Interior Home and Design: December 2009

Thursday, December 31, 2009

Burj Dubai and Downtown Burj Dubai night photos,28/December/2009

Wednesday, December 30, 2009

Masquerade

The bright young thing mentality: the penchant for fantasy and masquerade had become an expression of the disregard they felt for the immediate past or the immediate future. They lived -or tried to live - outside their time. Philip Hoare, Serious Pleasures, the life of stephen tennant

New Years Eve is the perfect time for fantasy. What do you want your life to be this coming year?

Or fantasy could be as simple as dressing up in costume for the evening: full of high hopes for the future and escaping the past year.

Fantasy is not dead, it survives.

Whatever form your fantasies take or whatever you may wear, I hope you have great New Years celebrations!

design Kitchen and Kitchen Set

Modern LIFE-change requires a fundamental change. Currently, the family homes in the middle of the city's increasingly difficult to find a kitchen full of black soot and sticky floors.

Therefore, no wonder if the current split in two kitchens, kitchen, wet and dry kitchen, which has a different function. The kitchen is usually combined with a living room or dining room is often referred to as the kitchen pantry or dry. This room is usually equipped with modern kitchen equipment. Meanwhile, wet kitchen used for cooking. Wet kitchen is more widely used to heat the food before serving or used to cook something practical, that if using the spices they had half-finished. Therefore, now the middle of the kitchen design trend in line with the times.

http://architectaria.com

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‘Vertical travel’ within Burj Dubai in the world’s highest elevators

‘Vertical travel’ within Burj Dubai in the world’s highest elevators

57 elevators and 8 escalators streamline ‘travel in the Vertical City’
Double-deck elevators exclusively for visitors to At The Top, Burj Dubai, the observatory deck on Level 124
More than 75,000 professionals and skilled workers involved in elevator installation

Dubai, UAE; December 30, 2009: Call it vertical travel with a difference. Burj Dubai, the world’s tallest building by Emaar Properties, set to be inaugurated on January 4, 2010 to mark the fourth anniversary of the Accession Day of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum as the Ruler of Dubai, is setting new trends as well as world records in elevator and escalator installation and operation.

In what is described as the ‘intelligent elevator installation,’ Burj Dubai will have 57 elevators and eight escalators streamlining the travel needs of the residents and visitors to the tower. These elevators also mark the highest installation in any building.

“Burj Dubai is envisaged as a work-live-play environment - a vertical city for all practical purposes, with homes, offices, corporate suites, a luxury hotel, retail outlets and fitness facilities. The advanced elevator technologies used in Burj Dubai are designed for seamless performance with a focus on safety, efficiency and the convenience of users,” said Abdulla Lahej, Executive Director, Dubai Project Management, Emaar Properties.

The mixed-use Burj Dubai features 1,044 residential apartments including 144 Armani Residences and 160 ultra-luxury hotel rooms of Armani Hotel Dubai. The Corporate Suites comprise 49 floors. To move easily in this environment to spectacular heights, the elevators have been carefully placed to different zones.

Each elevator zone serves different audiences – from visitors to office workers, to hotel guests, to residents – maximising their efficiency as a result and saving time, by the use of a sky lobby system.

The sky lobby is an intermediate floor where residents, guests, office staff will change from an express elevator to a local elevator, which stops at every floor within a certain segment of the building. Burj Dubai’s sky lobbies are located on level 43, 76 and 123 and will include a lounge area, a kiosk, amongst other amenities.

All elevators have been supplied and installed by global elevator leader Otis. No elevators are installed to travel all 160 floors of Burj Dubai. Instead, they are strategically grouped to align with the floor layout, offering passengers a direct express service to their destination by bypassing other floors.

The main service elevator, positioned in the central core of Burj Dubai, has the world’s highest elevator rise at 504 metres (1,654 ft) – more than the height of Taipei 101 in Taiwan (448 metres) and almost one-and-a-half times as high as Empire State Building in New York (381 metres). It travels at 9 metres per second, and also has the world’s longest travelling distance for an elevator. Another service lift in the spire, has the world’s highest landing at 636.9 metres.

The elegantly designed double-deck elevators with built-in light and entertainment features including LCD displays will exclusively serve visitors to At The Top, Burj Dubai, the world’s highest outdoor observation deck situated on level 124 of the tower as well as office users transferring at the sky lobby at level 123.

These double-deck units – used for the first time in the Middle East by Otis – are the highest rising double-deck elevators in the world and will travel at the speed of 10 metres per second. They have a capacity of 12 to 14 people per cab. Another highlight is the state-of-the-art circular observation elevator that serves three floors in the Armani Hotel restaurant area.

Unique to the elevators are 24 ‘green technology’ Gen2® machine-roomless elevators featuring flat polyurethane coated seat belts that reduce energy consumption by up to 50 per cent compared with conventional units. These energy-efficient Gen2 elevators do not require any additional lubrication, making them cleaner for the environment.

The elevators in Burj Dubai are indeed a celebration of sophisticated engineering. Passengers enter their chosen floor using keypads or interactive touch screens before entering the elevator. The system, after assessing the passenger requests, automatically assigns the passengers travelling to the same or nearby floors, thus reducing waiting time and travel time.

Since the inception of project until June 2009, more than 75,000 professionals and skilled workers from the Otis team have been involved in the installation of elevators and escalators at Burj Dubai. Work on the elevators started in May 2006.

Burj Dubai is currently over 800 metres (over 2,625 ft) high with over 160 floors, and is located in the centre of Downtown Burj Dubai, described as the new heart of the city.
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New Burj Dubai portal soon to launch online ticketing for the tower’s observation deck on level 124

New Burj Dubai website opens door to life inside the world’s first ‘Vertical City’

Portal soon to launch online ticketing for the tower’s observation deck on level 124

Dubai, UAE, December 30, 2009: Emaar Properties, the developer of Burj Dubai, has unveiled a comprehensive new website dedicated to the world’s tallest building at www.burjdubai.com

The interactive portal provides a fascinating in-depth introduction to every aspect of life, work and leisure inside the world’s first ‘Vertical City.’

Burj Dubai will be inaugurated on January 4, 2010, which marks the fourth anniversary of the Accession Day of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum as the Ruler of Dubai.

The new website caters to the growing international interest in the tower. Burj Dubai will soon become a vibrant community as well as a breathtaking structure, a city within a city where thousands of people come to live, work and to enjoy its astonishing facilities for entertainment and hospitality.

The website is a window through which any visitor, be they a new arrival in Dubai, a long-time resident, or a foreign traveller planning his or her first trip to the UAE, can gain the most comprehensive knowledge of the world’s tallest building.

The easy-to-navigate website, www.burjdubai.com , has a large portfolio of images of the tower and the surrounding community of Downtown Burj Dubai, a 500-acre mega project including the world’s largest shopping mall, The Dubai Mall, developed by Emaar Properties.

The new website will soon allow visitors to buy tickets to the tower’s 124th floor observation deck, At The Top, Burj Dubai. The site provides a detailed account of the experience awaiting visitors near the summit of Burj Dubai. It also provides visitor information including directions to the At The Top tour, which begins at The Dubai Mall. They can also get insights on the various aspects of the journey.

The website has dedicated sections on the exclusive residences and offices inside Burj Dubai, and a full account of the world’s first Armani Hotel Dubai. There is also a detailed overview of the surrounding Downtown Burj Dubai community, including a virtual tour of its many retail and hospitality attractions.

Burj Dubai stands at more than 800 metres (over 2,625 ft) high and is already the world’s tallest man-made structure.

About Burj Dubai:
A mixed-use tower featuring the world’s first Armani Hotel Dubai and Armani Residences, alongside corporate suites, residences, retail and leisure facilities, Burj Dubai is at the centre of Downtown Burj Dubai, a 500-acre mega-development by Emaar Properties. Among an array of lifestyle amenities, the tower will have a public observation deck - At the Top, Dubai - on level 124.

Described as the new heart of Dubai, Downtown Burj Dubai encompasses The Dubai Mall, one of the world’s largest shopping and entertainment destinations; several hotels; offices and homes. A stellar attraction within the community is The Dubai Fountain, the world’s tallest performing fountain.

At over 800 metres, the Burj Dubai has already achieved the distinction of being the world's tallest structure surpassing the KVLY-TV mast (628.8 metres; 2,063 ft) in North Dakota, USA. The tower is taller than Taipei 101 in Taiwan, which at 508 metres (1,667 ft) has held the tallest-building-in-the-world title since it opened in 2004. Burj Dubai also surpassed the 31-year-old record of CN Tower, which at 553.33 metres (1,815.5 ft) has been the world’s tallest free-standing structure on land since 1976.

Designed by Chicago-based Skidmore, Owings and Merrill (SOM), Burj Dubai is constructed by high-rise experts South Korea’s Samsung Corporation. New York-based Turner Construction International is the project and construction manager. The tower employs the latest in wind engineering, structural engineering, structural systems, construction materials and construction methods.

About Emaar Properties PJSC:
Emaar Properties PJSC, listed on the Dubai Financial Market, is a global property developer with a significant presence in key markets world-wide. Besides building residential and commercial properties, the company also has proven competencies in shopping malls & retail, hospitality & leisure, education, healthcare and financial services sectors.

Emaar is set to inaugurate Burj Dubai, the world's tallest building and free-standing structure, and has opened The Dubai Mall, the world’s largest shopping and entertainment destination. In Saudi Arabia, Emaar is developing King Abdullah Economic City, the region's largest private sector-led project in Saudi Arabia, featuring a Sea Port, Central Business District, Industrial Zone, Educational Zone, Residential Communities and Resort District.

Emaar has joined hands with Giorgio Armani to strengthen its presence in hospitality. The company is also opening educational institutions and healthcare centres in South Asia, Middle East and North Africa and the Subcontinent.

Emaar holds 30 per cent equity in Dubai Bank, focused on retail and commercial banking. Emaar is also the largest shareholder in Amlak Finance, UAE's leading Islamic home financing company. For more information, visit www.emaar.com.
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Tuesday, December 29, 2009

A modern renovation

Featured in the March 2008 issue of Metropolitan Home magazine was an example of a city apartment with great bones which was renovated efficiently and beautifully. The great bones were there, natural light, outdoor space and tall ceilings on a high floor.

Jeffrey Povero, an architect in NYC, renovated the space for himself and his partner in a 1914 hospital buiding which had been converted to apartments in the 80s. The space was a bland box when he found it, but he saw promise in the 11 foot ceilings and views of the brooklyn bridge. I'm sure the huge terrace and three exposures didn't hurt either!

What started out as plans for minimal renovations turned into a gut job, as these types of jobs often do. Why do anything half way? While not a small apartment by New York standards at 860 SF, it still had to operate efficiently for the two.

I would buy a rat filled shoebox of an apartment for that terrace. Amazing! I'm in love with the walnut paneling Povero had installed behind the fireplace (top image) and in the kitchen below and with the acres of white marble. I would have used a beefier countertop at the island though I think.....it looks fragile and skimpy.

Povero wanted to create a modern men's club, which I think reads very strongly. While a bit minimal for my personal tastes, I think the apartment is stunning.

One thing Povero and I share is a love of organization, although he takes it further than I; his books, seen above, are arranged in Dewey Decimal order! He worked for years at Robert Stern designing libraries: I suppose that will do it for you!

Mirrors were used in the apartment advantageously to reflect the light and views and make small rooms feel bigger. The photo below looks like 2 rooms almost!

The closet is also a work of supreme organization. How many closets get published in magazines? I drooled over this.....

Even if it's not your style, I think everyone can appreciate the work that went into this space!

photographs by Peter Murdock

Ferrari World Theme Park

Abu Dhabi is probably tired of Dubai always stealing the thunder as the star of the United Arab Emirates, but that may change with the construction of a F1 spec race track and a Ferrari-based theme park set to open in 2010.

Dubbed 'Ferrari World Abu Dhabi', the new holiday destination will be the world's first Ferrari theme park and the largest attraction of its kind.

The theme park will feature an iconic sleek red roof that's said to be directly inspired by the classic double curve side profile of the Ferrari GT body, spanning 2,152,782 square feet and carrying the largest Ferrari logo ever created.

There will be a number of attractions, including rides for children of all ages and the world's fastest rollercoaster, travelling at speeds exceeding 124 mph. Another ride will rocket passengers through the roof and to a height of 203 feet to simulate the G-forces experienced by drivers in an F1 car.

The site is located on Yas Island on the North East side of Abu Dhabi's mainland, which is about a 10-minute drive from Abu Dhabi International Airport and 50 minutes from Yas Marina Circuit, which will host the inaugural Abu Dhabi GP later this year.
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Futuristic Workspace Looks Like a Dinosaur Egg

Do you like to block the world out completely when you're working at your desk? Copenhagen-based design team GamFratesi has created a prototype for a sleek, dinosaur egg-like work environment that they call Rewrite. It reminds me of those cubicles they had at my grad school library, except they're a lot nicer-looking.

GamFratesi

Fancy new kitchens by Warendorf and Philippe Starck

P.Starck designe kitchen

German kitchen manufacturer Warendorf (former Miele DIE KUCHE) chose Philippe Starck to design their first kitchen line. Four new designer kitchens have been introduced under the new brand name. “The Library” aims to reinforce the connection between culture and food, “The Primary” offers some yellow neobaroque aesthetics, “The Duality” is accessible from two sides and “The Tower” rotates through 360° to deliver a brand new kitchen experience. All of them offer fabulous design and show that the combination beautiful – functional is not an oxymoron. The four kitchens are complemented by matching dining tables with shiny chrome trumpet