Hotel Chat

I was chatting with a friend of mine who happens to be in hotel development and he was telling me some of his favorite hotels in the world. And...I agree, they are quite amazing.

Villa D'Este, Lake Como, Itlay
Only opened March through September.





Four Seasons Hotel, Gresham Palace, Budapest
The renaissance of an Art Nouveau landmark, exquisitely transformed with ultra-modern comforts, Four Seasons combines luxury and intuitive service with panoramic vistas of the Danube and the hills of Buda.

Best New Hotel 2007

And the nominees are...

Fasano Rio de Janeiro, Ipanema Beach, by Philippe Starck

Haymarket, London, by Kit Kemp

Le Bellechasse, Paris, by Christian Lacroix

The Bowery, New York, by Sean MacPherson and Eric Goode

Riva Lofts, Florence, by Claudio Nardi

Luxury With A Conscience

Barry Sternlicht's newest creation: 1 Hotel and Residence

1 redefines a new archetype of luxury in hotel and residential living: a one of a kind, sophisticated, modern environment that dares to be the best of everything without sacrificing the greater environment. Committed to protecting and preserving our resources, the creators of 1 believe that one can find sublime experiences in hospitality and in personal lifestyle experiences without diminishing the natural world.

Barricade and Initial Advertising from 1's opening location, Seattle.

My Next Vacation

W Retreat & Spa - Maldives
Opened 2007

Japan's Sewer System

These photos are amazing. To see all of them, click here

Beijing 2008 Olympic Acuatic Center

The new Aquatics Center for the 2008 Beijing Olympics. Australian architect group PTW, Arup and CCDI won an international competition to build the National Aquatics Center with a design that resembles a heavy-duty block of flavor-free Jell-O.

Kinetic Sculpture

If you have a second, this is definitely worth watching. This man apparetly uses the laws of kinetics to build movable objects powered by the wind. Not only are they amazing to see move without man-power, but they are absolutely gorgeous.

To watch, click here

Frank O. Gehry's Newest Creation

The new, landmark Hotel Marqués de Riscal, a member of the Luxury Collection, is nestled in the “City of Wine.” Designed by renowned architect Frank O. Gehry, the hotel is his second masterpiece in Spain, after Bilbao's Guggenheim Museum. His design breaks all typical hotel molds, giving a fresh and innovative perspective on hotel architecture. Take a look.

For more information, click here

Dubai

I have been hearing about Dubai for awhile now and seeing pictures of new development here and there, but after my last post I thought I 'd really check in to whats going on over there and if it was worth all the big stir. A building boom in the emirate has led to a whole host of chart breakers, in categories including highest apartment, biggest mall, and one of the world's most unique resorts.. It's amazing what man, and money, can do. Here are a FEW highlights of new developments that are going on.

THE WORLD
The World will consist of between 250 to 300 smaller private artificial islands divided into four categories - private homes, estate homes, dream resorts, and community islands. The islands, which range from 250,000 to 900,000 square feet, can be bought by individual developers or private owners -- starting at $6.85 million.

The only way to get between each island is by boat...or yacht, given the clientele. A notable engineering feat: The project incorporates two protective breakwaters to protect the islands from waves, consisting of one submerged reef (the outer breakwater) and an above-water structure (the inner breakwater)


THE PALM
The two Dubai islands, The Palm Jumeirah and The Palm Jebel Ali, will be built in the shape of date palm trees and consist of a trunk; a crown with 17 fronds; and a surrounding crescent island - the back of which forms the breakwater. Collectively, the island will support more than 60 luxury hotels, 4,000 exclusive residential villas (sale), 1,000 unique water homes (sale), 5,000 shoreline apartments (sale), marinas, water theme parks, restaurants, shopping malls, sports facilities, health spas, cinemas and various dive sites.


HYDROPOLIS
This hotel, the world's first underwater luxury resort, brings new meaning to the "ocean-view room." Situated 66 feet below the surface of the Persian Gulf, Hydropolis will feature 220 guest suites. Reinforced by concrete and steel, its Plexiglas walls and bubble-shaped dome ceilings offer sights of fish and other sea creatures. It's scheduled to open in late 2007.



DUBAILAND
A standout section of the sprawling, 3-billion-square-foot theme-park-like development known as Dubailand, Sports City will offer visitors a staggering variety of athletic venues, from elegant, gigantic stadia to state-of-the-art participatory parks for skateboarding, indoor rock climbing, and other activities. Not to mention facilities for polo, car racing, golf, and extreme sports.


DUBAI MALL
Thirty-five million people are expected to visit the Dubai Mall, developed by Emaar Properties, during 2006, its inaugural year. There's plenty to do, since, at more than 5 million square feet, it's the biggest mall in the world. It will house 15 sub-malls, a skating rink, an aquarium, and the planet's biggest gold souk (market). DP Architects


BURJ DUBAI
The Burj Dubai will be the world's tallest building when it opens in 2009. Its shape is inspired by the indigenous desert flowers that often appear as decorative patterns in Islamic architecture, but it also has an engineering purpose: The swirl shape ensures that the mass of the structure lessens as it reaches the top, making the structure steadier. A mixed-use building developed by Dubai's Emaar Properties, the Burj Dubai will house shops, offices, residences, and entertainment venues. Skidmore, Owings & Merrill


BUSINESS BAY (UNDER CONSTRUCTION)


DANCING TOWERS (PROPOSED)


TRUMP TOWER (PROPOSED)

Arab Money

Ski Dubai in Dubai Emirates Mall started in December 2005 is the worlds third largest indoor ski slope, measuring 400 meters and using 6000 tons of snow. Take a look.

New York Celebrates Moleskin

From June 1st to June 29th [Detour:The Moleskine City Notebook Experience] is on display at the Art Directors Club in NYC. The 70 notebooks given by Moleskine to some of the most creative artists, architects, film directors, graphic designers, illustrators, and writers around the world, fill the endless corridor of the ADC in a project designed by Zetalab to support Lettera 27 , a non-profit organization whose mission is to defend the right to literacy and education in the world's most deprived areas.

And one of my personal favorites from Ruben Toledo's sketchbook.



To view other pictures from the exhibition, go to molskinerie.com

Japan's First Solar Powered Condo

Why are they so much more advanced than we are?!?


The Gradia Solare's roof is covered with photovoltaics, 1530 watts per apartment plus some surplus for the common areas. It appears that the solar panels are owned and managed by an outside company for fifteen years and then transferred to the Condo corporation, which probably keeps the upfront costs out of the sale price of the units. The building is full of features, including "Eco-cute" combo heat pumps for domestic water and heating, high efficiency appliances and filtered ventilation air. Various technologies are supposed to "reduce carbon dioxide emissions equivalent to the amount absorbed by approximately 4,200 cedar trees"- They could plant some more instead of that sea of asphalt around the building.

Grand Canyon Skywalk

Grand Canyon West, a destination owned and operated by the Hualapai Tribe at the Grand Canyon’s western rim, announces March 28, 2007 as the official public opening date of The Skywalk. The Skywalk will be the first-ever cantilever shaped glass walkway to suspend more than 4,000 feet above the canyon’s floor and extend 70 feet from the canyon’s rim.

renderings...

and actual construction...