DW Travel (July 2, 2023) – Explore Riga with DW’s Hannah Hummel. Riga, Latvia’s capital, is set on the Baltic Sea at the mouth of the River Daugava. It’s considered a cultural center and is home to many museums and concert halls.
Video timeline:00:00 Intro 00:30 Breakfast at Rigensis 01:12 Riga’s Old Town 01:32 The House of the Blackheads 02:04 Art noveau architecture 02:26 View from Radisson Blu Hotel Latvija 02:55 Bastion Hill park 03:18 Freedom Monument 03:46 Museum of the Occupation of Latvia 05:41 Riga Central Market 06:23 Dinner at the market 08:07 Riga Black Balsam
The city is also known for its wooden buildings, art nouveau architecture and medieval Old Town. The pedestrian-only Old Town has many shops and restaurants and is home to busy Livu Square, with bars and nightclubs.
The Local Project (June 39, 2023) – Responding to context and climate, the architect delivers Stonelea, an authentic, multi-generational country retreat embedded in the landscape.
Video timeline: 00:00 – Introduction to the Sustainable Modern Farm house 00:48 – The Brief 01:00 – Retaining the Existing Elements 01:20 – Consideration of the Carbon Footprint 01:43 – A Walkthrough of the Home 02:55 – Providing Natural Light 03:44 – Drawing Inspiration from the Site and the Landscape 04:39 – A Result of Combined Efforts and Proud Moments
Nestled in the western foothills of the Blue Mountains, Stonelea by Matthew Woodward Architecture tenderly responds to context. Continuing a long-standing interest in connecting people with landscape, Stonelea gently frames the human experience within its striking rural surrounds.
An existing cluster of workers’ cottages, each with a wondrous view across the vast valley and connection to the Coxs River below, informed the planning and articulation of the home. The home’s linear and low-lying form draws on the Australian shed vernacular. A minimalist approach to form is articulated in the generous floor plan, whilst the earthy materials reflect an affinity with the landscape.
Stonelea’s barn-like form skilfully combines hardwood timber shiplap and metal roof sheeting set on a weighty podium of local stone, embedding the house atop the slope of the river and valley panorama. The architect dexterously planned around established trees, conveying a seamlessness with the landscape that belies the age of the architecture. A simple, elongated spatial arrangement gives hierarchy and order between public and private spaces.
Ensuite guest bedrooms and a kids’ room are lined along a timber-screened walkway, flanked by a large master bedroom to the north and expansive living spaces to the south, affording acoustic separation and privacy.
Stef Hoffer Films (June 30, 2023) – Napoli is one of Europe’s most diverse and fascinating cities, and an intriguing place to travel to. Often misunderstood, this Italian city has some of the country’s most beautiful architecture, ancient historic sites, delicious food, interesting traditions, and a friendly, welcoming people.
Located in the Southern Campania region, Napoli (or Naples) has a very different character from most other Italian cities.
In this travel documentary, I’m exploring the streets of Napoli and its surroundings. From the buzzing, narrow alleys of the old city center to the grand churches and cathedrals. From historic palaces and castles to mysterious underground tunnels. And from ancient archaeological sites under the shadow of Mount Vesuvius to one of Italy’s most beautiful stretches of coastline.
Wall Street Journal (June 27, 2023) – This luxury oceanfront property in southeast Alaska, with concrete floors and a pink kitchen, cost $2.07 million to build and furnish.
Video timeline: 0:00 Living on the water 0:54 Living room 1:32 Kitchen 2:25 Deck and nook 3:54 Primary bedroom 4:49 Outside space
The home includes a strawberry wall, a floating chair that costs over $3,000 and ocean views from every room. Homeowner Kristi Linsenmayer describes the joys and challenges of custom-building a home over the water in rural Ketchikan.
The Local Project (June 27, 2023) – A house openly engaging with its surrounding context, Parkside Residence is both outwardly and inwardly focused to reference the existing formal language it is immersed within. Ashley Halliday Architects proposes a light-filled family home that combines heightened detailing with a sense of the familiar.
Video timeline: 00:00 – Intro to the Light Filled House 00:42 – The Project Brief 01:11 – A Walkthrough of the Home 02:17 – Creating A Cosy Home 02:50 – The Cathedral Glass Wall 03:20 – A Focus on the Landscaping 03:56 – The Colour and Material Palette 04:41 – Experiencing the Freshness of the Home
Set within a heritage-rich area of inner south-east Adelaide, Parkside Residence is imagined as a house of considered proportions. In acknowledging its adjacent neighbours and the traditional forms in place, the proposal aims to also celebrate the silhouettes of the existing streetscape through the formation of two main gabled pavilion arrangements. Aligned perpendicularly to one another, the pair sit separated with a connective corridor space to bind them.
Whilst the home is a modern insertion within its traditional setting, by respectfully honouring the formal language of the established rooflines, the structure adds to the rhythm of the streetscape. Ashley Halliday Architects focuses on balancing both the privacy and experience of the house from within with a series of spaces that nestle comfortably. Ikon Projects crafts Parkside Residence to transition from a privately veiled home at the front to a more open collective of spaces to the rear.
DW Travel (June 24, 2023) – Keen for some adventure on the shared border region of Venezuela, Brazil, and Guyana? Join DW’s Joel Dullroy on his seven-day hike up the fabled Mount Roraima.
Braving cold, cramps, and exhaustion, he’s rewarded with a breathtaking experience in the great outdoors, amidst an out-of-this-world landscape. Is It all worth it in the end? Take a look for yourself!
Mount Roraima is the highest of the Pakaraima chain of tepuis or plateaux in South America. It is located at the junction of Venezuela, Brazil and Guyana. A characteristic large flat-topped mountain surrounded by cliffs 400 to 1,000 meters high.
The Local Project (June 23, 2023) – Nestled among the palm trees, Twin Palms by E. Stewart Williams boasts not only a desirable position but a rich history that makes the iconic house stand out.
Video timeline: 00:00 – Intro to Frank Sinatra’s Iconic House 00:39 – A Completely Blank Canvas 01:14 – E. Stewart William’s First Architecture Project 01:53 – The Original Floor Plan 02:19 – A Typical Palm Springs Type Home 03:02 – Indoor and Outdoor Fusion 03:23 – The Many Moods of Modernism 03:40 – Enveloping and Warm 03:59 – The Unity of Nature and Architecture 04:38 – Balanced Light 05:15 – Frank Sinatra’s Love of the Desert
First built when there was nothing but mountains and desert, Twin Palms helped establish the architectural shape of Palm Springs. As Twin Palms was the first home designed by E. Stewart Williams, the iconic house offers a softness and comfortability that its original owner, Frank Sinatra, desired. Throughout this iconic house, E. Stewart Williams has provided fun, pleasure, privacy and respite, for the home’s first owner to its current occupants.
Though the midcentury home was built in 1947 for Frank Sinatra, E. Stewart Williams’s complex yet soft design has remained mostly intact, with the only change to the floor plan being the entrance, which was moved to the opposite side of the street to provide a dramatic arrival. Additionally, the original furniture and kitchen appliances remain, adding to the home’s interesting history.
For the rest of the exterior and interior design, the softness and expression of pleasure and place are articulated with the interior columns that are rounded instead of straight – an idea that helps to soften the environment and avoid the harshness of geometric design. With the architecture of homes in Palm Springs being designed with respect to the mountains, there is a sense of unity between nature and structure that exists in the iconic house. Further deepening this, E. Stewart Williams provides an overarching sense of indoor and outdoor living through the colour choices, materials and form of the iconic house.
Architectural Digest (June 22, 2023) – A guided tour of Bedford Quarry House, located an hour outside of New York City. Sitting atop the cliff’s edge of an abandoned quarry, this serene property boasts spectacular views of the lake and surrounding forest.
The boundary dividing these vistas from the interior is figuratively broken by floor-to-ceiling windows throughout–creating a sense of openness and fluidity between nature and the home. Join architect Steven Harris for an in-depth look at his design philosophy behind this unique family residence.
The Modern House (June 22, 2023) – “We’d never seen anything like it – we were totally blown away,” said Simon Siegel when we went to visit him and his wife, Monica, at their 1970s mid-century home in Nottinghamshire four years ago for our My Modern House series.
Simon’s words echoed our feelings exactly: we were blown away not only by the brilliance of architect David Shelley’s original design, but also by how Monica and Simon lived in it so sympathetically and stylishly, for that matter – a true one-of-a-kind. And now we’re back.
AKSense – Zurich Films (June 21, 2023) – A train driver’s view aboard the Goldenpass panoramic train of the Montreux Oberland Bernois (MOB) railway. The train journey is from Saanen, through Gstaad, on to Zweisimmen, in Switzerland.
The Montreux Oberland Bernois Railway, is an electrified railway line that operates in southwest Switzerland. It is one of the oldest electric railways in the country. Its main line, 62.4 km in length, is built to the 1,000 mm gauge.
News, Views and Reviews For The Intellectually Curious
The Local Project
Wall Street Journal
The Modern House
AKSense – Zurich
Intellicurious 