July 26th, 2021

For far too many reasons, this issue is a double issue - as will be the August issue.
Of course, the content reflects this.

By the way : : if you click on the sunset to the right you can send us an email.

​

DAVID BURDENY
David Burdeny (b. 1968. Winnipeg, Canada) graduated with a Masters in Architecture and Interior Design and spent the early part of his career practicing in his field before establishing himself as a photographer. Burdeny translates his intimate appreciation for the structure, details and metaphorical value of space into sublime observations on how the contemporary world is still pregnant with mystery and potential. His early work of square-format black and white images rendered space in stark, elemental terms. The spare landscapes seemed modeled to serve as liminal spaces - as thresholds and portals and points of departure that lead the viewer to a complex intimacy with the expressive force of empirical awareness. In subsequent series, Burdeny has explored both opulent and austere interior scenes that use the sensuality of colour to full effect. Whether focused on ordinary spaces or iconic settings, Burdeny's photographs occupy an artistic middle ground between the physical and the atmospheric, the concrete and the spiritual, the actual and the idealized. They represent not strictly what he found but his personal experience of these enigmatic and luminous locations.

Burdeny has featured his photographic series in numerous solo and group exhibitions in Canada, the US and throughout Europe. His work has also been widely published - including most recently  Casa Vogue, The Guardian, The Corriere Dela Sera and the Moscow Times - and has been recognized with multiple International Photography Awards.  In 2016, David  was selected as International Nature Photographer of the Year for his series Salt.

David Burdeny lives in Delta, B.C. and works from his studio in Vancouver. 

I LOVE this - what about all of you?
Has anybody been there - or somewhere similar? Send us in a photograph of what YOU think resonates with the mood/feeling of this scene......you might win a prize - like a cruise maybe!

IN THIS DOUBLE ISSUE

I not shy • I love this guy! Leo - Leonardo Bechini - I've said this before - bears repeating - I met Leonardo when he, as a graphic design student at College InterDec, was one of my students. Goes back 20+ years believe it or not! We established a bond - a deep-rooted respect for one another.....and still today - as he has gone on to great distinction in his craft, his profession - he amazes me. Maybe he'll amaze you too - this slideshow is just a   s m I d g e n  sampling of some of his work. Not only photography but the graphics design for Velorapida.......so cool! Enjoy! 

Leonardo can be found at:
https://leomore.it/editorial-style-magazine

https://leomore.it/bookstars

https://leomore.it/graphic-design

https://leomore.it/

World’s Largest Astronomy Museum -
designed by ennead architects, opens in Shanghai
written by : : sofia lekka angelopoulou

from designboom - jul 08, 2021

ennead architects has completed the world’s largest astronomy museum, set within an expansive green zone in shanghai, china (previous coverage here + here). the monumental new museum, which opens on july 18, 2021, is designed without straight lines or right angles, echoing the geometry of the universe and the dynamic energy of celestial movement. its dynamic form creates an immersive experience that places visitors in direct engagement with real astronomical phenomena.

‘in making this building, we wanted to create a place where the institutional mission is fully enmeshed with an architecture that itself is teaching, and finds form in some of the fundamental principles that shape our universe,’ notes thomas j. wong, design partner at ennead architects. ‘the big idea of the shanghai astronomy museum was to infuse a visceral experience of the subject matter into the design, and to deliver that before you even enter the building. and at the end of your visit, there is this culminating moment directly with the sky, which is framed and supported by the architecture.’

The museum’s façade features winding architectural ribbons, while its envelope traces a series of arcing paths that are visibly influenced by gravitational pull: the heart of the central atrium, the forward momentum at the entry, and the planet-like sphere that envelopes the planetarium theater. the museum and each of the three principal architectural components that define the design – the oculus, inverted dome and sphere – act as functioning astronomical instruments, tracking the sun, moon, and stars.

architect: ennead architects
lead architect: thomas j. wong and v. guy maxwell 
management principal: grace chen
LDI: shanghai institute of architectural design and research
location: shanghai, china
photography: arch-exist

Ed comment: My personal/professional belief system has always revolved around the conviction that any work I do on behalf of a client - corporate, commercial, residential, should be - must be - both interpretative and reflective of the client's value's and message. This project is a rare instance of an architect's literal interpretation of the solar system, evidenced by the dome shapes, the sinuous belts - the overall envelope -
it speaks, loudly, of what it is. It is, in a most similar vein to the pivotal work of
​ Frank Lloyd Wright and the Guggenheim Museum.

Interesting?
To me - yes, interesting . . . . . 
A couple of issues ago - if you recall - I blathered on about the need for commercial office space landlords to face the reality of the distressing deterioration of the office space market. I invested a massive amount of time in preparing a summary, an analysis - even to the extent of developing a whole design study of how a landlord might segué office space into residences.

And guess what? Down the street from me, the Yellow Pages building - which has been a fixture
of Ile des Soeurs for 20+ years, has announced it is being converted to residences.

In point of fact I designed the space for a new Computervision showroom and offices in that very building. It was probably in the mid-80's.

If anyone is interested, it turns out, that some forward-looking landlords read the future as far back as
3 - 5 years ago - here is some additional background : :

Converting Office to Residential Is Complicated
Posted: 10:46 am October 4, 2017 by Rick Liu
https://montgomeryplanning.org/blog-design/2017/10/converting-office-to-residential-is-complicated/
 
Economics, location, architectural design and zoning regulations play important roles in determining new uses for vacant office buildings

In a previous blog post, we explored trends likely to impact the adaptive reuse of office buildings, as illustrated through the Octave 1320 office-to-residential conversion in downtown Silver Spring. With its final unit now sold, the successful project prompted us to think about the future of office conversions in Montgomery County.

As cited in the 2015 Office Market Assessment and noted in countless other reports and news articles, the Washington region’s office market currently faces stiff headwinds that are likely to continue in the foreseeable future.  Montgomery County is no exception. As of July 2017, the office vacancy rate in the county was 14 percent, far higher than the 9.2 percent vacancy rate during the 10-year period before the Great Recession (1998-2008).

Even as job growth recovers, the demand for office space returning to previous levels is questionable, as disruptive forces like telecommuting, technological advances and more efficient work spaces are all reducing the need for conventional office space. Finally, while auto-dependent, suburban business parks comprise about 37 percent of Montgomery County’s office market, they’re responsible for 46 percent of its vacancy, quickly losing favor to mixed-use, walkable environments with transit access.

With challenges such as these, coupled with the still-strong residential market, could we see market momentum for the conversion of existing office buildings to residential? What factors are critical to such transformations?

Economics of Opportunity Cost: The owner of a struggling, but high-quality, Class A office building in an unfavorable location has several options, many of which are less expensive than adaptive reuse. The owner can wait to try to sign up a large tenant or federal government lease before subdividing and marketing the building with smaller spaces. He or she can renovate the property to make it more competitive for re-leasing. Finally, the owner can lower rents to attract tenants in the Class B office market. These options are considerably cheaper than a conversion. Many owners of office buildings in the Rock Spring and Executive Boulevard (White Flint 2) business parks are pursuing these paths because the buildings are still too valuable to be converted to other uses or demolished outright. Often, the most viable candidates for conversion are aging, obsolete office buildings with little to no opportunity costs.

​An interesting design solution in the conversion of this building from commercial to residential. The architects realized they could re-capture the void space previously dedicated
​to the overhang of the upper floors.

LYON GARAGE CONVERSION
Converted from a former garage, this loft in Lyon, France is a worthy abode for both design and car enthusiasts. The 2,163-square-foot residence showcases its industrial roots with exposed brick walls and wood beam ceilings. Floor-to-ceiling steel frame windows add to the aesthetic while flooding the opening living space with warm, natural light. The ground floor contains most of the living space and expands out to the garden courtyard through folding glass doors. A spiral staircase leads to the mezzanine that contains three guest bedrooms and access to the rooftop terrace. To maintain the building's rich heritage, original items were salvaged and used for the new space, including the cabinets in the kitchen and the old car lift.

S C A L A M A N D R E 
An institution in the world of decorative resources, arts.
​Scalamandre has been an innovator, a defender and an evangelist 
for values all too often overlooked in the realm of commercial  design.
They provide, as a source/resource, a visual soul that resonates historical
integrity, brilliant innovation and the most reliable font of creative brilliance.

GUGGENHEIM MUSEUM MODEL KIT  /  $98
​Known for its signature spiral design, the Guggenheim Museum is one of Frank Lloyd Wright's most recognizable works. The iconic monument is equally as impressive at a 1:500 scale. This detailed model recreates the New York City landmark with an Aspen wood shell while contrasting American Cherry constructs the tower expansion. The kit is ideal for beginners and can be completed in 3 hours.
Length: 6" / Width: 4.5" / Height: 3.5"

Pisco House // PAULO MARTINS ARQ&DESIGN
Agueda, Portugal
​© PAULO MARTINS ARQ&DESIGN

Text description provided by the architects.

This home is located in a rural environment, far enough from the urban center to enjoy the quiet of the countryside, but just a few minutes from it. With an implantation facing south, it takes advantage from an orientation that allows the house to turn back on the road that gives the access, safeguarding its experience and intimacy, protected by a wall and a wide garden cover, which separates two spaces, the “public” and the “private”.

On the “private” side, the house is divided into two distinct volumes, one completely open and full of light that embraces the social areas and another, more opaque and closed, more buried and illuminated by patios, for the rooms and intimate areas. The social area is an open volume, whose only separation between the interior and the exterior are the glass panels that form the facades, allowing a direct connection between the interior and the exterior, diluting the boundaries that separate the two spaces, extending the interior areas by the terraces facing east and west.

The sloping roof that crowns the social area, is the most striking element of the house, assuming dominant contours over the space, which is intended to be synonymous of protection and shelter, under where the whole experience takes place. Through the biophilic design, a greater connection of the human being with nature is achieved, at the same time that it allows to protect the house from the neighbours views.
​
The main reason with which this house is sculpted and with which the desired modus vivendi is based on, is its free and fluid spaces where spatial freedom enhances a greater spiritual and mental freedom. Searching on a balance between form and plasticity, the materials used in the house are minimal and vary between fair-faced concrete, white plaster and ipê wood, in exterior coating, and exposed concrete and walnut, in interior coating.

Ed note: Not sure how I feel about the Master Bedroom - on the one hand, it's pretty ZEN - on the other it kinda feels like a department store window, yes?

But I think - I think, I love the tub - not sure you'd wanna be tipsy one evening on the way to your nightly soak - a whole new meaning to 'falling in'.

 Amazingly Useful Spreadsheet Templates to Organize Your Life
​BY SANDY WRITTENHOUSEUPDATED JUN 30, 2021

Sanya EDITION on Hainan Island
100 North Haitang Road,
Sanya, China 572013

​At the furthest southern tip of China in the South China Sea, just across from Vietnam lies Hainan, an island province where the warm, humid climate surrounded by a forested, mountainous interior envelopes all who come to get away to this tropical destination. The Sanya EDITION on Hainan Island is one of the region’s premiere resorts lining the coastline, a sedately grand resort spanning a lush 50 acres.

​With architecture and a scale somewhat reminiscent of the modern monolithic oceanside resorts lining the Pacific coast in Los Cabos in Mexico, this South China Sea Ian Schrager helmed resort embraces a contemporary organic design, with neutral hued textiles and wood-clad surfaces throughout. The resort’s teak lattice combing with an immersive tropical landscaping contains the Sanya’s horseshoe-shaped grandiosity from becoming imposing, instead operating as a structural framework to the oceanside landscape hosting 900 different tree species across the terraced hillside site.

The Sanya EDITION’s 501 guest rooms are tastefully appointed, thankfully leaning into comfort rather than simply presenting an exercise in projecting a style. Oak furnishings are thoughtfully paired with subtly textured limestone floors, with the better options – suites and lofts – offering guests white stone freestanding baths sensuously hidden behind dramatic curvaceous white divider curtains. Best yet are the 17 glass-boxed villas overlooking the water, each 1,614 sq. ft. and appointed with their own large private pool.
​
The southern city of Sanya is renown for its beaches (as beautiful as it is, the strong currents make beaches here a “look, but don’t touch” affair), a coastline that ranges from 22km-long Sanya Bay to the crescent-shaped Yalong Bay.

​Along with the pools, beach and purpose-built ‘ocean’ for guests to escape the tropical humidity, those aching for more strenuous adventures are invited to ascend hilly hiking trails threading into the Yanoda Rainforest Cultural Tourism Zone, a route hyphenated with suspension bridges and punctuated with waterfalls.
Amenities include an ESPA skincare spa, an expansive gym and exercise space, gallery, bar and restaurant – the most notable being Xian Hai By The Sea, a restaurant where guests are transported by boat to dine within glass-boxed floating platforms covered in the resort’s characteristic teak lattice detailing.

How much: From $360 per night, double occupancy
Highlights: Every one of the Sanya EDITION’s 501 guest rooms offer a waterfront view. Dining takes a theatrical center stage, with floating platform dining rooms and an enormous artificial “sea” giving guests an abundance of water sport options.
Design draw: China’s southern resort island Hainan recently announced the launch of the province’s first Hainan Design Week, scheduled for this November in partnership with Italy. The four-day design expo is expected to attract more than 200,000 visitors.
Book it: Sanya EDITION on Hainan Island

Photos courtesy of EDITION Hotels.

 u n d e r. t h e. h e a d I n g  : : : 

What were they thinking?

is the answer : : 
they weren't

​The Vessel May Close for Good After Another Suicide
What’s Happening: After a 14-year-old boy leapt to his death from the Thomas Heatherwick–designed structure last week, Related chairman Stephen Ross said the art installation may permanently close.

The Download: In March 2019, when the Vessel opened as the centerpiece of Hudson Yards on Manhattan’s Far West Side, visitors lined up to climb the 150-foot-tall tourist attraction’s Escher-like web of staircases to capture coveted selfies backdropped by a billion-dollar view of the New York skyline. Despite the hype, critics immediately noticed a major design flaw in Thomas Heatherwick’s structure: waist-high railing heights along its 2,500 stairs and connecting walkways, which they predicted would lead to suicides.

The first such incident happened in February 2020; two more would follow in December and January. The Vessel closed for three months while developers consulted with suicide prevention experts to implement new safety regulations, including mandatory group admission and guards trained in suicide prevention. Unfortunately, the new measures weren’t enough to prevent a 14-year-old boy from leaping to his death from the structure’s eighth floor this past Thursday. The site was immediately closed to the public again; in an interview with the Daily Beast, Related chairman Steven Ross said the structure may never reopen.

Were they? Did nobody ever, ask the question - 'Might this be dangerous?'
and if they did - if the clients, the owners, the architects - all who were involved in this unsightly folly, wouldn't you want to know the answer?

Evidently, either no one did, or someone did and nobody cared.

What part of one's ego must me massaged and coddled in order for such
a ridiculous structure ever be allowed to see the light of day?

But - that aside - here's another question -

Has anyone ever walked to the very top of the Tower of Pisa?
And if you did, did you exit onto the roof? And then, perhaps take the flight of stairs that led to the 'donut' walkway that circles the rooftop?

And were you scared? Were you frightened? 

Tell me - I'm curious.

'Cause, see - I did - yup - in th early 80's on a car trip through Italy, Pisa was one of the stops.
And I trundled on up, with my camera and camera bag, determined to get there and determined
to take photographs. Phew! Talk about sweat.
The entire extent of a safety railing was a continuous 1" diameter pipe
that was supported by 1" diameter metal rods, spaced about every five feet
- and  n o t h I n g. else. It was, simply, wide open.

And so me, in my stupidity, was taking photographs - had set my camera bag down, decided to change to a long range lens, was bending over, very, very cautiously, holding my camera in one hand, unzipping the bag with the other - gently - ever so gently, withdrawing the long lens, and had just started to remove and replace the camera lens when - BUMP!

OHMIGOD! Heart in mouth as I grabbed for the railing, steadied myself, and heard,
'Oh Sir! So sorry - so very sorry - I wasn't watching. Are you okay?'


Aside from swallowing the panic that had risen in my throat I managed to maintain
my balance, turn to look at the portly British woman, and simply, shrugged
​my shoulders. There were, no words.

All this, mind you, whilst standing on the parapet that is at a 4 degree slope!

So - was that a stupid thing to do? Absolutely! Beyond stupid.

And so what does one have to do with the other? Well - if you quickly examine, other favoured suicide towers, here is an interesting statistic. The Eiffel Tower has recorded 349 successful leaps in its history.
The Leaning Tower of Pisa, 4 in the last twenty years.

The Vessel? Four since it opened.

Has the Eiffel Tower been closed? Has the Tower of Pisa been closed? Nope.....

So - should the Vessel be closed? Frankly, in today's age - in a today wherein there is a heightened sensitivity and awareness to the idea of irresponsible consequential dynamics, the best answer is, yes!
But not only closed, torn down, with a pile of rubble left as a monument to 'failure to think'.

See, the Eiffel Tower, the tower of Pisa, the Empire State Building - the Hoover Dam - were all conceived and constructed in eras wherein responsible societal thinking was not considered
​to be a necessary component to professional practise.

Make sense?

To me - it makes sense. And hopefully, lesson learned, is that cities, municipalities, governments need have one more binder in their project folders - the THINKING book.