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Page 1: Selections #26

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ARTs / sTYLE / CULTURE fRom ThE ARAb woRLd And bEYond

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l’art de vivreby roche bobois

European manufacture.

Pho

to M

iche

l Gib

ert.

Phot

ogra

ph u

sed

as a

refe

renc

e on

ly. S

peci

al th

anks

: ww

w.a

quap

hyte

.com

BEIRUT DOWNTOWN33 rue Weygand Tel: +961 1 986 888/[email protected]

Escapade sofas, design Zeno Nugari.

Sofas and fabrics made for indoor and outdoor use.

Indoor version: Carioca and Indy fabrics

Outdoor version: plain or patterned fabrics for Roche Bobois

Flying Flower coffee table, design Sacha Lakic.

See www.roche-bobois.com for collections, news and catalogues.

Page 9: Selections #26

l’art de vivreby roche bobois

European manufacture.

Pho

to M

iche

l Gib

ert.

Phot

ogra

ph u

sed

as a

refe

renc

e on

ly. S

peci

al th

anks

: ww

w.a

quap

hyte

.com

BEIRUT DOWNTOWN33 rue Weygand Tel: +961 1 986 888/[email protected]

Escapade sofas, design Zeno Nugari.

Sofas and fabrics made for indoor and outdoor use.

Indoor version: Carioca and Indy fabrics

Outdoor version: plain or patterned fabrics for Roche Bobois

Flying Flower coffee table, design Sacha Lakic.

See www.roche-bobois.com for collections, news and catalogues.

Page 10: Selections #26

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It was hard to press

the ‘go’ button to send

this issue to print: with

such a wealth of art-

ists, designers and

architects among our

pages, choosing which

of them to feature on

the cover proved to

be incredibly tough. It

was natural to resolve

such a dilemma with a

creative design twist.

Not one but two covers

have been designed,

each giving the spot-

light to two esteemed

names: Olivia Putman

is paired with Richard

Serra, and Rana Salam

with Zaha Hadid. The

Design Issue is very

broad and we move

from architecture to

fashion, and from furniture and décor, to today’s cut-

ting edge design challenges.

It was in Paris that I met with Olivia Putman, after I was

invited to visit the newly redecorated Sofitel Arc de Tri-

omphe in Paris by Studio Putman. It was a privilege to

be given a tour of the hotel by Olivia Putman herself,

and the hotel certainly impresses with its perfection

of the details that make the guest feel at home and its

sheer elegance. In return I invited Olivia to share with

us her connection to art

and inspirations. Allow

me to introduce you to

her world.

Recent travels also

took me to the Borouk

Desert in Qatar, where

walking amid Richard

Serra’s East and West

sculptures allowed me

to witness a monu-

ment that will be part

of history. In this erst-

while desolate spot it

really felt to me as if

the sculptures were in

a harmonious conver-

sation with the desert.

Among the other

highlights of this is-

sue, contributor Hilary

French, an architect

and architectural historian, joins world-acclaimed

architect Zaha Hadid for a conversation about her

upbringing, life in London, and why the future is all

about curves. Also don’t miss award-winning journal-

ist and critic Justin McGuirk who shares his thoughts

on Milan’s famous Salone del Mobile. And of course

there’s much, much more waiting to be discovered in

the pages that follow.

Enjoy.

EDitoR’S LEttER

The Design issue

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contRiBUtoRS

Hilary French studied architecture at the AA and history of architecture at the Bartlett. After many years in

architecture and design practice, in Paris and London, she started teaching and spent many years as Head

of the School of Architecture & Design at the Royal College of Art in London. She has published several

books on housing design and the architecture of the everyday and is a regular contributor to architecture

and design journals. Here she speaks with Zaha Hadid about her life and architectural practice.

Justin McGuirk is a writer, critic and curator based in London. He is the director of Strelka Press, the

publishing arm of the Strelka Institute in Moscow. He has been the design critic of The Guardian, the edi-

tor of Icon magazine and the design consultant toDomus. In 2012 he was awarded the Golden Lion at the

Venice Biennale of Architecture for an exhibition he curated with Urban Think Tank. His book, Radical Cit-

ies: Across Latin America in Search of a New Architecture will be published by Verso in spring 2014. Justin

shares his thoughts with us about this year’s Milan Salone del Mobile.

Merlin Fulcher is a writer, photographer and architectural journalist based in Battersea, London whose

work focuses on political interaction within changing built environments. He is competitions editor and inter-

national news writer on The Architects’ Journal and has contributed to The Architectural Review, New Civil

Engineer, Construction News and London Evening Standard. He is also programme director at Platform One

Gallery – a community art project. Several of his poems, including a collection on regeneration in the Brit-

ish Midlands titled Modern Air – have been published by the Different Skies experimental writing platform.’

In this issue Merlin reviews a discussion at the Institute of Contemporary Art, in London, about the tropical

utopianism of Jane Drew and Maxwell Fry.

Nicholas Chrisostomou is a British entrepreneur and former London nightclub impresario routinely

rubbed shoulders with fashion designers and pop stars at his wild clubnights across Europe and as

far afield as South Africa. Today Nicholas’ company, Coco Latté, advises the hospitality and nightlife

industries and manages DJs and artists, whilst Nicholas spends his life criss-crossing the globe for

work and play, shoe-horning long weekends and quick holiday jaunts in between meeting clients on

four continents and living it up with the who’s who of the global party scene. Turn to his diary column for

dinner party anecdotes from his first visit to Beirut.

Rajesh Punj is a London-based art critic, correspondent and curator, with a specialist interest in so-called

emerging markets, mainly across Asia. His undergraduate studies were in European and American art his-

tory at Warwick University, UK, and his postgrad was in curating at Goldsmiths College, UK. He has previ-

ously written for international art publications including Flash Art International, Milan, Deutsche Bank Art Mag,

Berlin, Elephant, London, Art Zip, London & Beijing, Sculpture, Washington D.C., and Asian Art newspaper,

London, among others. Rajesh is currently compiling a series of interviews with leading artists for a book

planned for 2016. Here he interviews leading Portuguese artist Joana Vasconcelos

Sheyma Bu Ali is an independent London-based writer and researcher. She is culture correspondent

for Asharq AlAwsat, editorial correspondent for Ibraaz and a regular contributor to numerous other publica-

tions. Her writing has also appeared in edited volumes and exhibition catalogues covering topics ranging

from historical archiving to cinema, political arts and Gulf urbanism. Previously, she worked for 10 years in TV,

film and documentary production in Boston, Los Angeles and her native Bahrain. Sheyma considers Thomas

Heatherwick’s new architectural scheme for Abu Dhabi in this issue.

Houda Kabbaj is a photographer and architect living in Paris who originally hails from Morocco. She cur-

rently works in a multidisciplinary architecture agency that strives for design synthesis between poetry

and physical reality. Houda has exhibited her photographs at the Biennale of Photography in Amsterdam,

2012, at the Arab World Festival in Montreal, 2010, and at WEF in Davos, 2009. She has also worked on

the curation of the Biennale Off, 2012, in Marrakech, and Animal Dream at Art Fair 2011. For this issue she

photographs Rabih Kayrouz in his Paris atelier.

12

contributors

Hilary French studied architecture at the AA and history of architecture at the Bartlett. After many years in

architecture and design practice, in Paris and London, she started teaching and spent many years as Head

of the School of Architecture & Design at the Royal College of Art in London. She has published several

books on housing design and the architecture of the everyday and is a regular contributor to architecture

and design journals. Here she speaks with Zaha Hadid about her life and architectural practice.

Justin McGuirk is a writer, critic and curator based in London. He is the director of Strelka Press, the

publishing arm of the Strelka Institute in Moscow. He has been the design critic of The Guardian, the edi-

tor of Icon magazine and the design consultant toDomus. In 2012 he was awarded the Golden Lion at the

Venice Biennale of Architecture for an exhibition he curated with Urban Think Tank. His book, Radical Cit-

ies: Across Latin America in Search of a New Architecture will be published by Verso in spring 2014. Justin

shares his thoughts with us about this year’s Milan Salone del Mobile.

Merlin Fulcher is a writer, photographer and architectural journalist based in Battersea, London whose

work focuses on political interaction within changing built environments. He is competitions editor and inter-

national news writer on The Architects’ Journal and has contributed to The Architectural Review, New Civil

Engineer, Construction News and London Evening Standard. He is also programme director at Platform One

Gallery – a community art project. Several of his poems, including a collection on regeneration in the Brit-

ish Midlands titled Modern Air – have been published by the Different Skies experimental writing platform.’

In this issue Merlin reviews a discussion at the Institute of Contemporary Art, in London, about the tropical

utopianism of Jane Drew and Maxwell Fry.

Nicholas Chrisostomou is a British entrepreneur and former London nightclub impresario who rou-

tinely rubbed shoulders with fashion designers and pop stars at his wild clubnights across Europe and

as far afield as South Africa. Today Nicholas’ company, Coco Latté, advises the hospitality and nightlife

industries and manages DJs and artists, whilst Nicholas spends his life criss-crossing the globe for work

and play, shoe-horning long weekends and quick holiday jaunts in between meeting clients on four

continents and living it up with the who’s who of the global party scene. Turn to his diary column for

dinner party anecdotes from his first visit to Beirut.

Rajesh Punj is a London-based art critic, correspondent and curator, with a specialist interest in so-called

emerging markets, mainly across Asia. His undergraduate studies were in European and American art his-

tory at Warwick University, UK, and his postgrad was in curating at Goldsmiths College, UK. He has previ-

ously written for international art publications including Flash Art International, Milan, Deutsche Bank Art Mag,

Berlin, Elephant, London, Art Zip, London & Beijing, Sculpture, Washington D.C., and Asian Art newspaper,

London, among others. Rajesh is currently compiling a series of interviews with leading artists for a book

planned for 2016. Here he interviews leading Portuguese artist Joana Vasconcelos

Sheyma Bu Ali is an independent London-based writer and researcher. She is culture correspondent

for Asharq AlAwsat, editorial correspondent for Ibraaz and a regular contributor to numerous other publica-

tions. Her writing has also appeared in edited volumes and exhibition catalogues covering topics ranging

from historical archiving to cinema, political arts and Gulf urbanism. Previously, she worked for 10 years in TV,

film and documentary production in Boston, Los Angeles and her native Bahrain. Sheyma considers Thomas

Heatherwick’s new architectural scheme for Abu Dhabi in this issue.

Houda Kabbaj is a photographer and architect living in Paris who originally hails from Morocco. She cur-

rently works in a multidisciplinary architecture agency that strives for design synthesis between poetry

and physical reality. Houda has exhibited her photographs at the Biennale of Photography in Amsterdam,

2012, at the Arab World Festival in Montreal, 2010, and at WEF in Davos, 2009. She has also worked on

the curation of the Biennale Off, 2012, in Marrakech, and Animal Dream at Art Fair 2011. For this issue she

photographs Rabih Kayrouz in his Paris atelier.

Page 13: Selections #26
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14

contEntS

18 in conversaTion wiTh Zaha haDiD28 The life of a conDucTor

30 cecil BeaTon aT hoMe

34 richarD serra in Doha42 ThoMas heaTherwicK in aBu DhaBi46 Karl lagerfelD’s rose Ball Décor

50 in The sTuDio wiTh raBih KayrouZ58 The luXury eDiT

60 anaToMy of a cluTch

62 salone Del MoBile wiTh JusTin McguirK

68 selecTions PicKs froM salone

18Cover Art work for Selections

The Design Issue by Rana Salam(above) and Liquid Glacial

Table by Zaha Hadid (right)

Vivre, Inside salAntelias-Dbaye internal road at Congress Center bridge+961 4 520 111 [email protected] www.vivre.com.lb

DROP CHAIR™ DESIGN ARNE JACOBSEN

eDiTorial MasTheaD

Editor-in-ChiefRima Nasser

EditorKasia Maciejowska

DesignerGenia Kodash

Pictures EditorRowina Bou Harb

In-house writerJohn Ovans

In-house IllustratorYasmina Nysten

Contributing WritersIndia StoughtonAnya Stafford

Nour HarbLucy KnightDan Hilton

Roman SinclairAlberto Mucci

Editorial [email protected]

+961 (0) 1 383 978

14

contents

18 In conversatIon wIth Zaha haDID28 the lIfe of a conDuctor

30 cecIl Beaton at hoMe

34 rIcharD serra In Doha42 thoMas heatherwIcK In aBu DhaBI46 Karl laGerfelD’s rose Ball Décor

50 In the stuDIo wIth raBIh KayrouZ58 the luXury eDIt

60 anatoMy of a clutch

62 salone Del MoBIle wIth JustIn McGuIrK

68 selectIons PIcKs froM salone

18Cover Art work for Selections

The Design Issue by Rana Salam (above) and Liquid Glacial

Table by Zaha Hadid (right)

Vivre, Inside salAntelias-Dbaye internal road at Congress Center bridge+961 4 520 111 [email protected] www.vivre.com.lb

DROP CHAIR™ DESIGN ARNE JACOBSEN

eDItorIal MastheaD

Editor-in-ChiefRima Nasser

EditorKasia Maciejowska

DesignerGenia Kodash

Pictures EditorRowina Bou Harb

In-house writerJohn Ovans

In-house IllustratorYasmina Nysten

Contributing WritersIndia StoughtonAnya Stafford

Nour HarbLucy KnightDan Hilton

Roman SinclairAlberto Mucci

Editorial [email protected]

+961 (0) 1 383 978

Page 15: Selections #26

Vivre, Inside salAntelias-Dbaye internal road at Congress Center bridge+961 4 520 111 [email protected] www.vivre.com.lb

DROP CHAIR™ DESIGN ARNE JACOBSEN

Page 16: Selections #26

16

70 nosTalgia anD sTreeT culTure wiTh rana salaM74 MaTerials MaesTro faMeeD KhaliQue

78 a PeaK insiDe The Diary of nicholas chrisosToMou

80 Plus Towers

82 africa Design awarDs

84 BeiruT Design weeK 2014

91 #noTaBugsPlaT

92 rounD TaBle on Design ThinKing

98 inTervenTions in KiTsch wiTh Joanna vasconcelos

104 a hisTory of The worlD in 100 oBJecTs

108 Jonas DahlBerg’s MeMorial arT

112 colonial MoDernisT archiTecTure reconsiDereD

116 in conversaTion wiTh olivia PuTMan123 curaTeD By olivia PuTMan

116

contEntS

Cover graphic for Selections The Design Issue by Olivia

Putman (above) and ‘Passage of Time’ by Richard Serra (right)

sales & DisTriBuTion

Commercial ManagerRawad J. Bou Malhab

Advertising [email protected]

+961 (0) 1 383 978

DistributionMessagerie du Moyen Orient de la

Presse et du Livre s.a.l. +961 487 999

Printing Chamas for Printing & Publishing s.a.l.

[email protected]

www.citynewspublishing.com

16

70 nostalGIa anD street culture wIth rana salaM74 MaterIals Maestro faMeeD KhalIQue

78 a PeaK InsIDe the DIary of nIcholas chrIsostoMou

80 Plus towers

82 afrIca DesIGn awarDs

84 BeIrut DesIGn weeK 2014

91 #notaBuGsPlat

92 rounD taBle on DesIGn thInKInG

98 InterventIons In KItsch wIth Joanna vasconcelos

104 a hIstory of the worlD In 100 oBJects

108 Jonas DahlBerG’s MeMorIal art

112 colonIal MoDernIst archItecture reconsIDereD

116 In conversatIon wIth olIvIa PutMan123 curateD By olIvIa PutMan

116

contents

Cover graphic for Selections The Design Issue by Olivia

Putman (above) and ‘Passage of Time’ by Richard Serra (right)

Tel. 01875 600 - [email protected] - PO Box 113-5332/1103-2030 Beirut, Lebanon

sales & DIstrIButIon

Commercial ManagerRawad J. Bou Malhab

Advertising [email protected]

+961 (0) 1 383 978

DistributionMessagerie du Moyen Orient de la

Presse et du Livre s.a.l. +961 487 999

Printing Chamas for Printing & Publishing s.a.l.

[email protected]

www.citynewspublishing.com

Page 17: Selections #26

Tel. 01875 600 - [email protected] - PO Box 113-5332/1103-2030 Beirut, Lebanon

Page 18: Selections #26

18

in conversaTion wiTh Zaha haDiD

Global architecture star Zaha Hadid has received every important architecture award there is. She was the first woman to receive the pritzker prize in 2004 and went on to receive the stirling prize twice, in 2010 and 2011. Her name regularly appears on media lists - the most influential figures, the most powerful women, important thinkers, as well as best-dressed. She was honoured with an order of chivalry of the British Empire for herservices to architecture in 2002 and elevated to dame in 2013. here she speaks with hilary french, architectural critic, author, and former Head of Architecture & Design at the Royal college of Art, about her upbringing, life in London, and

why the future is all about curves.

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Zaha Hadid by Brigitte Lacombe

Page 20: Selections #26

Maxxi, Rome, 2009. Photo: Iwan Baan

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21

The phenomenal success of Zaha Hadid is not based

on following the rules. A Zaha-shaped world is very

far from the world of conventional rectilinear buildings,

based on functional modernism, which we are all famil-

iar with. Composed of wildly curving surfaces, overlap-

ping forms and soaring cantilevers, these are restless

spaces that demand our attention. Hadid’s work is syn-

onymous with a new style of architecture – a style that

eschews order, repetition and regular geometry in fa-

vour of a programmatic malleability and fluidity of space

and form – called Parametricism. In the 21st-century

urban landscape, where public spaces for interaction

might equally be the virtual spaces of social media as

city squares or department stores, computer technol-

ogy pervades our thinking and enables this vastly dif-

ferent approach.

Like her buildings, Hadid is

an original. The first inde-

pendent female architect to

achieve fame, there was no

prototype for her, no female

role model to emulate. For

those of us who witnessed

her early years at the AA

School of Architecture, it is

shocking that it was to be

such a long time before her

evident passion and talent

were recognised and rewarded. We know that without

hard work, talent will not flourish, but that she contin-

ued with little encouragement in the early years dem-

onstrates a level of commitment rarely seen. With this in

mind, I asked her about her beginnings, her evolution,

and the new architectural style.

ON HeR PRACtiCe tOdAy

Hilary French: The Heydar Aliyev Center in Baku

has just been named the winner in the architecture

category of the Designs of the Year at London’s De-

sign Museum. In the context of so many prestigious

international awards how important is this one to

you?

Zaha Hadid: Of course it’s an honour but what I find

most exciting is that people outside the profession now

know a great deal about architecture. Twenty-five years

ago it was only appreciated within the industry. It’s quite

a change in such a short period and I’m pleased to

have been part of this.

Your work has a very distinctive style. Do you agree

with recent claims that it is the only viable paradigm

for our changing world?

The dynamism of contemporary life cannot be housed

in simple grids like the

blocks built in previous cen-

turies. The challenge is to

move beyond outmoded,

rigid modernism to address

life today. Our research into

managing complexity has

led us towards natural sys-

tems. We often look at the

beauty and coherence in

natural forms when we cre-

ate buildings, using con-

cepts of seamlessness and

fluidity that enable complex-

ity without visual clutter. Life is not made in a grid - think

of a natural landscape.

There is a view that great architecture should be re-

served for ‘special’ buildings, not the everyday. Is

it important to you that your buildings become the

frame or background to ordinary people’s lives?

Ultimately architecture is all about wellbeing; the creation

of pleasant and stimulating settings for all aspects of life.

But I think it is also important to build projects that give

uplifting experiences that inspire, excite and enthuse.

“aT The Beginning we were all worKaholics. ofTen we DiDn’T Know

whaT The research woulD leaD To BuT BelieveD

ThaT all The eXPeriMenTs woulD PerfecT The

ProJecT, no MaTTer if iT woulD TaKe 10 years”

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You have taught and lectured

at some of the best-reputed ar-

chitecture schools worldwide. Is

teaching still important to you?

Yes, definitely. I remember dis-

covering that teaching was also

a learning experience for me. It’s

reciprocal not only about what I

know, but about what my students

know too. Many who work in our of-

fice were previously my students.

They may be nervous at first but

given a degree of freedom their

only obligation is to work hard and

do their best.

ON PuSHiNG tHe

BOuNdARieS

Where others might take the

safe option, your work has al-

ways been at the cutting edge,

experimental, daring. Is this spe-

cifically the result of research?

There should be no end to ex-

perimentation. I’ve learned from

experience that without research

you do not make progress or find

solutions. When you experiment

you always learn more than you

bargained for.

What motivates your work in

other fields, such as furniture

and fashion?

I’m always interested in expand-

ing my repertoire. My architecture

often results from innovation

discovered through research

generated in collaborations.

Page 23: Selections #26

Heydar Aliyev Center, Baku, 2013. Photo: Hélène Binet

Page 24: Selections #26

Liquid Glacial Table, 2012, at David Gill Galleries

Page 25: Selections #26

25

Technologies used for cars and yachts were adapt-

ed for our Mobile Art Pavilion for Chanel. Designing

products is important for the studio as pieces can

be experimental; they are quicker to execute

than buildings, inspire our creativity, and

provide an opportunity to test ideas.

You’ve proved that it’s no longer only

a man’s world but have you always felt

that?

It’s still a challenge for women to oper-

ate professionally and in practice I do still

experience resistance. I have always had

the determination to succeed, but have

learnt to adjust my thinking every once in a

while to fit the moment. In the last fifteen years

there’s been tremendous change and you see estab-

lished, respected female architects all the time. That

doesn’t mean it’s easy. Sometimes the difficulties are

incomprehensible.

ON HeR BACKGROuNd ANd eduCAtiON

Did your teachers or parents try to dis-

suade you from architecture? Was it not

considered unsuitable for a girl?

Not at all! When I was growing up in Iraq

in the 1960s there were many women ar-

chitects. As in so many places at the time,

there was an optimistic belief in progress.

Architecture was a key element in build-

ing a new national identity. These ideas

of change and liberation were critical to my

development. My parents gave me the confi-

dence to try new things and encouraged my pas-

sion for discovery. My father’s interest in progress

ABOVE: Manta Ray seat for Swaya & Moroni, 2014; BELOW: Manifesto vase for Lalique, 2014

Page 26: Selections #26

26

“wilDly curving surfaces, overlaPPing forMs anD

soaring canTilevers, These are resTless sPaces ThaT

DeManD our aTTenTion”

Serpentine Sackler Gallery, London, 2013

Page 27: Selections #26

27

was matched by my mother’s great sense of style.

She was the one who taught me to draw. My older

brothers shared this spirit of adventure and sug-

gested I should become Iraq’s first woman astronaut!

I remember my aunt building a house in Mosul in

northern Iraq. The drawings and models the architect

brought triggered something in me. But it wasn’t until

I was studying mathematics at university in Beirut that

I seriously considered architecture.

You went to study at the AA in London in 1972. What

prompted that decision? What was special about

the AA then?

My brother was study-

ing at Oxford and told

me the Architectural

Association School

(AA) in London was

doing interesting work

so I decided to visit.

Compared with Bagh-

dad, London in the

early 1970s was a gloomy place. There were strikes

and power cuts. We sometimes only had electricity a

few hours each day. But the AA offered an exciting

critical forum for the exchange of ideas bringing all

sorts of people together for discussion. The students

and staff at that time have been seminal to the past

thirty years of architecture. The late Alvin Boyarski –

the fantastic former chairman of the Architectural As-

sociation – offered me my first platform.

ON HeR LONdON StudiO

Your studio has grown throughout its 35 years, from

a few people to 400 employees. How has your

practice changed in that time?

At the beginning of my career we were all workahol-

ics. With nobody paying attention to us, we developed

our drawing and research skills. Often we didn’t know

what it would lead to but believed that all the experi-

ments would perfect the project, no matter if it would

take 10 years for a 2D sketch to progress. I would say

our practice evolves now with advances in materials

and design technologies, plus our clients are increas-

ingly calling for radical solutions and institutions are

more prepared to innovate.

Is London still the attraction it was in the 1970s?

My own work has developed entirely because I live

in London, which in particular has always encouraged

creativity. As an architect, one of the most important

things about London

is the extraordinary

range of expertise

and skills available.

London also inspires

projects that are un-

predictable. Unlike

most European cities,

it still has large gaps

and the opportunity

for major new urban intervention – as we saw with the

Olympic Park in 2012.

ON tHe FutuRe

Your practice has expanded beyond the boundaries

of architectural design to many other fields. What

will you tackle next?

I would love to build a city quarter, to use all I have learnt

about creating public spaces, indoor and outdoor ar-

eas on a larger scale. We’ve learned to apply our new

architectural theories and techniques to urbanism. We

could develop a whole group of buildings, each one dif-

ferent but logically connected to the next. An organic,

continually changing range of interrelated buildings.

With this approach we can do something radically dif-

ferent from the early 20th-century theories of urbanism

that resulted in lifeless and disconnected chaos.

“My own worK has DeveloPeD enTirely Because i live in

lonDon. This ciTy has always encourageD creaTiviTy.

lonDon insPires ProJecTs ThaT are unPreDicTaBle”

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28

The life of a conDucTor

harout fazlian, conductor of the Lebanese philharmonic orchestra, talks blackouts and baton-waving as he takes us behind the scenes of his profession

b y J o h n O v a n s

Page 29: Selections #26

29

There’s a job out there that involves stand-

ing on a tiny stage, wearing a tuxedo jacket,

and waving your arms around vigorously at a

large group of people. “Conducting is a very

abstract profession,” Harout Fazlian tells

me when I query what it’s all about – and

I’m still none the wiser. But given the noises

that consequently emit from the orchestra, I

know there must be method to such vigor-

ous gesticulatory madness. Fazlian is the ar-

tistic director and principal conductor of the

highly successful Lebanese Philharmonic

Orchestra, which is funded by the govern-

ment, and regularly plays to packed audi-

ences around the country, and indeed, the

world.

“Anybody can move their hands, but you

have to make music,” Fazlian says. “I think of

conducting as like painting – a painter has a

palette of many colours, while in an orches-

tra, a conductor has instruments. You have

to be able to mix these colours, and to give

your painting – your music – its different

shades.” There’s another aspect to the role,

too, constituting control and a slice of show-

manship. “It’s a very weird thing to be able to

convince your musicians to follow you,” he

muses. “In English we say ‘to conduct’, but in

French there’s an even better word, which

is ‘diriger’, to direct. It’s taking people some-

where, and you have to have that special

energy, or else you’ll lose people.” On top

of all this, Fazlian memorises the music and

conducts from the heart – although it’s not

always plain sailing as he recounts a recent

encore in which he ‘completely blacked out’

and had to, with some difficulty, persuade

his first violinist to give him a glimpse of his

music.

Looking beyond borders, Fazlian speaks

passionately about his belief in what an

orchestra has to offer on a global scale.

“I always say an orchestra is the best ambas-

sador to represent your country. Music is a

universal language, and more than looking

at a painting or reading a poem, it’s the fast-

est way of communicating with people, be-

cause it just hits you, no matter where you’re

from. You’re not even thinking about it.

That’s the power of music.”

“i ThinK of conDucTing as liKe PainTing – a PainTer has a PaleTTe of Many colours, while in an

orchesTra, a conDucTor has insTruMenTs. you have To Be aBle To MiX These colours, anD To give your

PainTing – your Music – iTs DifferenT shaDes.”

29

There’s a job out there that involves stand-

ing on a tiny stage, wearing a tuxedo jacket,

and waving your arms around vigorously

at a large group of people. “Conducting is

a very abstract profession,” Harout Fazlian

tells me when I query what it’s all about –

and I’m still none the wiser. But given the

noises that consequently emit from the or-

chestra, I know there must be method to

such gesticulatory madness. Fazlian is the

artistic director and principal conductor of

the highly successful Lebanese Philhar-

monic Orchestra, which is funded by the

government, and regularly plays to packed

audiences around the country, and indeed,

the world.

“Anybody can move their hands, but you

have to make music,” Fazlian says. “I think of

conducting as like painting – a painter has a

palette of many colours, while in an orches-

tra, a conductor has instruments. You have

to be able to mix these colours, and to give

your painting – your music – its different

shades.” There’s another aspect to the role,

too, constituting control and a slice of show-

manship. “It’s a very weird thing to be able to

convince your musicians to follow you,” he

muses. “In English we say ‘to conduct’, but in

French there’s an even better word, which

is ‘diriger’, to direct. It’s taking people some-

where, and you have to have that special

energy, or else you’ll lose people.” On top

of all this, Fazlian memorises the music and

conducts from the heart – although it’s not

always plain sailing as he recounts a recent

encore in which he ‘completely blacked out’

and had to, with some difficulty, persuade

his first violinist to give him a glimpse of his

music.

Looking beyond borders, Fazlian speaks

passionately about his belief in what an

orchestra has to offer on a global scale.

“I always say an orchestra is the best ambas-

sador to represent your country. Music is a

universal language, and more than looking

at a painting or reading a poem, it’s the fast-

est way of communicating with people, be-

cause it just hits you, no matter where you’re

from. You’re not even thinking about it.

That’s the power of music.”

“I thInk of conductIng as lIke paIntIng – a paInter has a palette of many colours, whIle In an

orchestra, a conductor has Instruments. you have to be able to mIx these colours, and to gIve your

paIntIng – your musIc – Its dIfferent shades.”

Page 30: Selections #26

30

Once you have come face-to-face with his circus-

themed bed replete with unicorns, seahorses, bar-

ley-twist posts and a statuette of Neptune, it quickly

becomes clear that they don’t make them like Cecil

Beaton any more. Two exhibitions are currently run-

ning in parallel in the UK to allow the public a glimpse

into a life that is absolutely worth glimpsing: that of this

Oscar-winning costume designer and photographer

who worked with American Vogue and Vanity Fair —

and who most famously designed the sets for the film

My Fair Lady — making Beaton one of Britain’s most

legendary exports of the 20th century.

This pair of exhibitions is part of a series that intends

to explore significant British artists with links to particu-

lar localities, and follows on from shows on Constable

and Rex Whistler. At Salisbury’s Wilton House, Beaton’s

society portraits are showing in a series taken from the

Sotheby’s archive, curated by leading British interior

designer Jasper Conran. Beaton used to frequently

attend parties at Wilton, a stately home owned by the

Pembroke family, and often coaxed his friends to pose

for photographs here in flamboyant period costumes.

It is his private life, however, that unfolds inside the

parallel Salisbury Museum exhibition, which contains a

veritable rainbow of relics from his houses Ashcombe

and Reddish. Beaton wrote of his first encounter with

Ashcombe, ‘It was as if I had been touched on the

head by some magic wand.’ Later filling the Georgian

manor with a magpie collection of sculptures, paint-

ings, curiosities, and fancy dress costumes, Beaton

sprinkled his own inimitable brand of fairy dust on it,

building what he referred to as, ‘An oasis of luxury and

b y J o h n O v a n s

two summer exhibitions reveal the private life of the legendary british photographer, costumier and set designer Cecil beaton

on The BeaTon TracK

Page 31: Selections #26

31

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32

Dorian Leigh in Modess because advert photographed at Reddish House, 1950s. © Johnson and Johnson

32

Dorian Leigh in “Modess....because” advert photographed at Reddish House, 1950s. © Johnson and Johnson

Page 33: Selections #26

33

civilisation.’ His interiors minutiae likened his style of

living to his style of image-making, as if he lived inside

one of his excessively detailed theatrical productions.

As one would expect, Beaton was certainly not be-

reft of character, being at once hilariously and loqua-

ciously vicious (he once described Katherine Hepburn

as, ‘An obstreperous hoyden, with the rocking horse

nostrils and the corncrake, cockney voice’) and sensi-

tive of spirit. The likes of vintage photographs, por-

traits, original letters, diaries, and scrapbooks round

the exhibition out into a fully immersive experience of

Beaton’s life, from his relationships with his lovers to

his beautiful paintings of local children.

While known for lavish hospitality — his visitor’s book,

on display here, reveals a dazzling list of royalty, art-

ists, and other guests paying testament to his role in

the cult of celebrity – his neighbours also spoke of him

fondly for his engagement in village life, also record-

ed and presented here. For Beaton, his homes were

deep wells of creative replenishment, and against

extravagant recreations of his interiors and gardens,

today’s guests are lucky enough to be offered a sip

from it – you’d assume, just as he would have wanted.

Cecil Beaton at Wilton continues until 14th September 2014 and

Cecil Beaton at Home: Ashcombe & Reddish continues until

19th September 2014.

A view of Ashcombe, painted by Whitsler, 1936

33

civilisation.’ His interiors minutiae likened his style of

living to his style of image-making, as if he lived inside

one of his excessively detailed theatrical productions.

As one would expect, Beaton was certainly not be-

reft of character, being at once hilariously and loqua-

ciously vicious (he once described Katherine Hepburn

as ‘an obstreperous hoyden, with the rocking horse

nostrils and the corncrake, cockney voice’) and sensi-

tive of spirit. The likes of vintage photographs, por-

traits, original letters, diaries, and scrapbooks round

the exhibition out into a fully immersive experience of

Beaton’s life, from his relationships with his lovers to

his beautiful paintings of local children.

While known for lavish hospitality — his visitor’s book,

on display here, reveals a dazzling list of royalty, art-

ists, and other guests paying testament to his role in

the cult of celebrity – his neighbours also spoke of him

fondly for his engagement in village life, also record-

ed and presented here. For Beaton, his homes were

deep wells of creative replenishment, and against

extravagant recreations of his interiors and gardens,

today’s guests are lucky enough to be offered a sip

from it – you’d assume, just as he would have wanted.

Cecil Beaton at Wilton continues until 14th September 2014 and

Cecil Beaton at Home: Ashcombe & Reddish continues until

19th September 2014.

A view of Ashcombe, painted by Whitsler, 1936

Page 34: Selections #26

34

“the subjective time in which you deal with yourself in the solitary

experience of being a speck

of sand in the desert”

Page 35: Selections #26

35

Lined up in quietude, gesturing

between one horizon and an-

other, four towering steel planks

mark out a mile in the landscape

of Ras Brouq nature reserve, 60

kilometres west of Doha. The new

installation, conceived for the lo-

cation, is classic Richard Serra –

brutal, industrial, elegant, moving,

and unrepentantly modern – as

it waits night and day under des-

ert skies for visitors to come and

awaken its meaning. Named East-

West/West-East, the sequence

marks a neat axis in a disorien-

tating landscape. In Serra’s own

words, “It not only describes your

body as you move through the

desert but measures your relation

to the land and gives a direction

in a non-directional space.”

b y K a s i a M a c i e j o w s k a

The sPace BeTween

Richard serra’s towering planes of steel measure time and space on a human scale in the scorching sands of Qatar

East-West, West-East, 2014, steel. Photo Rik van Lent.

Page 36: Selections #26

36

When initially invited by Sheikha Mayassa bint Hamad

bin Khalifa Al Thani in 2009 to install in the desert,

Serra recalls, “I had no desire to do that”. After several

visits with an archeological guide, he was repeatedly

drawn to a particular spot. When he told H.H. Sheikh

Hamad Bin Khalifa Al Thani about the location he final-

ly settled upon, the Father Emir was touched, as it was

a place his uncles had often taken him as a boy, where

antelope used to gather. “I could see in his eyes that

he was moved. He saw that I recognised a particular

aura and significance here.” It took Serra two years

to consider the site and decide that his intervention

would be to mark an axis there. The artist compared

the commission to meeting leading Renaissance pa-

trons the Medicis in the 15th century, commenting on

the rarity of such an opportunity, and acknowledging

with gratitude how unusual it is to be allowed to install

within a nature reserve. “In my country, art comes after

football and entertainment.”

The 74-year-old American, born in San Francisco,

educated at Berkeley, Santa Barbara and Yale, is ada-

mant that his sculpture remains about the medium

itself, as opposed to representing something else –

including his country. “When I was invited to make a

piece in Washington with architect Robert Venturi they

asked whatI thought of Venturi’s proposal to put flags

on these pylons and my response was, ‘I don’t care

if it’s an American flag or a German swastika, I’m not

interested in art as patriotism – my sculpture is not a

patriotic gesture’.” The seriousness of his project, to

“when i was ouT There Doing My Piece, no one ever walKeD Through ThaT Pass, no one even Drove a car Through”

Richard Serra by Matthew Sumner

Page 37: Selections #26

37

Passage of Time, 2014, steel.

Page 38: Selections #26

One Ton Prop (House of Cards), 1969, lead. Photo: Peter Moore

Page 39: Selections #26

39

investigate sculpture itself and how it influences its

environment, can be felt around the works, through

their materiality and minimalism. Serra’s fervent anti-

ornamentalism is evident in the industrial character of

his sculpture and it was no surprise to hear him say in

Doha, “Most public art is terrible and it gives sculpture

a bad name. I’m not into sculpture that is ornamen-

tal, that you pass by while

listening to music in the

car, as you would a house

or an advertisement. That’s

for Las Vegas and it’s bor-

ing. I am interested in the

walking and the looking,

and particularly in the time it

takes to walk and look. The duration and the physical

relation this journey has to one’s own sensibility.”

Despite dwarfing the human form, the four planes of

East-West/West-East function as measuring sticks that

give the body reference points within the epic scale

of the desert. They bring out the inconsequential size

of a person when set in the grand frame of Mother

Nature, and give each individual a way of contextualis-

ing themselves within the anonymising desert, a land-

scape renowned to act as a mirror for the self.

Evoking four giant sundials from some ancient civilisa-

tion, the pillars communicate time as you move past

each one. “Anyone who

walks that mile and walks

the mile back – whether or

not they think it’s art or not

– will have a different expe-

rience of time”. The time he

means is relative to the self,

like an interior rhythm: “I’m

not talking about time on the clock, but the subjective

time that is the duration in which you deal with yourself

in the solitary experience of being a speck of sand”.

Serra’s works invite a deep personal engagement,

whether by their location out in the desert or by de-

manding an extended attention span. East-West/West-

“The lanD iTself PrescriBeD The DisTance

BeTween each sTeel Plane”

Double Rift #3, 2011, paintstick on three sheets of double-laminated Hiromi paper. Photo: Robert McKeever

Page 40: Selections #26

40

East and Passage of Time (a 2012 sculpture made

especially for Alriwaq Doha exhibition space) both de-

mand commitment to travel from one end to another.

The East-West/West-East planes feel permanent as

they stand overseeing the vulnerable human bodies

that pass in the scorching sun. This same material-

ity also changes how space is felt in that part of the

desert, as the rigid monoliths throw contrast onto soft

human forms and the crumbly gypsum earth. The

sculptor told us how it “contracts the space” of the

desert, meaning that it shrinks it to make it more con-

ceivable by providing reference points. This capabil-

ity to re-formulate space made Serra the first artist,

as opposed to architect, to receive the prestigious

President’s Medal from the Architectural League of

New York in April. Over the years, Serra’s metalwork

sculptures, in lead or in steel, have taken different

shapes that invite certain behaviours, through which

the viewer might re-experience a space. Playing with

volumes, lines and geometries on a giant scale, he

manipulates individual bodily experience and leads

the way in contemporary sculpture’s step down from

the pedestal into public territory, through which peo-

ple may swarm, pass, spend a moment, or walk in

solitude. As all serious artists engaged with the pro-

gression of art through history and its responsibility

to pertain to the now, Serra is conscious of his role in

the evolution of sculpture. “You’re just a stone in the

wall, from the beginning of time through the Renais-

sance and the 19th and 20th centuries, and you’re

trying to extend the syntax of what sculpture can be.”

The magnitude of his works and industrial quality of

his materials makes the architectural comparison an

obvious one. Serra has come under fire from critics

who accuse him of size for size’s sake, but in Doha he

countered this, explaining that it depends on context;

“I’ve always been involved with ‘big’ as a force but I

don’t think that scale and size is necessarily a virtue. In

fact it can be a trap for artists because not every space

can handle large objects”. The different heights and

the spacing of East-West/West-East’s four pillars are

a perfect example of how a specific site can define

the scale of a work for Serra, who sees the installa-

tion as taking shape according to the desert as much

as to himself; “I didn’t decide the spacing, the land it-

self decided it. I had a topographical map made so I

could understand what the land was actually doing.

The place itself, its proportions and erosions, defined

the place and height of each plate.”

Two exhibitions in Qatar, at the QMA Gallery in Kata-

ra village and at the Alriwaq Doha exhibition space,

along with his existing sculpture 7 at the Museum of

Islamic Art, mean Serra is currently being celebrated

in four different locations across the small nation. The

retrospective in Katara shows drawings and sculp-

tures from across 50 years, including the headline

piece One Ton Prop (House of Cards), from 1969.

Most touching from this show are the black drawings

that add a different dimension to our understanding

of Serra’s preoccupation with simple solid shapes

and a sense of weight. To escape gestural marks and

apply dense, abstract colour, Serra melts down oily

pigment into a brick that he rubs firmly onto the pa-

per using both hands. The result is a set of the most

opaque drawings imaginable, in black and white, that

speak about nothingness.

Two exhibitions, both entitled Richard Serra, at QMA Gallery, Katara

and Alriwaq Doha run until 6th July 2014. East-West/West-East, at

Brouq Nature Reserve, and 7, at the Museum of Islamic Art, are per-

manently on view.

“MosT PuBlic arT is TerriBle anD iT gives sculPTure a BaD naMe”

Page 41: Selections #26

41Passage of Time, 2014, steel.

Page 42: Selections #26

42

British designer Thomas Heatherwick’s name has

become, quite rightly, commonly associated with

striking, innovative design. Most people would re-

member him as the man who designed the elabo-

rate London 2012 Olympics Cauldron. The opening

ceremony ended when

the 204 petals, one for

each participating coun-

try, were set ablaze,

coming together in one

brilliant flame. Currently

his slick new rendition

of the iconic red double-

decker bus, the Route-

master, have been filling

into London’s streets.

Heatherwick Studio was established by the designer

in 1994 and has had commissions in cities including

Singapore, New York City and Kagoshima (Japan).

His works are intensely site-specific and often poet-

ic in their sensitive relation to the surrounding land-

scape. This architect with work in various corners of

the globe revealed last month that his next venture

is the redevelopment of a park in the heart of Abu

Dhabi. Salama bint Hamdan Al Nahyan Foundation,

the funding body behind the project, announced the

plans for the 125,000

square metre Al Fayah

Park, due to open to the

public by early 2017.

Approaching the space

with a more environ-

mentally sustainable

vision than has been

usual in the Gulf, the

Park will feature play ar-

eas and exercise paths.

There will be an organic fruit and vegetable garden,

which will supply the cafes and restaurants on the

premises, along with a botanical garden of GCC-na-

tive flowers and plants. It will also have a dedicated

public library, picnic area, mosque, outdoor cinema,

b y S h e y m a B u A l i

the outstanding British architect Thomas heatherwick has plans to set Abu Dhabi’s Al fayah park beneath the desert

surface to create an eco-oasis

a sunKen vision

Page 43: Selections #26

43

Al Fayah Park envisioned by Thomas Heatherwick

Page 44: Selections #26

44

and indoor and outdoor

arenas to host live perfor-

mances, local festivals and

community activities.

Inspired by the desert

landscape, the park will

incorporate and recreate the natural environment.

Column structures with canopies made up of parts

resembling cracked pieces of an arid ground will

create a shade under which people can spend time

protected from the intense sun. The shade will also

help in the irrigation of the planned gardens, reduc-

ing the amount of water lost to evaporation, improv-

ing the park’s energy efficiency.

This project is one of a few other starchitect-built,

ultra-modern environmentally conscious projects in

the works in Abu Dhabi. The strong Persian Gulf

sun, surrounded by water and wind, have neces-

sarily defined the plans for upcoming structures.

But many of these have not seen the light of day.

Hopefully Al Fayah Park won’t have the same fate

as some others.

The Helix Hotel, set to open

in Zayed Bay in 2012, was

to utilise 100 per cent recy-

clable polythene panels to

gather energy from the sun

and wind. But unfortunately,

there has been no update

on the project since 2010. Saadiyat Island, the enter-

tainment destination that will also be the address of

the upcoming Louvre, Zayed National Museum and

Guggenheim, was planned to be ready by 2013; up-

dated reports indicate that they will be open in 2015,

2016 and 2017 respectively. The Zayed National Mu-

seum, designed by Foster + Partners, is to have natu-

ral cooling pipes aided by the building’s wing shaped

towers.

While stalling has occurred in these highly ambitious

plans, there is still hope that they will all come to frui-

tion. In the meantime, these new ways of imagining

space and utilising the environment have added much

to a new, experimental urban development, pushing

the boundaries in terms of what has already been cre-

ated in innovative architecture.

such new ways of iMagining sPace anD

uTilising The environMenT have aDDeD Much

To an eXPeriMenTal urBan DeveloPMenT

Page 45: Selections #26

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Page 46: Selections #26

46

‘I try to avoid charity,’ declared Karl Lagerfeld back in 2008. Yet five

years later, the man, the legend, the incredible sound-bite machine

was at the creative helm of the annual charity Rose Ball in Monte-Carlo,

successfully spinning a Belle et Pop theme for a star-studded crowd in

2013. He was back for 2014, once again putting bake sales and bucket

rattling on the back burner in favour of a creative direction that insti-

gated the collision of two unlikely ideological perspectives, that of the

wealthy elite at a paediatric health initiative, and the bleeding edge of

communist revolution.

rose reD

karl Lagerfeld’s decoration of the Rose ball 2014 brought an explosion of geometric shapes and primary colours inspired by the Russian Constructivists to the

glitz of monte-Carlo

b y J o h n O v a n s

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47

Rose Ball 2014 invitation illustrated by Karl Lagerfeld

Page 48: Selections #26

48

Karl Lagerfeld’s Constructivist inspiration sheet for the Rose Ball 2014

Page 49: Selections #26

49

Taking his cue from the Russian artistic and architec-

tural philosophy Constructivism, Lagerfeld this time

created a Russian-themed ball. Arriving at the time

when the Bolsheviks came to power after the Octo-

ber Revolution of 1917, Constructivism was a wholly

new approach to making art that borrowed values

from the Communist ideology that it ultimately served.

Rejecting traditional easel painting as a symptom of

its opposition the bourgeoisie, it prioritised minimal

abstraction and geometric space. Circles, squares

and lines dominated the mood board of Lagerfeld’s

ball, with an on-stage décor cast in geometric figures

and flat colour areas. The luminous ceiling was swim-

ming in shapes, while screens in the lobby pulsed

with Lagerfeld-penned illustrations. For dinner, un-

bleached cotton tablecloths and napkins were print-

ed with geometric patterns, with bouquets of roses

and flowers perched in gradient-coloured vases in

tribute to star Soviet painter and theoretician Kazimir

Malevitch.

Such an aesthetic is not unfamiliar to Mr Lagerfeld –

take, for instance, the esoteric interiors of his 1980s

Monte Carlo apartment, all black rubber floors and

gray walls, decked out entirely in Memphis furnish-

ings. It’s clear that while Lagerfeld’s revolutionist prin-

ciples themselves are a little on the murky side, his

design manifestos have always remained top-notch.

TaKing his cue froM The russian arTisTic anD archiTecTural PhilosoPhy consTrucTivisM, lagerfelD

This TiMe creaTeD a russian-TheMeD Ball

The dining hall at the Rose Ball 2014

Page 50: Selections #26

50

A young man stands up to measure a shirt seam while an

older woman sits stitching a collar. A rail of yellow and blue

dresses stands behind the tables as rooftops glint with rain

beyond the wall of windowpanes that have transformed

one aspect of Rabih Kayrouz’s studio into a Parisian skyline.

Taking a moment to step back, talking softly with his team,

Kayrouz plays with a fabric as he feels for what shape his

new collection might take.

“From the first drape it’s a whole process. Nothing is studied

in my designs, it’s all intuitive.” Such a natural way of work-

ing explains the easy mood and understated cool of the

designer’s highly acclaimed collections. Although far from

simple in their construction, his clothes convey a brand of

modern femininity that is understated and clean. Challeng-

ing enough to interest a sophisticated fashion eye, the Mai-

son Rabih Kayrouz style simultaneously manages to have

the relaxed air and flattering cuts that give it everywoman

the fashion world’s Lebanese darling is riding high after being made a knight of the order of Arts and Letters in France. He opens up to kasia maciejowska about his personal approach to design, his intuitive draping technique, and his love for his homeland, as houda kabbaj photographs

him at his Paris atelier.

b y K a s i a M a c i e j o w s k a

in The sTuDio wiTh raBih KayrouZ

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52

appeal. “The Rabih woman

isn’t just a figure, she’s a

person”, muses the design-

er. “She’s a woman who is

strong enough to be strong

and strong enough to be

weak. I like this kind of woman who can play with who

she is because she doesn’t care too much.”

The intellectual-looking details in his collections –

the experimental cuts and geometric pattern play

– suggest a more conceptual approach than the

designer himself describes. Taking the traditional

draping technique most used in Haute Couture,

everything begins with the fabrics for Kayrouz. His

primary step is to commission them from Italy, and

once they arrive he drapes them on the mannequin

to see how a form might evolve. “Once we see the

fabrics and feel the knits

they tell a story by them-

selves. It’s in my mind and

I try to convey my ideas to

my team.” This tactile, dex-

terous approach feeds

into the sensuality of his style.

The Spring/Summer collection uses his love for drap-

ing and folding to craft soft, voluminous structures. “I

love the way that when you fold these fabrics you get

this movement. This is my way of cutting. I was working

to create shadows with the way things are construct-

ed.” He’s referring to the Ray collection, which has a

weightlessness that suits its central theme, of light.

In a palette of whites, palest pinks, silver, yellow and

cobalt blue, Kayrouz combines fluid folds and asym-

metric drapes with geometric cut-outs and structures.

“i seDuce These laDies wiTh cloThes, wiTh

Dresses, wiTh colours, wiTh faBric”

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The Ray Collection for Spring/Summer 2014 by Maison Rabih Kayrouz

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54

The Barbès-Batroun Collection for Autumn/Winter 2014 by Maison Rabih Kayrouz

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55

Dresses are lean and easy

going, while skirts, tops and

knitwear play with volume

and sculptural shapes. “I’m

always asked what’s Orien-

tal in my work and I feel that

it’s my draping and folding,

the way the fabrics embrace the body in an intimate

way.”

For Autumn/Winter this embrace comes inspired by

a quintessentially Oriental scenario – the traditional

hammam. “I wanted to express this Oriental feeling

about the attitude of getting dressed, how you hold

yourself, how you hold your dress when coming from

the beach or from a Turkish bath.” Togas, wraps and

robes swathe the body in a cool contemporary way

that looks sporty as well as Arabesque. Named Bar-

bès-Batroun, it references

an area of Paris densely

populated by North Afri-

cans (Barbès), in counter-

point with the mellow sea-

side town north of Beirut

where Kayrouz used to live

during the summer months (Batroun).

Having won the respect of fashion critics from New York

to Paris, the designer welcomes his renown for archi-

tectural pieces. “It is correct as what I do is really an act

construction – I build shapes around the body.” Those

shapes range from angular to flowing and feature layer-

ing that adds motion and detail. “I have my own way of

cutting which gives my work its identity. But every sea-

son is an evolution as my cuts gradually mature. They

take the collection to a new place each time.”

“froM The firsT DraPe iT’s a whole Process.

noThing is sTuDieD in My Designs, iT’s all inTuiTive, i never Plan anyThing”

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57

Born in Lebanon in 1973, Kayrouz studied at the Cham-

bre Syndicale de la Couture Parisienne between 1991

and 1994, before returning to Beirut to found his own

couture label in 1998 and moving into ready-to-wear

in 2012. Today, all the creative work takes place in

Paris, at 38 Boulevard Raspail, formerly the Petit The-

atre de Babylone, where the design team numbers 15.

He visits Lebanon at the start of every season, choos-

ing the right pieces for each client alongside them.

“My clients are very loyal and many have become

friends,” he tells me at the Beirut store, shepherding

me towards a table covered in pots and spoons bear-

ing Lebanon’s different honeys. As I’m given a tasting

by the kind beekeeper who Kayrouz discovered one

Saturday morning at Souk el Tayeb, Beirut’s gourmet

market, the designer adjusts a dress on a client while

she looks in the mirror, and recommends it without a

belt and maybe in the other colour – the white and

pink looks from this season’s catwalk can be found in

lemon yellow and cobalt blue in the store.

Every time you visit the Maison Rabih Kayrouz boutique

you are greeted by a different spread on the round

central table – be it breakfast, fruits, coffee, or honey.

“I cannot host people here without offering food”, he

says, revealing his Lebanese sense of hospitality, but

also his association of food and fashion with feminine

allure. “I seduce these ladies with clothes, with dress-

es, with colours, with fabric – just as I was always se-

duced as a child, in a way, by my aunts, my mother, my

grandmother, by their clothes and their food. What I do

is a continuation of that. It’s a seduction.”

“i have My own way of cuTTing which gives My

worK iTs iDenTiTy. BuT every season is an evoluTion as My cuTs graDually MaTure”

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58

tHE LUXURY EDit

Jewel thong sandal in prune metallic calfskin with wood heel, Summer 2014, by Celine

Oyster Perpetual Milgauss watch in electric blue with green

sapphire crystal, by Rolex

Ceramic blue petals bracelet, from Em Brace Let series, by Amal I. Muraywed

Serpentine perfume with bottle illustrations by Tracey Emin, by Comme des Garçons

Travertine crystal table, from Element series, by Raëd Abillama

Selections goes shopping...

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59

Limelight Exceptional Piece watch in white gold and

diamonds, by Piaget

Zip Coccinelle transformable necklace and bracelet in white gold, diamonds, red spinels and onyx, from Palais de la Chance collection, by Van Cleef & Arpels

Saffiano print shoulder bag, Spring/Summer 2014, by Prada

Rabbit in metal and PVC, from Animal House series, a charitable collaboration with women in Columbia, by Marni (all funds go to Associazone Sogni)

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60

The Polygonia by Nathalie Trad, Spring Summer 2014

anaToMy of a cluTch

Accessories designer nathalie Trad shares the technical drawing for her celebrated

polygonia clutch bag with Selections

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Sydneys_entertainment_selections235x285.pdf 1 5/22/14 5:30 PM

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62

In recent years, the Salone del Mobile has felt more

than ever like a barometer of Italy – a test of Italian

manufacturing in particular and the national econo-

my in general. This year, the endless halls of Milan’s

furniture fairground in Rho were as busy as I’ve ever

seen them. It felt like business as usual. Even the

new prime minister, Matteo Renzi, took a tour of the

Kartell stand in a show of support. But the funda-

mental problems remain.

If anything, it was a more honest Salone. There

were less of the theatrical gimmicks and bombastic

displays with which brands at first tried to bluff their

way through the economic crisis. At least no one’s

bothering to pretend anymore that times aren’t

hard. But my instinct is that innovation is drying up.

One obvious sign that furniture houses are play-

ing it safe is the revival of aging classics. Vitra was

a prime example, re-releasing Hans Coray’s Landi

chair, a perforated aluminium number that dates

back to 1938.

In Vitra’s case, such tactics are linked to a panic that

the bottom is falling out of the office market. With de-

mand for office systems waning, companies like Vitra

are now shifting their attentions to the domestic mar-

ket, which accounts for its recent purchase of Artek,

the Finnish purveyor of bent blonde wood. This is

Vitra’s ticket to the living rooms of Europe.

Having fully milked the legacy of Alvar Aalto over the

last half-century or so, Artek does at least appear to

be moving forwards. Under the art direction of Hella

Jongerius, it unveiled a new chair this year by Kon-

stantin Grcic, seemingly the safest pair of hands in

furniture design. Grcic’s Rival swivel chair displays

his preference for angularity over elegance, with its

splayed legs milled from a block of birch, but it was

solid and modern. Indeed, generally there seems to

be a return to quiet, sensible furniture, epitomised by

the two wooden chairs released by Mattiazzi, one by

the Bouroullec brothers and the other by young Amer-

ican designer Leon Ransmeier.

b y J u s t i n M c G u i r k

Sensible furniture defined this year’s salone del mobile as designers felt the pinch of Europe’s ongoing economic woes - but a handful of stand-out shows and innovations

from emerging talents offered promising highlights

noTes froM iTaly

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63

Artek Rival chairs by Konstantin Grcic

Uncino chairs by the Bourrellec brothers at Mattiazzi

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64

Low leather-backed lounge chair by Maarten Van Severen for Lensvelt

Nathali du Pasquier for American Apparel

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65

Amid such tendencies, the old maestri of Radical De-

sign continue to cut extraordinary figures and contin-

ue to be paraded as paragons of Italian imagination.

In the fair it was the return of Gufram, the 1960s brand

of Technicolor pop objects. Over at the Triennale mu-

seum it was yet more picking over of the work of Enzo

Mari and Andrea Branzi and their generation of 1970s

radicals. You wonder how many years Milan can keep

trotting out these maestri. And yet, though I’ve been

critical of such tendencies in the past, the more Ital-

ian design sinks to its knees, the more nostalgic for

it I become. And these Triennale shows are often my

favourite Milan event.

In any event, even when you think the old heroes have

been fully consigned to history, they pop back into

fashion. This was the case with one of the few women

of the Memphis group, Nathalie Du Pasquier, who was

back this year with a set of designs for clothing label

American Apparel. Memphis has been creeping back

into fashion in recent years and now appears to have

entered the mainstream. It was inevitable that people

would tire of all this austerity chic.

In the fuori Saloni, the countless fringe events that

pepper the city during the furniture fair, the one that

sticks in my mind was From-To, a little show curated

by Martino Gamper in an apartment in Sant’ Ambrogio.

Here, Gamper had invited a group of young designers

– many of them London-based – to work with artisans

in the Veneto region. The resulting products were dis-

a liTTle show curaTeD By MarTino gaMPer in an

aParTMenT in sanT’ aMBrogio, inviTeD a grouP of young Designers To worK wiTh

arTisans in The veneTo regionRaw Edges kitchen at Ceaserstone

Raw Edges bath at Ceaserstone

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66

Dave haKKens’ PhoneBloK MoBile Phone concePT – a sMarT Phone in which every coMPonenT is MoDular anD rePlaceaBle

– is The KinD of innovaTion one wanTs To see Much More of

Phone Bloks by Dave Hakkens

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67

played throughout the apartment, designed by the ar-

chitect Luigi Caccia Dominioni, who is still going at 101

years old. And it was the experience of this sprawling

home, with its galleried mezzanine and different ter-

razzo floors in every room that was so unforgettable

– testament to the charmed bourgeois existence of

some lucky mid-century Milanese. The show itself was

invitation only and no photography was allowed. The

reasoning behind this was to aim the products at po-

tential manufacturers, who lose interest if a potential

product has already been published. If by the time this

article appears there are no images of the show, that

is why.

Elsewhere, the Palazzo Clerici proved a popular hub of

activity, with a series of events and exhibitions organ-

ised by Joseph Grima, Z33 and others. Grima was try-

ing out an algorithmic publishing machine that collated

transcriptions of public conversations with any related

Twitter activity and spat out a little newspaper. Upstairs

there was strong work as ever from Raw Edges, who

designed a giant kitchen island out of Caesarstone

quartz, and FormaFantasma, who displayed objects

made of basalt from Mount Etna. Some of this solid

lava was turned into vases, hand-blown like glass, or it

became tables and objets d’art. Formafantasma’s ma-

terial research is always impressive, though their styl-

ing at times errs towards the fey for my liking.

The Lambrate district was more populous than ever,

now fully established as a semi-official Dutch colony in

Milan. It seems there is no number of vast warehouses

that the Netherlands cannot fill with aspiring young de-

signers. At the established end, Lensvelt was reissu-

ing a complete line of the late Maarten Van Severen’s

furniture, and it was as strong a showing of pure mimi-

malism as I can remember. At the graduate end, De-

sign Academy Eindhoven’s show, Self Unself, was less

aesthetic than usual and more focused on social prac-

tice. The stand-out project was Dave Hakkens’ Phone-

blok mobile phone concept – a smart phone in which

every component is modular and replaceable. It is the

antidote to a disposable product culture and may yet

become a game-changing product in its own right.

This modular phone is the kind of innovation one

wants to see so much more of in Milan. Granted, the

Salone is built around furniture, but if it could just get

beyond this obsession with chairs and with the health

or otherwise of the “Made in Italy” brand, it might en-

sure its relevance to the broader design culture for

the foreseeable future.

Low chair in aluminium by Maarten Van Severen for LensveltDe Natura Fosilium vase by Forma Fantasma

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68

lighT e-MoTion By Marcel wanDersThis installation of anthropomorphic chandeliers for Barovi-

er & Toso at the Cloisters of the Basilica of San Simpliciano

won our hearts instantly and once we’d heard the designer

explaining, “It is our responsibility to be magicians, to be

jesters, to be alchemists, to create hope where there is

only illusion, to create reality where there are only dreams”,

we were totally gone. The dancing light sculptures, manip-

ulated by an invisitable maestro puppeteer, set themselves

a grand task: to ‘describe how emotion is’.

lighT air aT KarTellEugeni Quitlett was aiming for an illusory effect when

designing his charming retro Light Air lamps. Suspend-

ed on a frame and in a winning set of off-pastel hues,

the design is minimal and modern but generates a soft,

diffused glow – in our view, a perfect combination.

selecTions aT salone

We present our furnishing favourites from Salone del Mobile. Because a chair is

never just a chair.

68

Light e-motion by marceL WandersThis installation of anthropomorphic chandeliers for Barovi-

er & Toso at the Cloisters of the Basilica of San Simpliciano

won our hearts instantly and once we’d heard the designer

explaining, “It is our responsibility to be magicians, to be

jesters, to be alchemists, to create hope where there is

only illusion, to create reality where there are only dreams”,

we were totally gone. The dancing light sculptures, manip-

ulated by an invisitable maestro puppeteer, set themselves

a grand task: to ‘describe how emotion is’.

Light air at KarteLLEugeni Quitlett was aiming for an illusory effect when

designing his charming retro Light Air lamps. Suspend-

ed on a frame and in a winning set of off-pastel hues,

the design is minimal and modern but generates a soft,

diffused glow – in our view, a perfect combination.

seLections at saLone

We present our furnishing favourites from Salone del Mobile. Because a chair is

never just a chair

Page 69: Selections #26

69

raf siMons for KvaDraTWhen creative director at Dior Raf Simons created a line of furnishing

fabrics for Danish textile company Kvadrat earlier this year there was

inevitably quite a fuss. Having seen his functional fluorescents and

salt’n’pepper weaves up close we can understand why. The asymmetric

campaign photographs by artist Anne Collier give the collaboration an

extra edge and are perfectly in keeping with the sporty 1990s style that

Simons has been pushing at Dior.

TaKao inoue’s TaMPoPo lighTsUsing one of nature’s magical little details to gorgeous

effect, Takao Inoue cast dandelion seed heads in blocks

of acrylic to form his Oled Tampopo lights (tampopo is

Japanese for dandelion), which became one of the Sa-

lone’s hits on social media. Inoue is a cinematographer

but recently turned his hand to design, inspired by the

light play of Shiro Kuramata’s work, with beautiful results.

sTellar seaTs aT eDraBrazilian design star brothers Fernando and Humberto

Campana amused with their new Bastardo sofa - which

they say is “a piece with a soul” - on show alongside

their cushty spaghetti-esque Vermelha chair at Edra.

Sitting in formation nearby on the stand were the Rose

chair, Masanori Umeda’s pretty piece from 1990, and

Francesco Binfarè’s Sofà here translated into a chaise

longue, along with Jacopo Foggini’s popular ‘50s-look

Gina chair, and his grungy ombré Alice armchair. It was

a gallery of hits.

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70

As the best-known graphic designer in beirut, the red lipstick-wearing, Vespa-riding, product-designing Rana salam created a special cover for this issue. She sat down with kasia maciejowska to explain her new direction and talk

graphics in the middle East now

b y K a s i a M a c i e j o w s k a

nosTalgia anD sTreeT culTure wiTh rana salaM

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71

Rana Salam is like the mama of Lebanese graphic

design. After studying at the Royal College of Art

in London from 1992 to 1994, she built her name

around the style she had developed there, which

re-worked the Lebanese iconography that scat-

tered the country in the mid-twentieth century. Her

pared back take on kitschy graphics and colourful

Arabic lettering have been applied to fabrics and

homewares ever since, and defined the mood of

restaurants, the best known being Comptoir

Libanais. Creating graphics and logos

for brands and venues for bread and

butter, Salam moved back to Beirut

four years ago and in 2014 is

figuring out how to take

her signature style for-

ward.

Since she popula-

rised local imagery

and icons, making

them cool again

with her punchy

pop taste, the

fashion for us-

ing retro styling

in graphics and

branding from the

region means appro-

priations of her look are

now everywhere. How should she redefine her

brand then? “It’s been more than 20 years since I

developed my look, and clients still ask me for it all

the time – to mimic certain things that they’ve seen

from various stages. But I want to develop it now

and contemporise it more – to keep my own style

but move forward, this is the challenge for me now.”

During Beirut Design Week she’s giving a workshop

on creating contemporary designs through observing

traditional Islamic art, aiming to show budding design-

ers how to go about building a visual language for to-

day that is rooted in vernacular style. “It will be very

practical, so showing people how to apply what they

create to products like book covers, graphic pieces,

homewares.” She has also built a special shop win-

dow with an atelier theme, with school chairs and a

mood board, showing how they work upstairs above

the shop. “It’s important that the people who have

been successful share their knowledge with

the new generation of designers and to

show leadership, especially in some-

where like Beirut.”

The question of how to Arabise

graphic design, to de-

velop a native ico-

nography that

feels current

and relevant, is

a recurrent one

across the Mid-

dle East. Such

a task can seem

elusive, but for Salam

the key is practical research

and simply looking around. “It’s

important to stay constantly in

touch with current affairs and with

trends, both in terms of what people

are reading and talking about and in terms

of fashion and style.”

Working on a restaurant in Dubai at present, she has

abandoned her staple source material of nostalgia

and is sourcing everything from today. “Nostalgia is

powerful because it plays on your emotions, and it

works every time, but I’ve done it for too long so now I

love looking at street life because street culture is the

richest source.” For this current project she is merging

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72

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73

the mood of Basta, the vintage furniture market area

in Beirut, with references from London. For another,

with make-up artist Bassam Fattouh, she’s designing

packaging for an eyes and lips compact called Nos-

talgie d’Orient. “It’s like a cigarette box for an eyeliner,

lipstick and concealer. It’s the Middle East in a little box

– it’s very cool.”

Salam says she loves Beirut for its sensuality and cul-

ture clash. “The mix of women in hijab and others in

hotpants is just brilliant. I’ve always been obsessed

with tribes. Plus nothing is rational here. It’s all against

the grid! My design is Beiruti in that way. It’s emotional.

I don’t work to the grid philosophy.”

So how does she perform her magical transposition

of rough details from the streets into an expensive

product? “Slick it up, refine it, take the best parts and

reduce them to their essence. This is stylisation and

how you turn source material into desirable designs.”

“iT’s iMPorTanT To sTay consTanTly in Touch wiTh currenT affairs anD wiTh TrenDs, BoTh whaT PeoPle are reaDing anD TalKing aBouT, anD in TerMs of fashion anD sTyle”

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74

When it comes to succeeding in the workplace, go-

ing with your gut is the kind of impressive-sounding,

sock-it-to-‘em idiom that many would like to live by,

yet seldom do. But for Fameed Khalique, it’s the only

way he knows how to do business, and as a result,

it’s made his eponymous label one of London’s lead-

ing suppliers in finishes at the top end of the mate-

rials market. “I believe that if something elicits an

emotional response, then it has something special,”

he says, “and it will also

move someone else.” As

an emotional philosophy,

it strikes you in its simplic-

ity. “When I first started my

company I had amassed

experience with some ma-

terials,” he says, “but had

limited knowledge about others – say eglomise, mar-

ble and stone. All I had to go on was the emotional

response I had towards the things I was seeing.”

Khalique’s journey to the top leaves in its trail some-

thing of a chequered résumé, which began with a

sixth-form college fashion show in Leicester, in the

UK. He enrolled in a fashion course at a local poly-

a MaTerial worlD

With his eponymous label, fameed khalique champions the most exciting and extraordinary materials for the

interior design world

b y J o h n O v a n s

“all i haD To go on was My eMoTional

resPonse TowarDs The Things i was seeing”

Clockwise from top left: Chella textiles, Gatsby Riviera print; malechite and tiger’s eye from Precious Stones collection; Waterproof

Art Panel; amethyst from precious stones collection.

technic, where he pitched the idea of producing the

‘world’s biggest fashion show’ – a goal that, astonish-

ingly, he went on to achieve, by getting on the phone

to Bob Geldof and planting the seed for Fashion Aid,

which was held in the Albert Hall to an audience of

5000, and featured 18 of the world’s top design-

ers. The intervening years saw an expansive career

in fashion and design, eventually heading up sales

and marketing at Alma Leather alongside his brother,

before launching his own

company in 2008.

The excitement and am-

bition that propelled

Khalique’s early career

continues to impress on

the scope of his work to-

day, and he talks about the process of his new embroi-

dery collection as, “A bit like a kid being thrown into

a candy shop – I went a little mad from all the sugar!”

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76

He began by visiting the

workshop in India that em-

broiders for the world’s top

luxury fashion brands. “I

wanted to create a collec-

tion that was inspired by

couture embroidery tech-

niques but making them

relevant and useful for in-

teriors,” he says. “This first

collection definitely has a

fashion slant, as I wanted to show as many different

techniques as possible - be it embroidery on leather,

or using feathers, or on copper-woven textiles.”

Unusual, unique and exotic materials have become

the identifiable signature in his portfolio, with collec-

tions that make use of own-label leathers – the core

material of his business – as well as high performance

fabrics, semi-precious stones, and fabrications incor-

porating copper wires and technical fibres. Earlier in

the year, he premiered his collaboration in industrial

stone design with Lithos Design at Salone in Milan,

which displayed character-

istic bravado in an aesthet-

ic shift from the sculptural

to the pictorial. Patterns are

at the forefront, with geo-

metric shapes, checked

designs and dispersed

graphics rolling out across

luminous grids and gradi-

ents.

Khalique’s travel experiences are something that

have borne fruit for his label. Whether taking weav-

ing techniques from Laos or hammered brass from

Morocco, Khalique scoops up craft practices and ma-

terials along the way to bring home to his studio in

Clerkenwell, London. And once his passport is back

in his drawer, he gets to work - armed with ever-grow-

ing skills and knowledge, Khalique is never afraid of

a challenge. “I’m not an interior designer,” he states,

“but I very much see our role as being there to in-

spire designers to create spaces that are exceptional

through the use of extraordinary materials.

wheTher weaving TechniQues froM

laos or haMMereD Brass froM Morocco, KhaliQue scooPs uP

crafT PracTices To Bring hoMe To his sTuDio in lonDon’s clerKenwell

Glossy gold aluminium tiles sourced by Khalique

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a PeeK inTo The Diary of nicholas chrisosToMou

in the first of his diary series for Selections, party man extraordinaire and gent about the middle East regales us with tales from a distinguished dinner party in Beirut

78

A peAk into the diAry of nicholAs chrisostomou

In the first of his diary series for Selections, party man extraordinaire and gent about the Middle East regales us with tales from a distinguished dinner party in Beirut

79

For a city brimming with individuality I can’t help wonder-

ing why so many of Beirut’s most prominent ladies sport

a Rolex. Not that Rolex watches are not exquisite speci-

mens of horlogerie, on the contrary, they are quite beau-

tiful. But there are so many other divine timepieces to

choose from. This phenomenon appears to span all age

groups, from young fashionistas on the first rung of the

career ladder right up to high-powered executives and

company bosses. Some surely must have asked Daddy

to fund their extravagant acquisitions, since we’re not

talking about common or garden watches here, more

like the rose gold or diamond-encrusted, top-of-the-line,

eye-wateringly pricey variety. This came to my attention

at a rather select dinner party recently held at Indigo at

Le Gray, undoubtedly the city’s swishest hotel, hosted by

Beirut’s most energetic and much admired Ambassador,

and attended by a veritable who’s who of Beirut’s fashion

fraternity. This was a gathering of designers, magazine

owners and included a stylist with pink hair, all invited to

break bread with his Excellency and meet the latest ec-

centric Englishman in town, me.

I wasn’t appraised by my PA of that night’s guest list until

just a few hours before kick-off, and when I discovered

the identities of some of the Lebanese glitterati I would

be introduced to in a matter of hours, I experienced a mild

bout of fashion fright. This was exacerbated by the discov-

ery that the invitation circulated by the Embassy said the

dinner was “In honour of Nicholas Chrisostomou, owner

of Coco Latté”, the first time my name had ever been

mentioned on a formal Ambassador’s invitation. I felt like

James Bond on a covert fashion mission for her Majesty.

Should I run with the Paul Smith brogues, Vivienne West-

wood shirt and Warren Kade dinner jacket? - Or sport an

altogether more formal ensemble of a Dolce & Gabbana

three piece pinstripe suit, Gieves & Hawkes shirt, Richard

James tie and Church’s shoes? The latter felt more civi-

lized but the former was more me - so I opted for the for-

mer and wheeled out the canary yellow brogues, much to

the approval of the gathered throng.

What I love most about dinner parties is the conversation

and this night was no exception. I chatted with a mens-

wear tailor about his stint on MTV Lebanon’s Dancing

With The Stars, which met with heckling from the pink

haired stylist seated next to me. The country’s political

situation was a subject of hot discussion, with many pres-

ent feeling that some sort of under-the-table deal must

have already been agreed because the unstable situa-

tion could surely not continue past Ramadan. There was

the aforementioned Rolex moment when I asked all

the ladies to show their wrists so I could observe if any

was wearing a watch by a different maker, just for fun. I

had a fascinating discussion with a friendly restaurateur

about his establishment where every day different ladies

comes from different Lebanese villages to cook tradition-

al dishes – the much-loved Tawlet, in Mar Mikhael. Then

after someone unexpectedly tapped a spoon on his

glass I was thrust into giving a short unprepared speech!

That’s the thing about Beirut in my view - many of the

city’s movers and shakers look unapproachable but

when you get up close and personal, most are out-

standingly warm and friendly. This is testament to the

city’s drive and continuous determination to survive.

It knows that to move forwards it must include new

people. Beirut is unique in this respect, not just in the

Middle East but in the world, and this welcoming and

transience gives the city its infectious spirit, which had

me addicted within hours of my first visit. There is no

city like Beirut on the planet, and my canary yellow

brogues have seen a few.

i wheeled out the cAnAry yellowbrogues, much to the ApprovAl of the gAthered throng

a PeeK inTo The Diary of nicholas chrisosToMou

Page 79: Selections #26

79

For a city brimming with individuality I can’t help wonder-

ing why so many of Beirut’s most prominent ladies sport

a Rolex. Not that Rolex watches are not exquisite speci-

mens of horlogerie, on the contrary, they are quite beau-

tiful. But there are so many other divine timepieces to

choose from. This phenomenon appears to span all age

groups, from young fashionistas on the first rung of the

career ladder right up to high-powered executives and

company bosses. Some surely must have asked Daddy

to fund their extravagant acquisitions since we’re not

talking about common or garden watches here, more

like the rose gold or diamond encrusted top of the line

eye wateringly pricey variety. This came to my attention

at a rather select dinner party recently held at Indigo at

Le Gray, undoubtedly the city’s swishest hotel, hosted by

Beirut’s most energetic and much admired Ambassador,

and attended by a veritable who’s who of Beirut’s fashion

fraternity. This was a gathering of designers, magazine

owners and included a stylist with pink hair, all invited to

break bread with his Excellency and meet the latest ec-

centric Englishman in town, me.

I wasn’t appraised by my PA of that night’s guest list until

just a few hours before kick-off, and when I discovered

the identities of some of the Lebanese glitterati I would

be introduced to in a matter of hours, I experienced a mild

bout of fashion fright. This was exacerbated by the discov-

ery that the invitation circulated by the Embassy said the

dinner was “In honour of Nicholas Chrisostomou, owner

of Coco Latté”, the first time my name had ever been

mentioned on a formal Ambassador’s invitation. I felt like

James Bond on a covert fashion mission for her Majesty.

Should I run with the Paul Smith brogues, Vivienne West-

wood shirt and Warren Kade dinner jacket? - Or sport an

altogether more formal ensemble of a Dolce & Gabbana

three piece pinstripe suit, Gieves & Hawkes shirt, Richard

James tie and Church’s shoes? The latter felt more civi-

lized but the former was more me - so I opted for the for-

mer and wheeled out the canary yellow brogues, much to

the approval of the gathered throng.

What I love most about dinner parties is the conversation

and this night was no exception. I chatted with a mens-

wear tailor about his stint on MTV Lebanon’s Dancing

With The Stars, which met with heckling from the pink

haired stylist seated next to me. The country’s political

situation was a subject of hot discussion, with many pres-

ent feeling that some sort of under-the-table deal must

have already been agreed because the unstable situa-

tion could surely not continue past Ramadan. There was

the aforementioned Rolex moment when I asked all

the ladies to show their wrists so I could observe if any

was wearing a watch by a different maker, just for fun. I

had a fascinating discussion with a friendly restaurateur

about his establishment where every day different ladies

comes from different Lebanese villages to cook tradition-

al dishes – the much-loved Tawlet, in Mar Mikhael. Then

after someone unexpectedly tapped a spoon on his

glass I was thrust into giving a short unprepared speech!

That’s the thing about Beirut in my view - many of the

city’s movers and shakers look unapproachable but

when you get up close and personal, most are out-

standingly warm and friendly. This is testament to the

city’s drive and continuous determination to survive.

It knows that to move forwards it must include new

people. Beirut is unique in this respect, not just in the

Middle East but in the world, and this welcoming and

transience gives the city its infectious spirit, which had

me addicted within hours of my first visit. There is no

city like Beirut on the planet, and my canary yellow

brogues have seen a few.

i wheeleD ouT The canary yellowBrogues, Much To The aPProval of The gaThereD Throng

78

A peAk into the diAry of nicholAs chrisostomou

In the first of his diary series for Selections, party man extraordinaire and gent about the Middle East regales us with tales from a distinguished dinner party in Beirut

79

For a city brimming with individuality I can’t help wonder-

ing why so many of Beirut’s most prominent ladies sport

a Rolex. Not that Rolex watches are not exquisite speci-

mens of horlogerie, on the contrary, they are quite beau-

tiful. But there are so many other divine timepieces to

choose from. This phenomenon appears to span all age

groups, from young fashionistas on the first rung of the

career ladder right up to high-powered executives and

company bosses. Some surely must have asked Daddy

to fund their extravagant acquisitions, since we’re not

talking about common or garden watches here, more

like the rose gold or diamond-encrusted, top-of-the-line,

eye-wateringly pricey variety. This came to my attention

at a rather select dinner party recently held at Indigo at

Le Gray, undoubtedly the city’s swishest hotel, hosted by

Beirut’s most energetic and much admired Ambassador,

and attended by a veritable who’s who of Beirut’s fashion

fraternity. This was a gathering of designers, magazine

owners and included a stylist with pink hair, all invited to

break bread with his Excellency and meet the latest ec-

centric Englishman in town, me.

I wasn’t appraised by my PA of that night’s guest list until

just a few hours before kick-off, and when I discovered

the identities of some of the Lebanese glitterati I would

be introduced to in a matter of hours, I experienced a mild

bout of fashion fright. This was exacerbated by the discov-

ery that the invitation circulated by the Embassy said the

dinner was “In honour of Nicholas Chrisostomou, owner

of Coco Latté”, the first time my name had ever been

mentioned on a formal Ambassador’s invitation. I felt like

James Bond on a covert fashion mission for her Majesty.

Should I run with the Paul Smith brogues, Vivienne West-

wood shirt and Warren Kade dinner jacket? - Or sport an

altogether more formal ensemble of a Dolce & Gabbana

three piece pinstripe suit, Gieves & Hawkes shirt, Richard

James tie and Church’s shoes? The latter felt more civi-

lized but the former was more me - so I opted for the for-

mer and wheeled out the canary yellow brogues, much to

the approval of the gathered throng.

What I love most about dinner parties is the conversation

and this night was no exception. I chatted with a mens-

wear tailor about his stint on MTV Lebanon’s Dancing

With The Stars, which met with heckling from the pink

haired stylist seated next to me. The country’s political

situation was a subject of hot discussion, with many pres-

ent feeling that some sort of under-the-table deal must

have already been agreed because the unstable situa-

tion could surely not continue past Ramadan. There was

the aforementioned Rolex moment when I asked all

the ladies to show their wrists so I could observe if any

was wearing a watch by a different maker, just for fun. I

had a fascinating discussion with a friendly restaurateur

about his establishment where every day different ladies

comes from different Lebanese villages to cook tradition-

al dishes – the much-loved Tawlet, in Mar Mikhael. Then

after someone unexpectedly tapped a spoon on his

glass I was thrust into giving a short unprepared speech!

That’s the thing about Beirut in my view - many of the

city’s movers and shakers look unapproachable but

when you get up close and personal, most are out-

standingly warm and friendly. This is testament to the

city’s drive and continuous determination to survive.

It knows that to move forwards it must include new

people. Beirut is unique in this respect, not just in the

Middle East but in the world, and this welcoming and

transience gives the city its infectious spirit, which had

me addicted within hours of my first visit. There is no

city like Beirut on the planet, and my canary yellow

brogues have seen a few.

i wheeled out the cAnAry yellowbrogues, much to the ApprovAl of the gAthered throng

Page 80: Selections #26

80

Plus Properties is already responsible for several

iconic buildings on the Beirut skyline, and now its new

project, located in the heart of the capital, is seeking

to further refine the city. The unmistakeable duo of

the Plus Towers can be found in the hub of Martyr’s

Square, and were designed by prominent interna-

tional architecture studio Arquitectonica. Playing with

light and shadows to create a ‘second skin’ that fea-

tures distinctive terracotta elements, the towers show

a genuine commitment to luxury contemporary design

– and as a result they are currently competing in the

Best Architectural Design category in the upcoming

R.E.A.L Lebanon awards.

Boasting sea and mountain views that can be enjoyed

from private terraces, the light-filled, spacious pent-

house apartments scale 13 residential floors that were

designed to optimise the contemporary living experi-

ence. The apartments – all fitted with state-of-the-art

furnishings – vary from 2, 3, and 4 bedroom spaces,

ranging from 155 square metres to 555 square me-

tres, meaning there is something for everyone, from

extended families to young singles looking for an in-

dependent living space.

Adjacent to Solidere’s ‘arts quarter’ Saifi Village and

the souks of Downtown, as well as the vibrant bars

and restaurants of Gemmayzeh, the towers are per-

fectly located for shopping, drinking and dining, while

two retail floors and a top-of-the-range gym also span

the buildings themselves. Security within the complex

is also paramount, with 27/7 CCTV monitoring and un-

derground parking, as well as visitors’ parking.

The Plus Towers are lifestyle-orientated in more ways

than simply luxury – best of all is the way that green

thinking has been an integral factor in the design

process, as Plus Properties seeks to create what is

very much a green real estate project. Incorporating

innovative sustainable design elements including the

efficient use of energy, water and other resources,

as well as reduction of waste, pollution and environ-

mental degradation, the towers are proudly amongst

the first few buildings in Beirut to be environmentally

friendly across many facets. Residents can also sleep

better at night knowing that their health and wellbe-

ing have been prioritised through the use of non-toxic

building materials.

Martyr’s Square is regarded by many as the ‘Gate to

Beirut’. Plus Towers is ultimately intended not simply to

be just buildings, but more as a neighbour to the likes

of the Blue Mosque and the crumbling egg-shaped

cinema, to be an iconic new monument within this his-

toric area, seamlessly becoming part of the city whilst

resolutely making a statement in design.

ADVERtoRiAL

Plus Towers

the new highrise set to mark the historic landscape of Downtown Beirut

Page 81: Selections #26
Page 82: Selections #26

82

b y A l b e r t o M u c c i

the first edition of the Africa design Award explores a continent’s emerging scene

fuTures rising

With its emerging middle class,

commodities boom, and slowly

growing economy, the coming

rise of Africa has been well doc-

umented in recent years. Less

covered is its nascent design

scene. While progress across

the continent is slow, and many

old problems are still endemic, it

is progress nonetheless, particu-

larly in manufacturing and service

economies.

Optimism is at the heart of this

year’s edition of the Africa Design

Award, a competition launched

by Moroccan based designer Hi-

cham Lahlou. The first of its kind,

the award was nonetheless competitive for all the aspiring talents

who participated. Heading up the jury was Danilo di Michele, the

founder of the international advertising agency DDM advertis-

ing. Other members of the committee included Gilda Bojardi, the

editor of Interni, an Italian magazine of interior design and prob-

ably the most important publication in the trade, as well as Asma

Chaabi, a progressive Moroccan politician and the first woman in

the country to ever be elected as mayor of a city.

The Africa Design awards were open to all, whether individuals

or associations, that have a direct or indirect link to the African

continent. The only condition was that the work presented relates

to the theme ‘Africa in movement and its desire to move forward’.

First Prize was awarded to DNA (Design Network Africa), from

South Africa, with runners up being Jeff Maina, from Kenya, Mo-

hamed Sekou Ouattara, from Burkina Faso, and Maria Haralambi-

dou, from Malawi.The Young Talent Prize went to to Sofia Bennani

and Alexandra Singer-Biederman, followed by Houda Rahmani,

and Karima Elkhider, all from Morocco. The Coup de Coeur Prize

was awarded to Maria Haralambidou, from Malawi, followed by

Babacar Niang M’Bodj, from Senegal, and Cedric Nzolo, from the

Democratic Republic of Congo.

Furniture by DNA, winners of the First Prize

Page 83: Selections #26

MEA Boy 23.5x28.5.pdf 1 4/9/13 2:01 PM

Page 84: Selections #26

84

Pendulum No.9 by Ranya Sarakbi at SMOgallery

Page 85: Selections #26

85

As international headlines continue to foretell the demise of Beirut, the city itself is celebrating its own creativity and collaborating to strengthen it with beirut design week. Just some of this year’s international guests include the artist mona hatoum, fashion journalist hilary Alexander, curator at the v&A museum Rowan bain, and designer at philips Rik Runge. Selections wades through the events, talks to the founders, and guides you

through the week with our map overleaf.

b y K a s i a M a c i e j o w s k a

Mena’s creaTive caPiTal

Beirut Design Week (BDW) is not a

design fair but more like a festival, as

much for participants as it is for the

general public or a niche audience

of collectors. This is largely down to

the vision and efforts of its co-founder

Doreen Toutikian whose priorities lie

with the design community itself, hav-

ing formerly worked as a designer af-

ter training in Glasgow and Cologne,

before founding the MENA Design

Research Centre, the festival’s over-

seeing organisation. Her other half in

the venture is Maya Karounouh, who

previously set up two branding design

agencies Cleartag and TAGbrands

having studied architecture and art

history; BDW is something of a CSR

project for TAGbrands. This dynamic

pair of focused women believes in

Lebanon as a cultural hub and bub-

bling creative centre of the Middle

East. As a result, the programme of

exhibitions, talks, workshops and

Doreen Toutikian Maya Karounouh

Page 86: Selections #26

One plus One see-saw by White sur White Spring Summer 2014 jewellery collection by Rosa Maria

Architectural CGI by The Other Dada

Handwork at Sarah’s Bag

Fractal Light by White sur White

Page 87: Selections #26

87

open studios is geared towards boosting commu-

nication between different segments within design

in Beirut and the wider region, as well as bringing in

international contributions to inspire and stimulate

the local conversation.

Beirut the crossroads, Beirut the political melting

pot… these clichéd summaries still ring true and can

be felt in the creative output produced by the city.

But in recent years there has been a concerted push

among artists and designers to develop creative

practices that are meaningful to Lebanon. Quite how

that can be done when the country itself is inher-

ently so polyphonic is a big question, but Toutikian

elaborates: “Many of the influences of nearby cul-

tures, as well as colonialism, have had their imprint

on our current design culture. Most of our design

schools in universities have imported curricula from

the West, but for the past decade, there has been a

conscious shift to create design that the Lebanese

can truly identify with. This ongoing process and the

current quest among the Lebanese to redefine their

own design culture is what makes the contemporary

context so exciting.”

The well-founded belief of Toutikian and Karounouh

that Beirut is a regional, rather than just a national

creative hub means their intention is to have a posi-

tive influence beyond the Lebanese borders. “Of

course we want to encourage cultural exchange

between Lebanon and the rest of the MENA region,

of course we wanT To encourage culTural eXchange

BeTween leBanon anD The resT of The worlD anD hoPe

BDw MighT insPire oTher counTries in The region To

BuilD Their own Design culTure

Tree of Life wall hanging by Bokja

Magma Light Fixtures by Ghassan Salameh

Posters by Wonder8

Til leotard and Ralin skirt from by Nour Hage SS14

Arik Levy lighting for Vibia at Lumiere GroupSaint Louis crystal chandelier by Lux Lab

Toio light by Achille and Pier Castiglioni for Flos at Lightbox

Handwork at Sarah’s Bag

Fractal Light by White sur White

Page 88: Selections #26

88

and with the rest of the world. We also hope BDW

might inspire other countries in the region to build

their own design culture.”

That Hilary Alexander, leading fashion journalist of

international standing, is coming especially to speak

at BDW reveals how much the event has grown

since being launched in 2012. The former Fashion

Director of British newspaper the Telegraph will talk

about how different modes of dress from around the

world, from Bhutan to Mongolia, and Russia to Peru,

become glamorised through the fashion industry.

She was invited as part of an expanded focus on

fashion at BDW to celebrate the establishment of

the fashion design program at LAU. That she said

yes, especially during this time of off-putting interna-

tional press coverage on Lebanon, indicates grow-

ing belief in the event and trust in its founders. Talks

by Rowan Bain, print curator at the V&A Museum in

London, and Rik Runge, designer at Philips Health-

care do the same. Toutikian sees these international

guests (of whom there are 15 in all) as playing an

essential role in expanding the festival’s audience

beyond the design community to the wider public.

For those who prefer to look than to listen, the

three headline exhibitions are of Danish Architec-

ture, Dutch Design, and Newcomers, showcas-

ing local up and coming designers. For something

more participatory, those who missed last year’s

tour of artisanal workshops such as leather-workers

and jewellery-makers in Bourj Hammoud can catch

it again this year, and Le Gray hotel is hosting the

week’s best opportunities for real discussion with

its Designer Dinners, where you can engage a mix

of local and overseas talent in some serious chat.

As last year, the week is organised with a focus on a

different part of town each day; moving from Down-

town and Saifi Village on Monday 9th June, through

Achrafieh, Gemmayzeh, Hamra, Mar Mikhael, and

Bourj Hammoud over the following days. Selections

is hosting an event at Carwan gallery, to celebrate

the week and the launch of this Design Issue. Car-

wan is exhibiting designs by Lebanese product de-

signer Carlo Massoud and Italian architect Vincenzo

de Cotiis, two of the outstanding names on the ros-

ter of Beirut’s most exciting luxury design gallery.

ThaT hilary aleXanDer saiD yes, esPecially During This TiMe of off-PuTTing inTernaTional Press coverage on leBanon,

inDicaTes growing Belief in The evenT anD TrusT in iTs founDers

Mona HatoumHilary Alexander

Page 89: Selections #26

1st floor -Ataya Bldg. - Sadat Str. - Hamra - Beirut - Lebanontel./Fax: +961 1 862 662 - Mobile: +961 3 834 134

Email: [email protected] - Website: youssefkamoun.comFacebook: www.facebook.com/YoussefKamouncouture - twitter: @Youssef_Kamoun

Page 90: Selections #26

f a c e b o o k p a g e : R o u l a K e h d i C r e a t i o n s i n s t a g r a m : r o u l a k e h d i

Page 91: Selections #26

91

A bug splat: the phrase is quick, efficient, visceral. The

term is a piece of military slang that deftly encapsu-

lates the dehumanisation of war, referring to Preda-

tor drone operations that view casualties through

grainy video streams, so far away that they resemble

crushed insects. In April, a collective of artists congre-

gated in the rural Pakistani province of Khyber Pak-

htunkhwa, where attacks regularly bring tragedy, to

give a literal face to the victims with a project entitled

#NotABugSplat. An installation featuring a gigantic

portrait of a child – whose family were allegedly killed

by drone operators in the region – is sprawled across

the fields, easily viewable by operator cameras and

pointedly anti-anonymous. The artists’ statement

states, “Humans appear as disposable bugs when

viewed through a drone camera. We changed this.

Now, a drone will see an actual face of a child, creat-

ing dialogue, and possibly, empathy.” The collective

took their cue from French artist JR’s global partici-

patory art project, the Inside Out movements, which

promotes individuals and causes to raise awareness

about the devastating effect of Obama’s light-footprint

foreign policy, which is believed to have resulted in

the deaths of more than 2,400 people in five years,

according to the Bureau of Investigative Journalism, a

UK-based non-profit organisation.

face TiMe

#notAbugsplat is a creative awareness campaign by French art collective JR to counter US foreign policy in Pakistan

b y J o h n O v a n s

Page 92: Selections #26

92

Spider light by Niko Koronis

Page 93: Selections #26

93

“Designers are faced with huge changes in terms of

production, technology, everything. We are entering

a new era and this brings with it its own aesthetics

and its own codes”. This proclamation made by Niko

Koronis was the one thing that all the designers sitting

around the table could agree on at the Challenging

Design debate. With their differing experiences and

areas of expertise, Koronis, Marc Baroud, Cyrille Naj-

jar, and Marc Dibeh each had their own views on the

challenges facing contemporary design. Discussing

the subject at Eklekta Gallery, the four touched on is-

sues of 3D printing, collaboration, new production sys-

tems, and design’s uncertain future.

It was Hélène Abtour, Educational Counsellor for

Laureate Universities in Lebanon and Syria, who in-

vited Koronis to make the trip from Milan. Prior to the

round table he gave a lecture at Alba as part of Ab-

tour’s scheme to give design students in Lebanon the

opportunity to participate in competitions and confer-

ences, running now for four years. Koronis is not only

an academic but practices as a designer under his

own name, recently exhibiting at Venice Biennale and

Milan Triennale. Before his time at Domus he was a fel-

low at Central Saint Martins, London, and a researcher

at the Alvar Aalto Foundation, Helsinki, having previ-

ously received his PhD from the Architectural Associa-

Niko Koronis Cyrille Najjar Marc DibehMarc Baroud

truly contemporary design - which engages with the now - is about problem-solving, whether designing products, buildings, websites, or interaction pathways. Designers today enjoy more technological support than ever, but are simultaneously faced with their own demise as computers continue to encroach on their profession. niko koronis, professor of Design & Architecture at Domus, came to Lebanon this Spring to chair a round table discussion with marc baroud, head of Design at ALBA, Cyrille najjar, founder of White sur White design studio, and designer marc dibeh, on the subject of Challenging design.

b y K a s i a M a c i e j o w s k a

Design ThinKing

Page 94: Selections #26

94

tion, London. Talking about his recent designs, he de-

scribes a suspension lamp that is structured like a 3D

matrix of 68 planes of Plexiglas, and a pair of wooden

chairs designed with the latest CAD (Computer Aided

Design) programmes but handmade in Italy – “Using

the newest technology to create something that looks

and feels very natural.”

After the debate, Dibeh, who has a solo show at Art

Factum gallery this month, explains that for him design

is about storytelling, and in his own work he tries to

integrate a sense of humour. His recent mirrors series

called Please Don’t Tell Mum took a playful approach

to the theme of Spectrum for a group show earlier in

the year, having been inspired by when he acciden-

Brass light fixture from 2+2 series by Marc Baroud

Page 95: Selections #26

95

tally smashed a mirror. On the subject of critical design

he is keen to distinguish between the collectable ob-

jects he creates for galleries and the solution-driven

design thinking that addresses the challenges of tech-

nology and services today. In the latter case, he says,

“The designer becomes a transcriber for all the pro-

fessionals around him – the sociologist, the client, the

manufacturer – and like a conductor he takes all this

different information and transcribes it from 2D into 3D

or whatever dimension the solution demands.”

This hybridisation is precisely why the role of the de-

signer is changing from solo star to a problem-solving

role. As Cyrille Najjar describes his company’s proj-

ects, his back catalogue is full of inventions that push

the world forwards. To do this they rely on the same in-

terdisciplinary approach that Dibeh referred to, mixing

engineering, architecture, programming, and so on,

in different combinations to best suit each brief. Proj-

ects to date include working with Yamaha to develop

their musical instruments and designing a software

that enables quadriplegics to control computers with

their eyes. Despite such a progressive focus on tech-

based solutions, White sur White is not above rede-

signing the humble chair – although not for high-end

collectors. The studio’s new One plus One range is

an affordable modular furniture system that responds

to the changing needs of real homes now and in the

future. The line can be produced in store based on

demand, so there is no stock, making the production

One plus One furniture by White sur White

Page 96: Selections #26

96

line ultra lean. For design to stay relevant, it must re-

spond to the realities of the contemporary market in

this way, whether that means how we live now or new

tech production methods.

“Product design as we knew it ten years ago is over.

In the near future the designer will be the program-

mer”, exclaims Dibeh, whose sentiment of uncer-

tainty is echoed by Koronis when he adds, “I wish I

knew what’s coming but the aesthetics of each new

era only comes after a certain period of experimen-

tation.” Although 3D printing will bring production

into the home and enable everyone to play design-

er, the poor finish and style that 3D printed objects

currently have means professional designers still

have a few years – probably a few decades – be-

fore becoming archaic. “This is now one challenge

for designers”, says Koronis, “to take the method of

3D printing and make its aesthetic palatable to the

consumer. At the moment it can’t compete with the

results of mass production.” As Najjar clarifies, “3D

printing isn’t a viable solution for now but it is symp-

tomatic of design now and its loss of scale and con-

trol over the production industry.”

Becoming archaic isn’t inevitable of course; the alter-

native is to keep up. Integrating programming into the

designer’s toolbox of the designer is the most obvi-

ous move, best done independently by each indi-

vidual because the pace of technological progress

is faster than design education institutions can match.

The rise of DIY culture doesn’t mean designers are

left completely alone however, as the online culture of

open sharing and crowdsourcing is coming offline. In

this spirit Najjar set up Fab Lab in Beirut, to provide a

DIY space in which both the public and designers can

make products by hand or using 3D printers, or sim-

ply come to develop their skills. For Koronis, this open

culture is Beirut’s ticket to building a voice on the in-

ternational design stage: “Without the open nature of

digital culture Beirut would never be able to compete

because it doesn’t have the necessary infrastructure.

But now designers can be supported by a distributed

community all over the world.”

Marc Baroud, interior architect and product designer,

pushed ALBA (Académie Libanaise Des Beaux-Arts)

to change its design school, of which he is now in

charge. “I came up with a new programme that is

based around design thinking and is tailored to our

region.” While he acknowledges that tech is the future

of design, he nevertheless promotes the importance

of handcraft and the role that slow design still has to

play. “In Lebanon we have fantastic craftsmanship and

I don’t want it to disappear. We also have good creativ-

ity and problem solving is already strong in our culture.

These assets don’t need to disappear with today’s

digital tech, they can equally be supported.” The hand

made takes on a special significance as it becomes

increasingly special in a digitally dominated environ-

ment, and the best contemporary craft often combines

the two opposite approaches to create objects that

use strengths from both the online and offline worlds.

“I would love to develop a system for collaboration

between technology, designers and craftsmen, as this

would be genuinely socially and economically sus-

tainable.” Similarly Koronis feels that a tempered ap-

proach that combines old skills with new is the best

“ProDucT Design as we Knew iT Ten years ago is over. in The near fuTure The Designer will Be The PrograMMer”

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way to proceed: “You can’t apply new technologies

to all projects. Sometimes you’re exploring new aes-

thetics or pushing into new materials, textures, finishes

– but in other contexts you might use the same tech-

nique as was used 100 years ago.”

This mid point, where the designer uses hybrid

techniques and enables the consumer to do the

same means that individualised products, rather

than mass-produced uniformity, will become the

norm as the 21st century progresses. “The poor

customise because they don’t have enough money

to buy the full product they would like. The rich cus-

tomise because they want something unique. What

is exciting now is that the middle class is becoming

enabled to customise, so the masses have the abil-

ity to impact their environment in a way they never

have before,” says Najjar, who far from bemoaning

the precarious position of the designer in this brave

new production system, can’t wait for it to manifest

more fully in the next few decades. His attitude of

positive embrace is the only solution to design’s big

challenge of self-preservation. As he puts it, “We’ve

hacked the world and I’m so proud of it!”

Slelf Lamp by Marc Baroud and Marc Dibeh. Courtesy of Art Factum gallery

Page 98: Selections #26

True Faith, 2012

Lilicoptere, 2014

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99

Joana Vasconcelos is

as eloquent as she ap-

pears demonstrative

when discussing her

new exhibition Time Ma-

chine, at Manchester Art

Gallery, in the UK. Her

impassioned ambition

and persuasive cha-

risma take hold of your

imagination in the mea-

sured time it takes her to

guide you through the

survey show in which

the seasoned artist in-

ter-mingles her world

of fluorescent colours

and patterned materials,

with the existing historic artworks from the gallery’s

permanent collection. She has exhibited extensively,

including at the Palace of Versailles in 2012, and at

the Venice Biennale in 2013, where she represented

Portugal. Born in Paris in 1971, Vasconcelos attended

the Centro de Arte e Comunicacão Visual in Lisbon

in the early 1990s. Following numerous exhibitions

across Europe, her first retrospective show was held

in 2010 at the Museu Coleção Berardo, Lisbon. Hers

is a kitsch universe with

a sobering message,

in which traditional fe-

male objects and craft

techniques are put to

playful use as signifiers

for a different vision of

the world. And as she

explains here, when fa-

miliar objects re-appear

in new contexts, their

meanings can change,

and by changing mean-

ings we can adapt our

conceptions and in turn

our future directions.

For an audience less

familiar with your work, can you explain your prac-

tice and approach?

I am inspired by everyday life and my perspective is

led by a critical observation of the world around me.

My creative process is based upon the appropriation,

decontextualisation and subversion of pre-existent

objects and everyday realities. I’m oriented by my

condition as a woman and as Portuguese but always

thinking in global terms. I re-frame the global through

inTervenTions in KiTsch

Leading portuguese contemporary artist Joana vasconcelos talks to Selections about crafting the future, re-appropriating domestic materials,

and how art can be a catalyst for change

b y R a j e s h P u n j

Joana Vasconcelos by Christopher Morris

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100

the local, in the sense that I work with various traditions

and techniques that can be identified as Portuguese,

such as crochet, but they are in fact found all around

the world. Re-working these items and resorting to ev-

eryday objects, such as cooking pans, is part of my

conceptual language because I believe these carry

with them an impressive potential for signification. We

think we know them well but these can always acquire

a new signification and existing meanings can be chal-

lenged to serve concepts or to question the world.

Do you define yourself using words such as artist,

sculptor, ceramicist, or interventionist, and are such

definitions important to you?

I am all of those except for a ceramicist, although I

do sometimes work with ceramics. These definitions

were very important when exhibiting in Versailles and

Venice as both projects were artistic interventions

over pre-existent areas. In Versailles, both inside and

outside the palace, I placed my contemporary works

in dialogue and confrontation with the different spac-

es, decorations, themes and histories. Trafaria Praia,

my floating pavilion and total work of art for the 2013

Venice Biennale, involved turning a typical Lisbon fer-

ryboat – a cacilheiro – into the Pavilion of Portugal.

The exterior was covered with a panel of azulejos (tin-

glazed, blue and white, hand-painted ceramic tiles)

that reproduced a contemporary view of Lisbon’s sky-

line, while on the ship’s deck I made an environment

of textiles and light.

This has been my ongoing style, to install organic and

often colourful forms hanging from the ceiling so they

interact with the surrounding architectural elements.

My latest piece is a medley of blue-and-white fabrics

all over the ceiling and walls, from which crocheted

pieces, intertwined with LEDs, emerge. The installa-

tion suggests a surreal and womb-like atmosphere,

like you are under the sea.

My work can also be taken as interventional from a

political point of view as I represent and subvert the

symbols, objects, and behaviors of contemporary

society to generate different discourses that the

viewer can layer over reality. Interventional instal-

Bestie, 2014

War Games, 2011

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101

lations, like those I made in Versailles and Venice,

can be read as acts of subversion as they occupy

historic spaces of wealth and power, implying con-

ceptual transformations through the physical trans-

formations they manifest.

Can you talk about how you de-contextualise or

subvert everyday objects?

I do that through appropriation and by using those

items in unexpected ways – like steam irons to create

fountains (Full Steam Ahead series) or perfume flasks

turned into lamps to make a huge bow (J’Adore Miss

Dior, 2013). Everyday items and objects have a great

capacity for signification. We can make various read-

ings of them using association and collective memory.

Of course the objects used are chosen for the sym-

bolism they carry, but each culture and person also

carries a particular way of looking at these objects and

makes their own associations, which brings each work

a variety of possible readings. My works don’t close

themselves in upon a single discourse or interpreta-

tion. They are ambiguous, paradoxical and dichoto-

mous, and I believe the richness and value is in this

multiplicity of possible interpretations and readings.

Full Steam Ahead, 2012, 2013, 2014

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102

How important is humour in your work?

Humour comes naturally to me but I am perfectly con-

scious that humour is in fact a serious thing and an

excellent means of communication. The questions my

work poses seek to broaden people’s perceptions of

the world and humour is a great instrument for this.

What did you want to achieve with this show? Why

did you install works throughout the galleries as in-

terventions?

The museum’s collection is composed of works from

the past but that make sense today and my contem-

porary works talk to them so that a dialogue was cre-

ated between past and future. All my work looks, in

fact, both back and forward, as a bridge. The crises we

are living through force us to think about our roots and

what we should preserve for a future that isn’t look-

ing very bright. It’s in these moments that we activate

the ‘time machine’ in our minds. I believe artists can

have a catalytic effect as they offer an imaginative fil-

ter that allows people to search for identity – not only

for who we are but also who we want to be. With this

in mind the central themes of recycling and renewal

came naturally.

Finally, what does the rest of the year hold for you?

2014 began quite intensely with this show and two ex-

hibitions in São Paulo - Casarão at Casa Triângulo and

my site-specific work Amazônia for the Pivô space at

Oscar Niemeyer’s Copan building. Up next I have ex-

hibitions in Ireland, Berlin, China and then Brazil again.

I will be busy!

Hwarang, 2012

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Lebanon, Headquarters, Tel: +961 7 735 226, Fax:+961 7 735 228

U.A.E. - Dubai, Tel: +971 4 295 7922/11, Fax: +971 4 295 7921

Dar AL Baba- Mohammed Bin Rashed Blvd.

www.albaba-sweets.com

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Eating, trading, worshipping, teaching, ruling, at-

tracting, celebrating, surviving. Covering two mil-

lion years of civilisation, A History of the World in

100 Objects tells the tales of artefacts and how they

have been used. This marks the third collaboration

between Manarat Al Saadiyat and the British Muse-

um, and heralds the 2016 opening of the Zayed Na-

tional Museum on the now-controversial Saadiyat

Island, future home to the Louvre and Guggenheim

Abu Dhabi. The museum

will house items from the

UAE and the wider Middle

East.

“It is certainly a privilege to

re-stage this show in Abu

Dhabi as with so many

exciting new cultural proj-

ects are on the horizon

here, it feels like a good

time to be talking about

global culture,” says exhibition curator Becky Allen.

100 Objects is inspired by the massively successful

BBC radio series and book, which took items from

the British Museum and wove a narrative around

them. Bringing the objects together for the first time

under this theme has been a serious undertaking,

with Allen leading a team of over 90 other curators.

Some objects were too large or delicate to travel,

so the Gulf incarnation of the show is a variation on

the original list.

The exhibition is presented in chronological chap-

ters, with titles such as Power and Philosophy, and

Innovation and Adaptation. Allen explains, “The

close study of an object

gives us a way to under-

stand cultures that didn’t

leave any written texts be-

hind”. The Inner Coffin of

Shepenmehyt, c.600 BCE,

for example, is packed full

of information: “Look how

much we can learn from

the study of this one ob-

ject. Hieroglyphics to be

decoded, an understand-

ing of religion, an idea about what kind of materials

they used.”

Throughout the exhibition, each object is contextual-

ised through maps, images, texts, videos and its prox-

sTories aT The crossroaDs

the British Museum brings its celebrated exhibition A history of the world in 100 objects to Abu Dhabi

throughout the summer

b y A n y a S t a f f o r d

Zayed National Museum, Saadiyat Island

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Hebrew astrolabe 1200-1400AD, South Arabian bronze hand 200-600AD, and other objects from A History of the World in 100 Objects

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106

imity to other artefacts. The Royal Game of Ur from

2,600-2,400 BCE is a special and beautiful piece that

according to Allen, “Shows the importance of leisure,

fun and game playing.” It comes from one of the

world’s first cities, the Sumerian city of Ur in Mesopota-

mia, now southern Iraq. The fact that has been crafted

from wood, lapis lazuli, red limestone and shell tells

the story of Ur’s trade routes, with the lapis lazuli and

shell coming from Afghanistan and the Gulf respec-

tively.

A mask from late 1880s Sierra Leone is accompanied

by a stunning film of a woman dancing in the black

wooden and raffia disguise as a part of Sande initia-

tion ceremonies. Only her legs are visible as the dark-

ness conjures other worlds, but also something of a

contemporary aesthetic. This mask is surprisingly fin-

ished with a European top hat, a status symbol among

community elders.

In Allen’s view, “Objects are remarkable survivors”. She

cites the tiny 5.5cm Incan Gold Llama from 1400-1550

CE as her favourite example of this because most of

the empire’s gold was melted down by the Spanish

when they arrived in Peru yet this figurine survives.

The curator hopes that visitors will “walk away from

the exhibition thinking about the many similarities in

challenges, hopes and fears that people have faced

through time. This show is a celebration of that com-

mon thread.” This intention informed the aim of making

the exhibition feel relevant to today by also including

recently designed items, such as Object 101, which is

the Prototype Foot-Controlled Car, designed in 2013

by an Emirati student. “This way, the story continues.”

A History of the World in 100 Objects continues at Manarat Al Saadi-

yat Abu Dhabi until 1st August 2014

Safavid Tiles

Statue of the pharaoh Ramesses IIOlmec stone mask

106

imity to other artefacts. The Royal Game of Ur from

2,600-2,400 BCE is a special and beautiful piece that

according to Allen, “Shows the importance of leisure,

fun and game playing.” It comes from one of the

world’s first cities, the Sumerian city of Ur in Mesopota-

mia, now southern Iraq. The fact that has been crafted

from wood, lapis lazuli, red limestone and shell tells

the story of Ur’s trade routes, with the lapis lazuli and

shell coming from Afghanistan and the Gulf respec-

tively.

A mask from late 1880s Sierra Leone is accompanied

by a stunning film of a woman dancing in the black

wooden and raffia disguise as a part of Sande initia-

tion ceremonies. Only her legs are visible as the dark-

ness conjures other worlds, but also something of a

contemporary aesthetic. This mask is surprisingly fin-

ished with a European top hat, a status symbol among

community elders.

In Allen’s view, “Objects are remarkable survivors”. She

cites the tiny 5.5cm Incan Gold Llama from 1400-1550

CE as her favourite example of this because most of

the empire’s gold was melted down by the Spanish

when they arrived in Peru yet this figurine survives.

The curator hopes that visitors will “walk away from

the exhibition thinking about the many similarities in

challenges, hopes and fears that people have faced

through time. This show is a celebration of that com-

mon thread.” This intention informed the aim of making

the exhibition feel relevant to today by also including

recently designed items, such as Object 101, which is

the Prototype Foot-Controlled Car, designed in 2013

by an Emirati student. “This way, the story continues.”

A History of the World in 100 Objects continues at Manarat Al Saadi-

yat Abu Dhabi until 1st August 2014

Safavid Tiles

Statue of the pharaoh Ramesses IIOlmec stone mask

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107

Dos Santos in lead

107

Dos Santos in lead

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108

The shaPe of MeMory

Swedish artist Jonas dahlberg speaks with Selections about his design for memory wound to commemorate the victims of the 2011 Utøya

massacre in norway

b y A l b e r t o M u c c i

When in 2013 Jonas Dahlberg first visited Utøya, the island off

the Norwegian coast where 69 people were killed by Nor-

wegian nationalist Anders Behring Breivik, he was struck by

the narrative that had formed around visiting the place. “From

the moment you get on the bus in Oslo and start the journey

towards the site, everyone was waiting for that moment when

you see Utøya. When the lake came into view and we saw an

island, somebody immediately asked, ‘Is that Utøya?’ and we

all were stood up, staring out of the window. When it turned

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Jonas Dahlberg’s Memory Wound will cut through the peninsula at Utøya

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110

out not to be Utøya, we all sat down again, until the

island actually appeared. It was this voyeuristic gaze

that I wanted to avoid with the actual memorial – I

wanted people to look inside themselves rather than

just waiting to see an island.’

The objective of the Swedish artist – who started out

studying architecture, but went on to do a masters in

Fine Art at Malmö Art Academy, and asserts that he al-

ways works conceptually with architecture in his work

– was to avoid any form of romanticisation around the

site of the massacre. Dahlberg explains that he want-

ed to design a place where people would be able to

gather in intimacy and privacy, to find a place where

they could reflect on what had happened and try to

untangle the complex realities behind such a tragic

event for themselves.

This was the thinking behind erecting Memory Wound,

the name given to the memorial, in Sørbråten, the pen-

insula that faces Utøya. And it is for the same reasons

that Dahlberg’s creation is made up of a three-and-a

half-metre-wide incision in the ground, made “by ne-

gation”, as the artist describes it. This means building

by taking away part of the earth and creating a physi-

cal open space in the ground. Once completed visi-

tors will be able to walk through an underground path-

way to the split and see the victims’ names inscribed

on the other side.

The Sørbråten memorial is one part of a larger project

as the materials excavated will be used to build the

foundation for a temporary memorial in Oslo’s gov-

ernment quarter, as well as a more permanent me-

morial at a later stage. When asked if at any point he

felt uncomfortable building a national memorial as a

foreigner, Dahlberg answers with decision: “Not at all.

I actually think the opposite. Breivik (the perpetrator

of the massacre) justified his actions on nationalistic

grounds and it would be strange to choose the artist

on the very same basis. Utøya was a human tragedy,

one that can be felt beyond borders.”

Such an idea about the reach of Utøya invites a more

general reflection on the meaning of memorials and

their public role. According to Dahlberg there are two

main objectives that such structures have to fulfil. The

first is to create a private place for everyone to be

able to pay respect to the victims and meditate on the

social and political reasons that triggered the event

that the memorial commemorates. The second role

is institutional: memorials are there to remember that

something this terrible happened and to remind peo-

ple that something similar could occur again.

“It may sound harsh but when events such as the

Utøya massacre occur, the real task of remember-

ing is to look at what caused the specific human

behaviour that allowed such a terrible event to take

place.” Dahlberg’s words might well be applied be-

yond the Norwegian borders and his work stands

not only for the importance of remembering over

forgetting, but also points us towards the tone that

remembrance should take.

“The Killer JusTifieD his acTions on naTionalisTic grounDs anD iT woulD Be sTrange To choose The arTisT on The very saMe Basis.

uTøya was a huMan TrageDy, one ThaT can Be felT BeyonD BorDers”

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How and why did postcolonial modernist architecture fail? merlin fulcher, from the Architects’ Journal, reviews a discussion of Jane drew and maxwell fry’s flawed tropical utopianism

TrouBle in ParaDise

Basra Masterplan location by Stallan-Brand

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A stone’s throw from the imposing grandeur of Buck-

ingham Palace, Wellington House and the Foreign

and Commonwealth Office in the British capital, a

small group of academics, architects and students

gathered in March to discuss colonial modernist ar-

chitecture – not its achievements, but its failure.

Sixty years ago, London’s Institute of Contemporary

Arts (ICA) was the epicentre of Britain’s modernist

movement. The hip and stylish venue on the edge

of leafy St James’s Park reverberated in the 1950s

and ‘60s with extraordinarily gifted and idealistic

artists who believed they could transform the world

for the better by following scientific and rational

lines of thought.

Among them were the architectural leading lights

Jane Drew and Maxwell Fry who were busy scientifi-

cally theorising a new architecture that they believed

could provide perfect living and working conditions

in all of earth’s tropical zones. Like many of their con-

temporaries they placed an extraordinary faith in the

developmental power of modern steel, glass and

concrete buildings.

So while the post-war ruins of Victorian London were

being revolutionised with new high-rise housing and

motorway underpasses, it was simultaneously be-

lieved this wonder-cure architecture could also help

Britain’s former colonies to flourish as they re-learned

to govern themselves. But within only a few years of

many gleaming new hospitals and universities being

completed, many of the former colonial countries had

descended into civil war, with such flagship icons of

modernist architecture becoming epicentres of vio-

lence and demonstrations.

One such flagship project was University College

Ibadan (UCI) in Western Nigeria. Designed by Drew

and Fry in 1953, the campus was laid out in Oxbridge-

style quadrangles with moulded concrete-screened

buildings designed to mimic the rhythm of African

music. A propaganda video from the time by BP de-

scribed UCI as a place where ethnic rivalries would

dissolve. But as Nigeria fell into civil war it became the

complete opposite, with police entering the campus

in 1969 and the first student being shot a year later.

So what went wrong? The architects and thinkers who

gathered at the ICA believe there was a catastrophic

mismatch between the radically egalitarian principles

of modernist architects and the colonial authorities’

desire to reinforce traditional power structures in the

Basra Masterplan by Stallan-Brand

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countries they had previously relinquished. They

point to the underlying racial prejudices that saw

architecture and town planning used to geographi-

cally separate colonials from native peoples in In-

dia and Africa throughout the nineteenth century.

Ultimately they suggest that modernist architects

were naïve to believe new buildings alone could

revolutionise these intentionally divided societies.

The now-evidently limited concept of tropical archi-

tecture was clearly not – despite what Drew and Fry

fervently believed – uniformly appropriate around

the globe.

Today we might ask why, despite these failings,

British architects (along with those from many other

nationalities) continue to practice a similarly uni-

form design approach around the world, and the

image of sparkling modernist towers and shopping

malls has become a symbol of independence and

economic power across North Africa, Asia and the

Middle East. Perhaps this evidently misguided ap-

proach continues because business between West-

ern consultancies and former colonial countries

remains a cornerstone of international commerce,

with architectural firms such as Glasgow-based Stal-

lan-Brand devising new masterplans for universities

in Iraq, Lagos and Nigeria in the last year alone. The

very best international architecture today is far less

dogmatic than the modernistic mantra that informed

Drew and Fry’s experiments. The greatest change

now is the rise of powerful local clients around the

world who can decide for themselves which devel-

opmental ideas they are importing, and cherry-pick

the most appropriate, for better or for worse.

© S

Koopman

© S

Koopman

University of Ibadan by Maxwell Fry and Jane Drew

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AYYAm Ad

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following in her fooTsTePs

the legacy of Andrée putman lives on under the sensitive leadership of her daughter olivia, now steering the family’s eponymous Paris studio in her own contemporary direction

b y J o h n O v a n s

Lustre Rosace Orgue by Studio Putman

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As a designer, Andrée Putman was as ground-

breaking as she was prolific. Recognisable by her

red lipstick, side-swept bob, and serious photo face,

Putman was responsible for the boutique interiors

of some of fashion’s leading names, including Yves

Saint-Laurent and Karl Lagerfeld. She was credited

with designing the world’s first boutique hotel, re-

spected for her cult film sets for Peter Greenaway,

and known for her signature black-and-white check-

erboard motif. This

sassy grande dâme

of design launched

her eponymous

label in 1997. She

even reworked the

interior of the Con-

corde jet. Refus-

ing to let age get

the better of her,

Putman carried on

designing into her

eighties. When she

died last year at the

age of 87, the design world mourned, but her studio

continues under the direction of her accomplished

daughter, Olivia Putman.

A designer in her own right, Olivia has been at helm

of her mother’s company, now known as Studio Put-

man, since 2007. She ventured into her first profes-

sional adventure by transforming old factories into

artists’ studios and exhibition spaces, shortly fol-

lowed by work as a landscape designer. Taking on a

parent’s widely respected legacy, several years af-

ter she was first asked, is not without its challenges,

but rather than browbeating, Putman Junior remains

level-headed as she explains, “I am trying to cre-

ate my own style without forgetting her legacy – but

influence from her is certain, as she educated me.”

Such pragmatism weighs into much of Putman’s

design philoso-

phy. “We try to be

sociologists when

we work for public

spaces and more

psychologists

when working on

private projects,”

she reveals. With

this in mind, she

is direct about her

feelings for con-

temporary design,

suggesting that it,

“Calm down a little. I believe we’ve reached a time

where people are fed up with design for design’s

sake.” She cites her work for Lalique, where she

was formerly creative director, such as an eleven-

piece collection of chandeliers, sconces, and desk

and floor lamps in satin-finished crystal cylinders

entitled Orgue, as a personal favourite, but also

describes how she enjoys the challenge of a pri-

vate customer brief. “When you work on private

Andrée and Olivia Putman by Xavier Bejot

Page 118: Selections #26

118

“i aM Trying To creaTe My own sTyle wiThouT

forgeTTing her legacy – BuT influence froM her is

cerTain, as she eDucaTeD Me”

ABOVE: Le Temps des Collections, Rouen, by Studio Putman

OPPOSITE PAGE: Cover graphic for Selections The Design Issue by Olivia Putman

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ABOVE: Golden Orgue lamp by Studio Putman for Lalique

OPPOSITE PAGE: Jour de Fête lamp by Studio Putman

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residences you have to guess what the client is not

telling you,” she says. “Most of time, you have to

guess what their needs are, because they don’t re-

ally know themselves.” As for her upcoming work,

she teases that “two big exhibitions” will soon be

taking place in Hong Kong, a location not unfamiliar

to the Putman brand. When not designing, Putman

has another full-time job as the mother of four boys.

Musing recently about the ‘Putman style’, Olivia

settles on, “A high dose of nostalgia linked with a

futuristic vision”. How does she reconcile her own

aesthetic approach with this? “I like design when

it seems obvious,” she says. “What I am trying to

achieve is to give a kind of soul to the objects that

accompany our everyday life.” Working for the likes

of Serralunga, Fermob, and Emeco, her precise, ele-

gant style combines elements of classic French flair

and balance with a modern simplicity that feels both

chic and relevant. The Studio Putman approach,

in Olivia’s own words, is, “To be both abstract and

clear at the same time. Ours is a complex blend of

values, habits, and ways of being. It’s really more

like a way to live and to think.”

“whaT i aM Trying To achieve is To give a KinD of soul To The oBJecTs ThaT accoMPany our everyDay life”

Sketch for LAN Airways VIP Lounge by Studio Putman

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cURAtED BY

olivia PuTMan

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124

wiTh eyes wiDe oPen

I was lucky enough to be raised in a family

surrounded by artists and had the chance to

meet many inspirational creative figures at

home. Listening to their conversations I used

to admire their freedom. How precious these

young girl’s memories

are to me now. I re-

member listening to

what I thought were

very strange and

funny point of views

about life, its colours

and textures. I remem-

ber going to a Pink

Floyd concert with my

mother, Andrée Put-

man, when I was only six, and observing Bram

Van Welde while he was creating, all the time

with her at my side, sharing her thoughts with

me.

I really have to thank my parents for the way

that they taught me about how art can be

such a powerful channel to emotion, sense,

beauty and hopefully peace in the world. My

interactions with artists were so important

during my childhood that I still need their sup-

port every day in my adult life. Because of

this it was a natural and obvious decision for

me when I tried to help young artists for the

first ten years of my professional life. This was

one of my most inter-

esting and formative

experiences, when

I was converting old

factories into artists’

studios.

The choices I made

for this special section

in Selections repre-

sent a small panel of

those creators who surprise me with their in-

novative vision and remarkable work. Some-

times their creations seem to be very simple

but these are often those that possess some-

thing like a hidden grace, which can seem

almost invisible.

Artists give us the possibility of keeping our

eyes wide open so we can continue to dream

and to invent new ways of life.

Olivia Putman - Nina Ricci Parfums

Page 125: Selections #26

Lucio FontanaSpatial Concept #2

1960oil on canvas

I remember seeing the first Concetto Spaziale and being very moved by the subtle effects

of the tears and the change of light.

[© Albright Knox Art Gallery/Art Resource, NY/Scala, Florence]

cURAtED BY oLiViA PUtMAn

Page 126: Selections #26

Patrick BlancMur Végétal, Musée du Quai Branly

2005plantlife

Patrick Blanc is the brilliant botanist who invented the vertical garden,

which has become quite fashionable but could still be used more. His is a poetic and futuristic vision that may be the only way to introduce more

gardens in our crowded cities.

[©Musée du Quai Branly. Photo: Nicolas Borel]

cURAtED BY oLiViA PUtMAn

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Jean Michel BasquiatSelf Portrait As A Heel

1982acrylic and oilstick on canvas

I had a lot of fun with Jean Michel when I was younger. He was an incredible

good boy / bad boy mix. He had so much energy he should never have died so young. He was an angel passing by.

cURAtED BY oLiViA PUtMAn

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René Lalique Mossi vase

1933glass

During my two years as artistic director at Lalique I discovered the incredible world of the company’s founder René. I love this vase he designed in the early twentieth century but which could just as easily

have been designed today or tomorrow. I like this ambiguity about it – it’s timeless.

cURAtED BY oLiViA PUtMAn

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Niki de Saint Phalle and Jean TinguelyFontaine Stravinsky

1983fibreglass and polyester;

steel and aluminium

I remember playing with my brother around those big machines outside the Pompidou Centre in Paris when

I was a child. My parents were surrounded by artists and always took us to many exhibitions there.

cURAtED BY oLiViA PUtMAn

Page 134: Selections #26

Gehrard Richter Two Candles

1982oil on canvas

This painting has an incredible effect on the soul and is something close to mystical for me. Universal mysticism! World Peace!

cURAtED BY oLiViA PUtMAn

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James TurrellAten Reign, Guggenheim, New York

2013light installation

This contemporary mastermind gives materiality to light and seems to make the invisible visible. James Turrell is a genius

who I’ve had the privilege of sharing several discussions with over the years.

cURAtED BY oLiViA PUtMAn

Page 138: Selections #26

Mathias KlotzVilla Angostura, Argentina

2007concrete, wood, copper

Photography: Roland Halbe

Mathias and I worked together on a project in South America and

came away with a huge amount of admiration for his particular talent at creating amazing spaces that are

simultaneously beautiful and respect their surrounding environment.

cURAtED BY oLiViA PUtMAn

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