Wednesday, May 30, 2007

oxford street





oxford street is the most popular shopping area in centeral london.centeral london has most of the historical site.I started off my tour in the morning.And what else one can think of when one is in london ,its THE TUBE. I took the piccadily line, bought a map for myself and started off my journey. I started from hounslow central and went off at hyde park corner. As the saying goes that the english girls are like english weather, the bright sun was overshadowed by cloud and in no time it started raining.I walked from hyde park corner toward the park lane , saw the marble arch and off to oxford street .once on oxford street all the big stores with there preserved outter facade catch ones attention. Selfridges is huge mulitistoried store with huge columns running to its whole length .

Monday, May 28, 2007

' Assertive yet Fragile'















self potrait AMRITA SHERGILL

Hampton court palace , london







while roaming around London and enjoying its rainy weather , one can't escape the influence of the history on the art and architecture of the city . London is the perfect blend of the old monuments and the new upcoming structures. Hampton court is one of the old monuments .

Henry the 8Th was the first royal owner of the Hampton court palace . The palace is the mix of kings , queen's apartments ,large Tudor kitchens . The palace is the perfect blend of Tudor and Baroque architecture . The building covered over 6 acres and the gardens spreads to around 60 acres .Henry the 8Th was responsible for the setting out the structure of the gardens , privy ( private ) garden to the South , a hunting park to the east , pleasure grounds to the north and , to the west , the entrance gate .

In Tudor period Henry the 8Th great orchard occupied the land in the north of the palace but during the reign of William 3rd this entire area , known as the wilderness , was planted with tall clipped evergreens in geometric patterns and intertwining paths . The maze is the only remaining part of this layout .

one of the 18Th century travelled and novelist Daniel Defoe , who greatly admired Hampton court wilderness remarked "nothing of that kind can be more beautifull"



Tuesday, May 8, 2007

Finnish Design tour


Finland is famous for its ceramic , glass , paintings , Furniture design and Architecture . Finland is the bith place of ALVAR ALTO one of the famous Architect . The tours takes you from Helsinki to Seinäjoki to Jyväskylä where one enjoys the beauty of Finish Architecture and design . Starting with the famous Finlandia Hall designed by ALVAR to the GLASS VILLAGE of Nuutajärvi where you can find the oldest glassworks of finland , one can have the full feel of finish design .

For more information click here

Van Gogh Expresso ' VODKA'!!!!!














Vincent Van Gogh called espresso "The perfekte koffie".

what u will say ....about coffee+ vodka....." The sexbomb koffie" !!!!!!

wht u say BARISTA GUYS !!!!!! should we try ...

For notes on perfekte MARTINI Recipies check here

Sunday, May 6, 2007

LEED Accredited professionals

The AIA's Business of Architecture 2006 survey reports that 13 percent of responding firms maintain LEED Accredited Professionals on staff.

HOK
430 LEED APs in North America, Asia, Europe, and the Middle East

LEO A DALY
13 percent of staff are LEED AP

Steed Hammond Paul, Inc.
55 of 105 employees are LEED AP

KlingStubbins
28 LEED AP - more than 25 percent of total staff

Gensler
563 LEED AP out of a staff of 2,519

HKS, Inc.
13 percent of the staff are LEED AP

SOM
14 LEED AP with a total staff of 1,076

LS3P Associates, Inc.
11 percent of staff are LEED AP

News from incheon , Korea

The New York office of Hellmuth, Obata + Kassabaum, Inc. (HOK) is designing seven new buildings in Incheon, Korea. The six mixed-use towers and hotel will be part of New Songdo City, a $25-billion master-planned international business district developed by Gale International and POSCO E&C. Gale International is headquartered in New York with offices in Boston; Irvine, California; Seoul and New Songdo, South Korea.

Three of the mixed-use towers, located on the north side of New Songdo’s Central Park (the city's main public park) are scheduled to begin construction in May 2007. The towers, which form a gateway to the northern residential neighborhood of the city, are intended to set an international high quality standard of living and design prototype.

Taking full advantage of the southern exposure, the towers will become one of the prime residential addresses in the city, providing direct views of the park and beyond. The towers will accommodate housing, live-in work amenities and retail space. Sales of the 900 units are scheduled to begin in May 2007, with estimated completion of the project in 2009. Kenneth Drucker, design director at HOK New York, describes the sets of towers as "an incredible opportunity to define the northern edge of Central Park as the 'Fifth Avenue' of New Songdo City."

Located on the south side of Central Park, the Convention Center Hotel is already under construction and pursuing the goal of becoming the first LEED® certified hotel in Korea. The 25-story hotel tower will have a total of 23 occupied floors and a two-story rooftop mechanical area and roof screen. The hotel will contain 322 guestrooms, eight percent of which will be suites; as well as a presidential suite and executive lounge on the top floors. Typical hotel rooms will average 380 sq. ft. and will each include a four fixture bathroom.

Hotel amenities will be located on the five lower levels, including two ballrooms, function rooms, a spa, gym facilities, a covered swimming pool, two restaurants and a lounge bar. The kitchens, food and beverage preparation and administration areas will be connected through a service corridor on each floor, and support services will be located on the two basement levels.

HOK’s Convention Center Hotel is part of a group of buildings that will also include the Convention Center, a 65-story, mixed-use residential and office tower, the Northeast Asia Trade Tower, and a retail mall. The three buildings will be connected through a series of plazas and open landscaped areas, as well as a single below-grade parking structure spanning the entire area. The hotel is estimated for completion in 2009.

While Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates created the master plan for New Songdo City, HOK New York is acting as the design architect in designing over 3 million sq. ft. in the six towers and hotel along Central Park, with ARUP handling the structural and curtainwall design; Dong-Il Architects acting as the Korean Associate Architect for residential work on the towers; and Baum Architects acting as the Associate Architects for the first hotel.

New Songdo City, being built on 1,500 acres of reclaimed land along the Yellow Sea, is positioned to become the hub of Northeast Asia. The largest private real estate development in history, New Songdo is located at the site of General MacArthur’s 1950 landing. New Songdo will be larger than the city of Boston when completed and will include 50 million sq. ft. of office space, 30 million sq. ft. of residential space, 10 million sq. ft. of retail space, five million sq. ft. of hotel space and 10 million sq. ft. of public space. Every conceivable cultural and recreational amenity will be available including a world class hospital, two international preparatory schools and a 100-acre Central Park with a world class aquarium and art museum.

courtesy - Contract magazine

Wednesday, May 2, 2007