Tuesday, 04 March 2008 |
Most of us have a personal image of an ideal escape or getaway. A secluded beach shack hidden on an island paradise - a tucked
away cabin built into a snowy mountainside - a private chateaux set on
the quiet, rolling hills of a vineyard - basically anywhere we feel
removed from the mundane normalcy of our own daily lives.
X.Pace, a Sydney/Singapore-based design studio is on the verge of
helping us redefine the ultimate lifestyle solution - the ultra
luxurious Hingarae residences and resort
located in Lake Taupo on New Zealand's north island. Hingarae embodies
everything one would expect from 6 star standards - the ideal balance
of extreme luxury, privacy and ultra-modern built form set upon a
pristine natural environment.
The development will offer twenty eight opportunities to own a
fully-furnished Hingarae Module. Each individual Module is 2,153 square
feet set carefully within 2.5 acres of natural landscape. Oversized
windows allow uninterrupted views to the surrounding forest, green
countryside, snow-capped mountains and crystal blue lake. The interior
design is equally rewarding offering an exceptional imported blend of
modern and futuristic furniture. The main living space sits on a
revolving disc floor that allows orientation toward the exterior or the
LCD screen.
Numerous additions to Hingarae Module ownership include an electric
car for all on-site traveling, personal use of Hingarae's premium
luxury 4WD vehicles for off-site travel, access to on-call helicopter,
on-going membership to Jack Nicklaus' Kinloch Golf Club, ongoing winter
season's pass to Mount Ruapehu's Whakapapa (New Zealand's largest ski
area), shared use of Hingarae's motor launch and unlimited access to
the 6 Star Hotel Hingarae and all its facilities including a recording
studio. Hingarae also fully manages and maintains each Module and its
individual acreage.
Nearly every aspect of a superior style of living has been taken into
consideration during the conception and development phases of
Hingarae. Unlike anything in the world, this New Zealand
destination will soon embody the ultimate expression of escape for
those of us able to get in - as prices start from US$1.9 million.
As for the rest of us, we can always hope for an invitation from a
generous friend. By Andrew J Wiener.
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Tuesday, 19 February 2008 |
Cool Spas are popping up everywhere as if they had just been invented,
but in the Bavaria region of Germany — as in many parts of the world
with healing, thermal or mineral springs — baths are part of ancient
history.
Bad Aibling, located some 35 miles southeast of Munich, has
held the official title of a Bad (German for bath, spa, springs) since
1895 but the thermal spas have bubbled up there much, much longer. It
is particularly refreshing to see one of the older facilities, Thermal
Bad Aibling, receive a complete overhaul and emerge as a viable
competitor in the world of spoiled and pampered spa goers.
The most striking new feature at Bad Aibling are the large white domes,
placed seemingly randomly in the hilly landscape, letting the alpine
scenery dictate their placement. Each dome is dedicated to its own
treatment, temperature, ambiance and experience.
In addition to the
fairly standard fare, such as a wide selection of massages, beauty
treatments, saunas and different-temperature baths and pools, Thermal
Bad Aibling offers a beautifully lit Turkish haman plus something no
other spa has — so far. It is an immersive film experience by
LivingGlobe where the guests can enjoy a special 360-degree film
projection and light show produced specifically for Thermal Bad
Aibling. The main outdoor swimming pool areas will open in May 2008,
but hot pools are functional, creating the atmosphere of time-tested
pleasure of soaking in hot water in cold air and enjoying the view. By Tuija Seipell
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Monday, 18 February 2008 |
At TCH, we have always been interested in learning about illuminated
furniture, housewares, gadgets and other items. Lighted bicycle tires, rugs, night clubs and dance floors ... have all been
presented at one time or another on our pages.
A new entry - a lighted sajjadah or prayer rug - comes from a Turkish designer, Soner Özenç.
The Britain-based designer uses light as an integral element in his
imaginative creations. This modern piece that he calls Sajjadah 1426
(1426 is the year 2005 in the Islamic calendar), combines technology
and the Muslim culture.
Sajjadah 1426 is a piece of art and a great example of the
electroluminescent phosphor printing technology. It is also quite
practical. It assists the person who performs the divine service of
prayers, called namaz, not just by creating an amazing atmosphere, but
by actually finding the right direction to pray towards.
With the help of an imbedded compass module, the lighted motifs of the
rug turn brighter the closer the rug is turned toward the direction of
Mecca. This modern sajjadah introduces a brand new experience in the
daily performance of namaz. By Yagmur Uslu via The Cool Hunter Turkey
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Tuesday, 22 January 2008 |
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We wish we could tell you the details about this thrill but we must
remain mum (well, almost...). This dramatic, "dark ride"(as in not
open-air) is an exhilarating waterslide illuminated with super-cool LED
lighting. It is one of those experiences you hesitate to try but
when you do, you cannot wait to do it again. As lightheaded and dizzy
as you may feel, do not close your eyes or you'll miss the best part -
the after-effect of the LED lights you just zoomed through. Wait for
Coolhunter TV, launching later this year, to see it in action. By Tuija Seipell |
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Thursday, 08 November 2007 |
Recent collaboration between the industrious designer Michael Young and his wife, Icelandic graphic artist Katrin Olina Petursdottir,
resulted in SKIN. It is an exquisite Florentine cosmetic surgery clinic
commissioned by Dr. Jorgos Foukis, guru to the rich and
(determined-to-remain) beautiful.
SKIN is befittingly located in central Florence in Borgo San Jacopo, an
area known already in 1050 for a hospital for the pilgrims on their way
to Rome. SKIN’s 250-square-metre space includes state-of-the-art
operating theaters, meeting rooms, massage rooms, offices and a
reception.
In SKIN, the Hong-Kong-based Young and Olina have managed to fuse
sterile medical with sexy boudoir. The overall feeling of lightness and
illumination is achieved by applying a translucent laminate glazing DuPont
on not only walls, windows and mirrors but on floors as well, allowing
Olina’s beautiful, light-pastel imagery to glow through. By Tuija Seipell
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Tuesday, 30 October 2007 |
For the executive who has grown bored with his Blackberry, and sick of
his stapler, comes this rather over the top stationary
revolution. These elaborately detailed, all metal staplers from jac Zagoory Designs
come in Gorilla, bear, dragon, Lion and more. These excessive must
haves are brilliantly made, and have turned desk accessories into an
art form. Makes you wonder what their sticky tape dispenser will
look like? By Andy G
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Thursday, 25 October 2007 |
Stack hats suck. Most kids would rather suffer a
brain injury than endure the humiliation of wearing one. They are like
wearing corduroy flares ..on your head. Thanks to Indigo Snow
the Hell is taken out of Helmet with their awesome new line of head
protective gear. Inspired by retro cool Evil Knievel line designs,
these helmets have the competitive edge with their injection of organic
and reptilian face designs. The cobra and black belly snake skin
designs would make The Fonz weep, whilst the wood grain finish say '
I'm earthy and up for the challenge". Full on flip down eye wear
attached is so 'Magnum P.I' its in a cool class of its own. Extreme
sports safety gear has been at a relatively uninspiring stage for some
time now. It's great to see Indigosnow stepping up to the plate by
taking designs to the next level. by Andy G
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Wednesday, 22 August 2007 |
Here at TCH, we love riding bikes through the
city. There's something immensely pleasing about sailing past scores of
traffic with little more than a push of a pedal. And at the same time,
you're burning the calories, and doing your bit to stay green. But
there's one thing we hate about this simple mode of transport. People
like nothing more than stealing them, damaging them, or driving buses
into them. While your safe at work crunching the numbers, who's looking
after your ride home?
Cue the bike dispensing machine. Brought to you courtesy of bikedispenser.com,
a small firm from Amsterdam, the idea is to help facilitate bike
rentals in urban areas. Cyclists pay a small fee to hire a bike, and
then they can take it where they please. Once they’ve finished, they
can return it either to that machine, or another one across town. And
because they’ve been fitted with RFID tags, they won’t all have been
nicked before you can get one.
Now, if only they can do something about those van drivers… By Matt Hussey
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Tuesday, 12 June 2007 |
We apologise, but the idea of getting on a motorbike and dodging buses and
pedestrians is just not on top of our list of ‘things to do’ before
we die. Mainly because it’ll probably shorten how long we have to get
through our tick-in-the-box achievements. But there is something
inimitably smug in sliding through traffic and being able to park
anywhere you like without fear of some ambitious traffic warden
clamping your wheels.
And now, it’s just got a little bit smugger. Nexx Helmets from the UK have just
released their new collection for 2007. Featuring the Nexx Cross
Aluminium, a dirt bike shaped helmet, equipped with removable inner so
you can make sure your face doesn’t smell like a football boot when
your out and about. It looks pretty good too.
The range features other helmets including the Integral X10. But our
personal favourite is the Nexx Open Face, think Top Gun on the
highstreet. The lightweight frame is perfect for easy carry, and
it knocks the socks off any other helmet we’ve seen recently. Paired
with the other two designs in the range, it’s a bit of a no
brainer between these and the cannonballs most people wear when
scooting round town. By Matthew Hussey
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Monday, 07 May 2007 |
Call it the relentless march of capitalism, or the material
manifestation of our fickle society, but the high street is in a
constant state of flux. Shops change hands at the drop of a hat, and
most of the time, it’s not for the better.
It is precisely this commercial whimsy that inspired Canadian brothers Ben and Hall Smyth to create GrandOpening,
a space that will constantly reopen every three months. Except, rather
than hand over the keys to new owners, the Smyth’s will completely
overhaul the 400-square foot space into something new.
Based in Norfolk Street, New York, GrandOpening is currently a
ping-pong parlor equipped with full-sized table and recording
facilities so you can watch your performances on YouTube. For $6 you
can get the table for twenty minutes, and for $50 you get the whole
room for an hour with access to the projector screen and bleachers.
But it won’t be around for long. Come July, it’ll be gone, replaced by
something equally quirky. Perhaps a cinema, driving range or even a
dominoes emporium, who knows. Even the Smyths are at a loss. All we
know is, in spite of the homogenization of the high street, there’s
still room for a spot of table tennis. Game on. By Matthew Hussey
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Sunday, 11 March 2007 |
In case you hadn't noticed, over the last 5 years 'Cool' has
become a very ubiquitous, easy-to-own commodity. Let's face it,
everyone is 'cool' these days. It's also the most overused word in the
western world, a sure sign of its bastardization. Cool is easy to
market, sell and to certain degrees achieve, with the right look,
stance, sound, you are ready-made cool - just check out how many Sienna
Millers there are walking down the street or how many Beyoncès there
are in the charts and you get the point. This is not a good thing. It's
making us all the same - so when will we get tired of looking at each
other? Whereas pop culture used to be about celebrating differences,
now they are hard to spot. Cool and Consumerism go hand in hand -
people believe that to be 'cool' they have to buy a massive amount -
you have to have the 'right' bag, shades, jeans, t shirts, cap,
accessories, ipod, car - it's never-ending, not to mention expensive.
What is infinitely harder to own is creativity. The truly creative
people of the art, fashion, design and music scenes - these are our new
heroes. Creativity is looked up to nowadays. Creativity is Cool (ha
ha). But in order for these people to flex their genius, they need
something magic, something you can't bottle, manufacture, package or
sell, no matter how much those celebrity magazines would love to sell
it to the masses. What we're talking about is inspiration. Once
inspired, these people are producing work that really astounds us, that
takes us someplace else, that moves us, that thrills us, that in turn
inspires us do something great.
Getting inspired in today's culture is no easy task. It's hard to be
fresh when fresh has become a commodity, when happiness has become
fashionshaped, and fashion has shifted from niche pursuit to
easy-access shorthand for cool. Like pulling up your hoodie to get an
instant toughness boost or feeling 10% smarter because you've got new
shoes on. The old signifiers of youth style and culture - music, and
particularly, fashion? have become easy-access.
In short, everyone has become fashion-able. Not fashionable, you
note, just able to grab hold of this week's trends with a lunchtime
purchase of some cheap white pumps or a faux cameo necklace. Super-hip
stylist Christiane Joy claims to have almost dropped out of the global
in-on-Monday, out-by-Wednesday fashion roundabout, preferring jeans, a
shirt and less obvious signals to her style: a pair of sneakers
customized by a hip friend, or pumps in just the right shade of blue.
Perhaps that's the answer - subtle as the new black. It's an argument
that old-school music purists have had with the Limewire generation
since the first Napster file-swap happened. Forget the days when it
took commitment to get music (ever thought about how hard it was for
Mick Jagger to get those Muddy Waters records?).
The sheer volume of music that's available to all of us might irritate
the purists but it hasn't dampened music's ability to inspire us, nor
has it turned down the creativity of acts making music now. As Stewart
Copeland (of The Police) points out, "the quantity of music available
has gone up, but the quality is still there". The early noughties have been characterized by a stampede
of bands (just think about The Flaming Lips, The Gossip, even bloody
Justin Timberlake now he's hooked up with the on-form-again Timbaland)
that have blended the boundaries between genres and stamped right over
the old ways of expressing ideas, transmogrifying ideas and creation
into files we pop onto our iPods.
It's crystal clear: the most interesting movements express an
individual's own world and morphs their universe into a fabulous new
song or into dresses with great big spheres instead of sleeves (thanks
again, Gareth Pugh) or, well, whatever. The crusade against the forces
of conformity and control is taking place in homegrown mixtapes over
mix CDs in the supermarket, fanzines over mega-magazines, high ideas
over the high street. And the ideas will keep coming, they have to.
Recognizing true creativity when you see it, nourishing it and
encouraging it to grow, is the only way to beat the frightening forces
of things like the pop idol machine, high street fashion
factories and lookalike magazines and models. Do your own thing, keep
reaching up for those high ideas and never look over your shoulder;
because that's what being fierce and being creative, is truly all about.
By Emma Warren and Elizabeth
McGrath of Electronic Beats
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Friday, 03 November 2006 |
We have featured a number of challenging designs constructed entirely from singular materials. From cardboard sculptures of cars through to this latest design made entirely from light wood.
This 'punch-out' design stool comes complete with its own hang sell. Easier than a three year old's jigsaw puzzle, the pieces pop out of the frame to create a simple yet stylish stool.
If you know of any other simple punch-out designs or cool cardboard creations, let us know and we will feature them in upcoming posts! by Lisa Evans
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Thursday, 26 October 2006 |
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Entrepreneurs looking to invest some cash into a great project don't
need to look much further than graduates from design schools across the
world.
Industrial Design graduating student, Tom Allnutt, from Melbourne's Swinburne University,
has created this automated magazine stand which replaces the age old
news stand and seller by encasing a selection of magazines within the
secure stand for purchase.
Simply swipe your credit card
through, make your selection and before you board your train, plane or
automobile, you will be reading about Brittney's next pregnancy. Cool
and convenient. by Billy T |
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Tuesday, 24 October 2006 |
There's little left in life that hasn't had a style-makeover - even the
most banal everyday, domestic items - with everything from can openers
to wooden spoons designed with aesthetics in mind. And now the last
bastion of artless functionality, the humble band aid, has succumbed to
the trend.
Superficial cuts and grazes are cause for glamor with Kiss Lips, Skulls & Cowboys,
without doubt the coolest band aids you’ve ever seen. Camp as a pink
tiara at Mardi Gras, the bright, glossy lip-shaped bandages come in a
cute tin which includes a little novelty toy. Who said fun (oh, and
bumps and bruises) were just for kids. They cost $16 and come with 15
per tin.
If your boo-boo needs more than a band aid, then you can't go past these stylish bandages
in assorted colors. Complete with logo and clips, the bandage can
compliment any outfit and steers away from the dramatic off white
traditional bandage of the past. by Lisa Evans
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Saturday, 14 October 2006 |
It's Saturday night, the music is pumping and you are on a hot date .
Everything is going down fine until the humidity in the club suddenly
turns your hair from Cher to Macy Gray in about 7 seconds.
Fear
not, entrepreneurs, Richard Starrett and Neil Macka, have come to the
rescue with their Hot Iron vending machine. With 500 units already
placed in clubs/gyms throughout the U.K , the Beautiful Vending company
provide coin operated hair straightening hot irons, for the quick and
convenient use of club patrons who's hair has suddenly gone 'poof'.
Using
professional grad GHD tongs, the irons run for 2 minutes per use and
cost $2.00. The idea is perfect for countries where the weather
can be unpredictable and affect recently straightened hair. By Lisa Evans
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