It’s famed for the Frank Gehry–designed Guggenheim Museum Bilbao, which sparked revitalization when it opened in 1997. The museum houses prominent modern and contemporary works, but it’s the curvy, titanium-clad building that receives the most attention.
Video timeline: 0:00 Towie Barclay 1:32 Entry, kitchen and dining 2:48 The Great Hall 3:56 The library 4:54 The garden 6:39 Maintaining the castle
The 2.7-acre castle grounds, also includes a walled garden, gardener’s cottage and carriage rooms. But it’s also a family home that was purchased by a husband and wife for £4,000 in 1972. Homeowner Karen Ellington opens up the castle doors to share the restoration journey from ruin to refuge.
The adjacent Almudaina is a Moorish-style Arab fortress converted to a royal residence. West of the city, hilltop Bellver Castle is a medieval fortress with a distinctive circular shape.
Since the first stone was laid in 1023, it has been home to monks, monarchs and prisoners; a historic pilgrimage site that welcomes 3 million visitors each year. In this edition we meet some of the people who preserve its magic.
Now the 83-year-old is the subject of a retrospective at the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York City – the museum’s first retrospective ever of an Indigenous artist. Correspondent Serena Altschul reports on a moment that’s been described as long overdue.
In addition to gardens, wabi sabi influences many other aspects of Japanese art and culture, such as the tea ceremony and pottery making, and it is also seen as a way of life.
A garden based around wabi sabi incorporates natural and manmade elements in a way that allows visitors to appreciate their humble and imperfect forms. This typically involves using not only plants but also stones and weathered manmade objects as design elements.
0:15 UK universities have a plan for AI – The guidelines aim to incorporate AI ethically into education and treat it as ‘an opportunity rather than a threat’. The UK’s 24 Russell Group universities are signing the principles.
2:07 This trolley can spot if you’re at risk of stroke – It has electrocardiogram (ECG) sensors embedded in its handles which screen you for heart irregularities as you shop. Researchers at Liverpool John Moores University fitted the sensors into 10 trolleys and rolled them out at 4 supermarkets in Liverpool, UK. Shoppers were invited to hold the handlebar for at least 60 seconds. If the sensor didn’t detect an irregular heartbeat, it lit up green. Over 2 months, the trolleys screened 2,155 people. They detected atrial fibrillation in 39 people who were swiftly able to book a cardiologist appointment.
3:50 Paris generates clean energy from Métro passagers – Energy firm IBERDROLA converted 6 turnstiles into mini-turbines at Miromesnil Métro station for 2 days last year. As each passenger passed through the turnstiles the turbines converted their movement into green energy. 27,000 passengers used the turnstiles. Each passenger generated 0.2 watts of energy. If scaled across the entire Métro system, which serves 1.5 billion passengers annually this technology could generate 136MW per year.
5:09 These sensors can spot stressed tomatoes – Their inventors say they can make agriculture more sustainable while increasing crop yields at the same time.
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There are many Venetian stone buildings in Montenegro. Their pretty red roofs stand out against the forests, mountains, and bright blue sea. Clay tiles have been used by roofers for centuries. They are practical and can last a hundred years! And they are the subject of our walk through Montenegro today – a symbol of serene and warm southern towns.
Durmitor National Park, home to bears and wolves, encompasses limestone peaks, glacial lakes and 1,300m-deep Tara River Canyon.
Most of the buildings have already been restored and include, at the moment, 17 beautiful bedrooms and elegant living areas. By completing the renovation of the other farmhouses one could reach a grand total of 26 bedrooms. The property’s 15.3 hectares of land are home to a beautiful Italian garden and olive grove.
The riverside spa district is home to several colonnades with columned walkways. The modern Hot Spring Colonnade houses the Pramen Vřídlo geyser, which spouts up to 12 meters high.
