Latest news with #DreamoftheDesert
New York Times
06-04-2025
- Entertainment
- New York Times
Testing New Twists on Unexpected Materials at Milan Design Week
Where else but at Milan Design Week would you find bookcases made from books, a bar cabinet covered in hairy hide and a pavilion (and all its contents) fashioned from the stuff that stoppers wine bottles? The resourcefulness of designers working with unexpected materials is once again on full display, sometimes to make a point about sustainability (like Casa Cork, a project led by Rockwell Group), and sometimes just to look great. Built With Books and Memories 'I was saved by literature,' said Aline Asmar d'Amman of her exhibition at Galleria Rossana Orlandi called 'The Power of Tenderness.' 'These books that I imbed into concrete are the bricks and mortar of my inner foundation.' Ms. d'Amman is a Lebanese-born architect and interior designer. Her firm, Culture in Architecture, with offices in Beirut and Paris, has refurbished suites at the Hôtel de Crillon with the fashion designer Karl Lagerfeld. It is currently renovating the Orient Express Hotel Palazzo Donà Giovannelli in Venice, as well as the Dream of the Desert train, being developed with Saudi Arabia's Ministry of Culture. Ms. d'Amman has often spoken of her childhood in a war-torn country where she soothed herself by reading. She still thinks of books as her companions, she said: 'Their physical presence is a necessary oxygen.' The new pieces are created entirely by hand. Ms. d'Amman works side by side with artisans at the Laboratorio Morseletto in Vicenza, Italy, and uses simple ingredients: books that she has collected over the years, concrete, and scraps of marble and other stones. She has described the resulting pieces — shelves, pedestals, tables and bookends — as 'contemporary archaeological compositions,' but some may see in them survivors of war. 'Being Lebanese and going through years of war,' Ms. d'Amman said, 'your eye is marked by the ruins, and by the beauty and the nobility of what remains.' 'The Power of Tenderness' opened on April 6 and is on view through the year at Galleria Rossana Orlandi, 14 Via Matteo Bandello; — RIMA SUQI A Ceramicist Tackles Teapots For about a decade, Loewe, the Spanish fashion house, has shown a collection of home décor during Milan's design week. The presentations began in 2015 with a focus on a specific category — baskets, chairs, lamps and the like — and always with an emphasis on craft. This year, 25 artists, designers and architects from 10 countries were invited to create a teapot or tea set in ceramic. Among them was Dan McCarthy, an American ceramicist known for his 'Facepots.' Mr. McCarthy had never made a teapot before. 'I had to buy special clay and special glazes and fire at temperatures I don't usually fire at,' he said. Functionality was not a requirement (only about half the teapots in the group can be used), but he steamed ahead with a workable model: 'I wanted to make something that felt loose and accessible and said, 'I've arrived here in my gooey magical way.'' The artist, who is originally from Hawaii, undertook the challenge from his home in the Catskills in New York. In the end, he made 10 teapots for Loewe to choose from, each about a foot tall. 'I wanted to show off a little bit, so I made them kind of big,' he said. (Two were selected.) He gave special attention to the handle, which, in order to remain upright, was fashioned from an oak dowel and wire normally used for mending fences. This way, he said, the teapot is always at the ready. 'Loewe Teapots' is on view Monday through Sunday at Palazzo Citterio, 12 Via Brera. — RIMA SUQI Keeper of the 'Water of Life' At a glance, Orior's new Beatha drinks cabinet evokes sophisticated caveman décor. It is a stocky, solid walnut piece with doors wrapped in Italian cowhide. Those doors open (via hand-formed bronze handles) to reveal an interior that can be customized for the user's needs. Options include bottle storage, wine racks, drawers and trays; the only fixed piece is the top shelf, which is clad in marble. In photos, the cabinet 'looks really tall and broad, but it is quite small and compact, which is nice because it doesn't overwhelm a room,' said Ciaran McGuigan, the creative director of Orior, which was founded by his parents in 1979. The piece, which is about 5 feet tall by 4 feet wide, was crafted at Orior's workshop in Northern Ireland, with the exception of the handles and hinges, which were made at a foundry in County Cork. About the cabinet's name: It is a shortened version of 'uisce beatha,' which is Gaelic for both 'water of life' and 'whiskey.' Mr. McGuigan is good-humored about the derivation. 'There's no rhyme or reason to some of the pieces we launch. Being Irish we should 100 percent have made a drinks cabinet before this, but we're pleased with the outcome.' Beatha is one of nine pieces Orior is introducing in Milan this year. It is on view from Tuesday through Sunday at Bocci Milan, a residential showroom at 20 Via Giuseppe Rovani; — RIMA SUQI Highlighting an 'Invisible' Resource Rockwell Group, the design firm known for creating immersive interiors for restaurants, hotels and stage productions, will unveil a space in Milan's Brera neighborhood that highlights a sustainable and versatile material: cork. The material is the focus of Cork Collective, a nonprofit initiative that was founded in part by Rockwell Group and works with the hospitality industry to collect and repurpose discarded cork bottle stoppers. Cork, which the firm's founder David Rockwell said can be infinitely recycled and sequesters carbon, is 'one of these major invisible resources that is right under people's noses.' The installation in Milan, called Casa Cork, taps members of the design and hospitality communities, as well as students and educators, to showcase innovative ways that cork can be fashioned and reused. Visitors are invited to move through three spaces in which the material appears as flooring, light fixtures, furniture and other objects: a gallery where people can interact with various types of cork, a workshop that will host designs from a student competition and a salon with a bar for wine tastings. Throughout the week, speakers will host discussions and demonstrations about cork and its different uses. The centerpiece of the installation is a replica of a cork tree in Portugal that has been scanned, 3-D printed and laminated with cork from fallen trees, representing the material's source and potential for a second life. The firm also thought about its own footprint, designing the installation to be packed up and used again elsewhere. 'Although it's being created for Milan,' Mr. Rockwell said, 'it's a kind of circular economy, too.' The exhibition is open Tuesday through Saturday, 31 Via Solferino; — LAUREN MESSMAN Designing Locally With Aluminum Last year, Norsk Hydro, the Norwegian aluminum and renewable energy company, collaborated with seven designers to create home décor items made entirely from Hydro's 100 percent post-consumer aluminum. This project, unveiled at Milan Design Week, explored the design possibilities of the material. In this second installment of Hydro's CIRCAL 100R series, the company seeks to minimize the material's carbon footprint as it is converted into a design object by focusing on 'extremely local production,' said Jacob Nielsen, a communications director at Hydro. For the project, titled R100, all parts of the manufacturing and design process had to be done within a 100-kilometer (about 62-mile) radius, including the collection of post-consumer scrap and the assembly of the final prototypes. Five industrial designers worked with the project's art director, Lars Beller Fjetland, to create the aluminum objects, exercising total freedom in the size and type of extrusions. One participant, Daniel Rybakken, a Norwegian designer who runs a studio in Sweden, said he saw this as 'a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity that you get the chance to do kind of whatever you want.' For his project, 'Fields,' Mr. Rybakken created a sculpture that has no inherent practical function. He said he originally considered more traditional typologies, like an extruded lamp, but then thought, 'Why not do something that no manufacturer would touch in normal cases?' Resembling an architectural model, his piece mediates between the cold industrial components and a warm, poetic object. 'That was actually the most challenging part of it, because it's the balance of an abstraction,' Mr. Rybakken said. 'Where it's recognized as something and not being too literal at the same time.' The R100 objects are on display Tuesday through Sunday at Spazio Maiocchi, 7 Via Achille Maiocchi; — MORGAN MALGET
CNN
28-02-2025
- CNN
The world's smallest park is about the size of four pieces of paper
If you want to take a stroll around this park in Japan, you will have to be very nimble on your toes. A park roughly the size of four sheets of paper in Japan's central prefecture of Shizuoka was recently crowned the world's smallest, according to Guinness World Records. Despite measuring just 2.6 square feet, the recreational space offers a stool made up of a block of wood held up by a rock, with a little bush encircling it. From afar, it could easily be mistaken for a bonsai, an example of the Japanese art of manicuring miniature trees. The park is a short walk from the town hall of Nagaizumi, about 68 miles southwest of the capital Tokyo. The previous official world's smallest park was Mill Ends Park in Portland, Oregon, which helped inspire the Japanese contender that officially took the title on Tuesday, according to Guinness. When a Nagaizumi local was on vacation in the US, 'they found the previous record holder for the smallest park,' Shuji Koyama, a team leader of the town's construction division, told Guinness. 'So they wanted to create an even smaller park.' Locals have been referring to it as the world's smallest park since it was built in 1988, despite a lack of official recognition. To qualify for the Guinness title, Shizuoka officials brought in a certified surveyor to measure the park. Koyama told Guinness World Records he was relieved that the park was finally recognized. 'We want to continue maintaining the park with the community, as well as creating a landscape that is more social media friendly, so that even more people will find attractions of our town,' he said. ————————————————————————————————————– Like what you've just read? Here is more of our recent travel news, from railway ambitions in Europe, China and the Middle East, to the delicious foods that Sweden does better than anywhere else. Adding Britain to your European rail vacation could get a little easier in the future. London St. Pancras, the United Kingdom's only international train station, is working with the Channel Tunnel on opening up more services to France and planning new routes to Germany and Switzerland. The aim is to shorten journey times, improve timetable coordination and introduce a larger rail fleet. St. Pancras also plans to expand peak-time capacity for international passengers from 1,800 per hour to 5,000. In other rail news from around the world, China is hoping its new fleet of 'silver trains' will encourage the up-in-years portion of its aging population to travel more and spend more. The trains will be fitted out with senior-friendly features such as handrails, oxygen bottles and emergency call buttons. From silver to gold: The Middle East's first super-luxury train, Saudi Arabia's Dream of the Desert, will launch in fall 2026. Its gleaming golden interiors are designed to complement the sandy expanses outside. Nordic cuisine is having a moment, but there's a lot more to Swedish food than meatballs and cinnamon buns. From sandwich cake to Västerbotten cheese pie, here are the dishes to try if you're visiting the Scandinavian nation. In South America, there's a food revolution going on in Bolivia, where elite restaurants are getting international notice and ancient Inca and Aymara traditions are finding their way into modern fusion dishes. In the 15th century, Beijing's Forbidden City was one of the most powerful places on the planet but governed by extreme secrecy. Even now, details are still emerging about what they feasted on in the royal household, from tiger testicles to bird's nest soup. Visitors to New York's Center for Jewish History can tour a full-scale recreation of the secret annex where diarist Anne Frank hid from the Nazis in wartime Amsterdam. Originally set to end on April 30, the exhibit has proved so popular that it's been extended until October 31. CNN visited the Manhattan exhibit. A 1,000-year-old French masterpiece is about to disappear from view for two years. Visitors will get their last chance to see the Bayeux Tapestry, an illustrated embroidery telling the story of the 11th-century Norman conquest of England, on August 31, before the Bayeux museum undergoes a major renovation. Istanbul's Maiden Tower, which sits on a tiny island between Europe and Asia, has reopened to the public after it too had a huge facelift. Here's what it was like when CNN had a look around at the end of last year. Mongolian couple Buyanaa and Yuk are traditional nomads and digital nomads. Their posts documenting their lives on the steppe have gotten millions of video views online. If the pair's cozy headgear has you envious, then it might be time to invest in a new winter hat. Our partners at CNN Underscored, a product reviews and recommendations guide owned by CNN, have a roundup of the best noggin-warmers for 2025. A winter wonderland decorated with cotton wool and bedsheets disappointed visitors. It's snow joke. An American spent thousands of dollars on a passport to enter North Korea. Here's what he discovered there. Adventurer Tom Turcich spent seven years walking around the world. But his biggest challenge was being back home. Moo Deng and Pesto became internet celebrities. What happens when cute baby animals grow up?
CNN
28-02-2025
- CNN
The world's smallest park is about the size of four pieces of paper
If you want to take a stroll around this park in Japan, you will have to be very nimble on your toes. A park roughly the size of four sheets of paper in Japan's central prefecture of Shizuoka was recently crowned the world's smallest, according to Guinness World Records. Despite measuring just 2.6 square feet, the recreational space offers a stool made up of a block of wood held up by a rock, with a little bush encircling it. From afar, it could easily be mistaken for a bonsai, an example of the Japanese art of manicuring miniature trees. The park is a short walk from the town hall of Nagaizumi, about 68 miles southwest of the capital Tokyo. The previous official world's smallest park was Mill Ends Park in Portland, Oregon, which helped inspire the Japanese contender that officially took the title on Tuesday, according to Guinness. When a Nagaizumi local was on vacation in the US, 'they found the previous record holder for the smallest park,' Shuji Koyama, a team leader of the town's construction division, told Guinness. 'So they wanted to create an even smaller park.' Locals have been referring to it as the world's smallest park since it was built in 1988, despite a lack of official recognition. To qualify for the Guinness title, Shizuoka officials brought in a certified surveyor to measure the park. Koyama told Guinness World Records he was relieved that the park was finally recognized. 'We want to continue maintaining the park with the community, as well as creating a landscape that is more social media friendly, so that even more people will find attractions of our town,' he said. ————————————————————————————————————– Like what you've just read? Here is more of our recent travel news, from railway ambitions in Europe, China and the Middle East, to the delicious foods that Sweden does better than anywhere else. Adding Britain to your European rail vacation could get a little easier in the future. London St. Pancras, the United Kingdom's only international train station, is working with the Channel Tunnel on opening up more services to France and planning new routes to Germany and Switzerland. The aim is to shorten journey times, improve timetable coordination and introduce a larger rail fleet. St. Pancras also plans to expand peak-time capacity for international passengers from 1,800 per hour to 5,000. In other rail news from around the world, China is hoping its new fleet of 'silver trains' will encourage the up-in-years portion of its aging population to travel more and spend more. The trains will be fitted out with senior-friendly features such as handrails, oxygen bottles and emergency call buttons. From silver to gold: The Middle East's first super-luxury train, Saudi Arabia's Dream of the Desert, will launch in fall 2026. Its gleaming golden interiors are designed to complement the sandy expanses outside. Nordic cuisine is having a moment, but there's a lot more to Swedish food than meatballs and cinnamon buns. From sandwich cake to Västerbotten cheese pie, here are the dishes to try if you're visiting the Scandinavian nation. In South America, there's a food revolution going on in Bolivia, where elite restaurants are getting international notice and ancient Inca and Aymara traditions are finding their way into modern fusion dishes. In the 15th century, Beijing's Forbidden City was one of the most powerful places on the planet but governed by extreme secrecy. Even now, details are still emerging about what they feasted on in the royal household, from tiger testicles to bird's nest soup. Visitors to New York's Center for Jewish History can tour a full-scale recreation of the secret annex where diarist Anne Frank hid from the Nazis in wartime Amsterdam. Originally set to end on April 30, the exhibit has proved so popular that it's been extended until October 31. CNN visited the Manhattan exhibit. A 1,000-year-old French masterpiece is about to disappear from view for two years. Visitors will get their last chance to see the Bayeux Tapestry, an illustrated embroidery telling the story of the 11th-century Norman conquest of England, on August 31, before the Bayeux museum undergoes a major renovation. Istanbul's Maiden Tower, which sits on a tiny island between Europe and Asia, has reopened to the public after it too had a huge facelift. Here's what it was like when CNN had a look around at the end of last year. Mongolian couple Buyanaa and Yuk are traditional nomads and digital nomads. Their posts documenting their lives on the steppe have gotten millions of video views online. If the pair's cozy headgear has you envious, then it might be time to invest in a new winter hat. Our partners at CNN Underscored, a product reviews and recommendations guide owned by CNN, have a roundup of the best noggin-warmers for 2025. A winter wonderland decorated with cotton wool and bedsheets disappointed visitors. It's snow joke. An American spent thousands of dollars on a passport to enter North Korea. Here's what he discovered there. Adventurer Tom Turcich spent seven years walking around the world. But his biggest challenge was being back home. Moo Deng and Pesto became internet celebrities. What happens when cute baby animals grow up?
CNN
28-02-2025
- CNN
The world's smallest park is about the size of four pieces of paper
If you want to take a stroll around this park in Japan, you will have to be very nimble on your toes. A park roughly the size of four sheets of paper in Japan's central prefecture of Shizuoka was recently crowned the world's smallest, according to Guinness World Records. Despite measuring just 2.6 square feet, the recreational space offers a stool made up of a block of wood held up by a rock, with a little bush encircling it. From afar, it could easily be mistaken for a bonsai, an example of the Japanese art of manicuring miniature trees. The park is a short walk from the town hall of Nagaizumi, about 68 miles southwest of the capital Tokyo. The previous official world's smallest park was Mill Ends Park in Portland, Oregon, which helped inspire the Japanese contender that officially took the title on Tuesday, according to Guinness. When a Nagaizumi local was on vacation in the US, 'they found the previous record holder for the smallest park,' Shuji Koyama, a team leader of the town's construction division, told Guinness. 'So they wanted to create an even smaller park.' Locals have been referring to it as the world's smallest park since it was built in 1988, despite a lack of official recognition. To qualify for the Guinness title, Shizuoka officials brought in a certified surveyor to measure the park. Koyama told Guinness World Records he was relieved that the park was finally recognized. 'We want to continue maintaining the park with the community, as well as creating a landscape that is more social media friendly, so that even more people will find attractions of our town,' he said. ————————————————————————————————————– Like what you've just read? Here is more of our recent travel news, from railway ambitions in Europe, China and the Middle East, to the delicious foods that Sweden does better than anywhere else. Adding Britain to your European rail vacation could get a little easier in the future. London St. Pancras, the United Kingdom's only international train station, is working with the Channel Tunnel on opening up more services to France and planning new routes to Germany and Switzerland. The aim is to shorten journey times, improve timetable coordination and introduce a larger rail fleet. St. Pancras also plans to expand peak-time capacity for international passengers from 1,800 per hour to 5,000. In other rail news from around the world, China is hoping its new fleet of 'silver trains' will encourage the up-in-years portion of its aging population to travel more and spend more. The trains will be fitted out with senior-friendly features such as handrails, oxygen bottles and emergency call buttons. From silver to gold: The Middle East's first super-luxury train, Saudi Arabia's Dream of the Desert, will launch in fall 2026. Its gleaming golden interiors are designed to complement the sandy expanses outside. Nordic cuisine is having a moment, but there's a lot more to Swedish food than meatballs and cinnamon buns. From sandwich cake to Västerbotten cheese pie, here are the dishes to try if you're visiting the Scandinavian nation. In South America, there's a food revolution going on in Bolivia, where elite restaurants are getting international notice and ancient Inca and Aymara traditions are finding their way into modern fusion dishes. In the 15th century, Beijing's Forbidden City was one of the most powerful places on the planet but governed by extreme secrecy. Even now, details are still emerging about what they feasted on in the royal household, from tiger testicles to bird's nest soup. Visitors to New York's Center for Jewish History can tour a full-scale recreation of the secret annex where diarist Anne Frank hid from the Nazis in wartime Amsterdam. Originally set to end on April 30, the exhibit has proved so popular that it's been extended until October 31. CNN visited the Manhattan exhibit. A 1,000-year-old French masterpiece is about to disappear from view for two years. Visitors will get their last chance to see the Bayeux Tapestry, an illustrated embroidery telling the story of the 11th-century Norman conquest of England, on August 31, before the Bayeux museum undergoes a major renovation. Istanbul's Maiden Tower, which sits on a tiny island between Europe and Asia, has reopened to the public after it too had a huge facelift. Here's what it was like when CNN had a look around at the end of last year. Mongolian couple Buyanaa and Yuk are traditional nomads and digital nomads. Their posts documenting their lives on the steppe have gotten millions of video views online. If the pair's cozy headgear has you envious, then it might be time to invest in a new winter hat. Our partners at CNN Underscored, a product reviews and recommendations guide owned by CNN, have a roundup of the best noggin-warmers for 2025. A winter wonderland decorated with cotton wool and bedsheets disappointed visitors. It's snow joke. An American spent thousands of dollars on a passport to enter North Korea. Here's what he discovered there. Adventurer Tom Turcich spent seven years walking around the world. But his biggest challenge was being back home. Moo Deng and Pesto became internet celebrities. What happens when cute baby animals grow up?
CNN
22-02-2025
- CNN
New, faster train routes connecting Britain to France and Germany might be on their way
In travel news this week: railway ambitions in Europe, China and the Middle East, the delicious foods that Sweden does better than anywhere else, plus the Mongolian nomad family who've become an online hit. Adding Britain to your European rail vacation could get a little easier in the future. London St. Pancras, the United Kingdom's only international train station, is working with the Channel Tunnel on opening up more services to France and planning new routes to Germany and Switzerland. The aim is to shorten journey times, improve timetable coordination and introduce a larger rail fleet. St. Pancras also plans to expand peak-time capacity for international passengers from 1,800 per hour to 5,000. In other rail news from around the world, China is hoping its new fleet of 'silver trains' will encourage the up-in-years portion of its aging population to travel more and spend more. The trains will be fitted out with senior-friendly features such as handrails, oxygen bottles and emergency call buttons. From silver to gold: The Middle East's first super-luxury train, Saudi Arabia's Dream of the Desert, will launch in fall 2026. Its gleaming golden interiors are designed to complement the sandy expanses outside. Nordic cuisine is having a moment, but there's a lot more to Swedish food than meatballs and cinnamon buns. From sandwich cake to Västerbotten cheese pie, here are the dishes to try if you're visiting the Scandinavian nation. In South America, there's a food revolution going on in Bolivia, where elite restaurants are getting international notice and ancient Inca and Aymara traditions are finding their way into modern fusion dishes. In the 15th century, Beijing's Forbidden City was one of the most powerful places on the planet but governed by extreme secrecy. Even now, details are still emerging about what they feasted on in the royal household, from tiger testicles to bird's nest soup. Visitors to New York's Center for Jewish History can tour a full-scale recreation of the secret annex where diarist Anne Frank hid from the Nazis in wartime Amsterdam. Originally set to end on April 30, the exhibit has proved so popular that it's been extended until October 31. CNN visited the Manhattan exhibit. A 1,000-year-old French masterpiece is about to disappear from view for two years. Visitors will get their last chance to see the Bayeux Tapestry, an illustrated embroidery telling the story of the 11th-century Norman conquest of England, on August 31, before the Bayeux museum undergoes a major renovation. Istanbul's Maiden Tower, which sits on a tiny island between Europe and Asia, has reopened to the public after it too had a huge facelift. Here's what it was like when CNN had a look around at the end of last year. Mongolian couple Buyanaa and Yuk are traditional nomads and digital nomads. Their posts documenting their lives on the steppe have gotten millions of video views online. If the pair's cozy headgear has you envious, then it might be time to invest in a new winter hat. Our partners at CNN Underscored, a product reviews and recommendations guide owned by CNN, have a roundup of the best noggin-warmers for 2025. A winter wonderland decorated with cotton wool and bedsheets disappointed visitors. It's snow joke. An American spent thousands of dollars on a passport to enter North Korea. Here's what he discovered there. Adventurer Tom Turcich spent seven years walking around the world. But his biggest challenge was being back home. Moo Deng and Pesto became internet celebrities. What happens when cute baby animals grow up?
