Editor’s Letter
“GOOD DESIGN,” ACCORDING to Italian designer Massimo Vignelli, “is a language, not a style.” In our February issue, we aim to highlight the most beautiful parts of this language expressed by the exponents of this art form. In the year that was, we have been made aware of how crucial a beautiful home can be; in uplifting our spirits and providing solace even amid the grimness of external events.
It is with this that we invite you to ponder some simple and some fairly epic design recommendations in this month’s issue. To start, celebrity architect Sir David Adjaye reflects on race, history and politics in his transformative projects that include a Holocaust memorial by the Houses of Parliament in London. A varied upbringing across continents has shaped his world view, leading him to find inspiration in the Japanese reverence for simplicity and to use context to create new perspectives with buildings (A Monumental Man, p.36).
In the story of The Man Behind Aman (p.48), we discover the inner workings of Vladislav Doronin, the chairman and CEO of Aman Resorts, who commissioned the architect Kengo Kuma – who designed Japan’s National Stadium for the delayed 2020 Summer Olympics – to design a skincare bottle for the hotel chain. His latest project is Aman New York. Set to open this year with 22 residences, it is likely to be the most expensive apartment sold in New York on a persquare-foot basis at around US$14,300.
Closer to home, simpler pleasures can be had with a stylish lounge chair (Lounge Act, p.70) or perhaps a masterly drinks cabinet to help you ease into evenings at home (Wonder Bars, p.72). On this subject of design, our columnist Andrew Leci pens his thoughts on the seven most interesting designs in history, ranging from monuments such as Antonio Gaudí’s Sagrada Familia to the enigmatic cat which, he contends, is among the best designed animals on the planet.
On that note, we leave you to uncover the evolution of this language that is design which, as graphic designer and design educator Louis Danziger says, “is intelligence made visible”.
Enjoy the issue.