With his hip decorating aesthetic, the property magnate has made waves all across the globe.
Before starting property development company YOO with iconic designer Philippe Starck in 1998, John Hitchcox had already blazed a trail with London loft living when he co-founded the Manhattan Loft Corporation with Harry Handelsman in the early Nineties. YOO now works on large-scale residential and hotel projects in more than 27 countries around the world, from Thailand and India to Russia and Peru, collaborating with designers such as Jade Jagger, Marcel Wanders and Kelly Hoppen. Here, John shares his design secrets and inspirations.
How did you get your start?
I grew up in a family of creatives – my dad was an architect, my mum was very ‘crafty’ (she grew and made everything we ate and wore) and I went to a Steiner school, which worked well for my profound dyslexia and ‘outside the box’ thinking. I thought about becoming a musical conductor but, at 19, I bought a tiny house for £19,500 in Godstone, Surrey, to renovate; within five years I’d done up 350 more houses in the area. What came next?
Transforming spaces was second nature to me – with my Words ⁄ Fiona McCarthy parents, the only day I saw a house finished was the day we moved out to start on another one… I absorbed everything. With Manhattan Loft Corporation, we started out with an old ink factory in Clerkenwell, dividing it up into shells and then helping buyers to make each space unique to them. I’m good at putting walls in the right places!
What do you do at YOO?
I call it ‘place making’. We create spaces that bring like-minded people together in well-designed buildings, which combine apartment living with inspiring communal areas for residents to socialise, exercise and entertain.
What’s the YOO mood?
Denne historien er fra July 2017-utgaven av Living Etc Magazine.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent ? Logg på
Denne historien er fra July 2017-utgaven av Living Etc Magazine.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
modern extensions
WITH STRIKING USE OF COLOUR, MATERIALS AND SHAPE, THE LATEST DESIGNS ADD SO MUCH MORE THAN AN EXTRA ROOM
think like a pro
It's not just interior designers who are skilled at picking the perfect palette architects are in on the act, too, and Richard Parr knows just how to get the ideal shade
colour decoded
As with all successful schemes, there's much more going on beneath the surface of this space than first appears -Livingete's colour expert Amy Moorea Wong reveals all
enduring style
B&B Italia has pioneered modern Italian furniture design since 1966 - but its latest collection feels as fresh as ever
TALES OF THE UNEXPECTED
Seventeenth-century origins meet vibrant contemporary design in a cleverly reimagined Amsterdam canal house
ROCK OF AGES
The owners of a Menorcan home have made a stylish yet sustainable retreat using the island's signature stone
FORCE OF NATURE
An unexpected flood into what was already a dark basement flat prompted a new vision, full of light, natural materials and foliage
TOP OF THE WORLD
High above the busy streets of Bangkok, two talented designers have created a tranquil retreat that nods to chic 1970s style and makes the most of the views
A PLACE IN THE SUN
An apartment within a former luxury hotel celebrates - and updates - the style of France's Côte d'Azur
OUTSIDE IN
The design of this modernist bungalow in South Africa was dictated by the trees on the plot and the desire for an indoor-outdoor flow