EXPERT

Informed, intelligent and inflight, we present an executive summary to life across the destinations.

ARCHITECTURE
EYES RIGHT

HAMBURG HAS A NEW LANDMARK BUILDING IN THE SHAPE OF ADA 1, a state of the art office block that will also serve as a flamboyant focal point for the prestigious Aussenalster waterfront. With its large floating ‘eyes’, the building is clearly designed to make the most of its views over the outer Alster lake and the surrounding parkland. But the views work both ways, and the carefully lit windows also seem to invite outsiders to gaze in on the building’s offices and their busy inhabitants. Designed by Berlin-based J. Mayer H. Architects, the building has already attracted some conspicuously cool residents (advertising agency KNSK occupies three of the six floors), a caché that helps to raise the stock of both ADA 1 and the surrounding area. Named after its own address (An der Alster 1) ADA 1 certainly helps to draw attention to what is otherwise an architecturally unremarkable area, a crucial task given the massive interest currently being generated by the HafenCity development zone’s ambitious projects in Hamburg’s old harbour area.

www.jmayerh.de

PROPERTY
BUILDING NETWORKS

THE CONCEPT OF THEMED RENT IS DUE TO HIT AMSTERDAM in grand style later this year, with a landmark office building called Matchbox, built specifically to house companies working within the film industry. Designed by Allard Architecture, the offices consist of 40 corporate units stacked on top of one another to give each company its own space, while bridges above a central atrium garden encourage the companies to connect and interact. Well suited to start-up businesses, themed rent is an ideal way of promoting networks and building strong links within a wider industry. Originating in the arts sector, themed rent is now spreading to meet demand from elsewhere. Nyenrode Business University near Utrecht, for example, has commissioned Allard Architecture to design a master plan for a similar concept to encourage and promote students’ business ventures on the university’s grounds.

www.allardarchitecture.com

WORDS BY SUZANNE SCHREVE

TRAVEL
LOCAL KNOWLEDGE

TAPPING INTO THE GROWING TREND FOR more authentic, personalised travel experiences, Urban Gentry is the London travel guide offering fast track access to the capital’s labyrinthine creative scene. “Most of our clients are style aware travellers,” says Kevin Caruth, founder of Urban Gentry. “They’ve generally been to London a few times before, but are interested in a specific niche, whether it’s style, art, shopping, design or anything else. Around 30% of our clients are business travellers and it’s a model that seems to fit with them. They’re used to making the most of the time they spend in a city, and they’re happy to pay for the right expertise.” A typical Urban Gentry tour costs £159 (€215) for a half day, and clients can pick from a roster of nine set tours, or can have one created specially for them. “There’s a layer of creativity underneath all the big global brands,” says Caruth, “and we get to the heart of it. If you’re into art we can introduce you to the most interesting gallery owners; if you like design we get you to the best new designers. It’s all about sharing the specialist knowledge we have.”

www.urbangentry.com

PERSONALISATION
I SAID LEFT!

THE DUTCH ARE WELL KNOWN AS INNOVATORS in sat nav technology, so it comes as no surprise that they’re also leading the way in personalising your car-bound co-pilot. “It all started when I decided it would be nice to have my girlfriend’s voice on my TomTom,” says Joris Huurneman, creator and general manager of yourpnd.com. “I’m a software developer, so I built an application that could do it, and then I decided to put it on the internet.” It turns out that lots of other people thought it would be nice to have their loved ones calmly telling them how to negotiate a tricky oneway system, and hundreds of Dutch and Belgian users have customised their TomTom since the website’s launch in December last year. Convince your five-year-old daughter to spend 10 minutes speaking a list of phrases into your computer’s microphone, and you too could turn all your journeys into a series of sweet commands that get you from A to B. At time of going to press an English language site was planned for the start of March, allowing users of TomTom, Garmin and Neo devices to record their directions in English, French, Spanish, German and, of course, Dutch for just €7 (£5). Shouted swearwords and angry silences are optional.

www.yourpnd.com