Your Take on Vienna Fringe Living: THE INSIDER TIPS: Report #2

We asked, you answered — What’s your best tip for a spot that’s 100% Vienna, loved by locals, only found by tourists who call “tourism” the “t-word”? These are the spots on the edge of the radar, and this is Living On The Edge: Vienna: The Insider Tips: Report #2!

PHIL is kind of the ultimate hang-out. Bar/Bookshop with with Djs, and they play movies too! Don’t miss that one at Gumpendorferstrasse 10 – 12.

ARENA “Entertainment and confrontation.” And from what you tell us, the ex-slaughter house and is now the best venue in town for parties and concerts. Baumgasse 80.

LOOS Some say that in Vienna there isn’t a bar, there is only one bar … Loos American Bar. Find it at Kärntner Durchgang 10.

GEBRÜDER STITCH is where to stop if you’re always on the hunt for the pair of perfect jeans. Two former marketing guys gave up their jobs and their apartments to make this dream come true — now let them make your dream come true. Gaudenzdorfergürtel 35.

SONG Menswear. Womenswear. French pre-war industrial furniture. Praterstrasse 11 – 13.

WILD is a Heuriger that’s slightly off the beaten track but always enjoyable day or night. Great food, great service, brilliant atmosphere. Amtstrasse 1-3.

CODED CULTURES is for a limited time only (until next year, at least!). From now until the 2nd of October, experience the city as interface.

Got a tip to share? Drop us a line and you could win a fab weekend for 2 in the ever so cool Austrian hub and a brand new laptop folio from our partners at HARD GRAFT.

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photos, top left to right: Phil from spottedbylocals.com, Loos from their own website

photos, bottom left to right: Gebrüder Stitch from their own website, Song from their own website

Last Wednesday of the Month Architecture: Alpine Capsule

Believe it or not (and personally I’m leaning towards “not”), August is at an end, and over here at the White Line Hotels Blog that means it’s time once again for the Last Wednesday of the Month Architecture feature. This month’s is a puzzler. Is it a product or is it a building? I’ll tell you now, though — no — it is not an Anish Kapoor.

You may be familiar with industrial designer Ross Lovegrove for any number of his organically shaped products. Solar Trees or Car On A Stick, anyone? It might seem like an unlikely pairing, but a few years ago when a private commission came along to find a way to sleep (protected, mind you) under the stars in Alta Badia, Lovegrove stepped in with a self-sustainable solution. Yes, you can say a lot of things about Lovegrove, but you have to give him credit for his unending dedication to environmental issues and sustainable energy.

Lovegrove wanted to provide contrast to the traditional wood and stone architecture of the region, but remain respectful to its environment. The result was Alpine Capsule, an 8 meter wide…well…do you call it a structure? Pod? Drop-of-mercury-like blob? Whatever your preference, Lovegrove calls it an “ephemeral infinity space”. Reflective glass means that, once inside, your view is infinite nature. From outside, that same reflective glass renders it nearly invisible in some conditions. Alpine Capsule pays its respect to its environment by mirroring it, and when that mirroring means it nearly vanishes, it gives a whole new meaning to the idea of a low-impact building.

Although the exact location and how to get to it appears to have something in common with the holy grail, it might be worth the effort to take a gander. After searching, return for a dose of the good life at  the altogether more spacious Lagació Mountain Residence, as chosen by the team at White Line Hotels.

All photos www.rosslovegrove.com

Tickling the Senses in Mykonos

After an idyllic afternoon spend windsurfing, sun-worshipping and admiring the beach goddesses and gods at Ftelia Beach in Mykonos, a bite to eat, a bit of music to start your evening and cocktails that’ll keep you cool in the 40-degree sun is the island way to pass the time.

Alemagou, a new bar and restaurant on Ftelia Beach at the base of the Panormos Bay, brings together elements of the sea and island traditions to create a holistic environment offering a new twist on the traditional taverna. Athens-based K-Studio created the concept by combining the surrounding elements and traditional Cycladic architecture with contemporary organic forms. A 60 cm thick canopy of thatched reed rustles in the wind over guest’s heads, keeping out the harsh heat, while allowing the sun to dapple through. This same canopy embraces revealers in a warm and intimate atmosphere into the night. Informal elements such as hardwearing screed floors, whitewashed walls and handmade pumpkin shell lamps keep the space laid-back. A rhythmic series of terraces, with views over the sea and sand, harmoniously lead guests to the water.

The landscape flows into Alemagou, starting with the natural rock surrounding the beach, which flows into dry stone walls, merging into carefully created atmospheres specifically for dining and lounging. Alemagou is designed around the elements, so you’ll feel like you’re in yours.

Much like the design, the menu takes well-loved traditional recipes and turns them into inspiring new dishes. Music and drinks are an intrinsic part of the atmosphere creating a multi-sensory environment that tickles the senses.

After spending a day surfing and soaking on the beach, just a few kilometres away is the centre of it all, what Mykonos is really known for: the winding white streets, the colourfully accented cake-like houses and the all-night-long life of the island – Mykonos Town. After your night is through, lay your head in the most glam hotel on the island – White Line Hotels edit the Mykonos Theoxenia Boutique Hotel. The hotel has the aesthetic of modern day Mykonos with more than a touch of vibrant 60’s elements. An Aegean breeze stirs throughout the hotel all day long, whisking your cares away.

Photos courtesy of K-Studio by Yiorgos Kordakis

Travelling Art Finds a Home in Paris

If the nineties were the age of the White Cube, and the noughts were the decade of the alternative art space, it seems to me that this next decade will be the age of the travelling art setups. Across the US and Britain these travelling spaces move from state to state and city to city, carrying with them some of the world’s greatest (not to mention expensive) art. “America Now and Here” kicked off with an 18-wheeler wrapped in a Barbara Kruger piece as the exhibition space. These travelling exhibitions are no dinky arts and crafts mobiles. “America Here and Now” includes among its artists Chuck Close, Jasper Johns, Edward Albee, Laurie Anderson, Kiki Smith and Philip Glass. A mix of 150 musicians, poets, artists, actors, playwrights and directors are taking part.

But, as globalization goes, it’s almost impossible to say who first came up with this trend. The Mobile Art Pavilion is a clever take on the international pavilions of the Venice Biennale. Only slightly more stationary, but definitely more international, the M.A.P. was designed by London star architect Zaha Hadid. Since it’s creation in 2008 it has travelled across the globe from New York to Tokyo and Hong Kong. Supposedly it’s now found a permanent home in Paris, but is anything really stationary anymore?

The spaceship like exterior of the structure has an unexpected web-like interior, creating plenty of possibilities for dividing the space in future exhibitions. It’s found a home outside the Institut du Monde Arabe and is currently showcasing models, paintings and projections of recent work produced by Zaha Hadid Architects.

The Institute de Monde Arabe can be found on the Left Bank, not at all far from the Hotel des Academies et des Arts, as picked out by the crew at White Line Hotels. This intimate hotel offers what the big ones can’t – personalized service and true Parisian charm.

Easy London Design

You may have seen the work of Tomás Alonso in 2009 at the Next Level Galerie in Paris.  There, the Spanish-born London-based designer presented ‘Variations on a Tube’, simple colourful pieces of furniture, which, it will come as no surprise, were created using tubes as legs and supports. The furniture got a lot of press because it managed to be simultaneously almost child-like in its simplicity and elegant.

Since he’s moved to London, after living and working in the US, he’s been invited to participate with some of the metropolis’s most renowned creative spaces, such as the Whitechapel Gallery and the V & A.

His latest project was the stackable steel cutlery for Italian wine entrepreneurs Italesse. The cutlery is held together by a small metal clip and can be used indoors or out, also making it simple to take along to a picnic in the park, or from kitchen to terrace. Simplified to the most basic requirements, it avoids any unnecessary flourishes, but manages to look elegant none the less.

The cutlery is a helpful take on the problem of lugging around silverware, but still trying to maintain a sense of elegance. Alonso’s other projects are equally inspiring. Such as his ‘Greenroom’, which supports climbing plants indoors. The system allows plants to grow as they naturally would, but keeps them in their own, easily movable environment. The young designer has already worked with some impressive names, it should be interesting to see what come out of his studio next.

If London design is what drives you, you’ll definitely want to take a break at White Line Hotels edit the Town Hall Hotel and Apartments. The location will put you in the middle of everything we love about London – innovation, inspiring design, and food that will transport you. Added mini bonus hint – if you’re travelling from out side the UK, you can leave your adaptors behind. Every room includes all region adaptors. It’s all in the details.

Italesse photos by Cemal Okten.