Jul
Earlier this year I was commissioned to photograph La Mer Beachfront development in Dubai for the architects CallisonRTKL, who were part of the overall ‘design and build’ team.
As a beachfront development where new Dubai meets the old, La Mer integrates minimalist and contemporary design. Located in Jumeirah 1, La Mer has little in comparison with other destinations in the UAE having prize views of the Arabian Gulf and Dubai’s city skyline.
The Meraas development is spread over 1.24 million square metres of existing and reclaimed land taken over by sprawling timber walkways and beachside promenades packed with more than 130 restaurants, bars and shops.
The Beachfront comprises of four distinct zones, La Mer North and La Mer South, plus the beach and a leisure and entertainment hub.
Water features inspired by breaking waves sit alongside walkways bedecked by towering palm trees and marram grass verges.
Down by the beach, families can enjoy the safety of shallow waters, or take it easy in water hammocks and shower after a dip in the sea with fresh water buckets.
Driftwood has been used to build up some of the waterfront features, with half buried surfboards and paddleboards for hire.
A waterpark is on a central headland area called The Wharf, promising the usual thrills and spills along with an artificial wave for surfers.
“The destination reaffirms our commitment to contribute to Dubai Tourism Vision 2020 by diversifying what Dubai has to offer,” said Abdulla Al Habbai, group chairman at Meraas.
“With a host of new and novel experiences, residents and visitors will also find an alluring proposition to explore and enjoy.”
For more information check out -
Jul
A range of new Flos designs were unveiled at an evening event on 21st June hosted by Atrium at their London Studio. I photographed the studio space and lighting before any of the guests arrived, and then captured the evening event.
Atrium is the largest independent lighting specialist in the UK, working with architects, engineers and lighting designers. They have a long term relationship with Flos and are their official UK partner. Flos is the leading Italian lighting brand, known globally for its iconic design and technology innovation, both in the decorative and architectural segments.
New arrivals for each collection in Home, Architectural and Outdoor included iconic pieces by celebrated designers, such as Arrangements and Overlap by Michael Anastassiades, indoor and outdoor lamp Bellhop by Edward Barber & Jay Osgerby, WireRing by the Italian artist duo Formafantasma -for the first time in a new role of industrial designers.
Some stunning innovations in the professional systems were also showcased for the first time in the UK. These included Infra-Structure by Vincent Van Duysen, The Running Magnet, The Tracking Magnet and the all new Fast Track by Flos Architectural.
Designer Michael Anastassiades introduced his new designs and spoke about his commitment to Flos. The evening was hosted by Atrium’s Ulysse Dormoy and attended by special guests from Flos, clients and press.
To read more go to Flos and Atrium
May
I recently photographed The Minster Building in London, which is the latest financial district property to be transformed. It now offers a rejuvenated, premier environment showcasing Grade A facilities, as well as nurturing a much sought-after work/life balance.
Originally built in 1992 to designs by GMW Partnership, The Minster Building has an incredibly striking pink marble neo-gothic façade. BuckleyGrayYeoman are behind the recent redevelopment, as commissioned by Greycoat Real Estate and Ivanhoe Cambridge, which involved shifting the original entrance on the corner of Mincing Lane and Great Tower Street.
A new 30 metre long boulevard leads directly to the reception where there was once the longest run of escalators in Europe. These have now been removed and replaced with an eight-storey central atrium, around which the offices are arranged. The new atrium sets the tone and material palette for the rest of the development, with curved glazing, textured jesmonite panels, marble and bronze combining to create an opulent, airy and uplifting ambiance.
It is not often my brief includes the suggestion to look up and listen, but it is understandable when entering the space. Throughout the entrance and reception, the walls are hand-finished in nearly 2,000m2 of Armourcoat’s polished plaster together with over 600m2 of the company’s Acoustic Plaster System applied to the ceilings. Designed to optimize the acoustics of interior spaces, the Acoustic Plaster system offers an elegant marble based plaster finish while allowing sound energy to pass through the surface. The zero VOC system, which consists of 80% recycled material, achieves class '0' fire rating and a class 'A' Noise Reduction Coefficient rating.
The Minster Building has already attracted some cool new tenants that include The Third Space, which will open its first luxury health club in the square mile, a Crussh juice bar to be near the reception, and Brewdog, whose space will feature a 10 hectolitre brewing facility.
May
My photographs were featured in the April edition of FX Magazine. The four page article showcases the London offices designed by CallisonRTKL for a large global tech company. The design consultancy aimed to transform the client’s three floors into a modern, flexible space that would reflect the cutting-edge nature of the client’s brand.
From the outset, CallisonRTKL wanted to create a journey, both for visitors and employees. As well as building workstations and creating breakout areas to allow for flexible working and encourage collaboration, the designers’ brief was to create a meeting space for the client’s sales team and visiting customers.
The fifth floor is dedicated to the new visitor centre, for both new and existing customers. With a red wall and light strips, the reception desk makes a high-impact first impression. The ‘lines of light’ are a key part of the design concept, being a three dimensional manifestation of the human and digital connections of the business. Adjacent to the reception is a waiting area with various types of seating, a new customer lounge and focus rooms.
The open area connects with the main meeting suite via timber links on both sides, while the dynamic lines of light highlight the route through the corridors. There is an emphasis on connectivity of systems, data, people, physical areas, knowledge sharing and collaboration. Some 22 meeting rooms are placed at angles from each other to avoid long, narrow corridors, reduce acoustic reverberation and assist way-finding through tonal coding of floor and wall finishes
The LED dali lighting system is fully dimmable, and lighting and daylighting are linked along with the external blinds and controls. Dedicated perimeter lighting control zones enable full daylight linking. Meeting rooms and offices are fitted with in-room temperature control systems. The fifth floor meeting suite has a multi-channel, wall mounted, scene-setting light to tune the environment to a range of scenarios.
One of the core ideas was to “bring nature in”, to balance the digital and virtual worlds with people, and humanise the space. This was interpreted throughout with the use of organic patterns, materials and finishes.
See the full article at FX Magazine
For more information go to CallisonRTKL
