Download your Rado Design Compass on the App Store here.
AMSTERDAM – BARCELONA – BASEL – BEIJING – BERLIN – COPENHAGEN – DUBAI – HELSINKI – HONG KONG – ISTANBUL – KUALA LUMPUR – LONDON – LOS ANGELES – MIAMI – MILAN – MOSCOW – MUMBAI – NEW YORK – PARIS – SEOUL – SHANGHAI – SINGAPORE – TOKYO – VIENNA
This is the first post in many weeks – we are just about to update our Summer 2011 coverage and with a bit of luck and hard work all our content will be transferred to a shiny iPad application – but in the meantime it is with great pleasure that we announce the release of the Rado Design Compass, a fantastic creative partnership between the Swiss luxury watch brand, Notch Interactive (Zurich) and the Turnleft team. It kept all of us sleepless over many months but the result is stunning – a global travel app that encompasses 24 city guides and for each city a selection of 12 geo-located ‘objects’ handpicked to bring you the best in contemporary art, fashion, design and architecture – all with stunning artworks, briefings and interactive maps. We’re already looking at the next wave of cities and hopefully we will add audio files, film content and more features to help you appreciate the creative fabric that underlies our favourite cities.
Many thanks to the whole team for the hard work and to Rado for the opportunity.
Download your Rado Design Compass on the App Store here
And a preview of our favourite artworks, courtesy of the team at Ditto Press – more architecture, fashion, design and art on the app itself.
Kraanspoor in Amsterdam (OTH)
VM Houses in Copenhagen (PLOT)
YTL Residence in Kuala Lumpur (Jouin Manku)
The Broad in Los Angeles (Diller Scofidio + Renfro)
1111 Lincoln Road in Miami (Herzog & de Meuron)
Marina Bay Sands in Singapore (Safdie)
Mode Gakuen ‘Cocoon’ in Tokyo (Tange Associates)
One Hyde Park in London (Rogers)
School of Management in Moscow (Adjaye)
and HL23 in New York (Denari)
Coming soon: Montreal, Sydney, Vancouver
It has been reported that for the third year running Anna Wintour shortened her Milan Fashion Week trip to prepare for the Paris catwalk marathon. A waste of time according to insiders. Was she hiding in Turin instead?
2011 got off to a very bad start for Milan but it may well be the year when Turin is finally acknowledged internationally as the hotbed of Italian creativity. World Design Capital 2008 – a title granted to Turin by the International Council of Societies of Industrial Design - was hit and miss for the Piedmont capital but recent patterns point at a city in full effervescence.
A recent discussion with Daniela Prina challenged my preconceptions. Daniela, an Italian academic specialised in Italy’s 20th century architecture and design legacy, reminded me that Turin’s creative achievements precede those of Milan by a few generations. As such it would be unfair to label Turin as the new Milan. In fact most Torinese prefer to describe Milan as the ephemeral new Turin. The former capital is the cradle of everything Italian from cinema to industry, and with the country turning 150 years in 2011 (a controversial event in itself considering the political legacy of the Lega Nord) Turin is getting ready for a wave of celebrations. In the meantime – and give or take Zaha Hadid’s MAXXI museum in Rome – Turin has reemerged as Italy’s foremost centre of contemporary art, design and publishing.
Below: Mattè Trucco’s Lingotto Fiat Factory (1923)
If the city’s Spina Centrale didn’t attract much controversy – it buried a railway section that split Turin into two to form a new art, academia and leisure district – newer projects divide residents: Renzo Piano’s planned skyscraper for Banca Intesa San Paolo, around the Porta Susa train station, evokes his Ground Zero proposal for Manhattan in a city where a skyline is still a complete taboo. Le Corbusier once described Turin as “the city with the most beautiful natural location in the world” and the mountain surroundings make a contemporary skyline problematic: the conservative protectors of the Po Valley’s heritage would rather look at a basilica than at a tower block by a Genovese architect.
Many also suspect that the skyscraper will trigger a wave of real estate speculation. This is not totally unfounded: if London’s Central Saint Giles is anything to go by, Renzo Piano’s mixed-use buildings tend to show little concern for the social fabric of their neighbourhoods.
It’s that time of the year again when we start looking forward to Autumn-Winter ‘10/11. We will probably add a few new destinations on our site – we’ve got our notes ready on Oslo and if budgets stretch that far, we might make it to the Venice Biennale at last. And wrap up Vienna notes.
In the meantime we’ve just launched the T Zone on the Turnleft website. Check it out – over the next few weeks we will run more competitions and add offers, last minute deals and events from our travel partners in all your favourite cities. Get in touch if you want to be featured.
For those preparing a trip just check the tag cloud, click on the city of your choice and you’ll get a listing of competitions, hotel discounts, shop and retaurants deals, and a calendar of art exhibitions.
Sadly – UK only
The kind of competition that we like. JNTO (Japan National Tourist Office) has teamed up with Japan Airlines and Conrad Tokyo (a 5* hotel) to offer the chance to win a trip for 2 to Tokyo – flights + 5 nights. The competition expires 13 August, 2010. Hurry and share your precious Tokyo tips. Cool Japan
West London is in overdrive at the prospect of a Spanish World Cup victory and we’ve had a number of successful campaigns with Goorilo in Barcelona – offering 2 free Cesc Fabregas tee-shirts for every Spanish goal during the first three games (thankfully they haven’t scored that many) – but after 4 weeks of football madness I’m slowly looking forward to a football-free August.
Of course the Turnleft entourage has been quick to extrapolate beyond football and to dig into the sphere of sociology, politics, fashion and country branding. Is France on its last legs? Should we support North Korea? Is that the face of a new, modern Germany? Who the hell wears blue and green?
An ongoing debate with media friends has been the impact of the World Cup on Brand Africa and whether Brand Africa is indeed relevant or in fact desirable, given that its core attributes are poverty, famine, AIDS and corruption – courtesy of Bono, Bob Geldof and many NGO’s. I invite you to read T.I.A.: This is Africa, an excellent piece by Rosalia Gitau in the Huffington Post. Is Africa Misbranded? by Melissa Davis is a great academic paper on the topic.
For all its worth here is my humble opinion on the subject: the World Cup has been a logistical success for South Africa and I can only hope that London organises the 2012 Olympics to similar standards (maybe with less patrolling and policed social engineering) but I wonder if it did anything new for Brand Africa: during weeks on end before the World Cup, BBC3 entertained us with England’s finest WAGs giving condom tips to township prostitutes and cooking meals (without help) in orphanages and gang-ridden shelters. And yes, vuvuzelas are great fun but I doubt that they help establish Johannesburg and Cape Town as progressive destinations.
This reminded me of A Fairy Tale in Oslo, an article I wrote recently for the travel pages of the Jerusalem Post. The article preceded the Eurovision Song Contest and my point – admittedly indecent in comparison to the plights of the African subcontinent – was that Norway’s ad campaigns are detrimental to Oslo as a vibrant destination. It’s always about fjords, wooden churches, flying salmons and great outdoors whereas it should be about Nynorsk food innovation, product design and the great team of architects and urbanists at Fantastic Norway.
My experience with Turnleft is that country destination marketing is often a fruit salad of aspirational images that only sees contemporary city travel with tokenism – a bit of (often poor) fashion here, a bit of (often poor) design there, multikulti food, a non-threatening dark face and a rainbow flag for the pink pound. Capitals with a creative potential shouldn’t rely on their national tourist board for progressive publicity (although a few countries do it well). This is nothing new but this year is proving interesting.
Warsaw is sending a shockwave through Eastern Europe this summer, as if yelling Warsaw is not Poland: it is running Europride and organising Ars Homo Erotica at the National Museum, a retrospective on homoerotic art in Central and Eastern Europe. Montreal has also forged an image as a friendly gateway to North America, laid-back and cosmopolitan, eschewing the parochial conflict that has plagued Quebec politics. In April Beirut 39, an outpost of the Hay Festival, showcased the cultural credentials of the Lebanese capital. In contrast Brussels is still struggling to define itself as a vibrant destination for numerous reasons – Eurocracy is one of them – but the conflict between its French and Flemish institutions doesn’t help shun the image of a divided city. And Tel Aviv – for all its Bauhaus and liberal credentials – fails to be dissociated from the rest of the country.
Progressive African capitals should take note, do their own marketing and skip national initiatives. Or team up to split costs like Cool Capitals used to do in North America: a bundle of Amsterdam, Antwerp, Valencia, Vienna and Zurich could give way to a Casablanca, Cape Town & Nairobi combo. Or they could call us.
Back to the World Cup – we’re torn between our undivided faith in Rem Koolhaas and a few Cesc Fabregas tee shirts left on the shelves (and for that matter a few Wagland and Henry & Gourcuff as well). The best looking team should win. And it’s a close call!
Model Lina, at The Waterway 54 Formosa Street, London W9
Shot using Diana F+ by Lomography
Another Norwegian interview, this time with Hilde Holta-Lysell. We discovered Hilde when she was publishing Oslo Stil, Norway’s answer to Facehunter. Sadly it has stopped but Hilde has been busy curating a new fanzine, A Doll’s House. Hilde is as matter-of-factly as Norwegians can be. With all eyes on Oslo ahead of the Eurovision Song Contest we figured that a fresh dialogue about the city’s fashion and publishing scene would be dans l’air du temps (we’re over Zeitgeist).
Hi Hilde, what happened to Oslo Stil, it had great reviews?
I got tired of it and wanted to move on.
Tell us about A Doll’s House?
This is where I get it all out – I’m the editor, I can publish whatever I want, how great is that!
Where can we find it?
You can get [print copies] in selected stores that I like in Oslo. International readers will be able to flick through on our web site adollshouse.no/zine
The publishing industry has been battered lately, is it surviving in Oslo?
[Fashion] publishing in Oslo is not that great, so let’s hope they all die then we can take over and do a better job.
Funny how many Oslo brands define themselves patriotically (Norway Says, Fantastic Norway, Moods of Norway) or even in competition with the rest of Scandinavia (Anti-Sweden)…
Once we were known for having a rich culture, then oil came and we became only rich. Maybe we want to make a statement […] by highlighting and holding on to what we once had. Some have put something new into it and succeeded, others have failed miserably.
In fact A Doll´s House fanzine is patriotic, with our name taken from Norway’s first feminist play (eds. by Henrik Ibsen).
We’ll be in Oslo soon. Can you recommend a few art spaces, fashion shops, bars, restaurants and clubs?
Fashion: Freudian Kicks Prinsensgate 10B – Flashdance Vintage/Design Prinsensgate 10C – Little Miss T Søndre gate 12 – Velouria Vintage Markveien 32 – Hunting Lodge Torggata 36
Bar/clubs: Mono Pløens gate 4 – Tilt Badstugaten – Aku Aku Thorvald Meyers gate 32 – Blå Brenneriveien 9c
Art spaces: Melk Københavngata 4 – Astrup Fearnley Dronningens gate 4 – Vigeland Sculpture Park Frognerparken
You don’t want to miss Øya festivalen if you’re in Oslo this summer (but Hove and Slottsfjell are my favourites, hours from Oslo). In fact the next issue of A Doll´s House will focus on festival culture. It will be published in July. We have a great online source called underskog.no. You have to be invited to be a member but the event calendar is for everyone to see.
Where’s the best pølser (hot dog)?
We usually get them at gas stations. If they are the best, nah…
Looking forward to Eurovision?
Oh yeah!
The UK release of Eyes Wide Open couldn’t be timelier, as we are just about to initiate our coverage of Tel Aviv. With a team fixated on Bauhaus, product design, street food and the interplay between art and society, the city was increasingly difficult to ignore.
To kick-start our coverage of Tel Aviv, we caught up with film director Haim Tabakman in Soho last week. We talked about Eyes Wide Open, Israeli cinema, Dan Ranker’s looks, Tel Aviv, hummus, sex on screen and Eurovision.
The film depicts the love story between Aaron (played by Zohar Strauss), a married ultra-Orthodox butcher and father of 4, and Ezri, his young male apprentice (Ran Danker). It is set in Jerusalem. Aaron’s life unravels as he refuses to give in to the pressure of his community. The film was presented at Cannes and released in 2009. It won numerous international prizes. An Israeli-French-German production, it was released in Paris last autumn, to good reviews and accolades from the main broadsheets, Telerama and Paris Match.
There’s an interesting contrast between intimate, in camera shots focused on Aaron and Ezri, and fly-on-the-wall documentary filming outdoors. It is pleasantly exploitative and I can understand why it offended a few Tel Aviv liberals keen to showcase a more contemporary vision of Israel. Yet the film is moving, edifying and it transcends its specific context.
This interview departs slightly from our usual style but the format provides a topical angle on many Turnleft themes and allowed for a very interactive discussion. Haim and his girlfriend had to rush to Brixton Academy for a gig before heading to Bristol for the release of the film – so we just recorded the interview over a quick coffee (for me, and a very non-British tea with honey for Haim).
Haim, congratulations on your first film, what were you doing before?
I was dreaming about making my first film (laughs). I’ve been a cutter for many movies and I did two short films. Before that, I studied Film at Tel Aviv University and I did the army.
It’s a late release [in the UK], the film was out in France last September…
I didn’t take part in decisions to release the film or not. I just come in when I’m invited. The reception in Paris was really good.
It’s a sensitive topic. You’ve managed to infuriate a few people, from the ultra-Orthodox community to liberals who wish for a more progressive angle on Israel
It’s not so sensitive. Some people liked the film, some didn’t. It received criticism for being exploitative and voyeuristic, at least in Israel. Not in the rest of the world, where it was reviewed more positively.
You probably know better than me because I didn’t read many reviews, I felt the need to isolate myself from the discussions [surrounding] the film. It’s much easier for me to talk about the film in foreign countries, it’s not the real world, it feels like a movie fairyland. Israel is my home, I’m very shy and I don’t like to read too many things written about my film.
The title in France was more religious, Thou Shall Not Love…
The title is by the scriptwriter (Merav Doster). I have to say, I’m not in love with it but the film is more important than its title. Open Eyes [Einayim Pkuhot] was the original title. It refers to being watched by society and to [Aaron] – once his eyes are open, he doesn’t want to shut them at any cost.
It could have been called Another Gay Israeli Movie… is there a competition between you and Eytan Fox?
Eytan is a good friend of mine (laughs). You won’t find many similarities in the way that Eytan and I like to tell stories. It’s a different type of story, and a different kind of writing and attitude. I like Eytan as a filmmaker but we’re just different.
I was just hinting that it is a gay love story with a very political subtext
Yes but that’s what is nice about storytelling, you can tell the same basic story in a different context. [Eytan and I] just like to sit behind the camera – the way we tell the same story is what makes a filmmaker.
It is a co-production between Israel, France and Germany. This seems the norm in Israeli cinema.
It happens a lot because it is the only way to finance films. We rely on public funding and it needs several sources. It is a solid system that allows more films to be made. It’s also good for [promoting] the film because European funding opens [doors] to distributors and festivals.
A lot of strong individuals have emerged recently in Israeli cinema, with loads of co-productions. But very often in countries like Romania or Iran, after a political earthquake, there is a new wave of creativity.
It’s a fairly low-budget film…
Yes, less than €1m.
The sexual tension is very prudish. We just know from the beginning that something will happen and it just does, surrounded by slabs of red meat!
This is the way I wanted to show it. For [Aaron] the timeline is only a week or two. To become sexually involved is such a big jump and I felt that it wasn’t so much about sexual [experimentation] but about taking comfort, being able to touch. It was not about sexual rediscovery. It just happened.
Was it difficult to get Zohar Strauss and Ran Danker on board?
No. For Zohar Strauss it was a lead role after many supporting roles so it was a good opportunity. Ran Danker was a big teen idol and it was the chance to do something deeper.
Their Brokeback Mountain moment?
Yes, something like that (laughs).
I saw the film with a friend and we were both captivated by Ran Danker… he reminds me of Gael Garcia Bernal
Maybe (laughs). He’s charismatic, beautiful, he has charm – this is why I chose him.
Where’s home?
Tel Aviv. For the past 12 years.
Why did you set the film in Jerusalem?
Jerusalem is more polarised. Tel Aviv is gay-friendly and it has a much smaller Orthodox community. Jerusalem has much stronger conflicts.
Yes I noticed. It felt like a culture shock
This is what makes Israel so interesting. Painfully interesting. But I’m not the tourist office or a political activist. I only wanted to portray something honest and emotional.
What’s your favourite hummus place?
That’s a very hard question. Do you like hummus? Where do you get good hummus in Britain?
Well, if you’re prepared to eat Lebanese hummus, there’s Edgware Road in the West End.
Oh yes of course! Did you eat hummus in Jaffa? Did you go to Abu-Hasan?
Yes. And in many other places … You know Hakosem and Abu Dabi?
I love Abu-Hasan because it’s very light. There are a few other places in Jaffa that I like but Abu-Hasan is the best, it’s creamier and very pure – they only give you hummus and onions. Hakosem and Abu Dabi on King George? They’re (silence) ok.
Are you looking forward to Eurovision?
I’m not that interested in Eurovision. Almodovar films are the campiest I can take (laughs).
So your films are only gay-for-pay?
I mean, if you compare with my film, Eytan’s celebrate gay life. They’re more about joie de vivre… I didn’t see my film as a gay film. It just happens to be about passion between two men but it’s about love.
What’s your next project?
It’s a triangle love affair, in a very political context. It’s filled with action and there will be a lot of sex, straight and gay (laughs). It will go through a long period in Israeli history. I’m still writing the script. Raising the money and making it happen is a long winding road.
Thanks.
Eyes Wide Open in cinemas now www.eyeswideopenmovie.org
References: Abu Dabi King George Street (Tel Aviv) - Abu Hasan 1 Dolphin Street (Jaffa) - Hakosem 1 Shlomo Hamelech (Tel Aviv)
This week we talked to Norwegian product designer Andreas Engesvik, freshly back from Salone del Mobile in Milan. We discussed Norwegian design, his signature lawn table, Nordic rivalry and summer in Oslo…
Hi Andreas, tell us about your current projects?
I just got back from Milan. It was a great week with a very good response to my newest projects. I am currently designing tableware and household products for manufacturers in the Nordic countries. The studio is really busy. Monday I am off to Copenhagen – Tuesday Helsinki – to kick off a new project (eds. Interview was conducted early May).
We love the Lawn Table, where can we get one?
Thank you! It is a friendly product with an aura of late summer nights. I am in talks with a Swedish manufacturer and I hope to launch it during Stockholm Furniture Fair.
How was Milan?
I was commissioned by Wallpaper* magazine – I presented the lawn table. Wallpaper* ran a beautiful and very comprehensive exhibition (“Handmade in Italy”) at Brioni. I also worked with the most talented [designer] Daniel Rybakken. We designed a lamp, Colour. It is a very interesting concept and the response was very good.
What happened to Norway Says, we were huge fans?
(eds. Norway Says was a design collective)
It came to an end. The discussions stopped and the project lost its focus.
What do you make of the Oslo design scene?
It is slowly moving in the right direction. Young designers are on the lookout and the field is getting more international. Designers realise that there is always a market for good design. We must focus on talent, not so much on the industry. The industry will [take off] once we run out of oil.
Come on, name drop a bit…
I believe in Vibeke Skar, she is young and talented.
It’s funny how Oslo creative brands define themselves patriotically (Fantastic Norway, Moods of Norway) and in competition with the rest of Scandinavia (Anti-Sweden)…
The name Norway Says was originally my idea. I wanted to [express] that we were from Norway and proud of it. I thought it was time to get rid of our low self-esteem. You might say that it started a new wave of self-confidence.
No hard feelings toward your neighbour then?
Not at all. The Anti Sweden project is clever but not very relevant to my field.
Creative industries are struggling everywhere. How’s Oslo coping?
Oslo is doing okay but these are hard times and many say that they are fine to cover up the fact that they are struggling. But compared to many other countries, things are better.
It sounds like the best place in Europe right now?
I like Oslo; it has so many qualities. People are hard working and we are slowly becoming more professional.
We’ll be there soon. Can you recommend an art gallery, a good design shop, a bar, a restaurant and a club?
Try Galleri Riis [an art space], Hay Shop [a design store], Bar Robinet (bring cash), Palace Grill [a restaurant] and Fisk og Vilt in Youngstorget [a club].
Where’s the best pølser? (eds. Typical Oslo hotdog)
I don’t know.
Looking forward to Eurovision?
It is on my birthday – I am having a garden party.
Thanks.
Stockholm Furniture Fair, 8-12 February 2011 www.stockholmfurniturefair.com – Vibeke Skar www.vibekeskar.com – Galleri Riis Filipstadveien 5 – Hay Shop Hegdehaugsveien 27 – Bar Robinet Mariboes gate 7 – Palace Grill Solligata 2 – Fisk og Vilt Pløens gate 1
Our new food guide series, published in a few days on the website, has already raised eyebrows for its embrace of finger food and its bold statement against sit-down meals in overdesigned fusion eateries. Don’t get us wrong, we can still be found on a chair when dinner’s ready, but as part of our renewed focus on innovation we came to recognise that -as with fashion – the haughty Michelin brigade is increasingly at pains to dictate the codes of good eating and that the verdict comes from the street. And it’s a good thing considering our depleted wallets. This is nothing new but judging by the recent spread of cupcake madness or the invasion of coffee vans and frozen yoghurt parlours wherever we go, food trends seem to go viral like fashion fashion does on teenage blogs. Cupcakes???
A note of warning on our 4am section: not all kebab joints are made equal so we made sure that we focused on quality and innovation. In more prosperous times we’ve been known to hail a taxi for a Kurzstrecke to Curry36 in Kreuzberg or for a portion of frites at La Barriere in Saint-Gilles. Following the innovation trail, we discovered that London (Up)market food stalls and kerb-level ideas in Berlin and New York can be a bedrock of food reinvention. It goes something like this: a good stall at the back of the Truman Brewery, a pilot outlet in Soho’s Wardour Street, then to the high-street and then to Middle England courtesy of Tesco Finest; or a modest boutique in Belleville followed by a corner at Printemps (La Bague de Kenza); or a 1980s fad so successful with Korean teenagers that it takes LA by storm before spreading to London, Sydney and Tel Aviv (frozen yoghurt); or a Frenchman on the dole opening a crepes van in London before Soho catches up; or a Lower East Side cupcake that morphs into the Hummingbird Factory in London. The list is endless, add your own story.
Image by Kristian Bischoff
Judging by the crazy ideas gathered in our favourite cities, we will all be eating Moroccan seabass sandwiches, vegetarian Ethiopian and Banh Mi on wholegrain very soon, washed down with an organic pineberry juice from a van man. Followed by Algerian pastry, playing carrom in a converted Routemaster bus. Or even better we will be grabbing it all from an automat – Amsterdam style.
Images by Michael Pelletier
Send your thoughts on the food guides and share your best addresses. And if our imminent hummus war between Beirut and Tel Aviv isn’t blown out of proportion, we’re keen to initiate a steak sandwich war between Buenos Aires and Melbourne. Choose your side.
