The horror of the current Syrian refugee crisis, coinciding with the destruction of the two thousand year old Temple of Bel at Palmyra, intensified the pain that I have felt ever since Bashar al-Assad ordered police to attack peaceful protesters with live bullets in the
FORERUNNERS OF THE EDEN PROJECT THE EDEN PROJECT, NEAR ST AUSTELL, CORNWALL OPENED 2001Tim Smit's modest ambitions in 1994 were to build the largest greenhouse in the world, to restore the despoiled landscape of an abandoned china clay pit, and to teach us what we can
The brothers Asam, leading architects of late Baroque Bavaria, bequeathed this church (1833-46) to the city of Vienna. It stands right next to the family residence of Egid Quirin Asam, built in 1733-4 on the Sendingerstrasse. The church occupies a narrower street frontage than the
Vienna is a gray-white city, lacking the warmth and variety of Prague and Krakow. The regular, symmetrical architecture of the Habsburg era was challenged at the end of the 19th century by secessionist architects like Otto Wagner, but their predominantly white buildings were planned as
Karl Marx Hof the living emblem of Red Vienna Schonbrunn Palace gardens, Habsburg Vienna KARL MARX HOF 1927-1932 The largest courtyard is open on the north side to a street. Other courts are entirely enclosed On the north side of the block with a closed court (above),
So little time and so much to do. But everything is made easy by the nature of Vienna. I have a quiet comfortable place to stay(pension Kraml); the transportation system is marvellous, very easy to understand; the streets are pedestrian and bicycle friendly; cafes are
The British Museum is showing a suberb exhibition on the reign of Shah Abbas and the city of Isfahan, the greatest manifestation of his long reign in the late 16th and early seventeenth century. He has been described as ruthless, but unlike Persian rulers of
Today is the first post for my trip to Europe. I am planning to look at RED Vienna, Vienna Secession, etc. More to follow!
Recently, at the launch of a new issue of the Seattle based journal Arcade, I had the pleasure of meeting a man who had worked closely with Louis Kahn on a film. What a privilege. Our conversation aroused potent memories. My only encounter with Kahn