Zaha Hadid designs Experimental Shoes

Zaha Hadid and Rem Koolhaas’ designer nephew Rem D Koolhaas of United Nude have teamed up to design a limited edition shoe. The metallic Nova shoe features intricate striations and a cantilevered system that allows the 16cm heel to appear completely unsupported. Injection and rotation molding, as well as hand-molded methods such as vacuum casting were combined to create the design. Zaha Hadid explains: “I have always appreciated those who dare to experiment with materials and proportions. Our collaboration with United Nude reinterprets the classic shoe typology; pushing the boundaries of what is possible without compromising integrity.

Astonfield Earns India’s First CRISIL ‘A’ Credit Rating for Solar Power Plant

Astonfield Renewables, a leading provider of affordable renewable energy, announced today that Credit Rating Information Services of India Limited (CRISIL), a division of the McGraw Hill Corporation and whose majority stakeholder is Standard & Poor’s, has given an A- credit rating on loan facilities for its 5 megawatt (MW) solar power plant in the state of Rajasthan. Astonfield is the first company to receive an A class rating by CRISIL for a solar power plant in India

. The “CRISIL A-/Stable” rating was given on long-term loan facilities. According to the agency, Astonfield has “a comfortable financial risk profile, marked by healthy debt protection metrics.” Furthermore, CRISIL noted Astonfield’s debt service coverage ratio “is expected to be healthy.” The A- rating reflects the strong revenue visibility of Astonfield’s 5 MW solar power plant, driven by its 25 year power purchase agreement with NTPC Vidyut Vyapar Nigam Ltd. with “better realisation [sic] per unit and sound operational performance.” The plant has been in operation since 2011. “Astonfield is focused on developing renewable energy projects that earn a profitable return on investment, and this rating reinforces that core strength,” said Ameet Shah, Co-Chairman of Astonfield Renewables. “As a long-term owner of renewable power-generating assets in India, we are able to deliver healthy returns to our investors while maintaining a lower risk profile.Having established ourselves early on as a premier developer of renewable energy power plants in India’s solar market, Astonfield is well positioned to capitalize on the latent emerging market demand for solar power in India, especially as the cost of diesel and other fossil fuel-based electricity generation rises,” added Shah.

World Architecture Festival Awards 2013

Shortlist of 302 projects highlights the global strength of architecture and design
Organisers see big increase in entries from Europe and North America  A giraffe house in New Zealand, a monastery in Taiwan, a treehouse in the USA and a research station in Antarctica are among the 302 projects that have today been shortlisted for the World Architecture Festival (WAF) Awards 2013 – the world's biggest architectural awards programme.

http://www.v2com.net/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1717:world-architecture-festival-awards-2013-shortlist-announced-singapore-&catid=35:projetsarchitecture&Itemid=142

Litolier Marble celebrates a 30-year run!

Converted land to landmarks

Litolier Marble, the first to introduce international marble in India by bringing in exquisite products from Greece, Italy, Portugal, Spain, Turkey and Norway in 1983 completes a successful 30 year run this year. Litolier Marble firmly invests in ‘Quality’ and ‘Innovation’ serving the evolving lifestyle needs of customers. Today, Litolier Marble offers over 100 exclusive colours and types of international natural and composite marble from around the world especially for you!!

Litolier Marble is known to combine beauty with fluidity as we see exquisitely decorated buildings like the iconic Taj Palace Hotel Mumbai, shining with Litolier Marble. These vibrant natural stones are used as flooring surface, wall cladding, as a building material or even in artistic furniture. The USP since 30 years has been its durability in terms of strength & style. Marble matches with the latest design aesthetics and is a practical choice to increase longevity of the look. Over the decade, marble offers rustic and traditional elements to create unique interiors. These qualify as building materials for architects who require them in hospitality projects, luxury homes, and commercial spaces as well as to create artefacts. Projects are undertaken for Reliance Industries, Raheja Builders, Balaji Telefilms, Rashtrapati Bhavan, Godrej Properties, Priyanka Chopra, Vijay Mallya.

Litolier Marble adheres to strict quality control measures with its state-of-the-art stone processing and trading factory at Daman, Gujarat. The latter is equipped with the latest technological innovations and has a skilled workforce thereby ensuring high-quality polished slabs. These finished products can be viewed at their sprawling 2 acre stockyard in Goregaon East, Mumbai with over 5,00,000 sq. ft material in ready stock at any given time. To view their complete range of natural stone samples, you can visit their South Mumbai Kemp’s Corner showroom. Colours play a significant role in the upliftment of the decor of interiors but the twist comes with unusual colours which create an impact on the living environment. An expansion in the colour options by Litolier Marble has led to connotations that calm the eye as well as visually enlarge the space. Layering reflective polished surfaces with matte and antiqued elements gives a design depth as the light plays across different textures. In the interior decor world, Litolier Marble has managed to set trends, embraced by the global way of styling spaces with marble.

Elvy Lifestyle presents understated elegance with its ‘Snowflake collection’

Elvy Lifestyle induces the gentleness of the snow into its latest collection called the “Snowflake Collection”. The collection encloses a range of ceramic handle servers. The pure white handle of the servers in brass with nickel plating enhances the muted elegance of your dining area. These servers are embalmed in attractive gift boxes that make for appropriate gifting for various occasions. The range entails several type of servers’ viz. a set of two salad servers, a set of three cheese spreaders, a set of four spoons and forks and a cake server and knife set. The price range of each product is between Rs 2000 to Rs 2500. Add a touch of purity and subtlety to your table with Elvy’s Snowflake collection.

Log on to www.elvy.com to place your orders.

Availability:  

Square One Mall, Saket, New Delhi

MGF Megacity Mall, M.G. Road, Gurgaon

Silver Arc Mall, Firozepur Road, Ludhiana

Main Door Handles from Tattva. Etc

Tattva.etc – the Door and Cabinet hardware product range of Tattva Art Hardware has introduced large sized main door handles.These 36” Handles are made in cast brass and come in six glorious finishes. All Tattva Art Hardware comes with matching screws and the Tattva promise of unmatched design, quality and finish.

Conceived and Designed by Mukul Goyal, Tattva offers one of the most wide-ranging Home Hardware selections to the customer in terms of Designs, Finishes, Combinations, Styles, Materials and Budgets. Appropriate both in contemporary and traditional settings, Tattva add to the allure and elegance of the décor through its various ranges of curtain accessories (Tattva.utsav, Tattva.classic,  Tattva.chrome,  Tattva.pret), Bathroom hardware (Tattva.spa), Door Cabinet Hardware (Tattva.etc), and Lamps and Specialty furniture and Home Décor products (Tattva.aura)

retail availability Information: www.tattvahardware.com

Dress up your walls in style!

Surprise Home Linen brings you wide range of imported wallcoverings

It’s amazing how adding a dash of element to the empty walls of your home or office can now transform it from boring to a completely chic and stylish ambience!

The new range of European wallcoverings at Surprise Home Linen offers a wide range of wallpapers with flowery prints and motifs and magical themes that give a theatrical effect to your rooms. 

Nirav Meswani, Director, urprise Home Linen says “We are happy to introduce these exclusive brands of wall coverings for the first time in India. The collection is very new to the Indian market for their designs and material. With several brand options now available with us, the customers would be surely spoilt for choice”

There are washable varieties by Elitis, a collection from France which has a wide range of wallcoverings with a perfect blend of innovative designs and bold colours. To make every corner of your house come alive, there are geometric and masculine designs from Abstract collection of Casamance (a brand from France). If the tough leather look suits your style, Cristal collection of this French brand are the best for you.

The wallcoverings can either be used on all the four walls by choosing colours that go well with your furniture or you can simply use it on one wall for an elegant look. Wall coverings from UK based Cole and Sons dramatically transform your four walls with the stunning array of co- coordinating wallpapers. Cole and Son produce beautiful and innovative collections inspired by its vast archive representing all the styles from the 18th, 19th and early 20th centuries. The eccentric motifs of fantastical flying machines, architectural details, playful monkeys, keys and owls all evoke a theatrical and magical space.

For flowery designs there is Contarini collection of Designers Guild which has romantic displays of the floral prints and Persian Garden wallpapers by Osborne and Little. Osborne and Little range has patterns inspired by the glamour and mystery of ancient Persia in the embroidered linens, cotton and silks.

If that’s not enough, UK based Harlequin range specialises in imaginative finishes, visionary techniques and mouth-watering colours – guaranteed to make your walls a work of art.

All these collections are available at prices starting from Rs 90 to Rs 700 per sq.ft and can be availed from the Surprise Home linen stores where experts would suggest you the wallcoverings that would best suit your requirement and taste.

So, don’t cover up your walls, instead dress them up in style!

Price Range of Wall-coverings :

·         Casamance- Price Range Rs 110 to 250 per sq ft

·         Cole and son- Price Range Rs 110 to 650 per sq ft

·         Designers Guild- Price Range Rs 90 to 300 per sq ft

·         Elitis- Price Range: Rs 150 to Rs 700 per sq ft

·         Harlequin- Price Range Rs 90 to Rs 350 per sq ft

·         Osborne and Little- Price Range: Rs 150 to Rs 700 per sq ft

The new wall paper collection is exclusively available at Surprise Home Linen stores located at 7, Ratnavali, 1st Gauthan lane, Santacruz (West), Mumbai – 54. Tel.No. 26493123 and Hughes Road - 2, Kohinoor, 29 Hughes Road, Mumbai – 400007.Tel. No.: 32972125

For more information on Surprise Home Linen, you can visit: www.surpriselinen.com.

World Trade Centre Mumbai felicitates Mr. Mahindra

On behalf of World Trade Centre Mumbai, Mr.Kamal M. Morarka, Chairman, WTC felicitated past Chairman Mr. Keshub Mahindra, Chairman Emeritus, Mahindra &  Mahindra Ltd. for his outstanding contribution to World Trade Centre Mumbai. Mr Morarka lauded the various efforts of Mr Mahindra during his tenure as President and for his significant contribution in spreading the WTC movement and trade and investment promotion. Mr. Morarka said that World Trade Centre Mumbai is carrying on the legacy of the Founders of WTC Mumbai Dr. M. Visvesvaraya, Mr. S.K. Wankhede and Past President Mr Keshub Mahindra for setting up the World Trade Centre Mumbai to promote trade and investments and enhance India’s competitiveness. Mr. Keshub Mahindra was pleased to receive the appreciation memento and recalled his good old days and fond memories and association with World Trade Centre Mumbai. Mr. Vijay Kalantri, Vice Chairman, World Trade Centre Mumbai, Mr. Sharad Upasani, Vice Chairman, Mr.Y.R.Warerkar, Executive Director and Ms. Khyati Naravane, Asst.Director, were present on this occasion.

Marvel EDGE ranks 1st in best energy conserving project by the Maharashtra Energy Development Agency

Marvel Realtors’ Pune based project Marvel EDGE has won the best energy conservation project in the state by MEDA (Maharashtra Energy Development Agency) in the architects and builders category. Marvel EDGE scored 84.5 points out of 100 on an assessment based on energy efficient design, design procedure, scientific methods adopted in construction and design. Marvel realtors participated with some of the best companies in the industry such as Tata Consultancy Services, Kirloskar Oil Engines, Bajaj Auto, Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd, Godrej & Boyce Mfg. Co etc to compete for this honour.

Marvel EDGE features some of the most unique and innovative design and construction procedures that result in higher energy efficiency. The nine storey tall building combining state of art infrastructure with an environmentally sustainable design, along with Marvel EDGE’s unique curvilinear facade with perforated envelopes reduces heat exposure and minimizes power consumption.

Rain water harvesting is an integral part of Marvel EDGE and has resulted in high ground water levels in the area. Treated waste water is used for flushing, air conditioning and gardening, supporting the plantation around the project. The plantation within the project has also been chosen based on its lower requirement of water; drip and sprinkle irrigation further contribute to water conservation.

During the construction of Marvel EDGE, local materials were used extensively thereby reducing transportation and footprint costs. The paints and adhesives used have low VOC (Volatile Organic Compounds) which reduces cancer risk caused by the harmful fumes of paints.

Marvel EDGE’s indoor air quality is 30% better than the prescribed Government standards for fresh air. Not just that, the top floors are heat insulted to prevent excess heat absorption and the reflective tiles further enhance the insulation effect. Staying true to its essence of being energy efficient, Marvel EDGE also offers electric car charging points and special parking for car pools.

_____________________________________________________________________________

About Marvel Realtors

Marvel Realtors is one of Pune's most widely recognized names in real estate circles for creating premium lifestyle apartments for the up market segment. With over 24 million square feet of overall construction, Marvel has now forayed into commercial spaces that offer the best in innovation, luxury and technology. Striving to make everyone else's 'superior offering' just a standard amenity and constantly thinking ahead to create differentiators over the competition is the challenge set by the company.