The Juvet Landscape Hotel. 7 Private Dwellings In The Norwegian Woods.

On a sheer river bank, amongst birch, aspen, pine and nature-sculpted boulders, lies Juvet, Europe’s first landscape hotel, conceived of by Knut Slinning.





Located in Burtigard, Gudbrandsjuvet, Norway and constructed by Jensen and Skoven Architects at first glance, the seven detached guest rooms seem modest and unassuming. But when you open the door and go in, it’s as if nature rushes in to greet you through the massive panoramic windows. You can almost feel the trees brushing against you, and the snow-white drops of spray from the river Valldøla on your face.







The Seven Individual Accommodations
Each room is a detached small independent house with one, or sometimes two of the walls constructed in glass. The landscape in which these rooms are placed is by most people considered spectacularly beautiful and varied and the topography allows a layout where no room looks at another. In this way every room gets its own surprising view of a dramatic piece of landscape, always changing with the weather and the time of the day and the season.












The Spa
According to legend, those who drink the water from Olavskjelda (St. Olav’s Spring) will remain healthy and young forever. Thus when enjoying their spa, you are practically bathing in holy water.






In addition to pampering yourself in the spa or relaxing in your secluded accommodations, activities in the area include all types of Winter sports, Hikes, Rafting, Wilderness camp and World heritage site.

Open March through October, the hotel offers peaceful, secluded and inspiring surroundings for both private individuals and companies who want to design their own arrangements – whether it’s a private event, a camp gathering or business meeting.

Client: Knut Slinning
Project Architects: JSA; Jan Olav Jensen, Børre Skodvin, Torunn Golberg Helge Lunder, Torstein Koch; Thomas Knigge
Landscape architect: Jensen & Skodvin
Static consultant: Siv. Ing. Finn Erik Nilsen
Year Planned: 2004 - 2007
Year Built: 2007 - 2009
Area: 800m2
Cost: 1 Million Euro





Juvet Landscape Hotel

most photos and info courtesy of Knut Bry and the Juvet Landscape Hotel, additional photos by Jiri Havran

Perverse Plush Toys: Meet Sanchez & Friends

 

 Sanchez & Friends is a new collection of perverse plush toys and accessories recently launched by Andy Tider of Brooklyn, NY and the first four products in the line are now available for purchase, just in time to make for fun shocking stocking stuffers.

World's Most Expensive Aquarium Made with 24k Gold, Mammoth Tusk & T-Rex Bone.

The Aquavista Dinosaur Gold - The only Aquarium with a 65 million year old history.

This is the world's rarest, most exclusive, most expensive - and undoubtedly the most bizarre- fish tank ever made. 
No surprise that it's a product of Stuart Hughes of Liverpool, maker of all things elite (with the world's most annoying and poorly designed website) who was commissioned by Aquavista UK of London to design something luxurious and unique.




The result is a wall mounted panoramic aquarium whose frame is made with a massive amount of pure solid 24ct gold in the form of 68 kilograms. Embedded in the frame are two side veneers made from real mammoth tusk with a unique piece of dinosaur bone from an actual T-REX diagonally shaved into the tusk.



The specifications:
• Low maintenance – designed to simplify your life, the Aquavista Panoramic Wall Aquarium requires less 
than 15 minutes per month


• No daily care – complete with embedded Automatic Feeder, caring for your fish has never been easier. 
Just refill the feeder periodically and enjoy!


• Complete advanced aquarium system – the Aquavista Panoramic is pre-assembled with dual filtration 
system, heater, air pump, lighting, CO2 generator, and automatic feeder that is controlled by an easy to 
use programmable touch-screen control that simplifies all functions. Essential aquarium 
care accessories are included at no charge.




• Create an underwater garden – each unit comes with a Carbon Dioxide Generator that allows live plants to photosynthesize and 
flourish. Aquascaping is a new and growing hobby, and it has never been simpler.


• Space-saving design – Aquavista Panoramic Wall Aquariums’ sleek wall-mounted design brighten up any wall to create a 
clutter-free environment.


The project took 4 months to complete in London where Aquavista UK is based. Installation by Aquavista UK
.

Available as a limited edition of only 3
Priced at $4.8 million or £3 million

Buy it here

The Bloom Chair By Kenneth Cobonpue

The Bloom Chair by Kenneth Cobonpue will make you feel like Thumbelina enveloped in a flower. Made of deep soft folds of handmade microfibre fabric stitched into a steel base, the chair is available in Red, Moss Green, Light Green & Yellow.






The unusual lounge chair was the winner of the "Coup de Coeur" Award at Maison et Objet Paris, September 2009.



Dimensions: 41.3”w x 37.5”d x 34.3”h x
Fabric: 93% polyester and 7% polyurethane
Available in Red, Moss Green, Light Green & Yellow.

The $2,465.00 chair is available for purchase here at Unica Home and here at Switch Modern

Jasper Johns and Tracey Emin Limited Edition Artist Beach Towels For 2011

Works on Whatever and The Art Production Fund have just released their Artist Series Beach Towels for 2011 whose proceeds go toward funding public art. This year they have reproduced the art of only two artists (as opposed to four in previous years) on the 60" x 70" limited edition cotton towels.

above: detail from the Jasper Johns Beach Towel for 2011



above: detail from the Tracey Emin Beach Towel for 2011

The 2011 Artist Towel Series featuring works by TRACEY EMIN and JASPER JOHNS will be on view at The Standard Spa during Art Basel Miami Beach from December 2-5, 2010.

The Jasper Johns Beach Towel:

The Tracey Emin Towel:

I have blogged about these each year since they began producing them. Previous years' towels included artwork by Alex Katz, Jeff Koons, Julian Schnabel, Cindy Sherman, Yoshitomo Nara, Elizabeth Peyton, Kehinde Wiley, Raymond Pettibone, Rob Pruitt, Karen Kilimnik, Richard Phillips, Ed Ruscha, Peter Doig and Marilyn Minter.

The 2008 Artist Series Beach Towels

The 2009 Artist Series Beach Towels

The 2010 Artist Series Beach Towels

The price continues to rise on these functional pieces of art and they become more difficult to find.




WOW (Works on Whatever): is part of Art Production Fund’s WOW project; a unique collection of everyday items designed by artists. APF invites artists to experiment with the latest commercial materials and techniques to bring art off the walls and into homes as everyday objects. WOW introduces contemporary art to a larger community, with revenues from sales supporting our non-profit mission. WOW functions conceptually with APF’s program of expanding art audiences and helps fund additional major public art initiatives. Art Production Fund (APF) is a non-profit organization dedicated to producing ambitious public art projects, reaching new audiences and expanding awareness through contemporary art.