Designer Aline Hazarian’s latest collection explores the power of bronze
Regional interior and furniture designer, Aline Hazarian based between New York and Paris, showcased her latest collections in Dubai for the first time at the recently concluded Downtown Design in November 2021.
Inspired by the aesthetic movements of the 19th and 20th centuries, particularly Art Nouveau and Art Deco, Hazarian does not follow trends and instead aims at creating a timeless collection of designs. Hazarian pieces pay homage to the designer’s Armenian heritage, with the concept of her designs based around Armenian mythology and folklore heroes.
Focusing on larger scale furnishings, Hazarian works with bronze in unprecedented ways. Aline Hazarian objects are designed to add character to the home, with each piece carefully handcrafted by artisans, cast in Hazarian’s own foundry, and produced in limited quantities to create a sculptural feel. Her designs combine functional necessity with the perfect silhouette, placing form and function at the heart of every piece. Each piece becomes a sculpture, an object of art that fits harmoniously in its home to serve the overall harmony and interior flow.
Hazarian’s pieces are designed to evoke a feeling of home everywhere, creating a space for family living. Paying homage to her own family and heritage, the concept of Hazarian’s creations are based on Armenian mythology and named after the heroes of Armenian folklore including Ara, Anahit, Aramaz, Shivini, and more.
Collection highlights include Anahit, an over scaled coffee table featuring Azarian’s iconic mix of polished and patinated bronze in gold and black; Aramaz, a rectangular console table so slender it might almost disappear were it not for the mirror-like finish of its inner surfaces; Shivini, a console table that stands out as a statement piece with no two parallel sides and an organic texture; and Haldi, a visually delicate side table bringing out the artist’s poetic touch with a pink bronze table top cast in a fingerprint pattern.
Here are some of the stunning pieces worth looking at:
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Ideal Standard’s Together World Tour explores Berlin
Ideal Standard’s Together World Tour touched down in Berlin, the second of a unique series of digital events merging design, art and architecture. The event in Berlin on June 16, 2021, uncovered the innate links between architecture, design and modern living, while introducing Extra, Ideal Standard’s new range of basins from its Atelier Collections.
Each of the six inspiring and diverse destinations on the Together World Tour is being showcased in an encapsulating theatrical format that combines cultural and lifestyle trends with architecture and design, while providing the setting for the launch of a new product collection from Ideal Standard.
Ideal Standard’s co-chief executive officer Jan Peter Tewes said: “Following the success of our first stop in Milan, we were extremely excited to bring the Together World Tour to Berlin, and were fortunate to be joined by leading figures in the world of architecture to create a unique and special event worthy of the city’s rich design heritage. Through a cinematic digital experience, we were able to shine a spotlight on this magnificent city’s multifaceted identity, while demonstrating our own legacy in bathroom design and commitment to shaping the future of modern living.
“Germany, and at one point Berlin, was also home to the world-famous Bauhaus School, originally founded by Walter Gropius in Weimar over 100 years ago. The Bauhaus held similar beliefs to us: that design should be timeless and useable by many people. The Bauhaus has heavily impacted the modern world and continues to do so, with the combination of design and functionality at its core. Our new Extra range is closely aligned with these values, which have lost none of their importance to this day.”
The event in Berlin saw Jan Peter joined by renowned architect and journalist Joern Kengelbach as they visited some of the city’s most exciting architectural locations, from historic sites like the Humboldt Forum and Brandenburg Gate, to modern masterpieces such as Futurium and Cube Berlin.
Several special appearances were also featured as part of the event, including famous British architect David Chipperfield, leaders in design and urban planning Studio Graft, general director and chief executive officer of the Stiftung Humboldt Forum Prof. Dr. Hartmut Dorgerloh, and Ideal Standard’s chief design officer Roberto Palomba.
Roberto provided an exclusive look at Ideal Standard’s new Extra range, which has been designed in partnership between his renowned Italian design studio Palomba Serafini Associati and the manufacturer, and is the latest addition to their award-winning Atelier Collections. Extra is influenced by the Bauhaus, championing the values that an object can be developed to be beautiful, accessible and functional.
Roberto Palomba, co-founder of PS+A and chief design officer at Ideal Standard, said: “The Extra collection embodies the perfection of minimalist modernity down to the nearest millimetre. Demonstrating the sophisticated exchange between space, form and functionality in the bathroom, Extra is rooted in the careful control of shapes and sizes, and its pure square design ensures that nothing goes to waste, with the perfect product delivered, free of untidy excess.”
Extra has been carefully crafted from ceramics to create a light yet strong washbasin. Available in both glossy and silk white finishings, it offers multiple configurations, ranging from 45cm guest basin to a 120cm double basin option and also available in silk white finish.
Four new vanity basins have also joined the Extra collection, complemented by dedicated furniture units from the Conca collection, which come in a range of Atelier finishes including Matt White, Matt Anthracite and Matt Sunset, as well as Light Oak, Smoked Oak and Dark Walnut.
The next event on the Together World Tour will take place in London on September 23, 2021, followed by Paris, Dubai and Shanghai. To register for future events, catch up on previous ones and access exclusive additional content, visit www.togetherworldtour.com.
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d3 Architecture Festival 2020 explores cultural infrastructure in GCC region
Dubai Design District (d3) hosted a talk titled ‘Emerging Cultural Infrastructure in the Gulf’ as part of the d3 Architecture Festival 2020, organised in partnership with the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) Gulf Chapter.
Moderated by Khawla Al Hashimi, Director of Project Development at the Sharjah Investment and Development Authority (Shurooq), the panel discussion explored contemporary cultural infrastructure and its relation with the heritage and built environment in the GCC. Participants included Sumaya Dabbagh, Principal and Founder of Dabbagh Architects, Paolo Rossi, Associate Director of Architecture at Pace, Wael Al Awar, Principal Architect and Founding Partner at waiwai, and Islam El Mashtooly, Design Director at Croquis.
The panellists defined cultural infrastructure as culturally rooted and context-driven projects that preserve the memory of a place. They agreed that context goes beyond tangible elements, and is crucial to incorporate humanist design in real estate development.
Sumaya Dabbagh said: “Every place has a story, and architecture should build on that story without erasing the memory of the place. The modernisation of Middle Eastern cities, such as Dubai and Riyadh, has prompted a search for identity, and I am encouraged by the move towards delivering meaningful architecture that can add to the community.”
Islam El Mashtooly highlighted the significance of mosques that transcend their religious role to serve as real urban living rooms. On another note, he used India as a prime example of a country with a deep understanding of cultural localism in architecture.
Wael Al Awar said: “Culture is always tied to context – location, people, nation – which is key in addressing every architectural project. The UAE did a fantastic job to bring the right architects in order to keep its identity. It used Japanese architects, who are tied to their identity, unlike Western architects, who have blindly adopted the modern style.”
To illustrate the importance of getting clients on board, he recounted the story of his firm designing Al Warqa’a Mosque in Dubai that involved a 1.5-year conversation with Dubai Municipality about the meaning of identity in architecture, which opened the way to other architects having more progressive dialogues on mosque design.
Al Awar added that he looks forward to breaking stereotypes about the UAE as a desert country at the Venice Architecture Biennale 2021, where the theme of wetlands will feature prominently in the national pavilion.
For his part, Paolo Rossi said: “A museum is a medium between mankind and its culture. It’s not an object, it’s not a place – the new trend for museums is to be part of the exhibition. The power of an idea is more important than object or form.”
The inaugural edition of the d3 Architecture Festival runs from 11 to 13 November 2020 under the theme ‘Identity, Context and Placemaking in the Gulf’. Celebrating the achievements of local and regional architecture companies, the event takes place during Dubai Design Week, held under the patronage of Her Highness Sheikha Latifa bint Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Chairperson of the Dubai Culture & Arts Authority.