Located at the ninth and last level of a building in Beirut, Lebanon, this tremendous three storey apartment is articulated by architect Bernard Khoury through an independent structure capping the building. Structurally, the apartment only shares the building’s vertical circulation core, as well as the perimeter along which its two peripheral walls lie. Beyond the ninth level, the structure of this residence becomes autonomous. The result is what resembles an independent house placed atop a building. Virtually situated on the former demarcation line which separated east and west Beirut, this apartment opens up onto the hell of its city, placing it neither east nor west but in between. Whereas usual preference for Mediterranean roof apartments is to turn their backs on the urban fabric in exchange for a sea view, this apartment is oriented toward the city, taking advantage of the setbacks imposed due to the surrounding projects defining its entire periphery. The result is a thrilling mixture between futurist, reminding of a giant robot, lines combined with a way more classical interior due to the use of wood making it a true gem within the heart of Beirut. [ Continue reading ]
We are extremely proud to elaborately present lifestyle brand GERTRUD & GEORGE: the main collaborator in the very first Our Current Obsession named NOIR. The brand which is the brainchild of the very gifted Nick F. Cerutti, is a tribute to Gertrude Stein and George Sand, whose lives and respective bodies of work never ceased to redefine the art of writing and one's perception of gender. Founded in 2001 to serve bespoke and semi-bespoke purposes prominently in Japan to begin with, GERTRUD & GEORGE nurtures an intrinsic sense of equilibrium between aesthetics, function and execution in order to conceive pristine high-end goods. Since 2011 Nick and his partner Mathieu Annen have shifted their focus towards accessories and bags, which resulted in a perfect jet-black line named The Esquire Suite, consisting of 7 models which come in three different sizes and varying river buffalo grains and depths. [ Continue reading ]
We love elegant design which is boiled down to its core and the Square Wind Bell by the very talented Kouichi Okamoto of Kyouei Design inhabits everything of those elements. The designer, who first gained attention in the world of music at the end of last century and since stretched his spectrum of output significantly, created the minimum wind chime from metal and glass, utilizing the properties inherent in each of the resources used to produce sound. The Square Wind Bell is created out of two iron lower-outs covered in trivalent chrome plating, which are united to every single other by a basic slit in each and every corner, forming a mixed geometry that teeters on the edge of a consuming glass. As one plate catches the wind, the other acts as a excess weight, striking the transparent volume repeatedly and resounding with the action of the wind. Highly sophisticated and elegant. [ Continue reading ]
From December to February, if one takes a trip to the countryside of the Japanese town of Tsukuba, known for its science industry, Siberian winds meet the moist air of the Pacific and innundate the peaks and valleys with snow. Temperatures drop far below zero, and rural inhabitants must plan carefully to survive the long, hard months of winter. These icy temperatures and the sentiment of finding ways in bearing the hard atmosphere, inspired to yet another stunning series by regular collaborator Ben Ingham and Rapha for The Road collection Autumn / Winter 2014 which was designed for riding in extreme condition like the countryside of Tsukuba. The images of Ingham translate the Japanese countryside to a highly grainy aesthetic, as if the winter-cold needed to be feelable directly through the photographs, and overall spoken resulting in one of the rawest series to date which we really like. [ Continue reading ]
The latest by inspirational Lisbon-based publisher Pierre von Kleist editions brings us back to Japan. After releasing the beautiful 'Japan Drug' by António Júlio Duarte in May now follows another tremendous grainy black and white photographic book by the name of 'Tokyo Diaries'. In 2009 André Príncipe, the co-founder of Pierre von Kleist editions, and filmmaker Marco Martins travelled to Tokyo to shoot a film about elliptical narratives and the importance of the diaristic practice in Japanese photography. During one month and in a totally improvised way, the filmmakers shot hours of 16mm footage and thousands of photographs of their daily life as well as their encounters with photographers such as Nobuyoshi Araki, Daido Moriyama, Takuma Nakahira, Hiromix, Kohei Yushiyuki and Kajii Syoin. The film which was the result of this trip: 'Traces of a Diary' was subsequently shown in film festivals around the world and received the jury prize at Documenta Madrid. And now the amazing book which was created out of the 100 rolls of Tri-X 400 film which remained unused brings the essence of the beautiful trip back to printed still images. We love the character which the images transcend, capturing a dynamic energy within a highly inspirational generation of Japanese photographers perfectly. [ Continue reading ]
Last week the amazing work of the highly talented Singapore-based Michelle Yu was brought to our attention. In everything the 25-year old creates there is a sense of dark brooding energy to be found, and we particularly love the work named 'mad girl's love song' which is inspired by the poem with the same title written by American poet Sylvia Plath in 1951. Plath who suffered from depression most of her adult life, which she ended by suicide when she was 30, left an oeuvre of poems, short stories and a novel which are considered to be a significant milestone for the genre of confessional poetry, which focusses on individual experience, the psyche, personal trauma, and taboos. This sentiment of personal trauma, very apparent in 'mad girl's love song' is beautifully caught in the black and white drawing by Yu. All figurative elements in the drawing, a girl's head, hand and feet, two birds and what appears to be a set of lungs are drowning in a fire-like pool. Beautifully catching the emotions of despair and misunderstood love which are expressed by Plath. [ Continue reading ]
We really like South African BOS, employing potent African mythology and rich symbolism to articulate its message and brand of premium ice teas. The BOS brand; its packaging, which feature these familiar traditional African emblems like the lion, sirius and the celestial wolf; and the original range of ice teas (which has been extended by now) were conceived by its founder Grant Rushmere. In 2009, Rooibos farmer and entrepreneur Richard Bowsher joined Grant as a co-founder of the business. Together they established the business and launched BOS unto the South African market in June 2010, with the brand spreading worldwide since. And although a very significant growth over the last few years the company still has its core goals close to its heart: to become a globally successful brand and beverages business; which is ethically managed (from farm to table), and is inspiring to its customers, employees and business partners. [ Continue reading ]