design: kossman.dejong urbanium pavilion @ shanghai expo

OK.  So we know it’s a little late . . . but good design should never go unrewarded, no matter how long it takes to get it, just ask Van Gogh.

The kossman.dejong designed urbanium pavillion shanghai expo is dedicated to representing the quality of life for families across the globe at the Chinese pavilion, and given that many of China’s billion strong population will have never travelled outside their state, nor have had much experience of life outside the ‘iron-curtain’ it would be no surprise that after visiting the pavilion they’d be itching to get out there and start using their passport.

Visitors are led through five areas in the pavilion: home, work, connected, learn and health, and each corresponds to a different aspect of family life. Every sub-pavilion has a different layout, using multiple projection screens, lighting and sound. Instead of building actual cities, the designers used everyday objects to build residential areas.

What has been achieved though is truly jawdropping stuff, we just wish we could go back and do it all over again . . .

AP.

design: Karl does Coca-Cola light.

Now we love Karl.  Seriously.  Love.  The chinese takeaway bag for Chanel,  the irony shown with the Karl who shopper, and of course who could forget the Shanghai fashion show,  but we never expected this . . .

Of course Karl himself is no stranger to dieting, he who used to be quite literally the biggest man in fashion has slimmed down drastically in recent years – and now we see him designing his own range of bottles for Coke light, and accompanying ad campaign.

Bravo Coke – now.  Who’s next?

AP.

 

architecture: waterhouse hotel Shanghai

As anyone who has been to Shanghai will tell you the Bund is where the action happens, and anyone can also tell you that the South Bund has, for some time, been the less glamorous side to be – well not any longer.

Like the South Bank in London, the left bank in Paris,the South Bund has enjoyed something of a renaissance.  There is no letting of the financial might of the chinese government and the money that was literally thrown at the the area along the Bund in time for the expo has brought a new lease of life to the area.  It is this new lease of life that see’s the Waterhouse hotel take form, and my what a form it is too.

Neri & Hu Design and Research Office, one of China’s leading architectural voices, entirely transformed the 1930’s building but maintained the original façade. Lyndon Neri explains the design ethos for The Waterhouse: “This is a hotel that puts the emphasis on the traveller in search of some meaning, and not just the luxury component of living.” A conceptual blending of the antique and the contemporary, The Waterhouse is a complex dissociation and amalgamation of interior and exterior as well as public and private spaces, leading to a unique and entirely new experience for guests and locals alike.

 

Most major hotels in Shanghai are in the vibrant Pudong district, missing the magnificent view entirely, whilst the Waterhouse puts that view at it’s very heart. The Waterhouse at South Bund prides itself on integrating into the traditional local environment while challenging its boundaries and distinguishing itself absolutely in order to provide each guest with an unforgettable experience.

AP.

just for fun: Shanghai Disney takes over the Bund

As London sees the installation of giant rings across the city ahead of the Olympic games being help there next year, could this mock up image be a way to build excitement about the new Disney park in Shanghai due to open in 2014?