The London List Abroad: The Rivertown Lodge in Upstate New York re-invents roadside motels for the design-conscious The London List

Posted in Hotels, London List, London List Abroad, New York

By Sam Bathe on 13 May 2016

Two hours out of New York City, the Rivertown Lodge is a 27-room retreat in Hudson, Upstate New York. Stylish for a purpose, the former movie theatre was converted into a motel in 1958, and more recently into the Rivertown by local makers using only authentic materials. Decked out with stunning mid-century furniture, the minimal rooms boast everything you need to get away, and nothing more, with a communal kitchen and retro Papillionaire bicycles also available to guests. Show the rest of this post…

“There’s no stress, you don’t worry about anything — and if you do need anything, we take care of you. It’s a very simple thought, but it’s very rare,” explains co-founder Ray Pirkle. Sounds good to me. Rooms start at $199 for a double, $219 for a queen.

Rivertown Lodge, 731 Warren St, Hudson, NY 12534
www.rivertownlodge.com

The London List Abroad: Artist Cornelia Parker has recreated the ‘Psycho’ house on the rooftop of NYC’s Met Museum The London List

Posted in London List, London List Abroad, New York

By Sam Bathe on 15 Apr 2016

Now in the fourth year of their summer rooftop series, New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art commissioned British artist Cornelia Parker to create their 2016 installation. Titled Transitional Object (PsychoBarn), Parker’s piece is inspired by Alfred Hitchcock’s Psycho and paintings by US artist Edward Hopper. A structure that from the front appears to be a real house, but from the back is exposed as two facades held up by scaffolding, PsychoBarn juxtaposes the authenticity of landscape with the artifice of a film set. The 30-foot structure uses the wooden slats, window frames and roof tiles from an abandoned barn in upstate New York, and will be on show from April 19 to October 31.

The Met Fifth Avenue, 1000 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10028
www.metmuseum.org/exhibitions/listings/2016/cornelia-parker

Ancient Transylvanian salt mine, Salina Turda, finds a new lease of life as a spectacular subterranean theme park The London List

Posted in Art, London List, London List Abroad, Photography

By Sam Bathe on 12 Apr 2016

In the picturesque Transylvanian countryside, Salina Turda is an ancient salt mine that has become a tourist attraction for unlikely reasons. Deep below ground, visitors descend the mine’s tight tunnels not only to experience the extraordinary man-made chamber below, but for subterranean mini-golf, bowling, and to row around its underground boating lake. Show the rest of this post…

Shot by photographer Richard John Seymour, the Salina Turda dates back over two millennia, last active as a salt mine in 1932. Since then it was used as a WWII shelter, for cheese storage, and in its modern form, now offers a healing centre for people suffering from lung conditions. Part of a €6m investment, a mini theme park with ferris wheels, plus a spa and small amphitheatre were all constructed as this man-made marvel starts a new life for tourists.

Salina Turda, Aleea Durgăului 7, Turda 401106, Romania
www.salinaturda.eu

The London List Abroad: Ace Hotel open their doors in New Orleans with character match to their new Louisiana home The London List

Posted in Hotels, London List, London List Abroad

By Sam Bathe on 7 Apr 2016

Branding away from their iconic minimalist style, Ace Hotel have embraced texture and character with their new New Orleans hotel. Sitting on the corner of Carondelet and Lafayette streets in the city’s Warehouse District, Ace welcome guests to their sleek and sophisticated rooms, dressed with a deep palette and Ace staple acoustic guitars and turntables. Also boasting a Stumptown cafe, Southern-inspired Italian restaurant Josephine Estelle, full music venue and two bars all in the building, New Orleans joins Pittsburgh in opening its doors, as the hotel company’s impressive expansion continues in 2016. Show the rest of this post…

Ace Hotel New Orleans, 600 Carondelet Street, New Orleans, LA 70130
www.acehotel.com/neworleans

The London List Abroad: Boutique hotel Le Pigalle aptly captures the exhuberance of its surrounding neighbourhood The London List

Posted in Hotels, London List, London List Abroad, Paris

By Sam Bathe on 15 Feb 2016

In Paris’ trendy Pigalle district, Le Pigalle is a new 40-room neighourhood hotel that “celebrates the area’s tawdry values, brazen spirit and musical energy.” Boasting a cafe, restaurant, vinyl library and bar that hosts regular parties, the hotel has the vibe of an upmarket and little more homely Ace Hotel. Show the rest of this post…

Mixing rough and ready mid-century design with more contemporary touches, the rooms are styled to look and feel like an authentic Parisian apartment, sourcing artwork and furniture from the local neighbourhood.

Le Pigalle, 9 rue Frochot, 75009 Paris, France
www.lepigalle.paris/en

The London List Abroad: Menswear label The Hill-Side open their first store Brooklyn’s Williamsburg neighbourhood The London List

Posted in London List, London List Abroad, New York, Style

By Sam Bathe on 23 Dec 2015

One of the hottest menswear labels in recent years, Japanese-influenced The Hill-Side have opened first-ever physical store located in Brooklyn’s Williamsburg district, the label’s own backyard. Slotting in perfectly alongside the wealth of shops in the hip Williamsburg neighbourhood, outfront, a New York Subway-style mosaic tile sign adorns the pavement, with tall windows letting light spill into the store. Mixing rugged daywear with more smart-cusual styles, the Brooklyn store carries The Hill-Side’s whole line, including shirts, outerwear, jeans, footwear and accessories, plus ceramics from local artists. The store is open six days a week, closed Monday.

The Hill-Side, 263 S 1st Street, Brooklyn, NY 11211

The London List Review: Bradford Cox opens for himself for a fantastic Deerhunter, Atlas Sound double-bill at Shepherd’s Bush Empire The London List

Posted in London, London List, Music

By Tim Baggott on 8 Nov 2015

If any other frontman chose to open for themselves on the final night of their UK tour, it would seem like a cynical move. But for some reason, Bradford Cox of Deerhunter and Atlas Sound, gets away with it tonight. Show the rest of this post…

A reverb-drenched, improvisational opening set from Atlas Sound saw each song take on a new form. Featuring a haunting rendition of Shelia from 2009’s Logos and an almost unrecognisable version of Cold as Ice from 2008’s Let The Blind…, the set was as spellbinding as it was unpredictable.

Perhaps acting as a Bradford Cox palette cleanser, when Deerhunter finally take to the stage they open with Desire Lines, a track sung by Lockett Pundt (guitarist). The set that follows is dominated by tracks from the latest record, Fading Fontier. Album opener All the Same was delivered with resounding confidence and was definitely the punchiest of the new tracks.

However, it was still the fan favourites from 2008’s Microcastle that received the best response from the crowd. The crushing guitars on Cover Me (Slowly) sounded colossal, filling the venue from wall to wall and the build up during the extended conclusion of Nothing Ever Happened whips the audience into an all-too-brief, beautiful frenzy.

The London Listings: 6a Architects’ Hanover Yard House feels warm and lived-in yet effortlessly modern The London List

Posted in Architecture, London, London List

By Sam Bathe on 5 Nov 2015

Located on a private mews in suave Islington, this two-storey home by 6a Architects features an amazing open-plan space and stunning interior filled with picture frames, pottery and books, everywhere you look. Though unfortunately most of the lived-in warmth will leave with the current owners, the loft-style Hanover Yard House is still perfect for the new owners to make it their own. Show the rest of this post…

The kitchen, dining area and living space are all inter-connected, with the bedroom only loosely divided from the rest of the open-plan first floor. A spiral staircase connects to the fully-irrigated roof which also houses a number of solar panels, which alongside an eco-friendly heat pump and underfloor heating help the property to be environmentally-friendly. Downstairs, the ground floor features a reception room plus two separate artists’ studios, accessed from across the mews.

On the market for £3.8m, while a lot of the value is in the ultra-accessible location, such a unique, charismatic space doesn’t come up on the London property market very often either.

The Hanover Yard House is on the market for £3.8m through The Modern House: www.themodernhouse.net/sales-list/hanover-yard

The London List: Ann Veronica Janssens latest installation explores colour and light at the Wellcome Collection The London List

Posted in Art, London, London List

By Sam Bathe on 15 Oct 2015

Invading the Wellcome Collection with mysterious coloured mist, Ann Veronica Janssens’ Yellowbluepink installation explores perception through the use of colour and light. One of the artists behind the Hayward Gallery’s remarkable Light Show back in 2013, Janssens again revels in the immateriality of such a medium, here playing with the notion of what you see, and how you see it. Yellowbluepink launches States of Mind, the Wellcome Collection’s year-long investigation into the experience of human consciousness.

Yellowbluepink is on show at the Wellcome Collection until 3rd January 2016
Wellcome Collection, 183 Euston Road, London, NW1 2BE

The London List: Alex Chinneck unveils his latest surrealist sculpture for this year’s London Design Festival The London List

Posted in Art, London, London List

By Sam Bathe on 18 Sep 2015

Best known for his gravity-defying installations, artist Alex Chinneck returns with another remarkable surrealist sculpture for the London Design Festival. Balancing a 35 metre-tall electricity pylon on its tip, A Bullet From A Shooting Star comprises 450 steel pieces, constructed from 1186 metres of steel weighing 15 tons. Taking residence on the Greenwich Penisula, the sculpture is one of the real highlights of this year’s festival and can be viewed from North Greenwich Station, the Emirates Airline cable car, the Thames Clipper service, Canary Wharf and all planes that fly to and from City Airport.

Alex Chinneck’s ‘A Bullet From A Shooting Star’ runs from September 19th-27th on the Greenwich Peninsula, London
www.nowgallery.co.uk/exhibitions/alex-chinneck-a-bullet-from-a-shooting-star/