The Lab
Friday 12 June 2009.-.12 47 pm
Starck's Floating Design
A very special mega-yacht recently paid a visit to the Danish harbour Langelinie (near the Little Mermaid). The Sigma yacht, simply named "A" after the Russian billionaire and owner Andrey Melnichenko´s wife, Alexandra, looks nothing like a normal yacht.
When approaching the yacht from a distance you are not quite sure what you are looking at. Is it a house? Is it a plane? This is the refreshing thing about Philippe Starck's products, whether it is yachts, kitchen utilities, motorbikes or any other product from his hand. He really reinterprets and reshapes any product.
Starck has a very different design approach, compared to Danish design. I once saw an interview with Starck in which he was doodling while being interviewed. When asked what he was drawing on the paper, he simply answered: "Don't know. Maybe it´s an ashtray. Maybe it´s a skyscraper". He´s wonderfully unconventional and works nothing like a functionalist, much different from our perspective of creating an Instrument or a watch.
The French has a 500-year long understanding of form and design. No wonder the best fashion originates from France, as the French design approach is more about the look and less about the function.
I consider Starck as one of the biggest design icons ever and am a huge fan of his creativity. The way he manages to put a different story into every product that leaves his hand is truly fascinating. The three first photos of "A" here were shot by a follow Dane, and Linde Werdelin Hard Black owner, Martin Geisler.
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Wednesday 15 April 2009.-.11 43 pm
Chesa Futura

Every year for the last ten years, I have returned with my family to ski in the Swiss town, St. Moritz. This is where Norman Foster built Chesa Futura from 2000-2004, a futuristic, yet very traditional building that breaks the conformity of the typical mountain village architecture in this little skiresort.

I have followed the creation of this amazing building since the very start and every year I look forward to see the progression of the patina, caused by the layers of snow on the wooden construction. 

The house looks like a big pumpkin, a donut even, and is a fascinating view. Both from a distance and inside the apartments. This is Fosters own description of Chesa Futura (as the house is called):  

"Although small, the site of the Chesa Futura apartment house is located on the edge of a slope, looking down over the village of St. Moritz towards the lake. Fusing state-of-the-art computer design tools with centuries-old construction techniques, it is an environmentally sensitive building that is seamlessly inserted into the spectacular landscape."

Pictures borrowed from www.fosterandpartners.com 


See a short video of the house here: Chesa Futura
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Monday 6 April 2009.-.3 56 pm
Danish Springtime

Spring had finally arrived to Denmark, once we returned. After showing our new watches at the offices, I decided to bring the visiting journalist to see Ordrupgaard in all its glory.

Ordrupgaard is an art gallery, and originally build in 1815 as a country estate and showcase for insurance magnate Wilhelm Hansen’s remarkable collection of French Impressionist and Danish paintings. 

Between the main building the Juhl house, Iraqi female architect, Zaha Hadid designed a spectacular building that looks like it was made out of black lava concrete skin. This building doubled the exhibition place at Ordupgaard as well as works as the gallery restaurant.
I really love this place, especially in early spring. It is a very inspirational place that shows true Danish design values as well as the bravery that our design tradition also contains of. If you visit Copenhagen, you really should visit Ordrupgaard and have a look yourself.
http://www.ordrupgaard.dk/
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