02/08/2013

Cosmopolitan Wonderland

Tel Aviv is not what you’d expect. Hugged by the Mediterranean, a hub of innovation and all about design, this city is as cosmopolitan as they come. And it’s Israel’s baby, founded in 1909 by 66 families keen to create something different. Filled with galleries, boutiques, boulevards and artistic architectural feats Tel Aviv is homely, cutting edge and sure to delight.


The city’s most iconic feature has to be its abundance of Bauhaus buildings – there are 4,000 to be exact, the highest concentration anywhere in the world. This prompted UNESCO to declare Tel Aviv a World Heritage Site (which is astounding given the city’s relative youth) and motivated it to adopt the name “The White City”, with white being a hue particularly adored by the Bauhaus school. To celebrate this honour, each year Tel Aviv celebrates ‘White Night’, an all-night event featuring lectures, silent discos, illuminated walks, outdoor concerts and bliss aplenty. You can appreciate the Bauhaus buildings at any time though by simply wandering down the leafy and prestigious Rothschild Boulevard.

Architecture lovers will also adore Bialik Street, a peaceful cul-de-sac that’s home to the Old Town Hall, now the city’s museum, and Bialik House, the restored historic residence of Israel’s national poet Chaim Bialik. The latter attraction is an air-conditioned, cultural haven within the Tel Aviv chaos.


If you’ve got a soft spot for 4000-year-old history, then make for the ancient port town of Jaffa, found at Tel Aviv’s southern edge. Pass a hazy afternoon bargaining at the eclectic flea market, investing in local produce purchased from farmers’ markets found within converted waterfront warehouses and getting completely lost in the iconic Artists’ Quarter – a maze of silversmiths, sculptors and painters hidden along cobbled alleys. The modern world feels a million miles away.

It’s a well-known fact that history and architecture lead to hunger, so it’s good to know that in Tel Aviv there’s no shortage of foodie haunts. When it comes to French pastries and Israeli iced coffee (ice chips and a shot of Italian-worthy coffee) Dallal bakery, which is packed with locals and bougainvillea, excels. Alternatively, the ultra elegant Alma Lounge offers a delectable degustation-style experience and feels a little like something left over from the Belle Epoch. Mirror-covered and all about intricate flavours, hours here slip away into a food-filled haze. Then there’s Olive Leaf, which offers up traditional fare with a nigh on incomparable view of the ocean. Or keep things chic and sweet by indulging in a full Israeli breakfast (it’s never too early for salad) at Eden House, where all things floral, vintage and somewhat English and embraced.

Simultaneously modern and ancient, architecturally stunning and food loving; Tel Aviv is fun, beach going and a true contemporary wonderland.


Liz Schaffer – Images from Alex Jilitsky, Jaime Silva, Jonas K, Vincen T, Copelaes, Fabcom. 
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01/08/2013

A Curious World of Things in Achille Castiglioni Studio

Entering the apartment of an inspiring personality is always a bit of excitement, with all the expectations. 
What could happen when you enter the studio of someone like Achille Castiglioni – a genius of the Italian design?

The apartment space and studio in the center of Milan, where Castiglioni worked, hosts nowadays a studio-museum of his name. Back in the days the location was smartly chosen because of the ability to quickly join the highway. In the times without Internet and emails this was the way to reach the clients – the main furniture companies on the periphery of Milan.

It’s a magical world of objects, models and prototypes, books, magazines, sketches and boxes, filled with all kinds of materials, research and work – the space is filled with thousands of curious things. To remember what exactly is in which box, is almost impossible. But not for Antonella Gornati, working there for more than twenty years. “In her head she has the real database of the content of each box,” jokes the daughter of the designer, Giovanna Castiglioni. As we move through the space, a story behind each object is told by either the daughter or the wife – Irma Castiglioni.

The word for furniture in Italian is mobile. Somehow it feels like there might be something even etymological in the idea that furniture has to be moved once in a while. In fact, in order to give it a new life from time to time, almost each piece by Castiglioni is thought to be easily transportable either with tiny wheels or other comfortable ways. The aim of the studio-museum is also to give as much of the attention for the contemporary designers. That’s why once in a while different boxes are being opened by a young designer who helps to originally curate the exposition of the objects, so the space is constantly changing and keeping the conversation alive between the past and the present. “In this way we share the way of thinking, working and teaching of Achille Castiglioni,” his daughter explains. “My father would, like Mary Poppins, arrive to teach in the university with two luggage bags full of curious everyday objects. He was always telling to his design students: If you are not curious, forget about it!”


At the moment in the studio-museum of A.Castiglioni the attention is given to the famous lamp Gibigiana. All the models, sketches and prototypes are shown until the 10th of August. This exhibition is curated by a young designer Marco Marzini.










Agota Lukytė 
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01/08/2013

Fashionable Protection

Sunglasses are a crucial piece of any summer outfit, a style item, but during these hot sunny months they also function as an important shield to protect our eyes from the rays of the sun. In this luminous warfare, polarized sunglasses are a top accessory, but have you ever thought of where they came from? What do polarized lenses actually mean?

Polarized sunglasses were first introduced in 1936 by Edwin H. Land, founder of the Polaroid Corporation. He, together with the brand Ray Ban, designed the aviator-style sunglasses especially with war pilots in mind, as a part of their uniform. Sunglasses were given a shape to equip the pilot with optimal shade from the sun, important since all the previous designs let the sunlight in when pilots looked down at the instrument panel. In 1937 – a year after the initial introduction – the polarized Ray Ban aviators became available for the public as well.


The Polaroid filter makes the sunglasses an effective shield against harmful rays and light glare. The light passes through the lens in a single plane eliminating the rays of glare from the light rays. Common sunglasses lets light pass through in many planes and can’t minimize the glare effect on the eye. The polarization can be applied to the lens in three different ways. It is cheapest to have a film of polarized filtering applied to the outer coating of the lens. The filter can also be put between the layers of the lens. The newest and consequently most expensive way is to combine the filter with the lens material: a result achieved by adding filter to lens while this is still in liquid form, thus generating the highest visual quality.

The protection from the sun has been the inspiration of many fashionable items through time. Women in ancient times hid seductively behind a fan or a dipped parasol, modern women – and men – discovered the chic allure in wearing sunglasses also off the utility in war, at the beach.


Victoria Edman 
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