National Trust (October 18, 2023) – 575 Wandsworth Road, London, was the home of Khadami Asalache – a Kenyan-born poet, novelist and British civil servant. Asalache spent 19 years transforming its interiors with hand-carved fretwork patterns and painted motifs inspired by traditional African houses and Moorish and Ottoman architecture.
Following his death in 2006, Asalache left 575 Wandsworth Road to the National Trust, which was first opened to the public in 2013. Today, his home has become a source of inspiration for collaborators, creatives and artists of all ages, forging social connections within its community and beyond. Watch this video to discover the inspirational qualities of Khadambi Asalache’s creations at 575 Wandsworth Road.
Hear from three creative artists who recently returned to the house to reflect on their own connections to this place. They also discuss the impact it has on their own work and their thoughts around home and legacy.
Times Literary Supplement (October20, 2023): The new issue features ‘Rocket Man’ – North Korea’s dictator is no joke; A snapshot of Teju Cole; Daniel Dennett’s evolution; Monet’s muses; John le Carré undercover, and more…
The Globalist Podcast (October 18, 2023) – UCL’s Julie Norman discusses Joe Biden’s high-stakes visit to Israel in the wake of a devastating blast at a Gaza hospital. We also examine what Ukraine’s use of US-made long-range missiles means for the country’s counteroffensive.
Plus: Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping strengthen ties at the Belt and Road Summit and Bottega Veneta launches its own academy.
With President Biden about to arrive in Israel, Palestinians and Israelis blamed each other for the explosion that devastated the hospital, where people had sought shelter from Israeli bombing.
In his 15 years as Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu has been seen as risk-averse, avoiding open-ended military engagements and peace initiatives.
Hamas Hijacked Victims’ Social Media Accounts to Spread Terror
The use of hostages’ Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp accounts to livestream attacks and issue death threats is a new tactic, experts said.
Ukraine Uses Powerful American-Supplied Missiles for First Time
Ukrainian forces attacked two key Russian air bases behind enemy lines on Tuesday, using American-made long-range missiles known as ATACMS, a U.S. official said.
Scientific American – November 2023: The issue features Woman The Hunter – New science debunks the myth that men evolved to hunt and women to gather; Interspecies Organ Transplants; Materials Made in Space; The Legacy of the Endangered Species Act, and more…
The Endangered Species Act requires that every U.S. plant and animal be saved from extinction, but after 50 years, we have to do much more to prevent a biodiversity crisis
The Museum of Modern Art (October 17, 2023) – What makes a 500-year-old printing process new? Master printer and publisher Jacob Samuel has brought etchings—prints created by transferring ink from a metal plate to paper—into the 21st century through collaborations with more than 60 contemporary artists. In this video, we filmed Samuel making his last print.
As he inks, hand wipes, and rolls his final print through the press, he reflects on his philosophy. “My goal is to leave no fingerprints,” he says. All you see is the artist’s work. I’m just another pencil. I’m just another brush. But I want the pencil to be sharpened really well. I want the brush to be sable. And to do that and be completely spontaneous, I trust the materials.”
Summary: The average U.S. household contains a trove of potentially reusable goods worth roughly $4,500. That’s a lot of trapped value, and companies are at last getting serious about accessing it—by developing new resale capabilities. Resale has been with us for a very long time, of course—at yard sales, on used-car lots, in classified ads.
An advanced AI model considers much more than what competitors are charging.
Summary: In today’s fast-paced world of digital retailing, the ability to revise prices swiftly and on a large scale has emerged as a decisive differentiator for companies. Many retailers now track competitors’ prices via systems that scrape rivals’ websites and use this information as an input to set their own prices manually or automatically. A common strategy is to charge X dollars or X percent less than a target competitor. However, retailers that use such simple heuristics miss significant opportunities to fine-tune pricing.
Stockholm Walks Films (October 17, 2023) – Windy October, leaves falling, going out for some chanterelles. There are mushrooms that will kill you, so I stick to chanterelles and funnel chanterelles that are hard to mistake for poisonous cousins
The Local Project (October 17, 2023) – As we venture Inside an art-filled home grounded in ideals of permanence and resilience, it is evident that Zed House signifies the prospect of rebuilding through an examination of the past and planning ahead for the future.
Video timeline:00:00 – Introduction to the Art-Filled Home 00:48 – Designing A Legacy Project 01:37 – The Z-Shaped Layout of the Home 02:03 – A Nostalgic and Personal Brief 02:40 – A Walkthrough of the Home 04:38 – Building for Changes in Climate 04:57 – The Material Palette 05:32 – Incorporating Aspects from the Previous Homestead 06:12 – An Enduring Family Home
The expansive, single-storey, red-brick home references the original residence that was destroyed in the 2011 earthquake in Christchurch, New Zealand, and is injected with art, nostalgia and childhood memories. Originally owned by the client’s parents, there was not much remaining of the original architecture, except for the gardens, which have been tendered to and reintegrated into the landscape.
As such, the client wanted a family home that would retain as much of the original house as possible, such as arched windows. Zed House receives its name from a distinct floor plan, which snakes around the site and forms the letter ‘Z’. Although the house is single storey, it boasts generous spaces, as seen in the house tour. Inside the art-filled home, one will find a deeply considered floor plan where a low-entrance front door contrasts with the vaulted ceiling within, which is close to four metres high, creating a sense of compression and release.
A juxtaposition between the casual arrangement of the kitchen, family and living rooms with the more formal dining and living area at the edge of the northern wing offers a dynamic balance inside an art-filled home. The sunken family room is relaxed and comfortable, whilst the other living area is more sophisticated, with green accents that echo the greenery of the natural surrounds. A gallery-like hallway with concrete walls houses the bedrooms and other smaller rooms.
Country Life Magazine – October18, 2023: The latest issue features Norfolks – Little pockets of fun; The real Macnab – great adventures in the field; Britain’s loneliest trees; Beethoven’s Austria and Amsterdam’s canal life, and more…
I’m still standing
In memory of the Sycamore Gap tree, so callously cut down, we salute its fellow arboreal sentinels of Britain
Following in the footsteps of John Macnab
The Editor and The Judge set off across the Tulchan estate in pursuit of a stag, a brace of grouse and a salmon, in the spirit of John Buchan’s hero
Country Life International
Anna Tyzack uncovers Monaco’s unexpectedly magnificent restoration
Deborah Nicholls-Lee settles in to an Amsterdam canal house
Tom Parker Bowles gorges on Alpine cheese
Russell Higham explores the Austrian countryside that inspired Beethoven
Holly Kirkwood picks the best Caribbean properties
Mark Frary straps on his pads for a spot of cricket in the Windward Islands
Felix Francis’s favourite painting
The author picks a scene full of the thrill of the racecourse
Totally foxed
The rural people of Scotland are reeling under a prejudiced new law on hunting. Jamie Blackett despairs for the fox
The Englishness of English architecture
What makes a building English? Steven Brindle considers the answer, from soaring cathedral vaults to austere Palladian villas and rambling country piles
Native breeds
Kate Green luxuriates in the luscious locks of the Leicestershire Longwool
Come hell or high water
Few creatures face as difficult a journey as the salmon does to and from its spawning grounds. Simon Lester follows in its wake
Interiors
A dramatic kitchen and why it’s time to cuddle up in British wool
Plant theatre
Charles Quest-Ritson takes the well-worn path to the famed nursery of Larch Cottage in Cumbria
Having a field day
Behind hounds or on the marsh, casting for a salmon or stalking a stag, nothing stirs Adrian Dangar’s heart as fieldsports do
Kitchen garden cook
Melanie Johnson finds the perfect pairing for hazelnuts
News, Views and Reviews For The Intellectually Curious
The Museum of Modern Art
Stockholm Walks
The Local Project
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