All posts by She Seeks Serene

My Journey of Reimagining Life, Love and Education

Contemporary Art Fairs: ‘Art Paris 2022’ (Video)

The Leading Spring Event for Modern and Contemporary Art

Boosted by the success of the September 2021 edition that inaugurated the Grand Palais Éphémère on the Champ-de-Mars with a record-breaking 72,745 visitors, Art Paris is back from 7 to 10 April 2022 with a strong selection of 130 modern and contemporary galleries from some twenty different countries.

Both regional and cosmopolitan, this 24th edition is characterized by its commitment in favour of the environment with two themes – “Natural Histories” and “Art & Environment”- combined with an innovative and sustainable approach to organising an art fair.

Design: ‘Structures’ By Foster + Partners (2022)

Our latest Structures book showcases the work of our structural engineering team through a selection of integrated projects including Apple Marina Bay Sands, Singapore; Tocumen International Airport, Panama; Le Dome Winery, France and more.

View the Structures book here: https://bit.ly/3uOtVja

Previews: Times Literary Supplement – April 8, 2022

Morning News: China’s Zero-Covid Crisis, Prisons Sweltering, Time Disputes

China’s zero-covid policy is being stretched to breaking point as the virus makes its way through the city. Supplies are low, residents are angry and there is no end in sight. 

The debate about air conditioning in America’s sweltering prisons will only heat up further. And how a dispute about time from exactly a century ago remains timely today. 

Short Films: ‘The Legend of Ñaymlap’ – An Andean Origin Story Of Peru (2022)

In the Denver Art Museum’s Art of the Ancient Americas galleries, we worked with Mexico City-based animators Hola Combo to create animations to help tell the origin stories that explain the relationship between ancient American communities and the their environment. For the Andes, we chose a story that loosely relates to the works on display. “The Legend of Ñaymlap” is an ancient story from Peru’s northern coastal communities and supposedly records the origins of the Sicán or Lambayeque dynasty (about 750–1375 CE). Within this origin story, there is a moral about the relationship between the deities and the land. As the ruler turns away from the deities, rain and floods devastate the land, starving the community.

Architecture: Hopetoun In Melbourne, Australia

A solid concrete dwelling, The Hopetoun is a luxury super house, complete with a tennis court and sleek garage. Meticulously designed by FGR Architects, the new build combines architecture, lighting and textural detail to reveal internal spaces of surprising delicacy.

Video Timeline: 00:27 – Entering the Super House 01:21 – Minimalist Architecture 01:57 – Connection Between Spaces 02:19 – Positioning the House 02:59 – Lighting in the House 03:40 – Concrete Architecture 04:37 – Utilising Stone and Timber 04:54 – Breaking Tradition

Located in the leafy Melbourne suburb of Toorak, The Hopetoun is a super house designed to accommodate a large family. Situated on the corner of a road, the house is crafted to dramatically embrace the breadth of its site, presenting a broad and expansive façade to the street. A house tour of the property sheds light on the layout of the super house, carefully planned by the architect.

FGR Architects configures the home to maximise solar penetration via the northern aspect, fitting the sunlit side of the house with ample glazing and arranging the internal spaces to reflect the need for natural light. Whilst the southern orientation houses utilities and services, the northern counterpart is occupied by the most frequently habited rooms. A sculptural set of stairs forms the highlight of the interior design. FGR Architects uses lighting to express the structural prowess of the concrete super house, including the implemented overhangs within the architecture.

The delicate interaction between the undulating texture of the concrete walls and the warm wash of artificial light presents lighting almost as a material in itself, equal amongst the concrete, glass, stone and timber. Utilising the refined nature of concrete in relation to light, FGR Architects is able to create a sophisticated super house that possesses the robust material character to age elegantly through time. 00:00 – Introduction to the Super House

Cover Preview: Landscape Photography – April 2022

Hawaiian Island Views: Kauai – ‘The Garden Isle’

Kauai is an island in the Central Pacific, part of the Hawaiian archipelago. It’s nicknamed “the Garden Isle” thanks to the tropical rainforest covering much of its surface. The dramatic cliffs and pinnacles of its Na Pali Coast have served as a backdrop for major Hollywood films, while 10-mile-long Waimea Canyon and the Nounou Trails traversing the Sleeping Giant mountain ridge are hiking destinations.