Ian simpson´s home / indoors garden on top of a skycraper

A property of 1200 m² with a garden of olive trees, oaks and citrus trees, on top of a skyscraper in the heart of Manchester: this is the home of architect  Ian Simpson . The owner of this dream was also the one who designed the building, which stands out in the skyline of the city thanks to its height - is one of the tallest towers in Europe.

In November 2008, he bought the top two floors of the tower, 47th and 48th. Since then, he lives with his wife, Jo Farrell, the large two-story loft, which has a third of the area used as a greenhouse. Equally generous wing area divided into kitchen, two dining rooms (one reserved for family) a living for guests and private living. via casavogue

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Le laberinthe de Xavier Corberó

Xavier Corbero, considered by many to be Spainís premier living sculptor, is finally settling into his dream home, a sprawling labyrinth of buildings seamlessly blending 17th with 21st century elements. After 40 years of design and creation, the compound has itself become a habitable sculpture, reflecting the artistsí vision. Located in the town of Esplugues de Llobregat, so named for the twisting maze of manmade caves it rests upon, some dating to Roman times, Corbero's walled suite of structures wind down a quiet lane in a suburb of the revitalized Barcelona. Decades ago, Corbero managed to rescue this tumble of ancient masia from a planned highway off-ramp. Occupying one of those doomed buildings, Corbero, at the time a starving artist, began a crusade to buy and preserve much of the town. His original vision of the property has since expanded to include a retreat for artists, studio spaces, workshops, a foundry, dozens of surreal chambers for residents and guests, sprawling galleries, living rooms, a myriad of hobbit nooks all connected by serpentine stairways filling over 10,000 square meters. Indeed, even after spending a week within Corberoís domain, a visitor can discover previously overlooked wings. And more than one foreign guest has found it easier to locate their host within the enclave by placing an international call. "There are some buildings I haven't seen in over a year," confides the gracious yet elusive host. Yet despite the amplitude, the effect is not overwhelming. via psihoyos ad

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Exbury Egg

Artist Stephen Turner, who specialises in long term artistic explorations of environmental settings, has worked with the designers to create the Egg which he will now use as a ‘residency’, floating in the Beaulieu Estuary for a year, to examine the changing patterns of its marine ecology, while making artworks inspired, influenced and informed by his surroundings. This ambitious project tests the role of artists and architects in sensitive places and contributes to raising awareness of the importance of protecting places like the Estuary. via archdaily

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In residence: Piero Lissoni

The Modernist Maestro Relaxes at His Sun-Soaked Tuscan Summer House

When building a Tuscan retreat for himself and his family, Piero Lissoni decided that simplicity was key. Visited by filmmaker Matthew Donaldson for today’s edition of In Residence, the Italian designer and architect created an elementary form that was neither part of the vernacular, nor classic Italian pastiche. Keeping faithful to the size and scale of the surrounding houses, he used a concrete that is mixed with the local earth, giving it a characteristic pinkish hue. The stunning landscape envelops the building, its cool, hard lines playing off against the undulating hills. “There is a huge connection between inside and out. I used windows like a super huge screen. I don’t need films here: the theatre is outside, the movies are outside.” The Milan-born innovator founded Lissoni Associati with Nicoletta Canesi in 1986 and has since created an extensive catalogue of designs for brands such as Kartell, Porro, Boffi, Cassina and Flos. His house is filled with a combination of found objects, antique and country furniture, and collected works from contemporaries like James Irvine and Jasper Morrison. By his own admission, today Lissoni is lucky enough to be able to pick and choose the projects he wants. The secret of his success? “I like every year to be better than the year before and to be very good at life, with friends, work, culture, books, food, wine,” he notes. “It is a good obsession.”

 In Residence: Piero Lissoni on Nowness.com

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Thierry Mugler apartment Paris

Fashion designer Thierry Mugler explained the minimalism of his Paris apartment this way: 

‘There must be room for the human body to move. I don’t want real possesion. What I need and what I wanted in this apartment was its space - and to keep it as empty as possible.’

By playing with contrasts and not with objects and by placing everything very low - such as the symbolic frescoes by paointer Keso Dekker situated at eye level - he has managed tokeep a maximum of space free to be filled with light. ‘That is my second reason for living here,’ he said, ‘the incredible luminosity of these three rooms.’ His study is striped down to the bare essentials, a threshold table and a high-tech stool facing a wall full of pinned mementos, invitations, bill, and photographs.

A key to this private world is his bedroom. There, nothing interrupts the flow of light, nothing attracts the attention of eyes in need of interior inspiration. As a matter of fact, the room’s only furniture is a king-size mattress on a very low plywood stretcher. "This is all one needs in a bedroom" the designer said. via keehnankonyha

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Valentin Loellman Studio Space

Valentin Loellman is a product designer who graduated in 2009 from the Academy of Fine Arts in Maastricht. His studio space is particularly beautiful – a private sanctuary filled to the brim with plant life. I can imagine it’s great for the stimulation of creativity. via wolfeyebrows

“A working space like an empty canvas for a piece of work. The people, who craft the room and its specific energy, constitute the material. Energy which the surroundings give to its residents just as they return some to the place. “

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Tray Table

The Tray table is a modular system conceived to solve work issues both in the office and at home. The multiple accessories offer you the chance to accommodate the tray to your needs which contributes to a clean and organized workspace. 

The system combines industrial finishing with natural materials like wood and cane to help restore the comfort of domesticity to the workspaces. via artnau

 

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