The Tree Top Residence celebrates the site’s complex landscape, merging seamlessly and emerging from atop the canopy of trees that surround it. Built along a natural ridgeline, the long and narrow plan of the three-story house mimics and inverts the angles of the site’s topography, creating dynamic vertical and horizontal relationships.
Vertically, an eccentrically-helical stair functions as a primary organizing element and a sculptural gesture upon entry into the house. On the ground floor, it acts as a threshold into the open plan; on the floor above, it separates the master suite and children’s quarter, while providing a light well to the basement. Horizontally, walls are used sparingly in favor of fluidly connected spaces. Movement and views between dining areas, kitchen, play and gathering spaces are uninterrupted, and floor-to-ceiling sliding glass doors blend the interior with the outside.
Hidden from the street, the residence is insulated from its neighbors, but open to its site. Canted limestone louvers, and dense planting on the north facade shield the interior from the closest adjacent neighbor. Conversely, the rest of the building opens to the site with floor-to-ceiling glazing, relying on both the house’s generous distance from the property line, and the densely wooded valley below to create a natural screen. The orchestration of this view, overlooking a dense canopy of trees, embodies the intent to offer respite from the city below.
Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi has asked architect Renzo Piano to lead in the reconstruction of the central Italian towns devastated by last week’s magnitude 6.2 earthquake that claimed the lives of at least 290 people. Renzi announced a national action plan for recovery and risk prevention on Monday after meeting with Piano to discuss strategies for housing the over 3,000 displaced survivors and rebuilding the historic towns in a manner that would mitigate damage caused by future seismic activity.
“We have to act quickly, with the utmost urgency,” said Piano in a telephone interview with The Guardian. “Anti-seismic requirements must be inserted in the laws of the country to make our homes safe, just as it’s compulsory for a car to have brakes that work.”
The recovery plan will consist of several phases: over the next six months, the Italian government will transfer displaced residents from the 58 tent camps and temporary shelters where they are currently staying to longer-term wooden “chalet-style” huts close to their damaged or destroyed homes. Following successful relocation, reconstruction of the towns will begin.
“Reconstruction should be coordinated in the wisest and fastest way,” commented Renzi in a statement. “It’s right to do it quickly but even better to be done well and above all with the involvement of the affected people.”
Drawing from his experience working with UNESCO on disaster recovery and prevention, Piano’s comprehensive plan calls for stricter anti-seismic regulations, as well as special attention to protecting the cultural heritage of the region’s architecture. The strategy is expected to take 50 years to fully implement.
“We are speaking about the ridge of the Apennines, the backbone of Italy from north to south, an operation projected over 50 years and two generations,” he said. “We are talking about millions of buildings, it is not impossible if you work through generations.”
The 78-year-old architect was appointed an Italian senator for life in 2013.
News via The Guardian, BBC.
Comments update: Diller Scofidio + Renfro’s vertically designed medical building for Columbia University has divided opinion, with some readers labelling the structure a “mess”. (more…)
London residents have called for height caps and no-build zones to protect the city from the increasing number of new skyscrapers. (more…)
San Francisco – California – USA (by N i c o l a)
The charming hung tiled Warren Cottage in Kingston upon Thames has been beautifully renovated and extended to turn the formerly dilapidated gatehouse into an elegant contemporary home.
The mid-nineteenth century Victorian dwelling once marked the entry into Richmond Park, and set in its own spacious gardens, it is designated as a building of Townscape Merit in the Coombe Wood conservation area.
Commissioned in 2012 to extend the cottage and create a large family home required an architecture of restraint. With the cottage restored to its former glory, the new extension meets the old with a touch of glass. Its palette is muted but precise, with crafted iroko timber glulams meeting sharp board-marked concrete walls. Together they form a restrained but striking palette that sits comfortably next to the detailed tiled faces of the cottage.
The finished scheme manifests itself as a new two-storey extension, with a separate garden room building. The double height space above the kitchen and dining area flow into the more secluded lounge. Looking out over the still pool and the retained mature trees, one encounters the garden room. A separate building, the garden room acts as a self-contained retreat, approached under a louvered timber walkway.
Environmental concerns were considered throughout the project, with the concrete walls and flooring providing essential thermal mass, and green roofs reducing the water run-off and also filtering pollutants.
The result is a project that allows the architectural languages of the contemporary and Victorian to relate to each other and form a stimulating and respectful dialogue. The delightful cottage has been fully restored and can again be appreciated for its architectural and historical interest, whilst now also providing a 6 bedroom family home.
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Do you know why you can’t stop procrastinating the really scary stuff- despite all your good intentions?
It’s because the classic anti-procrastination tip just doesn’t work on them. It works on easier things, like those things that are only a little uncomfortable. Take, for example, decluttering your bedroom.
But, when it comes to the really important stuff, such as the ones that are life changing and take a lot of commitment, the classic tips cease to be effective at all. This mostly happens with important milestones in your life, like quitting your job to start your dream business, losing weight, or writing the book you’ve had in mind for ten years.
It’s like cutting down a tree in a really thick black forest. You know you have to do it but you find a lot of excuses not to.
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It’s really difficult, right?
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There’s something about feeling ‘scared’ that makes us not to want to have anything to do with it. And there’s another good reason- pain.
We’re inclined to do things that can give us pleasure, while we run away from the things we know can give us pain. We’d rather choose the pleasure of today even if it’ll cause us pain tomorrow. We’d rather deny the pain of today even if we know we’ll get great pleasure from it in the future.
Think about it this way:
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If the promise of pleasure is greater than the promise of pain, you tend to act immediately. But, if it is the other way round, you procrastinate.
So, do you know how to quit procrastinating?
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Easy. You have to break this pattern.
Here are the secret ways you can trick your brain:
Learn to recognize the pain that’s holding you back and the pleasure you derive from being held back. You can ask yourself the short-term and long-term discomforts you have to endure if you don’t take action now.
See Also: 3 Things You Need To Stop Doing To Live The Life Of Your Dreams
Think about the stress and lack of peace of mind. Anticipate the feeling of disappointment in yourself and the long-term pain of watching your dreams go down the drain. Imagine financial failure, lack of self-fulfillment and even depression.
Sometimes, the idea of a loss or failure can be enough motivation to pull you off of your comfortable couch.
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Imagine that you have a good book to finish. If you’ve been putting off writing that book, you might miss your deadline. There’s the pain of possible rejection and the fear of not being able to finish it on time. You can get laid off from work and you might not even get paid for the earlier work done.
Aside from thinking about the negative effects of procrastinating, another good motivator is the reward you’ll receive after getting the work done. While working, ask yourself what pleasure you can derive from it.
If you’re aiming for a promotion, now’s the right time to act on it. If you’re planning on taking a vacation, you should start working on your project right now- so you can have enough time to prepare for your trip. Just think about the pleasant activities you can enjoy once the hard tasks are done and you’ll feel instantly motivated.
Compare the pain of taking action now and the pain of procrastination. Then, compare the pleasure you’ll derive by taking action now and the pleasure you’ll get from procrastinating.
If you’re having a hard time picturing these things in your mind, it’s a good idea if you can write them down. List down the pros and cons of delaying the task. You can also sketch down its negative and positive effects.
Seeing these things on paper can help train your mind into going into action. The more you condition your mind, the more likely you’ll defeat procrastination.
See Also: Five Things To Do Right Now To Stop Procrastinating
How do you beat procrastination? What do you do to get yourself to move?
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The post How to Trick Your Brain to Stop Procrastinating The Really Scary Stuff appeared first on Dumb Little Man.
At Gates of the Arctic National Park and Preserve in Alaska, wild rivers meander through glacier-carved valleys, caribou migrate along age-old trails and endless summer light fades into aurora-lit night skies of winter. It remains virtually unchanged except by the forces of nature. With no roads or trails, getting here is a challenge, but the reward is a lifetime of amazing memories. Photo by Carl Johnson, National Park Service.
Sig Nordal 