Issues

The affairs agenda: Nato’s cold-weather wargames and a seaside squabble

defence –– europe
Chills and drills

The placid snow in Norway’s Far North will soon be whipped up by helicopter propellers, then beaten back down by the sturdy boots of a multinational force. Nordic Response 2024, Nato’s largest cold-weather exercise, runs throughout March and involves more than 20,000 troops from 14 countries, including new ally Finland and prospective member Sweden.

Troops will push further north than ever before: to the picturesque Arctic village of Alta, battling harsher climes than in the previous edition of the exercise, conducted in 2022 (see Issue 153). “Even though the area is not that far from where we normally train, this exercise is different,” Torbjørn Brodtkorb Danielssen, head of strategic command and analysis for the Norwegian Armed Forces, tells Monocle .

The wargame – which is part of Nato’s larger Steadfast Defender 2024 exercise – will take place over air, land and sea, and include live-fire infantry drills, naval drills involving 50 ships, including submarines, and air support from more than 100 fighter jets and helicopters in temperatures that can plunge to as low as minus 30c.

If, as looks likely, Sweden soon joins Nato, all five Nordic countries will be allies, which will give the alliance territorial resilience on its northernmost flank. Wargames such as this are a formidable show of force in Russia’s backyard. Nato is hoping to fine-tune its cold-weather preparedness while sending a clear message to Moscow.

In the basket
Scaling up

Turkey’s defence industry is a notable exception to its generally wheezing economy: its arms exports have increased by at least 69 per cent since 2018. The Otokar Cobra family of armoured vehicles, has attracted many overseas customers and seen active service with the armed forces of Georgia, Nigeria, Burkina Faso and Ukraine. Morocco’s military expenditure is on the up, reflecting rising tensions with neighbouring Algeria and perennial worries about Western Sahara. But not all of this contingent of Cobras will be deployed to deter potential foes: about 20 are believed to be earmarked for Morocco’s UN peacekeeping commitments.

In the basket: 200 Otokar Cobra II armoured vehicles
Who’s buying: Morocco
Who’s selling: Turkey
Price: €125m
Delivery date: Late 2024-early 2025

diplomatic spat
Line in the sand

Who vs who: The Maldives vs India

What it’s about: Umbrage has been taken by, or on behalf of, India’s prime minister, Narendra Modi, about disobliging descriptions made of him by a trio of Maldivian junior ministers. They referred to Modi as a “clown”, a “terrorist” and “a puppet of Israel”. These outbursts appear to have been prompted by Modi’s promotion of Lakshadweep, the picturesque chain of Indian islands.

What it’s really about: The Maldives’ economy is heavily dependent on tourism from India, so the furious Maldivian ministers might perceive Lakshadweep as a rival – though Modi is entitled to promote any part of his country. The “puppet of Israel” accusation is likely a populist appeal to the Maldives’ overwhelmingly Muslim population. India’s response was strong: summoning the Maldivian high commissioner. The Maldives responded in kind. Indian travel companies began promoting boycotts of the Maldives.

Likely resolution: Relations are likely to worsen further, even if the three Maldivian ministers are suspended. The country’s president, Mohamed Muizzu, appears to favour China over India. He gave India a deadline to remove its military presence from the Maldives. Still, military escalation seems unlikely, even with Indian elections on the horizon.

tHE FOREIGN DESK
andrew mueller on…
The year of democracy

Even amid a 21st century that has not been short on incident, 2024 looms as one of its most significant years. Whether that turns out to be significant as in “things are now significantly better” or significant as in “what fresh hell is this?” is going to be down to a cohort who have been, of late, in a notably funny mood: voters. The next 12 months will see a remarkable – indeed, freakish – aligning of election calendars. This year at least 50 countries have been or will go to the polls, including seven of the world’s 10 biggest by population – though an asterisk should be placed alongside this observation conceding that one of those electorates is Russia, whose presidential election in March is not prompting feverish activity on betting exchanges.

On recent form, it is probably correct to be apprehensive as the vox populi begins clearing its throat. Our time has seen – indeed, been substantially defined by – the fortunate citizens of democracies making strikingly eccentric decisions. It is probably fair to read this as some metropolitan liberal media elitist harrumphing from his ivory tower that the riffraff keep obstinately refusing to vote as he might prefer. But it nevertheless seems fair to point out that there is little record of Brexit, Trump and other broadly similar populist tantrums working out to the benefit of those who threw them.

A new genre of analysis has developed to explain these acts of collective self-harm. Usually practised by metropolitan liberal media elitists who didn’t vote for whatever nonsense it was, it involves setting heroically forth into the provinces/heartland/wherever to solicit the complaints of the discontented, solemnly absorbing and dutifully amplifying these utterances, then nobly accepting that it’s all our own fault for not having listened. Well, phooey. If matters go further askew in 2024 – if, for example, a sufficient plurality of Americans choose to reinstall in the White House an obvious crook and simpleton who no private corporation in the country would employ – let there be no suiting up in this combination of pith helmet and hair shirt. It will not be the fault of the media, social media, banks, universities, a furtive deep state or whoever you’re blaming. It will be the fault of the people who chose it.

It is 68 years since American journalist and critic HL Mencken died but no more perceptive observer of the democratic circus has yet succeeded him. Though Mencken seemed like the sort of chap who would enjoy being proved right, he would be bemused to behold the determination of so many to verify his definition of democracy: “the theory that the common people know what they want and deserve to get it good and hard”.

Andrew Mueller is host of ‘The Foreign Desk’ on Monocle Radio.

geopolitics –– europe
History repeated

January marked the beginning of the phased accession of Bulgaria and Romania into the EU’s border-free Schengen Area, bringing its total number of constituent states to 29. This first stage, agreed in the final days of last year, will see the two countries – EU members since 2007 – join by air and sea, with talks on the opening of land borders to follow later this year.

The idea of staggering full entry was put forward by Austria which, along with the Netherlands, blocked the two countries’ previous bid in 2022, citing concerns over arms and human trafficking, and the rule of law. This veto touched a nerve, especially in Romania, where the government recalled its ambassador to Vienna. Some Romanian customers of Austrian banks, such as Erste Bank, then took to social media to share videos of them destroying their credit cards, while several of the Raiffeisen Bank’s branches in the country were daubed with graffiti. This provoked widespread unease among the political and business elite in Austria who regard Romania – parts of which were once ruled by the old Habsburg empire – as being within its natural sphere of influence.

When Vienna finally relented, in December, Romania’s ecstatic prime minister, Marcel Ciolacu, wrote on social media, “We’ve broken the ice. After years of anticipation, we are on the verge of achieving this dream together!” But there was also a feeling of resentment, particularly in Sofia, which had been calling for full membership with no delay. Bulgarian officials also bridled at the fact that the deal came with conditions, including a trebling of border-police numbers and an agreement that both countries accept asylum seekers. In a historical parallel that most Austrians will have forgotten, the country itself was subjected to the arrangement, known as “Air Schengen”, when it applied to be part of the zone after its own EU accession in 1995. German and Italian opposition (focused, ironically, on Austria’s perceived inability to stop illegal migrants) kept it waiting until late 1997, when the abolition of airport checks paved the way for the gradual dismantling of land-border controls with the two countries.

This shared experience is unlikely to elicit empathy from Vienna. With an Austrian general election scheduled for autumn, control over frontiers and illegal migration will be key issues this year.

Editor’s letter: Andrew Tuck on when inspiration strikes

A moment of revelation that puts you on a fresh and decisive course. A simple change to your routine that restores your ambitions, your faith, your commitment. A hit of inspiration that generates a spark, that starts a fire (a metaphorical one – no wildfires here, thanks). Sometimes we go in search of these flashes of clarity, other times they strike us in the most unlikely of circumstances but, whatever their source, they can be all we need to give us a renewed and steely purpose.

This was the spirit of the briefing note that went out to Monocle’s editors, bureaux teams and correspondents this month as we asked them to locate the people, places and projects that could change our outlooks, give us all a vision for the future (well, at least 2024). They have done well with their finds.

Whether you are for or against new year resolutions, there is something about the change of date that just makes you take stock and wonder what will unfold over the coming 12 months. Now, we are not going to tell you to hit the treadmill or go on a diet but, over the following pages, we will provide some modest suggestions for starting the year right for everyone, including all the civic leaders, diplomats and architects reading this. We’ll remind you of the pleasure of seeing the world through a camera lens – and using film in it too; take you high-altitude for a different perspective on the art scene; show you how to commission the perfect home, or an embassy; and lead you through the streets of Naples to see how slow fashion has existed in the city for generations. Sartorial swagger should definitely be on the checklist for 2024.

In our Expo pages, our design editor, Nic Monisse, joins in as he looks at architecture that inspires – how buildings can be designed to elicit elevating emotions from us. As he points out, no architecture is neutral but how some structures make us feel wiser, more focused, more in awe is still something that can be hard to explain: the church that makes even those with no religion look to the heavens and feel something spiritual emanating from the soaring walls; the library that bathes us in the power and potency of knowledge shared. He’s lined up a stellar parade of edifices that should hopefully make your thoughts fly too.

Then we drop in on the new Azabudai Hills project in Tokyo, a mixed-use scheme by Heatherwick Studio that delivers peerless architecture, offers retail that raises the bar globally and has an understanding of public realm that is breathtaking. It’s somewhere every developer and city maker should have on their travel itinerary for 2024. And a word on this. At a time when we need to be building better, making places that resonate and create communities, it’s depressing how often those in charge of the budgets and decision making are reluctant to see what’s already out there – and triumphing. It’s only by venturing out into the world to seek new inspiration that we can ever hope to shrug off cloaks of mediocrity.

And, as you know, heading out into the world is something of a founding principle at Monocle and will be key in 2024. It’s striking how many media companies – big ones – have retreated to desk reporting, rewriting other people’s dispatches to give them a bit of a spin. But it’s only by being present that you get a sense of what’s really happening, what’s taking place just out of the frame. That’s why we are working on producing more events in 2024, looking to announce some very exciting physical-presence developments (sorry, I know that sounds obscure) and ensuring that our writers and editors go out and explore. It’s the only way to stay inspired.

As always, feel free to send me thoughts, ideas and inspirations. You can always find me at at@monocle.com. Have a good 2024. 

How a neighbourhood in Johannesburg transformed itself into a guiding light

Enticing people to wander to downtown Johannesburg is not always an easy task. The area struggles with potholed roads, pollution, a lack of public amenities, power cuts and crime (Johannesburg is among the five most dangerous cities in Africa). But on any given day, Victoria Yards, set in an old steam laundry in the centre of downtown, is a plant-filled oasis. People sit outside a fish shop enjoying crispy hake and chips while a hum emanates from studios producing a wide range of products, including sculptures and jeans. On the first Sunday of every month a market takes place, bringing people to the area to buy these wares. The collection of industrial brick buildings, which house shops, restaurants, workshops and an urban farm, has become a beacon of hope in this underserved area. The man behind it is developer Brian Green. His hope was to create a hub for artists and craftspeople with affordable workshops and to engage in communal development through non-profit companies that provide food, employment and education to more than 50 local families.

Tshepo Mohlala, founder of Tshepo, is one of the development’s biggest success stories. Having started his brand as a one-man operation in a small space nine years ago, he now employs 20 people, many of whom are his neighbours, and he has doubled his studio size. Many of the entrepreneurs who have started businesses here are from underprivileged backgrounds. Some have benefited from support, such as free internet and computer usage, and rent-free workshop space. Another rising creative entrepreneur is Samson Cristóvão Chamabala, who devises ideas for his sustainable fashion brand, Senhor Negro, in the community’s collaborative workspace. Chamabala hopes eventually to move into his own shop, which is no longer an unrealistic ambition for designers here. While these kinds of social initiatives and neighbourhood rejuvenations can often lead to gentrification and subsequent displacement, Victoria Yards has been careful about reserving space for the local community. Hector Mbiga (pictured), who is from the area, worked his way up from volunteering to become CEO of the Makers Valley Partnership, a social enterprise that has a space in Victoria Yards. “More people are coming onboard, wanting to see the work that we do,” he says. “People are asking, ‘How can I get involved? How can I volunteer?’”

Mbiga has seen positive changes both inside and outside Victoria Yards. For example, last year saw the 38 illegal dumping sites in the neighbourhood reduced to eight. This was largely thanks to Makers Valley’s Urban Rangers initiative, a collective of local people funded partly by city hall to educate Joburgers about proper waste disposal. As more businesses find their feet and thrive, it is inspiring others in the community to become entrepreneurs too. “Young people are thinking of business ideas that consider the community and the planet,” says Mbiga. “One guy has started a car wash that uses 80 per cent less water than the standard model. He’s also educating the community about water scarcity and how we need to be more intentional with water usage.” 

This year, Makers Valley is hoping to collaborate with international corporations to help create more opportunities for local youth through commercial partnerships. It is also planning to help mobilise people in the area to vote in this year’s general election, which is set to be an especially pivotal one for Africa’s third-largest economy. “We’re trying to direct people’s awareness so that they can become active citizens,” says Mbiga.

Monocle comment: If this microcosm of social development and entrepreneurship can thrive in adverse conditions, then it could serve as a blueprint for other neglected communities across South Africa and the wider continent.

Pierro Pozella, the camera repairman helping to keep film photography alive

Pierro Pozella fixes cameras. Every day packages arrive through the post at his Birmingham repair studio containing broken Rolleiflex, Pentax, Minolta and Nikon cameras. All of them have an appointment with Pozella, who will take them apart, diagnose their ailments and try to make them click, blink and capture a scene with box-fresh accuracy once again. It’s useful to anthropomorphise them in this way if you want to understand how Pozella works because this smiling, modest repairman sees all of his patients as having a sort of soul. “A repair is a personal thing,” he says. “I think of these cameras as characters that need help.”

In some instances, Pozella gets to know the cameras so intimately during their healing cycle that he finds it hard to give them back. Just like a good doctor, he does not discriminate. He expends the same amount of effort on a £20 camera as he does on one that’s worth £2,000 – though sometimes, when he’s tackling, say, a critical-care Leica, he has to limber up mentally for a couple of days before taking it apart.

We meet Pozella, who is just 27 years old, in his compact and immaculately organised studio inside the unlikely setting of a storage facility – the kind of place where people exile the detritus cluttering up their homes. Here he has a workbench and boxes of cameras awaiting his attention on blue metal shelves, next to others that are now ready to be discharged (he usually completes a repair in three or four days). On another set of shelves are neatly arranged ranks of steel-bodied cameras that he has fixed to sell on his online shop. Like a good camera, it’s a small and perfectly engineered operation.

Pozella’s journey to this occupation is worth hearing about. “When I was about 15, I started volunteering in a charity shop,” he says. “It had all of these cameras that had been donated. The people who ran the place told me that, if they were broken, I could take them home to see if I could mend them – and that any that were impossible to patch up, I could keep.” As an aspiring fixer, he had something going in his favour: his grandparents. Pozella’s mum is British and his dad has Italian heritage; while his English grandfather taught him electrics, his Italian nonno instilled in him a belief that nothing should ever be thrown away if it could be repaired. Through trial and many errors, Pozella began to understand the common conditions that prevented a camera from completing its task and other shops were soon asking for his help.

While a degree in engineering should have been his next step, Pozella’s dyslexia prevented him from taking that route. So he stayed in the world of cameras. He completed a photography degree, then earned a master’s in information experience and design at the Royal College of Art in London. There, among other things, he built an electromagnetic field detector. But he believes that his dyslexia and a degree of autism (which is currently being assessed) have helped him, especially with his camera repairs. “I have harnessed all of this,” he says. “With the way that my brain works, I can look at a camera and just feel what’s wrong. I can also blow one up in my mind, see all the parts and see how to put it together again perfectly.”

After the UK’s coronavirus restrictions were lifted, Pozella and his partner moved to Birmingham and his camera-repair work flourished. “There was a revival of interest in film photography – in the tangible, the physical,” he says. “People realised that it’s good for your mental health.” He is a good photographer too and always has a camera with him. He likes “capturing the mundane”: people eating, his girlfriend sitting in the garden, the cat. As a new project, he has started a film lab.

Pozella could eventually fix nine out of 10 cameras. He invested in a 3D-printer and learnt how to manufacture hard-to-find parts. Though he still wanted to know more, he encountered a reluctance among the rapidly retiring old guard to share the secrets of their trade. “I get it, they don’t want some youngster bothering them, asking lots of questions,” he says. “And I can ask a lot of questions.” But he has recently found a mentor who is helping him to refine his craft. “He understands that, for me, this isn’t about making money or doing things fast. I will be learning for another 60 years.”

And then someone in the television industry saw his Instagram account, which features his work. Now this fastidious young man can be spotted on the successful bbc TV programme The Repair Shop. “It’s amazing,” he says with a disarmingly undented charm. “They really look after you when you’re filming. They feed you so well. You can eat as much as you like.” Even members of the old guard have sent him messages of support. Pozella, however, still likes to go to his bench, open the back of a troubled camera and set about putting things right.

While he waits to have his portrait taken, Pozella picks up a camera that’s ready to be sold and rehomed. He presses the shutter button and listens to it fire. “It’s such a beautiful sound,” he says with the voice of a man who has found his calling.
pppcameras.co.uk

Monocle comment: There’s something transformative about seeing the world through a viewfinder, learning how to frame a scene and focus on what’s vital. So buy a camera, old or new. See things afresh.

Upgrade your travel plans with an oceanside escape and a tempting train ride across Malaysia

Immerso Ericeira
Portugal

The town of Ericeira, an hour’s drive from Lisbon, has been a World Surfing Reserve since 2011 but that’s not the region’s only draw. “There are beautiful landscapes for bike rides, incredible estates producing wine and one of Portugal’s crown jewels, the Mafra convent, nearby,” says Pedro Lopes, founder of the Immerso hotel. 

For their first foray into hospitality, Lopes and his wife, Alexandra Almeida d’Eça, dreamed up their ideal vacation stay – a place for privacy and a connection to nature. “We were unproductive to begin with because we thought of every small detail over and over,” says Lopes.

The toing and froing was worth it: the low-slung building, designed by Tiago Silva Dias, blends in with the valley and overlooks the sea. For the interiors, Dias and Almeida d’Eça chose the art, including Iva Viana’s decorative plaster panels and tapestries from Laurence Leenaert. “We didn’t want anything to stick out; it’s about being immersed in nature,” says Lopes. But the hotel does include some standout features, not least its spa, a good place to relax after your surfing lessons. 
immerso.pt

Arrivals board
Global

Find your seat, buckle up and relax with our round-up of new routes, departing from Greenland, Shanghai, Cape Town and beyond.

South African Airways
Cape Town and Johannesburg to São Paulo 
October 2023

After almost shutting down, South African Airways is on the ascent. Its first long-haul service following its near collapse is to Brazil. The movement of passengers and goods between the two Brics countries has picked up of late but SAA faces competition from LatAm Airlines. 

China Eastern
Shanghai to Cairo 
December 2023

China is ramping up its intercontinental game, leading to routes that have never been flown before, such as the first from Shanghai to North Africa. With one of the highest GDPs in Africa, Egypt is an obvious choice for a service from China, which continues to invest heavily in the continent. 

United Airlines 
New York to Faro 
May 2024

Amid a post-pandemic boom, US carriers are looking for new markets to exploit. The latest volley from United, which has already added destinations including the Canaries and the Azores to its route map, is a service to Faro – harnessing the US craze for Portugal. It will be the first direct service from the US to the Algarve. 

Air Greenland
Nuuk to Iqaluit 
June 2024

Greenland is building longer runways that can handle big jets in Nuuk and Ilulissat but Air Greenland is already making moves ahead of these openings, with a new nonstop service from its capital to Nunavut in Canada. Close cultural ties, geographic proximity and a lack of scheduled flights between Greenland and Canada are among the reasons for the launch. 

Atlantic Airways
Vágar to New York 
September 2024

The Faroese carrier is dipping its toe into the transatlantic market. It ran an Airbus A320neo between Vágar and Stewart Airport in Upstate New York for just a few weeks in 2023 and now plans to bring the service back in September 2024, again for about a month. One wonders whether it wouldn’t have a better chance of success flying into one of the major New York area airports.

Inventory: Tech corner
Play as you go
Global

1
Panasonic Lumix G9 II
Click bait 

The latest Panasonic camera chooses the Micro Four Thirds sensor over the company’s recent full-frame models. This makes for a smaller, more manageable device than many DSLRs. The 25.2-megapixel sensor is enough for great photos and this camera introduces a phase detection autofocus system, previously the preserve of bigger cameras from Panasonic. 
panasonic.com

2
Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds
Silent partner

In-ear buds need to work hard to match the effectiveness of over-ear headphones but compensate with lightweight convenience. The new QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds, however, ticks all the boxes. Bose buds let in just enough of the outside world to tell you if your partner is calling but minimise playtime noises when working from home. 
bose.co.uk

3
Sonos Move 2
Bring the noise 

The portable Move 2 builds on the original with longer battery life and better sound, even if it remains a big, heavy unit, weighing 3kg. Sonos products are always simple to set up and use, and its speakers talk to each other effectively.
sonos.com

4
Nomad 65W Slim Power Adapter
Taking charge 

Travel adapters are tricky things: you always need several and they often have the wrong connectors. This new slim adapter, designed for use in the US, has two USB-C sockets, so you can plug in two devices, and it’s powerful enough to handle a laptop and a phone simultaneously.
nomadgoods.com

5
Bowers & Wilkins Px7 S2e
Sound investment 

The British hi-fi brand has finessed an already elegant design with its latest noise-cancelling headphones by matching striking looks with softly cushioned ear cups and headband. Sound quality is strong, whether your connection is wireless or wired, and there are two cables supplied for versatility.
bowerswilkins.com

Apotheke, the Athenian natural cosmetics brand taking beauty back to basics

“This is all about bringing back a liberating simplicity to people’s lives,” says Eva Papadaki, as she moves through 10am Apotheke (Greek for “storage room”), her new concept shop in Athens’ vibrant neighbourhood of Gazi. Just beside the boutique – where Papadaki picks a collection of homeware, cosmetics and culinary ingredients – is a garage that repairs old cars. There’s a link to these unlikely neighbours: both are focused on preservation.

The idea for Apotheke (as it’s usually known) was born in the basement of the brutalist, concrete 10am Lofts building where Papadaki, for the past seven years, has based her talent management agency for photographers and artists. “It feels like I have given birth to this project and there’s so much sentiment attached to it for me,” she says, looking up towards the space’s incredibly high ceilings. Minimalist shelving units line the walls, displaying limited-edition products that Papadaki promises are sustainable all the way down to the manner in which they are transported from her native Crete to Athens.

On the wall, a film projection of the inky blue, sun-scorched Aegean landscapes and whitewashed houses captures the very essence of Papadaki’s new brand – a conscious movement back to simple living, inspired by the ways her Greek grandparents lead their lives. It’s why she has sourced limited-edition ingredients from Cretan producers who she has known since childhood. Olive oil, honey, handmade soaps, beeswax candles (just like the ones used in Greek Orthodox churches) and moisturising beeswax balms that can be applied all over the body. 

Most products fit in a beauty cabinet as much as they do in a kitchen pantry and will inspire you to rethink your beauty rituals – replacing complex formulas with natural ingredients and finding joy in the process rather than just the result, from applying a soothing balm on your pulse-points to lighting incense.

Minimalist living was the guiding principle for the shop fit-out but Papadaki also wanted to pay homage to the history of the building. “This was once a warehouse for dried foods,” she says. “I love the word ‘Apotheke’ because it also refers to our inner, metaphorical storage rooms, where we keep our memories, our feelings, our spirit.” Her own spirit remains firmly in her native Crete. “It’s where I’m from and it’s where I will always go back to,” she says, referencing the sounds, scents and landscape of the island, which inspired all the products now available at Apotheke.

Her commitment to local sourcing was also guided by her experiences growing up on the Mediterranean island. “So many people talk about sustainability but no mass-produced product is really sustainable,” she says. “Here, products are not made in huge quantities. The honey and the oil might run out. It’s whatever nature can give in that moment. I always want to be in tune with and respectful of what nature has to give me.”

Papadaki travels to Crete to pick up the products herself and ensure that she maintains an ongoing dialogue with the producers she collaborates with. Her ultimate aim? To transport people to Crete, every time they light the Apotheke incense or use the wild herb soap that has been made using her grandmother’s old recipe.

Every Saturday, Papadaki opens the heavy doors of Apotheke to Athens’ ever-growing community of artists, designers and photographers, making the most of the airy space as a gathering spot as well as a shop. Nodding back to her previous job as a talent agent, the idea of Apotheke Saturdays is to create opportunities for creatives to come together and inspire each other with conversations about art, creativity – and, of course, the best natural beauty remedies.

“I want to offer a space for artists to showcase their work, so we have this weekly gathering that is interlinked with the ethos of Apotheke,” she says. “It’s all about returning to your roots.”
10amapotheke.com

Read next: The Monocle City Guide to Athens, featuring the very best hotels, restaurants and retail spots

Architect Yuichi Kodai brings glimmers of Japan to a Swiss lakeside home

Like many thrilling relationships, it started with an encounter in a bathroom. Architect Yuichi Kodai’s recently completed residential project for a couple in Stäfa, on the “Gold Coast” of Lake Zürich, began with a toilet and washroom that he designed at their former home in Zürich. “They sold the apartment shortly after,” says the Japan-born, Switzerland-based designer. “But before they bought the new house, they asked for my opinion. I told them that the architecture was strong; if they had the courage to confront it, it would be a great home.”

Designed by acclaimed Zürich practice E2A, the home’s appearance from the outside is boxy with hard, straight concrete walls and only the hint of a window. However, once inside, guests are greeted with an abundance of natural light. The ground floor has full-height windows overlooking an enclosed garden and the first-floor living, kitchen and dining spaces flow seamlessly onto a terrace thanks to sliding doors that run the length of the building. A top-floor bedroom, with an en-suite bathroom, enjoys views over the lake. “E2A did a great job with the architecture and I didn’t want to change that,” says Kodai, explaining that the initial plan was to renovate only the bathroom, in a similar style to his previous work in Zürich. “But the people who live in a building like this need to either live like the architect suggests or personalise the space. The residents quickly realised that they had to go with the second option and adapt the interior to their way of living.”

To do so, Kodai, who runs his namesake studio with his co-founder, architect Claudia Maggi, says that trust was essential – something he was afforded by a long working relationship with his clients. “We had come to know each other really well,” he says. “It meant that we had an understanding of their style and my style, and their values and my values.” Those shared values include a strong link with Japan: the residents had lived in Kodai’s hometown of Kyoto for six years and are collectors of Asian art. “They have a really deep understanding of Japanese culture – more than me sometimes,” says Kodai, laughing, before explaining the cultural similarities between the two nations. “In Japan and Switzerland, we respect the mountains; they are the source of our collective spirit. It’s a basic common language between our people.”

The architect turned to Kyoto’s temples and shrines for inspiration. For his transformation of the terrace, he created a layered landscape with a distinct foreground, middle and background. “From the terrace, you can see the lake beyond in the middle ground but it was partly obscured by a neighbour’s house,” says Kodai. His response was to place a Swiss-grown bonsai near the centre (it sits in a custom forward-tilting planter, made from bark mixed with resin). The move turned the bonsai into a focal point, obscuring the nearby house. “This simulates the scenery in Japanese landscape painting,” says Kodai. “It’s a traditional technique: you focus on the bonsai so you don’t see anything behind.”

The technique has also been replicated inside, where the architect has linked the landscape of the Alps with landscape paintings hung on the walls. “We hung a painting with mountain scenery near the terrace so that it would visually flow into the Alps outside, merging the two landscapes,” says Kodai. “It was an anchor item of the design.” The interior is now visually connected to the terrace by a small water feature: the ripples on its surface hint at the weather outside.

Similar efforts to visually connect the interior and exterior were made on the ground floor, which overlooks a garden. Here, four maple trees were planted; their leaves mark seasonal and weather changes. “We wanted to have a resemblance to a Japanese garden but not in a traditional sense,” says Kodai.

Kodai worked with Tokyo-based craftsman Tatsuya Tokura on the inside. A material and plaster specialist, Tokura was tasked with softening the home’s concrete walls by plastering its central structural volume, around which the staircase wraps and onto which the dining and living rooms look. Tokura developed a bespoke plaster by combining local chalk, clay, sand, hay and pigments. It was applied to the walls in waves, creating an undulating surface, which provides acoustic relief while also giving the rooms an earthy atmosphere. The undulating finish plays with natural light: bright sun produces crisp, long shadows, while cloudy weather softens light dancing across the walls. 

“The idea came from the residents’ previous home, where they had a bedroom with an ugly view so they always had their opaque screens closed,” says Kodai. “Natural light was the only connection to the outside world. So I started to experiment with Tokura, creating a wavy-clay wall that would play with shadows. Artists experiment and I thought, ‘Why can’t architects do that too?’”

An emphasis on materiality continues in the bedroom, which is reached via a final flight of stairs. The home’s top level is finished with naguri floors, a type of scalloped timber board. “When you’re in the bedroom you’re always barefoot so it’s about giving the space a calmness,” says Kodai. “Downstairs, where the everyday activity takes place, there is a concrete floor so this wooden finish signals that you’ve moved into the home’s private space.”

The timber theme is also evident with the bed itself, where the couple wanted to sleep close to the floor with the structure of a bed. His response? “Raise the floor.” Partnering with carpenter Andi Schrämli of Schlieren-based Stahl & Traumfabrik, he developed an elevated, gridded timber structure. The resulting “bed frame” hovers just above the floor and is positioned to make the most of views towards the lake.

From the bedroom, the residents enter their ensuite. A timber screen separates a wooden basin and cabinet from the bathing area where a hinoki tub, made in Japan and smelling of pine needles, sits beneath a skylight. “It’s the jewel of the space,” says Kodai. “The latticed timber walls are reflected in the glass ceiling. When you’re bathing at night, it creates the illusion that the room extends into the sky.” 

Kodai’s aim with the bathroom was to create a “mini cocoon”. “It’s a destination within a destination so it’s very different to the living spaces,” says Kodai. It’s an appropriate final stop for both the residents at the end of every day – and for Kodai’s work on their home, given it’s the bathroom where their working relationship first started. 
kodaiandassociates.com

Monocle comment: Collaborate with a skilled professional. Designing your own home can be less expensive than buying one. If you have a clear vision for what you want, work with a talented architect to help you realise it.

La Conner Swinomish Library: A community-driven, multigenerational reading room

The one-room schoolhouse has long been a marker of rural life. But what about the one-room library? Ten years ago, residents of La Conner, a town of about 1,000 souls 100km north of Seattle, were faced with the question of what to do with their shoebox-sized book repository. There was nowhere to sit and read or study. Children’s story time could only take place during off hours – there simply wasn’t room to accommodate families and browsing patrons at the same time. And the building, a former Hallmark shop, was in disrepair.

Townspeople charitably described the old library as “cosy”. But a community with a reputation as an artists’ haven, where galleries and independent shops line a waterside main street that’s home to two regional art museums, felt it could do better. In October 2022 the new La Conner Swinomish Library opened its doors. A year later, singing and drumming ushered in a dedication ceremony.

The name and ritual are significant: La Conner sits across a narrow channel from the Swinomish Reservation and the town itself is on land traditionally inhabited by the tribe. The two close-knit neighbours have amicable relations but there is some difficult history. As recently as the 1950s, Swinomish children were not allowed to eat in the school cafeteria or speak their native Lushootseed language. 

There was no specific prohibition on Swinomish use of the old library but there wasn’t much affection either. “We didn’t really consider it to be very inviting,” says Swinomish tribal senator Brian Wilbur. But as costs to build the new space escalated, proponents came hat in hand to the tribe.

In 2019 the Swinomish contributed $850,000 (€775,000) at a critical moment in the effort to raise some $5m (€4.6m) to build the new library. The partnership meant that some changes to incorporate the tribe’s culture into the design, something that Seattle-based architecture firm Buildingwork, which spearheaded the project, ably accommodated. “Adding these traditional tribal elements make the library feel a lot more like home to our members,” says Wilbur. These days, more Swinomish children stop by after school and tribal elders visit on regular field trips.

La Conner residents are also coming in droves: young readers can lounge in a nautical-themed children’s area, while adult patrons peruse newspapers and magazines. The library has showed wise restraint with digital technology – there are just two public computers, plus another for accessing the catalogue. A certain civic bookishness has always been part of the town’s cultural dna. Citizens banded together to open the first library nearly 100 years ago, scraping along with donated books and volunteer labour until the 1990s. In 1993, residents of La Conner and its surrounding hamlets voted to tax themselves to pay for permanent library services.

This history meant that La Conner’s ability to rally around the new building didn’t surprise Susan Macek, previous director of the library foundation and current chair of the board of trustees. “A library has thrived here since the 1920s,” she says.

Moreover, at a time when small libraries are on the defensive in the face of pressures over allegedly offensive material, La Conner’s communal reading nook isn’t shying away from an assertive, informed response to the culture wars. Library director Jean Markert and the board are currently reading their way through the list of the most-banned books in the US and aren’t afraid to display All Boys Aren’t Blue, the second-most-banned book in the country, on the young-adult shelf. “There should be something in the library that offends everyone,” says Markert. “You don’t have to read it or check it out.” 

On the day when Monocle visits, the most satisfied patron is Julie Jones. A semi-retired gallerist, she is puzzling over how to build a wood and stone fence for the front yard of her home and has come to the library for inspiration, which she never would have done in the old space due to its lack of seating. To her delight, she finds a 1987 black-and-white guide to fence building, vindicating her decision to seek out the library. At home, she says, she has “tired of watching Youtube videos”.

Monocle comment: Thanks to the work of its residents, this small town punches far above its weight with a clever new library. Don’t be afraid to dream up a similar initiative in your own community.

A look inside Azabudai Hills – Tokyo’s ‘city within a city’

Grand in both scale and ambition, Azabudai Hills officially opened its doors for the first time in November 2023. A moment that was more than 30 years in the making, the opening marked a new phase for a mixed-use development that will eventually host approximately 20,000 employees and 3,500 residents across 8.1 hectares. The so-called “city within a city” in Tokyo’s bustling Toranomon business district will include education and healthcare facilities, along with museums, galleries, shops and restaurants. A focus on wellbeing and the environment is also set to shape the evolution of the development, which is powered entirely by renewable energy and is home to verdant public spaces.

The first stage included the opening of Mori JP Tower, the largest of the development’s three towers, which offers five floors of retail and restaurants next to a central square. When Monocle visits the building on a crisp morning, Pelican Café is drawing a crowd with its freshly toasted shokupan and sandwiches, while eager shoppers wait patiently for the shops to open for business. By lunchtime, the restaurants, which range from sushi shops to Italian counter dining, are abuzz with a mix of workers and curious visitors from near and far. Casting an eye over the retail spaces on offer, Monocle presents a handful of early finds from Tower Plaza on the following pages.

There will be more. Azabudai Hills Market launches in January and a wave of further openings are scheduled for spring. Pace Gallery will join a host of high-end retailers in the Heatherwick Studio-designed Garden Plaza, while Janu Tokyo, the first hotel under Aman’s new sister brand, will overlook the central plaza.

Monocle comment: The grand scale of the Azabudai Hills development – not to mention its attention to detail – speaks of its ambition to have a significant impact on life in Japan’s capital. Sometimes it pays to go all in.

The Azabudai Hills crowd

Maison et Voyage Azabudai
Fashion

Launched in November 2023, the debut collection of Tomorrowland’s menswear brand pairs smart tailoring with a hint of nostalgia. Leather flight jackets are joined by argyle knits in soft cashmere, while a collaboration with JM Weston has yielded loafers in crocodile and box-calf leather, and suede. The brand adds its own modern touches, paying homage to the classics and respecting the good old days.

On Tower Plaza’s second floor, the Maison et Voyage flagship shop brings the label to life in a space filled with hints of Paris and London, as well as antique display cases, artwork and other paraphernalia. It’s here that the brand’s offerings are presented alongside a selection of classic labels. Leather bags from Ghurka and the fine wares of Lock & Co Hatters line the shelves, while vintage eyewear, timepieces and accessories fill the showcases.

“This shop was created as a place where fun-loving grown-ups can enjoy creating a more sophisticated look,” says Tomorrowland’s Kohei Sugiyama. “It’s for the kind of person who, rather than simply travelling in a pair of sweats, wants to dress up with a tuxedo jacket or loafers to match their destination.” 

A range of made-to-order services are offered in the in-store salon, with the selection of suits, shirts and other items bringing Tomorrowland’s expertise to the fore.“We propose a quiet luxury, based on the idea that instead of going out of our way to talk about brands, it’s simply about wearing clothes of the highest quality,” says Sugiyama.

Ogaki Shoten
Books

Founded in 1942, Kyoto-based bookshop Ogaki Shoten selected Azabudai Hills as the site for their first outpost in Tokyo. Spanning almost 1,000 sq m, the bookshop’s four main sections feature shelves filled with publications. Designed by Gyoken’s Naoyuki Nomura, the book-themed interior includes quiet pockets for reading, along with gallery-style displays for exhibitions. An in-store café and bar, Slow Page, serves siphon coffee made with an in-house blend, along with whisky and curry rice. 

“We aim to create reading spaces where people can relax, so we’re very particular about furniture and want to make the kind of shop where customers can stay for hours,” says assistant shop manager Kosuke Ogaki. “Our main concept is a bookshop that connects people with books. For example, there are many children in the Azabudai Hills area, so we decided to create a picture-book gallery. There are many children’s titles and all are individually chosen by one of our Kyoto-based staff.” Inside the gallery, the colourful line-up sees The Very Hungry Caterpillar and other English-language titles joining works by Japanese illustrators Tupera Tupera and Noritake, while everything from the plush carpet to the low-level displays and benches are designed with readers of all ages in mind. It’s a considered approach that reinforces the role that a bookshop can play within residential developments, catering to the needs of community members young and old.

The Conran Shop Tokyo
Furniture

The Conran Shop continues to win fans in Japan. Following the April 2023 opening of a Daikanyama shop, the first to be locally and independently managed, the Azabudai Hills outpost adopts a similar approach, presenting another fresh take on the retailer’s wares. Known as The Conran Shop Tokyo, the 1,300 sq m space is coloured with green, red and navy hues, with bold Tajimi-made tiles and timber flooring.

“The concept is standard but high quality; everyday but special,” says Shinichiro Nakahara, CEO of The Conran Shop Japan. “There’s an abundance of one-of-a-kind pieces, made in collaboration with Japanese makers and craftspeople, and made-to-order items, which are unique to Japan. We only select and present those products that [we feel] are truly essential.”

The Conran Shop’s seventh location in Japan also includes a new foray into the world of dining. Inspired by the late founder Terence Conran’s passion for food and entertaining, the 45-seat Orby restaurant was born. Led by head chef Makoto Konno, owner of Tokyo’s Uguisu and Organ, the restaurant combines modern French with elements of British cuisine. Konno brings his own style to dishes such as beef wellington, Welsh rarebit and Victoria sponge, incorporating seasonal produce from across Japan. “From the natural wine we serve to the fact we make everything in-house from scratch, there is a connection to The Conran Shop’s approach to craft,” says Konno.

Le Grand Closet de Parigot
Fashion

The idea of the world’s largest walk-in wardrobe was the thought behind this new style of select shop by Parigot, a longstanding retailer based in Onomichi, Hiroshima. Inside, visitors are surrounded by a line-up of designer womenswear sourced from Paris, Milan and beyond, along with Japanese labels such as cfcl and Toga. “Azabudai Hills attracts people from various places but many of our visitors have a keen eye for fashion, fine-tuned over many years, or are looking to rediscover the fun of fashion,” says shop manager Yuta Suetsugu. 

Creating a comfortable space for customers was paramount, resulting in an impressive line-up of collaborators from the world of interiors, design and music. Wonderwall’s Masamachi Katayama was tasked with the interior. “I designed it to evoke the sensation of peering into a private closet with a perfect collection, rather than a public retail space,” he says.

This attention to detail also extends to the music. Created by Toshio Matsuura, a former founding member of jazz and funk trio United Future Organisation, relaxing tunes ease customers into the day, gradually shifting in style and tempo as the day unfolds.

The shop’s format and premium offering marks a new retail model for the family-run company, which will celebrate its centenary in 2025. Plans are now under way to extend the concept to a men’s boutique, due to open in Ginza in spring 2024. Plenty to look forward to.

Three tempting hotels for a sunny weekend away

1.
Hidden oasis
Rosemary, Marrakech

It was the bathrooms that first convinced Laurence Leenaert and Ayoub Boualam to purchase Rosemary, a riad tucked down a narrow, unsuspecting street near Bahia Palace in central Marrakech.

Initially, Leenaert – a Belgian ceramicist and founder of LRNCE – and Boualam, her Moroccan husband and business partner, wanted to move their studio into the two-storey building. But then they saw the bathrooms: one luxurious and the other fit for a queen (with soaring ceilings, marble floors and an oversized, sunken marble bathtub for two). “It would have been a shame to demolish them,” says Leenaert, as Monocle joins her and Boualam on Rosemary’s rooftop for a breakfast of fresh bread with honey and the house-fermented yoghurt.

The couple had heard about the sale of the riad from the previous owners, a French couple who wandered into their showroom one day. “They were convinced that the riad was for us,” says Leenaert, who at the time didn’t even know the building existed. “That’s the beautiful thing about Marrakech: you never know what’s behind the walls.” Looking at Rosemary’s soaring walls from the narrow alley outside, you can hardly imagine that such an oasis exists. The only exterior visual cue is an elaborately carved wooden door and a small sign with a sprig of rosemary, which, much like an olive branch, signals a place of peace. Open the door and a tiny sanctuary awaits – a peaceful courtyard with the branches of a giant tree extending over the roof.

On the ground floor, there’s an abundance of nooks: a small, tiled pool, a cushioned seating area with a carved sandstone table, a living area filled with books and a marble and zellige hammam. The five rooms are spread across two terraced floors, which have wooden balustrades and terrazzo floors. Each room has its own character, whether it’s a skylight, tiled green bath, open shower, sitting area or balcony. Even though the couple has been running its ceramic brand for almost a decade, and expanded with textiles and clothing, extending the vision to a riad had never crossed their minds.

“It was a very impulsive decision,” Leenaert says of the purchase. “We also love to travel,” she adds, noting that they’ve collected ideas from their journeys. One of the most stimulating trips was one to the south of France. “My work was very inspired by the Mediterranean and French painters,” adds Leenaert. In Rosemary, they saw an opportunity to showcase the city they adore. “All the craft in Morocco is important, so it’s nice to share that,” she says. They flicked through their Rolodex of makers, from carpenters to plasterers and masons. “We have all this knowledge about handcraft and working with artisans,” says Boualam. 

From the rooftop, it’s hard to tell that you’re deep in the busy Medina, a chaotic part of Marrakech. After a day of pounding those pavements, there’s no better place to retreat to.
rosemarymarrakech.com

2.
Island delight
Further Hotel, Bali 

On the fringe of Bali’s southwestern coast, past bustling and built-up Canggu, lies Pererenan, a sliver of a seaside village where coffee shops and roadside lunch shacks squeeze between terraced rice fields. Just a few minutes from its black-sand beaches is Further Hotel, a low-rise terracotta marvel dreamed up by husband-and-wife duo Claudio Cuccu and Martine McGrath.

The boxy building appears to change colour throughout the day, from ochre to nut brown, depending on the sun. Entering the lobby and ascending the staircase to the rooms is like entering a candlelit cave. Further Hotel’s first 10 rooms opened last summer alongside Bar Vera, a wine bar and French-inspired restaurant on the ground floor.

“It was important that we try to do something that could not be compared with anything else,” says Cuccu. He has lived in Bali for nearly 20 years, during which time he launched several small hotels and brands, and met McGrath. After selling the Slow, a hotel and restaurant in Canggu, in 2017, the couple took a break to start a family. Three years later, he and McGrath were “itching” for a new project. The name for the hotel emerged first. “We thought, ‘We need to do something different, we need to try and push a little bit more, we need to go further,’” says Cuccu. “And then this word just stuck with us. It became kind of a motto.”

The hotel was designed by Italian architecture firm MORQ and Studio Wenden, an Australian design studio, and takes inspiration from the design heritage of terracotta as well as Balinese architecture. The latter is especially evident in each room’s semi-outdoor shower, located in an open-air annexe that folds around the bedroom, and in the welcome intrusion of light and air, filtered through the gaps in the hand-laid brick walls. Everything is custom-made, from the bricks of the façade to the soaps, towels and in-room toiletries by Object, a brand led by McGrath and Amy Wenden of Studio Wenden, in collaboration with Jakarta-based perfumer Oaken Lab.

In addition to the 10 guest rooms, there’s a standalone studio a few minutes away. By July the hotel will consist of 26 rooms and a rooftop pool as well as Bar Vera and the first overseas outpost of Melbourne café St Ali, all located across four buildings on the same street in Pererenan. Cuccu calls Further a “diffused hotel”. “We don’t build up, we build along,” he says. Rather than remaining ensconced in the “big bubble” of a resort, Cuccu wants guests to walk around, experience the neighbourhood and interact with residents. “For us, the landscape surrounding our hotel is created by what was already existing in the village.”
furtherhotel.com

3.
Arcadian treasure 
Manna, Arcadia, Greece 

As a child, Athens-born Stratis Batagias was sent off every year to a summer camp in the Peloponnese. He would spend weeks in the mountainous region of Arcadia, taking part in all manner of outdoor activities during the day and sneaking off after dark with friends to explore an abandoned sanatorium in the forests nearby. “We would come with flashlights and tell spooky stories,” says Batagias. “To me, the building had something magical about it. I would dream about owning it and turning it into a place for people to gather.” 

That dream became a reality in 2014, when the state-owned building was put up for auction and Batagias bought a 50-year lease. He set about getting the necessary paperwork to transform it into a hotel, a process that would end up taking longer than anticipated. “Bureaucratically, it was extremely hard. If I was just seeing it as an investment, I wouldn’t have had the patience. But there was so much emotion involved for me, it gave me the strength not to give up.” The building was designed by Swiss architects and constructed in 1927 as a treatment centre for soldiers with tuberculosis, as it was believed that the oxygen-rich mountain air would help the patients recover. But when penicillin was first introduced, the sanatorium became redundant and was subsequently abandoned. It was later looted and its wooden roof was entirely removed and reapplied to a new hospital in the town of Tripoli.

It was in this derelict state that it came into Batagias’s hands. “It was ready to collapse. But because it was one of the first buildings in Greece to be made with concrete, it had managed to stay standing. But only just.” To restore the building, Batagias enlisted Monogon Office for Architecture and Athens-based K Studio, who kept its heritage-listed façade and sweeping terrazzo staircase. The building was otherwise entirely reshaped but keeping the same lofty proportions of the original structure with tall ceilings, wide corridors and towering windows. An extension to the back of the building, which had collapsed decades earlier when a tree fell on it, was also rebuilt using local grey stone and now houses some of the hotel’s 32 guest rooms. Interiors are an understated mix of neutral-toned walls, dark timber joinery, marble panels and soft, moss-coloured upholstery. From woodworkers to stonemasons, a variety of local craftspeople were called upon to create these pared-back interiors. “Much of the furniture was custom-made for the hotel,” says Batagias. “But we also have a mix of pieces from international design brands like Baxter and Driade.”

Since opening, Manna has become popular with Athenians looking for a weekend escape. It’s a two-and-a-half-hour drive from the Greek capital and its secluded, mountainside location sits on one of the country’s longest certified hiking routes, the Menalon Trail. Within easy reach is also the scenic Lousios gorge, a popular rafting spot, and the Mainalo ski resort. But for those just looking to unwind in peace, the hotel has a fully equipped spa, cosy bar warmed by an open fire and onsite restaurant from acclaimed chef Athinagoras Kostakos. “The menu is authentic Greek food with a twist,” says Batagias. “The idea is to use as many local producers as we can. My favourite thing is the fir tree honey. It’s very special.” 

But no matter how guests choose to spend their stay, Batagias believes that it’s the perfect spot to sit back and watch the seasons unfurl. “Poets and artists from the 19th-century Romantic period were particularly inspired by the pristine wilderness of this region of the Peloponnese,” he says. “The Arcadian Ideal is all about man living in harmony with nature. And that’s what we’re trying to achieve with Manna. Here, you really feel all the seasons very deeply. It’s a beautiful thing, seeing the nature change around you.”
mannaarcadia.gr