google ad sense 728 x 90

Yoo by Starck: Dwell95, New Fab Apartments On Wall Street




The success of Yoo's first ever rental project was cemented with the launch of the show apartment in New York on 15th September. The project has already proven popular, with over 50 percent of the apartments rented since leasing commenced in late spring.





Dwell95, the first Yoo by Starck-designed rental property in the world, will offer everything from studios to lofts, as well as spacious one and two-bedroom residences.




The 'Classic' Apartment interior (click images to enlarge):





The bathroom in the 'Classic' model (click to enlarge):




The 'Nature' apartment interior (click images to enlarge):





The bathroom in the 'Nature' model (click to enlarge):




Dwell95 offers the luxurious amenities of a full-service hotel with the comforts of home, including a 24-hour concierge service and doorman; valet services; on-site parking; a fitness center including the Kinesis program, a state-of-the-art strength training system and a complimentary daily breakfast. An indoor/outdoor lounge highlights Yoo by Starck's signature style; an opulent mix of playfulness and seduction.



The indoor lounge (shown above) features an elegant fireplace, while the outside lounge (shown below) is beautifully landscaped with intimate seating areas.



The fitness center:



Located at 95 Wall Street, New York, NY 10005:



For information on renting at Dwell95, click here. Or if you have a potential rental project contact Yoo at: +44 (0)207 009 0100 or info@yoo.com.

What Does Yoo Do?:
YOO turn properties that are under-rated, forgotten or unloved into homes and other spaces that design-conscious people find irresistible.

Our co-founders are the internationally celebrated designer Philippe Starck and the developer John Hitchcox, whom a British newspaper called 'the Miuccia Prada of the property industry', adding, 'He knows how we want to live before we do.'

Who is Yoo?
In case you haven't heard, the YOO design team includes the biggest names in design. Purchase a yoo inspired by Starck home or invest in pod living by Jade Jagger for yoo, and you know you're getting a valuable original.

The same is true of designs by the in-house YOO design team, which includes some of the most talented and imaginative designers you've probably never heard of. As with all our design services, YOO's own designs come in a selection of luxurious palettes for x-factor with ease.

Today YOO are in more than 20 cities worldwide from Leeds to Miami.

For up-to-date availability or for more information on investment property, please email call our sales team on +44 (0)207 009 4690 or email at sales@yoofirst.com.

www.yoo.com

8 Pretty Places In Which To Put Those Coins : Modern Piggy banks


Modern & Beautiful Places To Put Your Coins

If you're not gonna spend it, at least put it in something cool.
There's no longer an excuse for keeping pennies in a ... gasp... jar!
Here are 8 shiny pretty places in which to put those coins.
Click on each image for more info and to purchase.

See more of my over 39 Modern & Beautiful Places To Put Your Coins list at ThisNext.

Pink Modern Classics From DWR For Auction In Support Of Breast Cancer




Design Within Reach has partnered with Emeco, Fritz Hansen, Herman Miller®, Knoll® and Spinneybeck® Leather to auction on ebay five special-edition, fully licensed classic chairs, with all proceeds going to the Susan G. Komen for the Cure foundation.

The classic modern items are being offered in limited edition "pink" versions on ebay and the auctions end in just over 8 days from the time of this post. Go here to start bidding.

The items are as follows:


Designed by Philippe Starck for Emeco.
White powdercoat with a pink Spinneybeck Riva leather seat pad. Courtesy of Emeco and Spinneyback Leather. (Retail: $825)



Designed by Arne Jacobsen for Fritz Hansen.
Upholstered in pink Tonus wool. Courtesy of Fritz Hansen. (Retail: $3,045)



Designed by Charles and Ray Eames for Herman Miller.
Upholstered in pink Spinneybeck Espana leather. Courtesy of Herman Miller and Spinneyback Leather. (Retail: $1,999)

Designed by Eero Saarinen for Knoll.
White base with a pink Spinneybeck Riva leather seat pad. Courtesy of Knoll and Spinneyback Leather. (Retail: $1,014)



Designed by Marcel Breuer for Knoll.
Constructed with pink Spinneybeck Belting leather. Courtesy of Knoll and Spinneyback Leather. (Retail: $1,824)

Start your bidding on ebay here.


Now THAT'S a rock! The Latest Diamond Find Could End up Being The World's Largest Polished Piece Of Ice




A huge gem stone which could become the largest polished round diamond in history was recently unearthed at the Letšeng diamond mine in Lesotho just this past September 8th, 2008.

Gem Diamonds and the Lesotho Government, a 30 percent partner in the mine, announced Sunday the recovery of a 478-carat type II D color diamond (shown above) which they say has the potential to yield one of the largest flawless D-color round polished diamonds in history.

“Preliminary examination of this remarkable diamond indicates that it will yield a record breaking polished stone of the very best color and clarity,” said Clifford Elphick, CEO and chairman of Gem Diamonds.

The diamond was recovered on Monday September 8, and sent to Antwerp for analysis where it was determined to be a type II D color diamond - the highest color grading available for a white diamond, Gem Diamonds explained.


Above: A model inspects the world's 20th largest rough diamond, which was discovered at Gem Diamond's Letsing Mine in Lesotho.

The massive stone is the 20th largest rough diamond ever found, weighs 478 carats and is said to be of outstanding clarity. It was recovered earlier this week at the Letseng Mine, in Lesotho, a small kingdom in South Africa.

The clarity and round shape of the new gem mean it could be worth considerably more than the previous find of the Letsing "Promise" diamond valued at 12.4 million a few months ago from the same mine. In its polished state, this latest find could fetch tens of millions of pounds.


Above: the rough 478 carat, D color whopper

The rough stone above is estimated to be capable of producing a 150 carat polished gem stone, dwarfing the Koh-i-Noor diamond which is part of the Crown Jewels.

A spokesman for Gem Diamonds, who own the mine, added that initial examination suggested that the white diamond, which has yet to be named and valued, has a completely flawless center. That means, once polished the uncut stone could become the world's largest ever diamond.


Above: The new diamond could be larger than the Koh-i-noor diamond, seen in the Queen mother's crown (shown above, circled in red).

The Crown of Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother, with the Koh-i-noor diamond, sits in the Tower of London with the Crown Jewels. It was given to Queen Victoria by 1o year-old Duleep Singh, last Emperor of the Sikhs in 1855.

The mine, which was owned by famous diamond company De Beers for many years, has already produced three of the world's biggest diamonds including the 603 carat Lesotho Promise, the 493 carat Leteng Legacy and the 601 carat Lesotho Brown.

Clifford Elphick, chief executive officer of Gem Diamonds, said 'Preliminary examination of this remarkable diamond indicates that it will yield a record breaking polished stone of the very best colour and clarity.'

The find is still dwarfed by the Cullinan Diamond which was discovered in 1905:





Above: At 3,106 carats, the Cullinan Diamond was the largest gem-quality rough diamond ever found but the biggest polished stone produced from it, the Great Star of Africa - 530 carats - is a teardrop shape.



Above: The Koh-i-noor is a round cut but at 105 carats it is smaller than the potential size of the new find. It originated in India but was seized by Britain as a spoil of war in 1849. It supposedly brings good luck to female owners and misfortune or death to any male who wears or owns it.

A bit about the Letšeng Mine in Lesotho:

Above: aerial view of the Letšeng pit

Letšeng Diamonds Proprietary Limited is owned 70% by Gem Diamonds and 30% by the Government of the Kingdom of Lesotho. Operated by De Beers between 1977 and 1982, Letšeng reopened operations in 2004 and was acquired by Gem Diamonds in 2006.

The average elevation at the mine is 3,100m above mean sea level, making it the highest diamond mine in the world. The mine consists of two adjacent primary near vertical kimberlite pipes the Satellite and Main, with confirmed vertical depths of 495m and 655m respectively. The average grade of these resources is 1.72 carats per hundred tons (cpht). With approximately 14% of all stones being larger than 10.8 carats (ct), the production profile is more akin to that of an alluvial than kimberlite mine.

The average price per carat achieved at LetÅ¡eng in 2007 was US$1 997 per ct, relative to an industry average of US$81 per ct. As such LetÅ¡eng is a remarkable mine producing some of the world’s remarkable diamonds including large gem quality diamonds that sell for the highest per carat price of any kimberlite mine.


Above: drilling at night at the Letšeng' mine

Historically 81% of Letšeng's revenue is from large diamonds (+10.8 ct) and 90% of the diamonds recovered are gem quality with a significant proportion graded as D colour.

Some of the world's largest diamonds have been produced at LetÅ¡eng. Of note is the 601ct Lesotho Brown in the mid 1960s (world’s 16th largest diamond ever recovered), the 603ct Lesotho Promise recovered in August 2006 (15th largest diamond) and the 493ct LetÅ¡eng Legacy recovered in September 2007 (18th largest recovered).


Above: the Promise Diamond, 603 carats, also mined from Letšeng.


Above: the Letšeng Legacy Diamond, 493 carats

Letšeng Diamonds markets all its diamonds through a tender process in Antwerp. The Lesotho Promise sold by Gem Diamonds in Antwerp for US $12.4 million and the Letšeng Legacy for US $10.4 million.



The mine’s current processing capacity is 2.6 million tonnes per annum (tpa), which will double to 5.28 million tpa by mid 2008 after commissioning of the second treatment plant is completed and commissioned. This will make LetÅ¡eng the 7th largest kimberlite mine in the world by throughput. The present life of mine is optimized at 33 years.

Graphic Concrete: Adding Life To A Big Ol' Grey Slab





Think concrete just has to be a big ol' plain slab? Not anymore... at least not in Helsinki, where Graphic Concrete applies texture and imagery to what would ordinarily be a big grey slab. They have devised a new way to produce a patterned concrete surface. The patented Graphic Concrete technology involves applying a surface retarder to the surface of a special membrane and this method allows concrete product manufacturers to produce different types of high-quality patterned concrete elements and slabs.



In addition to being patterned, the concrete surface can also be smooth or completely exposed fine aggregate as well as tinted or stained a color. A photo or text can also be reproduced/ designed into the concrete as you will see in the following examples.

You can choose from several of their surface patterns or even design your own. The effect looks great on both exteriors of buildings, interior walls, floors or installations.































Graphic Concrete Ltd
Porkkalankatu 11 H 11
00180 HELSINKI
Tel +358 9 6842 0093
info@graphicconcrete.com



Learn more, see their surface patterns, finished buildings and the process here at Graphic Concrete's site.

Please donate

C'mon people, it's only a dollar.