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cycling photographThe Paul Smith Globe at London’s Heathrow Terminal 5 is hosting a selection of photographs from cycling magazine Rouleur to mark this year’s Tour de France, which starts on Saturday. The exhibition runs from 3-26 July.

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Kenzo PouffeKenzo Maison is set to launch a sheepskin pouffe, inspired by nomadic ewes and featuring oversized cowbells!

The product is the first project for the homeware brand by new Kenzo Maison creative director, Antonio Marras.

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american chateau room oneJaime Hayón and artist Nienke Klunder are collaborating on an exhibition of furniture and art pieces inspired by 17th-century European crafts.

The show, American Chateau Room One, will run from 11 September to 22 October at Spring Projects Gallery, 10 Spring Place, London NW5.

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Do heated towel rails function as radiators or do I need to install additional heating in my bathroom?

Yes, you can use a heated towel rail as the only heat source in your bathroom, provided it gives out enough heat.

Towel rails fall into two categories: those used solely to warm towels (where a separate radiator is used to heat the bathroom) and those used to both warm towels and heat the bathroom.

All too often, people swap their bathroom radiator for a towel rail, without taking account of heat output. This can result in warm towels in an otherwise cold and miserable bathroom – especially in winter! With a bit of expert advice, this scenario can be avoided. Once you know what heat output your bathroom needs (your plumber or radiator specialist can work it out for you) then it’s a case of matching this to the right heat output.

Seta Towel RadiatorIf your bathroom is compact and well insulated, you shouldn’t have a problem in finding a towel rail that will heat your bathroom adequately. If your bathroom is large and not well insulated, most towel rails will not have the capacity to keep your bathroom warm, or may need to be ridiculously big in order to give out enough heat. The good news is that the radiator industry is finally responding to this problem. There are now several stylish and compact towel rails on the market, designed to maximize heat output with integral hanging rails.

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Learning From NatureSelf-cleaning surfaces, phase changing materials and built-in sensors that generate energy from the footsteps of the visitors. The 3XN pavilion ‘Learning from Nature’ unites the most advanced technologies and intelligent materials in a preview of the innovative architectural design of tomorrow.

The Louisiana Museum of Modern Art in Denmark invited the Danish architecture firm 3XN to design a pavilion demonstrating cutting edge possibilities within sustainable and intelligent materials. The result is a pavilion that is built of bio composites with integrated intelligence that creates a dynamic interaction with its physical surroundings and its users.

Everything about the pavilion is literally inspired by nature itself: The biological cycle of nature is the fundamental basis for the shape, the materials and the dynamic energy generation. The pavilion is shaped as a Moebius band to symbolize the biological cycle; and the properties of the construction are very like those of nature – for example, the pavilion has a coating of nanoparticles that helps clean the surfaces and clean the air. Additionally, the pavilion is built of biodegradable materials; and as for energy, the pavilion is 100 percent self-sufficient.

Kim Herforth Nielsen, Principal of 3XN, comments on the project: “The Pavilion has given us the opportunity to showcase the possibilities which exist in building with sustainable and intelligent materials. Our objective has been to show that Green Architecture can be dynamic and active. We often think that we need to minimize use of resources at all costs. Instead of focusing on consuming the least amount of energy, we need to focus on producing and using energy and materials in a more intelligent way than is the case today.”

‘Learning from Nature’ can be seen at the Louisiana Museum of Modern Art, Denmark, until October 2009.

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Twister RadiatorRecently mentioned Feature Radiators has been voted as one of Channel 4’s “5 fave things” from the National Homebuilding and Renovating show.

On the Channel 4 website, design expert Rich Payne says:

“This stand caught my eye for their show-stopping collection of contemporary radiators. They had seemingly limitless desirable designs, and their staff informed me they provided heating devices for the Big Brother house.”

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ensign harboursideThe latest phase of Crest Nicholson’s Harbourside development will officially open to the public on 2 July.

Called ‘Ensign’, the phase is set to provide those keen to live right on the water’s edge with a stunning selection of highly specified properties.

Comprising 27 one and two-bedroom apartments, the phase includes a selection of spacious, bay-fronted properties that boast stunning views directly across Bristol’s historic floating harbour.

Vicky Dudbridge from selling agent King Sturge said:

“Ensign House is a stunning selection of prime waterfront apartments that are unlike anything else available in the city.

The view alone sets this phase apart from anything else and makes it a truly once in a lifetime opportunity to secure a property overlooking the floating harbour.

We are in an enviable location and people realise that this is a fantastic opportunity to purchase a new property right on the water in the heart of the city. With all the amenities on their doorstep, purchasers cannot find what we have to offer anywhere else in Bristol.”

Located right in the heart of Bristol those living at Harbourside not only enjoy the benefits of a stunning new waterside development but all the trappings city centre living brings.

The centre is only a few minutes walk away and there are numerous restaurants and bars close by including The Living Room, Chinese restaurant Zen and Pizza Express.

For further information and an invite to this exclusive launch event please call 0117 908 8888 or visit www.harbourside.co.uk. Alternatively, please visit the marketing suite on Cathedral Walk which is open daily from 10am to 5pm.

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Etonian RadiatorsA quick Q & A session with Phil Jackson, Managing Director of Feature Radiators.

Q: I am looking for cast iron radiators for my Victorian property but don’t know whether to go for reproduction models or reclaimed. What would you suggest?

A: There are pros and cons for buying both reproduction and reclaimed cast iron radiators.
I have set out below the main points to be aware of.

Reproduction Radiators:-

§ should come with manufacturer’s guarantee

§ should be tested to European standard EN442 (this provides assurance that the product has passed rigorous testing and is deemed fit for purpose. EN442 is also verification that the heat outputs stated are accurate).

§ can be built to order so:-

i. you can specify the right size radiator for your room, in terms of both heat output and dimensions.

ii. you can easily obtain matching radiators in the correct sizes for use throughout the house (achieving this using reclaimed radiators would need a lot of good luck and patience).

§ are the easier choice - radiators arrive on site (in primer or painted finish), ready to plumb in.

Reclaimed Radiators:-

§ can be picked up at low cost - but be aware of the extra costs (money and time) involved in renovating and transporting.

§ can be found in interesting and unique designs and can have a history (it is worth checking the recent history in particular; make sure reclaimed radiators have come off a working system and be sure they’ve been stored indoors to avoid frost damage).

§ do not usually come with a manufacturer’s guarantee.

Warning – do not power coat cast iron radiators, reclaimed or reproduction, as the process can damage the seals between radiator sections.

More information can be found about radiators in all shapes and sizes at www.featureradiators.co.uk.

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Sixties-style beach huts transformed into new-wave hideaways by Wayne and Gerardine Hemingway.

Beach HutThe weather for the launch of the country’s most stylised beach huts — or, rather, pods — was quintessentially British. Dark clouds swept up the Channel, and by early afternoon Boscombe, an area of Bournemouth undergoing an £11 million makeover, was being lashed by rain. But inside her beach pod, Liz Carter could not have been happier. “I feel so excited — like a child in a candy store,” she says.

Carter and her husband, Brett, lost no time in celebrating their purchase of a £90,000 double pod in Boscombe’s reinvigorated Overstrand complex, featured in Bricks&Mortar last year. Safely out of reach of the elements, the Carters opened a bottle of champagne and admitted that they had been trying to buy a traditional beach hut for five years. By chance, they had heard about the beach pods in Boscombe that had been given new life by the designers Wayne and Gerardine Hemingway. “We fell in love with ours at first sight,” Liz says, gazing at her pod’s blend of retro artwork and all mod-cons.

At £65,000 for a single pod, and £90,000 for a double — which secures day-use for a 25-year term — the revamped Overstrand pods are not cheap.

The Hemingways — who created the Red or Dead label — were commissioned by Bournemouth Borough Council to revive the Overstrand building. They have done so by modernising pods that were first offered to the public in 1962 but which fell into disrepair by the 1990s. The pods are concrete scructures set above beach level — unlike traditional beach huts. But, like beach huts, they are for day-use only. “The opportunity to work on their regeneration was tremendous,” says Wayne Hemingway, who has bought a double pod.

The Overstrand complex, built in 1958 by John Burton, who also created the partially Grade II listed Boscombe Pier, is set to capitalise on the increased popularity of surfing. Bournemouth will soon become the first town in the northern hemisphere to have a man-made surf reef: work on an artificial barrier to the east of the pier is expected to be finished within months. According to Mike Walcroft, of the Sorted Surf Shop, even the early stages of the reef’s creation has led to “better surf than we usually get, with plenty of good days”.

But few of those attending the launch had been lured by surfing. Instead, as Brett Carter, a content manager for Virgin Media, put it, surfing was a bonus, with a more traditional love of the seaside being the key draw: “There’s a wonderful beach here and having a pod means that we can make a day of it with the kids,” he says. And, in common with the Carters, who live a 15-minute cycle ride away in Christchurch, most of those who braved the rain were locals. Two other purchasers, Brian Deeks and his son Neil, a property manager, were from Bournemouth. Likewise, Russell and Victoria Lawford, for whom curiosity, pure and simple, was the driver: “We’ve got a wooden beach hut near by and wanted to see what we’d get for our money if we went for one of these,” Russell says.

Even in a recession — and in driving rain — it seems we do like to be by the seaside. Or, as another viewer, Tony Martin, put it: “The pods are a bit quirky. It’s a very British thing.”

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Art By People has launched a new and creative range of hand sprayed graffiti stencils on canvas art.

Gordon Brown Banksy GraffitiFresh from the diligent and creative types at Art By People, a unique range of artworks on canvas using the graffiti technique popularised by the street artist Banksy and launched to coincide with Banksy’s biggest ever UK show in Bristol.

Before the launch of the The Stencil Factory co-operative you might scour the internet looking for something different on canvas but the only so called ‘art’ available would be from galleries selling canvas prints taken from stencil graffiti (not the actual hand sprayed stencils themselves). The Stencil Factory values the feeling of an artwork that clearly shows the bumps and lumps of the paint on canvas. The individual sweeps of the spray can over the cotton surface and chunky frame.

Heath Ledger Joker Banksy GraffitiNew designs are added weekly to their store but currently they range from the iconic Heath Ledger Joker portrait to the more comical political takes on Gordon Brown’s current precarious position. You can also commission them to create a complete one-off portrait of a friend or loved one.

Each Art By People hand cut stencil will last for about 5 canvases so what you see and own is unique. Some designs are total one-off’s, depending on the mood of the artist on the day. The final canvas is then branded with a sprayed on ‘Art By People’ logo on the side wall to give that contemporary cool finish.

Get in quick and view the new range of stencils on Canvas Art at www.artbypeople.co.uk.

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