Located on the waterfront on the bend of the river IJ, rising up like a wave or a sea-animal, the striking new EYE Film Museum is part of the regeneration of the harbour areas of Amsterdam, with the new Palace of Justice across the other side, and is a short ferry ride from the major […]
Standing like the prow of a ship, Renzo Piano’s Science Exploratorium (it cannot be called a museum) projects into the harbour in a thrusting building which contains five floors of interactive and hand-on science activities for children (old and young) underneath at large piazza which rises from ground level up to the café at the […]
Rembrandt’s paintings and drawing may now fetch mind-blowing prices but Rembrandt purchased his house in Jodenbreestraat, Amsterdam, in 1639 and lived there until he went bankrupt in1656, when all his belongings were sold by auction. During the time he lived there, he used the house as a studio for himself and also for his pupils. […]
There is a stereotypical view of a sailor, perhaps perpetuated in historical nautical portraits, as a tough man who enjoys travelling the world, flirting with women in many ports, having to endure tough and stormy conditions at sea, wearing a smart uniform and carrying a telescope if an officer, or wearing grubby seaman’s clothes, stained from […]
Iconic tall buildings in London such as Rogers, Stirk, Harbour + Partners’ “Cheesegrater” and Foster + Partners’ “Gherkin” have become pleasure-palaces for mice who are having a great time swimming, eating, drinking cocktails and enjoying books, while hot-air balloons and airships fly outside. Ami Shin’s imaginative picture-book illustrations, winner in the Children’s Book//New Talent category […]
Large areas of London have been destroyed, and burnt-out stonework and empty windows stand ruined against the sky with views to St Paul’s Cathedral which survived the Blitz in 1942 and represented the spirit of the British people during the darkest hours of the Second World War as recorded by photographer Wolfgang Suschitzky whose earlier photographs […]
What does the used bar of soap left in your hotel bedroom say about you when you have shut the door, checked out and gone? Has it been worn thin and transparent like a sheet of paper, or is still fat, chubby and solid? Does it still retain its shape or has been completely worn and […]
The music is daring you to dance, with the rhythm that you hear on the streets of Havana; the old doors have paintwork peeling off, like most of the buildings in Havana; and there are colourful posters and artwork by street artist Ben Eine – all of this contributes to the atmosphere of Casa Havana, London’s newest restaurant/bar, […]
As railways expanded across Europe in the 19th century expansion, the Hamburger Bahnhof in Berlin was built to designs of Friedrich Neuhaus in 1846/47 as the terminus of the Berlin-Hamburg railway. Today it remains one of the oldest railway terminus buildings in Germany and, like the Musee d’Orsey in Paris, has been given a new use as a modern art […]
Situated in a residential area not far from the Jewish Museum, the newest addition to the museums of Berlin, opening last year, the Berlinische Galerie for contemporary art is located a 1956 glass warehouse, refurbished to designs of the architect Jörg Fricke. In part due to a tight budget, the refurbishment has been kept reasonably simple […]
"The many great gardens of the world, of literature and poetry, of painting and music, of religion and architecture, all make the point as clear as possible: The soul cannot thrive in the absence of a garden. If you don't want paradise, you are not human; and if you are not human, you don't have a soul."
(Thomas Moore)
To be an architect means having a wide range of interests - architecture, art and creativity in all its variety of forms, sustainability, science and innovation. The greatest interest is often where these different worlds overlap and collide - that is when something imaginative often occurs that pushes us all forward to another place
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