behind the layers - four

More X-Ray's from Nick Veasey

pad thai

Tierra Design's project located on the west coast of Phuket is a modern interpretation of Thai residences. The entry reflection pond shadowed by the living span above, forms a threshold between the forecourt and the expanse of the ocean beyond. Limestone clad walls with their expressive horizontal jointing pay homage to the beauty and clarity of the sea’s horizon. The Archtiects idea of linearity of  volume, transparency of glass enclosure, light stone interior and the kitchen islands reinforce this traditional attitude expressed with modern articulation.

Views of the sea are intentionally limited by framing from within its teak clad/screen enclosure. The interior volumes are generous and well appointed with finely detailed stone floors and walls and fittings. Roof decking is accessed by an open spiral metal and teak staircase is revelatory of the site’s position on the coastal headland. To create privacy, the pool and social spacesa are stepped below following the terrain of the site.

floating box

Metro Arquitetos Associados + Paulo Mendes da Rocha have designed a new Museum of Modern Art in Santos, Brazil. The museum is visually shocking as the gigantic volume seems to be hovering over an open gathering space. Metal trusses measuring 60m x 20m support the two all-metal walls of the project. The facade is made with pre-cast slabs of concrete while the interior is plastered. The museums has 2 exhibit halls of 1,135 m² and 1,200 m², a café, ticket office, gift shop, lounge and archive. The Architects have integrated this space  into the existing Benedito Calixto Art gallery by way of the suspended steel beams of the new museum.

6 years later

The client requested a very private beach retreat, anti-social, even unfriendly to the street, as an opposite to their sociable city lives. ITN Architects have created only two windows to the street frontage that are deep set and high, allowing no interior views, and the main first floor entry is reached via a 6m bridge. Done? Not yet. Beyond this uninviting threshold, the house gradually begins to open up to its surrounding. The Architects have used  forms and materials of the building that draw upon the 1950s to 1970s Australian weekender, with added luxury only in the generosity of the interior spaces. The simple palette of all timber exterior, the timber and white concrete and plaster interior was selected to avoid any high gloss contemporary finishes. It must be known that this particular project took 6 years to complete - a frustrating journey for both the client and the Architect. Resilience does count!

anything goes

In olden days a glimpse of stockings,

Was looked on as something shocking,

Now heaven knows,

Anything goes.

Good authors too who once knew better words,

Now only use four-letter words,

Writting prose,

Anything Goes.

The world has gone mad today,

And goods bad today,

And blacks white today,

And days night today,

When most guys today,

That women prize today,

Are just silly jigalo's.

So though I'm not a great romance,

I know that I'm bound to answer,

When you propose,

Anything goes.

In olden days a glimpse of stockings,

Was looked on as something shocking,

Now heaven knows,

Anything goes.

Good authors too who once knew better words,

Now only use four-letter words,

Writting prose,

Anything Goes.

The world has gone mad today,

And goods bad today,

And blacks white today,

And days night today,

When most guys today,

That women prize today,

Are just silly jigalo's.

So though I'm not a great romancer,

I know that I'm bound to answer,

When you propose,

Anything goes,

Anything goes.

behind the layers - three

More X-Ray's from Nick Veasey

happy christmas

Another year and another Christmas. So many changes, so many surprises, so many words that was said and thank God not many tears. This year I'm sipping Pernod in the local brasserie, walking in the cold air of the city while enjoying the simple things; holding hands and quietly grateful to her. Her blue eyes glow in laughter and I feel that I could fly. Brunette, thank you and Merry Christmas to you!

As for you readers, have a great Christmas and please don't hesitate to binge drink! Ho Ho Ho!!

lágrimas negras

Another tribute to Bebo Valdez - Enjoy!

grande or venti?

My sincere apologies for the rather graphic nature of the image above but I thought, 'What the hell! We are all adults and the internet is rife with porn anyway. At least my fellow readers are able to learn from this posting.'

Coffee has supposedly been around since about 1200 A.D, and sex has been with us since we began procreating. So it only makes sense that there would be some link between coffee and sex. And there are in fact many links. From what I've read, it seems that women at one point blamed coffee for everything from homosexuality to lack of virility. As we progressed into modern times, it was praised for it's sexual performance enhancing capabilities, among other benefits. And these beliefs were held in times where medical and scientific practices were questionable at best. However recent studies and surveys suggest that coffee and sex still are linked, and important on the minds of both young adults and the elderly alike. Given this, its hardly surprising that big companies are jumping into the band-wagon.

A Venetian ambassador to Turkey back in 1571 wrote back home, and basically said that coffee caused men to become homosexuals. His study reveals that he saw Turkish men going to bath houses (where coffee was often served), and into coffee houses absent of women hence they are homosexuals. Idiot! And soldiers were considered to be homosexual because of their coffee drinking habits. Along with that, there was an archiac and ridiculous idea that you could actually change your sexuality, body and even your genitalia (a penis would slowly shrink and turn inside out thus creating a vagina) by drinking or eating certain drinks or foods. So logically, coffee caused men to become homosexuals, and perhaps even turn into women if given enough time. Thankfully, to the delight of many coffee-drinking men, this never happened. 

The 'Maidens of London' blamed coffee for their husbands lack of sexual interest. Coffeehouses were really for men only (although pubs and taverns were for all). When brothels were moved above coffee houses in the mid 1600s, many men would have coffee, a good political discussion, and then move upstairs to visit a prostitute for a final treat. After that, they headed home and weren't interested in having sex with their wives, and thus coffee was blamed for men's lack of interest in the bedroom. Of course the result was that women tended to be anti-coffee, and men were pro-coffee.

músico

Marisa Monte, Bebo Valdés and Carlinhos Brown

above water

This house is located in Lo Curro hill in Santiago, Chile. The site, long and with gentle slope, is covered with a forest of eucalyptus trees planted 30 years ago and it is crossed by an irrigation canal. It faces north and has a front view of the southern slope of the hill with vegetation, and a side view of the area east towards the city and the Cordillera de los Andes. Schmidt Arquitectos Asociado was commissioned by clients that want formality and programmatic life in the city and the freedom of households out of it. All in all, the client wanted a modern but cozy house.

Organised by a glazed central corridor, the Architects proposed to extend the house on the ground that invites people to explore and enjoy it. This idea was emphasised in order to articulate the house with the landscape and each rooms take advantage of the slope and with through this set their spatial condition. The Architects have chosen natural textures such as stone, wood, slate tiles and Chilean native timber Coihue.

The boundary between inside and outside is diluted by windows that are recessed in the floor and beams. Sliding windows and doors are the only elements with frames and the stone walls of the garden terraces are introduced into the interior to reinforce the spatial continuity. Finally, the existing irrigation canal has been integrated to the house and landscape design, creating tiered lakes thus reflecting the environment, providing sound and moisture to the air.

eu sei que vou te amar

Translated:

I know I'm going to love you;

For all my life, I'm going to love you;

In every goodbye, I'm going to love you;

Desperately, I know I'm going to love you;

And every verse of mine;

Will say, that i know i'm going to love you;

For all my life;

I know I'm going to cry;

Whenever you are not here, I'm going to cry;

But every time you come back, it will erase;

What your absense has caused me;

I know I'm going to suffer;

The eternal misfortune of living;

Waiting to live by your side;

For all my life, I'm going to love you;

I know I'm going to suffer;

The eternal misfortune of living;

Waiting to live by your side;

For all my life.

cuban passion

One of my favourite film out this year as far as I'm concern...let me introduce to you Chico & Rita. Due to this, I'll be posting various videos to celebrate the genius of Bebo Valdez, Thelonious Monk, Cole Porter and others. 

Thank you very much Brunette!!

j'attendrai swing

Django Reinhart & Stephane Grappelli

behind the layers - two

More X-Ray's from Nick Veasey

red juice tourism

Stobi Winery is located in the central part of Macedonia near the famous archaeological site Stobi which happens to be the largest vineyard plantations in the country. Aleksandar Radevski + Viktorija Stavrik's complex covers an area of 110 x 140 m -  consisting of 3 continuously connected units which are determined by the sloping terrain. The Architects have composed 8 functional units perimetrally organised around the central courtyard and equipped with grape processing technology, bottling lines and warehouses. The central part is designed to store wine in barrels and has a tasting room. Due to the warm climate, the Architects have designed the buildings without openings where the processing equipment is. Due to that, the façade treatment involves the use of colors that are characteristic of the surrounding nature of the winery. There is also a 35m triangular tower is envisaged as the next step. At the highest level it would implement a restaurant overlooking the magnificent view of the surrounding landscape, the river Vardar and the archaeological site Stobi.

behind the layers - one

In a world obsessed with superficial image it is a refreshing contrast to look beyond the surface and appreciate the stuff that surrounds us for what it is made of, not just what it looks like on the outside. English artist Nick Veasey uses x-ray technology to peel back the layers and peer inside all manner of subjects: people, buildings, machines, animals, natural forms. The work has an ethereal, otherworldly quality yet the things he uses to create the pictures are so familiar. Nick’s work has won awards in every relevant photographic competition and is shown in galleries around the world. These elegant yet unsettling artworks are a perfect fusion of science and art.

bebop

Round Midnight by Thelonious Monk

fornication, no way

The Perfumed Garden (Arabic: الروض العاطر في نزهة الخاطر) by Muhammad ibn Muhammad al-Nafzawi is a fifteenth-century Arabic sex manual and work of erotic literature. The book presents opinions on what qualities men and women should have to be attractive, gives advice on sexual technique, warnings about sexual health and recipes to remedy sexual maladies. The full title of the book is The Perfumed Garden of Sensual Delight. Who would have thought that the Muslims were such randy rabbits in the 1400. No wonder the Koran makes such sinful pleasures forbidden (haraam).

under the skin - fifthteen

The New Museum, New York, SANAA Architects (Kazuo Sejima and Ryue Nishizawa) by Stanley Greenberg

lego bricks

Marcio Kogan's nursery project pecially directed for children aged from 0 to 3 years. The Architects have made a priority to conceive of an abstract non-stereotypical space with a ludic character that would meet the functional demands of the numerous procedures within the nursery. Circulation is achieved through ramps and the use of friendly materials such as a soft floor and operational ergonometry that are fundamental for a safe and comfortable environment for the children. Other than the usual services to accomodate the young ones, the Architects have also added importance to the landscaping to guarantee the safe interaction among the children. Bright colours such as yellow, orange and red were selected to create a stimulating atmosphere.

bamboo du jour

Aesthetically, this house is a sculptural and abstract replica of a traditional house. Karawitz Architecture reveals a double faced site sensitive house that is closed on the north to limit energy loss and opened on the south to take benefit of free sunshine. This project was the best performance low consumption house in France and the first house in the Parisian region to receive the European labeled certification PHI (Passiv Haus Institut). The Architects used an openworked second skin in non-treated bamboo envelops the skeleton made of massive wood panels. This coating, that becomes grey with time, has been inspired from the typical barns in this region. It covers the windows and continues on to the roof. Identical shutters that cover the large picture windows on the south creates light and shadow during the day and night.