels Nara by Hiroshi Tsunoda, mailbox Sendai by Joan Rojeski and removable stool Toronto by In-tenta are some of the news that Made Design will present at the Salone del Mobile, in Milan.

The main idea of the Berna bins is to create an element with simple colored and shape with priority to functionality. These two points of convergence give a small bin with a look “close to nature”. For these bins, we chose to meet the standards of ergonomics to create a very simple concept with no frills or ornamentation.

Nara is a modular board that can create continuous surfaces with a locking system for convenient and simple use as a magnet. Nara appears as a truly versatile concept, suitable for spaces of any type and size, from children’s rooms to kitchens.

Nara comes in two sizes (500×500 mm and 250×250 mm) to enhance the versatility of the set, and its smaller version can be ordered in various colors. In addition Nara has a large number of accessories to customize your workspace: from lighting to electronic gadgets holders. A whole range of possibilities to make your own space, where and how you want.

Sendai is a mail box with key and sided tray for documents/catalogues. This designed and innovating product is made for co-working spaces, multi-offices buildings, houses, hotels employees or guests… Made in two parts, the private one is locked with a key for the classic post mail, personal notes, payslip, catalogues and/or magazines. The other part is open for the social relations, where colleagues, customers, boss and mates can share information, adds, catalogues and more…

Toronto is a detachable and adjustable stool designed especially for kids. The main raw materials are discs of cork and foam, both 100% recyclable and non-toxic. It is a piece of furniture and a toy at the same time. It is multifunctional transformable furniture designed to drive kids in their growth, in intuitive fun way. It helps them to strengthen fundamental skills such as movement, coordination and manipulation.

Zurich Plus is a recycling bin for interior. Beating lip in polycarbonate, available in colourless and anthracite with an articulated axle in stainless steel. Body made of four metallic faces, linked by metallic rivets. Smoothed metallic areas do not let any cutting area and confer a great rigidity. Base with four riveted nuts to, possibly, places castres and make easier its use. The pivot allows the total opening of the lid, by making easier its maintaining and by preventing its breaking-off.

 

 

More about Planning Sisplamo in diarioDESIGN, here.

www.planningsisplamo.com

www.madedesign.es

 

 

Faro believes in simple but ingenious ideas. Like how to create functional design lamps accessible to everyone. Our creations are the result of 62 years of learning and exciting experience. A long journey that has helped us to learn and improve. To give substance to our offer. We enjoy working with prestigious designers who create models with a unique and distinctive style. Our designs are easy to understand, accessible and functional. We are constantly on a quest for new materials, processes and technologies. Eterfan (designed by our in-house team) is a breakthrough in ceiling fan design. It combines traditional processes with technology.

Our creation Mix (designed by Manel Lluscà), stands out for its discrete slits allow light to shine out, generating a chiaroscuro effect.

Linda (designed by Estudi Ribaudí) projects light through its structure, creating a pattern of light and shadow.

Tree (designed by Estudi Ribaudí) stems from the interaction of human beings with their environment. Its branches grow in towards the top, which is where the light emerges from.

Flexi (designed de Manel Lluscà) is a casual, very versatile luminaire line with infinite positions and great practical applications.

Steps (designed by Estudi Ribaudí) is a tubular composition with an interesting efect of upper and lower light.

Yak (designed by Manel Lluscà) minimizes space through the use of LED technology.

Mistu (designed by our in-house team) provides excellent, perfectly proportioned light thanks to its polymethacrylate (PMMA) diffuser.

Versus (designed by Pepe Llaudet) is simple, easily-integrated and versatile. A contemporary object with a classic geometrical.

Nuk (designed by Manel Lluscà) is a highly decorative portable lamp intended to fully enjoy life overseas.

Discover our news at www.faro.es

 

 

Tcherassi Vilató, design that is here to stay. Founded in 2012 by designers Jacob Vilató and AngélicaTcherassi, partners also at their international architecture firm TCHV, who finally decided to let lose their passion for objects and drive for creativity by creating their own premium furniture brand.

Their artistic ways, background and passion leads them to elaborate products rich with a youthful flavor though very grounded to taste and values, designing pieces with a cosmopolitan flare.

Being architects, as well designers themselves, results in a cool aesthetics mix of their own functional ways and cultural extracting power, a connection of comfort and a multicultural approach.

At Tcherassi Vilató, they like to experiment with materials, their nature, and the combination of cold and hot to create objects appealing to the eye and that evoke emotions. All products are manufactured at Barcelona and distributed worldwide.

Tcherassi Vilató will be part of Barcelona Design Week 2013, which takes place from the 11th-22nd June. At BDW2013 we´ll be showcasing several products from our collection, such as our MissUnderstood tables (already launched), TryAngle Lounge Chairs, Let´s Eat table and Better than Chocolate sofa among others.

@Bisazza Flagship Store en Barcelona

 

To know more about them, their products or where to buy them, you can check their website: www.tcherassi-vilato.com. To be updated with last news, follow then on Social Media,  Twitter and Facebook.

 

 

 

LZF presents its new 2013 “High Fidelity” collection in a specially designed tailor made format. The musical rhythms and the graphic images unite with each lamp to form a multi-sensory compilation that embodies the spirit of this year’s collection. Their presentation features an outstanding quartet made up of music, graphic design, motion graphics and products. 12 songs, 12 album covers, 12 posters, 12 almanac pages and 12 animations to accompany 12 lamps. In a tribute to the iconic album covers of sixties jazz records and the popular soundtrack themes of the 70s, LZF have harnessed many forces in a creative fresh campaign.

Domo

The seventies was a great decade for the invention of dome shaped objects, like the transparent dome umbrella, the dome hat with those round orange sunglasses incorporated into it; but what we most cherish from this decade is the dome of silence from the TV. series Get Smart. When designer, Roberto Celada, brought this design to us, we just had to have it, in memory of agent 86.

Escape

The domino effect in lighting, a chain of self supporting squares falling into a ring of light. This new proposal by Irish designer Ray Power creates a domino circle caught in a constant state of gravity defiant falling.

Chou

Inspired by the film “The World of Susie Wong” designers Yonoh studio plunge us into the cinematic aroma of Hong Kong with the Chou series. An object that decorates any room with tales from the Far East.

Candelabro

A song about a world where golden birds inhabit suggestive cloud like forms. A melody that breaks and reunites. A song of lights, composed by Marivi Calvo using the most emblematic pieces of the firm.

Raindrop

Raindrops of music that permeate throughout life, as if Javier Herrero had chosen a concert to present his designs to us. These drops, suspended in the night, creating inspiration for us all.

Spiro

Nearly fifty years after the term Opt-art first appeared in the pages of Time magazine, Remedios Simón offers a new interpretation of this artistic tendency. One that tricks the senses, especially that of sight.

Link Chain

Melodically chains together all the strength of great promises so that light and design can remain united. A chain created by the hands of Mariví Calvo and Ray Power.

Cuad

Burkhard Dammer presents an architectural model of great sobriety but which hides in its interior great beauty and demonstrates how simplicity can be of great impact. Equipped with T5 electronic technology, it has great versatility of use at home or at the office.

This campaign celebrates the excellent moment that the company is experiencing and transmits, through the friends who have joined the creative team, the fun that they have had making this compilation. We bring a melody inspired by the quest for quality and caring for the fine details, like the lingering pleasure of after dinner conversation, with the desire to make sure that each lamp is more than just a lamp. It will become a memorable experience.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h-Prw43cQyQ&feature=player_embedded

Rithma, (Etienne Stehelin II), music maker from Los Angeles who has worked on many of LZF soundtracks has taken the musical lead in the project, composing an album of twelve songs that accompany the collection on an LP called High Fidelity. The leitmotiv of this year’s collection is to pay tribute to those small clubs, whose ambiance, made up of live music, lights and dark corners, always accompanied good times and get togethers full of happy moments. In a sense, music has always been part of LZF’s DNA and has accompanied them from the very beginning. But never before had they brought their lamps together with music in such an explicit, conscious and deliberate manner. At last, the new “High Fidelity” collection has provided them with theopportunity to pay this long overdue tribute.

 

www.lzf-lamps.com

More about LZF in diarioDESIGN, here.

 

 

Music has always been part of LZF’s DNA and has accompanied them from the very beginning. But never before had they brought their lamps together with music in such an explicit, conscious and deliberate manner. At last, the new “High Fidelity” collection has provided them with the opportunity to pay this long overdue tribute.

It’s time to raise the curtain and unveil the lamps that have inspired LZF to create this year’s High Fidelity campaign. A collection of lighting that brings past aesthetics into the present while at the same time exploring new ways to make light and shadow intertwine and propose new lighting solutions from delicately treated wood.

Marivi Calvo brings us Candelabro, a pure fusion of lamps and hummingbirds that dance around light. Yonoh, has designed Chou, a lamp that transports us into a games of chinese shadows. Burkhard Dämmer gets up there and plays high notes with light coming from the ceiling in the form of the Cuad and I-Club Slim suspension lamps. Domo, by RQR Estudio is a hanging bellflower of petals of light. Escape by Ray Power is an exodus of wood veneers creating a dramatic visual domino effect. Marivi Calvo & Ray Power have created the LinkChain, a spectacular system for room division. And the Raindrop Cluster by Javier Herrero Studio, is a splashing of three, five or seven wood drops floating like notes in a playful pentagram.

You can see the whole collection in person at Euroluce in Milan Pavillion 11, stand D 32.

You can watch the collection vid from LZF here:

http://www.lzf-lamps.com/

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=h-Prw43cQyQ#!

http://www.red-aede.es/es/blog/lzf-new-2013

Written by RED Press services for diarioDESIGN

Moo restaurant, located in first time in the landmark hotel Omm´s hall in Barcelona, has been renovated and extended to now offer two complementary spaces to its select customers. Unfolded in Roca Moo and Roca Bar, the renowned establishment sponsored by the Roca’s brothers from Celler de Can Roca, will continue in his new stage caring at the same time the cuisine and the design of the space.

It’s been a decade since the Omm, Tragaluz’s group, opened its doors in Barcelona and became “something more than a hotel.” This luxurious design-addicted visitors is also hub of social life in Barcelona, and now renews both interior as the cuisine of his lobby. Sometimes, something has to change.

More of Tragaluz’s group in diarioDESIGN

Chef Felip Llufriu, Rosa Mª Esteva – Tragaluz’s group and Joan Roca from Celler de Can Roca

Known names in the world of creation are the architects of the expected renewal. The designer Sandra Tarruella was again the author of the restaurant interior. Better said, the restaurants, Roca Moo and Roca Bar.  The landscaper Ana Esteve  has been commissioned to renovate the garden, while Mario Eskenazi has developed the new graphic and Josep Abril has designed the new uniform for the Roca Bar.  In the kitchen, of course, the hands of the Roca brothers.

More of Sandra Tarruella in diarioDESIGN

More of Celler de Can Roca in diarioDESIGN

Down the hall, still open the Michelin Star restaurant, now renamed Roca Moo. The facility will continue captained by chef Felip Llufriu that still has roca’s brothers as culinary advisors. But this most luxurious of the premises has some changes. For example, a new white birch forest has populated the forecourt that gives natural light to the space.

In Roca’s Moo cuisine is seen a central bar for the “misenplace” Also added some more places for diners in the new kitchen counter. The furniture in the room is still basically the same, although some pieces have been added to complement accessory (like nanimarquina’s carpets or the awarded white lamp by Antoni Arola), have been redistributed furniture, and lighting has dramatized .

A large bookcase-wharehouse, designed by Tarruella,  ingeniously separates Roca Moo restaurant from the new Roca Bar. The iron and wood bookcase is simply an subtle extension of the winery  of the Restaurant.

Roca Bar is the new OMM commitment , which has transferred its management to Roca’s brothers also. This new bar will service an expanded space, something more casual than its neighbor restaurant.  Now we can taste “tapas”, sandwiches and some street food delicacies anytime.

Each pieces of furniture and lighting of the two rooms, as well as shades and finishes chosen, both spaces together have great consistency and stylish, contemporary touch of Sandra Tarruella. The Omm hotel lobby has changed, but still deserves top marks.

 

More from Omm Hotel

Opened ten years ago in the heart of Barcelona, next to Paseo de Gracia, the Omm is a modern, colorful and essential place for both locals and visitors.

Designed by architect Juli Capella and interior designers Sandra Tarruella and Isabel Lopez, has 91 rooms and a terrace with pool and exceptional views of Gaudi’s Casa Mila.

Photo by Rafael Vargas

Roca Moo & Roca Bar HOTEL OMM C. Rosselló, 265 08008 Barcelona T. (34) 93 445 40 00 www.hotelomm.es    

Beyond The Wall of Daniel Libeskind is a unique project of architecture and design made with Silestone® quartz surface in matt innovative called “Suede”. The result of this collaboration between Grupo Cosentino and Libeskind Design will focus on a spectacular polycentric spiral.

This project will show Libeskind’s unique approach to architecture as a language capable of telling the story of the human soul, a hybrid force and where they combine broad narrative method, an art form and a way of understanding the world.

The project entitled Beyond The Wall will be installed in the central courtyard of the Statale University in Milan, in the framework of the event “Interni Hybrid / Metissage Architecture & Design”.

Statale University in Milan – From 8 to 30 April 2013

See the vid: Youtube Suede

For the first time, renowned architect and designer, Daniel Libeskind has designed a project for the Cosentino Group entitled ‘Beyond the Wall’ The project utilises Silestone quartz surfaces in the new and innovative Suede textured matt finish.

The ‘Beyond The Wall’ installation will be exhibited from 8 to 30 April, coinciding with International Design Week in the main courtyard of the Statale University in Milan.

The worldwide leader in the production and distribution of innovative surfaces for architecture and design, Cosentino has collaborated with international architect and designer, Daniel Libeskind to create a spectacular project made from Silestone quartz surfaces. This stunning project entitled ‘Beyond The Wall’ utilises the new Suede finish for Silestone quartz surfaces to form a striking polycentric spiral.
The ‘Beyond The Wall’ project will be installed in the main courtyard of the Statale University in Milan from the 8 to 30 April to coincide with International Design Week.

Daniel Libeskind, B.Arch. M.A. BDA AIA, is an international architect and designer. Born in Łód´z, Poland in 1946, Libeskind was a virtuoso musician at a young age before giving up music to become an architect. He has received numerous awards and designed world-renowned projects including: the Jewish Museum in Berlin, the Denver Art Museum, the Royal Ontario Museum in Toronto, the Military History Museum in Dresden, and the masterplan for Ground Zero among others.

Daniel Libeskind’s commitment to expanding the scope of architecture reflects his profound interest and involvement in philosophy, art, literature and music. Fundamental to Libeskind’s philosophy is the notion that buildings are crafted with the perceptible human energy, and that they address the greater cultural context in which they are built. Daniel teaches and lectures at universities across the world. He resides in New York City with his wife and business partner, Nina Libeskind.

About Libeskind Design

Over the years, Daniel Libeskind has been fortunate to be commissioned by a number of international design firms to develop a diverse array of objects, as well as bespoke furniture and industrial fixtures for the interiors of his buildings. In order to further develop his designs, Libeskind chose to establish a design company in Milan, the international center for design, with unparalleled artisans, care for detail and connections to the broader world of contemporary architecture, art and culture. The office has been commissioned to design products in Austria, Germany, France, Czech Republic, Netherlands, United States and Italy.

The designs reflect Libeskind’s profound interest in the world of everyday objects and the stories they tell about their environment and the people who use them. It is fundamental to his motivation that products are crafted with perceptible human energy and that they challenge and contribute to the fields of product, industrial and interior design in the same way his buildings speak to architecture and culture. The spirit animating the new enterprise is to craft every object in an innovative and unique way, to make everyday life a little more beautiful and interesting. Beyond interiors and objects, Libeskind Design has also been commissioned to design two museum exhibitions and several cultural installations in 2013.

Written by RED Press services for diarioDESIGN

The study EMBTled by the architect Benedetta Tagliabue has been commissioned to design the new academy of professional products L’Oréal in Barcelona, a space for training and view the latest trends.

More of Benedetta Tagliabue in diarioDESIGN

The academy is placed at 302 of Córcega street  and has four training rooms that can be converted into up to six, because of huge mobile panels. In these bright and shining rooms , almost aseptic, highlights some wicker stand structures that crown the roof representing hair.

The space is also dominated by winding walls and false ceilings which, with a ceramic floor, seem to do a small wink to Gaudí. Benedetta Tagliabue’s study decided to opt for this type of floor considered the most resistant for be a space where you work with agressive materials.

The tile inspired by a drop of hair dye, has been created exclusively for this space by Toni Cumella, National Crafts Award in 2009, who had previously worked with Tagliabue in the project of Santa Caterina Market in Barcelona.

According to the lines of the brand, the reception presents a superb backlit logo joined by a photographic series inspired by the first ads and graphic image of L’Oréal, also present inside the premises.

  Post by Tachy Mora
L’Oréal Academy Córcega 302 08037 Barcelona www.lorealprofessionnel.es  

Combining traditional Japanese food with Mediterranean ingredients provides the inspiration for Kobfuji Architects (Yoshihide Fujii Kobanawa and Kaoru) in designing the interior of the Futami Japanese Restaurant located in the centre of Barcelona on C. Enric Granados.

 

The soothing image of waves recalling the Seto Inland Sea (home of the owners) as well as the Mediterranean Sea is the dominant abstract image within this minimalist design which is characterised by materials like wood and ceramic.

 

 

The area around the bar, from where diners can contemplate the Itamae’s sushi techniques, is made using plywood panels that simulate untreated wood. The wall immediately behind the counter is decorated with a subtle abstract bamboo landscape. The minimalist origami vases displayed on the wall adjacent to the entrance provide another reference to Futami’s origins – multiple ceramic folds holding delicate fresh orchids.

 

According to the architects, “in a city like Barcelona the marriage between architecture and food is much easier because of the greater awareness of its citizens, something that we wanted to continue with Futami.”

Written by Brian Gallagher
B-Guided Magazine

Restaurante Futami
c/ Enric Granados 10
08007 Barcelona
http://www.kobfuji.com/