kontaktmag | modern living - forward thinking» design innovation

Publisher at Large: Belga Queen

Don Crossland — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 20:09:11 +0000

At first glance, Ghent, Belgium might not seem to be a great city for the modern design enthusiast. It is clearly an old city steeped with history. However, while the city has worked to preserve it’s history and especially the medieval look of the city center, most of the preservation is of the building façades. [...]

Blu Dot’s Real Good Experiment

Don Crossland — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 19:37:38 +0000

November 4th & 5th, Blu Dot launched the Real Good Experiment. The experiment was inspired by the tendency for New Yorkers to leave stuff out on the sidewalk they no longer want and other New Yorkers tendencies to snatch up said items rather quickly. The Real Good Experiment involved Blu Dot to put out 25 [...]

Publisher at Large: Design Market-Ghent, Belgium

Don Crossland — Sun, 20 Sep 2009 11:21:30 +0000

This is the first of many posts of my travels to Belgium and Germany. I am in the city of Ghent located 53 km northwest of Brussels. Ghent is one of the oldest cities in northern Europe and the history shows. I am staying at the Ghent River Hotel in the heart of the city. Just [...]

Michelberger Hotel set to Open in Berlin

Don Crossland — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 22:04:57 +0000

Hotel veterans might say newcomer Tom Michelberger is playing at being a hotelier which would be fine by him as “play” is a central theme to his brand new hotel. The “first” Michelberger Hotel is set to open in September near the Oberbaum bridge over the river Spree in Berlin, Germany. The entire team behind the [...]

Bach and Hadid Collaboration

Don Crossland — Thu, 23 Jul 2009 04:33:49 +0000

The Manchester International Festival is a cultural extravaganza that occurred throughout the city of Manchester, England for the first three weeks of July. The event drew performers of many disciplines from around the world. It also attracted one well-known architect-Zaha Hadid. Zaha Hadid was commissioned to create a unique intimate space at the Manchester Art Museum [...]

SEVVA – Hong Kong

Don Crossland — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 15:56:36 +0000

SEVVA (pronounced savor) is the newest “it” spot in downtown Hong Kong. Hong Kong style icon and SEVVA creator, Bonnie Gokson enlisted the aid of Calvin Tsao of Tsao & McKown Architects in New York to design the 13,000 sq ft space. The new restaurant/club, located on the 25-floor penthouse of the Prince Building, is divided [...]

Rafael del Pino Auditorium-Madrid, Spain

Don Crossland — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 04:03:36 +0000

When Spanish architect, Rafael de La-Hoz Castanys was asked to design an auditorium located in the old garden of the palacete built by Salaberry in 1907, he took the context of the location very seriously. Based on the garden that previously existed in the same space, the Rafael del Pino Auditorium in Madrid, Spain is transparent [...]

Zaha Hadid and Artemide

staff — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 21:23:14 +0000

Everyone seems to be slowing down a little bit, especially in the design sector. Everyone except Zaha Hadid, that is. Even before the architectural slow-down, Hadid had been lending her design aesthetic to the world of product design. Some of Haid’s creations include shoes for Melissa and Lacoste and lighting for Swarovski. Hadid’s latest lighting venture [...]

LFTP: Final thoughts on PCDF 09

Don Crossland — Fri, 01 May 2009 15:41:09 +0000

It’s been a week now and I’ve had some time to reflect on the triumphs and tribulations of this year’s PCDF. For obvious reasons, the show was smaller than last year which was part of the reason of the change in venue. The Anchor Manufacturing Building turned out to be an aesthetic match for the show [...]

Alessi and haus modern living

Susie Fishleder — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 21:48:45 +0000

Find them here. No wait, there. No wait – they’ve moved again! haus modern living has seen many homes over the last seven years. But with the two current locations, they seem to have found the perfect place to return to their roots. Owners Lew Gallo, Gregory Gordon and Brad Plumley originally opened haus modern living [...]