All posts by She Seeks Serene

My Journey of Reimagining Life, Love and Education

Architecture: Water-Themed ‘Zig Zag House’ In Kensington, Australia

Designed by Stukel Architecture in collaboration with AJP Constructions, Zig Zag House makes waves as a contemporary house in an environment dominated by traditional cottages. Named after its distinctively dynamic architecture, the home is a sculptural response to its Kensington site.

Timeline: 00:00 – Introduction to the Contemporary House 00:49 – The Relationship between Architect and Builder 01:14 – The Client Brief 01:48 – The Unique Ceiling Form 02:52 – Building the Roof 03:24 – The Stairs 04:10 – Unique Use of Materials 05:17 – Concrete Finishes 06:13 – The Architects Favourite Part of the House

As a contemporary house, the architecture of the home reflects the movement of water, paying homage to the waterway that cuts through the landscape connecting Centennial Park and Botany Bay. Architecturally, the contemporary house is both impressive and bold. An overhang to the west orientation internally defines the home’s lounge, kitchen and dining spaces whilst a large blade column – inserted into the stairs – provides a solid focal point within a generous open space.

The interior design of Zig Zag House sees typical materials elevated through considered treatment. A seamless quality is inhered in the venetian plaster blade column, while a concrete wall is marked to elegantly resemble a particular grain of timber. The treatment of each material brings to the surface subtle aesthetic qualities, establishing the home as a contemporary house.

Located in the Sydney suburb of Kensington, Zig Zag House introduces 21st century architecture into the urban milieu. Visualised by Stukel Architecture and skilfully executed by AJP Constructions, Zig Zag House stands as a contemporary house that testifies to a successful design collaboration.

WORLD ECONOMIC FORUM: TOP STORIES – APRIL 29, 2022

This week The World Economic Forum are highlighting 4 top stories – how Ukraine’s economy is predicted to shrink, a new solar energy storage chip, the reason behind sinking cities and a transformative toilet design.

Timeline: 00:16 Ukraine economy to shrink 01:34 Solar energy storage chip 03:02 Sinking cities 04:25 Transformative toilet

African Views: Secretary Birds – ‘It Stomps Its Prey’

Secretary birds are also referred to as Sagittarius serpentarius. The secretary bird is one of the weird birds in Africa and it inhabits the savannah region with a head which is like that of an Eagle and the legs like that of a stork. The secretary bird is popularly known as a bird of prey together with its family. It has got technics of killing just like that of a snake which is fabric of legend. These are the 5 Interesting facts about the Secretary bird;

Reviews: The Week In Art

This week, now that the pro-European centrist Emmanuel Macron has defeated the far-right candidate Marine Le Pen in the French presidential election, we speak to Anaël Pigeat, editor-at-large at The Art Newspaper France, about the Macron government’s cultural record so far and what we can expect from his second term. 

Tate Britain has opened an exhibition of work by the late 19th- and early 20th-century British painter Walter Sickert; we take a tour of the show with one of its curators, Thomas Kennedy. And in this episode’s Work of the Week, The Art Newspaper’s associate editor, Tom Seymour, talks to Dan Leers of the Carnegie Museum of Art in Pittsburgh, US, about A workman lifts a drum from a boiling lye solution, March 1944, a photograph in the museum’s new exhibition, Gordon Parks in Pittsburgh, 1944/1946.

Walter Sickert, Tate Britain, London, until 18 September; Petit Palais, Paris, 14 October-29 January 2023.

Gordon Parks in Pittsburgh, 1944/1946, Carnegie Museum of Art, Pittsburgh, 30 April-7 August.

360° Views: Mexico City – Capital Of Mexico (16K)

Mexico City is the densely populated, high-altitude capital of Mexico. It’s known for its Templo Mayor (a 13th-century Aztec temple), the baroque Catedral Metropolitana de México of the Spanish conquistadors and the Palacio Nacional, which houses historic murals by Diego Rivera. All of these are situated in and around the Plaza de la Constitución, the massive main square also known as the Zócalo.

Morning News: China Zero-Covid Policy Issues, Hungary-EU Spat, TV News

We hear from Beijing about the city’s fears of a Shanghai-style lockdown and ask how the country’s “zero-Covid” policy affects the ruling Chinese Communist Party. Plus: the escalation of Hungary’s rule-of-law spat with the EU, the latest TV news and an interview with South Korea’s only astronaut.

Previews: The Economist Magazine – April 30, 2022

So far, the invasion of Ukraine has been a disaster for Russia’s armed forces. About 15,000 troops have been killed in two months of fighting, according to Britain’s government. At least 1,600 armoured vehicles have been destroyed, along with dozens of aircraft and the flagship of the Black Sea fleet. 

Cover Preview: Nature Magazine – April 28, 2022

The cover shows an artist’s impression of the pterosaur Tupandactylus imperator. Although feathered pterosaurs have been reported, these claims have been controversial and it has not been clear whether these leathery-winged flying reptiles had feathers of different colours like modern-day birds.

Volume 604 Issue 7907

In this week’s issue, Aude Cincotta and her colleagues present evidence that not only did pterosaurs have feathers but that the feathers probably had varied coloration. The researchers analysed a partial skull of Tupandactylus, found in Brazil and dated to around 113 million years ago. They identified two types of feather along the base of the crest, one of which featured branched structures very similar to modern feathers. They also found pigment-producing organelles in both types of feather and the skin on the head crest. The team suggests that these coloured feathers would have been used in visual communication and that their presence in Tupandactylus indicates the ability to manipulate feather colour stretches back farther than was previously realized. 

Italian Views: Tuscan Villa Bramasole Tour With Author Frances Mayes

A tour of the countryside villa Bramasole in Cortona, Italy, with author Frances Mayes. Chef Silvia gives a cooking lesson using local ingredients, and a jeweller talks about Tuscany’s goldsmithing tradition.