when there is blood on the streets, buy property

It feels rather different now. Previous friends and aquaintances are further away and the boozed fulled gatherings are far in between. Sipping my Barolo in Artesian, Langham hotel, I can't help wonder if I had turn a wrong corner.

The people I meet now are different; the conversation lacklustre, their ideals are haphazard and their drive isn't on the high revs. Unchecked, it could rub off on me BUT I will not let that happend. Hugely successful people are of a different breed. Their focus are laser sharp, their commitment unwavering and the reason behind their choices aren't what you would expect. Unlike popular believe, personal monetary gratification aren't high up their list of importance.

People + Education + Contacts + Environment = Opportunity
Outlook + Focus + Articulate + Behaviour + Commitment + Determination = Opportunity
Hard Work + Making your own Luck = Opportunity

Opportunity x Opportunity x Opportunity + 100,000 hours of Hard Graft = SUCCESS!!

white elephant

Located on mountainside of Izu-san, the cherry trees and Japanese oaks cover a villa for the weekends. The whole project is an abstraction of nature. The two rectangular at right angles (lower level contains private rooms and bathroom meanwhile the upper one serves as a salon and kitchen) lies next to the mountain ridge. The Architects have chosen white marble for the interior because it glows softly like Greece sculptures to blend with the sky's blue light from the south and the tree's green light from the west. The facade is also finished in the same material thus accentuate the spatial abstraction further. Mount Fuji Architects Studio chosen abstraction idea is not to conflict with nature here but revitalise it.

factory art

In Can Framis, 22@District, Poble Nou, Barcelona, a new museum sits among a high-rise, heavily built-up housing and hi-tech industrial area. This former factory industrial zone is a recent redevelopment project by the City Council. The Architects play on contrasts, with a surrounding garden of trees and winding paths providing tranquillity from the busy site.

Jordi Badia has preserved two derelict building with little architectural interests. Restoring the two current factory buildings and constructing a new one which will link them, also integrating with the site of another warehouse will form a courtyard that serves as the main museum entrance. Visitors will begin on the highest level and walk downwards through its semi-lit areas before standing up to showpiece, the exhibited pieces. The Architects have used wood on window frames, staircases and between the buildings and the painting support screens as a reference to the material used for canvas frames. Lime mortar, stonework and concrete is used externally thus creating a collage of textures that reflect the historic use of the building.

sunny with a slight chance of showers

Apparently today is going to be the hottest day yet. 22 Celsius is predicted with a slight cloud cover. I'm not holding my breath for it because as far as I can see, there is no sunshine and lots of cloud. Yes, it is warm but also humid. Everywhere I look, everyone is losing their winter/autumn armour. What about May Bank Holiday weekend? Forecasts are not good. Rain, rain and more rain. How predictable! I'm sure come Tuesday, it will be bright and sunny so I expect everyone cooped up back at work will turn red and green in anger. Why do you need forecasts when most of the time, the buggers get it totally wrong anyway?! They miss predicting the chaotic snowstorm, the heavy rain that created the devastating flash floods and the delay-causing volcano eruption, but we still listen to them. Like prehistoric dinosaurs of the past, weatherman and forecasters need to adapt soon before they become fossilised.

hamsi, sardalya, palamut, çupra or çipura, barbun(ya), levrek, bakalyaro, kılıç, kalkan, mercan, tırança, lagos

Located in one of Istanbul's most populated and diverse neighbourhoods, Besiktas is an eclectic area with a village-like atmosphere that in the process of urban renewal. The triangle shaped square is an iconic venue where many locals and visitors buy fresh fish daily but the previous fish market was in a very poor shape and needed to be replaced.

Goklan Avcioglu & GAD have maintained its iconic presence, while reaffirming its welcoming feeling. The triangular shaped concrete shell opens up to the street and provides a column free interior thus optimizing circulation and maximising space for fishmongers

ssshhhhhh....

[7 Aurelius]
Hush baby, wanna let ya know; This is how its gonna go

[beat starts up]

[Chorus - 7 Aurelius]
Hush baby, wanna let ya know; This is how its gonna go, If u wanna come and play; Gotta do it my way; Hush baby, dont talk so much; Just wanna feel ya touch; Everything will be ok; If u do it my way (my way, my way); Hush baby [echoes]

[Verse 1 - LL Cool J]
U feel so good; Rest of my life i wish i could; Hold u tight and take a flight out the hood; Was i foul or just misunderstood?; Mind-mannered or up to no-good; It really doesnt matter, either way i should; Maximize the moment and hold ya close; Jump in the drop spider and cruise down the coast; Who loved u the most?; I was never ghost; When lives was on the line; Confusion in ya mind; Runnin outta time; Drama of all kind; But theres faith in our mind; We spiritually inclined; Sometimes i flip; Sometimes u flip; Sometimes we wild out and act like lunatics
We movin too fast, the whole world's in a rush; Everybody just hush...

[Chorus x1]

[Verse 2 - LL Cool J]
Its all a test; the pain, the drama; The villa in the bahamas; The highs, the lows; The hoop-t, the Rolls; The money flowin; Certain doors that we go in; The people we meet, the hands that we shake; Whether its Mortans or Sizzla steak; But everything will be okay;

[w/ 7 Aurelius]
if we do it my way; Cuz i believe in romance; Kissin while ya slow dance; Me bouncin baby? no chance; No matter the circumstance; Whatever it takes gurl, ill swim to France; Cuz ya beauty's unmatched; Such a great catch; Unconditional love, forever we are attatched; Deal with the drama, we can find our way back; With or without the Maybach...

[Chorus x1]

[Verse 3 - LL Cool J]
I can feel ya pain; Like we simese twins connected by our brains; Walkin thru the desert in the ice cold rain; Want u in my life and nothins gonna change; God willin, we still be doin our thang; When my six-pack's faded; Raps outdated; But thats many years from now so dont rush; Little mama just hush...

[Chorus x1]

[7 Aurelius]
Hush baby; Hush hush darling; Hush baby hush hush; Dont talk so much; Wanna feel ya touch

[LL Cool J]
Hush baby hush; Hush baby hush

[7 Aurelius]
Hush baby wanna let ya know... [echoes]

isostatic uplift

In the mountainous region of Patagonia, Chile, a structure can be seen rising from the greenery and the granite mountains that surrounds it. The Architects have used the surrounding forceful elements as inspiration to create the Aonni Mineral Water Plant. By expressing the energy of erosions, tectonic plates, water and wind, the project have exposed the interactions of natural environment forces which are prevalent characteristics of this territory.

Bebin & Saxton have incorporated sustainable design principles as natural lighting, high internal gains and a good daylight factor within the project. Also, a sensitive choice of materials (resistant, flexible, economical and low maintenance) that could cope with extreme climatic fluctuations is used to reflect Punta Arenas, XII Region, Chile.

productivity, efficiency and outcome

I'm not going to even bother trying to explain, is it not self explanatory??

tugboat

Katsuhiro Miyamoto & Associates have built a Cor-Ten steel residence in Nishinomiya, Hyogo, Japan. Built on a two-tiered site and a concern about the credibility of embankment /retaining wall built along the development, the Architects have laid the foundation on natural ground beneath the lower tier; called the ‘Ship’, the steel volume floats above the retaining wall to give its residents a better view thus creating an atmosphere of calmness from the front road.

Due to the site's L-shape, a curve was chosen for its optimal use. The whole project is reminiscent of a ferryboat, in structure and layout, which passenger decks and floating section are separated up and down with the vehicle decks in between. As you would expect from Cor-Ten, this residence will be covered with rust which would complement the uniformly white interior.

madam, you have between your legs an instrument capable of giving pleasure to thousands - and all you can do is scratch it

Legs, legs, legs and more legs. That’s all I’ve been seeing since this morning. Various shape and sizes to adore but mainly shapely, long and nice. A snapshot of what I have to tolerate; Black tights with shinny ballet flats, blue skinny jeans with brown boots, black skinny jeans with black boots, mini skirt with tights and Uggs, jeans short shorts with knee length socks and plimsolls, knee length ruffled skirt with pumps, green with yellow stripe hot pants and gladiators, tights with Fuck-me knee length boots, short white crisp skirt with worn Converse, dress with flip flops, dress with brown cowboy boots, micro mini with black tights and ankle boots, black riders tight trousers with pink canvas, horse riding leggings and riding boots...and the list goes on...

tuber melanosporum

I especially love truffles, both black and white. Delicious! Ensamble Estudio has created 'The Truffle' on Costa da Morte, Spain made from earth and minerals thus emulating and integrating the natural environment. This experiment made from a hole in the ground, piling up with topsoil, building a volume with hay bales and flooded the negative space between the earth and the built air to solidify it. As time passed, the earth is removed and the 'truffle' is discovered.

The Architects then made a few quarry cuts to open up its core. A calf by the name of Paulina enjoyed the delicious hay as she nourished it for a whole year. Not only the 'truffle' was her pantry, it was also her habitat. A year on, the now adult Paulina leaves and a new interior volume appears for the first time. The dense materiality contrasts the fluidity of the ceiling that sublimely evokes a sense of the Atlantic Ocean nearby.

tessitura

Last night, I decided to incorporate playing the piano into my daily stress busting routine. You see, I once played but like all things in life, if you are forced to do something when you’re young, inevitably you’ll just rebel and give it up. One thing for certain, my appreciation for musicality and tonal values was instilled at a young age. But God, I’m so out of practice. My playing wasn’t as fluid as it used to be and thankfully, my neighbour is slightly deaf. Less embarrassment.

I once dated a French Canadian who is a concert pianist who shall be named N. She used to tell me off when I hit the wrong keys. Compared to her, my childhood tutor was an angel. Ever the perfectionist, hours upon hours were spent on the piano. I couldn’t care much though because I was spending the same amount in front of the drawing board. Same wood, different use. Now recently married to yet another friend of mine (What the hell is going on?? I’m beginning to feel like a gatekeeper for my friends), I think it would serve best in their new dwelling than in my house. So, today I’ve booked the piano movers to transfer it.

Now that I've got this extra space, perhaps a quick stop at the Steinway & Sons would be a good idea. Model B would be a great replacement.

cartel missionary

Oppsss...yet another chapel on Alcoholic Architect. I'm sorry folks but his project in La Calera, Bogota, Columbia is chosen for its simplicity and elegance. Due to its space configuration, the chapel can be used for small and large groups of people. Daniel Bonilla Arquitectos wanted to create a space whereby an essential harmony between two worlds (the known and unknown, the light and darkness) can exist. As the spaces open up, the mystery of there two worlds is revealed through a dynamic and psychological experience.

tropical humidity

For this residential project, Camarim Architects was requested by the clients to create a holiday house with 3 bedrooms that gives the maximum experience with the surrounding nature. Mundaú is a fishermen’s village in the state of Ceará, Brazil.

The solution: 3 floors that offer diverse spatial experience in use and approach to nature; looking over the garden on the street level, private spaces that promotes privacy and a public living space that opens up to merge with the sea, coconut trees and sand dunes. In addition, the Architects have incorporated various materials and modern environmental sensitive techniques; precast perforated concrete panels that draw textures of light and shadow from the nearby foliage, passive cooling is achieved by means of the gallery, wooden skins that wraps the gallery filters glare, protects intimacy, drinkable water is obtained from the roof, filtered, stored and pressurized to the tap, energy generated from sun and wind, services run in 2 vertical cores accessible for maintenance and in the absence of a public sewage system, a sceptic tank that cleans up to 90% of the effluent is also considered.