The Jardin du Luxembourg, known in English as the Luxembourg Garden, colloquially referred to as the Jardin du Sénat, is located in the 6th arrondissement of Paris, France. Creation of the garden began in 1612 when Marie de’ Medici, the widow of King Henry IV, constructed the Luxembourg Palace as her new residence.
Category Archives: Views
Tours: San Francisco’s Storied Architecture
Today on AD Architect James Dixon leads us on a walking tour of San Francisco, highlighting the captivating details found in its storied architecture. From the iconic Transamerica Pyramid and Hallidie Building to Postcard Row, the Presidio and more – discover the history behind San Francisco’s most famous buildings and neighborhoods through James Dixon’s expert eye.
Front Page: The New York Times – October 26, 2022
Climate Pledges Are Falling Short, and a Chaotic Future Looks More Like Reality
With an annual summit next month, the United Nations assessed progress on countries’ past emissions commitments. Severe disruption would be hard to avoid on the current trajectory.
U.S. Officials Had a Secret Oil Deal With the Saudis. Or So They Thought.
After Saudi leaders pushed to slash oil production despite a visit by President Biden, American officials have been left fuming that they were duped.
Democrats, on Defense in Blue States, Brace for a Red Wave in the House
“Reality is setting in”: With two weeks to go, Republicans are competing in Democratic bastions like New York, California, Oregon and even Rhode Island.
Views: How Venice Was Built On A Swamp (NOVA)
Building a city on a lagoon has its challenges. Here’s how the citizens of Venice accomplished this task centuries ago.
Rising sea levels and sinking land threaten to destroy Venice. Leading scientists and engineers are racing against the clock and battling the forces of nature to try to save this historic city for future generations. Discover the innovative projects and feats of engineering currently underway, including a hi-tech flood barrier, eco-projects to conserve the lagoon, and new efforts to investigate erosion beneath the city. This is Venice as never seen before, at a critical moment in its rich history.
Walking Tour: Bodrum In Southwestern Turkey (4K)
Bodrum is a city on the Bodrum Peninsula, stretching from Turkey’s southwest coast into the Aegean Sea. The city features twin bays with views of Bodrum Castle. This medieval fortress was built partly with stones from the Mausoleum at Halicarnassus, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, completed in the 4th century B.C. The city is also a gateway for nearby beach towns and resorts.
Tours: Light Mine House In Northern New Zealand
Sitting above the dunes on a plateau, Light Mine is an extraordinary home by Crosson Architects that embraces expansive views of the Coromandel Peninsula. Entering from the southern end of the house, the Light Mine house tour unfolds like a book, seeing Crosson Architects offer a carefully planned story from beginning to end.
Video timeline: 00:00 – Introduction to the Extraordinary New Zealand Home 00:43 – An Extraordinary Site 01:12 – A Choreographed Journey 01:30 – The History Behind the Gold Mining 02:10 – The Light Shafts 02:48 – Tying the Material Palette into Context 03:02 – Cladding Built From the Land 03:32 – Moulding and Blending into the Location Overtime 03:48 – The Extraordinary Craftsmanship 04:33 – A Reference to the Interior of a Gold Mine 05:08 – The Variations of Light Quality
Separated into interconnecting pods, Light Mine is a single level family home that takes inspiration from the dunes and headlands behind and becomes a unique structural form for future generations to enjoy. In designing the home, Crosson Architects looked to the gold mining history of the area, finding inspiration from a historical drawing of a gold mine shaft. As such, the architects have designed a series of geometric pods. Serving as unique structural elements, these inserts work together to break up the horizontal design of the extraordinary home.
Embraced by the clients after many conversations with Crosson Architects, the diagonal inserts offer a sense of scale and character to the home that relates to the surrounding landscape. From within, the diagonal shafts bring a playful and unique movement of light that instils changing characteristics; placed strategically over the living and dining areas, they offer variations of light as the sun shuffles through the extraordinary home.
Notably, the light shaft in the main bedroom offers glimpses of the night sky, capturing the Milky Way and stars above. Understanding that the extraordinary home needed to meld and blend into its surroundings over time, Crosson Architects has used reclaimed local native tōtara timber for the exterior cladding, enhancing the home’s horizontality and settling it into its surrounds. Overall, a cohesive approach to colour and materiality ensures the home reflects the surrounding landscape. Dark timber has been employed on the exterior, referencing the rock of the headland behind; inside, the use of light timber speaks to the sand dunes beyond.
The band sawn timber used extensively throughout the interior design creates a warm reprieve from the outside. In contrast, the kitchen and bathrooms feature dark timber veneer, which also nods to the gold mines while creating visual interest in each internal space. Challenged to design something that was both memorable and laid back, Crosson Architects has delivered an extraordinary home, which references Light Mine’s historical context and incorporates the changing colours of the day to emphasise its unique character.
Stockholm Canal Walks: Djurgårdsbrunnskanalen
Perhaps the most classic place for a stroll in Stockholm. Sunday brunch at Djurgårdsbrunns värdshus, combined with a stroll along the canal is something I believe most locals appreciate. We’re here at a weekday, near sunset. Just a few joggers, walkers and a horse around.
Djurgårdsbrunnskanalen is a canal in central Stockholm, Sweden, separating the island Djurgården from the northern mainland. The canal stretches one kilometre from Lilla Värtan to Djurgårdsbrunnsviken and allows ships 9.5 metres wide and 2.1 metres deep to pass.
Front Page: The New York Times – October 25, 2022
Rishi Sunak Wins Contest to Lead U.K. and Confront Economic Storm
After a period of chaos, Mr. Sunak, a Conservative, faces serious political and economic headwinds. He will be the first person of color and first Hindu to be prime minister.
Sunak’s Ascent Is a Breakthrough for Diversity, With Privilege Attached
Rishi Sunak’s ascent to the prime minister’s office is a significant milestone for Britain’s Indian diaspora. But for many, his immense personal wealth has made him less relatable.
Fearing a New Shellacking, Democrats Rush for Economic Message
In the final stretch before the 2022 midterm elections, some Democrats are pushing for a new message that acknowledges the pain of rising prices.10h agoBy JONATHAN WEISMAN and NEIL VIGDOR
Where Russians Retreated, Ukrainians Find Devastation
Returning to liberated towns, Ukrainians find destruction on a staggering scale, vital services cut, and the prospect of a lethal winter ahead.
Yellowstone Hikes: Old Faithful To Mallard Lake
This is a 13 mile hike in the Old Faithful area. I started at the Old Faithful parking lot, and did a clockwise loop around to Mallard Lake and back down to Old Faithful. After the thermal section, most of the hike is through thick forest. I was happy to see fresh bear tracks on the trail. This hike has a very good trail all the way and was an easy hike.
Old Faithful is a cone geyser in Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming, United States. It was named in 1870 during the Washburn–Langford–Doane Expedition and was the first geyser in the park to be named. It is a highly predictable geothermal feature and has erupted every 44 minutes to two hours since 2000.
Village Walks: Corippo In Ticino, Switzerland (4K)
Corippo is a mountain village in the Verzasca valley some 12 kilometers (7.5 mi) from Locarno, at the north end of the artificial Lake Vogorno and 20 km (12 mi) from the border with Italy. The houses are built from the local Ticino granite with slate roofs and have changed little for several hundred years, leading the Italian writer Piero Bianconi to describe Corippo as “Verzasca’s gentlest village”.
Its early 17th century Church of the Blessed Virgin Annunciata (later the Blessed Virgin Carmine) was extended in the late eighteenth century. Corippo’s architectural value has caused the entire village centre to be placed under a conservation order, and in 1975 the European Architectural Heritage Congress named the village as an “exemplary model” for historical preservation. Corippo was originally part of the larger parish and commune of Vogorno (though maintaining a certain degree of autonomy), before becoming a fully independent municipality in 1822. The village first became connected to the wider world in 1883 when a road was built linking it to the Verzasca valley road.
Boomers Daily 