There are not many places on earth famous for their rich culture and feel of the “Arabian Nights” like Marrakech, Morocco. The city attracts a number of celebrities from all over the world and is well known for the spiritual experience its magical Medina offers. A-listers like Naomi Campbell, Jennifer Aniston, Madonna, Brad Pit, the Beckhams and many more already visited Marrakech where they enjoyed the bustling life of its ancient streets. Some of them loved it so much that they chose Marrakech for a vacation pied-à-terre where they bought either a beautiful riad within the Medina of Marrakech or a traditional Moroccan property in the outskirts of the city.

The latest coup is a luxurious development in the suburbs of Marrakech, where 15 villas are being built at the luxury five star Baglioni Marrakech Resort. Fashionista hottie Jade Jagger teamed up with design firm Yoo on the interior design of 15 villas. Jagger already worked with Yoo on their projects in New York, Dubai and Manchester. Yoo is well known for eccentric designed real estate where designer luminaries such as Philippe Starck styled the interior of apartments and penthouses, which soon became almost collector’s sough-after properties. The current most recognized development by Yoo is its development in Berlin where Philippe Starck designed the interior of all apartments, penthouses and townhouses.
 

It is very interesting to see how the Yoo style blends in with the typical Moroccan architecture. Jade Jagger planned a mixture of typical Yoo design elements in a combination with traditional Moroccan décor and ornaments implemented in the overall design. The architecture is very sleek and almost contemporary. For those who are more into the typical Moroccan architecture and design, and who are fans of the lifestyle within the walls of Marrakech’s Medina, Wetag Consulting is offering two very sophisticated luxury riads, located in the Dar El Bacha district, the most prestigious ZIP code in Marrakech’s Medina. The two riads offer a very luxurious lifestyle with all amenities you don’t want to miss, including home theatre, indoor pool, sauna/hamam, wine cellar, gym and much more. In close proximity to the guest house of the Moroccan King and not far from the airport, these riads offer Moroccan lifestyle at its best.

Posted by:  Peter Rabitz

There are dozens of great architects these days, but only a handful can be considered iconic, given by their controversial design or ingenuity of their works. Most of them such as luminaries like Frank Gehry, Shigaru Ban, Richard Meier, Tadao Ando, Santiago Calatrava and Rem Koolhaas just to name a few, are also ever-present in medias across the globe. Definitely not to be missed in that list is Daniel Libeskind. Not many architects split their audience that drastic into two opposite camps just by the look of their architecture and Mr. Libeskind is definitely one of them. People either hate or love what he is doing, but it doesn’t go without notice that he is quite successful. Maybe one of his biggest successes has been winning of the Ground Zero design competition where he was chosen to become the lead architect. Unfortunately, his involvement soon was disregarded and narrowed when he got some colleagues on his site who soon took over the overall design process creating a less spectacular architecture for Ground Zero.

Some of Daniel Libeskinds current most recognized works include the Las Vegas MGM Mirage City Center, the Extension to the Denver Art Museum, the Jewish Museum in Berlin, the Military History Museum in Dresden and the Fiera Milano project only to name a few. All its past, current and future works make him one of the big players in commercial architecture leaving some people dreaming of a Daniel Libeskind designed single-family-residence to call it their own Libeskind. Up to that point a few months ago where he announced his latest coup – the design of “The Villa-Libeskind Signature Series.”

The New York-based architect has teamed up with the German builder Proportion to produce a limited-edition series of 5,500-square-foot dwellings dubbed “Villa Libeskind.”

“This is the first small intimate house that I have designed for an individual or a family, which really reaches into the depths of a new experience of living and architecture,” says Libeskind, who calls the residence a “walk-in sculpture.” A prototype was unveiled in October 2009 in Datteln, Germany, on the campus of Rheinzink, the zinc panel manufacturer, where the villa serves as their welcome center what led into a slightly different use than the villa was originally planned.

This first week in September, I was able to finally make a trip to visit the prototype. We at Wetag Consulting market the projects first to be built villa on a beautiful lot in a sloping hillside position in Locarno/Orselina, Switzerland, overlooking gorgeous Lake Maggiore. It is a very prominent but still hidden location what totally reflects the building’s story. Daniel Libeskind designed the building like a crystal growing from rock, where a dramatic structure emerges from the ground.

Turning into the parking lot of Rheinzink, your eyes will immediately focus on the villas imposing appearance. Without a doubt, the building is right away recognized as a work of Daniel Libeskind. A trio of interlocking architectural bands envelops the Villa in striking angles, creating a dramatic, asymmetrical interior of spiraling, two-story peaks and smooth transitions to secluded terraces. Mimicking the Jewish Museum in Berlin and other architectural masterpieces by Daniel Libeskind, the Villa’s exterior is enveloped by an elegant standing-seam zinc façade, which enables the use of 21st Century technologies such as a solar thermal system and a rain water harvesting system.

Entering the entrance area, the dramatic lines and the allegedly wild use of angles continues in the interior as well, shaping a dramatic and eye catching living space. The ground floor consists of 2 rooms which could work as bedroom, library, home office, guest quarters or whatever else you would like them to be. The entrance area with the staircase, leading to the upper floor with all the private areas, is divided by a wall from the loft like open living room, featuring an open kitchen (optionally also designed by Libeskind) as well. Floor-to-ceiling windows on two sides flood the living area with natural light. Incline planes, Libeskind like ribbon windows, light wells and strange angles in the villas overall construction proof the building to be an original Libeskind throughout and give it an even surreal guise. It’s not a secret, but “The Villa-Libeskind Signature Series” is not for everyone. The future owner should be an architectural enthusiast, should love design and most of all should appreciate and understand Daniel Libeskind’s design language. In my opinion, gallery owners, artists, creative’s or similar will have their joy on this villa and will most likely impress not only their friends and acquaintances, but also their neighbors.

Posted By: Peter Rabitz

Old meets new. Classical meets contemporary. To call their house a mere abode would be a gross understatement in fact. From the location and positioning of their home, to the pastel colours chosen for the facade, accentuated by bright red geraniums you can easily tell that this is definitely not the run of the mill when it comes to Maltese houses.

The house, just to put you in the picture, is called Il-Palazz tal-Kontessa (The palace of the countess), and a palace it is. But not in the sense of the oft garish and overly ornate baroque and rococo ambiences generally associated with palaces.

This is a place which oozes with contemporary grandeur. Actually the word which comes to mind is taste, with more than a touch of class too. These people obviously know what they’re doing, they are A-class strategists at planning any space to the most minute of details.

Inside is another matter. If you had any shred of a doubt concerning what these home-owners did for a living, stepping into their front door would confirm any initial speculation or suspicion.

The first two rooms to greet visitors are the working studios. Here functionality and fun meet and literally embrace. The ceiling lights double up as potent fans; the skirting along the walls serves not as a decorative feature, but has rather been devised in such a way to hide all the wiring of the rooms. Books, sketches, swatches of paper and assorted paraphernalia just help give the added feel that this is where the ‘magic’ happens. Moving into the heart of their home, the eye quickly travels along a spacious corridor and settles on an open space with thick transparent glass flooring. This beautifully roofed courtyard is a quasi cloister which doubles up as a mini art-gallery. Interestingly, this space transforms into a modest dancing-floor, which can sustain the weight of some 60 people. And should anyone suffer from vertigo, a faux turf carpet is stashed away and “on call” should the need arise to hide the glass flooring.

Natural light abounds, yet it is suffused by the UV-filtering skylight, and one can only imagine the gorgeous atmosphere this place possesses at night. Needless to say, the place is pointedly punctuated with several design prototypes from their various enterprises; these eye-catching pieces often free-standing, dominate the individual spaces, and could easily be mistaken for contemporary sculptures or installations.

The eye travels further and is met by a lush green garden, complete with a green mosaic swimming-pool, just the right garden furniture and standing lamps – all of which merge perfectly into the natural surroundings whilst simultaneously complementing the overall ambience.

The house is moreover divided into segments, the formal entertaining part on the ground floor comprises a gorgeous wet bar/small sitting room alongside a formal dining room, off of which a children’s room was planned for their ‘younger’ guests. Upstairs however, a much larger sitting room and adjacent library clad with antiques and contemporary pieces alike, establish a true note of excellence the likes of which are only seen in historic house museums.

The kitchen on the other hand, is a spectacle – a haven for any gadget or electric appliance connoisseur. Although it is the room where function prevails, form has definitely not been compromised or sacrificed – even a top chef would have a fieldtrip given the run of such a space.

Their home also boasts an elevator, an ample basement, a sauna, a wine-cellar, a meditation room, walk-in closets and a wonderfully tranquil conservatory-cum-dining area.

All the while the A to Z of the household ensures complete security, child friendliness, and energy efficiency, without compromising on the entertainment, fun, style and cutting-edge design.

The Palace of the Countess - Luxurious Villa on Malta - View this property for all details >>

Posted By: Peter Rabitz

Marrakech - with its exotic riads in the Medina or its numerous supersized luxurious villas in the Palmarei around the city - didn’t loose its charm to foreigners. The Medina, as the old town is known, is bustling with colourful life, vibrating with exotic sounds and is exploding with alluring perfumes from those oceans of activity – the souks.

Many of the sumptuous villas by the old-established foreign community, including Bled Targui, owned by Princess Henrietta von Auersperg, and Le Verger de l’Etoile Filante (Orchard of the Shooting Star), which belongs to Frederick Vreeland, the former United States Ambassador and son of Diana Vreeland, the famed fashion-setter and Editor of Vogue are changing hands to a new but not less elitist scene of Morocco lovers such as Jasper Conrad and Ralph Lauren.

Properties combine the best of European refinement, American comfort and Moorish culture. A very exclusive and rare example is riad “The Secret” or a very fashionable riad just around the corner. Both are fine examples of a great mixture of traditional architecture and design, enhanced by modern components and luxurious details. Even you don’t want to buy a property in Marrakech – you need to visit this dream of The Thousand and One Nights.

Source: Times Online by Celia Brayfield

Posted By: Peter Rabitz

There is not a single day where we don’t hear news of struggling businesses, weakening markets and turmoil’s in all sectors of the worlds markets. But, with a little bit more forward thinking and paying attention to analysts and markets, I can see some real estate markets most likely to rebound. Some other markets have seen no dramatic slump in interest or demand and even further, there are still properties on the market we dream of. Take for example Morocco. While some regions in Morocco are experiencing a decrease of visitors along with buyers, Marrakech, a vibrant city and labeled the meeting point of Africa, is still a hot spot not only by the French Jet set like seen at the Marrakech International Film Festival last week. People love the flair and openness of Marrakech and its inhabitants. Prices for golf villas and historical riad’s increased over the last years and there are a few gems which belong to the world’s best real estate. Take this ‘once in a lifetime’ riad “The Secret”, right within the ancient city of Marrakech also called the Medina. This truly hidden jewel is Marrakech’s Medina biggest privately owned Villa and only a short walk off the square Djemaa el Fna and its surrounding souks. The villa of approx. 30’000sq.ft living area features a stunning indoor pool, 3 Hamam, a stunning 360° panoramic view roof deck and a very rare to find 3 car garage for maximum privacy. This property is a perfect getaway and family retreat to relax and enjoy the beauty of its medieval town and bustling, colorful life. Click here for more information on this ‘dream of the Thousand and One Nights’ or visit www.wetaginternational.com

Posted By: Peter Rabitz