Archinect - News

The specter of ghost buildings in London

2013-04-06T11:33:00-04:00

The salesclerk at a Belgravia clothing boutique, who also spoke on the condition of anonymity because she did not want to get in trouble, said that at some times of the year the area was virtually abandoned. “We’ll shut for the whole of August,” she said.

Earlier this week Sarah Lyall explored how some neighborhoods in London have become "So Exclusive Even the Owners Are Visitors". This is because the owners are increasingly, superwealthy foreigners from places like Russia, Kazakhstan, Southeast Asia and India, who are purchasing a residence either as an investment or as Yolande Barnes of the real estate firm Savills explains "It’s more like buying their own private hotel" for their occasional visit to London.

As Bruce Sterling (h/t) commented over at his blog "the Gothic High-Tech soulless barns of the offshored ultra-wealthy. A city that once thrived by financialization is seeing its citizens replaced by money. It would be even more interesting if the entities owning these structures were themselves financial instruments, and never human to begin with. Maybe these 'ultraprime' structures could be purchased and owned by quant algorithms, stockmarket style"

Bob Hope Estate in Palm Springs Is Up for Sale (for $50m)

2013-03-08T13:43:00-05:00

The huge Palm Springs estate of Bob Hope, the comic icon of midcentury film and television, and his wife, Dolores, is being brought to market for the first time this month, at an asking price of $50 million. Perched high in the exclusive Southridge community, with panoramic views of the Coachella Valley, including the city of Palm Springs and the San Jacinto Mountains, the 23,366-square-foot home was designed in 1973 by the California Modernist architect John Lautner.

Swarovski Crystal to build luxury towers in Pune, India. Seriously.

2012-12-07T13:15:00-05:00

Gateway Towers 1 is designed to please even the most exacting and fussy Corinthians. That's why every home here is fully automated, giving you the most advanced technology of the century and making your life smooth and easy. Even the amenities have been handpicked with special attention, right from the designer fixtures to the Swarovski lobbies to the private theatre within the towers.

Hong Kong’s $60 Million Dollar Apartment

2012-11-18T23:38:00-05:00

While the design industry may not pay as much heed to star architects – or starchitects – as it once did, on a consumer level, they clearly still pack a punch. This is exemplified by the sale of an apartment in the Frank Gehry-designed Opus Building in Hong Kong which, according to William Lau of Midland Realty, reached a record-breaking sale price of nearly $60 million due to its ‘unique’ architectural design.

Beau Coop - Neiman Marcus' $100k chicken coop

2012-10-09T19:24:00-04:00

Dawn breaks. The hens descend from their bespoke Versailles-inspired Le Petit Trianon house to their playground below for a morning wing stretch. Slipping on your wellies, you start for the coop and are greeted by the pleasant clucking of your specially chosen flock and the site of the poshest hen house ever imagined.

Your custom-made multilevel dwelling features a nesting area, a "living room" for nighttime roosting, a broody room, a library filled with chicken and gardening books for visitors of the human kind, and, of course, an elegant chandelier. The environment suits them well as you notice the fresh eggs awaiting morning collection. Nearby, you pick fresh vegetables or herbs from your custom-built raised gardens. You've always fancied yourself a farmer—now thanks to Heritage Hen Farm, you're doing it in the fanciest way possible!

Frank Gehry Apartment in Hong Kong Sells for $61 Million

2012-08-30T17:19:00-04:00

Frank Gehry is arguably the world's most famous architect, and while hist projects are notoriously expensive to construct, they may be worth it, at least for residential developers. In Manhattan, the penthouses at New York by Gehry are up for rent for $60,000 per month, and in Hong Kong, an apartment in a newly completed Gehry-designed condo tower overlooking the harbor has just sold for $61 million. Talk about a Pritzker prize.

Gehry Luxury Tower Boasts Hong Kong’s Priciest View

2012-04-12T21:03:00-04:00

Built for Swire Properties Ltd. (962), the structure cost HK$27,000 ($3,477) per square foot to construct, including land premium. A standard high-rise apartment in the city can cost as little as $HK4,000 per square foot to build, according to Swire Chief Executive Officer Martin Cubbon. “Of course, it’s going to be enormously expensive by any standards,” says Cubbon. “In rental values and capital values, it’s going to command the highest numbers that Hong Kong has ever seen.”

A Room for London: London’s most exclusive hotel opens its doors - Telegraph

2012-01-03T12:45:08-05:00

Named A Room for London, the accommodation is also an art installation commissioned by Living Architecture and Artangel. Living Architecture is a social enterprise that operates a handful of holiday homes throughout the UK and aims to provide members of the public with the opportunity to experience contemporary architecture at first hand. The Artangel organisation commissions creative projects by contemporary artists.

Shaped like a boat and moored above the Southbank Centre, this one-off, one-bedroom hotel has room for just two guests and is only open for one year.

Hong Kong's Skyline Prepares for an Addition by Frank Gehry

2011-09-15T13:43:00-04:00

The Opus Hong Kong is located at 53 Stubbs Rd. in the city’s Peak area, one of its most expensive neighborhoods. The cost of renting one of the 6,000-square-foot apartments in the 12-story, 12-unit apartment building has not been set yet, but Swire Properties has “every expectation it will break records,” Chief Executive Martin Cubbon said.