Engineering: Sabah Al Ahmad Sea City, Kuwait

In this city almost every resident has their own beach access on a lagoon that leads directly into the sea. But constructing such a city meant overcoming tremendous engineering problems.

Sabah Al Ahmad Sea City is a city in Khiran Kuwait built with canals forming 200 kilometres (120 mi) of artificial shoreline. The city houses up to 250,000 residents.[1][2] The city was inaugurated in mid 2016.[3][4] The artificial islands that make up the area are unusual because they were built excavating large channels in desert land rather than using reclaimed land. The city is considered a pioneering project in the region due to its environmentally sustainable construction techniques.[5][6]

The first phase of the project was opened to the sea in 2004.[5] The multi-billion dollar development is within a 25 year construction period with ten phases.[1] Sabah Al Ahmad Sea City is the first urban area in Kuwait built entirely by the private sector.

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Literary Interviews: ‘The Magnolia Palace’ Author Fiona Davis (Frick Museum)

Fiona Davis, author of THE MAGNOLIA PALACE, discusses art, history, and writing with Xavier F. Salomon, Deputy Director and Peter Jay Sharp Chief Curator at The Frick Collection.

They speak in the Fragonard room at Frick Madison, the temporary home of The Frick Collection.

About THE MAGNOLIA PALACE Fiona Davis, New York Times bestselling author of The Lions of Fifth Avenue, returns with a tantalizing novel about the secrets, betrayal, and murder within one of New York City’s most impressive Gilded Age mansions.

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Get the book: https://bit.ly/3LEA7kU

The Magnolia Palace

An Instant New York Times Bestseller
A Book of the Month Pick • Apple Books’ Best Books of January • January LibraryReads Hall of Fame

Architecture: CASA SAN PABLO DEL LAGO In Ecuador

Bernardo Bustamante Arquitectos realizes this ‘Casa San Pablo del Lago’ SPL house as a retreat to inspire a connection with the landscape of  Ecuador. Emerging from the slopes of San Pablo Lake, the  dwelling  overlooks the community of Pijal — a place populated primarily by indigenous Otavaleña people. From its sloping site, the mountains and volcanoes which make up the North Ecuadorian Andes stand in full view, creating a grand frame around the scenic lake below.

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Covers: World Literature Today – May/June 2022

World Literature Today Magazine to Launch Art-Inspired 400th Issue

WLT Cover

The May/June issue of World Literature Today, the University of Oklahoma’s award-winning magazine of international literature and culture, will celebrate the magazine’s 400th issue. The edition, which will feature writers and visual artists, will be launched in Oklahoma City’s Paseo Arts District’s Studio Six, from 6-8 p.m., Friday, May 6.

The cover feature, “Muses,” showcases the work of writers, visual artists and their inspirations. The issue will contain essays, poems and creative nonfiction inspired by Rembrandt, Wassily Kandinsky, Andrew Wyeth, David Hockney, André Leon Talley, French artist Ghislaine Lejard, American artist Todd Anderson as well as Hong Kong street artists, plus an interview with novelist, journalist and artist Amitava Kumar, who is based in both India and the United States.

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Views: The San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge (4K)

The San Francisco–Oakland Bay Bridge, known locally as the Bay Bridge, is a complex of bridges spanning San Francisco Bay in California. As part of Interstate 80 and the direct road between San Francisco and Oakland, it carries about 260,000 vehicles a day on its two decks.

Previews: The New Yorker Magazine – May 16, 2022

The Magazine – May 16, 2022

This week’s cover, by the designer Frank Viva, is a colorful, lyrical springtime ode to the pleasures of biking. We spoke to Viva about his love affair with cycling, his island retreat, and learning to prioritize what matters.

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1950’s British Racing: A V16 At BRMA Track Day (2022)

A BRM V16 at the 2022 BRMA Track Day, held at Blyton Park.

1950s

The V16 is very much still in development and despite Raymond Mays protestations, the V16 makes its racing debut at Silverstone in 1950 in front of a record crowd of over 150,000 and Their Majesties the King and Queen. The V16 shears a driveshaft and the Alfas dominate. It is later established that it failed due to the steel not being to specification. The Trust sells BRM to Sir Alfred Owen (the great Midlands industrialist) in 1952. Regulations are changed to F2 rules (2 litre un-supercharged) leaving the V16 with no long term Formula One race prospects just as its development was providing positive results on the track. Parnell wins the Goodwood Trophy in the V16. The last of the front engine BRMs and the birth of the new P25 with a 2.5 litre straight 4-cylinder engine. The P25 was to herald a change in BRM’s fortunes with Jo Bonnier winning their first Grand Prix at Zandvoort in 1959.

Walking Tour: Basel In Northwest Switzerland

Basel is a city on the Rhine River in northwest Switzerland, close to the country’s borders with France and Germany. Its medieval old town centers around Marktplatz, dominated by the 16th-century, red-sandstone Town Hall. Its 12th-century Gothic cathedral has city views, and contains the tomb of the 16th-century Dutch scholar, Erasmus. The city’s university houses some of Erasmus’ works. 

Morning News: Russia’s Victory Day, Abortion In Illinois, Philippines Vote

Russia is marking Victory Day, which celebrates the defeat of Nazi Germany, just as Russian troops are fighting and dying in Ukraine. 

 Doctors who provide abortion services in Illinois are bracing for a possible influx of patients from neighboring states expected to ban abortion. And votes are being counted to see who will become the next leader of the Philippines, where polls show the son of a brutal dictator locked in a tight race against a runner-up who promises to fight corruption.