Brazilian designers Fernando and Humberto Campana have built over the last 25 years a solid career drawing inspiration from their immediate surrounds! As alchemists combining materials, textures, colours and dreams, the Campana Brothers created a unique vocabulary of design, giving poetry to “everyday” materials. Their latest creation, Yes Hotel Athens is borne of an exclusive partnership between the Brothers and Dakis Joannou, owner of YES! Hotels and among other, the founder of the DESTE Foundation for Contemporary Art, member of the Board of Trustees of the New Museum of Contemporary Art in New York and of the Tate International Council and also a member of the International Directors’ Council of the Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation.
The Campana Brothers' first hotel project, Yes Hotel Athens is an adventurous design undertaking due to open in late Summer 2009. It is a pioneering venture of luxury accommodation set amongst ecofriendly design conceived by two of the most exciting designers of our time. Yes Hotel Athens integrates art, architecture and design, creating a “live in” sensation, transcending the Museum or Art Gallery experience, provoking the senses and challenging common space
perception.
An important part of the renovation project is the injection of ideas from a group of design and architecture students and young professionals who have formed a workshop under the tutelage of and in collaboration with Fernando and Humberto. The workshop group is creating furniture, producing samples and prototypes whilst exploring methods and techniques associated with the Campanas style: reusing and reinterpreting local material and culture.
Tasks
FAVELA WALL IN RECEPTION
Dakis would like to see a Favela wall built in the reception (see doc attached). This wall will enclose a “peep whole” from which we will be able to see a special art commission, much in the molds of that Duchamp installation, where a naked woman can be seen from a whole in a fence.
For that, F+H would like the Favela to be built with wood slats of 1cm thickness, width of 5, 10, 15, 20 and 25cm, of different colors and textures. The important thing is that the wood need to look finished and “refined”. Please, take extra care with the nails. The pressure “nail-stapler” is a good solution to make the junctions invisible.
FAVELA COLUMN
Please, finish/reform the Favela column that has all sides in wood. F+H would like the 4 “corners” to be rounded, the top part to be more irregular in a root like shape. Please, do also create a system to remove the panels so maintenance can be done on the back light system.
FRAGMENT MINI BAR BOX
Although Humberto requested the sides to be fragmented, on a second thought he wishes to leave them straight, so that the room is not too busy with all the Fragment elements.
PILOT ROOM 210 WASHBASIN
Recreate a cardboard version of the prototype and finish with mirrored surface.
Keep the styrofoam prototype and send it back to Brazil. Campanas would like to keep it in the studio’s collection.
FRAGMENT WALL
To increase the volume and texture, we will need 2 sets of MDF with mat printed formica per room.
Please, send to Estudio Campana, or post on Flicker the options of old post cards of Athens. Watercolors were mentioned. Further instructions will follow after that.
FRAGMENT DESK
Campanas would like to see 2 desks made for November meeting:
VERSION 1: printed Fragement top
Print on top of the fragments the same image of the post card of the room. This time, let’s leave no gaps between the fragments.
VERSION 2: not printed Fragment top
Have a smooth 2 layered top with no Fragments, not carved nor real fragments.
