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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 />

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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 />

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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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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 />

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Photograph courtesy of<br />

AGI Architects<br />

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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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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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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 />

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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 />

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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 />

46


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 />

48


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 />

49


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 />

52


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 />

54


BeoLab 19 subwoofer, Brass tone<br />

Images Credited Bang&Olufsen<br />

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SECOND ISSUE 2017<br />

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57


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 />

58


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 />

61


SECOND ISSUE 2017<br />

inspire<br />

. ..<br />

Sketch by Waleed Shaalan<br />

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SECOND ISSUE 2017<br />

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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67


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 />

70


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 />

72


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 />

74


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 />

76


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 />

80<br />

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 />

82


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 />

84


“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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SECOND ISSUE 2017<br />

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 />

90


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 />

91


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 />

92


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 />

93


SECOND ISSUE 2017<br />

Belle<br />

Nouvelle<br />

A Modern and Eclectic<br />

Style Apartment in Paris<br />

94


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 />

96


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 />

98


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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SECOND ISSUE 2017<br />

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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SECOND ISSUE 2017<br />

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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