Icon Buzz - Designs & Arts

Here WAN reveal the latest images of HOK’s design for Slovenia’s largest ever real estate project

The Emonika City Centre development, which is to offer 65,000sq metres of retail space along with 180 hotel rooms and a 60m high residential tower, will bridge the two sides of Ljubljana in Slovenia which is currently separated by train lines.
Design manager at HOK, Vance Thompson hopes that the design will not only regenerate the city but help to reunite the divided capital. Situated over the current railway station and at the heart of public transport for the city, the development will be inescapable for the residents of Ljubljana. A new rail station and bus terminal are included in the design.

The development looks deceptively organic using pebble-shaped sections, fresh blues and planting which contrast with the sharp modern edges of the structure. The project requires an investment of €250 million but is hoped to be complete by the end of 2009.

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Located on eight acres of virgin beach coast on the Gulf of Thailand, the X2 Resort Kui Buri is meant to harmonize with its surroundings of undisturbed greenery and calm fishing villages.

There are twenty-three villas with private terrace, garden and pool. Villa walls are made of locally-quarried rock and stone, and are prolonged to appear, from the neighbor’s point of view, as a fence.

Within the villas, beds are positioned towards floor-to-ceiling glass doors that open onto the beach, and clean, understated furniture adds to the resort’s overall atmosphere of unpretentious sophistication.

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Semiramis, Karim Rashid’s first hotel project, is an intimate hotel that focuses on positive energy, heightened experiences, culture, art and design. It is a place for new contemporary experiences, to enjoy, work and relax in a truly memorable way.

Semiramis is located in the affluent and leafy suburb of Kifissia, is in the heart of evolving Athens, surrounded by high-end boutiques, restaurants and cafes.

Visiting guests will have the chance to experience a 21st-century creation: from the curve in a desk to the light-box installation behind the beds, Semiramis combines art with bricks and mortar.

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