💙 Brace for Impact on 500px by Mark Dunham, Sydney,……
Month: July 2016
Video: Designing Through Time – Home Economics at the 2016 Venice Biennale
In this interview, presented in collaboration with PLANE—SITE, Jack Self—co-curator of the British Pavilion at the 2016 Venice Biennale—reveals how the frontline of architecture in Britain today is not just a housing crisis, but “a crisis of the home.” In provocatively presenting “the banal,” Self reveals why the British participation at the 2016 Venice Biennale proposes five new models for domestic life, each curated through time of domestic occupancy, alongside how it seeks to address the ways in which we might live in the future.
Through five distinct periods (hours, days, months, years and decades) [the exhibition] argues that by designing first with time (as opposed to space) we can overturn the functionalist perspective in western architecture and reinstate a rationalist understanding of dwelling. As far as we are aware, it is also the first exhibition on architecture to be curated through time in the home.
Each of these five models addresses a different facet of our “frontline” crisis of living, from how to prevent speculation and exploitation in real estate markets to how sharing can be a form of luxury and not a compromise. Each model has been developed in an intensely pragmatic and totalising way, by harnessing the expertise of diverse advisors and collaborators ranging from developers and financial institutions to engineers, architects, artists, fashion designers, photographers and filmmakers.
Central Room. Image © Laurian Ghinitoiu
Jack Self is an architect and writer. He curated the British Pavilion with Finn Williams and Shumi Bose.Home Economics was commissioned by the British Council.
Home Economics: Inside the British Pavilion at the 2016 Venice Biennale
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Freedman White Remodels a Home in Elsternwick, Australia
Hoddle House is a residential project completed by Freedman White in 2015. It is located in Elsternwick, Victoria, Australia. Photos by: Jeremy Wright
10 Things Single Happy People Want You To Know
Are they happy, sad, lonely, depressed, ecstatic? They say they are ok but are they really? We wonder how they can live like this, alone and single. They’ve been this way far too long. Surely they must be lonely. The married or attached person sometimes has a hard time figuring out the single person. Some might actually even be a tad envious of their life. You should be. The single person has some interesting things they want you to know about their super cool life.
Many are single on purpose while others simply haven’t found a suitable partner. Some wish they weren’t alone and long to have a partner, but not just any partner. Unfortunately, there are some who will choose anyone over loneliness. This is never a good idea. Whatever the case may be, here are a few things you should know.
1. Don’t feel sorry for us.
We’re not sorry. We’re pretty darned happy actually. Ok so maybe it can be a bit of a struggle trying to find a date to events with the rest of you guys but honestly, we’re happy to go alone if we have to. It’s ok. Really. we enjoy our own company so much, we’re not really alone anyway.
2. Please no more blind dates.
I know you mean well and you would like to see me with the guy who works in cubicle #24 but really, I’m ok for dates. If I want to go on a date or feel the need to, I’m pretty capable of finding my own. If I can’t find one, I’ll go solo and be open to whatever comes my way.
3. We don’t always want to talk about sex with you.
Especially as you are getting it and we are, well, you know, not. Yes, we would like to have sex, no we won’t go out and get it with a stranger. We don’t need or want it that bad. We don’t really want to have the sex toy conversation with you either. It’s rather private, thank you.
4. Yes, your spouse is hot, no we don’t want them.
Just because we are single doesn’t mean we are eyeballing every single specimen of the opposite sex and fantasizing about them. We can appreciate beauty just like the other guy. We don’t necessarily want to have sex with everything we see. Remember, we kinda like being single.
5. I am picky, you’re right.
Why does that bother you? I can be picky if I want. I’m not looking to get married anytime soon but if I did, the next person has to be absolutely perfect for me. I won’t settle for less. I’ve done that for far too long. I know my worth and I won’t budge.
6. I could be single forever.
And that’s ok too. not everyone in the world has to get married. Some of us can just be single and happy. We go out when we want, we date when and who we want, we live our life for ourselves and still get to enjoy the company of our friends and family at any time. Being single has many many perks.
7. And speaking of perks.
Our life is full of them. Freedom, peace, happiness, no stress, total contentment. There are tons of perks of being single so we don’t necessarily want you to set us up on a date. We really are pretty happy on our own. I know, it’s crazy to even think that.
8. Don’t insist I come out with you and your friends all the time.
I’m really not lonely. Refer back to #1. You don’t have to feel sorry for me, I don’t. I love my alone time and when you call and insist I come out with you, as much as I appreciate you thinking about me, really you need to understand, I’m ok alone.
9. You can still talk to me.
Even though I’m single you can still tell me your love life problems. I’ve been in relationships before, remember? I know what it’s like and maybe I can even give you some unbiased advice or another perspective. Don’t feel like you can’t talk to me anymore.
10. I really do love going out for dinner and to the movies alone.
Sounds bizarre but it’s very relaxing for me. To sit and not have to entertain anyone feels very peaceful and stress-less. Going out alone offers me the opportunity to make new friends and forces me to talk to other people and meet new people and that really is super fun.
The single life can be a happy one indeed.
The post 10 Things Single Happy People Want You To Know appeared first on Change your thoughts.
Abandoned Church by Freaktography An old couch in an abandoned…
via Statues in Focus http://ift.tt/29Kb9ja
Brexit live: Tory MPs begin voting to choose new leader – and prime minister
- One of five leadership contenders eliminated today
- Andrea Leadsom boosted by Boris Johnson endorsement
- Tom Watson in ‘last-ditch’ meeting with unions over Corbyn leadership
- Read today’s morning briefing
9.00am BST
Good morning. I’m Andrew Sparrow, taking over from Claire.
Nigel Farage, the outgoing Ukip leader, has been on LBC this morning. He has joined the large chorus of Brexit politicians (and remain ones too) criticising Theresa May for refusing to promise EU nationals living in the UK that they will definitely be allowed to stay. These are from LBC’s Theo Usherwood.
Nigel Farage on LBC now: I might watch a bit of cricket, catch the odd fish, go to the pub…. I wouldn’t mind a bit of normality.
Farage: If I can help behind the scenes with the Brexit negotiations then I would be happy to do so.
Farage: I am disgusted at the way May has been speaking. The EU nationals living in the UK came here legally and they have protected rights.
8.42am BST
It was mainly Conservative MPs who were drinking in the House of Commons bars last night as many discussed how the leadership candidates had performed in the hustings.
Some joked that Andrea Leadsom had lost them when she began to talk about “frontal lobes” and her “3 B’s – Brussels, banks and babies”. The reference was to the attachment theory between parents and newborns and the impact on brain development, something she is passionate about.
8.32am BST
Crabb voted against same-sex marriage and has come in for criticism – particularly since he launched his leadership bid – for his views.
He told the BBC his objection had been on the “narrow issue of protection of religious freedom”:
I’m very happy with the outcome of the vote … I totally, totally support equal marriage in law.
I don’t want anybody in society feeling second best.
It’s certainly not part of my Christian outlook.
8.29am BST
Asked about his proposal for a £100bn Growing Britain fund – borrowing to invest in infrastructure projects – Crabb mentioned (a few times) the need for “bold choices”:
We’re at a major turning point … if we’re going to turn this [Brexit] to our advantage, we need to make some different economic choices.
It will always be a hallmark of a Conservative government to put a really strong emphasis on fiscal discipline and controlling spending.
[But] Britain has to forge a new future in the world.
8.23am BST
Stephen Crabb, work and pensions secretary and wannabe prime minister, is on the Today programme. He’s repeated his argument that the status of EU nationals already living in the UK should not be used as bargaining chips in Brexit negotiations:
The idea that we will be at some sort of Checkpoint Charlie scenario, arguing over who’s going to live in which countries … is not going to happen.
I think it’s a mistake for people to rush out to set out a timetable right now for activating article 50 … The dust hasn’t begun to settle. [The new PM] needs to take stock and work up a clear vision of what is in the national interest.
Some of the other candidates … have felt under pressure to set out now what their timetable would be. We need to take a whole UK perspective on this … the mayor of London has got a role in those kinds of discussions.
8.11am BST
The Bank of England will released its latest financial stability report at 10.30am, assessing the state of the UK’s economy. It looks rather more unstable than two weeks ago, of course, since the EU referendum vote turned politics on its head and put business confidence on its knees.
Then at 11am, Mark Carney will hold a press conference to explain the Bank’s thinking, and any new measures it is taking to tackle the crisis.
Related: Mark Carney to outline Bank of England’s Brexit stability moves – business live
8.06am BST
Buzzfeed’s Jim Waterson reports that Raheem Kassam, editor-in-chief of the UK outlet of rightwing news site Breitbart, and a former aide to Nigel Farage, is thinking of throwing his hat into the Ukip leadership ring. Sort of:
I intend to shake up the leadership contest. Maybe by running. Maybe another way. Farage knows and he told me by way of third party that it was a good idea. Don’t know if that is true or not, to be honest.
.@RaheemKassam says “breaking point” poster was poorly executed but “message was fine” #newsnight
7.47am BST
If you had to pick one of the Tory leadership contenders to describe as a “warrior for the dispossessed”, who would it be?
For Nicky Morgan, writing in the Telegraph this morning, it’s her predecessor as education secretary, Michael Gove. And so he ought to be the prime minister, she says:
It needs someone who will stand up for what’s right and not hide from big decisions. Someone with the ideas, passion and energy to get the job done. Someone who, through courageous and long-overdue education reforms (which I’ve had the privilege to build on) and wide-ranging changes to the way the criminal justice system works, has done more to transform the life chances of the most disadvantaged than any other Cabinet minister of recent times. Someone with an unshakeable commitment to being a ‘warrior for the dispossessed’.
Michael Gove offers the change and the leadership we need if we are to meet this moment with the hard-headed response it demands.
7.36am BST
Should Suzanne Evans – currently suspended from the party – be allowed to stand in the Ukip leadership, Nuttall is asked.
[It’s] not my decision, unfortunately. Suzanne is a fantastic frontwoman for the party and I hope Suzanne comes back into the party. If the national executive committee says that Suzanne is able to stand, then I will back them absolutely 100%.
I don’t have a problem on a personal level with Douglas Carswell at all … unity is the key.
7.33am BST
Reminded of a blogpost he wrote on 2010 (deleted but archived here) saying that “the very existence of the NHS stifles competition”, Nuttall tells the BBC:
I said that back in 2010 … I believe that lack of competition within the NHS does stifle … particularly in procurement. We could bring in private companies to buy on behalf of the NHS. The NHS should still be free at the point of delivery … I’ve never said anything else.
7.27am BST
Ukip also needs to stick around, Nuttall argues, to make sure Brexit actually happens:
We have to be there to ensure we hold the next prime minister’s feet to the fire to ensure they don’t backslide.
7.26am BST
Paul Nuttall, Ukip’s deputy leader and likely contender to stand for the top job after Nigel Farage’s resignation, has been speaking on the Today programme.
Farage really is going this time, Nuttall says:
Nigel has been a brilliant leader … he’s taken us from literally nothing … He really is going out on a high.
Ten years ago Ukip was a single-issue pressure group … That isn’t the case any more.
7.13am BST
Jo Johnson – previously backing his brother Boris (and we know these things aren’t guaranteed) – has switched his support to Theresa May:
It’s Theresa May. No question. #TM4PM @TheresaMay2016
6.49am BST
Good morning and welcome to our daily politics, leadership jousts and Brexit fallout coverage. I’m kicking things off with the morning briefing to set you up for the day ahead and steering the live blog until Andrew Sparrow takes his seat.
Do come and chat in the comments below or find me on Twitter @Claire_Phipps.
We are not leaving our party. We are going to fight and we are going to win!
I have the support to run and resolve this impasse, and I will do so if Jeremy doesn’t take action soon.
When we do things together we are very strong. Now is the time to come together.
Britain will remain a member of the EU in the future. In five years, there will still be 28 member states. When you look at all of those [companies] who want to move to the EU, it’s a wakeup call for Britain not to leave in the end.
When you get divorced, you do not get to stay at home. You have to leave the common house.
We cannot continue with a system in which on French territory the British authorities decide the people that can be welcomed and can be rejected. That is not acceptable.
Registered supporters have no “ongoing” relationship with the party and would thus have to sign up again, under Labour party rules. There is also no rule on the registered supporter fee remaining at £3, or on the timeframe in which new members should be allowed to sign up, which is a matter for the national executive committee (NEC) to decide.
“It could be free, it could be £50,000 – there’s nothing to say it has to be £3,” a Labour source told the Guardian.
YouGov Tory members poll. Behold utter destruction of Gove’s reputation – in under a week, from +41 to -20 http://pic.twitter.com/PfgQZxvSAv
Le vrai facteur d’incertitude, c’est, à supposer que l’article 50 soit déclenché, les conditions dans lesquelles le Royaume-Uni effectuera des transactions commerciales avec l’Union européenne (UE). L’hypothèse favorable, c’est un accord à la norvégienne. C’est politiquement difficile, car le pays y aurait toutes les obligations des membres de l’UE, notamment la libre circulation des personnes, mais aucun droit. Mais ce serait le plus raisonnable économiquement …
Mais nous n’avons pas la moindre idée ni du délai, ni de l’issue des négociations entre Londres et l’UE.
It would be sheer madness to contemplate even for a moment giving up Britain’s independent nuclear deterrent. And there is no room for compromise, and no room for cheese paring.
We need a full fleet of four submarines, capable between them of providing what the military call ‘Continuous At Sea Deterrence’, or permanent, around-the-clock cover. Doing so will send an important message that, as Britain leaves the European Union, we remain committed to working alongside our Nato allies and playing our full role in the world …
A former shadow cabinet minister describes this as a ‘clause 1 rather than a clause 4 moment’ because the first line of the party’s constitution defines its purpose as ‘to organise and maintain in parliament and in the country a political Labour party’.
What is fascinating, though, is that a growing number of MPs, peers, candidates and advisers now believe that it is time to start again with a new party of the centre left. Three months ago it was seen as foolish, or even heretical, to suggest such a thing, but since the EU referendum the idea has become mainstream. The Brexit vote has changed everything, with a former cabinet minister talking of the exciting possibilities for a ‘party of the 48%’ … One of those involved behind the scenes [says]: ‘There’s a massive opportunity for a pro-business, socially liberal party in favour of the EU.’
Of course the head rat would leave the sinking ship.
“Of course the head rat would leave the sinking ship” – Christoph Waltz reacts to @Nige_ Farage stepping down https://t.co/TG3iXxJRb0
Happy Independence Day!! The original #Brexit #happy4thofjuly http://pic.twitter.com/1s6mqb86hB
Politics blog | The Guardian http://ift.tt/29eQ2IE
Dune-shaped car park by Royal HaskoningDHV doubles as a flood defence
LightPathAKL / Monk Mackenzie Architects
© Russ Flatt
- Architects: Monk Mackenzie Architects
- Location: Auckland, New Zealand
- Design Team: Dean Mackenzie, Hamish Monk
- Area : 600m long
- Project Year: 2015
- Photographs: Russ Flatt
- Landscape: LandLAB
- Artist: Katz Maihi
- Engineer: GHD
- Contractor: Hawkins Construction
© Russ Flatt
From the architect. LightPathAKL transforms six hundred meters of redundant highway infrastructure into a dynamic cycleway completing a vital link in Auckland’s inner city cycle network.
© Russ Flatt
LightPathAKL was initiated when a study identified the potential of an unused former highway offramp to be repurposed to form the western route of an inner city cycleway and complete Auckland’s inner city cycle network.
Site Plan
Architecturally the project had to work simultaneously at two scales: the macro and the micro – the city and the individual. The project was also primarily conceived equally as a piece of urban art as it was urban design.
© Russ Flatt
At the city scale, the project was just one strand, albeit now unused, of a larger and multiple level confluence of highways that run through Auckland.
© Russ Flatt
To create an impact at this wider city scale a simple yet bold strategy was employed.
The former asphalt highway was given a highly vivid and provocative pink resin and aggregate surfacing. This transformed the space from a disused highway into a highly contemporary urban space used by cyclists and pedestrians.
Section
A dusk and evening dimension was created by placing over 300 LED custom light boxes along the eastern edge of the cycleway to create a light spine.
These were fully programmable and contained sensors to create a digital infrastructure to allow an artist to create an infinite array of experiences. This reinforced the macro realm of the project and created an interactive light sculpture that transformed the new urban space and gave the project its name.
© Russ Flatt
Maori artist Katz Maihi formed a crucial part of the team to imbue the contemporary project with a sense of narrative, place and speak to the user and micro scale.
Aluminium plates, engraved with original Katz artworks were subtly integrated into the western edge of the cycleway barrier. In addition to this, the pink surfacing was concluded at its northern end in another 27 metre long original artwork that morphed the surfacing back to asphalt.
© Russ Flatt
The project is a bold statement in Auckland’s urban realm, illustrating movement, speed and aspiration. The project hurtles through the active highway network – the immersive character and identity of the project varying from one vantage point to another, across the day and night, and around the adjacent precincts.
© Russ Flatt
It takes on the often overused definition of urban connectivity and profoundly redefines it with a persuasive use of colour, materiality and technology. In the process, it contributes to a dispersal of ones perception of what it is to move about a city with an intoxicating cycling, pedestrian and transportation event.
More than 100,000 cycle journeys have been made on #LightPathAKL, cementing its place as a now critical piece of cycling infrastructure in the city.
© Russ Flatt
APA Designs a Sophisticated Home in London
Residence Clerkenwell Apartment is a private residence designed by APA . It is located in London, England. Residence Clerkenwell Apartment by APA: “Architecture firm APA has transformed a London warehouse space into an apartment for two theatre and film directors, adding a raw steel volume that houses a movie archive and a bathroom. Both Ibelhauptaite and Fletcher were drawn to the apartment’s expansive windows, which – prior to the renovation..
Two Courtyards House + Bridge 130 Cafe / Lee.haan.architects
© Joonhwan Yoon
- Architects: Lee.haan.architects
- Location: Hwagae, Hadong, South Korea
- Architects In Charge: Hoseok Lee, Boyoung Han
- Area: 390.09 sqm
- Project Year: 2016
- Photographs: Joonhwan Yoon
- House: 183.5 sqm
- Cafe: 206.59 sqm
© Joonhwan Yoon
From the architect. To the west, the site is accessed by the famous road as known as the ‘Road to the Ssanggyesa Temple’ or the ‘Simni (10 ri) Cherry Blossom Avenue, Hadong.’ To the east, it is overlooking the Hwagaegol Valley and provides the view towards the distant tips of Jirisan Mountain, wild tea plantation, and the village.
© Joonhwan Yoon
The site is open all the way round and so required a solution that maintains the home privacy in its entirety as well as providing the view of surrounding natural landscape at any place within the house.
We made the cafe adjacent to the Cherry Blossom Avenue frequented by passers-by, and located the house far from the road so as to embrace two courtyards.
© Joonhwan Yoon
Two Courtyards House
The outer courtyard does not bother to visually block the inside, but enables free access. The entry hall, laundry, carpenter’s store, additional floored hall, and faucets are located around the courtyard, in order to embrace the meeting with neighbors and such an everyday life as to be quite laborious like Kimchi-making and laundry.
© Joonhwan Yoon
Around the inner courtyard, the living room, the kitchen, and the main room are arranged in an L-shaped form, while a long floored hall was located towards the valley.
© Joonhwan Yoon
The floored hall was completely open towards the valley, but guaranteed intimacy towards the village road with an additional door installed. While the distinction of inside or outside between the courtyard and the living room disappeared, the privacy was stabilized.
Plan
Going through the stepping stones on water, the gate, and the outer courtyard and entering the living room, one can see the valley under one’s feet and the distant landscape of wild tea plantation, which are invisible from outside.
© Joonhwan Yoon
Going upstairs to the study, one can also see the powerful and far-reaching landscape of the Jirisan valley that meanders through the north-south axis.
© Joonhwan Yoon
The exterior was clad with grey cement blocks and red cedar in their raw states so as to be well harmonized with the mountain, green tea plantation, cherry blossom trees, and unknown species of grass outside.
© Joonhwan Yoon
Bridge 130 Cafe
Like an old scenic gazebo where the literati enjoyed a refined taste, the cafe is maximally open where one can enjoy the flavor of the Cherry Blossom Avenue and the scenery of the valley.
© Joonhwan Yoon
The site, whose level is about two meters apart from that of the Avenue, was partly elevated to make the cherry blossom trees and the cafe meet with each other.
© Joonhwan Yoon
The floor and the ceiling were clad with the same material for both the inside and the outside in order to extend the inner atmosphere towards the outside continuously. This is to extend the cafe towards the outdoor space shaded by the cherry blossom trees. At the outdoor space, one can see the whole look of the house aside as well as enjoying the landscape of the valley stretching to a distance.
© Joonhwan Yoon
Designed to make easy access to the house, the bridge between the cafe and the house has a similar pattern with the handrail of the old Jeonggeumdari Bridge, so as to reflect the client’s past memories of the old charming bridge just beside the site.
© Joonhwan Yoon
We hope this house will be with composure and wisdom to enjoy together or alone the nature of Jirisan Mountain whose landscape is variegated with the four seasons.
Sig Nordal 