Grappa di Pratolungo by Alberto Alessi and laura Pessina
23 December
Last year, designer Alberto Alessi launched his wine label, fulfilling his dream of producing wine in his native Lake Orta, located to the west of Lake Maggiore in northern Italy. In 2001, he and his wife Laura Pessina bought a 16th-century farmstead there (which was renovated by their friend and colleague Alessandro Mendini), and a few years later started working on the first wines under the label La Signora Eugenia e il Passero Solitario – meaning Madam Eugenia and the Solitary Sparrow, after the house’s original owner and the local fauna. This winter, grappa was added to the production. Six years in the making, the fine Italian spirit is the fruit of a collaboration with local distilleries and features different grapes, depending on each year’s harvest. The identity of the project and the labels were created by Spanish designer Martí Guixé, a long-time Alessi collaborator, and each bottle is numbered and signed by Alessi and Pessina.
€44 for 50cl, from La Signora Eugenia e il Passero Solitario
Writer: Rosa Bertoli. Photography: Emma Blau
This is Nørrebro
22 December
The launch of a new set of prints by graphic design studio Hamide took place at new design hot spot Sirin in Copenhagen last week.
Celebrating the district of Nørrebro, the artwork embraces the trendy village’s rich culture through a crossword-style display of letters making up the different landmarks in the area, shown vertically through the bold ‘This is Nørrebro’ sign.
Designed as part of the ‘Soul of the City’ range of prints from the Copenhagen-based design duo who explore each district as research for the pieces, ’We cycled through its streets, smelled its air and looked for the soul of Nørrebro’ they muse.
Previous prints include This is Rosklide and This is Aarhus, all designed in strong solid colours and a simple typograph.
Writer: Sujata Burman
New School of Architecture
21 December
The rust-red, Cor-Ten steel-clad New School of Architecture in Stockholm, which opened its doors to students earlier in the year, appears to have been gently placed on its narrow site at the Royal Institute of Technology. Designed by Bolle Tham and Martin Videgård, its rounded edges were created in response to the triangular site, and it makes a confident contemporary statement surrounded by Erik Lallerstedt’s early-20th century red-brick campus buildings. The school’s plan allows for flexibility and transparency, housing a workshop and exhibition area, lecture halls, architecture studios and offices.
Writer: Daniel Golling. Photography: Liam Warwick
As originally featured in the January 2015 issue of Wallpaper* (*202)
Under/Standing sculpture
18 December
New Zealand’s Brancott Estate has enlisted Dror Benshetrit to create an installation for its vineyards, where the world’s first Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc was created in 1979. The New York-based designer was inspired by he combination of science and art that Brancott stands for, which reminded him of his own passion for geometry and physics. His sculpture, a render of which is pictured above, is to be unveiled in 2016. The 9m-tall Corten steel structure appears to be stretching open through its network of rhomboid shapes. Called Under/Standing, it has inspired a limited-edition steel wine rack, also available next year.
Writer: Rosa Bertoli. Photograph: Emma Blau
As originally featured in the December 2015 issue of Wallpaper* (*201)
Brecon Estate Winery
17 December
The Brecon Estate Winery’s recent makeover is the brainchild of San Francisco practice Aidlin Darling Design. Located in Paso Robles (the fastest growing wine region in California), the estate was housed in a building that ‘had virtually no relationship to the land that surrounded it,’ explain the architects Joshua Aidlin and David Darling. They completely reorganised the production facility, partly cladding it in untreated cedar. The tasting area (pictured here) is a key element of the new design. Spilling out onto a sizeable, cantilevered deck, it creates a clever transition between indoors and outdoors. Future plans include a new subterranean production facility.
Writer: TF Chan. Photography: Emma Blau
As originally featured in the December 2015 issue of Wallpaper* (*201)
Plastic Fantastic
14 December
Designer Bethan Laura Wood brings her eccentric style to London’s creative emporium, Sketch. Commissioned for the festive season as their yearly installation, Plastic Fantastic has been described as both a ‘riot of weird and wonderful’ and ‘Elizabethan meets Verner Panton POP’ in the visually psychedelic piece.
The installation embellishes the venue’s entrance hall in a mix of glitter, PVC and jewelled shapes, joined together to create streamers and hanging colourful garlands across the dark walls of the 18th century listed Mayfair building.
In her true eclectic style which marries Sketch’s artful aesthetic perfectly, her shapes include everything from crosses and flowers to drop and round pearl imitations. These are all joined together to appear as classic Christmas decorations, with a kaleidoscopic twist.
Plastic Fantastic remains on show at Sketch till 6 January 2016 and joins the introduction of some seasonal additions to its menu including Quail egg and caviar alongside Malabar Marshmallow for afternoon tea paired with a musical surprise during its service.
Writer: Sujata Burman. Photography: Mark Cocksedge
