the duoMo hotel existed in the historic centre of riMini - one of italy's established seaside resorts - unchanged for Many year until 2003 when ron arad associates were asked to redesign it as way to address the changing deMand area and attract a younger clientele.
The bar itself is a large island with fjord-like scoops routered out of it for the patrons to eat and drink at. the bar top is forMed in Mild steel and its sides are finished in Mirror polished stainless steel, creating distorted reflections which highlight the activity in the bar. in suMMer three glass roller shutters at ground floor disappear into the façade opening the bar up to the street.
RON ARAD. NO DISCIPLINE
For the first time in France, the Centre Pompidou is devoting a monograph to the British industrial designer and architect Ron Arad.
His work is represented today by several works in the Design collection of the Musée national d'art moderne/Centre de création industrielle. Since its foundation, the Centre Pompidou has been a pioneering space for the presentation of the most outstanding contemporary designers, with many exhibitions devoted to key figures such as Ettore Sottsass, Philippe Starck, Charlotte Perriand...and, today, Ron Arad.Ron Arad was born in Tel Aviv in 1951, his father is a photographer and his mother an artist.
BIOGRAPHY
In 1973, Arad moved to London to join the Architectural Association. In the early 1980's, Arad and his colleague Caroline Thorman set up the design studio and workshop, One Off Ltd. This was later superseded in 1989 by an architecture and design practice in Chalk Farm - Ron Arad Associates.
Ron Arad was appointed Professor of Furniture Design in 1997 at The Royal College of Art in London, later becoming the colleague's first professor of Industrial Design.
Throughout his career, Arad has constantly seeked to create innovative furniture and product designs, many of which have been produced by some of the world's most important furniture manufactures. He has also exhibited at many major museums and galleries throughout the world including:
• The Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris,
• The Metropolitan Museum Of Art, New York
• The Victoria & Albert Museum, London,
• The Vitra Design Museum, Germany.
Although, duoMo Hotel is Arad's inaugural hotel project, he has also been an active figure in the architectural field, producing a number of memorable building projects and public sculptures:
• Tel Aviv Opera House, Israel
1200 sqm four-storey, free form concrete structure within the Opera complex
incorporating a 200 seat restaurant, 5 bars, box office, bookshop, amphitheatre and mezzanine.
• Hotel at the Kristallwelten, Wattens, Austria
Commissioned to design a 7,500sqm 75-bedroom hotel adjoining Swarovski's Kristallwelten in Wattens.
• Upperworld Hotel, Battersea Power Station, London
Commissioned to design a 10,000sqm luxurious 50-bedroom hotel between the 4 chimneys at roof level of Battersea Power Station.
• Hotel Puerta America, Madrid
Commissioned to design 30 rooms on the 7th floor of a new build hotel project by Silken Hotels.