If renovating an old and disused building, rotting in degeneration and thus blotting the urban landscape, is not a fulfilling and rewarding project in itself, then perhaps the prospect of winning 30,000 euros could make the venture seem even more worthwhile.

For more than a quarter of a century the legendary architect Philipe Rotthier has explored Europe’s diverse and dynamic architecture intent on finding new structural designs that venerates the character of the urban landscape it is situated, respects ecology, is kind to the planet wasting neither space nor energy and that ascertain a link between a building’s history and the contemporary yearnings for luxury and comfort.

Read full post

For years graffiti was considered to be a blot on an urban landscape, the blight of neighbourhoods trying to preserve a squeaky clean image of a town and the bane of councillors’ lives. In recent years graffiti has lost many of its negative connotations, has reinvented itself and emerged as one of the hottest new forms of art in 2010. The curse of graffiti has given way to a surge in street art and the world of art is embracing it with respect, vigour and passion.

So intense is the renewed enthusiasm towards street art, that prestigious art galleries across the globe are showcasing the best international street artists. Façonnable takes a look at the best of this fashionably revered new artistic talent.

Read full post

Union Square, New York City – a meeting place for powerful businesses, the home of four historical monuments, including Abraham Lincoln, Mohandas Ghandi, the Marquis de Lafayatte and George Washington, or a village of huts sprouting grass and hemp causing a carpet of natural materials to aimlessly ramble across a plaza normally leached with modernity and commerce. 

It is latter image that bears the truest significance of Union Square at present caused by a novel and intriguing architectural competition. The Sukkah City competition and its dominance on Union Square has led to a subsequent transformation of one of New York’s finest and busiest of open areas. 

Read full post

As the sale of luxury cars in Europe, Japan and the US slow down, consumers in India are paying out a small fortune to take the key from the salesman and drive away the car of their dreams. Since the global economic collapse, the car industry has remained erratic, dipping and peaking retrospectively. 

Only a decade earlier anyone driving a Mercedes-Benz in India was considered to be amongst the motoring elite – a bunch of well-heeled and resented individuals who were few and far between. Today the picture is radically different, with Land Rover, Jaguar, BMW and Mercedes now feverishly competing in a thriving market that is being lapped up by disposed consumers.  

Read full post

You are attending one of the greatest, elitist and grandest sporting events of the year. It might be the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe, the Grand Prix in Monaco or the Cannes International Yacht Show. With everyone attending these glamorous events looking like a million dollars, standing out from the crowd can be a difficult exploit to accomplish. But if you are determined to turn heads on your arrival we may have found the solution. Why not arrive in the most luxurious, extravagant way possible – by private jet.

Read full post