Indoor Farms: AppHarvest – 90% Less Water With Tech

Business Insider – AppHarvest is exploring the future of indoor farming and agriculture technology by using up to 90% less water, human-assisting AI, and the power of the sun for reliable food growth. Alongside local education efforts, AppHarvest’s main focus is to provide US consumers with sustainable, reliable produce so that we can all enjoy a healthier, more vibrant planet in the future.

Abstract Art: ‘Collage’ By Willem De Kooning (1950)

Sotheby’s – Head of contemporary Art, David Galperin reflects upon how Willem De Kooning makes the impossible possible in Collage (1950) one of De Kooning’s most pivotal abstract paintings, which has been in the private hands for more than seven decades. Undoubtedly, Collage is a key painting within De Kooning’s color abstraction series, marking the beginning of a style that would define his work for decades to come.

Willem de Kooning was a Dutch-American abstract expressionist artist. He was born in Rotterdam and moved to the United States in 1926, becoming an American citizen in 1962. In 1943, he married painter Elaine Fried.

Art /Architecture: Domus Magazine – November 2022

The November issue of Domus, the latest edited by Guest Editor Jean Nouvel, focuses on urban globalization and its relationship with architecture. In his concluding Editorial, the French Pritzker Prize winner tackles the issue by writing about the right to live well that is being challenged by a world that is cloning itself.

“Living well is fundamental to everyone’s life. It is the starting point: without a happy living space, nothing can prosper. Urban globalization is the result of selfishness with no awareness of the immediate future, of a general absence of empathy”. This is followed, again edited by Jean Nouvel, by a selection of fragments from the book Dériville by Bruce Bégout, an essay on the thought of Guy Debord and the imaginative work of the Situationists.

This is followed in the Essays by Tom Avermaete, Professor of the History and Theory of Urban Design at ETH Zurich, and Michelangelo Sabatino, Professor at the College of Architecture of the Illinois Institute of Technology in Chicago, tracing a history of the global in relation to architecture and the city. 

Classics: ‘Coolnvintage’ Is An Homage To Restoring Vintage Land Rovers (2022)

Coolnvintage´s new book is a photographic homage to Land Rover´s and everything they stand for. A simple life where less is more. We invite the reader to dive into our detailed craftsmanship and drive off on a lessknown road.

A glimpse into the heart of the places we have visited over the last 10 years. This book is a lifestyle journey, a zest of extraordinary road trips where every image shows the unique Coolnvintage Lifestyle.

Through relentless dedication and the incessant quest for perfection, owner Ricardo Pessoa and his team set up in Coolnvintage in 2012 and got to work on restoring Defenders to a much higher standard than when they left the factory new.

The creative process was built around simplicity, ensuring the restored examples weren’t likely be unused due to fear of scratching the paint or damaging panels, after all the Defender is a vehicle built for just about anything.

It’s a car renowned for its adaptability, durability, and capability, wading through muddy waters and scaling the

We couldn’t think of a better way to celebrate 10 years of passion and creativity, and Coolnvintage’s new book reveals the process behind the obsession for detail and a commitment to the essentials, as well as the inspiration that they take from the world around them.

Read more

Home Design: Pavilion House In Avalon, Australia

The Local Project – An interior designer’s own holiday home, Pavilion House reflects a studious approach to the relationship between architecture, landscaping and the internal environment. Crafted by Nina Maya Interiors and Maya Sternberg Architects, the home captures an escapist experience using an array of sculptural forms.

Video timeline: 00:00 – Introduction to the Interior Designer’s Family Holiday Home 00:35 – Introduction to Nina Maya Interiors 00:55 – The Location of the Home 01:11 – A Brief Based Around That Holiday Feeling 01:47 – Pavillion Style Architecture 02:06 – A Walkthrough of the Home 02:23 – Evoking a Ubiquitous Feeling 02:43 – The Connection Between Indoor and Outdoor 03:15 – The Landscape Architecture 04:05 – A Light-filled Home 04:27 – The Hand Carved Coffee Table 05:14 – Organic, Round Soft Forms 05:34 – Nina’s Favourite Features

Situated in Avalon, a coastal suburb of Sydney, Pavilion House stands as an interior designer’s own holiday home, settled in close proximity to the beach. As the beach house sits far back on a 1000 square-metre block, a house tour of the residence begins with a sense of land, space and privacy reminiscent of a luxury hotel. Architecturally, the building champions a pavilion style with an orderly spatial layout and front façade comprised of glass.

Entering Pavilion House, occupants find the kitchen and dining room, followed by the living quarters and, further back, all bedrooms and bathrooms. As an interior designer’s own holiday home, the residence effortlessly proposes a luxury living experience influenced by hotel designs from around the world. A seamless connection between indoor and outdoor space is maintained using doors which stack to their sides – opening the home to the external environment – and a sophisticated treatment of landscape.

Balancing aesthetics and functionality, Pavilion House is a prime example of an interior designer’s own holiday home. Having excavated a large portion of the front of the property, Nina Maya Interiors builds a refined outdoor dining area surrounded by palm trees, white pebbles and a custom marble table. In addition, the landscape features a firepit area and outdoor spa space, complete with a bar, vanity, free-standing bathtub and rain shower. The lighting of Pavilion House also nods towards its status as an interior designer’s own holiday home. In the lounge, a continuous skylight runs seven metres across the length of the room, inviting natural light to play across the plaster wall.

Raw finishes combine with a restrained colour palette to enhance the calming quality of the sunlight and sculptural furniture within the interior design. Exuding a sense of relaxation, Pavilion House is an uplifting iteration of an interior designer’s own holiday home. Nina Maya Interiors forges a strong connection between both the internal and external aspects of the home, establishing a coherent place of retreat.

Artists: Georgy Kurasov’s ‘Vibrant Geometrics’

Abstract Figurative Paintings by Georgy Kurasov

He distorts human figures by breaking them up into geometric shapes and planes.

Abstract Figurative Paintings by Georgy Kurasov

These abstract compositions are united by the Cubist style and vibrant color palette.

Georgy Kurasov was born in 1958 in the USSR, in what was then Leningrad. He still lives and works in the same place, but now the country is Russia and the city is called St Petersburg. Without any effort on his part whatsoever, Georgy seems to have emigrated from one surreal country to another.

Read a review of the artist here

Website

Amsterdam Walks: The De Pijp Neighborhood (2022)

A walking tour of De Pijp (English: The Pipe), a neighbourhood of Amsterdam, Netherlands. It is located directly south of Amsterdam’s city centre and it is part of the borough Amsterdam-Zuid, in a part of the city known as the Old South (Oud Zuid). It is served by De Pijp metro station. Most streets in De Pijp are named after Dutch painters, like Jan Steen, Frans Hals, Ruysdael and Vincent van Gogh. Diamantbuurt, Nieuwe Pijp and Oude Pijp are the three districts composing the area.

The busiest street market of the Netherlands, the Albert Cuyp Market, is located in De Pijp. It is open six days per week and attracts tourists. The former Heineken brewery is also a local tourist attraction; the former town hall of Nieuwer-Amstel is one of De Pijp’s most notable monuments. Next to the former Heineken brewery is the Marie Heinekenplein, which has a number of bars and cafes. Along the canal Ruysdaelkade, there is a small red-light district.

News: Midterm Election Stakes, Sweden’s Push For Turkey’s NATO Vote, Cop27

As Americans head to the polls for midterm elections we ask, what’s at stake? Plus: Sweden’s prime minister mounts a new charm offensive to win Turkey’s Nato support, the latest from Cop27 in Egypt, a flick through today’s papers and a look at the role of animals in diplomacy.

Front Page: The New York Times – November 8, 2022

Image

Fears and Suspicion Hang Over Voting on Cusp of Election Day

Even as voting goes smoothly, the 2022 midterm elections have exposed the toll Donald J. Trump’s falsehoods have taken on American democracy.

Apple Built Its Empire With China. Now Its Foundation Is Showing Cracks.

Lawmakers’ objections to an obscure Chinese semiconductor company and tough Covid-19 restrictions are hurting Apple’s ability to make new iPhones in China.

Los Angeles Voters Are in a Foul Mood. Will a New Mayor Change Anything?

Residents are frustrated over homelessness, crime and rising costs. Two candidates for mayor, Karen Bass and Rick Caruso, say they can turn the tide.