Seljalandsfoss waterfall by leahg123 On an otherwise cloudy day, the sun came out for a brief 5 minutes while I ventured behind this waterfall. Because of where I was standing, I was the only one who got to see the rainbow. The wind was not in my favor and I was getting drenched…I had to repeatedly clean the lens and shoot until I finally got a shot without water droplets. The effort and the angle was worth it– it’s one of my favorite photos from this trip. http://flic.kr/p/cySkvS
From the architect. Originally designed by modernist architect Zenon Lotufo in the late 1940s, this house passed through a total renovation and expansion to host the new family and become up to date with contemporary way of living. Initially a ground house with ‘butterfly’ shaped roof, the construction received a new upper volume, a little outbuilding and the use of the frontal part has been completely redesigned.
The project aims to elevate the original elements, such as the bicolor wooden floor, the windows ‘iron grades, the pantographic door and the external finishing that have been completely recovered and restructured, in order to valorize the original architecture. The plan was object of great adaptations, with the construction of new bathrooms, new divisions and sectorization and the creation of a new staircase, which leads to the new upper floor, holding the study and the home cinema. Following the organic shapes of some elements of the original design, such as the marquise and the water tank, the new upper volume, delicately lies on the main volume, in complete harmony with the rest of the construction.
The marquise, initially the garage, grew and gained a new purpose. It is the new main entrance, besides hosting the barbecue, the external dining and living with the fireplace, entirely integrated to the garden and to the indoor living room.
New skylights join the existing ones, emphasizing the use of natural light, together with the opening on the roof close to the barbecue, illuminating a small garden.
A new garage, on the front side of the lot, hides behind a new hollow bricks wall, reminding of the modernist architecture, creating an organic background to the garden, alongside with the upper volume and the marquise´s curves.
A little outbuilding in the backyard, literally embracing the guava three. The brick wall reminds the original disposition of the bricks on the lateral sides of the house. This disposition is used in the external new wall too.
The UK government has pledged its continuous support for the Thomas Heatherwick-designed Garden Bridge, but has reduced its financial guarantee from £15 million to £9 million. (more…)
Anyone who has ever picked up an Etch A Sketch knows just how difficult and time consuming it can be to draw even the simplest of shapes. But for some fanatics, the challenge is simply a part of the fun. Artist Jane Labowitch, known also as “Princess Etch A Sketch,” is one of those people. Since first picking up an Etch A Sketch at the age of 4, she has been fascinated with the red drawing toy, developing her skills to recreate notable works of art, architecture and pop culture.
Check out her drawings of some of architecture’s most iconic works after the break.
Spending up to 20 hours on the most complicated pieces, Labowitch creates her drawings on Etch A Sketches of various sizes. A recent trip to India saw her expand her artistry into a unique form of travel journalism.
Taj Mahal (With Flowers)
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Red Fort
Humayun’s Tomb
Ceiling Detail from Amer Palace Hall of Mirrors
Tuk Tuk (A covered motorized bike)
Other pieces include the ornate St. Basil’s Cathedral and the Chicago Skyline:
St. Basil’s Cathedral
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Chicago Skyline
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A Sunday on La Grande Jette / Seurat
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Winged Victory
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Check out more of Labowitch’s work at her website, here.
H/T Insider, Intrepid Travel.
From personal to professional, for relationships or partnerships to work, I’ve found that a natural flow of giving and receiving is essential to building trust and nurturing growth. There will be times in which one person may be counted upon to hold it all together for the both of you. But isn’t that what a strong relationship does? Support one another for the greater good of the other…and for THE greatest good overall?
In truth, a healthy relationship can be counted upon to help each other out during those moments of struggle. In a healthy relationship, you’ll find that overcoming challenge is possible and in fact, healthy relationships often DEEPEN and become STRONGER after getting through struggle together. This is one of the most valuable take-aways, I’ve learned from Harvey Deutschendorf, Emotional Intelligence Expert.
Like anything else in life, having, holding and growing a relationship is an active and positive skill to nurture if you want it to be successful and long lasting.
Recognizing the signs of unhealthy behaviors in a relationship is important before they become your “norm”—eventually finding yourself drained and numb because of someone else’s poor relationship skills.
What to look for in unhealthy behaviors:
With little respect for you and your input, they’ve already concluded ideas about you and the situation. Even worse, any time spent trying to convince them otherwise is exhausting and unproductive. Your voice is of no matter to them and falling into the trap of attempting to convince them otherwise can quickly turn into heated arguments.
They’ll likely never own up to their part in any sticky situation, but they stand ready to point a finger at anyone and anything else and find fault with it. Finger pointing, blaming and excuses are natural to them and seems to roll off their tongue.
Communication feels heavy when you have a chance to talk with them and you find that they’re unable to have a real and deep conversation WITH you. In fact, it’s more like they’re talking AT you…telling you what they want and why it’s important (even vitally necessary) but rarely take you, nor your time, nor your own priorities into consideration.
They tend to never trust anyone (including you, even if they never told you they don’t trust you). So, any decision they make is made with certainty that they won’t have to leave their comfort zone, nor risk that their “true colors” of fear, insecurity or even reactive behavior is ever exposed.
They find themselves having extreme difficulty celebrating anyone other than themselves. They’ll even put someone else down only so they can appear greater themselves.
They’ll lie and twist the truth solely to protect themselves and control any situation without a care for anyone else (least of all you—especially if you’ve proven to be one who won’t accept anything better for yourself). Even worse, you may eventually find yourself second guessing yourself and your own memory of past experiences because they manipulate and lie so convincingly.
If they’re surrounded by healthy and authentic individuals who are comfortable in their own skin, they’ll feel frustrated and make any excuse to remove themselves from that environment (and quickly). Instead of living, giving and sharing from a place of love and authenticity, they’ll feel suffocated by those who do and will find any reason to never have to socialize with them again (and they’ll do all they can to keep you away from them, too).
Your day-to-day is unsteady because you never know when they’ll bring up the drama (with you or with others). There is an uneasy feeling when they’re in the room with you and you feel like you’re walking on eggshells fearing what to say or do next because you don’t know what will set them off.
Unhealthy relationships will take a toll on you and your personal health. You’ll constantly feel drained around the the people who practice unhealthy behaviors…and that drain can turn into serious health issues. Pay attention to the signs and make the conscious choice of either accepting or rejecting the relationship with an open heart and mind before it fogs your mind and becomes your “norm.” You deserve more and the moment you take a stand for what you want you’ll stop being such an easy target for their bad behavior.
The post 8 Emotionally Destructive Relationship Behaviors To Watch Out For appeared first on Change your thoughts.
A fashion campaign featuring flashing models, 12 of the best Minimalist packaging designs and Tadao Ando’s sprawling desert ranch for Tom Ford (pictured) feature in this week’s issue of Dezeen Mail.
Read Dezeen Mail issue 320 | Subscribe to Dezeen Mail
The Commission
The commission arises from the principals need to have an enclosure where they can be isolated from the activity of the house, and then facilitate the development of functions more relaxed and much more connected with the landscape. It was to be an indeterminate space, since its use would also be indeterminate, but it should be comfortable in both winter and summer. This brief program was rounded off with the request of an outdoor bath and a small warehouse.
The place chosen for location by the principals is the farthest from the house, next to the existing evergreen trees sector on the lot.
The Proposal
Starting from successive folds of the concrete enclosure, we managed to give this small building sufficient visual and audio privacy in relation to its surroundings, and thus to fulfill the request for a space to facilitate the realization of quiet activities and introspection. This feature also allowed defining an expansion that is extended to join the landscape, highlighting the access to both the bathroom and the multipurpose space, and leaving the warehouse hidden.
Sig Nordal 