Innehållsförteckning för May 2017 från Architectural Digest

When it comes to the world's top villas, what separates the good from the remarkable? In the case of Villa Passalacqua, located on a hill above the western shore of Italy's Lake Como, it's the way the property's 300 years of heritage combine with modern amenities to make for a multilayered destination. In the 1700s, a papal family gave some Lake Como property to Count Passalacqua, who hired famed Swiss architect Felice Soave to build him a 30,000-square foot villa. For decades, the villa hosted the celebrities of the moment, including opera composer Vincenzo Bellini (creator of masterpieces like La Sonnambula and Norma, written while he stayed there) and Napoleon Bonaparte. Beneath the facade's stucco cladding are layers of ancient local stone that are thick enough to keep the interior…

At his Brooklyn studio, ceramic artist Peter Lane is preparing to fill a colossal metal framework with six tons of wet clay. Within a few months, he and his team of assistants will have sculpted this mass into a 48-foot-long wall, cutting the expanse into squares that they will then glaze, fire, and pack into a van for delivery. But for now he is still planning—drafting designs on graph paper, testing different glazes. “It would be much easier and less expensive to just hang a few small works on a wall, but that doesn’t have the same impact,” Lane says. “I like monumentality.” From May 3 to 7, the pièce de résistance will be on view at New York’s Collective Design fair, where he will represent himself (rather than exhibit…

Abby Aldrich Rockefeller was the very model of a Yankee matron: God-fearing, unpretentious, civicminded. “I am very much a New Englander,” she told her sons, “and won’t get over it.” That being said, the arts patron—she cofounded Manhattan’s Museum of Modern Art and, with her husband, John D. Jr., restored Colonial Williamsburg—was an ardent Orientalist, amassing hundreds of Hiroshige woodblock prints and displaying Buddhas en masse amid clouds of incense. Rockefeller’s grandest Asian investment was the private wonderland that landscape architect Beatrix Farrand created for her on Maine’s Mount Desert Island between 1926 and 1935. Open to the public a few days each summer and featured in photographer Larry Lederman’s new book, The Rockefeller Family Gardens: An American Legacy (The Monacelli Press), the Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Garden evokes the Far…

There was a time when the backyard was associated with cookie-cutter white picket fence idolatry, but Techo-Bioc has completely changed the game by being the first to introduce European-style courtyards and design elements that turn generic outdoor spaces into architectural statements. Since 1989, Techo-Bioc has thrived, becoming the leader in the outdoor design industry. It has done so by not only making strong, quality, and durable landscaping products, but by making homeowners own their personal style in their backyards. As Techo-Bioc believes design should come with substance, the company gives tools to homeowners to concretize their projects. Today, you can browse through different styles and find out which designs work best for your lifestyle and personality on Techo-Bioc's beautifully designed website and catalog. In stores, you can touch and feel…

Campana Brothers IN A NOD TO BOTTICELLI’S BIRTH OF VENUS, THE CAMPANA BROTHERS MOLDED A SHELL FROM FIBERGLASS, WRAPPED IT IN LEATHER (AVAILABLE IN BLUE OR RED), AND FILLED IT WITH EIGHT REMOVABLE CUSHIONS. “WE WANT PEOPLE TO PLAY WITH IT,” SAYS HUMBERTO, PICTURED HERE. “THEY CAN DECONSTRUCT THE WHOLE THING OR USE ONE PILLOW AS A FOOTREST.” PHOTOGRAPHY BY MATTHIEU SALVAING India Mahdavi “THIS IS A TECHNIQUE THAT YOU USUALLY SEE DONE WITH WOOD,” SAYS MAHDAVI OF THE INTRICATE LEATHER MARQUETRY ON HER TRAY TABLE. THE ACCORDION BASE— ALSO COVERED IN LEATHER— FOLDS UP INTO AN ELEGANT BOOK. “IT’S FOR A ROOM THAT TRANSFORMS,” SHE SAYS. PHOTOGRAPHY BY MATTHIEU SALVAING I ndia Mahdavi never stops moving—Tehran, Cambridge, Heidelberg, Vence, New York. “I’m a nomad,” says the Irano-Egyptian designer, parked, for…

Brazil’s greatest 20th-century architect, Oscar Niemeyer, said the curves of his buildings were inspired by women. His Hotel Nacional, in Rio de Janeiro, is no exception: A beachfront cylinder trailed by a low, horizontal fin, it suggests a 34-story mermaid. The project opened in 1972 and was a hip hangout for years, but after closing in 1995 it stood empty for two decades. Then businessman Marcelo Henrique Limírio Gonçalves bought it and began a massive renovation—not only of Niemeyer’s building but of gardens by Roberto Burle Marx and artworks by the likes of Carybé, Alfredo Ceschiatti, and Pedro Corrêa de Araújo. (It helped that Niemeyer’s original structural engineer, Bruno Contarini, was available for consultation.) Reopened this past March as the Gran Meliá Nacional Rio, it features 413 rooms and suites,…

When artist Pedro Friedeberg’s mentor—the painter and sculptor Mathias Goeritz—left Mexico City for a vacation in 1962, he asked the young Surrealist a favor: Give a favorite local carpenter some work. “I told him to make a hand,” Friedeberg remembers. “Then I said, ‘Why don’t you make it big enough to sit on.’ I thought that would be funny.” When Goeritz returned, he and Manhattan dealer Georges Keller asked to see what Friedeberg had been up to. “Georges told me, ‘These are wonderful! I want two for New York, two for Switzerland, and two more for Paris.’ ” Since then Friedeberg’s chair has been realized in silver, gold leaf, and plastic, and a handful of them aged to resemble Italian baroque relics. And the design world still gives them a…

The all-new Alfa Romeo Giulia is a study in balance, honoring the brand's heritage while adopting many layers of cutting-edge technology. Many of the car's innvovations can't be seen, but are viscerally experienced as soon as you press the raceinspired start button. Between the Nappa leather front seats is the DNA Drive Mode Selector: N for Natural optimizes shift positions, braking and engine for everyday driving. A is for Advanced Efficiency, which biases settings to be more ecofriendly. D for Dynamic is where the Giulia's Italian racing pedigree becomes instantly apparent. The car's heart is an allaluminum, turbo-charged 4-cylinder, with an astonishing 280 hp. That explains the hurry as it hits 60 mph in just 5.1 seconds and tops out at 149 mph. With speed like that, brakes are important,…

Karla Martinez de Salas is always treasure hunting. This is partly by nature—the Vogue Mexico editor’s job is to sift through the best of the best—and partly by necessity. After 15 years working for publications including Vogue and W in Manhattan, Martinez de Salas settled with her husband, banker Francisco Salas, in Mexico City two years ago. Since then, the couple have had twin girls and have lived in two different apartments. Each time the Salases’ decor has become increasingly and satisfyingly Mexicano. “American and European brands are superexpensive here,” she explains, “so after we received our shipping container, we were like, ‘Let’s fill in with local design.’ And that’s when I went on my crazy search.” Times have changed since the editor, who was raised in Texas, visited her…

Since its founding in 1989, Mitchell Gold+ Bob Williams has been devoted to dual goals: making homes both chic and comfortable, while creating a business that gives back to the world, champions sustainability, and keeps jobs in America. Designed to inspire, its new Spring 2017 home-furnishings collection resonates with natural ease, offering distinctive modern pieces in soft palettes with subtle glamour. You'll find luxe clean-lined takes on eco-friendly U.S.-crafted upholstery, plus tables, storage, lighting, rugs, drapes, and more. Experience the collection in one of its 30-plus beautiful modern Signature Stores for an elevated shopping experience. Visit mgbwhome.com to view the entire collection, access the online catalog, and find a store near you. AD36Qo VIEW THESE AND OTHER PRODUCTS AT ARCHDIGEST360.COM…

Venture beneath the surface to the origin of influence with the one-of-a-kind rugs from the Alchemy collection at ABC Carpet & Home, where design is inspired by nature and articulated by man. Experience the genesis of design, where craftsmanship and rare beauty are revealed by the individual artisans who meticulously create each rug by hand. Traditional motifs are transformed into contemporary compositions through the fusion of color and recycled yarn, evocative of the future of design with an eco-conscious perspective. VIEW THESE AND OTHER PRODUCTS AT ARCHDIGEST360.COM…

gear: take the wheels Carry-on cases to suit every style. Too often overlooked by American travelers, the Latvian capital is worth a trip for one block alone. Albert Street, in the quiet center, is a cavalcade of architect Mikhail Eisenstein’s poshest work—dreamy Art Nouveau apartment houses encrusted with mythological animals, gaping masks, and drizzly details that seem whipped up by mad pastry chefs. Exquisite streetscapes like that make Riga (committed to preservation) the ultimate in eye candy, from redbrick medieval masterpieces to fairy-tale fantasias by National Romantic stylists such as Konstant?ns P?kš?ns and Ei and drizzly details that seem whipped up by mad pastry chefs. Exquisite streetscapes like that make Riga (committed to preservation) the ultimate in eye candy, from redbrick medieval masterpieces to fairy-tale fantasias by Natioght over eye-opening…

A short drive up the coast from this city in the southwestern state of Oaxaca, a sleepy surfing spot has crept onto the radar of design enthusiasts and solitude seekers alike thanks to Bosco Sodi. A few years ago, the Mexican-born, Brooklynbased artist unveiled Casa Wabi, an oceanfront retreat (part artists’ residences, part exhibition space, part foundation) designed by architect Tadao Ando. “To one side you see the mountains and to the other side the ocean,” Sodi says of the building, realized in Ando’s signature concrete. “In the morning the material is very gray; then it becomes pink, orange, or yellow at sunset.” Though the complex is open to the public, you’ll need to find accommodations elsewhere. Book one of the palapas next door at Hotel Escondido, where an Olympic-length…

More than 40 years of sustained growth has positioned lndusparquet as the worldwide leader in the production of premium hardwood flooring. With three manufacturing plants in Brazil, distribution centers around the world, and a workforce of more than 500 people, lndusparquet exports to all five continents and over 25 countries, with its floors featured in some of the world's most respected settings, such as the Vatican and the Taj Mahal. lndusparquet-branded products reflect a company that has built its heritage on product quality and style leadership. Every square foot of flooring is crafted from the finest manufacturing technology-combining quality hardwoods and innovative style to create stunning floor fashion statements. Ethics, commitment, sustainability and technology are the foundations of the detailed process of creation, production, and sale of lndusparquet products. AD36Qo…

e stée Lauder has oft been heralded as a visionary in the world of beauty, but as one stands on the back terrace of the Palm Beach home she passed down to her son Ronald and his family—with its perfectly manicured lawn and infinity views of the Atlantic—it’s clear she had unparalleled foresight when it came to real estate, too. The house is one of only two in this pristine part of Florida that sit directly on the water; the other is Estée’s onetime Palm Beach residence, which now belongs to her elder son, Leonard. (The neighboring properties are bordered to the left by The Breakers resort and to the right by a public beach.) Mind you, Estée never actually lived in this particular house. “She bought it and boarded…

SPECIALTY: Led by husband-and-wife Clémence and Didier Krzentowski (far left), Galerie Kreo specializes in postwar French and Italian design and commissions limited-edition works from contemporary talents. PHILOSOPHY: “We’re like movie producers,” Clémence says. “We create the stories designers want to tell.” INNER CIRCLE: Marc Newson, Konstantin Grcic, Bouroullec brothers, Hella Jongerius. RARE FIND: “For a long time I was looking for a colorful wall light by Gino Sarfatti that I saw on a cover of Domus from 1952,” says Didier, whose book, The Complete Designers’ Lights, takes an encyclopedic approach to postwar lighting. “In 2008, I found one in Germany. It was the missing piece.” WATCHING: Dutch designer Wieki Somers, French talent Jean- Baptiste Fastrez, and Icelandic wunderkind Brynjar Siguroarson. NEXT GENERATION: “We’re on the jury for the Villa Noailles…

Just outside Parsipur, in a tiny village near Varanasi, India, artisans are weaving electric-purple sheep’s wool into the shape of a wild-eyed dodo bird. “It just seems like this Alice in Wonderland fantasy creature,” says designer Simon Haas of the extinct species. “The rugs are so finely made but totally wacko.” The Haas Brothers are two of ten designers, including Katie Stout, David Wiseman, and Wendell Castle, tapped by New York gallery R & Co. and Italian carpet purveyor Amini to try their hand at a new medium (for most of them): rugs. The limited-edition pieces— created in India, Nepal, and New York—will be shipped off to Venice upon completion to be displayed as art pieces–cum–floor coverings at Palazzo Benzon in May during the Biennale and then at Design Miami/Basel…

People can see the same china patterns all over the place, but what’s here is unique, simple, and powerful,” says Eric Goujou of La Tuile à Loup, a mignon Paris shop with a formidable reputation for purveying the country’s most exclusive handmade ceramics. A onetime private banker, the splendidly dapper Goujou purchased La Tuile à Loup (“the Wolf Tile”) in 2006; he had been one of the 5th-arrondissement destination’s most devoted customers. Since then, he has cultivated more than 100 artisans from Alsace-Lorraine to Provence whose colorful platters, plates, tureens, and other serving pieces can’t be found anywhere else. “When the kiln opens, I’m there to pick the special one,” he explains. “Sometimes, though, what comes out is just average, so I take nothing.” For him it’s all about the…

A family-owned, Los Angeles-based company, A. Rudin has been crafting custom furniture of unparalleled quality and distinction for four generations. With balanced lines and proportions, A. Rudin makes a fine art out of what appears to be beautifully simple. Each collection of furniture transcends fashion, with luxury designs that stand the test of time. Characterized by balanced lines and proportions, each piece starts with the selection of only the finest materials. Then craftsmen utilize old-world skills and meticulous detailing to perfect and refine each graceful detail. The result is custom furniture of exceptional quality, comfort, and style that is ideal for transitional or modern interiors. Beauty takes many forms, yet the finest things always share the qualities of quiet grace, of great simplicity, and perfected craftsmanship. We take pride in…

Not for the faint of heart, when you step into a Lori Morris Design you are instantly transported. Every surface is indulged with detail, every hand-selected texture bathed in intrigue. Layers continually unveil themselves, at every glance something new. Rooms become movements in a symphony of light and color, composed of handcrafted statement pieces parceled in beauty and feeling. Lori Morris and the House of LMD create one-of-a-kind elegance that weaves romantic tales of Belle Epoque. VIEW THESE AND OTHER PRODUCTS AT ARCHDIGEST360.COM…

my travels: RICHARD GLUCKMAN, architect “North Adams is expanding upon its rich cultural heritage with the opening of terrific new exhibition spaces.” When Sprague Electric Company closed its factory in North Adams, Massachusetts, in 1985, it hollowed out the small, picturesque city at the foot of Mount Greylock. But this spring, North Adams stakes a claim to a new identity: art capital of New England. MASS MoCA, the contemporary-art museum that opened inside Sprague’s 16-acre industrial complex of redbrick buildings in 1999, will nearly double its exhibition space at the end of May with the unveiling of Building 6 (massmoca.org). Newly overhauled by architecture firm Bruner/Cott, the 130,000- square-foot wing will host expansive long-term exhibitions of works by the likes of James Turrell, Jenny Holzer, and Louise Bourgeois. “We took…

gear: keep calm and carry on These handsome duffels are as easy on the eyes as they are easily stowed in cramped overhead compartments. London is calling out to architecture lovers with even more clarity than usual. As if Herzog & de Meuron’s year-old pyramidal addition to the Tate Modern and John Pawson’s minimalist new interiors for the Design Museum—now sheltered under the sweeping roof of the remastered 1960s Commonwealth Institute building—weren’t enough, the Victoria and Albert Museum unveils a dramatic transformation this July. Having undergone its largest renovations in 100 years, the decorative-arts museum will soon feature a grand new entrance, a porcelaintiled courtyard, an indoor-outdoor café, and a massive subterranean exhibition space, all created by architect Amanda Levete. Visitors will likewise be spoiled with stylish new options when…

AD360: You are the founder and designer of Shahrooz, a company that specializes in acrylic furniture. What drew you to this medium? SN: Before I started my business of manufacturing acrylic furniture in 1992, I was a professional magician. While building a prop for my illusion show, I was introduced to acrylic material and was intrigued. It has a cool, tactile, and friendly feel to it that you don't realize until you experience it for yourself. AD360: You design everything from tables, chairs, and lighting to entertainment centers, bedrooms, and wall decor. Why do you think acrylic is so popular today? SN: This material grows on you. You start by decorating your home with an art piece made out of acrylic, then you want a coffee table, then a dining…

t his house was conceived by two people with very different personalities,” Nicolas Garzouzi remarks of the mountain retreat he shares with his wife, Michèle, and their two sons in the Lebanese ski resort of Faqra. “Nicolas is very rigorous and never leaves anything to chance,” notes their interior designer, the Parisbased Thierry Lemaire. “Michèle is more of a free spirit. She comes up with fun ideas you’d never dare propose to a client.” One request here was for a floor-to-ceiling steel bar in the small salon so she could regale guests with her poledancing skills. “Every time we have friends over,” she enthuses, “the men climb up to the top of it and the women become goddesses of the night!” Together the Garzouzis own the Hermès license for Lebanon.…