Issues

Cities of discovery

Last year we decided that it was not the moment to rank the top cities in the world for quality of life. It just seemed unfair when so many places were still reeling from a shortage of hospital beds or trying to prop up faltering economies. So we dropped the city ranking that, until then, we had produced every year since 2007. But this year? We’ve decided that it’s again time to see how the world’s best cities are faring and get a snapshot of which metropolises are primed for a confident comeback, where local leaders have shone and which outposts have pressed ahead with creating better mobility, finessing their public spaces and ensuring that their cities are not just efficient but fun.

And the caveats? Our ranking is not just about the past 18 months but how cities are building for the future. It’s not about current lockdowns or restrictions, or national healthcare successes or failures; it’s about culture, confidence and the push for a quality of life that works for all. And we mean “all”. There is a growing concern that many of the totems of being a cool city mean little to most residents – and can even be seen as elitist and silly. City mayors love posing with a fleet of new e-scooters but there are many people who see this as pandering to one vocal group of city activists. There are many who still have to go to work by car to get to their night-shift jobs in warehouses and hospitals. They don’t take kindly to being treated as a problem needing to be fixed. In our essays (see here), we have an extract from German politician Sahra Wagenknecht’s new book, Die Selbstgerechten (The Self-Righteous), in which she takes a pop at those who think that everyone should buy an electric vehicle (without even wondering how people in many high-rises would be able to recharge the thing). We all know the type; good at castigating anyone who doesn’t buy into their take on being a sustainability hero.

And this element – the need to occasionally shut up, stop hectoring on social media and allow debate – is also picked up by our writer Andrew Mueller. His essay includes a revealing quote from Ben Page, chief executive of market research firm Ipsos Mori, who says that, “We all suffer from attention bias. We pay attention to things that interest us and think everybody else is like us – and that’s just not true. Only about 4 per cent of people tweet on Twitter. If you analyse what people are actually talking about, you’ll find that celebrities and football massively outpunch politicians. Things like microaggressions, cancel culture – most people are just not paying attention to this stuff.” We have to generate less heat, more fixes.

So while we have looked at cycling culture, air quality, reusing rather than rebuilding, in our selection of our top cities this year, we have also kept a watchful eye on public housing, employment and the planning protocols that help everyone to access green space. We hope that you find the survey challenging and inspiring.

Beyond the big urban debate, we have taken time out to find plenty of space for some simpler pleasures: how to get rich from ice-cream, why Berliners have a strawberry fixation, the world’s best motorway service stations and the singers and bands that will have you on a dancefloor – we hope – this summer. There’s also a report on a kiosk revival in Helsinki and a nice modernist apartment block to call home in Málaga.

But wherever you have your summer, we hope that you have time to dream of new projects and fresh horizons. And make sure that you stay in touch with us via our free daily newsletter, The Monocle Minute (subscribe at Monocle.com/minute) because we’ll be revealing more details of another summer institution making a comeback – The Monocle Quality of Life Conference. And we would like to spend some time with you in the special city that we profile. In the meantime, feel free to email me with any thoughts and feedback you might have at at@Monocle.com. Have a great summer.

On top of their games

When International Olympic Committee (IOC) president Thomas Bach first pronounced in 2018 that Tokyo was the best-prepared Olympic city he could remember, you knew that he wasn’t just being polite. Of course the Japanese capital was ready for its big moment. Ever since the Games had been awarded to Tokyo in 2013, the city – and country – had embraced its Olympic responsibilities with relish. Japanese companies raised a record-breaking amount in sponsorship; more than 200,000 people applied to be volunteers; and venues were completed with plenty of time to spare. A triumphant Olympics seemed all but guaranteed.

That was until early last year when the pandemic took hold and it soon became clear that Tokyo’s meticulously prepared Games would have to be postponed. The best-laid plans were derailed as the world grappled with the virus and the Olympic clock had to be reset to 2021. So here we are again, just a matter of weeks – if all goes to plan – before the opening ceremony, scheduled for 23 July. Getting this far has been a roller-coaster ride and the event hasn’t even started.

Memories of Tokyo’s first Olympics in 1964 still run deep in Japan. Back then, a country brought to its knees by war rallied to show the world a new face. Bullet trains, motorways and high-rises all appeared with perfect synchronicity in time for the Games. Anyone over the age of 60 remembers it well. Kengo Kuma says it was the moment that he, then a young boy, decided to become an architect. Fifty years on, Kuma was asked to work on the country’s biggest sporting venue, the new National Stadium.

Japan doesn’t need to announce itself to the world this time. The dream for Tokyo 2020 was for it to be a showcase for modern Japan, a fresh Olympic model of sustainability and new technology. The medals have been made with 80,000 tonnes of recycled electronics donated by the public; the uniforms for Team Japan use recycled threads; even the podiums are constructed from discarded plastic.

The debate about the wisdom of hosting an international event in 2021 continues. As Monocle goes to press, coronavirus is still surging in Japan and public support for the Games has dwindled. But for now, the IOC and the Japanese government hope that some 15,000 Olympic and Paralympic athletes will be competing in Tokyo (and beyond) this summer.

Monocle went behind the scenes to meet some of the people who’ve been working for years to make Tokyo 2020 possible. People such as Masao Saitoh, the architectural engineer who worked out how to raise the roof on the city’s spectacular wooden gymnastics venue; the young softball players of Fukushima, waiting patiently for the Olympics to come to their newly upgraded local stadium; and Motokuni Takaoka, whose company Airweave spent years developing the perfect mattress for the athletes’ village. They’re not in it for public recognition but their individual and collective efforts more than deserve a nod.

1.
Mile-high livery
All Nippon Airways’ Olympic carrier

Be it putting up street banners, designing mascots or renovating venues, much intense preparation for the Games has been happening on the ground. But All Nippon Airways (ANA) has also been drumming up support for the event in the air by flying a distinctively designed Boeing 777 since 2018.

“We wanted the Games to be for everyone, not just the athletes,” says ana’s customer experience manager Masaya Nagao. “So we held a competition to draw on a huge canvas: a plane.” Nearly 800 people entered their own designs in the contest before Asahi Matsumoto, then a high-school student, won the commission for his work featuring silhouettes of numerous sports alongside symbolic motifs from Japanese architecture and the country’s natural environment.

The original drawing, presented on a sheet of A3 paper, had to be enlarged as precisely as possible to fit on the side of a Boeing 777. ana commissioned mro Japan, an Okinawa-based aircraft-maintenance company, to create the one-off 777. “We made sure that we put everything on the plane without losing any motifs on the windows or wings,” says mro manager Takashi Nakamura. Matsumoto’s rich colours were recreated specially for this project – in an epic operation, involving an army of 585 staff, it took three weeks to finish the paint job.

2.
Friendly fire
Forging the Tokyo torch

The pandemic hasn’t been kind to the torch relay, which began in March. Part cancelled, part hidden from view, it has been a difficult journey. But a great deal of effort went into the production of the torch. Designer Tokujin Yoshioka drew up a blueprint for it with a sakura (cherry blossom) motif, working on its realisation with uacj Extrusion Corporation, an aluminium manufacturer more used to supplying the automobile and railway industries. “We’re a behind-the-scenes player,” says uacj’s Yasunobu Okamura. As soon as the company received the commission from Yoshioka in December 2017, Okamura selected a team of 20 at its Nagoya factory to start working on a mould to produce torches for some 10,000 runners. “We knew it was a challenging job but we believed in ourselves,” he says.

Over two years, hundreds of prototypes were made before the weight and colour of the silhouette was fine-tuned. “It was a marriage of industrial production and craftsmanship,” says Okamura. “‘Never say no’ was our slogan,” adds his colleague, Akira Kumazawa. The many samples travelled back and forth between the designer, uacj, Shinfuji Burner (the firm in charge of the combustion mechanism) and other partners, sometimes leading to discussions as hot as the torch’s flame, as Yoshioka wanted a light body that could be held aloft by children and the elderly. The resulting torch has been cast in a sakura-gold colour; sakura-pink for the Paralympics version. “We never imagined that we could participate in the Olympics,” says Kumazawa. “We can pass this legacy to the younger generations.”

3.
Podium finish
Helping Olympians to rest easy

Whether you’re a lean marathon runner or muscle-packed shot putter, when you hit your bed at night you want to sleep in comfort. To make sure that happens, Airweave mattresses promise to ease the weary limbs of the world’s elite athletes in Tokyo’s Olympic Village. “We have supported athletes in the past,” says Airweave’s founder, Motokuni Takaoka (pictured). “But in Tokyo we are working for the entire Games.” After playing competitive golf and studying mathematical modelling at Stanford University, Takaoka became interested in sports science. “In sports you have science in training and diet but not sleep,” he says. “It makes no sense because sleep so important for recovery.”

Takaoka started his business in 2004 by conducting a joint research project with Stanford and a field test at img Academy in Florida to investigate the relationship between sleep and performance. “Olympians are stoic, so I decided to cater to them,” he says. Today the world’s top athletes in everything from tennis to speed-skating use Airweave mattresses adapted to their own body’s specifications.

Takaoka’s team has spent nearly 10 years and billions of yen developing a customisable mattress for the Games. It’s divided into three pieces from head to toe, each part ranging from soft to very hard, to create the perfect combination for every body type. Made from polyethylene, the springless mattress is washable, breathable and recyclable. When placed atop a special cardboard bedframe designed for the Games it presents just one problem: athletes might not want to leave their beds in the morning.

4.
An exercise in ingenuity
Ariake Gymnastics Centre

Masao Saitoh (pictured) knows a thing or two about crafting innovative Olympic landmarks. As a young graduate student he worked on Kenzo Tange’s Yoyogi National Gymnasium, one of the main venues for the 1964 Tokyo Games. Its innovative suspension structure dazzled the world and today the building stands out as the finest modernist monument in Japan. Saitoh, who went on to have a career as a pioneering architect and engineer, was brought in by Shimizu Corporation to work on Tokyo 2020’s most ambitious new building, the Ariake Gymnastics Centre.

A showcase for Japanese wood-building techniques, the structure, whose design was co-developed by Shimizu and architects Nikken Sekkei, has one of the largest wooden roofs of its kind in the world. “Initially, Shimizu brought me in to see if it was possible to build this beautiful design,” says Saitoh. “I said that it would be but it would have to be built in a different way.” At his suggestion, a team from Shimizu relocated to Saitoh’s office. He told them to close their computers, roll up their sleeves and get back to basics. “When I worked with Kenzo Tange we talked about the design so much at the planning stage that we’d ironed out all the problems before we got to the construction,” says Saitoh. Eventually his own “beam-string” system made the erection of the gymnasium possible. Watching a film of the huge roof beams being jacked up is heart-stopping but Saitoh says it wasn’t as perilous as it looks. The hours spent talking, thinking and model-making had paid off. “One thing I learned with Kenzo Tange is the power of human intelligence to solve a problem,” says Saitoh. This beautiful building will now live beyond the Olympics as an exhibition hall. Hats off to the modest genius of Masao Saitoh.

5.
Competitive characters
The man with a pictogram for every event

Sport pictograms are standard Games fare these days having first appeared at the 1964 iteration of the Tokyo Olympics. For 2020 renowned graphic designer Masaaki Hiromura (pictured) was commissioned to create a new set to be used on everything from signage to tickets. Hiromura scrutinised the previous system and noticed a few inconsistencies. “Ever since I aspired to become a designer, I looked back to those 1964 pictograms,” he says. “But there was room to refresh. There were only 20 sports in the 1964 Olympics; there are 33 now, with extra disciplines within them, so we had to create 50 new pictograms for the Olympics and 23 for the Paralympics.” Times have changed in other ways: old sailing boats have been replaced by hi-tech craft and rotund cycling helmets discarded in favour of the aerodynamic style worn at velodromes today. Hiromura’s team searched thousands of images and films to find the shots that best encapsulate every sport. His dynamic system blanks out the athletes’ torso and highlights the limbs; the only exceptions are sports with specific uniforms, such as karate, judo and fencing. The Tokyo 2020 pictograms will appear in animated form for the first time, brought to life by motion designer Kota Iguchi. “The 1964 pictograms are the blueprint but since then different countries have produced their own,” says Hiromura. “Because this was Tokyo, I felt we could go back to 1964 but it wasn’t about nostalgia. We wanted to look forward and set a new standard for sport pictograms that other designers can look to.”

6.
Roll of honour
Making wheelchairs for winners

Wheelchair maker OX Engineering might be little-known but it’s a regular star performer at the Paralympics. Since the 1996 Atlanta Games it has helped Paralympians from various countries to win 122 medals. “We have been accompanying the Japanese team since Nagano in 1998,” says company president Katsuyuki Ishii (pictured, centre). “But once we are there we help everyone, regardless of their nationalities, even if they don’t use our wheelchairs.”

OX Engineering launched in 1988 in Chiba as a motorcycle shop that customised and sold bikes. “My father raced motorbikes but an accident left him in a wheelchair,” says Ishii. Making use of his skills, Ishii’s father, Shigeyuki, decided to build his own wheelchair and then began making them to sell. “He needed a goal and thought that he could prove himself as a wheelchair builder if the users of his designs became successful at global sporting events.” In 1993, Shigeyuki started collaborating with athletes to develop wheelchairs for tennis and, later, basketball and track-and-field disciplines.

Today, OX Engineering’s sports wheelchairs are used in 20 countries. Some athletes visit the workshop to fine-tune their machines to their personal specifications. “Our mission is to constantly innovate in our skills and technologies to meet athletes’ needs,” says Ishii. This summer his team is behind nearly 30 Paralympians. “Yes, there is a special emotion in hosting the event in our home country,” he says. “But we see this as a stepping stone for the future. We’re looking ahead to Paris and Los Angeles.”

7.
Build it and they will come
Fukushima’s field of dreams

On a gorgeous sunny day, Monocle meets a group of young softball players in the Azuma Baseball Stadium in Fukushima. The Tsukinowa Sports Shonendan team of 16 boys and girls from nearby primary schools are coached by Sho Hashimoto. “The Olympics are coming here,” he says. “It’s a once-in-a-lifetime experience.” Whereas the majority of the Games’ events will be in and around Tokyo, a handful are due to entertain crowds in cities including Sapporo and Fukushima. Last year, Hashimoto’s team was celebrating when the publicly funded stadium’s makeover made it fit to host Olympic baseball and softball matches. The grass turf was replaced with an artificial surface and more room was created in the stands for wheelchair users.

“Big local matches such as high-school tournament finals are played here,” says Hashimoto, as his sons, Yu and Rui, train on the field. “I saw my first-ever professional baseball game here too. We’re delighted that we’ll see the top players representing their nations in our home stadium.” Two other young players, Kotaro and Himeka, are the lucky ones on the team: their father Daisuke won a day ticket for the family to see the softball games. “They were really excited last year but then the Olympics were postponed,” says Daisuke. “They will be fired up when the moment nears.”

8.
Game changers
Meet the mechanical mascots

Every Olympic Games has its mascot but Tokyo has introduced remote-controlled robots to accompany the more typical fluffy variety. Named Miraitowa and Someity, the mascots for the 2020 Olympics and Paralympics were chosen by Japanese primary-school children via a vote. Developed by Toyota, the robots’ performance skills include being able to dance and interact with people. They feature show-stopping technology that enables them to replicate the movements of their controllers – who wear virtual-reality goggles and motion-detecting devices – right down to the briefest blink. “I can tell who is controlling the robot by its movements,” says Tomohisa Moridaira (pictured), who headed the project at Toyota.

To ensure that they are approachable, the mechanical mascots only reach a diminutive height of 65cm and wear a special suit to hide their robotic joints. Other robots are set to assist people on and off the sporting fields. “It will become standard for robots to play more roles in future Olympics,” says Moridaira. “Mascots can help small children to enjoy the Games. We want them to remember this Tokyo edition as a positive experience.”

9.
Olympic ideal
Japan’s National Stadium

For a 10-year-old Kengo Kuma (pictured), the 1964 Tokyo Olympics were a formative moment. “My father took me to see Kenzo Tange’s stadium,” he says. “I asked who made the building and that was the day I decided to become an architect.” So it’s fitting that Kuma, now one of the world’s best-known architects, joined the team to build Japan’s new National Stadium – the main venue for Tokyo 2020. It sits in the woody surrounds of Meiji Jingu Gaien, the outer garden of Meiji Jingu Shrine, famous for its gingko trees and sports facilities. The stadium was a team effort by Kuma’s office along with Taisei Corporation and stadium architects Azusa Sekkei. “We had three months to submit our proposal,” says Kuma. “Luckily the design solution came quickly as I know the place well. When I was a student I played tennis there. It’s a special location.”

Kuma wanted the stadium to be a positive expression of Japan’s changed economic and demographic circumstances since 1964. “Kenzo Tange’s building is a tall structure but we tried to make ours as low as possible. We wanted it to be a humble monument to reflect Japan as it is now.” The stadium, which seats 60,000, has an exterior covered in local greenery and its eaves are made with wood from all 47 prefectures of Japan. “Most people think Japan is a small, homogeneous country but every part has a different climate, history and personality,” says Kuma. “We wanted to show that diversity.”

10.
Off the beaten track
A long-distance training base for South Sudan’s finest

Although most athletes attending the Games have been training in their own countries, a team of four South Sudanese athletes have found themselves in Maebashi, a city 11,000km from home. During South Sudan’s civil war, the Japan International Cooperation Agency offered to host four of the country’s top track-and-field athletes and their coach. The mayor of Maebashi took them in with open arms and garnered public support via a crowdfunding campaign and by enlisting volunteer translators. The camp opened in November 2019.

Moris Lucia William Karlo is competing in both the 100-metre and 200-metre sprints. “I like the citizens most,” she says. “They cheer us up. I like to speak Japanese whenever possible.” When asked what phrases she’s learned, the 20-year-old smiles. “My legs hurt. No training today,” she says. Among the other competitors is 22-year-old Guem Abraham Majok Matet, who recently broke the South Sudanese national record for 1,500 metres during a competition in Tokyo. And then there’s Paralympian Kutjang Michael Machiek Ting, who has been discussing with the Maebashi team’s experts whether he should be fitted with an artificial right arm for his 100-metre race.

“I wanted to help those who need help,” says volunteer Yuri Shimazaki. “They come from a country in conflict but we get along like neighbours.” Fumio Matsumura, another civic supporter, speaks a little Swahili and Arabic after living in Kenya and Syria. “Sports can bring people together beyond borders,” he says.

See here

The Chloe
New Orleans

The old cliché about “Southern hospitality” is looking a little threadbare. Instead, there are good hotels and less good ones – places that feel of the American South and those that could have sprung up anywhere, from Singapore to San Francisco. The Chloe, luckily, is firmly the former. Owner and restaurateur Robert LeBlanc tapped interior designer Sara Ruffin Costello to turn the Uptown mansion – built in 1891 – into a smart 14-key hotel. The result? Inky hues, colourful accents and yes, we’re close to the Bayou, so the odd alligator reference to boot. LeBlanc knows restaurants, recruiting chef Todd Pulsinelli for his take on Creole classics in the restaurant, from smoked pork belly with shiso to shrimp étouffée or spicy crab with baked gulf oysters. Yum. But since you’re in the Big Easy, and so keen on the clichés, you’ll probably want to take some refreshment on the porch (the tiles here date from the 1860s). The cocktail list is accomplished. No mint juleps are mentioned, so plump for a hurricane with rum, passion fruit and a hint of lemon. For those looking to beat the heat, there’s also a pool out back that’s fringed with greenery. The even better news? There’s not an alligator in sight.
thechloenola.com

The Hoxton
Rome

Brands are built through repetition but Hoxton’s 10th hotel reflects Rome deftly. And since all idiomatic roads lead here, one wonders why it took the prolific brand so long to reach the Eternal City. Nevertheless, we’re glad they made it. The interiors of the 1970s buildings nod to some of the quirks deployed in mid-century Italian design – nostalgic references to Rome’s cinematic past and Murano glass chandeliers. The fit-out was a joint effort from parent company Ennismore’s in-house team and British firm Fettle Design, who took care of the public spaces. Like its other outposts, the 192-key stopover has a generous lobby to linger in, plus rentable spaces for remote workers in the form of L’Appartamento, a group of meeting rooms on the lower-ground floor. The pandemic has made mingling the enemy but this will change. Great hotels aren’t built in a day, remember.
thehoxton.com

La Paz
Lisbon

Porto-based fashion label La Paz has long mined the country’s maritime traditions for inspiration. The brand’s Lisbon shop in Cais do Sodré is a riff on the same with an interior decked out in nautical paraphernalia, and hangers inspired by fishing nets and lobster traps. On the racks is its collection of laidback garments – all made in Portugal – that range from button-down shirts and corduroy trousers to linen polos and graphic tees.
lapaz.pt

The Modernist
Athens

After a successful start in Thessaloniki, hotelier Kostis Karatzas cast his eye to Athens for The Modernist’s sister hotel of the same name. Designed by Thessaloniki-based studio Formrelated, the new branch is housed in the art deco building of the former Canadian embassy. The 38-room affair overlooks a leafy square in Kolonaki, with views of Mount Lycabettus from the rooftop.With the nation champing at the bit to reopen for tourists this summer, a Greek revival is in the offing.
themodernisthotels.com

Villa Copenhagen
Copenhagen

The Danish capital’s newest five-star hotel is a grande dame for the 21st century, near the leafy Tivoli Gardens. Set in the former headquarters of the Danish post office, which was completed in 1912, it balances history with forward-thinking sustainable touches and a huge dash of spectacle, thanks to the showstopping lobby. The interiors are by London’s Universal Design Studio, paying homage to the beautiful neo-baroque architecture with restored original windows, high ceilings, herringbone floors, golden accents and a muted colour palette.
villacopenhagen.com

Two indie cinemas
Global

1.
Golden Scene Cinema
Hong Kong
A tasteful new picture house has opened its doors in Kennedy Town, a fast-developing suburban offshoot on Hong Kong island. Proudly straying away from Hong Kong’s typical shopping mall theatres, this cinema makes space for independent movies of local and international origin.
goldenscene.com

2.
Zouk Cinema Club
Singapore
Singapore’s iconic Zouk nightclub has transformed its main room into a pop-up cinema. Although visitors won’t be able to show off their dance moves here (for the time being), they’ll appreciate the state-of-the-art lighting and sound system. Both new film releases and classic movies are shown every Friday and Saturday, while the themed décor is updated every month.
zoukclub.com

Mayor’s Residence
Amsterdam

If a mayor were to build a nine-bedroom palace with plush interiors, grand staircases and sweeping city views today, there would be an investigation into their largesse. But thank goodness this wasn’t the case for former politician Hendrik Hooft in 1665. The palacial affair dating from that time has been transformed by Waldorf Astoria Amsterdam into a new nine-room private residence for discerning guests. A night’s stay here comes with the services of a private chef and spa therapist. Expect a price tag that reflects the rococo finery.
hilton.com

Images: 2021 Hilton, Brittany Conerly, Paul Costello, The Hoxton, Ioanna Roufopoulou

Full steam ahead

Turning one of Finland’s most iconic buildings into a hotel is no mean feat. The Finnish Heritage Agency kept a close eye on designer Jaakko Puro as he set about transforming the eastern wing of the Eliel Saarinen-designed 1909 Helsinki railway station into the latest Helsinki venture from Swedish hotel firm Scandic. “I wanted to maintain the original spirit of the building, while making it into a modern Scandinavian hotel that doesn’t feel like a museum,” he tells monocle. The 491-room Grand Central hotel occupies the eastern wing of the railway station, which used to house the headquarters of the Finnish national railway operator VR and its 600-odd employees. Over the years, Saarinen’s original national romanticist designs gave way to the dictates of the modern office with its clean lines, fluorescent lights and low ceilings.

On the Finnish Heritage Agency’s orders, the building’s original frame was restored. Arches and pillars were excavated from inside the walls, and piping and air-conditioning shafts were removed from the cellar. Some of Saarinen’s original designs were restored and hints of his work can be spotted around the hotel. His 1909 oak office chairs greet the hotel visitors from the moment they enter the building. The ornamental wooden railings and pillars in the stairways are original and even the paint has been applied by hand using methods typical of Saarinen’s era.

Some hints of the building’s former life as a railway office remain – a conscious choice given that the hotel is next to Helsinki’s main railway hub. In one of the lobbies, original signage painted on the wall indicates the locations of various offices. Up above and in the hallways, 1950s lighting by Finnish lighting designer Paavo Tynell casts a soft glow into the space. “Given that this part of the building has been closed to the public for more than 100 years, we feel a mix of pride and responsibility to have now opened it to the general public,” says the hotel’s general manager Satu Järvelä. “We organise tours of the building and have trained our staff to tell our guests about its history and design.”

Grand Central might be a flagship property but Järvelä is hesitant to call it a luxury hotel, despite chief designer Puro’s background in creating smaller, more intimate, boutique hotels, such as Oslo’s Amerikalinjen and Helsinki’s u14. “We have kept the pricing so it’s approachable to all,” Järvelä says. “It is definitely the most historic hotel that I have ever worked at.” She is also confident that the hotel, which is one of the largest in Helsinki, will succeed in the post-pandemic world. “Tourism to Helsinki was booming prior to coronavirus and is set to bounce back again,” she says, adding that Grand Central is a hotel built as much for locals as it is for its foreign visitors. “This is a piece of Finnish history, finally open for all.”
scandichotels.com

Fixed abode

When architect Miggi Hood, mezcal-maker Yola Jimenez and entrepreneur Marie Cazalaa happened upon a house designed by Mexican architect Mario Pani in Mexico City’s Cuauhtémoc neighbourhood, they knew they had to have it. “It was very overgrown and hadn’t really been taken care of since it was finished in 1962,” says Hood, a Los Angeles-based architect who had long considered having a project in Mexico City. “It had also been split in two.” The house’s potential, she says, was obvious and the opportunity to restore it was too tempting to pass up. “We managed to convince the son of the original owners that we wanted to repair it and take care of it as a piece of architecture,” says Hood.

Despite the house’s state of disrepair, the partners were able to restore some elements, including the original masonry. “Pani is famous for that horizontal brickwork,” says Hood. “His architecture is elegant and it’s all about material.” The six-room modernist mansion is split across two buildings and took two years to overhaul. It is now furnished with a medley of rugs from Morocco, lounge chairs by Vladimir Kagan, pieces by Mexico City studio La Metropolitana, Anglepoise wall sconces, paintings by Brooklyn-based artist Emma Kohlmann, leather chrome sofas made by design studio Cabo Verde and more. “Whenever one of us had money, we would chip in and buy something,” she says.

Hood worked on the renovation with architect Luciana de la Garza from Mexico City-based Estudio Atemporal. The renovation fell in line with their own style. “We had a concept of how we wanted it to be,” says De la Garza. “My aesthetic is minimal comfort: not a lot of junk but really comfortable; beautiful spaces with elegant objects that mean something.”

Every one of the six rooms has distinctive furniture and artwork. Some have terraces (one is partly shaded by a brilliant mauve jacaranda tree) and all have terrazzo bathrooms with Baja Botanica bath products. Better yet are the tasteful communal spaces, the dipping pool and the fully equipped chef’s kitchen in which to cook.

“It definitely attracts people in the arts,” says Hood, who has seen an influx of photographers and artists arriving in the short time that Casa Pani has been open. This volume of like-minded people means that guests tend to mingle. “It’s a space for interaction but it still feels private,” she says. The entire house can also be booked as one, making it the ideal getaway for friends. “It’s a place where people can collaborate,” says Hood. After a year spent in isolation, Casa Pani is worth the reservation for that alone.
casapani.com

Inner beauty

The small Japanese city of Maebashi might not feature on many tourist itineraries but if businessman Hitoshi Tanaka has his way, it will soon become a stop for anyone interested in contemporary Japanese architecture. Once a bustling silk-trading centre, Maebashi runs at a slower pace today. But thanks to Tanaka it now has a unique hotel – the Shiroiya – which has been renovated, extended and furnished with loving care over six years by a team led by Japanese architect Sou Fujimoto.

The Shiroiya Hotel has a 300-year history in Maebashi. It used to be a traditional Japanese ryokan inn but in the mid-1970s the family owners replaced the old building with a modern concrete structure. Fast-forward another 30 years and the family business closed for good, leaving behind a long history and a decaying building. Tanaka, a Maebashi native who made a fortune with his jins eyewear brand, stepped in to buy the inn, enabling the Shiroiya name to live on.

“I saw it when Tanaka-san had just bought the property,” says Fujimoto, who has known the owner for nearly 20 years. “It was a nice, normal, four-storey concrete building – the kind you see all over Japan. From the beginning, Tanaka wanted to renovate, not tear down. My idea was to demolish some of the floors inside, keeping the columns and beams, and making an atrium that would bring in the natural light. It was a way of making a drastic change without losing the spirit of the building.”

Tanaka didn’t want to create a precious “art” hotel; he wanted a living room for the city, where its residents would be as happy coming for lunch as lovers of art and architecture would be to stay. The all-day restaurant, an airy spot to enjoy easy Japanese food – ebi fry (fried prawn), local Gunma salad and the house Japanese curry made with local Akagi beef – is often fully booked. The furniture is a comfortable mix of new (Scandinavian, Japanese, Swiss, American and Italian) and vintage, with greenery supplied by landscapers Solso.

Staff have been hired locally and the smart, 14-seat evening restaurant is run by young chef Hiro Katayama, who hails from nearby Takasaki but has been earning his stripes at Michelin-starred Florilège in Tokyo. “We’re doing what we call Joshu [the old name for the area] cuisine,” he says. “The techniques are French but we’re respecting our history, culture and produce.” He buys fresh herbs and vegetables from nearby farms and the tasting menu might feature yamame trout and yama udo (mountain asparagus), paired with a Hokkaido rosé or saké.

As for the accommodation, standard rooms have furniture by Sou Fujimoto, as well as some special rooms by the likes of designer Jasper Morrison and architect Michele De Lucchi, who were already designing eyewear for jins when the hotel project was underway. Morrison’s room is a snug wooden box, intended to resemble a – very beautiful – art crate with a cypress bath and the warm glow of an Isamu Noguchi paper light.

There are artworks throughout the hotel – guests are greeted by a serene Hiroshi Sugimoto seascape hanging over the reception desk – but it’s not a mere museum assemblage of big names: a piece by local artist Yoshio Shirakawa hangs in the atrium. Argentinian artist Leandro Erlich has created a lighting installation that gently illuminates the atrium like a ghostly pipe.

There are many points of interest: Fujimoto’s new building, covered in grass, a Finnish sauna in its own mini building with an outdoor staircase and another small house for an installation by Japanese artist Tatsuo Miyajima. The traditional tea room chashitsu from the old hotel was moved to the new building and Hiroshi Sugimoto and Tomoyuki Sakakida have overseen the creation of small bar area. Fujimoto filled the upper reaches of the atrium with a labyrinth of catwalks and staircases. “I’d like people to have a different experience every time they come back here, whether that’s for a weekly lunch or staying once a year,” he says.

Fujimoto opened up a public footpath that runs from the front of the hotel into a neighbourhood with bars and restaurants, and a small river running alongside it. What’s more, Tanaka’s input isn’t confined to the hotel. He’s commissioned other Japanese architectural luminaries to build shops and restaurants in Maebashi and Fujimoto has just started work on another project in the area. An architectural tour of the city and surrounds is now in the offing. “We wanted this hotel to be open to the city,” says Fujimoto. “What Tanaka-san is doing here in Maebashi could be a model for revitalising other small cities.”

Snack on track

Train stations are usually places that people pass through on their way somewhere else and rarely destinations in their own right. Perhaps Swiss food firm Migros had this in mind when it opened its new concept, Bridge, a food hall in the Europaallee development southwest of Zürich Hauptbahnhof, which seems to reach across the divide.

The entrance to the two-storey space beside the train tracks ensures that this is a visual upgrade to the standard supermarket stop-off: its façade is polished concrete with Carrara marble and matte brass finishes by Dutch architect Wiel Arets. And the theme continues inside. Design Agency Interstore started the development of the interiors in spring 2020 with flexibility and modularity in mind.

Although the space is more upmarket than Migros’s other supermarkets, the team behind the development insists that Bridge was built to honour the company’s late founder Gottlieb Duttweiler. In 1925 his vision was to create a link between honest and interesting producers and hungry customers. Judging by the full terrace and visitors enjoying nibbles and apéro on the sunny Saturday that Monocle visits, this idea has aged rather well. The Bridge offers a total of 320 seats at full capacity, with a large terrace outside and various seating areas within.

Although the idea of an upmarket supermarket-cum-food-hall seems rather smart – and the fit-out feels swish, Swiss and deft – there’s no standing on ceremony when it comes to the staff. “None of our employees wear conventional uniforms, everyone can work in what they feel most comfortable in,” says David Böhler, Migros’s managing director and the project manager behind the development. Informal though they might be, the staff know their onions (and jam, and bread and cheese): a small audience gathers around the large cheese section as one worker wields a vast wheel of parmesan.

The middle portion of both floors is reserved for the supermarket section. It’s packed with brands you’d expect, covering fresh fruit and vegetables, and a range of interesting Swiss-made goodies, many of which are solely stocked at this branch – think quince vinegar from Haldihof, a barbecue sauce by Zürich-based Tsüri and mayonnaise from Swiss firm Foodoo.

But it’s not just the produce drawing the crowds. Every corner of the space is home to a different restaurant, all of which have open kitchens that allow the alluring odour of their fare to suffuse the air. The restaurants are a mix of newcomers and time-tested players, selected by Migros. “We wanted local companies that are embedded in the area,” says Böhler. “It took us years to find the right ones.”

At any one time, five firms can currently showcase their products at Bridge. When Monocle visits, start-up Seri is selling baguettes and croissants alongside coffee from Vicafe. Meanwhile, up on the first floor, there are two newcomers to the restaurant trade: Tokyo Express, the first permanent restaurant from chef Hide Manaka, and Flour and Water, which sells pizza al taglio (squared pizza) cooked to a recipe perfected in a food truck. For the thirsty, bottle shop Smith and Smith has a great selection of Swiss wine and beer.

The round-up is completed by two gastronomy spaces (one takeaway, the other dine-in) that change every three months according to a theme. The first was Peruvian food and featured guest chef Emilio Espinosa-Schwarz. From July it will take a Greek turn with a pop-up from chef Lazaros Kapageoroglou.

Though the restaurants rent their corners, they are much more than just tenants. “We have weekly meetings and Migros makes sure that we are happy and have everything we need,” says Silvia Lötscher from Smith and Smith. “We use our power to support smaller players,” says Böhler. The aim is for Migros to work closely these enterprises and integrate them into a network, resulting in products from the pop-ups ending up on supermarket shelves.

The good place

As Monocle goes to press, not even the LVMH team knows exactly when its latest, long-awaited renovation project can open. What’s clear is that the day the iconic La Samaritaine department store, opened in 1869, again sees footfall will be momentous – the end of a long journey and the beginning of an entirely new adventure.

Originally slated to reopen in April 2020, the pandemic also put paid to various attempts for a launch in September, then early in 2021 and now June – maybe. The five-year renovation of this building, which had been closed for 15 years beforehand, was of such scale that it would seem a shame to rush things now. On our visit though, we can see that the workmen have finished refitting the building, originally founded as an emporium by Ernest Cognacq, the clothes and jewellery are in place and the staff are in the starting blocks.

“I used to go with my grandmother to buy flannel trousers,” says Monocle‘s photographer Thomas Humery as we arrive at the forecourt. “It was a place where we used to come for high-quality pieces that were a little out of date.” On the banks of the Seine, the building is on a crossroads between the booming Rive Droite and the bourgeois Rive Gauche. Most Parisians have a story about “La Samar” as it’s affectionately known.

Rather than simply a renovation of one building, it’s better to think of this as a revival of a neighbourhood. LVMH bought the space in 2010 and while Parisians have been able to track the progress of the façades (one side art deco, the other art nouveau), the scale of the changes inside are much more ambitious. The 72-room Cheval Blanc hotel is a headline opening but there are also offices, social housing, a nursery and the department store itself – nearly the size of three football pitches – entrusted to the LVMH-owned, Hong Kong-based DFS Group.

Inside there’s natural light aplenty, plus new fixtures and lights from Parisian design and architecture firm Cigüe, Canadian studio Yabu Pushelberg and designer Hubert de Malherbe. On the Pont-Neuf side are terrazzo floors, freshly repainted ironwork and art deco and art nouveau touches; the Rue de Rivoli side is more modern and industrial. These beautiful bones support five floors and a basement level that host a hand-picked selection of stalls ranging from beauty products to accessories and fashion brands (from the LVMH stable and others), plus a spa and 12 restaurants and bars. The €750m renovation project employed 3,000 people and the shop will create about 2,400 jobs when fully open.

Jean-Jacques Guiony became president of La Samaritaine in 2010 (he was already CFO of the LVMH group) and thinks that tenacity was the main factor in bringing the project to fruition. “Obstacles were constant but our teams overcame them one after another,” he says hinting at everything from the pandemic to the disruptions caused by the Gilets Jaunes protests. So is this a small department store or a vast concept store? “Both,” says Guiony. “Our department store will have a precise and accurate offer that the concept stores of Paris will envy.”

At a fine clip it takes about 45 minutes to breeze through the five floors, the stalls and past the windows – undulating glass panels, each weighing between 600kg and 1,250kg – dedicated to key brands. Then there’s the grand staircase adorned with 16,000 gold leaves. There are no half-measures here.

So other than the architecture, what makes the visitor experience different to that of Le Bon Marché or Galeries Lafayette? “More than a retail space, we wanted La Samaritaine to be a place of discovery, surprises and experiences, where customers can find the avant garde of fashion and taste the cuisine of a young chef,” says Éléonore de Boysson, president of DFS Europe and Middle East. “It should be a place where they can treat themselves to a luxury purchase and sip an espresso made by an expert barista. Somewhere to find handcrafted designer jewellery and relax at the spa, meet young artists and discuss the architecture with a guide who’s also a historian.”

In some ways, much of the hard work is done: La Samar already occupies a place in Parisians’ collective consciousness and in the tale of their city. That said, the delays in opening reflect these turbulent times: economic crisis, ongoing travel restrictions and changing priorities around consumption – all of which are hurdles to be cleared. Time will tell if this fresh formula represents a new chapter in the story. For now, and before the crowds arrive and the opening date is set, there’s a great deal to be admired in the ambition.

Clothes that move you

Stylist: Naoki Ikeda
Grooming: Tetsu
Producer: Shinri Kobayashi
Models: Kamui & Leo

Fashion

The Buyer
Ludovico Campanini
The Store, Milan

Passers-by might be fooled by the nondescript name but inside The Store, shoppers will find plenty of clothes with personality. “Colour is a sign of optimism and that’s our calling card,” says owner Ludovico Campanini (pictured). Opened in 1998, his boutique in Milan’s Brera district stocks niche Italian labels for men and women, blending smart-casual looks with a touch of sartorial savvy. For men, he has a versatile mix including denim from Department 5, deconstructed cotton and linen jackets by Dopiaa and polos from Drumohr. His number one aim is putting comfort first.

“Formality in menswear is declining and the past year has only accelerated that,” he says, holding his fox terrier, Trillius. “Clients are less interested in brands and more interested in quality fabrics, especially sustainable ones or mixes of a noble fibre with a technical fabric.” As if on cue, he reaches for a pair of PT Torino trousers made from cotton, polyamide and elastane. “They’re easy for travelling and match with formal and casual looks.”
thestoremilano.com

Campanini’s menswear picks:

1.
Finamore 1925 shirts
The Neapolitan label does a casual cotton shirt in hues of strawberry, vanilla and hazelnut.

2.
Sealup raincoat
The Bretello trench (pictured, left) is an ultra-lightweight piece for travel and seeing off summer showers.

3.
Autry sneakers
The 1980s Dallas footwear label has relaunched its classics (pictured, far left).

Moi-basics
Switzerland

Stylish and simple, Swiss-based undies brand Moi-basics emphasises quality construction with designs that ignore industry trends. Founded by Swiss entrepreneur Lukas Frei just a year ago, the label is quickly becoming known in fashion circles for its quality men’s and women’s offering, and for veering well away from the ugly, boldly branded waistbands.
moi-basics.com

Arrels
Barcelona

To complement our Barcelona-born women’s swimsuits we’ve picked out something for the boys too. Arrels’ board shorts come in warm, joyful colours and tasteful artist-designed prints.
arrelsbarcelona.com

Veja
France

Sustainable French label Veja is moving from casual trainers into the performance category. Its new Marlin running shoe comes in a range of colours, from sporty fluoros to subtle whites and creams, and is made from planet-friendly materials such as bio-based rubber, sugar-cane extract and recycled plastic. Light, comfortable and tough enough to endure some serious tarmac-smacking this summer, these runners offer you a better way to step up your fitness regime.
veja-store.com

Clog days
Global

With summer on the way, we’ve rounded up a sunny selection of footwear to keep your toes cool and your look sharp in the warm months ahead.

1.
Andalusier shoes
by Ludwig Reiter

2.
Authentic Original boat shoes
by Sunspel 3 Sperry

3.
Kristian espadrille sandals
by Castañer

4.
Lyndon sandals
by Grenson

5.
Rethink slip-ons
by Santoni

6.
Stratton sandals
by John Lobb

7.
Sabot clogs
by Arts & Science from Mouki Mou

8.
Carlotta clogs with Kelly buckle
by Hermès

Studio Nicholson
London

Dressed in navy and with a twinkle in her eye, Studio Nicholson founder Nick Wakeman is showing us her new London flagship – and making it known that she does not like sweatpants. “We were very clear during lockdown: we are not going to start peddling shit that you can slob about in,” says the east London-based designer. “It’s not part of our dna.” Whether boxy linen shirts, loose-fitting merino-blend dresses or voluminous pleated trousers, in greys, creams and navy, Wakeman creates pieces for men and women that are relaxed but a bit smart, understated yet a touch playful; they can be worn on the couch, out to meetings or on a dance floor.

With many feeling uninspired by slovenly tracksuits yet not needing formal attire, demand for these versatile items has been high. Studio Nicholson’s e-commerce and wholesale sales figures jumped by 30 and 40 per cent respectively in 2020 compared to the previous year. “For ages I’ve been banging my drum about having wardrobe items that serve many purposes and that you can mix and match,” says Wakeman.

And now customers can peruse these pieces at her new shop. Set on the corner of Soho’s bustling Broadwick Street, the sun-dappled space is fitted with unusual materials, such as dove-grey rubber floors, and furniture by London artisans, including oak cabinets made by Uncommon Projects and a fluffy armchair by designer and upholstery expert Sedilia.

It’s a public face for the brand and a blueprint for future openings: 2022 will see a rollout of shops in Asia as Wakeman has just signed a retail and distribution deal with a Japanese company and is finalising details with a South Korean firm. “In my gut, I know we’re on this trajectory,” she says. “In all aspects of the business, it’s kind of working.”
studionicholson.com

Image: Studio De Monaco
Still life: Trisha Ward