Taming of the Crew
December 1, 2005
Catching up with designer and hotelier Anouska Hempel is like trying to jump on
a fast-moving train. The only difference is that the train will stop on
occasion, while Hempel has not put on the brakes since the unveiling of Blakes
Hotel in London in the late 1970s.
Hempel’s prototypical interior for
jeweler Van Cleef & Arpels was unveiled this past fall on London’s Bond
Street. She is currently at work on the corporate offices of Bloomberg in New
York and on transforming Danesfield, an estate overlooking the Thames, into a
lavish spa and resort. Her most anticipated project is the James Bond–inspired
Warapuru beach resort in Itacare, Brazil, which is due to open in 2006. Her
London design studio is also involved in projects in Paris, Copenhagen,
Barcelona and Bruges.
We caught up with Hempel (aka Lady Weinberg) over lunch
at Tom Aikens, the London restaurant she recently designed for the former Blakes
chef.
You seem to move effortlessly between different design
disciplines: architecture, interiors, fashion and landscapes.
By the
age of 10, I knew design was in my blood. Wherever I was, something had to be
changed, whether it was the way the spiders got out of the holes on a tree or
the way a snake wrapped itself around your legs. I couldn’t influence them, of
course, but I lived in a fantasy world of my own.
And I love people, and I
love management. I think the juxtaposition between those two is what makes me
what I am. I love creating something, and I love to run it afterward. I love it
when I come into a restaurant I have designed and they are running it as I have
instructed. When I walk in the door, every table is exactly where I put it.
That, to me, is the greatest treasure in the world: to know that whatever I
have done has a future and a heritage. That is really important.
Blakes and the Hempel defined the term “boutique hotel.” How would you
describe the evolution of your work since?
The same enthusiasm, the same hopeful attitude. My work comes from a very
classical orientation, which teaches that you have to have a center, even if you
are going to asymmetry. Classical architecture is universal, but it still has
relevance in a contemporary world. Stick with it, and you will always get it
right, even if you are designing a shoe box. ?
How would you define the Hempel’s style?
It has to do with volume and
clear spaces. It has to do with detailing on a very technical and contemporary
level that should not be interfered with. The Hempel was about getting rid of
things—completely the opposite of Blakes, which was about gathering things up.
The Hempel is still about being able to live in a very sharp, minimalist way.
What we created defined an East-meets-West style of living, and that became
important in 1997, when it opened. And then everybody began copying us.
When
you travel, what kind of room do you prefer?
I like a minimalist
space if there is something to learn from it. If it is just minimalism for the
sake of doing it—and doing it badly is normally what happens—then I am not
interested. I prefer a room filled with things if I like the things. Adrian
Zecha of the Aman Group is one of my heroes. I like the things he puts in a
room. As long as it’s not a gold Buddha with a green eye staring at me from the
end of the bed, I’m fine.
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