OBJEKT South Africa

The owner of the space is a classic car and aviation enthusiast, so Splinter had an abundance of good aesthetic references and a strong direction for the style they wanted to create for him. “We began by delineating the large upper space into functional areas: his main working area, meeting area, and relaxing space. On the ground floor we situated his car collection, and games area”, according to the designers. They continued: “The main linchpin of the layout of the interior was positioning the desk, as we wanted to incorporate the best vantage point of the long views down the valley through the full height glass wall.We were also mindful that the desk needed to command the space and would have a good line of sight of the entrance.The Wing desk with…

The Mercato Centrale in the heart of Florence was built around 1874 after a design by Giuseppe Mengoni, who was also the architect of the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II in Milan. He derived inspiration for the market in Florence from the Halles in Paris. For the construction he used materials that were current at that time, including steel, glass and cast iron. Since the renovation of the first floor, the building’s structure is once more in evidence. Florence's Mercato Centrale embodies a highly contemporary and necessary vision: to repopulate a very important area that is vital to the historic centre, with a series of newly-conceived services and gourmet shops, designed to spotlight artisans of taste. With the restored complex, Florence has a new and truly vast indoor space - covering approximately 3000 m2…

A special place has been reserved in Florence’s Mercato Centrale for the large Cooking School classrooms designed and created by Arclinea for the Istituto Lorenzo de' Medici. Istituto Lorenzo de' Medici is a unique academy based on Italy’s rich cultural heritage. In 1973 Istituto Lorenzo de' Medici (LdM) was founded by Carla and Fabrizio Guarducci with the purpose of offering international higher education in Italy. More than forty years of experience have made LdM one of the most distinctive and well-established ‘study abroad’ institutions in Europe. It offers academic and professionally-oriented courses designed to complement a variety of study-abroad programmes, as well as to enrich students' knowledge, education and skills. Students can choose from over 400 different courses in 33 subject areas, which are taught in English at LdM's three locations:…

Founded in 1997 by Architect Fulvio Giraldi, the design studio consists of 5 partners and 22 associates. The atmosphere is young and dynamic, thanks to the spaces that define a strong communication and design identity. The headquarters are divided into eleven areas, including rooms dedicated to design, to testing the use of materials and to meeting rooms. There is also a kitchen that gives colleagues the opportunity to interact during breaks and a relax area with soft pouffe-seating on a green carpet that recalls the colour of grass. In view of the increasing number of births within the group the latter area will soon become a new nursery: a service that will enhance the quality of life for the associates. Giraldi has always aimed at creating a solid team able to share…

Horst P. Horst was a master of light, composition and atmospheric illusion who conjured a world of sensual sophistication. His long and varied career spanned the inter-linked worlds of art, fashion, theatre and high society. The exhibition will feature his work with the leading couturiers Coco Chanel and Elsa Schiaparelli, early models including Lisa Fonssagrives and Helen Bennett, Hollywood stars such as Marlene Dietrich, and significant artists and designers including Jean Michel Frank, Marcel Vertès and Salvador Dalí. In his sixty-year career Horst achieved international acclaim and has since influenced many artists and designers including Madonna, Robert Mapplethorpe and Tim Walker. Less well-known aspects of Horst’s work will be highlighted, including his travel photographs, nature studies for fabric and wallpaper designs, interior studies and nudes. Moreover, Horst’s creative working process will…

Happiness based on three important mainstays: health, sustainability and pleasure.They go to make up Illy’s DNA. Just as champagne is the drink of celebration, coffee is the drink of culture and happiness. Hence the slogan: Live HAPPilly! Andrea Illy is the grandson of the founder of the renowned Italian coffee brand. Together with Illy’s art curator, Carlo Bach, he steers the company’s extremely important cultural activities. OBJEKT©International spoke with him in the garden of the new Waldorf Astoria hotel in the heart of Amsterdam. If you think espresso is ‘just another coffee’ you are greatly mistaken, as you will discover from speaking to Andrea Illy.When he talks about his coffee, you hear a whole succession of expressions like ‘the best quality in the cup’, ‘mouth feeling’ , flavour, smell, taste, velvet body, crema.…