Stylish Spaces

There is nothing like seeing old, what-you-see-everyday-on-your-way- to-work things through the fresh eyes of a newbie in town. Suddenly you are being pointed out or asked about things you never gave a passing glance to and wonder have you really become that oblivious, has it really been that long living here... It seriously worried me that I had become one of those living zombies who go about life without experiencing life much.  Did I really need a niece in town, a fresh, young girl with sparkle in her eyes, a zest for life to match and an enthusiasm for the most mundane things to appreciate the beauty of my surroundings? Abu Dhabi to most westerners is a pleasant surprise - the sun and sand is what they expect and come hoping for, but discover so much more, pristine beaches that stretch for miles, even the public beaches are the cleanest I have seen around, amazing iconic architecture, hospitable people and the service - most visitors are blown away by the courtesy and se...

There is no getting away from the fact that numbers and design are intrinsically and intricately linked together. Even though, when we think of design we think of slightly crazed or eccentric artists with their heads engrossed in labyrinths of forms and shapes and colours and textures, and not a thought of sterile mathematics or boring numbers crosses our mind. But the truth is numbers and mathematics determines every aspect of design from dimensions to proportion to symmetry to costs of production - every which way we look at it, design is numbers.  Remember Fibonacci and his golden ratio or the divine proportion, as its known?   It determines the proportion of the worlds smallest building block ie the atom and those of celestial bodies as well. Nature relies on it to maintain balance and it crops up amazingly everywhere - for example the ratio of male bees to female bees in a bee hive is the golden ratio and...