The beautiful and nice old attic apartment renovation by Studio Damilano, they transform the old space into modern spacious apartment and living space, that perfect for young professional couple or anyone who loves apartment with modern serene space. The apartment is about 240sqm large and the architects and designers have worked hard at getting the most from what some would say is an awkward space. Loft and attic conversions are infamous for the fact that although you get a new room in the house the actual living space can be difficult to maneuver furniture into. Painting the rooms is an important factor to add to their brightness. This will also make the space look bigger, plus it adds beauty to the whole effect. (more…)
Tip-toeing to the tipping point of sustainable buildings and a solar future. That’s one way to describe current activity in local construction.
While most homes and commercial buildings constructed over the past few years rarely go above mandated codes for energy efficiency, some daring developers are pushing the envelope.
Taking risks. Using innovative building practices. Sketching the promise of near-Zero Energy construction for the Georgia coast.
“I’m a plant man.” That’s not only a definition of himself, it also defines Gregg Bayard’s philosophy. A burly former forester and horticulturist, comfortable under a fine patina of dust from a roadway under construction, he and his business partner Curry Wadsworth, with 20 years experience as a landscaper, are turning a heavily wooded, former fishing camp on Salt Creek into a housing development overlooking — and preserving — the marsh. (more…)
The hothouse colors, the hand-painted tiles, the lazy drift of hammocks and mosquito netting: If you visit Mexico, it’s hard not to fall in love with the look and the lifestyle.
But unlike a craft or curio that you can pack in your suitcase, Mexican style isn’t always easy to bring back home. And if you do, it may not look the same. Hibiscus pink, you may say to yourself. What was I thinking?
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Exhibition on the work of distinguished architect Nikos Valsamakis at the Benaki Museum on Pireos
Modern Athens may not be a place with beautiful architecture but it is the city of an architectural landmark in the history of Western civilization, the Parthenon. At times, this alone can make living here seem like a rare privilege. The Parthenon along with the celebrated Attic sky and the radiant light are at the heart of the Greek soul. The Parthenon encapsulates the importance of harmonious proportions (as in “the golden mean”) over excess and ostentation, while Greece’s radiant light expresses extroversion, which, in terms of daily living, means that the out-of-doors is a vital part of Greek life. (more…)
Chicago’s fabled architecture has always been catnip for filmmakers. Remember that car’s specta- cular swan-dive from the Marina City parking garage into the Chicago River in Steve McQueen’s “The Hunter” in 1980? Kevin Costner’s encounter with a runaway baby carriage on the Union Station staircase in 1987’s “The Untouchables”? Tom Hanks driving down La Salle Street toward the Board of Trade in 2002’s “Road to Perdition”?
It’s an extra level of pleasure for local moviegoers, who get to see our city (and sometimes our own neighborhood hangouts) on the big screen. But “The Lake House,” the romantic drama starring Keanu Reeves and Sandra Bullock that opens Friday, takes Hollywood’s love affair with Chicago architecture to a new level.
Ready for its closeup
Written by Chicago native David Auburn (best known for his Pulitzer Prize-winning play “Proof,” also set in the Windy City), “The Lake House” takes full advantage of the city’s rich architectural tapestry, paying special attention to the diversity of periods and styles.
“Every great architect from Frank Lloyd Wright and Louis Sullivan to Mies van der Rohe has built in Chicago, and what other city in America gives you all those buildings in close proximity to each other?” says “Lake House” production designer Nathan Crowley, who also used several Chicago locations in last year’s “Batman Begins.”
“Sometimes you go to a city like New York and you feel its greatness, but cinematically, it doesn’t stack up like Chicago does — it’s very, very cinematic,” Crowley says. “And when the story itself is about architects, how could you do better?” (more…)
