Salon Wonder
Swiss design studio ZMIK have refurbished a hair salon in Basel, wallpapering the entrance with photocopies from Vogue magazine.
We love this design here in the office and think that it is a great use of the space. The contrast between the entrance area and the salon itself adds drama to the overall experience for the end user and is executed beautifully.
Called Nafi, the salon is divided into two distinct areas by the change in wall and floor coverings, from vintage prints and timber flooring in the reception area to the minimal white salon.
Paul@McCabeDesign
Green retail design…
We’re always interested in recyclable idea’s and and ways of working more sustainably…and this interior caught our eye this week, as a great example of how effective simple materials can be. The creative use of corrugated cardboard and cardboard tubes by Francesca Signori in this interior reflect the brand ethos for this ethically conscious store eBarrito. Nice work!
Ali@McCabeDesign
Hands up who wants to work in an office like this!
Well, I suppose we’d never get any work done, but we would all be pool sharks after a few months 
This is the office of Parliament Design, a creative company in Portland, Oregon. The design features a number of pieces made from salvaged and reclaimed materials, including salvaged pizza ovens, street signs and wood from of crates, a barn and a church.
Paul@McCabeDesign
Fresh Talent…
We our delighted to announce that a new member has joined our design team!
Paul Finnegan, having recently graduated from DIT in 2009, where he received First Class Honors in Interior & Furniture Design, joins the team in the role of Interior Designer. Paul has already proven his talents with design proposals for Waterford Crystal, Lifestyle Sports, O2 Retail and the concept design for Swan Cinemas which opened December 2009.
Paul also won Interior Design Student of the Year 2009 from DIT which was sponsored by ourselves at McCabe Design Partnership.
Liberty Hall, Dublin
Lite Haus
Paul’s design thesis proposal was to transform Liberty Hall in Dublin into a five star luxury, design led hotel to be operated with the Morgans Hotel Group – the originators of the “Design Hotel” concept in 1984. By removing the existing interior of the theatre within Liberty Hall, Paul has created a dramatic new entrance to the building.
Lobby
The existing pre-stressed roof structure has been retained and sprayed white. Five 10m high illuminated glass columns divide the lobby in two with the Lite Bar, the Nite Bar and the Restaurant stacked on one side of this enormous hall. The lobby also features a glass floor with swimming pool below.
Lite Bar
Lite Bar features a 20m long bar and has custom designed modular furniture system on tracks that can be arranged to suit the mood whilst catering for large and small groups. The system includes two seats, a low table, glazed panels and light fittings. The seating is designed to promote interaction between the hotel guests.
Nite Bar
Nite Bar has a duel personality. During the day, it serves as a conference facility/function room for the hotel. As night time approaches, the edges of the room’s profiles gently illuminate as it transforms into a trendy cocktail bar. The colour of the light changes smoothly through the spectrum or can be set to one colour, depending on the desired ambience.
Restaurant
The Restaurant is elevated on the top of the stack, giving the patrons an elevated view of the lobby. A dramatic atmosphere is achieved by the use of lighting and the contrast between the new installations and the existing roof structure.
The core concept of the entire project is “Interaction” – Interaction of Shape & Form, Interaction of Spaces/Activities within a Space, Interaction of the independently run enterprises which share the site (Gym, Hotel & Cafe), and finally, the Interaction of people within these spaces.
Suite
The bedroom suites occupy the majority of the tower and take advantage of the breath-taking view over the capital. The bed itself seems to float above a luxurious yellow carpet. The window sills have been deepened to provide informal seating (there is enough clearance for one to stand/walk too). The console table has been ‘stuck’ into the sill at an angle – it can be used from both sides, using the window to rest your back.
Gymbox
In the basement, there is a private member lifestyle gym, featuring a top of the range spa experience. Hotel guests will also have direct access to these facilities. the 2 lane, 25m pool is located directly below the glazed floor in the lobby – whilst the glass is not directly see through, the light and shadows cast create an atmosphere unique to the project.
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Check out www.paulfinnegan.com for further projects and information.
Barry@McCabeDesign
Newly finished projects this January
So McCabe Design bloggers have been off the radar for the last few months…we have been so busy working on our ongoing projects that we’ve found it hard to keep up with our news! One of our most exciting projects of 2009 has come to fruition with the opening of two new pilot concept stores for the national petrol station brand Topaz.
We not only worked with Topaz on envisaging a new concept and style for their interiors, but were responsible for the fit-out of one of the stores. Our concept, which has been well received in store, was to create a more localised experience with the focus on fresh and quality products. Our “Topaz Market” includes the use of bleached wood effect tiles, alongside birch-ply display units and rich solid surface counters.
This is just a snap shot of what we’re working on currently, we shall keep you posted on more exciting projects throughout 2010!
Barry@McCabeDesign
Our favourite scheme this week…
London designers IY A Studio have completed the interior of a clothing store called Folk Clothing in London that features gym equipment. We love the use of raw materials, such as the florescent tubes and distressed wood. We hope you find it inspiring too!
Claude@McCabeDesign
100% Design & TENT London have been conquered!
With tired feet, excited minds and packs full of business cards and brochures, we traipsed away from this years 100% Design. But we had huge smiles on our faces as we stepped back out into the blistering sunshine that September afternoon, as we felt fulfilled by what we had encountered. Broken into 3 sections, this years exhibition covered 100% Design, 100% Materials & Details and 100% Futures. We were most impressed by the representation of countries such as Norway and Poland who had showcased their countries talented designers, and we were also intrigued by some work presented by recent English graduates, who’s ideas were less commercial but highly innovative. The GrayConcrete stand was impressive in its simplicity, and we are going to look for ways to include this material into our future designs (www.grayconcrete.co.uk) and we enjoyed the craftsmanship and retro stylings of &Then Design (www.andthendesign.co.uk)
On we ventured to the Truman Brewery of the now hip Brick Lane in North East London, to TENT London. A younger brother of 100% Design, this exhibition combined innovative furniture and digital presentations. We found this part of the festival particularly enjoyable, not only due to its fine location, but due to the number of unique and well crafted products within. Much more focused on up and coming talent and ideas, we took away details of Zoe Murphy’s bespoke printed furniture (zoemurphy.com) and of an ingenious new gadget called Wattson that will help us all focus on the amount of electricity we are using around our homes (http://www.diykyoto.com/uk).
Though the exhibition had been described as smaller this year, we felt the quality of products on display were high. So many studios around London were also part of the design trail, really enhancing the feel that the entire city was involved in the festival this year. We look forward to getting our teeth into some of the new products and to visiting again next year…and hopefully to be greeted by the same wonderful weather!
Ali@McCabeDesign
Livraria da Vila; An interesting retail space.
As featured on coolboom.net, this bookstore in Sao Paulo deserves a little heads up! It’s a minimal design, but creates a comfortable and welcoming space for its customers. Set over three floors, one floor is entirely dedicated to children. The entrance is a particularly commendable feature, with the wall of books turning to create portals into the space. As we have worked for many years with Hughes & Hughes bookstores we are always on the look out for interesting new designs in this area.
Newly finished projects in August
We are proud to say that as part of our continued relationship with mobile phone giant O2 we were involved in the completion of five new stores this August. Stores in Carlow, Buncrana, Newross, Rathfarnham and Nenagh were all project managed to completion by our team of designers. There’s no stopping here of course, work continues on a number of locations and we hope to announce further store launches soon.
Stephen@McCabeDesign
McCabe Design to attend 100% Design London
Yippee, we’ve made our booking and are all ready to jet over to London at the end of September for the well respected 100% Design exhibition and Tent London as part of London’s Design Festival. We’re looking forward to learning about new products and materials that are coming onto the market and hopefully spotting some talented Irish designers that will be showcased. Keep an eye out here for our news after visiting, we’ll ,make sure to post some photo’s our favourite finds from the visit.
Anyone else who’s interested should visit; www.100percentdesign.co.uk and www.tentlondon.co.uk to find out more 
Ali@McCabeDesign
Welcome to our News Blog!
So at last we have joined the masses and entered the world of blogging! We are looking forward to updating both our clients and design-led minds on our work and the work we admire from around the world. Not only will you see photo’s of our new projects, but discussion points on manufacturing techniques, and comments on new designs from leading designers around the world. We look forward to starting this news forum and hope we can encourage debate
Come back soon to read about how this experiment unfolds!
Ali@McCabeDesign
