To that end efforts are underway to continue the development of DR•I - to improve the nature, style and character, to bring the reader a richer, more fluid and efficient experience.

With this issue there will be an eBook file [.epub]  of the previous publication, 4•6. 
Why? It will allow the reader to download the eBook and read/review it without the requirement of an internet connection. It is, a book - it is the publication in a book form.
What will change is that a) an ePub document does not support slideshows and b) it is more cumbersome to include gallery photo displays.
Other than that it will deliver the exact same content.
Bear in mind - no attempt has been made to style the document - it is, ratther pedestrian in appearance.
That will change as we, advance.

Along the mangroves: The in-between space of Jack Trolove’s paintings 

​After painting all day, Jack Trolove walks along the mangrove coastline. It is dusk, as the day is turning, dark gathering, the mangroves becoming more shadowy. The way places you love slip into your consciousness, like the phrases and gestures of a loved one. Likewise there is something of in-between states about Jack’s potent new paintings. 

The dark eyes in a large oil on raw linen painting, ‘Aerial Roots’, are brimming with tears. The young man looks either triumphant, or destroyed. Which is it? This is what makes painter Jack Trolove’s portraits so compelling. There is the visual immediacy of the faces, often in close-up, simultaneously slipping back into abstract lines of thick, bold paint.

I meet Jack during level two. The required lack of hug feels a bit awkward but necessary, and the vegan cafe is otherwise empty of customers. He is wearing a dull black shirt with muted red roses. He has only just finished painting. He is still “close up in it”. I ask him what it has been like working during lockdown, and he explains he stopped painting. He thought his new exhibition Mangrove at Whitespace in Auckland would be cancelled, and got a shock when it wasn’t. 

“I just quit my life in an amazing way.” Instead, he grew vegetables. 

Jack lives in a hut in the bush in Paparoa, one and a half hours north of Auckland. “You have to walk through the bush to go to the loo.”

Mangrove, a collection of 11 portraits, draws visual cues from the palate of Trolove’s surroundings, but the central concern of being liminal, between things, is an ongoing preoccupation and lived experience. Mangroves, those dark, waxy, horizon-dwellers that cleave to shoreline, are resolutely intertidal, they can tolerate being submerged in sea water.  

‘Aerial Roots’ is so called because of mangrove’s pheumatophones – the muddy sticks you see around mangroves that take oxygen to their roots. A breathing device.

Mangrove has also been propelled by technical and aesthetic curiosity; the thick impasto work Jack has done previously is still exciting to him, but it was a challenge “to work with mark marking”. Colour became “intuitive”. He wanted to create “shifting space”. 

The blue eyes in another painting, ‘Bones’, look tired. Maybe his subject is exhausted. Maybe her gentle face is just watching something distant, her mouth uncertain. There are dark greens and browns that harness the work to the earth. Jack feels this painting does what he dreamed for it. Some devastation, some hope. Sometimes when he walks past the studio he says she looks peaceful.

I have made this observation, comment, in previous issues - there seems to be a wholly different and unique grasp of residential architecture by latin professionals - Brazil, Mexico, Colombia, Ecuador - we have included many, many fine homes in DR•I these past many months. I a personally, am always blown away by the inventiveness, the boldness - the fearlessness of new trails blazed in such architecture. 

This house, as an example, is a study in tactility, in texture - a collision of colours and moods that provide both tranquility and a fizzy excitement at the same time. Definitely a 'zen-ness' to aspects of the design.

I seriously doubt if a North American architect or designer would have the courage to combine what is seen in this image. . . . the 'fence', of a seafoam green weathered cast is a brilliant formatic device that articulates and grounds the street level experience. The poured in place concrete shell and assymetrical roof beams are both a geometric statement and a deft slash of a well wielded pen - or pencil - or stylus. 
There is a definite Asian 'voice' in the vertical wood cladding - almost bamboo-like.

Brilliant! This is one singular pivot-mounted slab door that opens into a beckoning and sensual entryway.
​The uplighting is a quite perfect touch.

Architects: Studio Guilherme Torres
http://www.studioguilhermetorres.com.br/
Area:       600 m²
Year:       2018
Photographs:          Denilson Machado – MCA Estúdio

Text description provided by the architects. In 2015, the program requested by the client was relatively simple: a house just for him, with space to welcome his daughter on weekends and maybe in the future to start a new family. Another request was to make the most of the view of the valley in the back, which is a permanent preservation zone, in addition to designing the house entirely in exposed concrete. The first idea was to explore the slope of the land, locating the living room integrated with the kitchen and pool at the lowest level of the property. At the central level service structures, a small home theater and an office/guest room were located, with the upper floor reserved for 3 suites.

The aim of the project was that all rooms had the same privileged view of nature. Another key point of the proposal was to create a dramatic free span, framing nature and accommodating the main access to the house and garage. To make use of this effect, a gable covered in copper cuts the lot in half, supporting the upper structure of the residence and creating a counterpoint to the simple and sculptural architecture of the house. The sculptural effect of the concrete structure came about through a “folding exercise” in the architect's words. “I composed the blocks by materials: in the basement a volume covered in marble, on the middle floor a volume in copper and on the upper floor, a wooden box. Embracing the three materials, a concrete shell, which is limited to just two support points”.

Such simplicity is only conceptual considering how exquisite the final touches, fittings and material encounters are. Excellence in the quality of finishes is the client's merit: a perfectionist passionate about architecture. In the hiatus since the house was built a lot has happened; today it is also home to his wife, a small son and another one on the way. The architecture is timeless, but time doesn't stop.

THE PARCHMENT WORKS
In the countryside of Northamptonshire sits a Grade II listed Victorian house along with a cattle shed and the ruins of a former parchment factory. Rather than demolish the existing relic, Will Gamble Architects transformed it into a contemporary extension. The building's existing masonry walls were left intact and delicate glass volumes were inserted throughout the voids, preserving the historic quality of the property. To further highlight the original character, a material palette of Corten steel, oak, and reclaimed brick clads the exterior while rugged oak beams, lime-washed stone walls, and a concrete plinth live harmoniously with a modern kitchen throughout the interior.

The existing property consisted of a Grade II listed double fronted Victorian house.  Connected to the house was a disused cattle shed and beyond that a ruin, which was a former parchment factory and scheduled monument.   

The client’s initial brief was to convert the cattle shed and demolish the ruin to make way for a new extension.  From the beginning of the design process it was clear that the client viewed the ruin as a constraint as opposed to a positive asset that could be celebrated through a sensitive but well conceived intervention.   

Instead of demolishing the ruin, Will Gamble Architects proposed ‘a building within a building’ - where two lightweight volumes could be delicately inserted within the masonry walls in order to preserve and celebrate it.  

A palette of honest materials were chosen both internally and externally which references the site’s history and the surrounding rural context.   

Externally, corten steel, oak, and reclaimed brick were used. The extension was built from up-cycled materials predominantly found on site which was both cost effective and sustainable,  whilst allowing the proposal to sensitively blend into its surroundings.   

Internally the structural beams of the existing cattle shed were exposed, as well as the steelwork to the new parts - the stone walls were re-pointed and washed in lime to create a mottled effect, and a concrete plinth was cast along the base to create a monolithic skirting.   

A contemporary kitchen (also designed by the practice) juxtaposes the uneven and disordered nature of the ruin and continues the theme of a modern intervention set within a historic context. 

Photography by Johan Dehlin

DUEX:
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​For a long-treasured family lake house in desperate need of a refresh, two sisters turned to Schumacher to zhuzh-up their midcentury modern space without dismantling its perfectly imperfect charms. Stylish and happy indoor/outdoor fabrics were just the things to channel the cabin’s surprisingly chic legacy—and they’re tough enough to handle anything that comes their way.

​The lakeside getaway that sisters Vivette Porges and Claudia Beyer grew up in and inherited from their parents had begun to show its age. But any redo would require a gentle hand to preserve the home’s intellectual-boho air: Their dad, Peter Paul Porges, had been an illustrator for The New Yorker; their mom, Lucie, had spent 43 years as a designer for fashion icon Pauline Trigère, and had lovingly renovated the home. Both of them were Viennese émigrés, and through the years the cottage crackled with life. It was the type of place where the neighborhood kids congregated for breakfast, where the atmosphere was welcoming and unpretentious, and all the details felt right without any of it trying too hard. “We didn’t want to do anything that would change the essence of Mama’s house,” says Vivette.

In the end, the Schumacher team opted for indoor/outdoor fabrics in the kinds of bold, bright motifs that Lucie always favored to wake up the spaces without altering them too much. The high-performance textiles are ideal for the relaxed, easy-breezy lifestyle that the family has always cherished at the house, and honor the chic practicality that Lucie espoused. “She would love it,” says Claudia.

It was the type of place where the neighborhood kids congregated for breakfast, where the atmosphere was welcoming and unpretentious.

By Mario López-Cordero
https://livetheedit.com/2019/04/relaxed-lake-house-bright-transformation-design/?utm_source=style%20dispatch&utm_medium=cta&utm_campaign=Porges%20House

From the architects:
Settled in a rocky enclave of seasonal, waterfront homes, Metrick Cottage is a one-storey, wood-clad, residence and boathouse on the shore of Lake Joseph, Ontario. This year-round retreat for a multi-generational family, draws inspiration from the rugged beauty that surrounds it to create a warm, elegant, and eco-friendly home.    

Team:                 Robert Kastelic, Kelly Buffey, Nazia Aftab

Construction:    Mazenga North

Photography:     Shai Gil

The design of the main cottage consists of three distinct yet connected ‘pods’ comprised of an open, communal space, flanked by private bedroom suites. The residence was carefully situated in the landscape so that the bedrooms face a stone ridge on either side, creating a visual boundary that extends the perception of space while providing privacy. At the same time, each pod is slightly angled from each other in order to capture the longest view from the central pod where the family congregates. Various textures of wood were used, from the semi-charred fir cladding to a torrified-ash that wraps the interior floors, walls, and ceilings.   

From the Lake, the cottage is designed to elegantly blend into the rugged terrain, while the boathouse maintains a quiet presence on the water. Together, the home offers a serene oasis for the Metrick family, with panoramic views of the lake and shoreline beyond. 

Sited on the shore of Lake Joseph in Ontario, the Metrick Cottage & Boathouse reflects is rugged scenery in design and materials. The main house is devised as three gabled volumes. Their charred fir exteriors feature exposed joists and oversized eaves, giving them a rustic character while standing-seam metal roofs and expansive glazing provide a contemporary quality. Each timber structure is separated by function, with the main living areas in the center and the master bedroom and guest suite on either side. Intimate areas are placed toward a stone ridge for privacy and angled to allow the central gathering pod unobstructed views across the lake. Stretching from the shore, an accompanying boathouse floats on the water's surface and offers three slips and sweeping vistas.

Discipline, in design, is a prerequisite. One's ability to conceive a vision, a concept - and then to see it through all the pathways and processes - all the while remailing true to that core vision, is discipline.
That's what we see i this mostwonderful lakeside retreat. An essentially monochromatic colour scheme, one wherein the tones of natural materials, form a comforting coccoon in a wllderness setting. 
Kudos to the architectural/design team - and to the clients - who quarterbacked this initiative through to such a wonderful result!

And so here we are again ◾  this is now, the second mid-month issue ◾  and still, no one has responded/replied in regards to stating if you 'like it' or 'don't like it' - hmmmmmm ◾  not so easy to figure you all out, not

Back@you in 2 weeks

​

Some time back - oh maybe, like in January or February - I made a promise to you the readers. . . . that
I would no longer  use the platform of DR•I  to voice concerns, critiques in respect to world events.
That I would maintain a respectable posture of non-engagement in regards to the performance (or non-performance) of political world leaders (or wanna be leaders. . . ) I strayed, once I think - as I thought the situation merited it.

'And, so - what do you think now?', you might well ask. I have, many thoughts - I have many feelings -
I have disappointments and frustrations. . . . as do, I'm sure, many of you. But those will not be shared,
or spread across these 'pages'.  

Suffice it to say, in allowing my conscience to speak for me, on Friday night last,  I cancelled/deleted my Facebook account. After more than 10 years, 'sayonara'........the 'whys', the 'what fors', - well, if you have to ask you're just not tuned in..

Sadly -as the FB connection was one that kept me in front of friends and colleagues, ex-co-workers, ex-students - in Amman, Hong Kong, Milan. Beirut, Victoria, Miami - other places..... I will surely miss them.
​A void is now in the place where once a warm spot used to be. . . . . but, one has to either live by their code of morality, or - not.   

Moreover, no longer will FB be a place where I can announce to my confreres, news about DR•I and other design-related issues.

'Nuff said', he said. Grazie though, to my FB associates. I will, miss you.

A London Home Goes From Georgian to Modern, With a Detour : : ​
By Alice Rawsthorn : : New York Times

The owner of an apartment in an 18th-century townhouse thought she was undertaking “an easy conversion.” Then she entered a maze of rules and interpretations.

When Heather Kane was scouring her favorite London neighborhoods two years ago searching for an apartment to buy, she discovered a promising candidate on the first floor of an 18th-century townhouse on Harley Street, in the Marylebone area of the city center.

​“I loved it,” recalled Ms. Kane, a 42-year-old technology executive turned design entrepreneur, who was born in Los Angeles and has lived in London since 2015. “Most of the apartments I’d seen had beautiful, original facades but were too pared back inside. This one was huge with high windows and ceilings, original plaster moldings, and an amazing terrace.
“I love London’s historic architecture and wanted to preserve as much of the period detailing as possible. I thought it would be an easy conversion, but it turned out to be 10 times harder than anything I’d done before.”

​The cause of her difficulties was Britain’s labyrinthine architectural conservation system, which ensures that any changes to a building deemed to be of historic importance, like the Harley Street townhouse, must be approved by the local planning department. Ms. Kane’s home is in the City of Westminster, which includes some of London’s finest historical buildings, but whose planners are famed for their strictness and for having very particular opinions on what constitutes acceptable — and unacceptable —— architectural interventions.

Translating such a building into a comfortable, functional contemporary home is almost always intensely subjective and potentially contentious. One person’s interpretation of sensitive restoration can be another’s idea of architectural carnage, while a third might regard it as too timid. As Ms. Kane admitted, one of her challenges in navigating British conservation politics was having no knowledge of the planning system. Another problem was the difficulty of translating her needs and wishes into something that Westminster’s planners would approve.

Like much of Marylebone, Harley Street originated as a speculative development by the Portland Estate, owned by the Duke of Portland, whose wife inherited most of the land between what are now Oxford Street and Marylebone Road, in 1741. Harley Street’s construction began in the 1750s, and the house containing Ms. Kane’s apartment was designed and built from 1773 to 1774 by one of the estate’s surveyors, John White, and Thomas Collins, a sought-after ornamental plasterer.

Grander houses were built nearby at that time — notably those designed by the Scottish architects Robert and James Adam on Mansfield Street — but the delicately rendered cherubs in Collins’s plasterwork would have been enough to distinguish this one. His renown may also explain why several of his ornate panels survived nearly 250 years of construction, including the house’s conversion in 1949 into flats. Collins’s skill also contributed to the entire house’s being given a Grade 2 listing, which is awarded to a building “of special interest, warranting every effort to preserve it,” in 1987.

Like many London apartments of similar vintage, Ms. Kane’s two-bedroom, first-floor flat combined some original elements with a motley assortment of additions dating from the early and mid-1800s, early 1900s, the 1949 conversion, and subsequent makeovers. Westminster’s planners insisted that all of those features be preserved and that any adjacent work match them. Ms. Kane was happy with that, but not with the planners’ response to her request for what she thought were modest changes to make her new home “more livable,” as she put it.

The full article in the New York Times is available at: 
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/31/style/london-renovation-historic-townhouse.html?action=click&module=Features&pgtype=Homepage

Who, me? Well, maybe so - but I would argue, it's only a designer taking creative license/freedom - to comment, critique - to show perhaps a better way. IMHO this is a lovely, simple space, this guest bedroom. Gentle, elegant, simple. But I feel the two pieces of art displayed on the wall of the recessed archway are a) too small, b) out of context. So, I did some searching. Firstly I thought a ROTHKO poster reproduction - with the wonderful range of colours ad moods - might be right. And,  many would be. But I luckily tripped over the work of a Canadian First Nations artist, Linus Woods. He is a Dakota/Ojibway artist from the Long Plain Fisrt Nation of Southern Manitoba. He is largely self-taught. Please visit his work here.

I selected the one you see in the following 'edited' image. It is called,
​ 'Untitled - White Horse Looking Down' .

And as part of 'Designer's License', I added the frame. So - what do you think? Would love to hear your comments.

By the way - because I find his work so rich, so compelling, I am showcasing some of Mr. Woods paintings here.

A SHACK NOT IN THE WOODS

There is a wide-ranging fascination of late, for small spaces. Nobody seems to be able to explain it. 
Is it cost-related? Think not - at least not in the main - a certain percentage equates smaller with cheaper. And in that they are not necessarily wrong. However having designed numerous small spaces in my career (from powder rooms to kitchens, staterooms to home offices) - oft-times it can cost much more to achieve miniaturizaton in anything. Hardware is more costly, labour is more expensive - there is no rule of thumb, but it costs big money to be, well, innovative.  

But that fascination exists - it's akin to small boat (or even big boat)  interiors. Having had a 40' houseboat for a few years, I know firsthand how one has to consider the consequence of every decision to 'bring something else onboard.'  

​To that point - this is a quite lovely exercise in clever thinking. 

PREFAB MOUNTAIN REFUGE
Gnocchi+Danesi architects merge traditional alpine shelters with modern design to create the Mountain Refuge. The compact cabins are constructed from two prefabricated plywood modules that feature dramatic roof pitches while a black pine tar finish gives them a minimalist character. Interiors total around 258 square feet and although the designers offer a variety of layouts, the living spaces are left mostly open to give owners the flexibility to accommodate their needs. There's also the option of adding another module to boost the inside 129 square feet. With helicopter delivery and no need for a poured foundation, the Mountain Refuge can be placed in remote locations that couldn't normally be reached using conventional methods.

Photos: The Mountain Refuge
Copyright © THEMOUNTAINREFUGE.COM 2020. All Rights Reserved
Milan, Italy

Pour moi, there is a 'baring of the soul' in the raw bleakness of this environment. Striking, it resonates deeply. Pour moi. . . . . 

CASA COSMOS
When we're finally able to break out of quarantine, you won't want to be confined by four walls anymore. The Casa Cosmos is the perfect cure for cabin fever. Located on a remote piece of Pacific coastline in Puerto Escondido, Mexico, the seaside retreat features an open-air design. Wooden screens slide out to seamlessly expand the minimalist living spaces to the jungle landscape. For full ocean views, head to the rooftop terrace and catch the sunset. Its interior is comfortably equipped with a bathroom, kitchen, and queen-size bed while an outdoor hammock and private plunge pool ensure relaxing is part of the agenda.

Photos: Airbnb

​Casa Cosmos is the perfect house for you to relax, come and disconnect yourself from the city chaos.

In this remote beach of the Mexican Pacific coast, you will be able to let go of stress, we want you to enjoy your stay, have time and space to finish that book that you been willing to read or just enjoy the incredible sunsets while you walk down the beach.