Insight

It’s finally here, with all the build up to London 2012 we thought it would never arrive. From the seating to the flags and even the turf everything looks set for this summer’s London Olympics.

After Beijing’s seemingly flawless Games the pressure is well and truly on for London and with the much needed tourism income expected, it couldn’t have come at a better time. As the biggest construction project in Europe, politicians have gladly used the Games as the answer to the much-needed boost to the UK economy, despite the estimated £11bn (€13.4bn) price tag. With so many eggs in the Olympics basket and hopes for the UK economy, the pressure was on to find the right suppliers to run the Games smoothly.

The battle of form and function is a perennial wrangle with design; but not with Sydney-born nomadic, designer Marc Newson. The two sides are routinely balanced in his trademark biomorphic style. We report on his pathway to glory…

It doesn’t matter that his unique aesthetic point-of-view often trumps purpose into second place – his stuff just works beautifully on all levels. Take his 021C car for Ford…

London’s East End is the hotbed of art and design in Britain – if not the world. But while much of the energy there is devoted to posing and posturing, two industrious designers blended form and function and came up with a solid success. We report on the timeliness of Uniform Wares.

There’s a certain irony in a British contemporary design company using the nation’s manufacturing golden age as its muse. The paradox balloons when you figure that Uniform Wares birth came about during the recession providing the final nail in British manufacturers’ collective coffin.

Nevertheless, Uniform Wares 100 series watch, created a quiet storm on its release.

Architecture, it’s been said, reflects the society that surrounds it. Consider then, the new Medical Library Düsseldorf´s Heinrich-Heine-University. Known as the OASE building, it’s been described as being a “pulsating space for studying, reading, learning, inspiration and social encounter.” Enthusiastic, certainly – but it’s a pretty accurate way of putting it.

Camping used to be a miserable affair – bourn of the necessity of one following four things:

1. lack of funds for a proper holiday
2. a misguided spirit of adventure or guilt-inspired worthy attempt to connect with nature
3. peer/parent pressure
4. music festivals
5. all of the above

Tax is one subject that is guaranteed to get people hot under the collar. That’s why – when Warren Buffett’s name appeared in the by-line above in piece in the New York Times in August all hell broke loose.

The world has long harboured a fascination with Russia: the vastness, the politics, the wealth, the poverty, its resources, diversity, monotony, and spirit. From Kaliningrad in the west across the Eurasian landmass to Ratmanov Island in the Baring Strait, the country is difficult enough to comprehend for it’s natives – but what about a foreigner?

NEW YORK – The most architecturally significant hotel to rise downtown in recent years, The Cooper Square Hotel is at once a pioneer and a sign of a changing neighborhood.