From exploring The Loop and Marina City to detailing the history of The Thompson Center and iconic Willis Tower, discover the history behind Chicago’s most famous buildings and neighborhoods through Lynda Dossey’s expert eye.
Videos
Architecture: The Jervois Apartments In Auckland
Video timeline: 00:00 – Introduction to the Modern Apartment 01:05 – The Brief 01:28 – Similarities of a Jigsaw Puzzle 01:44 – Contributing in a Positive Way Through Architecture 01:58 – The 8 Apartments 02:20 – The Layout of the Building 02:45 – Separation of Functions 03:45 – The Site Itself 04:16 – The Material Palette 05:06 – The Kitchen Design and Appliances 05:28 – Minimalistic Features of Fisher & Paykel 06:01 – Proud Moments
Encompassing eight units in total – one commercial space, six apartments and a penthouse – Jervois Apartments is simple, elegant and timeless. Due to the location of the site, the architect designs a modern apartment to fit a 33-metre length block that rises 15 metres above. Taking advantage of as much space as possible, the project uses the length of the site to its benefit and, in turn, offers occupants the opportunity to live spaciously.
Sitting high on the ridgeline and facing north, each apartment has been cleverly planned out. From the façade, a winter garden deck with views of nature greets those who enter and sets the scene for what is to come. From this, a long view of the apartment imbues a similarity to the openness that suburban homes offer. Positioned at the southern end of the apartment, the street-facing bedrooms and private spaces offer a unique placement that defers from other apartment designs.
Monk Mackenzie and Artifact Property employed an interface between private and public domains with metalwork screens. By employing the screening on the façade, the exterior design offers varying degrees of transparency and opacity. Through this unique use of materials, the architect designs a modern apartment that offers a different experience from opposite sides of the building. From the bedroom, a direct sightline of the surrounding landscape is offered to the occupants through the screens, whilst from the street below, the façade strikes a wave-like form that seamlessly blends into the built environment.
At the north end of the apartments are the living and dining spaces, kitchen and enclosed deck where the occupants can sit outside during winter whilst being sheltered from the elements. Though Jervois Apartments sits on a narrow site, the architect designs a modern apartment that optimises space to create a spacious interior environment. In the kitchens, the incorporation of natural stone, oak and metal work into the material palette has been seamlessly styled together with Fisher & Paykel appliances – such as the vertical column fridge-freezer, wine fridge and ovens.
With the insertion of minimal and clean appliances, Fisher & Paykel products blend into the kitchen without taking away from other elements of the apartments. Contributing to Auckland’s built environment, an architect designs a modern apartment that allows the occupants to live a city life whilst being surrounded by suburban comfort.
Travel Tours: Museum Of The Bavarian Kings (2022)
Many visitors to Schloss Neuschwanstein combine their visit with the Museum of the Bavarian Kings, also located in Hohenschwangau in the former Grandhotel Alpenrose. The museum that opened in 2011 offers more than 1000 m2 of exhibition on the history of the dynasty of the Bavarian Kings.
Old objects, interesting stories and interactive media take you into the history of the Wittelsbach dynasty. In particular King Maximilian II, who made the Hohenschwangau Castle into a summer residence, and King Ludwig II, who built Neuschwanstein , play a central role in the museum. From the first floor you have a magnificent panorama over the Alpsee lake.
Michelin Guide: A Tour Of Restaurants In Estonia
We hear from several of the forward-thinking chefs whose restaurants feature in the first MICHELIN Guide Estonia. They tell us about culinary traditions and classic recipes passed down through generations, as well as the importance of the seasons, foraging and fermentation in Estonian culture. Discover why now is an exciting time to be a chef in Estonia, as the country’s diverse cuisine finally gets the international recognition it deserves.
Some MICHELIN Guide Selections:
Wicca
Laulasmaa, Estonia
Lahepere Villa
Kloogaranna, Estonia
Puri
Tallinn, Estonia
NOA Chef’s Hall
Tallinn, Estonia
Florida Design: Building The Salvador Dali Museum
The challenges of redesigning the Dali museum in Florida were two-fold: deliver an iconic design befitting of its subject, and defy conventional building methods to make it strong enough to withstand a hurricane. The result: a landmark structure, as enduring as the work of the great artist himself.
The original Dalí Museum opened in St. Petersburg in 1982, after community leaders rallied to bring the Morses’ superlative collection of Dalí works to the area. The Dalí’s stunning new building opened on January 11, 2011. Designed by architect Yann Weymouth of HOK, it combines the rational with the fantastical: a simple rectangle with 18-inch thick hurricane-proof walls out of which erupts a large free-form geodesic glass bubble known as the “enigma”.
The Enigma, which is made up of 1,062 triangular pieces of glass, stands 75 feet at its tallest point, a twenty-first century homage to the dome that adorns Dalí’s museum in Spain. Inside, the Museum houses another unique architectural feature – a helical staircase – recalling Dalí’s obsession with spirals and the double helical shape of the DNA molecule.
Views: Sugba Lagoon In Siargao, Philippines (4K)
Sugba Lagoon is a hidden gem and a must-visit when in Siargao, Philippines. It can be reached within less than an hour by boat from Siargao and is definitely worth a trip. This lagoon offers the most transparent and turquoise water, stand-up paddleboarding, kayaking, and much more.
Nature: ‘Four Seasons In Yorkshire Dales’, England
The Yorkshire Dales is home to outstanding scenery, great castles, abbeys and a breathtakingly peaceful atmosphere. At its heart are two very special protected areas – Yorkshire Dales National Park and Nidderdale Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) – as well as it having the Forest of Bowland AONB and North Pennines AONB as its close neighbours. These protected areas are truly not to be missed.
“Yorkshire Dales, a home to 20000 people and 600000 sheep. The Dales is group of river valley in north England, each valley having its own character. This short film shows variety of seasons in the Dales and typical Yorkshire Dales landscape, such as drystone walls, wildflower meadows and limestone pavements.”
Filmed and Edited by: Alex William Helin
Music by Mark Petrie and Andrew Phrahlow, licensed from Audio Network. Sound effects are from Epidemic Sound.
The Future Of Cities: CO2 Absorbing & Repurposed
Will the cities of the future be climate neutral? Might they also be able to actively filter carbon dioxide out of the air? Futurologist Vincente Guallarte thinks so. In fact, he says, our cities will soon be able to absorb CO2, just like trees do.
To accomplish this, Guallarte wants to bring sustainable industries and agriculture to our urban centers, with greenhouses atop every building. But in order for Guallarte’s proposal to work, he says, cities will have learn to submit to the laws and principles of nature. Urban planners also have big plans for our energy supply. In the future, countries like Germany could become energy producers.
In Esslingen am Neckar, residents are working on producing green hydrogen in homes, to be used as fuel for trucks. It’s a project that‘s breaking new ground, says investor Manfred Norbert. Our future cities will be all about redefining a new normal. Architects and urban planners are expecting to see entirely new approaches to communal living, as well as new urban concepts for autonomous supply chains. The repurposing of old buildings, and the generation of food as well as energy, are other important topics.
The architect Arno Brandhuber thinks the current building stock available, and the possibilities it offers, have been underestimated. His spectacular business headquarters are located in an old silo in Berlin’s Lichtenberg district. His most provocative project, something he calls his “Anti-villa,” is a repurposed East German factory for cotton knitwear. It‘s a prime example of sustainable design.
Travel Tours: Gorizia In Northeastern Italy (4K)
The video shows the main attractions of the city of Gorizia. The city forms an urban area integrated also administratively with the Slovenian municipalities of Nova Gorica and San Pietro-Vertoiba. The territory of the Slovenian city of Nova Gorica was an integral part of the municipality of Gorizia until 1947, when Istria and a large part of Venezia Giulia were ceded to Yugoslavia following the Treaty of Paris.
- – Gorizia Cathedral: dedicated to the Aquileian saints Ilario and Taziano and elevated to the rank of cathedral in 1752, it is the main ecclesiastical building in Gorizia. – Church of Sant’Ignazio: It is a Baroque building erected between 1654 and 1723-1724, which was consecrated only in 1767. While the facade is a synthesis of Austrian and Latin elements, the interior is of purely Latin derivation. It contains valuable paintings and frescoes. – Castle of Gorizia: Perhaps the best known monument of the city, it stands on the highest point of a steep hill. The manor welcomes visitors with a Venetian lion, which however is not the one that was affixed by the Republic of Venice during the brief occupation of the city (1508-1509) but by the fascist government, after a radical restoration, which ended in 1937. Closed at the time of my visit.
- – Piazza della Vittoria; The largest in the city, overlooked by the church of Sant’Ignazio. Here we also find the Casa Torriana, of sixteenth-century origin, today the seat of the Prefecture. Among the many illustrious guests who lived there, there was also Giacomo Casanova, who stayed there in 1773. In the center of the square is the Fountain of Neptune, built in the mid-eighteenth century by the Paduan Marco Chiereghin on a project by Nicolò Pacassi, while in front to the church of Sant’Ignazio there is the Column of Sant’Ignazio, donated by Count Andrea di Porcia and placed here in 1687.
- – Piazza Sant’Antonio: Bordered by an airy colonnade, which once belonged to the cloister of a convent founded in the thirteenth century – as legend has it – by Saint Anthony of Padua. Two of the most interesting buildings in the city overlook the square, the Palazzo dei Baroni Lantieri and the Palazzo dei Conti di Strassoldo. – Piazza della Transalpina: The Piazza della Transalpina takes its name from the Jesenice-Trieste railway line to which the station located in Slovenian territory belongs. This stretch, which was inaugurated by Archduke Francesco Ferdinando in 1906, connects Trieste with Jesenice and then enters Central Europe. In modern times the whole square appears to have been restructured to form a single public space where the free movement of pedestrians is allowed. In place of the central part of the Wall of Gorizia that divided the square there is a circular mosaic and the state border – the physical barrier removed – is now indicated by a line of stone tiles.
- – Piazza Camillo Benso count of Cavour: bounded by the linear facade of the Palazzo degli Stati Provinciali, which now houses the Police Headquarters. Built in 1200 and enlarged in the sixteenth century, the palace was the seat of the “fathers of the Gorizia homeland”, the assembly, which included representatives of the nobility, the clergy and the county, who administered the city and its territory for six centuries. . Other ancient buildings overlook the square: the sixteenth-century Casa del Comune, with its characteristic projection on the upper floors, home of the Gastaldo; the Casa degli Ungrispach, one of the oldest in the city, in late Gothic style, on whose facade stands a plaque with the date Mccccxli. Note the presence of ancient houses at the entrance to via Rastello.
Austria Views: Vienna Christmas Markets 2022
From mid-November until Christmas 2022, Vienna’s most beautiful squares are once again transformed into magical Christmas markets. The aroma of Christmas baking, hot punch and toasted almonds wafts through the air. The Old City and shopping streets are decorated with festive lights that spread the Christmas cheer in Vienna.
A tall arched gateway with candles welcomes visitors at the entrance to the Viennese Christmas Market on City Hall Square. The traditional Christmas Market offers Christmas gifts, Christmas tree decorations, handicrafts, culinary treats, confectionery, and warming drinks. At the Vienna Ice World at the Christmas Market, ice skaters can put on their skates and make rounds through the romantically illuminated City Hall Park. A special attraction for couples in love is the tree of hearts. For children, there’s a 12 meter-high multi-level carousel and in the park a Christmas world with reindeer train, nativity scene trail, children’s chalet, and a designated skating ring.
Boomers Daily 