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Zaha Hadid Architects’ New Arts and Culture Centre Project in China

Internationally known and award-winning architecture firm Zaha Hadid Architects impresses us every time with stunning projects they design all over the world in their unique and innovative manner based on over thirty years of revolutionary research. This time we wanted to show you their new, amazing arts and culture centre project in the Chinese city of Changsa, which is currently under construction after their proposal has been selected as the winning one. Just looking at the renderings and the images speak for themselves: innovative, elegant, integrating values of functionality and introducing a unique, futuristic architecture, the Changsha Meixihu International Culture & Arts Centre will certainly become, after completion, the new cultural and civic landmark for the city of Changsha as well as a global cultural destination.

The Changsha Meixihu International Culture & Arts Centre will encompass a series of nodes and civic institutions such as a Grand Theatre, a Contemporary Art Museum, a Small Theatre (Multipurpose Hall) and other supporting facilities, uniquely defined and separate, each one having its own distinctive character, but acting like a huge cultural complex that work beautifully in synchronicity with their surroundings. The focal point of this project is the Grand Theatre with a capacity of 1800 of seats, being the largest performance rendezvous in the city. When will be completed, it will have all the necessary functions in order to host performances at the highest standards: backstage logistics, rehearsal rooms, dressing and make-up rooms, wardrobe, administration, VIP hospitality, restaurant, bars, cloakrooms, lobbies, etc. On the other hand, the Small Theatre will have a maximum capacity of 500 seats and will be flexible enough to allow for various configurations.

As the name suggests, Multipurpose Hall, it will be suitable for shows ranging from commercial events and banquets to fashion shows, music and small theatre productions; a venue that will share with its visitors restaurant facilities and retail areas in an open space connected with the basement level. The third attraction will be the Contemporary Art Museum showcasing an original “three fluid petals” architecture that connect the interior gallery spaces with the exterior in a truly seamless fashion. It features an external plaza with views to the Meixi Lake Road acts as an expansive outdoor space for exhibitions, outdoor sculptures and different events.The unique site’s location will be infused with urban vitality by interconnecting them through plazas where visitors can walk and enjoy surroundings views, especially the Meixi Lake ones.

Photos render © Zaha Hadid Architects

Project details:

Architect: Zaha Hadid Architects
Design: Zaha Hadid, Patrick Schumacher
Project director: Woody Yao, Simon Yu
Museum design: Tariq Khayyat, Kutbuddin Nadiadi, Diego Rossel, Gerry Cruz, Matteo Melioli, Xiaosheng Li, Yuxi Fu, Thomas Jensen, Matthew Johnson, Justin Kelly, Drew Merkle
Status: Under construction
Location: Changsha, China
Area: 115,000 sq m

Changsha Meixihu International Culture & Arts Centre

March 12, 2013
Stunning JW Marriott Marquis Hotel Dubai- The World’s Tallest Hotel

One of the most exciting cities in the world is undoubtedly Dubai, well-known for its awe-inspiring architecture and world-class facilities and infrastructure. Another iconic landmark emerged since the end of last year, dominating the city skyline at 355 meters high (1,164 feet) and restating the leading position that this distinctive resort location in the Middle East occupies on global business and entertainment destination map.

It’s about the highly anticipated 5- star magnificent JW Marriott Marquis Hotel Dubai belonging to Marriott International’s luxury portfolio, which is expected by 2015 to include 79 properties in 28 countries. The first of 59 hotels in the JW Marriott family planned to be built outside North America, the opulent JW Marriott Marquis Hotel Dubai, unveiled few months ago, was officially recognised in Guinness Book as the tallest hotel in the world when opened, only 26 metres shorter than the famous Empire State Building in New York, surpassing the Rose Rayhaan by Rotana, becoming already the Dubai’s first world-class convention and business destination hotel.

Located in the heart of Business Bay, close to Dubai International Airport and within couple of minutes from Dubai World Trade Centre and the Dubai International Convention & Exhibition Centre, the twin tower sckyscraper complex is owned by Emirates Group and designed by The Arch Group Consultants, each one each with 804 rooms and an enticing array of 14 restaurants, bars, lounges prividing large selection of world-class dining and entertainment options and capacity for large-scale corporate events of up to 1,000 delegates, providing cutting-edge business facilities. The construction of this luxurious 72-storey property started in November 2006 and was scheduled to open in several phases, the first tower to be completed in 2013 and the second one to be opened by late 2014. These elegant twin skyscrapers with amazing postmodern architecture style is designed to appeal to the elite business market, offering unforgettable travel experiences with intuitive service, exceptional meeting facilities, state-of-the art technology, throughtful world-class amenities and modern, exquisite design, celebrating the unique flavor of each destination.

After a day spent exploring the city, sophisticated and self-assured travelers will explore luxury at its best into a refined elegance and warmly authentic relaxed ambiance, while enjoying breathtaking panoramic views across Dubai. They can relax and rejuvenate with timeless rituals and invigorating treatments at the 4,000 square-meter SARAY Spa, indulge in Indian culinary delights in a contemporary and authentic dining space at Rang Mahal or taste complimentary breakfast, snacks, evening canapés, as well as hot and cold beverages throughout the day in a stunning setting showcasing traditional Arabic heritage. For guests looking for a unique dining experience, their amazing sky-high boutique steakhouse, Prime68, located on the 68th floor, provides a stylish venue where your senses will be delighted with a prime selection of steaks, prepared on a charcoal grill and served with expertly crafted sauces, complimented by a pituresque bird’s eye view of Dubai.

In addition, JW Marriott Marquis Hotel features more than 8,000 square meters of total event space with two exceptional ballrooms and 24 meeting rooms including outdoor terraces, health club, a gymnasium, as well as retail outlets, a 30 meters swimming pool on the 7th floor, and Aqua Poolside Bar and Grill. If you want to know more about this true work of art check out their website.

Photos © JW Mariott

March 11, 2013
Sustainable Architecture in the Middle of Gobi Desert -The Lotus Hotel

For those looking for new experiences through ecotourism, here we show you an innovative hotel resort that is currently under construction – The Lotus Hotel. Targeting and promoting sustainable architecture in desert, the stunning new Lotus Hotel is one of the recent work of Beijing-based architecture firm PLaT Architects, which is being built in the heart of Xiangshawan Desert, part of the Gobi Desert, one of the world’s great deserts that covers much of the southern Mongolia.

The site is at 800km west of Beijing and between Ordos and Baotou, facing the Hantai River, a branch of Yellow River, and east to Kubuqi Desert that more than 200km wide, a location where you’d never expect for such a construction. Quite unusual, isn’t it? If until now we were used to remarkable architectural developments aimed to add many kilometers of beaches to the city of Dubai, it looks like desert is a new destination to plan urban developments. This complex is only one part of Xiangshawan Desert planning.

Constructed on a 30,000 sqm arid area, the secluded Lotus Hotel looks like a ship floating on the sand, where the architects used the art of repeating the same elements which is the traditional Chinese idea of ‘Zhen’. A series of triangles are created by the rotation of squares in the same angle resulting a beautiful lotus flower- shaped building that showcases a new structural system designed to adapt the desert special geographic conditions. It’s a clever concrete-free construction that is fixed into the fluid sand using only pre-fabricated steel elements for its exterior and eco-friendly local materials for the interior design in order to make the structure stable in the unstable sandy conditions, while offering guests a truly unique experience of desert.

For instance, the surrounding sand was used as material for wall coverings and the lobby’s floor. The unconventional hotel’s structure has a tiered system that provides white shades and under passages to shield visitors from the blazing desert sun. This interesting project aimes to be a sustainable construction with zero impact on the environment that produce its own electricity and get its own water. Take a look at some photos.

Photos © PLaT Architects; source @archdaily.com

March 10, 2013
Low-Budget Garage Makeover by Kerrie Kelly Design Lab

Planning to do something with our gararge soon? We were looking for some time to show you a garage makeover and here we’ve found this beautiful project envisioned by Kerrie Kelly Design Lab, which proves that making a gorgeous, reasonable space for family doesn’t have to require fancy resources or cost you a fortune. Seeing these images below with a fun, trendy lounge appropriate for a young family, we can’t even imagine how it looked like this space before.

Sacramento interior designer Kerrie Kelly made an amazing low-budget transformation with this once-overloaded garage and the result turned out better than expected. Three words to describe this chic living room: modern, fun and functional. Inspired by the subtle farmhouse backdrops in Napa and Sonoma not too far away from there, the space, filled with natural light when the original garage door opens up, is a charming mix of creative and inspiring details, a soothing palette and graphic patterns. Wonderful play with color shows bright dashes of color against the sophisticated gray and white background, creating a playful and optimistic atmosphere to spend the day.

The design team wanted to achieve an open, bright and airy space, so they add open shelving and design horizontal stripes on walls that visually expand the room. The horizontal wall stripes were made very easy by simply painting wood boards and nailing them up. The modern bookcased were designed from reclaimed wood and incorporates industrial pipes, that keeps a bit of garage feel in there. We love the red wheels on the industrial coffee table, interesting barstools design, the silhouettes of each family member in a different color on the wall and the plain concrete garage floor painted with concrete paint -great details! Very inspiring concept, don’t you think?

Photos © Kerrie Kelly Design Lab

March 9, 2013
Stylish and Minimalist Manhattan Micro-Loft by Specht Harpman

Specht Harpman‘s talented design team came up with great design solutions for a tiny 425 square feet residence remodel in Manhattan’s Upper West Side, New York. They transformed a compact four-level apartment with an awkward design into a modern and stylish micro-loft, that emphasizes a minimalist style with clean lines aimed to minimize clutter and maximize space. It reveals a very good space distribution with four “living platforms” that flow into one another, getting rid of the concept of distinct “rooms”; the only doors you’ll see withing the loft being the one into the bathroom and the one that give access to the roof garden.

The lowest level encompasses the entry, the main living area, the kitchen space and the bathroom, while a few steps above is a cantilevered bed pavilion supported on steel beams and then you reach to a roof garden. Absolutely fantastic, this Manhattan micro-loft is both aesthetically gorgeous and functional. Flooded in natural light from the larger windows, each room features all the essentials but keeping in the same time a simple and clean interior. Furniture are minimal due to the significant number of built-in features throughout the apartment. Instead of traditional closets that are completely missing, the stairs has built-in cabinetry with maximum storage both in the living room and bedroom zone, while kitchen showcases also fully concealed appliances, flip up storage units for easy access and a half kitchen, half living room countertop with built-in entertainment system. The white laquered furniture contrasts very beautifully with dark wood floor and stairs, adding an elegant feel to the overall modern minimalist design.

Photos © Taggart Sorensen

March 8, 2013
Original House for Birds- Noe by Floriane Rousse-Marquet

Noe is a lovely and interesting house for birds imagined by young industrial designer Floriane Rousse-Marquet, a design project for which she received Bronze in 2010 at IDEA International Design Excellence Award. Fascinated by human behaviors and very interested to observ and study how people interacts with their surrounding objects, she comes up with significant design solutions to answer their daily complex problems. This original and attractive birhouse could be a simple, respectful and afordable solution to a visible and unwanted phenomenon that happens increasingly often: the migration of all kind of birds towards the cities because of the distruction of their natural habitat.

In the long run some of them are able to adapt to human world, but there are also many of them that don’t possess such adaptation capabilities, which together with other factors like precarious shelters, the attack of bigger birds and the inadequate food inevitably lead to their extinction. Noe wants to be shelter for city birds, which allows us to feed them, observe and protect them from balconies -a space that give citizen the opportunity of growing plants while take care of birds in the same time. Featuring an appealing curved shape with a neutral color to fade in nature and plants, Noe is lighweight, made of liquid wood and stackable, being delivered with climbing plants seeds which will act as a camouflage around it.

You can stick on a flower jar or hang up on the balcony thanks to its feet with a pointy end, which acts as well as a guide to the climbing plant. It’s made from two pieces to be more compact and features also to cavities, one on the bottom and one on the top of the object that allow the collection of the rainwater. In this way, you can recreate their ecological nests and accept their presence around your home – you might even find that you have a rare bird in your balcony, who knows?

Photos © Floriane Rousse-Marquet

March 7, 2013
Creative Lighting Design Inspired by The Nuclear Accident in Fukushima

Designers get inspired by lots of things, but have you ever heard of someone inspired by the disatruous nuclear accident in Fukushima? As far as we know, we haven’t seen before a lighting design or other product inspired by such situation. Meltdown lamp, envisioned by the talented young Swedish designer Johan Lindsten for the famous Italian brand Cappellini, wants to be something beautiful related to that period. Launched on January 2013, during the Imm Cologne fair, Meltdown confirms designer’s inclination for contemporary and avant-garde design. With a spherical form, its thin coloured glass, hand blown in a mold, reflects beautifully the light, creating a pleasant and delightful atmosphere.

The disaster is mirrored in this beautiful, distinctive ceiling lamp where the process already begun and the bulb are about to melt through the last protection of the glass. It can be used as a grape or in the liniar way, as you can see in these wonderful pictures, each one of the spherical glass having a diameter of 285 mm. Versatile and stylish, original-looking Meltdown can be used in various contemporary settings, adding an attractive industrial touch. Dove, pink, tobacco, light blue, amethyst and amber are the colors available for it.

Photos © Cappellini

March 6, 2013
Contemporary Apartment in Brazil Revealing Elegant Design Details

When it comes to design your own apartment, you want to be functional, comfortable and unique in its design, so working with a designer is the best solution you can have to create that amazing apartment you’ve always dreamed about. The young couple, who owns this 515 m2 gorgeous apartment in São Paulo, Brazil, wanted an interior design that won’t look like something commercial, but unique and refined.

So, Project 910 created by Kiko Salomão took shape and the result is stunning: a precisely detailed, exclusive and timeless interior design that exudes style and sophistication From the main entrance where a stainless steel screen welcomes you and throughout all the details, the residence goes by contemporary to modern, but always inside the minimalist premisses of Kiko Salomão firm. The spacious interior is very elegant and full of personality, ideal for someone who is fond of art and good taste. With a color palette composed predominantly of gray tones, white and brown, the apartment is filled with modern, exquisite decor details such as lighting fixtures, vases, art paintings, revealing a sober, yet inviting atmosphere. Project 910 is really inspiring and really cool as a home, wouldn’t you agree?

Photos © Alain Brugier

March 6, 2013