Concrete Tubohotel!

This eco-friendly hotel in Mexico was designed by T3arc Architects. The "TuboHotel", built using old concrete pipes, is made up of 20 rooms, which have been arranged in modular pyramid forms. Simple but lovely!

Ron Arad's Curtain Call

Curtain Call, designed by Ron Arad, is an interactive installation at the Roundhouse in Camden 

The floor-to-ceiling cineamtic curtain, composed of hanging silicon tubing,

shimmers with animated visuals by 12 artists. It has avery futuristic feel.

The audience within the curtain watching the spectacle in semi-darkness.
The curtain was an original concept in a building full of character

"Pianorama": a lighthearted audio visual composition by Christian Marclay,
featuring a keyboard looped in a giant circle, played by many hands.

My favourite piece was Ori Gershts "Offering". Half the curtain had images of
 a bullfighter  being silently dressed for a fight, whilst the other half shows crowds
 watching a fight nervously. I felt as if I was in the actual bull ring!



Excerpts of visuals by David Shrigley, Hussein Chalayan, Babis Alexiadis & Mat Collishaw
..yet another innovative installation at this wonderful cultural venue!

 

Living in a bubble!

Camping with a difference! I stumbled accross an article featuring these futuristic looking "bubble huts". There's something quite indulgent and unnecessary about them...but yet I'd love to have one!

French designer, Pierre Stephane Dumas, created the portable, transparent units. They are big enough to house a king size bed. The bubble offers shelter whilst allowing the occupant to be closer to nature, sleeping under the stars! 

Futuristic seating in Clerkenwell Prison

The catacombs and former "cells"of Clerkenwell House of detention, built almost 400 years ago, was the backdrop for designers to showcase their work during the recent Clerkenwell Design week. It was an amazing venue! My favourite exhibit was this futuristic and very comfy looking "Hive" chair, crafted by Raw studio.  

The prison was rebuilt three times

During the 2nd World war, part of the prison
was converted in to a bomb shelter

When the prison was demolished, the Hugh Mydletton
school was built in it's place, but the catacombs remained
under the school playground.

Very rarely opened to the public, the prison is now used for
office storage and as a film set, most recently
 for Sherlock Holmes and St Trinians

Cloud Gate!

I love the iconic Cloud Gate (2006) in Chicago, designed by Bombay born Anish Kapoor. Affectionately known as “The Bean”, the 110-ton elliptical sculpture is forged of a seamless series of highly polished stainless steel plates, reflecting the city's skyline and clouds. Its mirror-like surface was inspired by liquid mercury.

Although a fraction of the size, The Bean reminds me of the Pebble outside the Bridgewater Hall in Manchester, an 18-ton polished marble by Japanese artist Kan Yasuda.

Earlier this year, I enjoyed Anish Kapoor's exhibition of outdoor sculptures in Kensington Gardens; "Turning the world upside down".Resonant of The Bean, the sculptures were constructed from highly reflective stainless steel, with giant curved mirror surfaces. I particularly liked Sky Mirror on the Serpentine, aka Swan Lake!

Ku Dé Ta (Our bar!)

During a gorgeous holiday in Singapore recently, I adored the architecture, ranging from colonial shophouses to daring feats of engineering. My favourite building was one of the newest additions to the landscape - the iconic Marina Bay Sands resort, a hotel complete with a sky park balanced on the top of 3 towers, 57 floors high!

It's hard to believe that this impressive building is built on reclaimed land. 

The park is home to an infinity pool, a restaurant and a bar.

The interior views are impressive with an Antony Gormley sculpture suspended in the atrium.

The Ku Dé Ta bar provided the most amazing backdrop at sunset for cocktails!