Alongside similar curves and perspectives, the RM 67.01 Automatic Extra Flat by Richard Mille and the Fosun Foundation designed by Foster + Partners, located at the heart of the Bund Finance Center in Shanghai, share the same sense of aesthetic motion, both literally and figuratively. A glimpse from three angles.
Richard Mille RM 67-01 Automatic Extra Flat
CASE : grade 5 titanium
DIMENSIONS : 38.70 x 47.52 x 7.75 mm
MOVEMENT : skeletonized mechanical self-winding ultra-thin, Caliber CRM16, 50-hour power reserve
FUNCTIONS : hours, minutes, date, function selector
CASEBACK : sapphire crystal
A CONSTANTLY CHANGING AESTHETIC
Built at the heart of the Bund Finance Center in Shanghai, the Fosun Foundation building by the Foster + Partners architecture firm rises to the challenge of giving this place a literally moving façade. Designed like a curtain of bronze tubes whose shape recalls a row of bamboo stalks, the façade is composed of several layers moving independently of each other. This fluid rotating movement modifies the surface of the building and the perception of its depth through fascinating light and shade effects. A sense of motion that reminds one of that exemplified by the RM 67.01 Automatic Extra Flat watch. On this model, the flow of time is expressed with great lightness through the hours and minutes hands, as well as the date indication appearing in a discreet window at 5 o’clock.
MIRRORED TECHNICAL SOPHISTICATION
Successfully transforming the façade of a building that is itself destined to remain immobile reflects an architectural vision firmly anchored in the 21st century. The technology involved in displacing the various bronze tube layers in a wave-like movement demonstrates great modernity and a new approach to architecture. Like the building created by Foster + Partners, the RM 67.01 Automatic Extra Flat watch reveals an identical quest for technical sophistication. The art of extreme thinness calls for highly specific expertise. Nonetheless, through aesthetic subterfuges applied to the complex case that involves 215 different machining operations, and to the openworked dial enhanced with Super-LumiNova®, Richard Mille manages to highlight the volumes and invites the gaze to plunge into the fascinating depths of its perspective.
Perched on the river bank at the heart of Shanghai’s Bund Finance Center, the BUILDING BY FOSTER + PARTNERS is inspired by traditional Chinese theatres and features an incredible moving façade composed of multilayered curtain-like bronze tubes.
A CLASSIC HERITAGE AS THE BEDROCK OF FUTURISM
While the façade of the Fosun Foundation is fully in tune with its time, it in no way departs from the cultural roots of its surroundings. The use of the bamboo aesthetic illustrates this determination to remain firmly attached to traditions. The same philosophy governs the RM 67.01 Automatic Extra Flat which, in line with all Richard Mille creations, evokes its horological heritage without losing sight of a futurism and extreme technical sophistication. Embodied by the openworked mechanical movement partially revealed through its most emblematic elements like the wheels, rotor and screws, the discreet nod to traditional Haute Horlogerie serves a vivid reminder that innovation cannot dispense with technical heritage.
