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AN<br />
NE<br />
An Insight behind<br />
the mind of<br />
L.A Interior<br />
Designer<br />
Ryan<br />
Saghian<br />
“ Transform<br />
through Music<br />
inspire by Light”<br />
Started as a<br />
Coffee stain<br />
ended as<br />
“The<br />
Divorce<br />
Diary”<br />
2017<br />
SECOND ISSUE
AN<br />
NE<br />
ANNE’S MAGAZINE
“Music is liquid architecture; Architecture is frozen music.”<br />
- Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe
D esign . ..<br />
C reate . ..<br />
I nspire
A N N E<br />
First note strung passionately with a vibrato by a string of a violin.<br />
As the tempo picks up the Crescendo was introduced, harmonized with the<br />
soft tones of the remaining orchestra. That there, was the sound of my<br />
inspiration.<br />
As listening to Rieding, Oskar violin concerto op. 35, the sound of each<br />
note guided my hands. The movement of the interior space flowed with the<br />
melody of the music. The soft pastel colors accented by the vibrant tones<br />
of copper gold complimented by the diminuendos and the crescendos.<br />
“Architecture is frozen music”.<br />
How would a building sound like if the architect was instead a<br />
composer? Where each note and bar were a medium of lines and shapes?<br />
Just as we express ourselves through art and music, the process of<br />
creation, especially through a building is connected to one’s need to<br />
express oneself.<br />
I’ve always used music as my escape rout from all the Chaos and the<br />
distractions of my surroundings. With just one small note, it can easily<br />
turn into a masterpiece of a building. Just as my father said, “listen to<br />
the flow of the music and follow its rhythm, it will guide your mind. Just<br />
look at the flow of a building, look how the architect carefully assembled<br />
each wall element creating its movement becoming one entirety, just as a<br />
composer carefully arranged each note of a concerto”. This is proof that<br />
Architecture is indeed frozen music.<br />
Anneelmeri
SECOND ISSUE 2017<br />
AN<br />
NE<br />
Founder and Editor in Chief<br />
Anne EL Meri<br />
Front & Back Cover<br />
Courtesy of Kofta Konstantine<br />
Photograph Tasya Kudryk<br />
Editor’s Photography<br />
Ahmed Al Nqueeb<br />
For advertisement or any<br />
Inquiries<br />
Contact:<br />
anne@annesmagazine.com<br />
Instagram:<br />
annesmagazineofficial<br />
Creative Director<br />
Anwar Al Attar<br />
6
SNEAK<br />
PEEK<br />
W hat Inspires you?<br />
Style by Architecture<br />
Konstantine Kofta<br />
Mcqueen by LUXXU<br />
Light vs Architecture<br />
AGI Architects Al Ghanim CLinic<br />
Jean Nouvel Architect Ateliers<br />
Louvre Abu Dhabi<br />
Doha Tower<br />
Design Transformation Sound<br />
“BUTTONS” I.Am Plus<br />
Bang & Olufsen<br />
HULT<br />
“Change the Record” Paul Cocksedge<br />
Design trend Light<br />
Manooi<br />
Lee Broom<br />
Arik Levy<br />
Design Inspiration<br />
Designer’s insight Ryan Saghian<br />
“Belle Nouvelle” Nika Vorotynstseva<br />
Design Insight Waleed Shaalan<br />
“The Divorce Diary”<br />
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SECOND ISSUE 2017<br />
Ryan Saghian<br />
Interior Designer<br />
Los Angeles<br />
“Everything and anything but what’s<br />
travel.”<br />
most inspiring for me is<br />
To get an insight behind the minds in the design world of L.A what<br />
better way than to Get to an inspirational source. An Interview with<br />
one of L.A’s top designers Ryan Saghian, sharing his love and<br />
passion with ANNE Magazine.<br />
Faten El meri<br />
Architect at Zaha Hadid Architects<br />
London<br />
The sensory perception is what inspires my designs. All of our<br />
senses lead us to some sort of experience: our eyes perceive light<br />
What Inspires You?<br />
8<br />
and shadow, our bodies in space recognise scale, and our skin<br />
reads textures. Beauty is an emotional outcome of these<br />
perceptions; it is a feeling specific to each individual. No singular<br />
sense is responsible for a specific experience; rather it is the<br />
culmination of our sensory outcomes that leads to our reaction to<br />
a space or work of art. All experiences are emotional.<br />
Consequently i am constantly striving towards designs targeting<br />
the senses. The result is a canvas rich in light, shadow and<br />
materiality.<br />
CAMILLA DEGLI ESPOSTI<br />
Managing partner at Deckora Design<br />
London<br />
My work focuses on the contrast of the opposites, in particular<br />
when their juxtaposition enables the creation of a space. Void and<br />
solid, new and old, exterior and interior, light and dark, shiny and<br />
mat, are fundamental elements in a continuous dialogue with each<br />
other. The Architect is the one who knows how to capture these<br />
subtleties sensitively and transform them into shape, into a more<br />
complex and complete entity. Material research and geometrical<br />
studies are precious tools of the trade. Each brief is unique as<br />
unique is the experience connected to that place, which represents<br />
our real source of inspiration.
Waleed Shaalan<br />
Architect / Artist<br />
Kuwait<br />
I get Inspired from the world. Not just the design world. I love<br />
what Charlie Parker said about jazz : learn everything you can and<br />
when you play forget it all. I try to do this with design, I learn as<br />
much as I can but when i work I forget it all<br />
Danny Sanabria<br />
From Colombia living in Houston<br />
What inspires me in the design world?<br />
The purpose of design is to convey emotion to the observer and<br />
provoke a reaction, whether it’s an article of clothing, a building, a<br />
picture, et cetera. My inspiration comes from that unique moment<br />
of instantaneous emotion that art, in all its many forms, is able to<br />
produce. As an aesthete I find a building, a picture, or a garment<br />
very powerful. I believe art and design empower people to impact<br />
society.<br />
As much as art and design can empower people, it can also do the<br />
opposite. What inspires me in this world is the opportunity to have<br />
a positive impact on a person—to change their viewpoint or<br />
empower them—even if it is only for a short-lived moment.<br />
Salsabeel<br />
Egypt<br />
Founder of “Sal”<br />
I’ve always been obsessed with lighting, I’ve been inspired by<br />
lighting for over four years now, so I’ve always been<br />
experimenting with it, maybe in the future I’ll be doing some more<br />
home accessories. We’re striving to get out there, we’re striving<br />
to have this unity and trying to get there its against the grain and<br />
it is a bit difficult but it’s promising i think we just have to keep<br />
on trying. I used to be based in London but then i came back in<br />
Egypt, I would like to explore and become more international and<br />
that would be good representative for Egypt as well<br />
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SECOND ISSUE 2017<br />
design<br />
. ..<br />
10
Sketch credit : CSCEC<br />
Ateliers Jean Nouvel<br />
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SECOND ISSUE 2017<br />
Photograph Tasya Kudryk<br />
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“ As an artist, I see the images of<br />
my future works. But I should say that<br />
unbodied things, which only can b e<br />
felt and not imagined, inspire m e .<br />
As for the spirit of a collection, the<br />
peak of mastery, for me, is the<br />
transformation of the emotions,<br />
with all their versatility, into an image<br />
or its chain. ”<br />
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SECOND ISSUE 2017<br />
S tyle<br />
By Architecture<br />
Konstantin Kofta created his own label, Kofta which<br />
combines seemingly contradictory elements outside<br />
the traditional canons of the fashion industry. His<br />
garments are sensual, effortlessly elegant, practical<br />
and wearable. Kofta uses rough skin, irregular shapes<br />
and unique scents to create a totally new vision of<br />
the attire as a whole. Designer Konstantin Kofta<br />
combines rural and urban perceptions, and embraces<br />
the unintentional and unexpected, which provide<br />
inspiration for current and future collections. Each<br />
collection appears as a form of art installation.<br />
Konstantin Kofta believes that the perfect is hidden<br />
in the sacramental places away from an ordinary<br />
vision littered by common standards. Designer strives<br />
to fuse unusual components to achieve distinctions<br />
that add to person’s lifestyle rather than just to the<br />
wardrobe.<br />
Information, interview and photographs courtesy of Konstantin Kofta<br />
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Photograph Tasya Kudryk<br />
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SECOND ISSUE 2017<br />
What is the identity of<br />
Kofta? What kind of<br />
message do you want to<br />
deliver through the works?<br />
While thinking about the<br />
brand’s name I was about to<br />
find a senseless word for me<br />
to fill it with sense myself.<br />
Art as the perfect adaptation<br />
of imperfect things, the<br />
infinite play with different<br />
objects and topics- that’s the<br />
basis of the brand. At first,<br />
KOFTA meant nothing to me,<br />
then years later it meant<br />
everything.<br />
There are distinctive<br />
concepts behind all<br />
collections of Kofta, do you<br />
usually start off with a<br />
concept or some designs<br />
would come to mind first?<br />
How do you create a new<br />
object usually?<br />
I’m trying to explain<br />
everything I think about,<br />
while creating a collection,<br />
with one word. It gives me<br />
frames to fill myself with<br />
information before the work<br />
on a new collection starts.<br />
Reading books and watching<br />
movies in the future<br />
collection tune inspires me.<br />
But most of all I get ispired<br />
by the specific atmospheic<br />
locations, as everything that<br />
surrounds us carries its own<br />
information, which you can<br />
put inside so things will come<br />
to your mind by themselves.<br />
You should only wander<br />
around the spaces of your<br />
mind, imagination and<br />
fantasies.<br />
Every design from Kofta<br />
seems having a strong<br />
personality/some kind of<br />
emotions in it. What type<br />
of personality do you have?<br />
Would you please describe<br />
yourself a little bit?<br />
Though it’s hard to talk<br />
about myself, I’ll try to be<br />
emotionally precise. If I was<br />
asked to choose one of the<br />
four elements, I’d be water.<br />
While being calm sometimes,<br />
it can be furious. Water tends<br />
to the balance and hides the<br />
inner secrets of our planet. It<br />
absorbs information,<br />
having its quality and fetures<br />
changed, concerning this<br />
information as well. Water<br />
adabts to everything and is a<br />
basis of life. I’m flowing with<br />
the river of life to face the<br />
eternal ocean.<br />
Information, interview and photographs courtesy of Konstantin Kofta<br />
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K onstantin<br />
Photograph Tasya Kudryk<br />
K ofta<br />
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SECOND ISSUE 2017<br />
What makes you choose to<br />
design leather ware?<br />
The leather is a perfect<br />
material that creates by nature.<br />
It’s only one suitable<br />
material at this time which<br />
make my ideas come true. But I<br />
always open for something new.<br />
Your design style has great<br />
coherence. How do you<br />
definite your design style?<br />
How is your style formed?<br />
What have you done to achieve<br />
this coherence?<br />
I can say that my design is<br />
more art than fashion. I’m a<br />
perfectionist by nature, thus if<br />
the result doesn’t seem<br />
satisfactory, I’ll changed it as<br />
much as needed so it makes me<br />
pleased. It started with<br />
objectification of my worldview<br />
into things for myself. The first<br />
product created by me was a<br />
little clatch, sewed of<br />
leather, which I selected<br />
accurately. Then it didn’t look<br />
like the image I had, that’s why<br />
I deformed it with the help of<br />
water, temperature and<br />
mechanical impact until it was<br />
just the object I was carrying<br />
in my mind.<br />
What styling rule do you live<br />
by? Why?<br />
Comfort and protection covers<br />
everything- colour, cut and<br />
material.<br />
What is the theme of your<br />
new collection? What provides<br />
the inspiration?<br />
What do you usually do<br />
besides work? What’s your<br />
hobby?<br />
I love to travel if I need to be<br />
out from work. I like to make<br />
art that have no connection<br />
with work, especially I love not<br />
only to play music as a DJ and<br />
also I create electronic sounds.<br />
That is my hobby, that makes<br />
me high.<br />
Other than fashion, do you<br />
design other things?<br />
Everything I do happens with<br />
sense, arrangement and<br />
measure. Starting with the<br />
simplest casual things that<br />
everyone does and than going<br />
further to the more complex<br />
constructions and systems. Thus<br />
my first showroom was planned<br />
and created by me, without any<br />
help of professional designers<br />
and architects. I used natural<br />
materials, created by the<br />
nature such as bark, moss,<br />
stone, the play of light and<br />
shadow, the principals of<br />
natural zonality.<br />
What’s your philosophy in<br />
life?<br />
My life philosophy is the<br />
truth. Being honest with yourself<br />
is the first thing otherwise<br />
any action has no sense either<br />
for me or for others.<br />
I cant be sure, but I have idea<br />
to play with ornaments,<br />
patterns and tracery witch<br />
comes from historical background<br />
of any culture but in my<br />
way of interpretation<br />
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Photograph Tasya Kudryk<br />
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SECOND ISSUE 2017<br />
LUXXU<br />
MODERN LAMPS<br />
Information and photographs<br />
courtesy of LUXXU<br />
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MCQUEEN WALL (left image)<br />
Stimulated by McQueen’s style of<br />
turning every design into a dramatic<br />
narrative, LUXXU created McQueen Wall,<br />
a version of McQueen Chandelier. Made<br />
of brass with gold plated and handmade<br />
butterflies and imposing flowers ending<br />
with the trace of lovely Swarovski<br />
crystals, this masterpiece gives a<br />
dramatic ambiance to any room and it<br />
has the eccentric sensation of beauty, so<br />
characteristic of McQueen’s work.<br />
“Long live McQueen.<br />
Unfortunately, the World lost the<br />
legendary designer, but he will<br />
always be in our minds due to his<br />
unforgettable designs and his<br />
unmistakable style. Soon, we will<br />
see the story of his life unfold in an<br />
upcoming Alexander McQueen<br />
movie. This is the best way to pay<br />
homage to the extraordinary<br />
designer and visionary.”<br />
“We are inspired by McQueen’s style because he can<br />
see the beauty in the grotesque, he was a true artist and<br />
his work motivated us to create different and extravagant<br />
pieces. He used to say that he wanted to shock people and<br />
to provoke a reaction. And we want to make the difference<br />
with our designs! It’s a risk to design “outside the box” but<br />
this kind of inspirations gives us strength to work more<br />
and without fear!”<br />
- LUXXU<br />
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SECOND ISSUE 2017<br />
MCQUEEN CHANDELIER<br />
Inspired in his work, LUXXU created<br />
McQueen Chandelier. This is a powerful<br />
lighting piece like McQueen’s exhibitions.<br />
This stunning chandelier combines the best<br />
luxury and handmade materials. It’s made of<br />
hammered brass with gold plated and<br />
handmade butterflies and majestic flowers<br />
ending with the touch of beautiful<br />
Swarovski crystals.<br />
Audacious and feminine this is creation<br />
that fits perfectly in a luxurious home or in a<br />
magnificent hotel.<br />
22
Alexander Mcqueen<br />
Fall Collection 2016<br />
London Fashion Week<br />
Getty Images<br />
Alexander McQueen is one of LUXXU’s inspirations. His<br />
signature looks included billowy dresses cut in hourglass<br />
outlines, frock coats paired with skinny pants, sharp,<br />
angular suiting, and darkly romantic gowns covered in<br />
intricate embroidery and lace. His style is so different and<br />
that’s why LUXXU loves it so much.<br />
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SECOND ISSUE 2017<br />
24
Photograph courtesy of<br />
AGI Architects<br />
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SECOND ISSUE 2017<br />
Light VS Architecture<br />
Over the past several decades, day-by-day our world<br />
emerged, where conquests took place, introducing different<br />
cultures to one another as well as influencing the design<br />
world in every region. Known as the identity of the Middle<br />
Eastern culture and an architectural veil, Mashrabiya, a<br />
cultural element have preserved its traditional identity yet<br />
developed and adapted as the design world evolved throughout<br />
the years.<br />
Derived from early cooling methods, mashrabiyas have<br />
been used for homes in hot Middle Eastern climates.<br />
The theory began as water coolers, where drinking water pots<br />
were stored in a shelf, enclosed by wood and located at the<br />
window. Mashrabiya Later on has evolved becoming more as<br />
an architectural element, by providing shading as well as<br />
natural sunlight within the space, and Acts as a shield of<br />
those who require privacy yet without being isolated from the<br />
outside world.<br />
Now in Modern Middle Eastern architecture, the<br />
Mashrabiya has inspired Many Architects as well from the<br />
western world. Further developed from just practicality, to<br />
more of a design feature where light and shadow, as well as<br />
different materials other than wood have transformed a<br />
cultural identity to a powerful design element.<br />
26
Photograph courtesy of<br />
AGI Architects<br />
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28
Ali Mohammed T.<br />
Al-Ghanim Clinic<br />
AGi Architects<br />
Project Name:<br />
Ali Mohammed T. Al-Ghanim<br />
Clinic<br />
Type: Health | 6,500 sqm<br />
Location: Kuwait<br />
Date: 2011-2014<br />
Client: Ministry of Health<br />
of Kuwait / Mr. Ali Mohammad<br />
Thuniyan Al-Ghanim<br />
Images: Nelson Garrido<br />
Project Description<br />
Ali Mohammed T. Al-Ghanim Clinic<br />
building by AGi architects stands as a<br />
pioneer in the healthcare sector, where<br />
challenging issues such as privacy and<br />
security are addressed using a new<br />
model, where courtyards attached to<br />
the facade are the driving element<br />
behind this unique typology.<br />
Photographs and Documents courtesy of<br />
AGI Architects<br />
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SECOND ISSUE 2017<br />
Working directly with manufacturers and parametric<br />
processes that generate maximum areas based on minimum<br />
thicknesses, and adaptable geometries to incorporate efficient<br />
substructures have allowed creating a contemporary mesh that<br />
connects to the cultural identity of end users. An anodized and<br />
perforated metal sheet allows sufficient light to enter,<br />
constructing a veiled threshold in between exterior and internal<br />
courtyards.<br />
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Photographs and Documents courtesy of<br />
AGI Architects<br />
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SECOND ISSUE 2017<br />
32
Upon entering the clinic, a colorful ceramic mosaic<br />
welcomes patients. This range of colors will go with<br />
visitors during their stay at the clinic, identifying<br />
counters of each medical specialty with different<br />
colors included in the mosaic. This common practice<br />
in the hospital use is especially useful when building<br />
users belong to very different cultures, users who not<br />
only do not know the language but use different<br />
alphabets –Devanagari, Arabic or Roman<br />
Photographs and Documents courtesy of<br />
AGI Architects<br />
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SECOND ISSUE 2017<br />
Louvre Abu Dhabi<br />
Cultural District - Abu Dhabi - United Arab Emirates<br />
Type<br />
Art museum<br />
Architect: Jean Nouvel<br />
Completed: 2017<br />
The museum will be designed as a “seemingly floating<br />
dome structure”; its web-patterned dome allowing the<br />
sun to filter through. The overall effect is meant to<br />
represent “rays of sunlight passing through date palm<br />
fronds in an oasis.”<br />
Photographs and Documents courtesy of Brunswick<br />
Group<br />
© TDIC, Architect Ateliers Jean Nouvel<br />
34
Jean Nouvel is one of the leading architects who has strongly influenced<br />
the debate about modern mashrabiyas. His Institut du monde arabe in<br />
Paris was only the precedent to two buildings he designed for the harsh<br />
sun of the Middle East: The Doha Tower, which is completely wrapped<br />
with a re-interpretation of the mashrabiya, and the Louvre Abu Dhabi<br />
museum with its luminous dome.<br />
In the upcoming Louvre Abu Dhabi museum, Jean Nouvel translates the<br />
vertical screen into a horizontal roof element. Formed as a compressed<br />
dome, the construction consists of several layers of metal to optimize<br />
the thermal situation for the space. The Louvre Abu Dhabi will include<br />
kinetic light effects, as Jean Nouvel explains in an interview with The<br />
National: “Sunlight passes through two holes, then it is blocked by the<br />
third. But this soon changes as the rays move and we get spots of light<br />
that appear and disappear, enlarge and shrink it’s a kinetic effect that is<br />
visible to the naked eye because in 30 to 40 seconds you’ll see that one<br />
spot is getting bigger and another is disappearing.”<br />
At the Institut du monde arabe (1987) Jean Nouvel has realized a<br />
dynamic rede sign of the vernacular Arabic screen. 27.000 light sensitive<br />
diaphragms regulate the amount of daylight entering the building. Visible<br />
from a close distance, the metallic brise soleil on the south facade has<br />
fine and precise details similar to those of the traditional mashrabiya. At<br />
first the structure might appear as an Arabic decoration, but its<br />
functions derive from filtering the daylight dynamically, depending on<br />
the specific weather situation.<br />
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SECOND ISSUE 2017<br />
Along the facade of the building, Traditional Islamic “Mashrabiya”<br />
was designed by creating different overlaid layers using a single geometric<br />
motif at different scales and densities. The result of the over layering has<br />
created shading, reducing the solar conditions as in addition an artistic<br />
design element. The building became an iconic statement and a trademark<br />
of the Doha skyline where it’s artistic mashrabiya facades stood out in both<br />
daytime and nighttime, especially when architectural lighting is introduced<br />
further enhancing the beauty of the features.<br />
Photos credit :<br />
CSCEC<br />
Documents<br />
credit :<br />
Ateliers Jean<br />
Nouvel<br />
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Doha Tower<br />
Ateliers Jean Nouvel<br />
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38
Photos credit :<br />
CSCEC<br />
Documents<br />
credit :<br />
Ateliers Jean<br />
Nouvel<br />
Designed by French Architect Jean<br />
Nouvel, the tower stands among other<br />
towers along the coast line of the city of<br />
Qatar with a height of 232 metres, with 46<br />
stories. The service core is slightly offcenter<br />
to maximize the interior space and<br />
flexibility of use. This was also achieved<br />
by providing diagrid columns of reinforced<br />
concrete set in the shape of a cross.<br />
The conceptual inspiration behind the<br />
cylindrical shape came from an office<br />
building known as Nouvel’s Torre Agbar in<br />
Barcelona. However The tower’s facade in<br />
Qatar was specially designed and adapted<br />
for the local conditions<br />
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Photos credit : CSCEC<br />
41
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create<br />
. ..<br />
Sketch by Waleed Shaalan<br />
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SECOND ISSUE 2017<br />
DESIGN T RANSFORMATION<br />
Sound<br />
One of the most fascinating transformation since<br />
the beginning of the invention of fire is technology.<br />
We watched technologies grow and develop as our lives<br />
fast-forwarded to today’s world. Now in the palms of<br />
our hands we hold a small compact device that acts as<br />
our eyes, our hearing, our mind and the entire world<br />
captured experiences and inspirations. With just one<br />
click of a button, our lives can change from<br />
travelling the world to new job opportunities.<br />
New innovative technologies have played a huge<br />
role in the fashion world, allowing us to explore and<br />
expand all the possibility of form and style that we can<br />
place on our own bodies and owning the world’s stage.<br />
Technologies have helped put a huge spotlight on the<br />
fashion world, but how about sharing that spotlight with<br />
technology for a change?<br />
Now rather looking for a basic good quality mobile<br />
smartphones, tablets or even headphones. We now look<br />
for stylish technology that would compliment our<br />
fashion sense or more as a fashionable accessory.<br />
44
Images ©I.am Plus<br />
“You know, we all love buying shoes<br />
to match our outfits and bags to match<br />
our outfits, but for some reason we<br />
don’t expect our technology to match<br />
our outfits. Why not? Why should we just<br />
accept that? What I want to do is change<br />
that.”<br />
- Will.I.Am<br />
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SECOND ISSUE 2017<br />
In the music world Will.I.Am, a musician, entrepreneur,<br />
co-founder of the Black Eyed Peas, and founder of i.am+ have<br />
emerged his passion in music to fashion by exploring new ways<br />
of wearing and using headphones. His concept is wearable<br />
technology disguised as fashionable accessory that can be<br />
matched and added to an outfit. The trending headphones<br />
given the name “Buttons”, have derived from the buttons found<br />
in both the tech - world and the fashion world. By choosing<br />
buttons, it shows us how common both worlds are and how they<br />
are actually in fusion.<br />
To bring this concept to life, he partnered up with apple,<br />
creating wireless headphones known as “Buttons”. Andre Leon<br />
Talley, former Vogue editor who as well serves as style and<br />
fashion director of I.am + have creatively infused fashion and<br />
style with technology. The headphones, inspired by vinyl<br />
records are designed to morph into a necklace where the discs<br />
snap together magnetically. So rather than taking your<br />
headphones off and chucking the pair in your bag, just wear<br />
them as an accessory.<br />
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Images ©I.am Plus<br />
Will.I.Am involved Naomi Campbell and<br />
Kendall Jenner to join the company as<br />
partners and ambassadors of the new<br />
product. He believed that by doing so,<br />
Kendall Jenner represents “the new<br />
millennial face of fashion” and Naomi<br />
Campbell “the queen of fashion”.<br />
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SECOND ISSUE 2017<br />
DESIGN T RANSFORMATION<br />
Music is liquid Architecture<br />
Designed by: Frackenpohl Poulheim<br />
Photographer: Casper Sejersen<br />
Credited Bang&Olufsen<br />
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Stepping back from technology<br />
emerging in the fashion world,<br />
let’s step into the design world of<br />
technology.<br />
Rather than a big rectangular<br />
block with wires attached to it’s<br />
rear end, designers have<br />
experimented with forms and<br />
angles,wireless and sleek in order<br />
to create eye-catching products.<br />
New doors have been open when it<br />
comes to materials, giving endless<br />
choices to customize according to<br />
your own personality and style<br />
Now, We see a speaker, or<br />
mobile phones wearing fashion with<br />
its fabrics and accessories and<br />
taking the form of architecture<br />
with its sharp angles and smooth<br />
curves.<br />
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SECOND ISSUE 2017<br />
BeoLab 90, Future of Sound<br />
Designed by: Frackenpohl Poulheim<br />
Image Credited Bang&Olufsen<br />
50
Bang And Olufsen have designed beautiful speakers and<br />
technologies that dresses up your space making it stand out as<br />
well as having their own purpose for our homes without<br />
cluttering it with wires or compromising the interior design while<br />
each shape and form has it’s own function.<br />
Image Credited Bang&Olufsen<br />
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SECOND ISSUE 2017<br />
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We dress according to our own style as we like to<br />
costomise our own look. Given us the opportunity to custom<br />
make our speaker’s designs, Bang and Olufsen have created<br />
choices of different materials from a variety of fabric<br />
colors as well as the tones of wood and aluminium that would<br />
better reflect our style as well as becoming a statement piece<br />
in our space.<br />
BeoSound 2, Brass tone<br />
Images Credited Bang&Olufsen<br />
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SECOND ISSUE 2017<br />
Bang and Olufsen have found inspiration from many<br />
unusual areas, such as the “BeoLab 19 Subwoofer, where its<br />
form is taken from a jet engine. The purpose of their<br />
speakers are to not be a hidden function in a space, but to as<br />
well be an art piece that serves a beautiful high quality<br />
purpose to the space.<br />
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BeoLab 19 subwoofer, Brass tone<br />
Images Credited Bang&Olufsen<br />
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SECOND ISSUE 2017<br />
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SECOND ISSUE 2017<br />
About<br />
HULT is a Corporation, a consumer product manufacturer based in Los Angeles,<br />
California founded in 2015 by the group of audio engineer and creative designer.<br />
“Pavilion” speakers are polished symbiosis of architectural form. Pavilion disconnects<br />
itself from cliches box design and plastic housing to make a new approach with pure<br />
and powerful speaker.<br />
Their variety of materials is from architecture, some of which have not been used in<br />
speaker construction. The use of varnished oak top of the speakers and a mix of<br />
copper and concrete, a way to bring architectural elements in an interior space<br />
Inspiration<br />
Inspired by the greatest modern architecture designed by Mies Van der Rohe, Ando<br />
Tadao and Frank Lloyd Wright. They have studied how these architectural elements<br />
were constructed with modern materials and designs. Spiral acoustic, a copper spiral<br />
inside the clear wall resembles brass instrument, and makes it attractive from 360<br />
degrees. The spiral copper pipe is not just for the design; the pipe boosts the lower<br />
registers to make clean and warm bass.<br />
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Images and Documents credited<br />
to HULT<br />
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SECOND ISSUE 2017<br />
From what once creates the music transformed to the sound of music.<br />
Last <strong>Issue</strong>’s ANNE Magazine have transformed us with recycling<br />
aircrafts to furniture. Taken an iconic object from the past – the 12” vinyl<br />
LP – and recycles it to enhance the very latest audio digital technology.<br />
This have been achieved by Paul Cocksedge, made by heated and molding<br />
the plastic disks into a funnel shape. Known as Change the record,<br />
The loudspeaker created for smart-phones, Because of it’s form, it requires<br />
no wires or connection, just as we get a cup or place a smart phone<br />
between our curved hands, the sound is amplified as it does like electronic<br />
sound-system.<br />
Photographs courtesy of Paul<br />
Cocksedge Studio<br />
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Change the Record<br />
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SECOND ISSUE 2017<br />
inspire<br />
. ..<br />
Sketch by Waleed Shaalan<br />
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64
Arik Levy<br />
Splash Marble<br />
Photograph courtesy of Alexandra<br />
Public Relations ©ArikLEVY<br />
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SECOND ISSUE 2017<br />
D ESIGN TREND<br />
Light<br />
Who knew that after thousands of failed attempts<br />
of inventing a long lasting incandescent light bulb, with<br />
determination and success Thomas Edison’s vision had<br />
a powerful and eternal impact in the world. His success<br />
in inventing the lightbulb filled a huge gap in the<br />
design world and in result, designers are now given the<br />
chance to transform a simple light bulb into a<br />
chandelier or a floor lamp, a centerpiece or a beautiful<br />
installation.<br />
When it comes to designing, I always keep lighting<br />
in consideration as I find it one of the most important<br />
elements in design. There are three layers of light,<br />
Ambient, Accent and Task Lighting; together they unite<br />
and bring the space to life. I love the endless<br />
possibilities that lighting provides, With lighting you<br />
can enhance an architectural element with “wall<br />
washing” or “cove lighting”, it creates a path to where<br />
the designer wants to lead you to as well as creating<br />
the mood of the space. With lighting, creates shadows<br />
and with shadows, we can manipulate them into<br />
creating form and movement within the space.<br />
“If we did all the things we are capable of, we would<br />
literally astound ourselves”<br />
Thomas Edison<br />
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SECOND ISSUE 2017<br />
Photographs and Documesnt<br />
credited to Manooi<br />
Manooi is an offshoot of Judit Zoltai and<br />
János Héder’s interior design and<br />
architecture studio. Their magnificent<br />
chandeliers came about almost accidentally;<br />
some of Judit and János’ work in retail<br />
design inspired them to reinvent the<br />
traditional crystal chandelier.<br />
János and Judit<br />
Founders, Judit and János, have nurtured and<br />
evolved the Manooi atelier into what it is<br />
today. Their very particular vision for Manooi<br />
grew out of their own personal experiences,<br />
beliefs and expertise. Inspired lead designer<br />
János Héder invites us to experience a new<br />
world in lighting. “Light creates space – as<br />
an architect I work with light sources as<br />
determining elements of a given space.”<br />
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“Our Passion Is Light”<br />
Light is essential. It is all around us. When shaped and<br />
controlled with elements, it gives us the possibility to<br />
create feelings or emotions in space. The beauty of light<br />
is inherent in all its spectrum, and a light artist brings<br />
it to life. There cannot be a better manifestation of light<br />
artistry than a chandelier designer at his best.<br />
Chandeliers are pieces of magnificence, embodied in the<br />
glory of display. It adds timeless grandeur and<br />
gracefulness to any interior. For an architect or an<br />
interior designer, a chandelier is not just a piece of light<br />
implant hanging from a ceiling or fixed on a wall. It is a<br />
magnificent piece of art, conceived and designed to<br />
complement the scheme, design and texture of the room.<br />
With every new collection, Manooi expands the frontiers of<br />
creativity by marrying simplicity and luxury, modernity and<br />
tradition, innovation and craftsmanship. While perfecting its<br />
products, Manooi remains committed to its core values of<br />
limitless artistic creation, exclusivity, and uncompromising<br />
quality.<br />
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SECOND ISSUE 2017<br />
In the beginning, when<br />
he was creating Manooi’s 2005<br />
debut collection, the concept that<br />
János Héder had wanted to capture<br />
with his first lighting product was<br />
that of two galaxies embracing each<br />
other. After making and rejecting<br />
dozens of designs, he found his<br />
perfect shape. He named it<br />
‘Artica’. The Artica chandelier has<br />
since become an iconic symbol of<br />
the Manooi brand, its<br />
distinctive ellipse recognized<br />
around the world.<br />
Photographs and Documesnt<br />
credited to Manooi<br />
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Swarovski has been Manooi’s conceptual partner<br />
from the outset, inspiring the designers with the<br />
brilliance of its crystal, so János and Judit then<br />
approached Swarovski with the idea of making a<br />
bespoke Artica-shaped crystal. János would design<br />
the shape and Swarovski’s skilled technicians would<br />
create it. The resulting Artica cut would embody the<br />
synergy between the two companies—a unique<br />
partnership, like two galaxies embracing.<br />
What better representation of Manooi’s success?<br />
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SECOND ISSUE 2017<br />
Documents & Photographs<br />
courtesy of ©Lee Broom<br />
Lee Broom<br />
Lee Broom is one of the UK’s leading product & interior designers.<br />
Since 2007 Broom has released 75 furniture and lighting products,<br />
which he designs and manufactures under his own label and created<br />
20 products for other brands. He has also designed over 45 commercial<br />
retail, restaurant and bar interiors. He has won more than 20<br />
awards including the Queen’s Award for Enterprise in 2015, the prestigious<br />
British Designer of the Year Award in 2012 and he won his<br />
4th award in 3 consecutive years in the British Design Awards for his<br />
renowned lighting product, the ‘Crystal Bulb’ in 2013. A supporter of<br />
British manufacturing techniques, Broom designs, manufactures and<br />
retails his own collections, in addition to collaborating with leading<br />
brands including Christian Louboutin, and Mulberry. His products are<br />
sold in over 150 stores in 45 countries.<br />
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Nominated for the Milano Design Award 2016 and named one<br />
of the 16 best shows out of over 1,500 installations during Milan<br />
Design Week 2016, with the #MILANVAN Broom created a unique<br />
and compact mobile installation. The interior - all in Lee Broom<br />
signature grey - with its ornate columns and architrave was an<br />
unexpected backdrop for the graphic new monochrome lighting<br />
collection. Highlighted by an illuminated floor, the result was<br />
a theatrical and engaging moment for people to share as they<br />
passed by.<br />
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SECOND ISSUE 2017<br />
“I wanted to make the same impact as last year<br />
but without creating a huge installation. While<br />
deciding where I should exhibit I thought - what<br />
about everywhere? Making my Salone del Mobile<br />
mobile is an exciting way to exhibit. My designs<br />
are often surreal and the idea behind the<br />
installation is to see something unexpected — a<br />
captivating optical illusion.”<br />
- Lee Broom<br />
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Documents & Photographs<br />
courtesy of ©Lee Broom<br />
Optical also holds strong personal associations<br />
for Broom: “It’s really inspired by the period in<br />
which I grew up in. I guess my first real foray<br />
into interiors was decorating my own bedroom<br />
in the early 90’s and Optical really reflects the<br />
monochrome graphics and mood of that era.”<br />
The Optical collection’s floor and pendant<br />
lights reflect Broom’s recent move towards<br />
more understated, modern designs. The Op<br />
Art-inspired graphic patterns on the<br />
illuminated globes echo the asymmetry of some<br />
of Broom’s previous designs, such as his<br />
Crescent light. When viewed from all sides,<br />
Optical’s linear pattern changes at every<br />
angle.<br />
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SECOND ISSUE 2017<br />
Mini Crescent<br />
Light<br />
A miniature version of the<br />
popular Crescent Light, this<br />
illuminated sphere is sliced<br />
asymmetrically in half to<br />
reveal a crescent-shaped<br />
brushed brass fascia. The<br />
Mini Crescent Light<br />
seamlessly combines the<br />
solid and the opaque.<br />
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Ring Light<br />
Documents & Photographs<br />
courtesy of ©Lee Broom<br />
A polished brass sphere, pierced<br />
by a dimmable circular fluorescent<br />
tube to form Ring Light, a pendant<br />
of simplicity and elegance.<br />
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SECOND ISSUE 2017<br />
ARIK LEVY<br />
Arik Levy<br />
WireFlow<br />
Photograph courtesy of Alexandra<br />
Public Relations ©ArikLEVY<br />
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SECOND ISSUE 2017<br />
Arik Levy<br />
Photograph and Documents courtesy of<br />
AlexandraPublic Relations ©ArikLEVY<br />
“Creation is an uncontrolled muscle”<br />
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Arik Levy (born 1963).<br />
Artist, technician, photographer, designer, video artist,<br />
Levy’s skills are multi-disciplinary and his work can be seen in<br />
prestigious galleries and museums worldwide. Best known<br />
publicly for his sculptures – such as his signature Rock pieces,<br />
his installations, limited editions and design, Levy nevertheless<br />
feels “The world is about people, not objects.”<br />
Hailing originally from Israel and moving to Europe after his<br />
first participation in a group sculpture exhibition in Tel-Aviv in<br />
1986, Levy currently works in his studio in Paris.<br />
His formation was unconventional where surfing, as well as<br />
his art and graphic design studio, took up much of his time back<br />
home. Following studies at the Art Center Europe in Switzerland<br />
he gained a distinction in Industrial Design in 1991.<br />
After a stint in Japan where he consolidated his ideas<br />
producing products and pieces for exhibitions, Levy returned to<br />
Europe where he contributed his artistry to another field –<br />
contemporary dance and opera by way of set design.
The creation of his studio<br />
then meant a foray back to his<br />
first love, art and industrial<br />
design, as well as other branches<br />
of his talents.<br />
Considering himself now<br />
more of a “feeling” artist, Arik<br />
Levy continues to contribute<br />
substantially to our interior and<br />
exterior milieu, his work<br />
including public sculpture, as well<br />
as complete environments that can<br />
be adapted for multi-use. “Life is<br />
a system of signs and symbols,”<br />
he says, “where nothing is quite<br />
as it seems.”<br />
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SECOND ISSUE 2017<br />
WIREFLOW<br />
Light through Transparency<br />
Arik Levy<br />
WireFlow<br />
Photograph courtesy of Alexandra<br />
Public Relations ©ArikLEVY<br />
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WIREFLOW is a pendant light fixture<br />
that reinter- prets and gives a<br />
completely new twist to the aesthetics<br />
of classical chandeliers. The light<br />
structure is formed by black electrical<br />
wire and 3W LED termi- nals but is<br />
enhanced and transformed into the<br />
fun- damental feature that distinguishes<br />
this unique co- llection. This<br />
simplifying process attains impressive<br />
physical presence that WIREFLOW<br />
creates, without losing its weightless,<br />
ethereal consistence.<br />
WIREFLOW’s electrical wire draws<br />
geometrical shapes in two or threedimensions<br />
that, in spite of their large<br />
size, allow a see-through effect<br />
providing the light x- ture with its<br />
captivating graphic essence. According<br />
to Levy, WIREFLOW combines “presence<br />
and absence, transparency and<br />
luminosity, light and uidity”.<br />
Architects and interior designers can<br />
experiment with endless configurations<br />
on the online platform vibia.com, where<br />
they are also given the chance to<br />
visualize simulations of this collection<br />
in space.<br />
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SECOND ISSUE 2017<br />
Ellipse CHandelier Baccarat<br />
Taking a step back from the contemporary world and<br />
introducing one of the many iconic classics, one of the core<br />
sources of where lighting design have taken it’s mark in history.<br />
Designer Arik Levy takes on a classic, an iconic Zenith<br />
Chandelier - Baccarat and recreated it by transforming it’s<br />
traditional round form into an ellipse.<br />
Arik Levy<br />
Photograph courtesy of Alexandra<br />
Public Relations ©ArikLEVY<br />
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“Splash Marble”<br />
The beauty of the world we are living in is the transition of the<br />
natural elements around us and their unexpected formation in different<br />
phases. Marble is an incredible material that has been in use during all of<br />
mankind’s history. the tools and experience we now have allow us to go a<br />
step forward with the presence of the material and the projected<br />
emotional values it can give out. Citco is a perfect partner for making the<br />
experiment of turning marble into “liquid” once again.<br />
My idea is to make marble look<br />
and feel flexible and fluid, as if<br />
it was melting in front of our<br />
eyes or constantly changing. Like<br />
the waves in the ocean splashing<br />
over the rocks, my Splash Marble<br />
marks the connection of<br />
dynamic movements, elasticity<br />
and motion. The perfection of<br />
the making, the intelligence of<br />
the operator and of his machine<br />
as well as the eye, the emotions,<br />
the attention to details and the<br />
finishing of the perfect craft..<br />
bring together the idea and<br />
transform the making into an<br />
experience.<br />
Arik Levy<br />
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SECOND ISSUE 2017<br />
Photographs<br />
courtesy of Ryan Saghian<br />
DESIGN<br />
INSPIRATION<br />
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What inspires you?<br />
“ Everything and anything but what’s<br />
most inspiring for me is travel.”<br />
To get an insight behind the minds of the design<br />
world of L.A what better way than to Get to an<br />
inspirational source. An Interview with one of L.A’s<br />
top designers Ryan Saghian, sharing his love and<br />
passion with ANNE Magazine.<br />
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Designer’s Insight<br />
Ryan Saghian<br />
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SECOND ISSUE 2017<br />
ANNE<br />
Many Designers has their own<br />
little black book Do you have<br />
your own little black book? or<br />
do you have your own way in<br />
capturing inspiration?<br />
RYAN SAGHIAN<br />
I don’t have sketches but my<br />
phone is filled with images of<br />
anything that inspires me.<br />
Whether it is a sconce I found<br />
while walking my dog or a piece<br />
of hardware I see while<br />
shopping, I take a photo to<br />
always turn back to for a<br />
project.<br />
ANNE<br />
Who has been your<br />
greatest design influence?<br />
RYAN SAGHIAN<br />
Dorothy Draper, Kelly<br />
Wearstler, and William Haines.<br />
ANNE<br />
Young designers have gone<br />
through a few “bump on the road”<br />
when going through the journey<br />
of starting their own path.What<br />
is yours?<br />
RYAN SAGHIAN<br />
My biggest bump in the road has<br />
been measuring. It is so<br />
important and the slightest inch<br />
can be the biggest mistake!<br />
ANNE<br />
Do you see yourself<br />
entering the fashion business ?<br />
RYAN SAGHIAN<br />
I love to wear clothes and be<br />
creative with my outfits but not<br />
design them.<br />
ANNE<br />
Why did you choose the path as an<br />
interior designer?<br />
RYAN SAGHIAN<br />
It was always my dream and I<br />
always had an immense amount of<br />
passion for it. From the time I was<br />
about 10 years old I would<br />
rearrange the house.<br />
ANNE<br />
Fashion, architecture and<br />
interior design strongly inspire<br />
and influence each other. What are<br />
your views on that?<br />
RYAN SAGHIAN<br />
I think that interior design and<br />
architecture are a tad bit slower<br />
when it comes to trends primarily<br />
because of the cost factor on<br />
comparison to fashion. With that<br />
said though, little things like<br />
color, texture, and composition in<br />
all three worlds totally influence<br />
each other.<br />
ANNE<br />
Many Projects come with design<br />
dilemmas. What is the most<br />
Dilemma you ever encountered<br />
in a project?<br />
RYAN SAGHIAN<br />
Long lead times. They are the<br />
WORST.<br />
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ANNE<br />
Many Designers carry their own little black book<br />
Do you have your own little black book? or do you<br />
have your own way in capturing inspiration?<br />
RYAN SAGHIAN<br />
I don’t have sketches but my phone is filled with<br />
images of anything that inspires me. Whether it is<br />
a sconce I found while walking my dog or a piece<br />
of hardware I see while shopping, I take a photo to<br />
always turn back to for a project.<br />
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SECOND ISSUE 2017<br />
ANNE<br />
Clients tend to come with the most unusual requests when designing<br />
their homes. Tell us what was the most unusual request a client asked and<br />
how did you deal with it?<br />
RYAN SAGHIAN<br />
A client once asked for their entire 5,000 sqft house to be<br />
completely furnished and decorated in 2 months. That was nearly<br />
impossible and after carefully explaining the process of designing,<br />
sourcing, and fabricating, I was able to convince them otherwise.<br />
ANNE<br />
What is your most favourite go to element when it comes to<br />
designing?<br />
RYAN SAGHIAN<br />
Right now? Satin gold. It adds so much richness to a space.<br />
Photographs<br />
courtesy of Ryan Saghian<br />
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ANNE<br />
What’s next for Ryan Saghian?<br />
RYAN SAGHIAN<br />
I want to focus on my furniture line and expand my<br />
collection. Fabric is next on my list!<br />
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SECOND ISSUE 2017<br />
Belle<br />
Nouvelle<br />
A Modern and Eclectic<br />
Style Apartment in Paris<br />
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Documents & Photographs<br />
courtesy of Delighfull<br />
Nika Vorotynstseva<br />
Nika is a young Ukrainian designer based in Kiev, owner of the Nika<br />
Vorotyntseva Design & Architecture Bureau. She has currently<br />
several works in progress all over the world.<br />
“We love what we do. Our work - is the ability to create something<br />
special, important for people. Each project is unique and also unique<br />
experience that we acquire. We try to implement the ideas that bring<br />
pleasure to the customer and ourselves. Our team is ready to work<br />
actively, sharing fresh ideas and take part in the formation of modern<br />
trends.”<br />
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SECOND ISSUE 2017<br />
To create the elegance and balance necessary with this vibrant<br />
emerald wall the designer opted once more to innovate in the dining<br />
area by choosing a lamp that is itself a statement Ella Suspension<br />
Lamp by DelightFULL. The lines of this Lamp are so timeless as the<br />
decor can be, inspired by the 50’s and 60‘s this is the perfect<br />
combinations for the classic but modern look that emerges all over<br />
the apartment.<br />
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To create has must space as<br />
possible Nika opted to<br />
eliminate the small and<br />
old-fashioned division style<br />
and open in bigger and more<br />
spacious blokes like “fireplace<br />
area, TV area, dining room<br />
with kitchen, master unit with<br />
bathroom and<br />
dressing room, and a guest<br />
room with a bathroom. As a<br />
result, we got an open space<br />
flooded with sunlight”,<br />
explains Nika.<br />
She elaborates “Our client<br />
has an artistic sort, loves<br />
bright colours and mirrors,<br />
we used this information to<br />
play with the space. Since the<br />
apartment is not for<br />
permanent residence, it<br />
gave us an opportunity to<br />
use bright colours and vivid<br />
graphics freely.”<br />
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SECOND ISSUE 2017<br />
The color palette present at this residential project is so<br />
varied as the color Paris may have. The sleeping area is<br />
opposite to the living room. It’s created with soft cream<br />
colors that invites to relax.<br />
To create a balance between this classic look and the modern<br />
flair of today’s design Nika opted to use current pieces of<br />
furniture, as well as areas such as the kitchen, that function as a<br />
bridge to everything beautiful, comfortable and<br />
ergonomic, created today.<br />
“The centerpiece of this interior is considered to be the<br />
emerald wall with decorative protruding elements in the TV area,<br />
which was created according to our sketches made in Ukraine.”<br />
Nika tells us.<br />
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Documents & Photographs<br />
courtesy of Delighfull<br />
This 140 sq.m. apartment in the center of Paris is mainly used by<br />
its owners as a guest house, since they are a young couple of travel<br />
lovers.<br />
Before starting to create the ideal ambience, the designer<br />
chosen for this project, Nika Vorotynstseva, made an intensive study<br />
by analyzing the Parisian chic interiors. She found out that most of<br />
the interiors had an eclectic design with a gentle touch of glamour,<br />
so after this research, the designer opted to create an ambiance<br />
that was fresh, open and modern.<br />
The curved ceiling in the bathroom and in the hall relate to a<br />
classic style, that supports the classic spirit of this apartment.<br />
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By the fireplace, we can relax, enjoy the nature outside and<br />
appreciate the light inside with the two Ella Wall Lamps also by<br />
DelightFULL, which can make the nights seems calm and<br />
everlasting together with the classic mirror.<br />
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D esign Insight<br />
WALEED SHAALAN<br />
What led you through that path as an architect?<br />
Originally I always felt inclined to do art, from the age of 10 when I<br />
have been attracted to expressing myself visually. I’ve been inspired<br />
by my early childhood memories, from when my father use to take us<br />
to Kirdassa to make carpet weaving and potteries and because of that,<br />
I had a very colorful childhood full of art and music.<br />
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I grew up in the states the first five years of my life and then from<br />
there I went to Cairo where during that period there were a lot of arts<br />
and crafts. However in school, art did not count as a major subject, it<br />
was never taken seriously since it has always seen and treated by<br />
society as a hobby. The educational system in Egypt was not structured<br />
as the highest grade goes to university but the highest grade goes to<br />
medical school, followed by engineering school. So subconsciously<br />
it has been drilled into our minds that in order to be successful, one<br />
must be a doctor or an engineer, therefore my mind was telling me one<br />
thing yet my heart was telling me another. My mind was telling me to<br />
do engineering, doctor or medicine as the rest of my family did, while<br />
my heart was telling me to do art.<br />
When I went to study university in the states, we had the first year<br />
to take electives and to try out, so I took advantage and tried everything<br />
from chemical to nuclear engineering all the way to art. Every<br />
single art course that I took I got an “A” on, so all the art courses and<br />
electives that I have taken was enough to give me art as a minor. Then<br />
came the decision to decide what to study, and I felt that<br />
architecture was kind of a compromise because it involved drawing,<br />
which in a sense looking back is quiet of a very fundamental process<br />
between architecture and art.<br />
The difference between art and architecture is that in art you are an<br />
introvert during the creative process and when displaying your work<br />
in an art gallery, you’re an extrovert. The creative process is already<br />
done when you’re alone, since you don’t have anybody while your<br />
exploring and while your expressing yourself without being told what<br />
to do. Where is in architecture, you are an extrovert from day one<br />
because you have to interact with clients, engineers and with<br />
different people in the profession. You end up having a lot of<br />
interference, which requires a lot of people skills from politics to<br />
phycology, all kinds of things that I found myself distracted in the<br />
creative process. So in order to be an architect you really have to be<br />
able to work with people not just to get along, but in some situations<br />
to be dominant and to be able to push your way through. I mean look<br />
at people like Zaha Hadid, she’s like a bulldozer when it comes to her<br />
ideas. So I found myself now wanting to go back to do art, to do what I<br />
want not that I want to leave architecture, but at some point I want to<br />
actually return to architecture as an artist, approaching architecture<br />
as art. In that case where I look at the building as the end product,<br />
because in an architectural firm, your end product is the intermediate<br />
product, which is the drawings, and all of that process. I use to draw<br />
a lot with my hands and produce architectural drawings, but with<br />
computers now the profession became dominant by business.<br />
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Today many architecture has become more business based and less of an<br />
art. Therefore you’ll find that because it’s more as a business it’s driven<br />
by bottom line, by figures, by time so things are done at a very<br />
accelerated pace and people are compromising the end quality. So I’m<br />
hoping that through my current journey of art I’ll start back again in<br />
drawing, painting, sculpting and from sculpture I start to make furniture<br />
and from furniture I start to make architecture by actually working on<br />
pieces.<br />
So you mentioned about one being an introvert or an extrovert.<br />
Which one are you?<br />
I’m very much an extrovert, very social, I’m all over the place on<br />
social media but when it comes to my creative process in creating<br />
I found that I prefer to work alone, even though I love to<br />
collaborate with people. The type of people I interacted with through<br />
my professional career have been a draining process because your<br />
dealing with ego, your dealing with different priorities, your<br />
dealing with different visions and politics, envy and so many<br />
different aspects of human beings and human beings are complex<br />
which it defies itself. So I found myself lack the desire to acquire<br />
political skills - I’m not interested in politics, I’m not interested in<br />
navigating my way in power structures or trying to be able to use<br />
other people to execute what I am doing. I would much rather work<br />
on my own, and then people come and interact with my work. If my<br />
work is up on the wall, they may like it or if they don’t, their<br />
critique is well constructive, if its not constructive critique so be<br />
it, it’s between the people and the work and I’m out of it already<br />
working on something else. However nothing is more painful than<br />
having a vision and watching that vision get destroyed through a<br />
process just as having a project that you have worked on for so<br />
many years and it gets terminated for some reason, it’s draining<br />
and it’s exhausting. So because of that at least for me I’m unable<br />
to utilize what I’m good at.<br />
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Now I’m finding that when I immerse myself in work, because I’m<br />
such an extrovert it is important for me to have some introverted<br />
time. To be able to focus and go deeper, other wise I’ll be scattered<br />
and I will exist across a horizontal surface. Sometimes you need to<br />
deep dive, sort of like the birds that land on the surface of the<br />
water and needs to dive deep down to get the fish, so sometimes<br />
you need to go to a deeper level. At times I express that with my<br />
work and part of my work becomes therapeutic, it becomes<br />
reflective, it becomes an opportunity for me to explore hard<br />
feelings or to get in touch with my emotions. Some part of my work<br />
also becomes therapeutic for me, I’m not drawing to sell, I’m not<br />
drawing it for a client, I’m not drawing it to get commissioned, I’m<br />
just doing it as a way of being therapeutically myself.<br />
Sketch By Waleed Shaalan<br />
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SECOND ISSUE 2017<br />
The Divorce Diary<br />
Waleed Shaalan<br />
interviewed by Anne<br />
I came across a diary, however it was not any ordinary diary. A<br />
diary that was not filled with words but instead, with lines and<br />
vibrant colors. I was intrigued into knowing more about that unique<br />
diary. A diary that started off from a coffee stain and bled through<br />
each pages have transformed into a journey of continuous emotions<br />
through art. Waleed Shaalan, an artist and an architect who held<br />
this diary, shared with us his emotional journey behind the “Divorce<br />
Diary”.<br />
How did it all start?<br />
During a period of time, I was going through a divorce. One day<br />
during my lunch break back when I had a corporate job, I had my<br />
sketchbook with me - which I carried around as an architect to<br />
capture any form of inspiration. I was flipping through the pages<br />
and I came across an unfinished sketch of an eye. I had an<br />
emotional moment where I was unable to shed a tear, and there I<br />
let the sketch do it for me thus I poured the first drop of coffee.<br />
It was that stain that begun that process for me.. The process of<br />
self-healing. So while I was doing my art, I came across a PHD in art<br />
therapy in social media, right away corresponded with me that I’m<br />
doing art therapy. So I was healing myself through my art, through<br />
these sketches which where kind of a selfie, but more of a selfie<br />
that goes beyond the surface. More into what’s happening inside of<br />
me, in an extract language that I am processing in. What’s<br />
interesting is that I was documenting this process live such as on<br />
Snapchat, as I was drawing and posting them on Instagram; it was<br />
interesting to see how others would actually pick up on these<br />
emotions.<br />
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“As Bruce Lee once said that water, can shape like a<br />
tea cup, it has the ability that you cant punch it yet you<br />
can’t break it. However it can break steel, it can break<br />
rock, while with water you cannot break. So the strength<br />
that you can get like water as Bruce Lee said, can give you<br />
flexibility and greater richness rather than being ridged,<br />
so you don’t have to be ridged to be strong . Personally,<br />
I don’t have a problem in being vulnerable, I don’t have a<br />
problem in feeling pain.”<br />
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Others would sometimes send me a private message asking if<br />
I’m ok today without me talking about the details of my problem<br />
which is personal because it involves other parties, and was able<br />
to reach out and feel that I’m connected with other people in an<br />
abstract way through my art, through an abstract emotion<br />
without going through into any specifics. So sharing that was<br />
kind of healing for me because it made me feel that I was not<br />
alone. It made me feel that other people also had their own<br />
issues and they’re open to sharing it.<br />
Tell us about your divorce diary<br />
That diary was an opportunity for me to deal with a painful<br />
situation, which I had in my life. To be able to express it and to<br />
go through the complexity of these feelings because feelings are<br />
like colors, I can see sixteen million shades of colors yet we’re<br />
only allowed to see black and white as a man, angry, happy and<br />
that’s it. Where is the pallet of the complexity of all of these<br />
colors? Of these emotions? So I chose that rather than taking<br />
my emotion of anger and bitterness of which I have experienced,<br />
how do I channel it? It is through complex processing of which<br />
can be done in many ways, it can be done through therapy, it can<br />
be done through sports, prayers, travel, through art, whichever.<br />
The society that we live in behind these facades - that every<br />
body pretends to be “normal” or “perfect”, creates more<br />
pressure on us because it makes us feel like we’re the only ones<br />
who are abnormal or imperfect, when in fact we are actually not.<br />
If any body’s normal he would be abnormal, because everybody<br />
has issues, everybody has pain and it is important for us to share<br />
it. This is where art comes in as art, theater, literature, music,<br />
all of these creative sources is a platform for us to exchange<br />
and vent these emotions, rather than resorting to just anger or<br />
violence. If we collectively as a culture are able to do that, then<br />
we collectively start to create a certain culture of civilization.<br />
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Sketches By Waleed Shaalan
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I think that once we get in touch with our completeness as<br />
a human, with our vulnerability and our strengths, we could<br />
potentially have a lot of greater strength. Such as some of the<br />
strongest individuals in history like the Gandhi, or Martin<br />
Luther king, all of these men where not angry and violent but<br />
they where gentle yet strong.<br />
Tell us more about the process of your sketchbook<br />
So that was the process that I went through of my divorce, where<br />
the process of divorce was a painful process and it was very<br />
important for me to not repress these feelings of emotions or<br />
run away from these feelings, but to process them. That sketchbook<br />
for me was the process of everyday, by flipping the page<br />
and continuing the sketch, where the previous page would be<br />
continued - and where the coffee stain bled through each page<br />
of the book. These emotions come in waves, sometimes you feel<br />
that the heal is going away and sometimes it comes back, but<br />
every time it comes back it comes back a little bit smaller, or<br />
gentle. As I mentioned, it is a complex process, it is not a linear<br />
process and that’s what I learnt looking back at my sketchbook<br />
and watching how my story with the healing took place.<br />
What is important is as painful as these feelings are, it is<br />
important to face them and to feel them and to process them<br />
rather than carry them around, because if you carry them around,<br />
it will be like carrying a baggage - a burden. I’ve done that<br />
before, there where situations where I wasn’t able to process<br />
them for whatever reason I carried it on and on. But life will<br />
keep putting you back in the same situation until you deal with<br />
what you actually need to deal with, and sometimes these issues<br />
go way back to your childhood where it all started. When we<br />
where young and had a negative experience that we didn’t<br />
process, in your life you will subconsciously take yourself back<br />
to the same situation, which will create or repeat the same<br />
pattern.<br />
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Many have asked if I would sell my sketchbook, but for some<br />
reason this sketchbook is so much like a personal diary. Unlike<br />
my other work, it would be something that I would rather keep,<br />
at least for the time being; it’s like selling your family album.<br />
It is part of my story, however I have no issues with sharing, in<br />
fact I had people tell me that they truly appreciate me sharing<br />
my vulnerability because it have helped them in a certain way,<br />
feel like it’s okay and for guys it is ok to not be okay.<br />
Sketch By Waleed Shaalan<br />
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Photograph Courtesy of<br />
Waleed Shaalan<br />
Tell us about your paintings, Some are<br />
pixilated, What is the inspiration behind them? Why<br />
did you choose to pixilate them?<br />
I came to realize that I was excessively looking at the issue of<br />
appropriation in art. For example that painting I created hung at<br />
“Poel cafe” (Kuwait City), is a painting of my phone,<br />
photographing that space that previously had other paintings<br />
created by another artist hung on that wall. Does it mean I’m<br />
copying those paintings? Or not? And then came another topic<br />
about “privacy”. I was in the middle of doing a painting of a<br />
person and that person said, “no I don’t want you to post that<br />
painting for privacy reasons”. However I wanted to post and<br />
share that painting, so I thought what if I pixelated that person?<br />
And then I started to explore the idea of pixilation, because I<br />
thought ok what happens if I painted somebody naked? And I<br />
pixilated them? So technically speaking, you really are not<br />
seeing anything however you know that that person is naked, or<br />
are they not naked? Does this painting need to be censored with<br />
a black marker? Or not? It Is the thought of knowing that someone<br />
wearing a dress, while it’s the fact that you know they’re<br />
naked behind that dress.<br />
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I was also intrigued with the relationship between the digital world<br />
and the physical world. So I started to say we use dabs of paints to<br />
create images to make ourselves permanent. Today we are using<br />
pixels, where everything we post on the Internet is nothing but<br />
pixels. So I started to go back and fourth between digital media and<br />
painting and thought what if I actually took a pixel as a unit and<br />
started to play with it? I’m still going to explore that further<br />
because I like that theme a lot.<br />
Waleed Shaalan<br />
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what do you hope achieve through your work?<br />
I think the desire to do art for myself is to interpret certain<br />
experiences, whether it’s a visual experience of a place or a<br />
certain emotion specific to me or universal to others. How I<br />
interact with it or interpret it and create a piece of work that<br />
could have others to either enjoy it or respond to it, whether<br />
getting offended by it or get inspired from it. It is a form of<br />
communication between me as an individual and the collective<br />
of the society that is around me<br />
as whole and by that back and<br />
fourth communication, gives me<br />
feedback and creates a type of an<br />
interaction. For example a recent<br />
painting that I did was inspired<br />
from many sources, from a song<br />
from another piece of art that I<br />
saw from another artist. Another<br />
experience that I had, a<br />
collection of all of these my mind<br />
puts it all together that creates a<br />
certain piece that signifies a<br />
certain moment that other people<br />
can relate to in other ways.<br />
Sometimes people would look at a<br />
painting that I did and it would<br />
trigger a certain emotion from<br />
their side. So really it’s about<br />
feeling connected, an emotional<br />
connection to others.<br />
Sketch by Waleed Shaalan<br />
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Waleed Shaalan<br />
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What Inspires you ?<br />
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D esign . ..<br />
C reate . ..<br />
I nspire<br />
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