Hasta La Ideas

Hackney design studio Very Good & Proper used glossy tiles salvaged from the London Underground in the Covent Garden branch of restaurant chain Canteen (+ slideshow).

The studio have combined contemporary furniture with vintage details to create an interior that complements Canteen’s British menu.

Diners can choose to sit at an oak table or in a retro dining booth.

The bar area has a zinc counter top and reclaimed Victorian mosaic tiles cover the floor.

Very Good & Proper designed the bar stools and the brass wall hooks, as well as the brass and oak Canteen Utility Chair, which can be found in all Canteen restaurants. Dezeen featured the chair when it launched at London Design Festival in 2009.

The restaurant is located on the ground floor of the Lyceum Theatre near Covent Garden.

Photography is by Ed Reeve.

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Here’s some more information from the designers:

Canteen is celebrated not only for its all day menu but also for its progressive approach to design. The restaurant group designs and produces its own furniture, through British design studio Very Good & Proper. The ‘Canteen Utility Chair’ is hugely popular, and is found in each Canteen restaurant, its design and style now instantly recognisable. However, the chair is not solely for Canteen or just restaurant use, it can now also be found in sought-after locations around the world – MoMA Sweden, BBC and Channel 4 creative meeting spaces, and the new Facebook headquarters in San Francisco. The chair is sold through leading international design retailers. The Canteen Utility Chair has been redefined for Canteen Covent Garden with brushed brass metalwork.

With the original façade of the building dating from the 1830s, Canteen’s contemporary design is juxtaposed with the ornate molding around the tall windows and front doors. The bar area is sleek and inviting with its zinc bar top, Very Good & Proper designed bar stools and chairs and reclaimed Victorian mosaic floor tiles.

A slope leads down to the large oak herringbone-floored dining room with booth seating lined against a tiled wall (original tiles used by London Underground); the ‘Covent Garden Chair’ in various colours sits at the round tables, while the brushed brass Canteen Utility Chair lines the long tables beneath the windows.

Canteen Covent Garden is designed by VG&P, currently exhibiting at Clerkenwell Design Week and nominated for Design Museum Design of the Year 2012.
Canteen Hook and Knob – Limited edition brass knob and fire engine red hook
Canteen Utility Chair – limited edition brass frame with oak seat
Covent Garden Club Chair – designed and named specifically for this restaurant
Croquet shelving (new product, available to order soon)

The post Canteen Covent Garden
by Very Good & Proper appeared first on Dezeen.

The owner of a nouveau salon shares her top spots to visit

A combination art gallery and hair salon, L’atelier Friseur is the brainchild of French hairstylist Julie Monin, who moved to Berlin five years ago from London. Three years ago, noticing a lack of distinct stylists in Berlin, Monin chose to open up a salon of her own in Kreuzberg, a neighborhood formerly overrun by cheap chop shops but she describes now as “really special.” “People here may not have a lot of money, but they come here because they feel free,” she adds.

Every three months Monin invites an artist to take over the salon’s interior walls and paint or decorate it however they want, which is marked by a party with performances by some of Berlin’s best electronic artists. As an international stylist fully immersed in the local arts scene, we had to ask Monin for her top city picks. Next time you’re in Berlin, here’s what she says not to miss.

Buscaglione

Nea and Steffen run this coffee shop and café in Mitte. Try the great sandwiches made by Steffen, who takes care of all the food and always uses top notch ingredients. Nea, who’s Brazilian, gives off a contagious energy and good mood that’s just what you need in the morning to get your day started.

OlioBiscotti

You’d never find this little bakery unless you were looking for it. Owners Claudio and Cora brew some of the best coffee in Kreuzberg. Have lunch or an early dinner and try their excellent paninis and italian charcuteries, pasta, salsa and wine. They can also do kitchen courses for groups.

Motto Berlin

I get all the books for the salon from Alexis, a French guy who owns this well curated arts book and magazine store just across the street from L’atelier Friseur.

Archive Kabinett

A strange and lovely artsy bookstore that hosts events and exhibitions and gives a student discount. They are both a book seller and publisher of artists’ books, monographs and three magazines, Archive Journal, The Exhibitionist, and No Order, Art in a Post-Fordist Society.

HBC

Stephan, who also runs the Weltempfänger Café, is the owner of this all-in-one Alexanderplatz destination. When I don’t know what to do or where to go, I go to HBC because I’m sure to find friends, good food, interesting, crazy music or exhibitions. There’s always something happening for all tastes.

Vai Mo

Run by a small Italian family, this is Italian food like your grandmother makes it—if you have an Italian grandmother, that is. If you don’t, come to Vai Mo for la cucina della mama, an authentic meal like you don’t see in many other restaurants.

Saveur Champagne

Saveur Champagne is my absolute favorite! The owner not only offers a great selection of wines, but he sells cheese and charcuterie, too. Come on Saturday or Sunday for the shops’ weekend food market where you can pick up a wider selection of delicacies to snack on while you sip your wine.

A Loja

A fun concept shop in the heart of Kreuzberg, A Loja fuses fashion, art and design. This is a great place to pick up something unique from a young new designer your friends back home will have never heard of.

Galleries

When you go gallery hopping be sure to check out Appel Design, the best design gallery in the city. Then head to L’atelier Kunst Spiel Raum for conceptual art and work in progress. Galerie Thomas Fischer is a small, smart gallery with great shows and an ideal location.

Test tubes of olive oil line one wall of this high-tech workshop designed for Michelin-starred chef Paco Roncero by Spanish studio Carmen Baselga Taller de Proyectos.

Located in the nineteenth century Casino de Madrid building, which also houses his Terraza del Casino restaurant, the workshop provides a space for olive-oil expert Roncero to experiment with new ideas.

The room, which is higher than it is wide, had significant damage to its floors and mouldings. Carmen Baselga’s studio renovated the space in collaboration with designers S3-Tau and created a clean white interior with room to seat nine people.

Along one wall is the ‘oleotec’, which holds 216 types of olive oil in glass test tubes. The oils are identified by the numbers and the letters engraved alongside them, while a touch screen provides information about each one.

The ceramic table has heated areas to keep plates warm or cool as required, while vibrating areas help to prepare certain dishes. A cooking hob and tap are integrated into the table, and guests can even take notes directly onto the surface.

Diffusers are installed inside hanging tubes to vaporise water and maintain the correct humidity. Some diffusers also hold unusual custom-made scents, including mushroom and humid grass.

Appliances including a dishwasher and fridge are hidden inside ash-panelled units along the walls.

A translucent screen, printed with an image of Roncero’s hands, lets light enter the room without glare.

Photographs are by Gerald Kiernan.

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Here’s some more information from the designers:

Projecting Paco Roncero’s dream:
An innovative project of multisensory gastronomy

Project: Paco Roncero workshop in The Casino of Madrid
Designed by: Carmen Baselga Taller de Proyectos in collaboration with S3-Tau (departament of Innovación from Tau firm).
Paco Roncero: Chef with three “Repsol Sun”, two Michelín Stars and a Nacional award of Gastronomy 2006. Olive oil specialist.

The project takes place in a space where the most advanced technologies, the new materials and ecosustainable systems for the I+D+I will be put together with the risqué gastronomic proposals of a perfect technique from the chef.

The place

The space is Paco Roncero’s gastronomic research workshop of Paco Roncero, where the chef develops his new creations. It is a place to experiment in the double meaning of the word, that is, testing, trying; but also to experiment with the meaning of feeling and perceiving. And with this aim the surroundings and the different work spaces have been designed.

This place will allow an exploration of the relationships between gastronomy and the surrounding: human perception from the influence of, for example, certain colors, shapes and flavors; or from environmental comfort variables such as temperature, humidity, sound and light, manipulated in the search of well-being, or looking to generate different types of sensations that result in emotions, trying to build, with all this, a synesthetic experience where taste is the backbone.

The place is located on the same floor as the libraries in the old “Casino de Madrid”, in C/Alcalá number 15. It is not accessible to the general public, because it is a private work area. To the different sessions, lunches or experimental dinners that are going to be programmed with certain cadence, one can only go with direct invitation from the chef, due to the fact that they will be forming part of the research project.

The room has very peculiar proportions; it is very long and it is higher than it is wide, with a big entrance door at each end; one of them is linked to an office to support the running of the workshop, that has also been designed inside the project. There is a running theme of the materials and base colours throughout. The other door links to the noble areas of the Casino and this is where the guests will enter and leave.

At the beginning we found a space dating back to 1910, but very damaged with old, however not antique, floors that had replaced the original ones made of wood, some of which could be found with an old fitted carpet in some areas. Some of the decorative molding was broken and in general both ceilings and walls appeared to be covered with stippled-finish paint which ran over the surface of the room indiscriminately above the mouldings and decorative reliefs. Cables, gutters or switches of different models and periods were superimposed depending on the needs of the offices that had been there. The air conditioning installation, as it was on the surface was very invasive; it had a lot of presence and had ruined part of the ceiling and the walls.

The aim was to create a big white box that kept the character of its time, whereupon the first work was the rehabilitation. Inside this box, in a superimposed way allowing the difference between the past and present to be seen, the space was projected, designing the different elements that modernized it and defined it with a contemporary and changeable character thanks to technology (projections, different types of lighting, sound, scents, etc…).

The access

Like with every liturgical ritual, first of all you need to go through water. The first thing you find when you arrive, just behind the door, is a washbasin welcoming you. This washbasin is the model Kubo from Boing, made of flexible polyurethane, and the tap is the Ondus model from Grohe. Two clothes racks, made of stainless steel and designed by Carmen Baselga_Taller de proyectos, flank the sides of the main entrance.

El pavimento

The floor is particularly special as it incorporates the heating system for this room with the Waytec System with heated sheets and automatic temperature control. This is the Colortech 60×60 natural white model from Tau, which continues in line with the rest of the ceramic materials used in the project. This shows the different applications and uses of the product Keraon from Tau, chosen in this case in natural white colour.

The table

Conceived as a type of large worktop to test new dishes, there is also room to seat nine guests including the chef. The surface is made of keraon (Tau ceramic) and the structure of the table legs is made of ash. Under this naive appearance, multiple uses are hidden, thanks to the technology that lives inside it and thanks to the goodness of the ceramic surface that allows the most sophisticated effects to combine with something as basic as, for example, taking notes or sketching directly on the table.

The water and fire areas are integrated into the table to be able to cook, however there are also capacitative sensors to control the sound or the temperature of the table. It has nine individual heated areas whose function is keep the plate warm, another hotter area and a cooling area near the kitchen area, as well as zones of agitation and vibration between the guests that will help to prepare certain dishes during the meal. The tap is K7 Digital model from Grohe, that has a wireless control. It is an innovation that is shown in this space as a novelty.

The chairs

The chairs were designed based on special needs, taking into account that the height would not be the habitual for an eating chair, because they have to be used with the table/worktop that is 97cm high. On the one hand we were searching for comfort; they have to be comfortable for a meal and its after-lunch/after-dinner conversation. On the other hand, an essential requirement was that they had to be of adjustable height and swivel with wheels to allow full mobility. From all of this, a hybrid chair was invented, between what would be an office seat, a kitchen chair and an armchair. As a chair/armchair, the model Tauro from Andreu World offered us all the guarantees of comfort, and starting from here appropriate modifications were made to reach the planned aims.

The oleotec

This has a capacity for 216 types of olive oil that the chef will be selecting as an expert in olive oil. It was created using the mural system Dry System, in Keraon in natural white color, combining bright and matt surfaces, where the numbers and the letters are engraved to be able to identify each oil. The touch screen located in the center gives the information about every product in this oil panel. When the oleotec was designed, a convection cooling system was created, leaving a free space in the upper and the lower part, which is the same principle that “Trombe wall” used in passive solar projects. In this way, the oils do not heat up, inside it keeps them all at the same temperature. For this reason, we also chose a cold light to light them from behind. In addition to seeing the real color of each oil, it creates a very singular atmosphere as the light is emitted through the oil test tubes.

The electrical appliances and the furniture that integrate them

All the electrical appliances are new models from Miele. We have a cutting-edge induction hob in white, some ovens, a large capacity fridge, “vinoteca” and a dishwasher. These electrical appliances are integrated into the furniture units that surround the room on each side, and at the same time they are not in your direct view when you enter the space. These furniture units are paneled with ash, integrating different inspection hatches to gain access to both electrical and plumbing installations. That means it is very easy to make changes to these installations, if needs be.

The ceiling: the hanging tray, the mobiles

Another aim was to integrate the technology (which is a lot) and leave some bridges that allow the installations to be enlarged and modified very easily without damaging the space every time. That is why we designed the hanging tray from the ceiling, an accessible floor, while leaving a space in the inside part. The worktop’s legs are communicated directly with this free cavity, which is accessible from the lower part. The tubes that emerge from the central hanging tray had been conceived to house different types of lighting, projectors, cameras, scent spreadings, extraction systems in the kitchen area, etc.

It is a space that is best measured in cubic meters than in square. 235 m3 are completely used, due to the fact that it is possible to work both lengthwise and widthwise, as it is as wide as it is high. In the upper part, on both sides of the central tray, two mechanical arms move back projection moving screens that are used to create different atmospheres and/or to support the images that can be projected onto the table. They can adopt different positions, either close to or far from the guests.

Above the access area, there is also a digital blackboard, that, when it goes down, is placed in front of the furniture unit nearest to the chef’s chair, which allows for punctual theoretical talks.

The sound

Surround-sound speakers in the ceiling and under the table have been installed.

The scents

This has been done through diffusers installed inside the tubes located in the hanging tray. These diffusers are also going to provide the space with the necessary humidity degree, just vaporizing water, without scents. Several scents have been expressly created for this space, as for example the sea smell, or a mushroom and humid grass that will be useful for supporting certain moments.

The curtains and the hands

Three motorized rolls of 220 cm wide x 438 cm high cover the three large windows of the room. Two layers, one of them completely opaque to make the space darker, and another made of translucent screen, which has the printed image of the chef’s hands and it is the one that will be used during the working daytime hours as it it lets the light enter in a sifted way.

The huge pictures of Paco Roncero’s hands manipulating and molding are a clear allegory to the kitchen as transformation, and it was considered from the basic transformation, the most natural that exists, which is water passing through its three states: solid, liquid and gaseous.

Domótica

The installation of a domotic system shows the programmation of different scenes during lunches or dinners, combining lights, sound, projections from the ceiling projectors and the movement of them, projections on the table, different effects, the use of a camera, etc.

Williamsburg’s newest hotel stays true to its Brooklyn roots

Housed in a renovated factory building on the Williamsburg waterfront, the Wythe Hotel marks the long-due maturation of the booming Brooklyn neighborhood. The place embraces local flavor by blending grungy industrial looks with luxe hospitality, and there’s plenty of buzz around the involvement of restaurateur Andrew Tarlow of Marlow & Sons and Diner fame. “It’s a grown-up version of what’s happening in Brooklyn,” says Tarlow of the Wythe. At present, it stands as a beacon for the direction of Williamsburg, a place to stay and feel at home in one of the hippest corners of NYC.

The 100-year-old building represents what’s left of an old cooperage that was renovated to suit the wants and needs of hotel guests. “We fell in love with the building on day one and just wanted to show it off as much as possible,” explains Peter Lawrence, who along with Tarlow and Jed Walentas make up the trio of partners behind the Wythe Hotel. “We stripped everything down to the bare bones—the cast iron columns and the timbers and the exterior wall,” says Lawrence.

Details like rusted ceiling tracks add to the flavor of the historic building, as does a floor-to-ceiling illustration depicting the history of Brooklyn in the lobby. While the skeleton of the original building remained relatively untouched, a three-story add-on by architect Morris Adjmi maximizes skyline-facing views and allows for an L-shaped rooftop terrace and cocktail bar.

If you’re looking for Williamsburg in the Wythe hotel, you’ll find it in the details. Marlow & Sons provides the mini-bar accoutrements, including a selection of small-batch ice cream. Marlow Goods supplies the bathroom towels and the soap is from Goldie’s out of Rockaway, NY. Rather than incorporating a complicated tech systems, each room is equipped with a simple red audio jack connected to the room speakers. Each of the four styles of wallpaper for the hotel were custom-made by Flavor Paper, and are available from their online shop.

While the concrete floors may look industrial, heating elements ensure that your toes are cozy when walking around barefoot. Two-way mirrors in the bathrooms allow guests to enjoy the Manhattan skyline while freshening up. Commenting on the “white linen” approach of most hotels, Tarlow explains. “I don’t think hospitality is about a fine cloth. It’s more about you and I sitting down, me saying hello and, holding the door for you and all these little interactions.”

“Part of the excitement of being in this neighborhood is that it’s a creative center—not just in New York these days but internationally,” says Lawrence. “The level of talent that’s available nearby was too exciting.” Much of the furniture was made from wood salvaged during the renovation, with beds and desks repurposed by local craftsman Dave Hollier. Steve Powers, commonly known as “ESPO”, decorated the adjacent building with vintage Brooklyn logos to give non-view rooms a piece of art to look out on.

One of the quirks of the hotel is their pair of adjoining “band rooms”. Created on the recommendation of the the folks behind the Brooklyn Bowl music venue who needed a place to put up traveling music groups for the night, the bunk bed filled rooms hold six and four guests, respectively.

When it came to food, Tarlow wanted to keep up the “New American” style of his other restaurants, adding a commitment to whole beast butchering and open flame cooking. “We purchase all of our animals in whole form. A cow came in here on Monday and we’ve been going through it for the entire week—so how we move through it will inform the menu.” An on-site butcher and localvore sourcing may not be the most convenient methods for a hotel, but Tarlow wanted “Reynard’s” to stand out as a destination restaurant for locals as well as guests. For drinks, the rooftop cocktail bar provides brilliant city views under the building’s marquis lights.

A few weeks following its opening, the hotel has already garnered a strong local following. Part of their success comes from the fact that the attraction remains Williamsburg rather than just the Wythe: spa treatments and swimming pools are sacrificed in favor of a sense of place. The hotel promises to become part of the urban fabric, joining the Brooklyn Bowl and the Brooklyn Brewery as an area landmark. Rooms at the Wythe Hotel start at $179.

Wythe Hotel
80 Wythe Ave
Brooklyn, NY 11249

We check out the NYC of Israel with local fashion blogger and cultural maven Eyal de Leeuw

Head of External Relations at the Design Museum Holon just outside Tel Aviv, Eyal de Leeuw is not only a natural tour guide, but as co-founder of Israel’s leading men’s fashion blog Ha-Garconniere, he is clued into some of the most interesting city sights and the latest in urban night life. I met de Leeuw last month during Holon Design Week, and the former cultural attaché kindly took me around during what little down time we had. Here are his top seven must-sees for the city often dubbed the NYC of Israel.

Rothschild 12

Located on the well-known Rothschild Boulevard, the multifunctional Rothschild 12 is anything and everything you want it to be. For the morning it’s an excellent cafe to see and be seen and then later on a nice bar for an early afternoon drink. At night it’s a lounge-like music venue hosting a weekly lineup of young Tel Avivian bands and DJs. The best thing is you can always return to fight the hangover with a lovely weekend brunch.

Har Sinai

After Uri Lahav opened this nonchalant bar last year, Har Sinai became the ultimate hangout for both the hipsters and those who reject them. Before going out for a night of clubbing or at the end of a long working day, Har Sinai is a place to listen to great music and to find refuge in a small bar behind the largest Tel Aviv synagogue.

Cheesecake

Cheesecake is a party line led by talented musician (and local star) Assaf Amdursky and wiz-kid Oren Marzam, hosted every Thursday at the Breakfast Club (as well as Milk, its sister club next door). A small and intimate party line, Cheesecake throws together international DJs, amazing energies and a great photographer who captures the hippest of Tel Aviv’s gay-friendly crowd.

Joz & Loz

Laid back yet delicious, shabby-chic yet sexy, tranquil yet hectic—Joz & Loz has become one of the city’s best hangouts, attracting clients from the creative industries. The restaurant is the perfect place to enjoy a fresh and even poetic menu with secret performances by local musicians and long nights under the Mediterranean skies. Don’t forget to order a Noga, the special house drink.

Hotel Montefiore

Every city needs a boutique hotel to host elegant guests from abroad for a lovely weekend. Enjoy a fine French-Vietnamese dinner and have a drink at the bar, where they serve the finest dirty martini in town.

Sommer Gallery

With the absence of a serious center for contemporary art in Tel Aviv, many young and exciting art galleries have began opening up around town. Sommer Gallery has made an international name for itself by creating a new voice for the emerging Israeli art generation. While the main gallery shows an array of established local and international artists—such as Yael Bartana, Adi Nes, Darren Almond, Thomas Zipp and Wilhelm Sasnal—a smaller space in the gallery is dedicated for budding curators and artists.

Verner Boutique

Situated in the south of the city, Verner Boutique is a good stop on the way to the Jaffa flea market. The shop carries labels such as Maison Martin Margiela’s MM6 line, Acne and Alexander Wang, as well as Israeli jewelry designers.

Design Museum Holon

Eyal was too modest to include Design Museum Holon, but I can personally attest to the fact that it deserves an extended visit. Designed by Ron Arad, the exterior alone is worth the trip. After the “Designers Plus Ten” exhibition closes later this month, Yohji Yamomoto will take over the main gallery until 20 October 2012.