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The Monocle Quality of Life Conference 2017 | Berlin

Images © Courtesy Monocle

Another year has passed and MONOCLE is once again rolling out their Quality of Life Conference, a rarified symposium to gather, share ideas, discuss cities and what's next in societies and urban centers around the world.  From branding, hospitality, retail, and entrepreneurship to development, sustainability, high-speed transport, and design, MQOLC gathers the best and brightest minds to share and inform attendees along with entertainment, good food, drink, and conversation.  The Monocle Quality of Life Conference runs from Thursday June 29 until Saturday July 1, 2017.

List of Speakers, Panelists and Special Guests:

HIGH-SPEED NATION

A quick-fire chronicle of Germany's past

James Hawes is the author of ‘The Shortest History of Germany’ and we’ve set him an even more challenging task – explaining the nation in 15 minutes. It’s a fast-paced primer on our host nation.

Speakers

JAMES HAWES

BRAND BERLIN

Is this Europe’s most important city?

The German capital has become home to numerous start-ups and people from around the globe. And despite its complex past, it is an outpost of liberalism, possibility, and ambition. How can other cities learn from its successes – and the challenges it’s faced? Panelists will include celebrated architect Daniel Libeskind, who created the Jewish Museum Berlin, outspoken typographer Erik Spiekermann and forthright mayor Franziska Giffey.

Speakers

DANIEL LIBESKIND

ERIK SPIEKERMANN

FRANZISKA GIFFEY

STAY WITH ME, EAT WITH ME

What hospitality should do next

The world of hospitality has been shaken up by our changing lives, tastes and expectations like never before – and then there's Airbnb snapping at the heels of hotels around the globe. But hoteliers and restaurateurs are fighting back and doing rather well, thank you. We meet three star players who know about making communities, delivering experiences and taking care of a new generation of diners and travellers.

Speakers

NICK JONES

DIETMAR MÜLLER-ELMAU

OLAF KROHNE

THE FUTURE OF RETAIL

From clicks to department stores, how to thrive

Be it online or on the high street, retail is changing fast. We convene the players, including mall developers and pop-up suppliers, who know what happens next – and how to keep your business vital. Speakers: Mohamed Haouache, CEO of Paris-based Storefront; Lyn Harris, founder of Perfumer H; and Sarah McNally, founder of McNally Jackson.

Speakers

MOHAMED HAOUACHE

LYN HARRIS

SARAH MCNALLY

SPEED DATING FOR ENTREPRENEURS

How it's done

Entrepreneurs take us on a journey through their business experiences: from elevator pitches to running a successful company.

Speakers

PIP JAMIESON

BEN LEWIN

VALENTIN VODEV

LORENZ ASCHOFF

PROPERTY’S NEXT MOVE

What developers should do

The firms with winning formulas, new ideas and the ambition to change how you live convene to reveal how the sector is growing and why it’s no longer business as usual. Speakers will include Ryan Prince, co-founder of the Realstar Group, on how Uncle will reinvent rentals; Stefan Höglmaier, founder of Euoboden, on upping the quality of housing; and Monica von Schmalensee, CEO of White Arkitekter.

Speakers

RYAN PRINCE

MONICA VON SCHMALENSEE

STEFAN HÖGLMAIER

HEALTHY INCOME

Making money while keeping cities fit

The fitness business is pulling in new and inventive players. Who are the workout and healthy-eating fixers of the future? Hear from fitness leaders such as Paco Savio, co-founder of gym brand Balboa Move; Erez Galonska, the CEO of Infarm who knows how to turn our cities into farms; and Özden Akyildiz, founder of the world’s first virtual farming platform, Komşuköy.

Speakers

PACO SAVIO

EREZ GALONSKA

ÖZDEN AKYILDIZ

THINGS WE LIKE

Intelligence shared

Tyler Brûlé, our editor in chief, primes you on the things you need to see from around the globe that will inspire your life and travels in the months ahead.

THE SECRET CITY

Spies, art and strange stories

The mysteries and intrigues of Berlin revealed by leading film players, writers and art dealers. Head into the city’s shadows to understand the lure of Berlin with Anna Winger, creator of hit TV drama Deutschland 83, and Carl Woebcken, CEO of the city’s Babelsberg film studios.

Speakers

ANNA WINGER

CARL “CHARLIE” WOEBCKEN

SEAMLESS MOVES

Future of transport

The biggest mobility-thinkers on the future of transport – and the cities getting it right. And how do we make cities where mobility works for young and old? Speakers: Magnus Schmidt, the scooter maverick, Deutsche Bahn’s big thinker Meike Niedbal, and Dan Stubbergaard of Danish architecture firm Cobe.

Speakers

MAGNUS SCHMIDT

MEIKE NIEDBAL

DAN STUBBERGAARD

MEDIA MAKERS

Print bites back

How Germany is creating a media model that mixes print and digital in better ways – and what leading editors think it says about the future of news, leisure and advertising. We will be joined by Christoph Amend, editor in chief of Zeitmagazin, and Penny Martin, editor in chief of The Gentlewoman.

Speakers

CHRISTOPH AMEND

PENNY MARTIN

THIS IS MY BERLIN: AFTER DARK

When the lights go out

Berlin is a city that thrives after sunset. We give you a high-speed tour to a side of the city you need to know.

Speakers

MARKUS KÜHN

THIS IS MY BERLIN: ARTISTIC LICENCE

Creative City

What is it like to live in the German capital as an artist? We paint a picture of the inspiration and intrigue it provides for its creative residents.

Speakers

ARI BENJAMIN MEYERS

THIS IS MY BERLIN: BUILDING SOCIETY

Framework of a city

Explore the city's structures with our perfect guide: the Berlin architect and professor of design theory at Hamburg University of Fine Art.

Speakers

FRIEDRICH VON BORRIES

LAND OF ICE AND FIRE

The small city with big ambitions

He runs a city that has been shaken by everything from a collapsing economy to volcano ash clouds but which today is having to plan for almost too much success as tourist numbers boom in Reykjavík. What does the city’s mayor see happening in the future, what can everyone learn from the plucky player who’s come out on top and what are the secrets of good leadership?

Speakers

DAGUR B EGGERTSSON

Restored: Elvis' BMW 507

A fabled BMW 507 once owned by Elvis Presley, has been found and restored to Concours condition by BMW Group Classic.  Driven during his military service in Germany in the 1950s, the legend of Elvis and his cars had begun.  The car was discovered after it was feared to have vanished forever for a period of over 50 years.  The original white paint job was resprayed in lipstick red to solve the issue of female fans scribbling notes in lipstick on it.

Elvis replaced the car with a Chrysler in New York after his service in Germany, the car was sold for the ridiculous price of $4500 dollars to radio moderator Tommy Charles, who went on to race the 507 successfully in numerous races including Daytona, which by then had been swapped for a Chevrolet engine and gearbox.

Space engineer Jack Castor had taken ownership sometime later, using the car as a daily driver then into storage with the intent of restoring it.  Castor had put together a thorough record of the car, it's history, repairs, and photos; a full dossier.  It was only after a meeting and visit by a writer working with Bimmer magazine when the possibility of this being the fabled 'Elvis 507' was discussed.  After some forensics and research, Chassis No.70079 was indeed found to be the genuine article.  BMW Group Classic had heard of this unbelievable find and set to work.

The car was sent to Munich, carefully disassembled, stripped down to the bare metal; structural reinforcements were made to restore rigidity and overall integrity.  The original 3.2 litre V8 was refurbished to new conditioned and reunited with the car after 50 years.  It was reconditioned to exact manufacturer specifications right down to the original paint color of Feather White.

The BMW 'Elvis 507' will be on view at Pebble Beach Concours this month on August 21st.

Floating Piers (Project for Lake Iseo) by Christo

Installation art icon and interventionist Christo has touched down in northern Italy to create the "Floating Piers" project on Lake Iseo.  Over 200,000 fabricated floating polyethylene cubes wrapped in his now signature golden ochre fabric allow visitors to walk across the lake to various shorefronts and a remote island called Monte Isola.  This project has been a long-time vision devised by Christo and his late wife and collaborator, Jeanne-Claude, who passed away in 2009.  This latest installation rivals his Central Park based "Gates" project from 2005 in size and scale, but is not without controversy; an Italian consumer group has accused the Bulgarian artist and his supporters of wasting public money to execute the project.

The Floating Piers project is on now until July 3rd.

OMA's Fondaco dei Tedeschi Opens in Venice

©OMA

Dutch architecture firm OMA have recently completed the renovation of the ancient and iconic Fondaco dei Tedeschi, which sits at the foot of the solid stone Ponte di Rialto in the heart of Venice.  A truly beautiful and evocative collision of architecture preserved in situ and slick, refined opportunities, piercing elements and opulent yet contemporary materials create a healthy amount of tension between old and new.  

This unique series of interventions in the form of circulation, place-making and enclosure may prove controversial to purists who feel that the nearly 820 year-old structure should have been rehabilitated without such audacious elements disturbing the scheme.  It is presumably the opinion Koolhaas and Co., that such a significant structure should emerge more than a museum or relic, but a modern machine of multi-purpose spaces, retail and culture which (one could give a nod to sustainability) and a new relevance in the modern world which it resides.

Monocle 24: The Big Interview

Photos ©Monocle / TAG Heuer

Photos ©Monocle / TAG Heuer

Monocle’s editor in chief Tyler Brûlé sits down with Tag Heuer CEO Jean-Claude Biver to discuss adapting to an ever-changing market, collaborating (and competing) and how the “connected watch” will foster the next generation of luxury-watch buyers.  Jean-Claude Biver is in our opinion (shadowing Tyler's) one of the most intuitive characters in the luxury watch sector, and for that matter, the luxury brand sector as a whole.  Head over to Monocle and take a listen.

Originally Aired on December 20, 2015

Duration: 30 Minutes


Monocle Quality of Life Conference 2016

©Monocle

©Monocle

Friday 15 April to Sunday 17 April 2016, Vienna, Austria

After the success of their 2015 Lisbon symposium, Monocle has announced their 2016 conference, more details will be forthcoming.  Here is the rundown on what to expect in April. 

"Our intimate gathering returns in 2016 and this time it will take place in the Austrian capital, a city that provides the perfect backdrop with its humming ateliers, fresh new hotels and mixture of modernity and tradition.

Monocle invites you to a weekend of great debates, good conversations, peerless hospitality and some fun nights too. It’s a weekend where contacts can be made, ideas nurtured and horizons expanded. Join our editors, correspondents and key thinkers in discussing topics ranging from architecture to independent retail, transport to healthy living." - Monocle

  1. You’ll be hosted by the Monocle team (and there will be no lanyards).
  2. We’ll bring powerful voices shaping our cities, from Australia to Brazil.
  3. Our editor in chief Tyler Brûlé will help reveal the future direction for hotels, retail, travel, design and more.
  4. There will be a series of receptions and dinners where you’ll get to meet with people who could change your career, your business or your outlook forever.
  5. We’ll organise access to the studios and ateliers of architects, designers and makers who are delivering a contemporary take on luxury.
  6. There will be morning runs for those who want to stretch limbs as well as minds.
  7. Enjoy live music interludes with a pop vibe.
  8. See special Monocle films that set the tone and dive into the key themes.
  9. Be part of the Monocle 24 radio experience.
  10. Take to the dance floor at least once.

 

Tickets: €1,850. 
Subscribers and founders receive a 10% discount.