Trust Melbourne (the city that holds Design close to its bosom) to be the home of the latest initiative from ANZ Bank; a Breakout Learning Centre designed by Hassell. (http://www.hassell.com.au/en.html)As the title suggests, this large, flexible, multi-purpose space is designed to encourage creativity, however it is in the execution that the freedom from constraints of a normal office environment is apparent. Forget about boring corporate colors, obvious branding and drab office furniture (in the style of hit series The Office). The use of unexpected materials and contradictory colors in the space and its furnishings produces startling results. Plywood, paint and patterned rubber with industrial raw finishes are topped off with a pop of fire-engine red and frog green! Various-size meeting rooms are equipped with state-of-the art technology to enhance the group experience. Perhaps my favorite design features are the Tree of Knowledge and the Giant Foot. Just like in a fairytale, the tree grows between floors in a natural raw shape reminding us that the childlike imagination is where creativity is ripest. Beneath the tree, the Giant Foot reminds us about reality and perception. Kate Vandermeer

Hector Serrano Studio (http://www.hectorserrano.com) has curated and designed the exhibition Spain Emotion as well as the communication campaign of the Spanish participation at this years Tokyo Designer's Week. The event is organized by the Spanish Institute for Foreign Trade (ICEX) and will take place in the Spanish Embassy in Tokyo from 30 October to 3 November 2008.More than an exhibition, Spain Emotion is a celebration of the best Spanish design in the Tokyo Designer's Week that encompasses not only this exhibition, but also conferences and seminars; a forum that provides with an exceptional opportunity to get to know at first hand those who are behind the products. The aim of Hector Serrano Studio this year is for emotion to be the guiding threads of their story, and the products its main characters. To this end, they have created a space that aims to surprise, entertain, seduce and encourage, rather than simply showing; four large stages where light dramatises and bathes the surroundings and the pieces in color. Color to communicate the vitality and energy with which the Spanish character is so often identified. In short, an experience aimed at revealing the latest in Spanish design, in a most emotive way. - Tuija Seipell

Great surroundings will not camouflage poor programming in movie theaters. No matter how swanky the theater, if it shows poor movies, we just wont go. Which isnt to say that we have given up on movie-theater design. We still wish that one day, somewhere, someone is going to design a decidedly different, interesting and exciting movie theater.Glimpses of brilliance are visible in the new Light House Cinema (http://www.lighthousecinema.ie/index.php) at Smithfield in Dublin, Ireland designed by Dublins award-winning DTA Architects (http://www.dta.ie/) Of course, you really need to design and judge a movie theater so that it looks and functions best when people are using it. So, having not paid personal visits to the new Light House, we cannot say for sure, but the images we have received of the empty space indicate that the play of light, color and height works exceptionally well here.Light House cinema has been a bit of an institution in Dublin. It started showing Irish, independent, foreign-language, art house and classic cinema 20 years ago, closed in 1966, and re-opened this summer in its new, customized space. The four-screen, intimate art-house cinema includes a wonderful, inviting and open cafe that looks like something youd see at an art museum, not a movie theatre. The leader of the Light House project at DTA was Derek Tynan and the project architect was Colin Mackay.The new cinema benefited from the financial assistance of The Arts Council, the Irish Film Board, and the Department of Arts, Sport and Tourism. For Dublins city planners, this was to be a cultural magnet and a focal point for the largest mixed-use development ever in Dublins inner city, the massive rejuvenation plan for the historical Smithfield Market area. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smithfield,_Dublin)And if youd like to make our wishes come true, please let us know of any supreme movie-theater design concepts youve seen, designed or commissioned. We are all eyes and ears. - Tuija SeipellSee also Home Theater (http://www.thecoolhunter.co.uk/house/Home-Theatre/) and AMC Pacific Place Cinema (http://www.thecoolhunter.co.uk/lifestyle/The-New-Movie-Theatre/) in Hong Kong.

In most cities, strategic downtown street corners are flanked by enormous, old banks, the ornate cathedrals of capital designed to impress and intimidate. With the massive changes in real estate values and consumer banking habits, such monuments to Mammon are no longer smart or necessary. But what amazing opportunities such massive commissions must have been for the architects of the day! And what depressing alternatives weve experienced since! Luckily, online banking has made a bank visit almost obsolete, but when you must visit, most of the time youll find a boring, convenience-store-type standardized box retail banking in the worst meaning of both words.But we are starting to see a change. Several new bank design concepts are in the works, and some have been launched recently, including CheBanca! in Milan by Crea International. (http://www.creainternational.com.) The concept for CheBanca! (translation: What a bank!) reflects the brands simplicity, transparency and innovation. When Crea International co-founder Massimo Fabbro will speak at POPAI Italia (http://www.popai.it/index.php?method=section action=zoom id=2811) in November on the power of physical brand design to bring to life a brand's language, spirit and values, he will no doubt mention CheBanca!And now that we have seen a few examples of fabulous bank design, we want more! If youve seen, designed or commissioned one, let us know. Tuija Seipell

A glass of expensive champagne on a swanky rooftop bar just doesn't cut it in the competitive world of product launches, which are all vying for VIP attendees and press coverage. Chanel decided to think outside of the square for the launch of the brand's new perfume, Eau premie, staging the event at a private Parisian apartment. Chanel recruited acclaimed set, window and interior designer Jean-Marc Gady (http://www.duendestudio.fr/) to create an experiential event for guests, a "scenography" tasked with bringing the new fragrance and the heritage of the brand to life. Gady has created spaces for the likes of Louis Vuitton, Moet Chandon and Apple. The designer transformed the apartment into a set, which guests were encouraged to explore as the event played out. While they played with artfully arranged test sprays, a fountain sent drops of the new fragrance into the air, sweetly permeating their senses. The evening ended with the unveiling of large format photographs of Chanel's iconic "faces" over the years, from Marilyn Monroe through to Nicole Kidman. - by Lisa Evans

Big boys who like toys head to I-Way, a luxe, mega venue dedicated to motor sports racing simulations. I-Way (http://www.i-way.fr/site/I-WAY.html) provides aspiring speed racers with an opportunity to experience the adrenalin rush that comes from being behind the wheel of a Formula 1, Endurance or Rally car. The high-tech simulators offer real "piloting" sensations, mounted into a real car, which is experienced through several screens which surround the driver's field of vision.The venue is pitched at corporate groups, who, presumably can bond over high speed racing sessions - and all without creasing their polo-necks. To enhance the experience created by the simulators drivers suit up in race outfits, helmets and gloves.I-Way's modern design hits its target market perfectly with wide open spaces, industrial finishes and futuristic reflective surfaces. It's boys playing with expense toys - luxe style. Located in Lyon, France, the venue also houses a bar, a shop (which sells cool motoring accessories) and bizarrely, a gym and spa. Anyone for a round of weights and a facial in between races?Have you seen any other glam big boys venues like I-Way? Send us a tip.

We've officially entered the age of the babester - where anything and everything to do with babies has undergone a designer revolution. Just like mum and dad, babesters can now enjoy design from head-to-toe and beyond; skinny leg jeans just like dads and an organic meal eaten from a glamorous designer high chair. The newest babester brand to hit the kiddie shelves is Quinny, (http://www.quinnydesign.com/) designed by edgy Danish fashion designer Henrik Vibskov. (http://www.henrikvibskov.com/) The designer demonstrates his mutli-dicilpinary skills in the range, which consists of graphic print baby hardware and accessories including strollers, bags and sunglasses. With so much to look at, a walk in the park for baby will never be the same again. - Lisa Evans

It must be said that the team at Mini Cooper know how to put on a good party. We can vouch for that after having just spent the last few days hanging at the MINI Rooftop NYC (http://www.minispace.com/en_us/projects/mini-rooftop-nyc/) an urban oasis high above the daily grind in Hells Kitchen on 10th Avenue and 36th street. The space was put created as part of a 10-day event which brings together art, music, culture, fashion and design all inspired by the concept of 'Creative Use of Space' the mantra used by Sir Alec Issigonis when he invented the MINI way back in 1959. Throughout the event artists, designers and other creative types were given the opportunity to showcase and explore their creativity in a series of workshops, presentations, discussions and of course, parties. The space also doubled as a post-party chill out zone as well as an early morning venue for yoga and pilates sessions.Surprisingly, besides from a couple of specially designed MINIs that are shuttling VIPs from their hotels to the roof, the space is completely unbranded with not a single logo in sight, which we found extremely refreshing. No one likes an in-your-face corporate gig.The rooftop space was designed by HWKN (http://www.hwkn.com/) founders Matthias Hollwich and Marc Kushner - two young architects who are set to take the world by storm. Their passion is creating innovative and responsible spaces. They employ the idea of Econic Design - a term coined to fuse ecology with the iconic- in everything they do, After scouting over 150 rooftops, the duo finally found the perfect space; one that boasts amazing views of both the Manhattan Skyline, as well as the Hudson River. New York is more of an infrastructure than a city, and ever since it was founded, the inhabitants have struggled to make the city usable and more human. The concept of the rooftop is to support New Yorkers in this aim by galvanizing an untapped space. The city's roofs offer view, clean air, and almost a vacation from the city. The idea is to transplant iconographic elements from nature into the city - but to treat it with an urban approach this is especially true when you look at our design features including the grassy hill that rises out of the aluminium gridded floor explain Hollwich and Kushner.Other recent projects from the HWKN team include Formiga, an open-air theatre in Rio de Janeiro, two large-scale apartment renovations on New York's Upper East Side and a whole range of concept designs such as the Hybrid House, high-rise building Magic Mountain, and MEtreePOLIS, an urban vision for Atlanta 2108.We are especially impressed by their design of the White Plant the New York headquarters and production space for Japanese artist Murakami. In this project, the team negotiated the relationship between the old and new by thinking of the existing industrial space of this vacant warehouse as a quarry. Here they have purposely juxtaposed and inserted a misfit of elements, unified by continuous layers of white to create a curious and multilayered blank canvas space perfect for the madness that you would expect from Murakami and his Kaikai Kiki collective. Back to the rooftop; we would hate to name drop, but you must be doing something right (or have amazing contacts) if you are graced with the presence of Mary-Kate Olsen, Diane Von Furstenberg and model de jour Agyness Deyn in the first few days. Add those to sets by some of the coolest bands and DJs including MGMT, Cut Copy, Sneaky Sound System and DJ Diplo; this is the place to be to celebrate (or mourn) the end of summer. - Brendan McKnight