One of the four excuisite white villa's in the Museumpark in Rotterdam.

"Guggenheim Bilbao 1"

Image Copyright © George Cannon, All Rights Reserved.

This is a house in London.

www.crawfordpartnership.co.uk

Originally uploaded by Crawford Partnership

Does this building look out of keeping? Not at all!

The next morning I hit the T and headed into town to wander a bit. I'd been dying to see Trinity Church and the Boston Public Library, so I headed straight over to Copley Square, where both are located. Trinity Church was originally founded in 1733 and rebuilt in 1873 after the Great Boston Fire of 1872. The design of the rebuilding constituted an entire new American architectural style called Richardsonian Romanesque. Neat! I thought it was especially striking in context amongst all the skyscrapers and taxis.

From there, I skipped across Copley Square to the Boston Public Library. I am in LOVE with this library, it is really beautiful and truly deserving of the books and history that it houses.

These two statues flank the entrance, and inside there's a beautiful courtyard with a fountain and cafe tables.

I spent a good bit of time exploring the place, but didn't get too many pictures because I got so distracted by everything. So many books! OOOh exhibitions! Oooh a history of print-making!

On the first floor there was this great exhibit called Choosing to Participate, which sought to "inspire visitors to consider the consequences of their everyday choices - to discover how "little things are big" - and to make a difference in their own communities." There were a bunch of interactive displays that let visitors observe and really almost participate in both small and far-reaching personal and historical stories of community participation. Very cool!

After hangin at the library I took a stroll down swankified Newbury St. and checked out a few art galleries and expensive boutiques before shivering bedraggledly into Newbury Comics and then to nextdoor Trident Booksellers and Cafe.

Newbury Comics sold me a SWEET and cheap Small Sins CD that I've already made very good use of, and Trident sold me a super foamy mocha latte, a chicken applesauce sandwich and a cup of broccoli soup, swiftly siphoning away the remaining contents of my damp wallet. I sat at the coffee bar at Trident next to an attractive Russian who muttered violently to himself about the physics textbook he was studying in between taking breaks to watch t.A.T.u. videos on youtube and join in my conversation with the baristas about the Discovery Channel show that was playing on the TV above the bar. Apparently the cool looking shark we were discussing was actually not a shark but the largest known species of fish! "Eees feesh, not a shark thees. Largest feesh."

I had a great time with Kate, but I wasn't especially sad to leave Boston, especially after trying to navigate the tangled highway systems on the way out. Next time I go to Boston I will be sure to equip myself with a waterproof parka and warm boots.

Il y a quelques mois, j' ai eu à travailler sur la problématique d' un constructeur immobilier dont le produit est destiné aux foyers qui ne pensent pas pouvoir devenir propriétaire.

En faisant l' étude de ce marché  dit "low cost" ou social,  j' ai découvert un produit qui a été lancé par Ikea en Grande Bretagne. 

Boklok est un concept de maison qui repose sur les vrais besoins et désirs d' un foyer, le tout dans un environnement spacieux donnant accès à des espaces verts. Et ces maisons sont évidement des maisons en bois.

Suivant ce superbe projet de loin, je suis tombé sur des photos de l' intérieur de ces maisons. Le tout étant comme lorsqu' on tourne chez Ikea... Donc cela fait très 'maison' modèle, mais nous nous rendons vraiment compte du résultat final.

Vincent Callebaut’s Anti-Smog: An Innovation Centre in Sustainable Development is an ecological marvel, a self-sufficient entity that reacts to its environment and applies avant-garde renewable energies to purify the air of nasty Parisian smog. Labeled a “didactic prototype of ecological experimentations”, the center (or “centre") is a linear and emblematic site suspended above Paris’ canal de l’Ourcq that was envisioned as a place to educate French citizens on the importance of urban ecology and renewable energy.

Boasting 250 square meters of solar PV that produce more energy than the building uses, the “Solar Drop” structure is also coated with titanium dioxide, which reacts with the suns’ ultraviolet rays to create a photo-catalytic effect that actually breaks down smog in the air. It also harvests rainwater from the roof for use inside. Connected to the Solar Drop by bridge, the “Wind Tower” is a helical structure captures and utilizes the breeze coming off the canal. MORE...

My Uncle Greg works for Excel, a realty holding company in southern California. They have developed a new mall in Anaheim (right next to Disneyland) and needed some pictures of the restaurants. The grand opening for the mall is this month but the restaurants have already been operating. Long story short, my uncle thought I might be interested in taking these pictures and within 24-hours of his call I was on a plane headed to San Diego. Yipee!

 I spent two nights photographing the Anaheim Garden Walk, working around palm trees and car traffic in an effort to capture all of its glamour. The next week I sat in front of my computer and narrowed down 410 images to 50 and made them look beautiful. This experience has been incredibly valuable. Not only was shooting buildings (and shooting at night) a fairly new thing for me but working with a business and contracting rights has been quite enlightening. So thank you to my Uncle Greg not only for thinking of me, but also for helping me through my first time through this process! Fortunately Excel has been gracious about letting me use these photographs in my portfolio so I can share them here.

(photo by ex novo from flickr)

On this Solemnity of Pentecost, I am reminded of a piece Zenit's Elizabeth Lev wrote on the church of Sant'Ivo alla Sapienza in Rome, designed by Francesco Borromini. Ms. Lev originally wrote back in January after students and faculty at the University of Rome (La Sapienza) protested the Pope's visit there. Her piece reminds us of the University's papal beginnings, Sant'Ivo's design as an answer to the tower of Babel, and what responsibilities come with a Christian education and our sealing with the Holy Spirit. Note the urns and the ring of tongues of flame at the apex of the tower. Read her complete column here.

The exotic spiral perched atop the cupola has been endlessly photographed by tourists, surprised to see such an eccentric touch in Roman architecture. The exterior of Borromini's church elaborates the same theme as the interior in the lantern at the top of the dome. 

The peak of the dome twisting toward the sky recalls the Tower of Babel of Genesis 11. The grandiose construction was planned by men who thought they could reach heaven through their own ingenuity. God thwarted their plans by confounding their speech so they would not understand each other. 

Borromini crowned his Tower of Babel, however, with a ring of tongues of flame. Here, he evoked Pentecost when the Holy Spirit descended on the heads of the gathered disciples, giving them the ability to speak in many languages and still understand each other so as to proclaim the Gospel among the nations.

My Flights started in Ithaca, NY and on day one our plane to Philadelphia was held for four hours while they waited on a mechanic to drive from an hour away only to tell them he couldn't fix whatever the problem was with the brakes on the plane. Flight canceled! No way to make my connection so I'm already a day late. US Air arranged for my tickets the next day as far as Madrid, but the final leg was on Iberia whom they do not partner with so I had to get the people in Bilbao to make that new fight arrangement. Next day I left on time but in Philadelphia the plane to Madrid was held two hours because someone couldn't figure out the problem with the air conditioning was a circuit breaker that had to be reset. So finally in Madrid, too late. Missed the flight! And I have to say that the people in Madrid at Iberia are not the easiest people to deal with although their terminal is striking. Long story short, I got to Bilbao about 28 hours late. From there on it was a breeze. Great hotel and the people at the Guggenheim were fabulous.

The painting got packed on Tuesday and wasn't due to leave for Madrid until Thursday, so I had all day Wednesday to myself. Once I found my bearings I found my way around a small part of town easily and found Bilbao, in the heart of the Basque region, to be a very beautiful city. It was once a very industrial town with the Ria de Bilbao, which flows through the middle of the city, lined with shipping docks and factories. But as manufacturing has left and the shipping industry has declined in Bilbao, the city has rebuilt along the waterfront with a huge initiative to become a major tourist attraction. At the heart of this new rebirth is the Guggenheim Museoa Bilbao. A massive sprawling sculpture sheathed in titanium, designed by architect Frank Gehry, it commands the center of the new waterfront district. The entry is flanked by a huge sculpture by Jeff Koons known as the "Puppy". It's a giant West Highland terrier planted all over with flowering plants. It began as a temporary piece but was so popular it was kept permanently. Unfortunately it was being totally replanted when I was there so was surrounded with scaffolding. I believe it's popularity has made these tiny white dogs very popular in Bilbao, because I must have seen a dozen of them on the streets while I was there. People in Bilbao are big dog fans and walk their dogs constantly along the city streets, most running free off leash, but well behaved and under control.

I'll post more Guggenheim photos in my next post, but back to Bilbao. Never having been to Spain before, I found Bilbao a very attractive city, but was told that since it is a Basque city, that it's not typical of most other Spanish cities. The food is very different and the basic architecture of the houses is somewhat unique. They have more of a chalet look such as you might expect in Switzerland or Austria.

There was a beautiful old square very near the hotel with a grand old church. The streets were clean and the parks very beautiful. And all through the city a great juxtaposition of old and new, and construction going on building and renovating. the architecture alone is worth the trip there. Like most old European cities, many of the streets are narrow and paved with cobblestone.

The people were gracious and friendly, and despite not knowing the language well, I had little trouble communicating. The city also has great public transportation. My only regret is that I had only one full day to visit the city on my own because there was much I didn't see that I would have liked to.

More in the next post.

All images Copyright © George Cannon, All Rights Reserved.

house triangle

Architects: @ mayaPRAXIS

This clever triangle house is designed by a young team @ mayaPRAXIS.

mayaPRAXIS is an architectural and design firm based in Bangalore. The primary motivation towards design for architects @ mayaPRAXIS is the opportunity to marry a wide palette of creative resources and constraints available in India.

The close up ↑and some images of interiors↓

- one of the 100 Blue Jays fans asked by Toronto Life magazine ( June '08 ) what the Rogers Centre has that is comparable to Fenway's Green Monster or Wrigley's ivy.

Next time I go to a Jays game, I'm taking a poster with this quote on it. By the way, I was on the JumboTron last monday!

Most Interesting Bookstores of the World

Henderson Waves (above), at a height of 36m, is Singapore's highest pedestrian bridge. -- ST PHOTO: ASHLEIGH SIM

THE wet morning on Saturday did not dampen the excitement of Telok Blangah resident Habib Ismail.

He was among 500 residents who watched Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong officially open two pedestrian bridges - Henderson Waves and Alexandra Arch.

With these bridges, Telok Blangah Hill Park is now linked to Mount Faber on one side and Kent Ridge Park on the other.

An avid walker, Mr Habib, 44, a father of two, then joined Mr Lee and the other residents on a tour of the bridges.

The bridges complete a 9km chain of greenery in the Southern Ridges, which consist primarily of three large hill parks - Mount Faber, Telok Blangah Hill Park and Kent Ridge Park.

Henderson Waves, at a height of 36m, is Singapore's highest pedestrian bridge. A wave-shaped, steel-and-timber structure, it spans 274 metres across Henderson Road.

The other bridge is Alexandra Arch, which spans 80 m across Alexandra Road.

The parks were previously separated by roads and wooded vegetation. Now one can walk ridge-to-ridge, starting from Harbourfront MRT and ending at West Coast Park.

In 2002, the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) said it will link up parks in the Southern Ridges, as part of the Parks and Waterbodies and Identity Plan.

The project, which took two years to complete, cost the URA $25.5 million.

Apart from the two bridges, the Southern Ridges now also boast the Forest Walk, a 1.3km-long elevated walkway that cuts through secondary forest at Telok Blangah Hill Park; and Marang Trail, which links Harbourfront MRT to Mount Faber.

PM Lee also officiated the opening of the $13 million Horticulture Park - or HortPark for short.

With 20 theme gardens, HortPark is Southeast Asia's first one-stop gardening and lifestyle hub.

It's hardly got any windows on the street side at all! Just two huge garage doors. Those doors are a common feature throughout the show - houses whose outward appearance is totally dominated by monster garages, like a great big fat ugly gob. Anything human in the architecture skulks behind the garage, as if ashamed. It's as if cars designed these buildings for their own use - realising, of course, they needed to make provision for the people, but sadly not being quite able to understand their needs.

This is, of course, not irrelevant to why they are already down one-third of their value. Perhaps we need a word for the opposite of architecture?

I've gone off on a tangent, let me get back to the original purpose of this post. I would like to share some of the old-world residential architecture and design I enjoy:

1. Cape Dutch 

;      

2. English Tudor 

3. Neo-Classical

Let me know your thoughts.

"Town Hall"

Image Copyright © George Cannon, All Rights Reserved.