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Axel Vervoordt is an iconic and internationally acclaimed interior designer, furniture designer and art & antiques collector, well-known for the incredible respect and distinctive use, throughout all his work, of the Japanese movement, wabi sabi.
A Japanese phrase derived from two distinct roots – ‘wabi’ means simplicity while ‘sabi’ refers to the on-going movement of time. Wabi-sabi is therefore a philosophy that celebrates the beauty found in imperfection, an aesthetic concept that transcends conventional design movements.
Quiet and slow, it observes cracks, ageing and above all, authenticity; an attitude that iconic Belgium interior designer, Axel Vervoordt has adhered to all his life.
“I find the spirit of things much more important than the look of things – I really don’t mind if things are ugly. They have their own beauty, if only one looks hard enough.” – Axel Vervoordt
An interior designer of incredible eye and influence, Axel Vervoordt has been inspired by the essence of wabi sabi since a boy.
Believing that everything needs a deep human reason, his focus upon authenticity and history is never swayed by the decorative or purely superficial, and his interior designs and enigmatic touch have grown his name and business into a design empire.
From private clients, to thought-provoking exhibitions like 2015’s Proportio, to the interior design of his own home - a moated Belgian castle, to the bespoke wabi-sabi penthouse in New York’s infamous The Greenwich Hotel, Axel Vervoordt is undoubtedly a design giant like no other.
The three-bedroom penthouse sitting atop The Greenwich Hotel in New York is an oasis of tranquillity, understatement and humility; an incredible architectural and design feat considering its position, floating amid a city that knows little of this.
Captivating in its intelligent simplicity and architectural intent, The Greenwich Hotel's Shibui spa is no different, housed within a 250-year-old Japanese barn shipped over from Japan and put up without the use of one screw or nail.
Adhering to the essence of wabi sabi itself, the creation of this New York penthouse and hotel spa took a long, long time; but afforded it by co-owners Robert De Niro and Ira Drukier, it is self evident that each element, every design detail and architectural angle, each crack, was well worth the wait.
Set among the wide streets and historic buildings of downtown Manhattan, for decades Tribeca has been an understated artist haunt, a fusion of easy-going European charm and New York ambition. Home to the iconic Greenwich Hotel, it is an artsy shopping district with its close proximity to both the city’s romantic waterfront promenades and the heart of many creative industries giving it the feel of a separate town within a major metropolis. Truly a design-lover’s dream for inspired shopping and the perfect place to stay when in NYC.
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The Trubrigs have a trained curatorial eye when it comes to sourcing both the established and the new-comers in design. The couples' strong bonds with creative talent and influential designers of the day have fostered the relationships to be always one step ahead of the curve.
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Some design principles are so uncomplicated and understated that they can be found in different iterations, in different corners of the world. The value placed on craftsmanship is one of these; so is the use of natural materials that not only can last a lifetime, but also get more handsome with each passing year.
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Zaha Hadid Architect's coastal Salerno Maritime Terminal in Cilento, Italy carries her hallmark curves inspired by oysters and the waves, a coastal landmark.
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Architect and engineering studio en.ar[tec] headed by lead architect, artist and skilled restorer Andreas Vallazza based in the South Tyrolean hamlet of Vahrn, close to Brixen. Enartec is a multi-disciplinary design and planning studio which brings together a dynamic team of architects and civil engineers in a single source.
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Salzburg’s striking Building Academy stands as a contemporary ode to Austria’s longstanding ability to wow us with her architecture and design.
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New York's Greenwich Hotel is a design residence hiding hand-crafted artefacts, effortless heritage & evocative hidden moments, in its architecture and beyond.
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Professor, architect and designer with an intense love of concrete and the alps, architect Othmar Barth (1927-2010) was considered futuristic, often misunderstood and a bit of a silent hero of the rural monumental.
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Has legendary architect Peter Zumthor's famed Therme Vals lost it's 'soul', as he claims, or is it still as beautiful as ever? (We think the latter in abundance..)
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This summer sees the re-opening of the Pavilion Le Corbusier. Located in Zurich, architects Silvio Schmed and Arthur Rüegg took on the restoration of this iconic structure which pays homage to an architect who was the forerunner of urban design, a pioneer of sustainability, and a leader of modernism.
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Wabi sabi, the Japanese phrase derived from two distinct roots – ‘wabi’ for simplicity and ‘sabi’ for the on-going movement of time – is a concept that celebrates the beauty found in imperfection. Quiet and slow, it observes cracks, ageing and above all, authenticity; an attitude that iconic Belgium interior designer, Axel Vervoordt has adhered to all his life.
read more
Just a few blocks off Tribeca’s main pathways, Grand Banks is more than a restaurant--it’s a chance to step back into NYC’s maritime history. Nestled at the southwest edge of Pier 25, this award-winning oyster bar and restaurant dwells inside the iconic wooden schooner the Sherman Zwicker, the last original salt bank fishing vessel still in use.
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