Innholdsfortegnelse for October 2014 i OBJEKT South Africa

Luxury hotels of the world vie with one another when extolling the special charms of their accommodation. The jargon they use is more or less the same, the basic idea being to provide a homely feel, while offering a luxury that makes the visitor forget about home. The pivotal theme is to offer a unique experience, with architecture, location, and service being paramount. OBJEKT travelled the globe to bring you some of the ultimate designs in hospitality the world has to offer. IT WAS NO EASY MATTER turning six adjoining, 17th-century, historic buildings in Amsterdam’s Canal Zone into a single hotel worthy of the name, “Waldorf Astoria.” It took six years of hard work, presided over by the flamboyant Roberto Payer, the general manager of the Hilton Amsterdam, to create…

Boasting an overall length of 80 metres, and a beam of 13 metres, megayacht Chopi Chopi is the largest pleasure vessel ever built by CRN, the Italian shipyard, and Ferretti Group, who specialise in the construction and sale of fully-customised, displacement megayachts in steel and aluminium. The new flagship is the outcome of the integration of different skills, and the fruitfull cooperation between the CRN Engineering team, in charge of naval architecture, and Studio Zuccon International Project, the design firm that developed the vessel’s exterior lines, and interior layout. CHOPI CHOPI is a displacement megayacht built entirely in the Ancona shipyard, and it is one of the largest ever built in Italy. It is the 129th hull built by CRN, which, in 2013, celebrated its 50th anniversary with a historical…

Between the forest of fir trees, and serene ocean shoreline, a soaring structure of rust and steel rises above its natural surroundings. A weekend retreat for a young family of four, the house is a marriage of functionality, and playful discovery, with a striking aesthetic form. Situated on a beautiful, remote island off the coast of Canada’s Pacific Northwest, its innovative design and construction resulted in a sculptural work of art that can also host family evenings by the fire. THE FLYING FORM is architect Tony Robins’ creation, whose career I have been following for almost 25 years, as in full disclosure, I am his son. The rare opportunity to use my profession, as a writer for publications such as The Huffington Post, and New York Magazine, as a means…

Francesc Rifé Studio, a Spanish design house, received an assignment to design the interior of the Real Madrid players’ residence. This was an ambitious project that came from a fundamental reference point for the team, which was the colour white. The residence is designed to be an area of concentration for the players, before official matches, and during training days. THE BUILDING, that accommodates Real Madrid players and trainers, has three floors. In the two upper levels, there are 60 rooms, about 60 square metres each (including a 10, square metre terrace). The trainer’s apartment consists of two modules. On this floor, there is the players’ dining room, rooms for technicians, and physiotherapy rooms. The ground floor includes the reception, offices, meeting rooms, and communal area that has a cinema,…

World’s Finest Watches is situated on the prestigious Nelson Mandela Square to cater for the exclusive watch clientele of well-heeled locals and international tourists and is the only specialist prestige watch store in Sandton today. Because the boutique specialises in watches, World’s Finest Watches has become an established watch destination for enthusiasts and collectors and has earned a reputation for presenting the finest watches from the premier Swiss brands. The World’s Finest philosophy is to focus on the most recognizable watch brands in the world and to offer a full selection within these brands. Clients can always expect to see the latest releases from premium marques like Rolex, Hublot, Breitling, Omega and Tag Heuer and to receive the professional service from the store team to match the pedigree of the…

His home is his castle, with a studio and living space in a bustling suburb in Paris. He was born in Rabat, Morocco, where he absorbed the beauty and contrasts of light, and the scents of spices. Regis Dho left Morocco for France at the age of 16, and today, he is a top designer, focusing on 2 and 3-star Michelin restaurants. His favourite amongst the designers is the Brazilian architect, Marcio Kogan, of Studio MK 27 in Brazil. RÉGIS DHO’S house cannot be seen from the street, but once you pass through the front door, you enter a long corridor leading to the centre of the residential complex, and the front door of his apartment. The unsuspecting visitor finds himself in a small patio from which the entire interior…

The Korean name of the house is, “Hwa Hun.” It is also known as the “Blossoming House,” and was inspired by the owner’s philosophy of “living in nature.” It spreads over a site of 353 square metres, located in an exclusive estate in the heart of Seoul, South Korea. Hwa Hun is another avant-garde design by Kim Hyo Man, the chief architect and founder of IROJE KHM Architects. THE AWARD-WINNING firm, IROJE KHM Architects, embraces the philosophy of maintaining architectural authenticity and purity, by unravelling Korea’s traditional past, exploring the present, and looking into the future to rediscover, and to imprint the country’s unique and distinct cultural identity onto its building, and interior designs. The renowned architect, Kim Hyo Man, is also a professor at a local school of architecture.…

When it comes to design, from fashion, to automobile design, all the way through to architecture and interior design, one of the most important elements is colour. Colour not only changes the physical appearance of an item, but it is highly influential on a host of other aspects, such as your mood and the emotions it is able to create. In fact, in many cases, very mediocre design can be transformed into something quite spectacular, purely by the choice of colour. When it comes to interior design, the colour of the interior space can affect productivity in an office environment, assist in selling products in a retail environment, and create a relaxed and soothing atmosphere within a healthy environment. IT IS SAFE to say that the walls and ceilings, generally,…

Your home says just as much about your personal style as the clothes you wear. It’s no surprise then that the quintessential merge of fashion and decor and the link between the two artistic disciplines grows ever closer as runway looks are translated into timeless interiors. With this in mind Dulux has revealed four new, en-vogue thematic colour collections to ignite the imagination and inspire self-expression. Each of the collections, which include Opulent, Inviting, Bold and Minimalist connote their own distinct style and personality and allow you to step away from the norm and truly express yourself in creating statement style in any space through a fashion forward compilation of contemporary shades. All collection colours are available in a choice of three statement interior finishes from the Dulux premium range…

In recent years, Lamborghini has evolved and matured as a company, moving from a source of exclusive models that produce the desirable, but in limited quantities, to a brand posting a greater market share, and a more diverse customer profile. A recent stream of models, such as the Gallardo, have been pivotal in positioning the “Raging Bull” as a more global competitor, and its successor, the Huracán, has been designed to emulate the Gallardo’s success. THE HURACÁN ... in Lamborghini tradition, it is named after a courageous bull that fought during the period of 1879, but it is also the name given to the Mayan god of wind, storm, and fire. The origins of the name certainly culminate for a dramatic first encounter, where simply being in its presence feels…

The story of Castello di Reschio is a remarkable one. It’s a story of an old, distinguished, Italian family of bankers from the Como region, who moved to an estate in Hungary. Once there they received a peerage, but were forced to leave Hungary, abandoning all of their possessions, just before the Russians invaded. They fled to the German city of Munich. It is the story of the Bolzas and Count Antonio, who, with his wife Angelika, purchased a house on an Italian hilltop in the part of Umbria that borders Tuscany. With a fitting respect for the natural surroundings, he has created an entire estate which covers 1 200 hectares. Two-thirds of the estate is woodland, with fields where tobacco was once grown, and the ruins of 50 farmhouses.…

“I HAVE THE PASSION of one thousand men,” Graham says in a tone coated in confidence, as he relaxes in a Cité Armchair designed 84 years ago, a chair that I had the pleasure of sitting in myself. The minute you take a seat in this timeless design piece, comfort shoots up your spine and you become engulfed in all the glory of a genuine classic. The armchair was originally designed for a competition to furnish the student residence halls at the Cité Universitaire in Nancy, France, in 1930. Now, 84 years after its inception, I sit in this armchair, jabbing at my iPhone, squinting at a screen that reads, “Wednesday, 17 September, 2014.” Graham, the owner of Graham’s Fine Art Gallery, and CUBE Gallery, passionately begins to explain to…