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"Anything but Ordinary\nInnovative Ideas Guide The Design of a London Pied-\u00C0-terre\nWith his clients' collection of Asian art in mind, California-based designer Ron Mann refurbished a modern penthouse in London overlooking the Thames. In the main living area is Dragon Knows Dragon, a four-panel lacquered screen by Shiryu Morita. Hand-castmagnesium tables attach to the three-section sofa he designed for the space. Leather on sofa, Edelman.\nThe vision \"included a series of partial walls that would allow the ambient light, both day and night, into all areas,\" says Mann.\n\n\"The floating ceiling contains a fiber-optic system to illuminate the screens, sculptures and paintings, and enables unusual placement and display of the art.\"\nThe dining area. The gold-plated Art D\u00E9co candlesticks are Italian.\nMann designed the staircase and the desk in the studio. Robert Rauschenberg's Tibetan Garden Song, 1986, is at left. A lithograph by Frank Stella hangs on the rear wall.\nThe entrance hall follows the fan-shaped layout of the apartment. \"My intention was to keep the space as visually open as possible while preserving the necessary function and privacy of all areas,\" notes the designer. Fiber-optic lights at the base of the powder-coated Cor-Ten steel screen emphasize the space's curve.\nAn early-18th-century red-lacquered Chinese cabinet provides a bright focal point in the study.\nBlack-granite countertops contrast with lower cabinets surfaced in solid cherry in the kitchen. Appliances from Gaggenau. Cabinetry, Bulthaup.\nThe finishes on the vanity and the wardrobe of the master suite were designed by Mann's wife, Louise, and were hand-painted in pewter over raw umber.\nThe faux-fur bedcovering was hand-pieced together and lined with silk. An Isamu Noguchi paper lantern is in one corner. Kum Kang San's Bamboo, a 10-panel, early-20th-century Korean paper screen, is in the hall.\nThe terrace. Philippe Starck chairs are gathered around a cast-resin-and-eucalyptus table. At rear is Noguchi's two-piece metal sculpture Black and Blue."^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
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