DINING BY DESIGN installation, 2012.
This installation is about unification and tying together: intersection. We felt this was appropriate for a fractious election year. However, in our case, we are alluding to a different set of unions or intersections.
The intersection of surface and underlying form which is illustrated by the pervasive wrapping of elements (wall, seating and table).
The intersection of the permanent and the temporary as shown by the selection of the timeless Emeco aluminum navy chair (used to protect and seal items for temporary storage or shipping).
Within the context of the Dining by Design event, which is also an example of an unusual union between quotidian industrial materials within a festive gala event.
• 26 March 2012
Virgin Upper Class lounge at JFK
The lounge was designed to provide the relaxed luxury that Virgin’s Upper Class passengers expect with a warm and distinctly Uptown Manhattan feel.
See our project page for more images.
From Gothamist:
Virgin Atlantic just spent $7 million renovating their JFK airport “Clubhouse,” where you can kill time before your flight in a luxuriant modern utopia that just “oozes uptown style,” as the press release puts it. Of course, by “you” we mean somebody else; someone who can afford to fly “Upper Class” on Virgin Atlantic. That doesn’t come cheap—a round trip “Upper Class” ticket to London on, say, a Monday in April costs $7,059.70, which includes the $412.70 in taxes/fees/surcharges. See, who says the rich don’t pay their fair share? But, hey, maybe that is you! If so, step right in, governor…
The lounge, designed by Slade Architecture, is more than double that dreadful old eyesore of a Clubhouse—you remember, that dump where old man Lackersteen got too tight on gin and thrashed a coolie to within an inch of his life. Now you’ve got 10,000 square feet to stretch your legs and bask in “a world of graceful elegance with cascading, shimmering golden ceilings of lighting, and soft, decadent textures.”
The heart of the lounge is the cloud shaped cocktail bar, which is “enclosed by a diaphanous, curving ‘wall’ of stainless steel rods and walnut fins; mediating views from and through the space and creating a series of distinct spaces.” Around this watering hole guests “move in a rhythmic syncopated flow to the many unique amenities” that the unwashed masses in the terminal beyond couldn’t possibly appreciate. A more formal brasserie serves a la carte meals, with such items as an old school tin baked steak and Brooklyn Ale pie, which brings “moments of delight to every table.”
Naturally, there is a spa and hair salon, which sells Bumble and Bumble, as well as Dr Hauschka Skin Care. Once you’ve had your fill of signature cocktails and Brooklyn Ale Pie, gotten your face and hair treated, and played a couple games of billiards, you can finally repair to a quiet corner of the Clubhouse where “person sized round cavities have been created in the walls, lined with wool, with intimate lighting, perfect for passengers who have had a hard day and want to retreat to their own private place.” What a relief to know that there’s a place you can recuperate after enduring such hardships!
• 7 March 2012
Virgin Atlantic’s New York Party - Preview
From Virgin News:
There’s only one place to be this Monday and that’s Virgin Atlantic’s brand new Clubhouse at New York’s JFK International Airport.
Later today Richard Branson will be opening the Clubhouse in the only way that Virgin know how – with a party! We’ve managed to get our hands on these exclusive sneak preview shots of the venue, to see more visit the Virgin Atlantic Facebook page.
You may not be able to attend the party in person, but that doesn’t mean you still can’t be a part of the fun. The Virgin Group founder will be starting a New York treasure hunt via a Google+ Hangout at 2pm EST today.
The treasure hunt will see the three finalists, who were announced last week, race across the city following Branson’s clues. The finalist who is the first to find the invitation, which is hidden in the city, will be picked up by limo and taken with a guest to the party as Richard Branson’s VIP guest.
Always one to get the party started early Richard Branson has been enjoying the Clubhouse facilities, with a game of pool before enjoying a well earned rest. You can also see more exclusive pictures of Richard and the goings on at the JFK Clubhouse by following Virgin on Twitter.
• 7 March 2012
Slade Architecture: Virgin Clubhouse and…
From Collabcubed:
Virgin Atlantic’s new JFK Clubhouse – designed by our good friends James and Hayes Slade of Slade Architecture – opened yesterday at JFK International Airport here in NYC. The 10,000 square foot lounge includes a beautiful curvy bar, cool seating such as the also curved, oversized, custom-made flame red ball sofa, and a large maple wood and burgundy billiards table in the ‘Entertainment Zone’. Bumble and Bumble has opened their first US airport salon and spa as part of the Clubhouse, as well.
Slade Architecture has a slew of great projects under their belt (many of them award winning) and an impressive range to boot; from residential to commercial, educational to cultural…plus furniture and product design, too! Below are some of our recent favorites, but you should really visit their website to see much more.
• 7 March 2012
2012: Virgin Atlantic launch the ultimate spa experience at JFK Clubhouse
From What Best to Wear:
Yesterday (Monday 5 March 2012) Virgin Atlantic launched a brand new ultimate spa experience for it’s clients in the new JFK Clubhouse via the aforenamed international airport in New York.
Boasting a 10,000 square foot location the spa also encompasses beautiful alabaster terrazzo flooring with Takara Belmont fittings and stylish Oakworks spa massage tables. On-site Dr.Hauschka-trained therapists will also be offering passengers a holistic range of complimentary or paid-for treatments, including their signature Radiant You Treatment and, in a first for any Clubhouse Spa, aromatherapeutic oil back massages.
Rebecca Creer, Senior Spas and Salons Manager noted that: “It’s been 21 years since Virgin Atlantic introduced the world’s first business class spa [in London Heathrow], offering complimentary treatments to our Upper Class passengers and now we are very excited to be able to offer treatments at both ends for passengers travelling to and from JFK with Virgin Atlantic.”
Alongside this New York hair and beauty brand Bumble and bumble have also jumped on-board and will be offering the only haircare service available at any US based business class lounge; following on from their success in the U.K. Passengers can also purchase products from the brand whilst their complimentary seaweed shampoo and conditioner products will also feature in the Clubhouse showers.
• 7 March 2012
Inside the Brand New Virgin Atlantic Clubhouse at New York’s JFK Airport
From Jaunted.com:
Spoiler alert! The new Virgin Atlantic Clubhouse at New York’s JFK Airport is awesome. We’ve been in it, sat in its designer chairs, sipped its specialty cocktails, marveled at the tarmac views and—yes—it’s passed the test of “do we want to live here?”
The 10,000-square-foot Clubhouse sprayed the champagne during a grand opening party last night, complete with words from Sir Richard Branson and three unplugged songs from KT Tunstall. Upper Class passengers flying that evening were treated to all the fanfare as well; imagine grabbing a bite and checking your email, then Branson waltzes in and shakes your hand.
Wiping the stars from our eyes, let’s get down to business. The new lounge is indeed new; it’s not simply a renovation, since the old lounge was before security, in a far less convenient part of JFK Terminal 4. You’ll find the fresh space after security, directly upstairs from the Virgin Atlantic gates. No more rushed Virgin Redhead cocktails before making a dash for your flight. If the plane is leaving without you, you’ll now be watching it do so directly below. Wave to the pilots!
Now, for the fun part: Once you’re inside the Clubhouse, everything is free, save for the extended spa treatments in the Bumble & bumble salon, but we had a look at the spa menu and those won’t set you back more than $40 if you’re feeling extra indulgent. So yes, the WiFi is free, the food (full meals! afternoon tea!) is free, the alcohol is free, the basic spa and salon treatments are free, the use of the pool table is free and handfuls of candy (from crystal bowls) are free. It’d be too easy to start legitimatelyfrolicking up in here, but we do advise against it since, of course, the best air to cultivate in an airline lounge is an air of James Bond-ish mystery.
The lounge has several zones: the bar, the restaurant, the “gentleman’s club” area with the pool table and tufted banquettes, the Bumble & bumble salon/spa, the restrooms, the Mac desktop work bar, the central lounge area and several other seating areas.
An easy, flowing layout means plenty of niches if you’re feeling asocial or looking for quiettime in an Eames lounge. All in all, we’d have to say the place is very much a mix of the Playboy Club in the (classy) 1960s, the infamous Boom Boom Room at the Top of the Standard Hotel, uptown see-and-be-seen swank, and a necessary dash of classic Virgin Atlantic playfulness.
Need to know:
· The lounge is located up a flight of stairs/elevator from just beyond Gate A5 in Terminal 4.
· Opening hours are M-W-Th-Sa-Su from 13:00 to 22:00 and Tuesday and Friday from 14:00 to 22:00.
· This JFK lounge has two signature cocktails: the “Virgin Rose” and the “Big Virgin Apple.” More on these later today!
· Furniture around the lounge is a mix of custom and designer. Design geeks will be excited to chillax in Eames, Saarinen and Jacobsen chairs.
· Spa treatments stop 50 minutes before your flight, so make sure to arrive with plenty of time to get an appointment and then enjoy it.
· Spa products are Bumble & bumble, Dr. Hauschka and Truefitt & Hill.
How to get in:
· Fly in Upper Class on a Virgin Atlantic flight
· Be a Virgin Atlantic Flying Club Gold member
· Fly in First or Suites Class on a Singapore Airlines flight
· Have a Singapore Airlines Solitaire PPS card
· Fly in First or Business on TAM
· Fly in First or Main Cabin Select on Virgin America, but you will be charged an entrance fee.
The lounge is officially open for business, but while there’ll be no KT Tunstall serenading and Branson greeting at check-in, there will be everything else, and really that’s way more than one can ask for from an airline lounge.
• 7 March 2012
FOR_PLAY
Photos from the opening reception of Slade Architecture’s exhibition at Syracuse University School of Architecture.
James and Hayes Slade, co-founders of NYC’s Slade Architecture, and spring 2012 visiting critics in the Syracuse University School of Architecture, will speak at the School of Architecture on Tuesday, Jan. 31, at 5 p.m. in Slocum Hall Auditorium. Their lecture, “CONtext, CONcept, CONstruct,” is free and open to the public. An opening reception for “FOR_PLAY,” an exhibition of projects by Slade Architecture designed for or include an element of play, will immediately follow in Slocum Gallery. The exhibition will run through March 23 and be open to the public Monday-Friday, 9 a.m.-5 p.m.
(Source: insidesu.syr.edu)
• 24 January 2012
2011 Interior Design Best of Year Award
Two of our projects were honored with Interior Design Magazine’s Best of Year Awards:
East 67th Street Bathroom - Kitchen & Bath (above)
Flight Club - Retail: Accessories (below).
• 1 December 2011
Barbie Shanghai featured in Berlin-based publisher Gestalten Press’ new book, Out of the Box!
• 7 November 2011
Buildings = Energy exhibition
184 Kent Avenue, one of Slade Architecture’s recent projects, is being featured by the AIA New York chapter in an exhibition with the Center for Architecture.
The exhibition will be up from October 1, 2011 - January 21, 2012.
The Center for Architecture
536 LaGuardia Place
NY, NY 10012
(212) 683-0023
info@aiany.org
Click here for more information.
• 1 October 2011
