[An] holistic approach to illuminating cities has come to be known as a lighting master plan. While few cities outside Europe have a plan currently in place, the steps involved in creating one help officials evaluate how the layers of lighting – street-level, marquees and directional signage, and monuments or cultural landmarks – should work [...]
Anyone remotely interested in modern architecture must have heard of Le Corbusier’s chapel of Notre Dame du Haut (1954) in Ronchamp (France). It is one of Le Corbusier’s iconic buildings and is currently in the eye of a storm (in a teacup?) with regards to replacement of its visitor’s center to be designed by Renzo [...]
DNA India points us to tiny hamlets within the suburbs of densely populated Mumbai, India. Mumbai was a cluster of seven islands with several villages not more than 70 years ago (my ancestors hail from one of them). I’m glad to see some remnants of those humble roots but these will not last long.
Christopher Hitchens makes an argument for preserving that quirky sense of place and cultural hotspots that make a city what it is. As he mentions, London, Paris, and San Francisco have recognized the need for its Bohemia and it is time for Manhattan to wake up and smell the coffee.
The challenge for all cities with a rich architectural legacy is to find a balance between preserving the historical identity without becoming a slave to it. The Super Spatial Blog writes on Venice calling it a city that was destroyed by its own beauty by turning in to essentially “a theme park for hordes of [...]
This classic piece of American architecture never gets old.
Admittedly, it is the people that make a city but nevertheless, ghost towns can be hauntingly beautiful too.
What cities come readily to mind when you think of skyscrapers? New York? Tokyo? Shanghai? Well, how about Shibam located in the deserts of Yemen. This city was host to more than 500 mud-brick ‘skyscrapers’ built more than 500 years ago. Click through for a fly-by of the city.
“Before industry and technology gave us sawmills and frame houses, this is how the average person lived in much of the world. The dugout or pit house, with sod roof, log walls and earthen floor, is among the most ancient of human dwellings — at some point in history your ancestors lived in one.”
I love walking down Bombay’s historic D.N.Road so these photographs of ‘stone flowers’ brings up fond memories. More here and here.
I have always loved the concept of moving entire houses. Considering how ‘rooted’ the houses are in India because of the way they are built, this concept was completely unimaginable to me when I first heard of it. Here is a time-lapse video of moving an 1883 carriage house in Portland: I’m sure the old [...]
A creative adaptive reuse of an extant shell of a mill building, with contrasting insertion of contemporary materials, weaving the old and the new into a seamless whole…A complex and intriguing social and regional story that reveals itself as the visitor progresses through the spaces. It is museum as a verb…A gutsy, crystalline, glowing courtyard [...]
I had the opportunity to take a quick visitor tour through the School of Nursing at the UT Health Science Center, thanks to my fiancee who studies in the adjacent building. This building is counted as one of the top green projects for 2006. I could tell you more but I’ll point you in her [...]
A gallery of derelict London cinemas accompanied with a brief background of each [via]. Technorati Tags: revitalization, cinema, theaters, redevelopment, abandoned, derelict
Who knew iPods could be useful for a rich urban experience? Well, at least not so soon. Jennifer Coleman, an architect in Cleveland has hit upon a novel idea to implement iPods for city walk narration. CityProwl, the website that lets you download a neighborhood narration [for free!!!] is her brainchild. You can easily install [...]
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