Anouska Hempel

There has never been a designer quite like Anouska Hempel. With the sheer creativity of her work, its originality, its awe-inspiring ambition - and its lasting influence - few contemporary designers approach her importance. This book is a first: it is both a breathtaking exploration of her achievement; and an authoritative insight into how this entirely original designer works.

Author Marcus Binney is one of the most internationally renowned writers on architecture and design. In interviews and in ravishing illustrated essays, he throws light on an astonishing process. Hempel's work, which spans two Blakes hotels in London and Amsterdam; the minimalist Hempel in London and Warapura in Brazil; private houses, from the incomparable English country house, Cole Park, to properties across the globe; the iconic Turkish gulet Beluga, with its black sails caught in the sunset; and her garden designs....all are design elements interlinked. All come together in one extraordinary designer.

Anouska Hempel, Lady Weinberg, is of Russian and Swiss-German ancestry. She grew up in New Zealand and Australia and moved to London in 1962 to begin a career in film before discovering her calling as a designer and decorator. For over four decades, her work has been a focal point of attention for the design community. Marcus Binney is architecture correspondent of the London Times. He is the author of many books, includingThe Country Houseand In Search of the Perfect House.