{"id":1758,"date":"2012-01-17T17:11:42","date_gmt":"2012-01-18T01:11:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/interspacedesign.wordpress.com\/?p=1758"},"modified":"2021-06-27T06:56:36","modified_gmt":"2021-06-27T13:56:36","slug":"best-of-2011-retrospects-from-2-parallel-universes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/interspace-design.com\/blog\/best-of-2011-retrospects-from-2-parallel-universes","title":{"rendered":"Best of 2011 – Retrospects from 2 Parallel Universes"},"content":{"rendered":"

Since it\u2019s the beginning of a new year, this is a great time to acknowledge\u00a0some of the most interesting happenings or products from 2011. As a twist, I\u2019ll be presenting both the \u2018World View\u2019 and my personal alternative perspective!<\/p>\n

1. Exemplary Interiors<\/h1>\n

Tori-Tori, one of the best Japanese restaurants in Mexico City, was winner of Interior Design magazine\u2019s 2011 Best of Year Award\u00a0for fine dining. The vibrant color and organic shape of the fa\u00e7ade caught my eye. The project was built from the ground up and each dining space sports its own collection of custom furniture to enhance the diner\u2019s experience.<\/p>\n

\"Tori-Tori<\/a>
The organic shape of the fa\u00e7ade is created from two self-supporting layers of steel plates cut with a CNC machine.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"View<\/a>
Dramatic view of the restaurant entry.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Interior<\/a>
The glass balustrade and glass wall provide an unobstructed view of the striking building fa\u00e7ade.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Dubbed as the House of the Flight of Birds, the two wings of this home with their undulating rooflines\u00a0bear remarkable resemblance to a pair of stylized birds. I love how architect Bernardo Rodrigues integrated the form of the house with its interior details so both elements reinforce his vision of the space.<\/p>\n

\"House<\/a>
The colorful high wall acts as a wind break to the blustery weather.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"View<\/a>
Covered courtyards and patios on the ground floor shelter the living spaces while the staircase to the roof top terrace traces the curvilinear form of the building.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Curved<\/a>
The window \u2018sling\u2019 is a perfect example of Rodrigues\u2019 attention to detail when designing the interiors of the space.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

2. Green Light For Green Lighting<\/h1>\n

Since I write so much about lighting<\/a>, it\u2019ll be hard to close out the year without picking an eco friendly light fixture.<\/p>\n

The award winning\u00a0Plumen 001 light bulb<\/a> has its merits \u2013 and at $35, is probably the cheapest designer lighting product on the market.<\/p>\n

The lamp exudes a raw, industrial aesthetic, but I find the lamp a bit too \u2018in my face\u2019. However it\u2019s supposed to provide almost 60W\u00a0of light from an 11W\u00a0bulb and lasts about eight years, so it\u2019s a great choice if you want an energy efficient light bulb that makes a statement!<\/p>\n

\"Plumen<\/a>
The light bulb is over 7″ long and over 4″ wide so it looks best in \u2018bare\u2019 sockets – considering it won\u2019t fit inside a lot of lamp shades.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

I personally prefer a more refined look. Aqua Creations unveiled a beautiful series of LED light fixtures, each of which are hand crafted from a single sheet of paper. The origami lamp casts a soft, delicate glow and will provide quality ambient lighting in any space.<\/p>\n

\"Origami<\/a>
The computer machined mahogany base adds to the organic look and feel of the lighting fixture.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

3. The Travel Bug<\/h1>\n

As Rick Steves aptly puts it \u201dThere are travelers and there are tourists. There is travel and there is hedonism.\u201d<\/p>\n

Billed as\u00a0Editor\u2019s Choice for Alternative Reality<\/a> by travel writer Gary A. Warner, Las Vegas makes an easy weekend getaway. Considering all the action on and off the Strip, it certainly belongs to Rick\u2019s latter category!<\/p>\n

\"Paris<\/a>
Paris, Las Vegas, by night. If canals are more your style, just mosey along the Strip to the Venetian…<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Luxor<\/a>
…or head for Luxor to commune with the Great Sphinx of Giza!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

I spent 3 weeks last winter in SE Asia, part of which was on a cruise. It was a whirlwind tour of China, Japan, Korea, Hong Kong, Vietnam, Thailand and Singapore.<\/p>\n

The good thing was that I was able to visit my family in Hong Kong, albeit for just a day\u00a0– the roundtrip plane ticket would have set me back about $1300 in what I jokingly \u00a0call \u2018Marsupial Class\u2019!<\/p>\n

On the other hand, I found out that unlike cruising in other parts of the world, a lot of the ports in SE Asia are an hour or more from the cities of interest. Most of the big ships have to be docked at deep water container ports which are nowhere near centers of civilization. The ports for Beijing, Shanghai, Ho Chi Minh\u00a0City (Saigon) and Bangkok are a couple hours\u00a0away depending on traffic, and even Hong Kong and Nha\u00a0Trang (Central Vietnam) require extended transfers to reach their town centers.<\/p>\n

Despite the logistics issues, we steadfastly avoided the ship\u2019s group excursions and experienced each country\u2019s people, food, culture and religion through its local markets and street food stalls.<\/p>\n

\"Plate<\/a>
My favorite dish in Beijing. It was love at first bite \u2013 the glistening and crispy skin of the Peking duck at Da Dong Roast Duck Restaurant was absolutely yummy-licious!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Hong<\/a>
Festive night scene of Hong Kong as the ship sailed past the harbor. The waterfront buildings are usually lit up like a Christmas tree (can\u2019t resist the pun!) for the holidays.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

4. Food for Thought<\/h1>\n

While I\u2019m not a fan of sugary fried dough, apparently fancy donuts<\/a>\u00a0are making a comeback!<\/p>\n

Check out these \u2018designer doughnuts\u2019 \u2013 Gourdoughs\u00a0in Austin has glazed versions topped with grilled bananas & cream cheese icing with brown sugar. Frittelli\u2019s of Beverly Hills offers gianduja\u00a0and orange cranberry, while Federal\u2019s in Philadelphia features fried concoctions of pina\u00a0colada and vanilla lavender.<\/p>\n

\"Doughnut<\/a>
Gourdough\u2019s Dirty Berry doughnut is smothered in strawberries, chocolate syrup & chocolate chips.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Gourmet cupcakes seem to have made their run, while more and more mararons\u00a0are debuting in upscale bakeries these days: even the renowned Parisian patisserie\u00a0Ladur\u00e9e opened its first stateside store in New York City last year.<\/p>\n

In fact I saw not one but two shops selling these delectable treats at the Marina Bay Sands Resort in Singapore last year, one of which was owned by Jean-Philippe Darcis, the first Belgian chocolatier\u00a0to win the accolade “Ambassador of Belgian Chocolate”. I soooo\u00a0miss the yummy-licious\u00a0macarons\u00a0from L’Atelier\u00a0Jean-Luc\u00a0Pel\u00e9 in Cannes!<\/p>\n

\"Colorful<\/a>
Colorful tray of macarons<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

5. It\u2019s not Lady Gaga\u2026<\/h1>\n

Of course the fashion event of the year for the world was Kate Middleton\u2019s wedding dresses at the Royal Wedding<\/a> to Prince William. I was busy with work so never followed the celebrations very closely, but it gave me flashbacks of Princess Diana\u2019s storybook wedding to Prince Charles so many years ago\u2026<\/p>\n

\"Prince<\/a>
Here\u2019s a distinctly \u2018royal\u2019 picture of Prince William & Kate Middleton in their gilded carriage.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Princess<\/a>
An uncannily similar shot from Princess Diana\u2019s wedding to Prince Charles.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

For me, the fashion event of the year was being part of the Designer Challenge fashion show.<\/p>\n

Put on by my professional organization, the CA Peninsula Chapter of the American Society of Interior Designers<\/a>, teams of interior designers are given randomly drawn interior design materials (upholstery and window fabrics, trimmings, tiles and wallpapers) 90 minutes before the start of the fashion show. The challenge is to design and fabricate a \u2018couture\u2019 garment without using a sewing machine within a short 1.5<\/strong> hours.<\/p>\n

I met up with my team, Haute Rags, the afternoon of the show. Luck of the draw landed us an unusual snake motif fabric, which became the inspiration of our design. Once the outfit was sketched out, we worked\u00a0fast and furious\u00a0to turn our vision into reality in our remaining hour.<\/p>\n

Absolutely\u00a0clueless about the art of tailoring, I was kept busy and out of trouble assembling the garment while others created dress patterns on the fly. Work was feverish but a total blast and I have to say guns (hot glue and staple), not diamonds, were my best friends that night!<\/p>\n

\"Sketch<\/a>
Our team member\u2019s sketch of the design.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Team<\/a>
Our \u2018Contemporary Egyptian\u2019 theme was accented by a multi-color metallic tile collar and snake tattoo on our model\u2019s arm.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A look at the hottest events or products in 2011 – from the industry pundits’ viewpoint and my own perspective: interior design, architecture, eco friendly lighitng, travel, food and fashion are all covered in the review.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1760,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"","_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[3,5,6,7,10,415,13,15],"tags":[51,96,102,116,122,125,127,164,166,169,175,199,218,222,245,246,261],"class_list":["post-1758","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-architecture","category-fabrics-2","category-fashion","category-food","category-green-design-construction","category-interior-design","category-lighting","category-travel","tag-bernardo-rodrigues","tag-designer-challenge","tag-eco-friendly","tag-fluorescent-lamp","tag-gourmet-donuts","tag-green-design","tag-green-lighting","tag-led-lighting","tag-light-bulb","tag-lighting-fixture","tag-macarons","tag-peking-duck","tag-repurpose","tag-royal-wedding","tag-sustainable-design","tag-table-lamp","tag-upcycle"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/interspace-design.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/01\/tori-tori-restaurant-rojkind-arquitectos-esrawe-studio-06-1.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/interspace-design.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1758","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/interspace-design.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/interspace-design.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/interspace-design.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/interspace-design.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1758"}],"version-history":[{"count":15,"href":"https:\/\/interspace-design.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1758\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8731,"href":"https:\/\/interspace-design.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1758\/revisions\/8731"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/interspace-design.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1760"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/interspace-design.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1758"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/interspace-design.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1758"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/interspace-design.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1758"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}