Mount Toubkal, mountain peak that is the highest point (13,665 feet [4,165 metres]) in Morocco and in the Atlas Mountains. The peak is situated 40 miles (60 km) south of Marrakech in the High Atlas (Haut Atlas). Juniper forests covering the mountain’s higher slopes are succeeded by alpine meadows, whereas the lower slopes have been extensively overgrazed.
But the prestigious building in the reconstructed Berlin Palace has itself been the subject of controversy from the start. Not least because art from former colonies in Africa is on display. DW’s Hannah Hummel checks out the Humboldt Forum to see whether is worth a visit. We can tell you one thing in advance: The great view from the roof terrace is a must-see.
The Humboldt Forum is a museum dedicated to human history, art and culture, located in the Berlin Palace on the Museum Island in the historic centre of Berlin. It is in honour of the Prussian scholars Wilhelm and Alexander von Humboldt.
Video timeline: 00:00 – Introduction to the Ultra Modern Dream House 00:28 – Main Components of The Brief 01:00 – The Composition of the Home 01:42 – Contrasting of the Pavilions 02:17 – The Car Workshop 02:32 – Glass Links and Palette Cleansers 03:03 – The Theme of Discovering New Things and Surprising Moments 03:55 – The External Raw Materials vs. The Internal Materials 04:38 – Effortless and Simple Materials
Reinterpreting the story of floating down rivers, going around bends and discovering new landscapes, the form of the modern dream house creates a journey through distinct architectural and material choices. Composed of three main pavilions, Glen Iris House holds the private wing at the front, a middle pavilion for the dining and living areas, and the last pavilion, which hosts a car workshop that is inherent to the storytelling of the home.
The desire for hard-wearing materials struck a chord with Pandolfini Architects, therefore, raw elements were employed for the exposed form of architecture along the exterior façade. Providing beauty to the home’s shape, bricks have been laid vertically and then rotated 45 degrees to create a strikingly complex surface that the light dances across. As the home faces west, the addition of copper screens has been employed to mediate the natural illuminance that comes inside, providing dappled light throughout the bedrooms.
Similarly, in each pavilion, the glass links provide the opportunity to cleanse the palette so that one can transition seamlessly between zones. Additionally, the links offer a connection to the surrounding landscape of the modern dream house. Used to contrast the brick pavilion, the living barn – the middle pavilion – uses exposed concrete ribs to form the shape of the interior design. Containing materials such as American Oak timber, travertine and soft hard-plaster walls, the living room barn has been broken up with structural elements so that each space can shine independently.
Additionally, a curved breakfast nook formed out of travertine adds to the middle pavilion’s internal structure, while a sculptural fireplace sits between the living and dining rooms and delineates the spaces. Continuing with the theme of discovery, the architect has created surprising moments throughout the interior with timber batten walls and concealed doors that open up to other corridors or into new areas that are not expected. Though arches are present throughout the modern dream house, the choices were not premeditated and instead have evolved naturally throughout the design process. Furthermore, the hard and dense materials used for the exterior of the home are complemented by the arches to insert a playfulness and respite over the home’s form. Providing a contrast to the internal materials, which are softer and more refined, only three materials were used for the home’s exterior.
With bush-hammered concrete, terracotta brickwork and copper, Pandolfini Architects chose the materials due to their hard-bearing nature and ability to age with the property. Incredibly proud of how the materials have come together, Pandolfini Architects recognises the joint effort with the builders, interior designer and the clients who helped to create their own modern dream house.
Monk’s House in Sussex was once the place she and her husband Leopold called home, and it’s now being cared for by the National Trust. In this video from the National Trust, you can experience what life was like at Monk’s House first hand. For more than 20 years, Virginia Woolf transformed Monk’s House into a place of beauty, art, creativity and contentment.
From reciting lines in her bathtub to writing books in the tool shed, let this literary pioneer tell you in her own words how she finally found ‘a room of one’s own’. Throughout much of her life, Virginia Woolf experienced bouts of mental illness, and Monk’s House was used as a writing retreat by Virginia and Leopold.
The Sussex landscape captured her imagination, and this came through in much of her writing. She was also engaged in the conservation of the land – a legacy that lives on through the work that National Trust staff and volunteers do to care for this place of history.
Video timeline: 00:00 – Introduction to the Innovative Futuristic House 00:23 – The Original Home and the Vision 01:07 – A Walkthrough of the Home 01:36 – Blurring the Lines between Inside and Outside 01:58 – The Original Story of the Home 02:21 – Functioning like a Sun Dial 02:42 – Curves All Around 03:00 – Creating the Curves with a Compass 03:31 – The Materials and the Shape 04:29 – A Unique Experience for the Client and the Architects
Nestled within the picturesque San Francisco hills, Feldman Architecture renovates an introverted round structure into an innovative futuristic house that thrives in its distinctive shape, location and views. Integral to the building’s remodelling is reworking the internal spaces to make them more functional and connected to the outdoors. The edge of the house wings out towards views of the landscape and it is also anchored to the land on the west side.
To make the most of its unique position, the garage was expanded to act as a base for the house and the stairwell was moved so that it takes you directly to the upper level. Upon entering, you see a framed view of the kitchen and then immediately turn into the open plan living. Here, there is a living and dining with tall ceilings, which open out to cascading views. Suddenly, there is a blurring of the indoors and outdoors, typical of Californian architecture. The rooms within the home follow an organic theme reminiscent of the structure’s circular shape.
The rigid flow of the old house has been transformed – the innovative futuristic house welcomes a nice sense of symmetry in the redesign of the kitchen and skylight as an oculus hub in the centre of the home. This skylight functions like a sundial and moves about at different points in time, reflecting a constant interplay with light. A thoughtful selection of materials are chosen to soften the powerful geometry of the home. In terms of finishes and materiality, the residence is very minimalist.
Tasked to rectify a defunct terrace typology that is common to the area, the architect has employed a refined sense of detail from entrance to the back courtyard. To retain certain aspects of the original home, Placement has chosen to maintain the main bedroom with its original fireplace. While the house tour continues on, small design elements help to reignite the home’s historical character through a modern lens.
Placement has a sense of release and decompression to unveil the house by designing a double-height ceiling that leads into the dining area. When responding to the home’s narrow site, the architect had to find a way to welcome light into the centre of the building. This crucial design element was answered by the use of a central courtyard, which has been finished with large glass windows to allow for light to flood the living spaces. Moving from the dining area, two hallways are revealed, one which accesses the bathroom and another that works as a galley kitchen, and at the end of both hallways sits the living room and rear garden.
An additional mezzanine level is built above the hallways, designed to be used as a multipurpose room, second bedroom or office space. However, the space ultimately helps to zone out the separate dining and living areas. Employing bricks as the main material element within the narrow home, they are laid in a stack bond to accentuate the verticality in the space. Selecting the Nubrik artisan by Brickworks for its tactility and textural quality, the architect has used brick to help define the interior detailing and works alongside the timber joinery. In doing so, the timber is employed to do the heavy lifting of the interior spaces as the joinery creates a seamless transition between living, dining and the mezzanine level by creating overlapping lines.
With an introduction from Julia Bradbury, this film will transport you to the four-mile-long shingle spit of Blakeney Point, cared for by the National Trust. The spit provides protection for Blakeney Harbour and the surrounding salt marshes are home to a vast array of wildlife. Blakeney Point is also home to England’s largest grey seal colony, over-wintering wildfowl and summer-breeding terns.
Join Gemma as she meets the National Trust rangers who work around the clock to care for this stretch of coastline, which is loved by walkers, sightseers and wildlife enthusiasts. You’ll meet ranger Duncan Halpin who spends seven months of the year living in a remote lifeboat house. During this time, he monitors the seal pups and makes sure endangered birds such as little terns have safe places to nest.
Its eastern half, the Riviera di Levante, is defined by its rugged cliffs, turquoise coves and pastel seaside towns, including the colorful Cinque Terre fishing villages, as well as stylish resort areas such as Portofino and Santa Margherita Ligure.
Halfway between sculpture and architecture, the Atomium was designed and built for the Brussels World’s Fair (1958), for which it was the flagship building and emblem. Representing an iron unit cell (9 iron atoms) magnified 165 billion times, the monument with its unique silhouette has, over time, grown to become the symbol of Brussels and Belgium.
Boomers Daily 