The largest habitable work of art

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Airports, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Austria, Autmotive, Bad-Blumau, Business, Cities, Culture, Environment, General Motors, Luxury Hotels, Luxury Travel, New Zealand, News, Opel, Rogner Bad-Blumau, Spa Hotels, Tourism, Travel, Travel Blog

“The water feels like silk on your skin.”

That is how Rogner-Bad Blumau describes the thermal water at the Austrian hotel’s spa.

The supply is from the nearby Vulkania springs and is said to be the most mineral-rich curative water in the spa town of Bad Blumau.

And the healing water is just one of many features that make this hotel out of the ordinary.

Billed as the world’s largest habitable work of art, Rogner-Bad Blumau was designed by eccentric Austrian artist Friedensreich Hundertwasser, whose last name literally means “100 waters.”

“Your name is Hundertwasser, I have water of hundred degrees,” businessman Robert Rogner told the artist as they began the work on the hotel in early 1990s.

Rogner-Bad Blumau is unique in so many ways – the most compelling being the architecture itself.

There are six “houses” connected by a maze of hallways and green roofs with golden onion domes.

In addition to supplies from the Vulkania springs, the hotel’s numerous pools and bathing areas get water from the Melchior and Balthasar springs.

Original roof tiles from old farmhouses have been used for the facade of one of the rainbow-coloured buildings.

The late Friedensreich Hundertwasser

They all fit well with the philosophy of Hundertwasser: A life in harmony with nature.

“The great thing about Blumau is the uniqueness,” said Jasmin Rogner, co-owner of the 312-room, four-star hotel.

“It’s a great artwork, which rather increases in value with time,” she wrote in an email.

“The biggest challenge is to interpret this great place consistently.”

Hundertwasser died in February 2000 in his adopted home country of New Zealand.

The hotel sits on the beautiful rolling hills of Bad Blumau, less than an hour from the city of Graz – a UNESCO City of Design and the hometown of Arnold Schwarzenegger.

I stayed at the hotel back in March 1998, barely a year after Rogner-Bad Blumau opened its doors to first guests.

The 1998 launch of Opel Astra at Rogner-Bad Blumau. Photo by Abdul Latheef

I was among a group of journalists flown in from around the world for the launch of a new General Motors car, Opel Astra.

The hotel has since become a major site for product launches and corporate events.

The property is owned by Rogner International Hotels and Resorts.

Bad Blumau is easily accessible from Graz, Vienna and Salzburg. Austrian Airlines has direct flights from Toronto to Vienna while Lufthansa offers flights to Graz from several German cities.

 Images are courtesy of Rogner-Bad Blumau

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Dubai promises to astonish the world

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Business, Cities, Culture, Dubai, News, Politics, Tourism, Travel, World Expo

Celebrations are underway in Dubai, UAE, after the city won the right to host the world’s fair in 2020, the first in the Middle East.

“To the world: we renew our promise to astonish you at Expo 2020,” Dubai’s Ruler Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum tweeted shortly after winning the bid.

“Dubai will bring to life our vision: Connecting Minds, Creating the Future.”

Rival bids came from Ekaterinburg, Russia; Sao Paulo, Brazil and Izmir, Turkey.

My previous post on Expo 2020

Dubai was the front-runner from the very beginning of the bidding process, and on Wednesday it won in all three rounds of voting by member countries of the Bureau International des Expositions in Paris.

“Expo 2020 will breathe new life into the ancient role of the Middle East as a melting pot for cultures and creativity,” Sheikh Mohammed said.

“Our goal is to build a better future for the region’s youth. The UAE will achieve it through collaboration and inspiration at Expo 2020.”

The BIE noted that in just a few decades, Dubai had become one of the world’s most modern, innovative and technological cities, attracting investors and workers from more than 200 countries.

“With a target of 25 million visitors, the Expo will continue building Dubai and the UAE’s status as a world hub…”

Canada and Britain were among the countries supporting the Dubai bid.

Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird congratulated Dubai, saying in a tweet that it was the right proposal, right place and right time.

Sheikh Mohammed’s photo is courtesy of Dubai Government.

UNICEF: Twittersphere’s choice

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Culture, International Organizations, News, Non-Profit, Politics, Social Media, Technology

The agency that looks after the welfare of children around the world is the most followed international organization on Twitter.

That is the conclusion of Twiplomacy, a study of the use of Twitter by governments and international organizations, conducted by the communications firm Burson-Marsteller.

The United Nations International Children’s Fund, @UNICEF, has almost 2.3 million followers.

“UNICEF is very active with an average of 11 tweets per day and mentions other Twitter users in every second tweet. Almost a quarter of its tweets are retweets and UNICEF often lends its social media power to promote other UN campaigns,” Burson-Marsteller said.

UNICEF is closely followed by its parent organization, the United Nations, the World Economic Forum, the UN refugee agency UNHCR and the World Wide Fund for Nature.

“However, the number of followers is not the only indicator of an organization’s popularity,” Burson-Marsteller said.

“Another important measure of influence is the number of times an account appears on Twitter lists. In this regard, the UN is the most listed international organization appearing on 25,643 lists.”

Along with the European Organisation for Nuclear Research, UNICEF is also among the most effective Twitter users, the study found.

“Their tweets are retweeted on average more than 100 times,” Burson-Marsteller said.

The UN is a distant third, followed by the WWF, Greenpeace and the World Health Organization.

The study revealed that their tweets are retweeted on average more than 63 times while the median average of retweets per tweet among all international institutions covered is only four.

For the study Burson-Marsteller identified 223 Twitter accounts of 101 international organizations.

The firm said it collected the data this month. More than 50 variables were considered, including tweets, following, followers, listed, the date the organization joined Twitter, etc.

Some other interesting conclusions of the study:

– All organizations combined have sent more than 770,000 tweets.

– Nabil Elaraby, secretary general of the Arab League, is the most followed head of an international organization, with more than 340,000 followers.

– Richard Sezibera, secretary general of the East African Community is the most conversational head of an international body. More than 65 per cent of his tweets are replies to other users.

– Christine Lagarde, head of the International Monetary Fund and NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen are in second and third position with more than 150,000 followers each.

Burson-Marsteller said the study showed that no international organization can ignore the power of digital communications and, especially Twitter.

All screenshots are courtesy of the respective organizations.