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Chateau D'Eau. WWII Watertower Converted To A Modern Living and Working Space.





Chateau d’eau by Bham Design Studio is a complete renovation/conversion of a 30m tall concrete Belgian Watertower into a single family home and work area.



The water tower was initially built between 1938 and 1941 for and by the village of Steenokkerzeel. It has been in service until the beginning of the nineties and was used by the Nazis during the 2nd world war as a “tour de guete”. In 2004 the Royal commission agreed to preserve and protect the historical monument.



The exterior of the tower was fully renovated to its initial state. Damaged concrete columns were repaired and painted, brick joints were completely removed and replaced and the windows in the floor top were enlarged.




In 2008, Bham Design Studio began the renovations for a couple planning to live in the tower and who intended to rent part of the building once or twice a month for exclusive events targeting people looking for a workshop or seeking a unique meeting place for clients near by the airport. Every room is equipped with the latest IT technology, domotics and the possibility to install projectors virtually anywhere on the top floor.



Interior architecture
The finished conversion includes a main entrance and 2 car garage, a technical room, storage and utility, a guest room with bath and office, a circular main bedroom with it's own bath, a library, a cloak room, a cat house, a livingroom, a kitchen, a dining room and a panoramic terrace with wood flooring and outdoor shower.

An envelope inside the envelope, the combination of vertical and horizontal wengĂ© surfaces delineates the guest’s bedroom area with its own bathroom.

Bathroom



A central 4.5 meter high shower was created in the bathroom in order to maximize the water flow experience. Black tainted glass walls surround the walk in shower increasing the sense of intimacy.




Textile as visual separation from the cupboards was introduced to create a balance with the other “hard” materials and enhance the room’s acoustics.

Main Bedroom and Bath


This circular room with a dome ceiling hosts a revolving stairs leading to the upper floor and a full monolithic mirror dressing which reflects the surroundings and gradually disappears.





Wengé wood flooring contrasts with the cold nature of the mirror surfaces. Light reflection on the wood bounces providing warm reddish tones on the walls.

Kitchen and dining room







Impressive by its circular shape and large surface, the top floor affords some incredible vistas to the airplanes landing on the national airport just a quarter of a kilometer away.

The elevator block integrates a rest room, a library, the cat house and a cloak room.




Panoramic Terrace
Above the sculptural kitchen furniture, a steel bridge takes you to the terrace which provides a full panoramic view and is equipped with raised IPE wood flooring and an outdoor shower.



The preservation of existing concrete elements such as the main water conduct, concrete ceilings, concrete stairs and the 250.000 liters concrete water basin were essential to preserve the strong identity of the building.

Every visible concrete element inside was painted in dark grey in order to mark the old from the new. This choice works in both ways since it makes the contrast created makes both bright and dark stand out.

Video:


Building
Construction: 1938
Beginning of interior redesign: 2007
Surface: 450 m²
Floors: 6
Height: 30m

Architecture & interiors
Interior architect Mauro Brigham,
BHAM design studio
Interior architecture, garden, terrace and coordination of the works,
Architect Wouter Bilzen, MUNA
Renovation of the exterior and structural works.

Most pictures by Jasmine Van Hevel, n°2 by Olivier Papegnies, n°1 by Xavier Hang


Bham design studio
Rue du Canada 44
B-1190 Brussels, Belgium

New Gorgeous Collaboration From Macallan and Lalique. The Macallan Oscuro Gift Pack.




The Macallan Oscuro and Lalique: (In Asia Only)

Excellence, artistry and the pursuit of perfection come together here with The Macallan Oscuro and Lalique gift pack which is only available in limited quantities in Asia.

A beautiful sculpture with an equally beautiful single malt, it's priced at about $1,000 a set. If you’re traveling through Asia, make it a point to visit the duty free shop or other travel retail outlets and pick one up because they've only made 300.

The Macallan Oscuro and Lalique pack contains a bottle of single malt whisky, which is part of The Macallan 1824 Collection, and a Lalique crystal ‘Cheval Kazak Running Horse’ figurine. Note: some sites including Macallan's own U.S. tumblr site have reported, incorrectly, that the Lalique figurine is a decanter. It is not.).


above: The Crystal Lalique Cheval Kazak that is included in the gift set.

This limited edition - 300 having been made - of the Macallan Oscuro and Lalique gift pack was unveiled at the Hong Kong International Airport with an RSP of US $1,000.

“This is our first local partnership with Lalique (Macallan and Lalique have has several previous collaborations in other parts of the world such as the Cire Perdue) and we are very happy to have developed this exclusive gift pack together,” says Edrington’s Regional Marketing Manager Claren Wong. “The pack provides consumers with a unique and attractive choice for their gifting during festival season.”

“The Macallan Oscuro and Lalique gift pack is a perfect match; both names stand for excellence, artistry and a pursuit of perfection,” adds Lalique General Manager Montiza Tornow-Siu.



The Macallan Oscuro -the name derives from the Spanish word for ‘dark’ – is described as having a rich deep colour and intense flavour. Matured in sherry-seasoned oak casks, many of which were first fill, it is bottled at 46.5% ABV.

The Macallan is one of the most awarded and applauded single malts in the world and its peerless reputation is testament to the skill of the Masters of Spirit and Wood at The Macallan’s home in Scotland who have been responsible for its creation and maturation over the last two centuries.

info and images courtesy The Drinks Report and Macallan

Sports Imitating Art imitating Life. Cut Through L.A. Is An Art Installation As A Commercial For Nike.






I know this 2 minute film first ran about 6 months ago, but I can't watch it enough. It's more of an art installation than a TV commercial and I just love it, am just fascinated by it and wish I'd been there the day it was shot. If you don't watch sports, you may not have seen it and if you have seen it, watch it again. (A 'Making Of' video is shown at the end of the post).



Filmed in Venice Beach, CA. by director Andreas Nilsson, who has a background is set design, what unfolds is a unique traction story of how CP3 cuts through L.A. in an effort to launch the new Nike CP3.VI shoes from ad agency Weiden + Kennedy.


above: Director Andreas Nilsson on set

The staged installation features a human chain of athletes dressed to look like Paul, each representing a freeze-framed position along the trajectory of one of his notorious journeys down the court. The live installation and shoot took place on the basketball courts of Venice beach on Saturday, September 29th, 2012.






The incredible production featured over 40 performers and a bevy of props ranging from an overturned fruit cart to a flipped bicycle hanging in mid-air to showcase the nimble moves of NBA superstar Chris Paul.






Actors were carefully positioned throughout the installation, several seemingly hanging in mid-air though raised on plexiglass footholds, to demonstrate Chris Paul’s dynamic moves on the court. While mimicking Paul’s moves, the performers gracefully crash through boxes, intercept a woman and the dog she’s walking on a leash, cross through a cartoonist mid-caricature and upturn a fruit cart hanging throughout the performance space as if frozen in a series of ‘bullet time’ moments. The entire installation was captured on camera, directed by Nilsson to be edited as a short film showcasing all aspects of the production.



This video, shot in LA by production company Biscuit Dreamworks, is incredible, especially considering that the director did it all in one take.

The making of/behind the scenes video:


Full Credits
Agency: Wieden + Kennedy
Client: Jordan CP3.VI
Director: Andreas Nilsson
Prod. Co.: Biscuit Filmworks
Creative Director: Andy Ferguson
Creative Director: Brandon Mugar
Copywriter: Alexander Barrett
Art Director: Jed Heuer
Business Affairs Director: Sara Jagielski
Business Affairs Manager: Angel Cielo
EP: Dan Blaney
Brand Strategist: Ben Alter
ECD: Ian Reichenthal
ECD: Scott Vitrone
Head of Content Production: Lora Schulson
Production Company: Biscuit Filmworks
Director: Andreas Nilsson
EP: Colleen O'Donnell
Line Producer: Pete Vitale
Director of Photography: Crille Forsberg
Production Designer: Brock Houghton
Wardrobe Stylist: Shirley Kurata
Managing Director: Shawn Lacy
Production Company: Show Cobra
EP: Kate Susman
Editorial Company: Show Cobra
Editor: Dom Whitworth
Post Producer: Charlie Clark
Post Executive Producer: Kate Susman
Music and Sound Artist: Mike Snow
Producer: Pontus Winnberg

Introducing 'Everything' - The Perfume That Combines 1,400 Fragrance Samples Into One Giant 1.5 Liter Bottle.




Everything is a perfume by directors and artists Lernert & Sander consisting of new fragrances that were launched in 2012.

Over the last year Lernert & Sander collected almost 1,400 samples of newly launched fragrances.






By mixing the content of all of these bottles, they created 1.5 liter of Everything.



This unique (and I'm guessing, odiferous) perfume comes in a specially designed and hand blown bottle, an enlargement of a classic sample bottle.



If you're in Paris between March 1st to 9th, the bottle will be showcased at Colette on 213 Rue St-Honoré where you can have a rare chance to try it.

Credits:
Concept & Design: Lernert & Sander
Producer: Maarten Le Roy (Wrong)
Graphic design: Veronica Ditting
Styling: Ferry van der Nat
Light & technique: Ram van Meel
Carpenter: Hadewig Steenwinkel
Special thanks to Ferry van der Nat, all the people at Wrong and our interns David in den Bosch, Mathijs Kok & Derek van Egmond.

Fill In The Cat. Negative Space Furnishings from NEL.




I'd already posted about their dog-like furniture (Pack of Dogs teak shelves) when I spotted this project by NEL, the collective of Mexican designers. A study in negative space, Fill In The Cat consists of chairs, shelves and ottomans from which three characters have been removed from large white blocks.



The resulting emptiness is filled with the user's belongings and through this action the silhouettes' meaning shifts. The pieces suggest a continuous play between interaction and representation, where daily use generates a continuously changing story: a cat that reads Italo Calvino, a book filled with coins, a living room where birds come to eat the cake's crumbles…







FILL IN THE CAT
Year: 2006
Participants: Ricardo Casas, Héctor Esrawe, Emiliano Godoy, Cecilia León de la Barra, Óscar Núñez

About NEL
NEL is a platform for experimentation formed by an evolving collective of Mexican designers. The collective, founded in 2004, serves as a channel tocreate and exhibit projects that focus on the conceptual and playful side of design. The organic nature of the collective allows for an ever changing pool of designers, which in turn generates a wide variety of projects that range from political statements to playful storytelling or aesthetic explorations.

The members of NEL are Ricardo Casas (1979), Alejandro Castro (1983), HĂ©ctor Esrawe (1968), Emiliano Godoy (1974) and Cecilia LeĂłn de la Barra (1975).

Heineken X Ed Banger Records Glow In The Dark Bottle by So Me.




Keep an eye out for this fun limited edition collaborative bottle design representing the dual anniversary of Heineken (140 years) and Parisian Record Label Ed Banger (10 years).



The bottle has been designed by Ed Banger Record's graphic designer and animator Bertrand Lagros de Langeron who goes by the name of So Me. Although it was posted on High Snobiety, they failed to mention the coolest aspect of the design.... it glows in the dark!



To celebrate 10 years, Ed Banger Records is organizing the party of the century, the 1st of March at the Halle de la Villette. 10 years of music, parties, fun and friendship naturally leads us to lend our support by installing a water-bar on site for the revelers.




For the occasion, Colette will exhibit the 12 most significant SO ME album covers in their water-bar, where you can also find Heineken x Ed Banger 140th anniversary collaborative bottles (available as of March 4) and box set (March 20).

The special boxed set has So Me's graphics, acoustic foam and includes the glow in the dark bottle as well as a Lowdi wireless speaker:


Also coming soon: a book (shown below) celebrating the "Work, Family, Party" spirit, with 400 photos selected by SO ME as well as a compilation.



You can pre-order the Heineken X Ed Banger bottle here at Colette.

images courtesy of Colette and Ed Banger Records



Despite Duo Dior Dress Debacles, Jennifer Lawrence Is Picture Perfect In New Miss Dior Campaign.




Despite her difficulties donning Dior Couture - she experienced one wardrobe malfunction at The 2013 SAG awards (photo below) and her pink Dior Couture gown caused her to trip ascending the stairs to collect her Best Actress Oscar at last week's Academy Awards - Jennifer Lawrence is the new face of Miss Dior's Spring handbag line and was photographed by Belgian photographer Willy Vanderperre for the new ad campaign (images shown further down in the post).



above: Not one, but two, Dior dress debacles for Jennifer Lawrence as she goes to the stage to receive her honors at the SAG Awards and The Oscars, respectively.

In the new stunning color and black and white photos the 22 year old actress wears pieces from Dior's Spring 2013 ready-to-wear collection including a white tuxedo dress, a black trouser suit, a netted veil and the key styles from the Miss Dior handbag line.





Jennifer told WWD: 'It's such a dream to represent an iconic brand that is synonymous with high fashion. It's impossible to be in the industry without getting even the slightest introduction to fashion.'




Ever since the actress was named as the new face of the handbag line, replacing actress Mila Kunis, she has hit the red carpet during the 2013 awards season in a string of stunning Dior gowns and dresses:




above: Jennifer Lawrence wearing seven different Dior gowns or dresses to award shows and premieres

Dresses include the troublesome midnight blue dress that she wore to the SAG Awards in January, the embellished blush pink gown that she chose for the BAFTAs last month and, most recently, the pale pink and white Fairytale-like strapless gown she donned to collect her Best Actress Oscar.

And if you are not aware of the hilarious viral Dior Ad spoof by i-nsan, take a look:



A look at the making of the Miss Dior handbag campaign:

additional info courtesy of Marie Claire 

Dior Couture
Willy Vanderperre

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