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(Updated on June 9, 2025)
Looking at a portion of one building stone on the Lakeview Shelter. This structure overlooks the Superior shore on the southern side of the Gooseberry River mouth.
This close-up gives us a good opportunity to really examine both the Beaver Bay Complex Gabbro building stone and its colorful colonizer, the aptly named Elegant Sunburst Lichen (Rusavskia elegans). See the previous post's description for more on the rock's origin in the Midcontinent Rift.
Being an igneous intrusive rock, the iron-rich ferrogabbro shown here cooled and solidified from its parent magma more slowly than its overlying North Shore Volcanic Group basalt. Though the surface here is weathered, you can still make out individual crystals large enough to be seen without magnification.
And one more lichenological note: Rusavskia elegans was formerly known as Xanthoria elegans. It remains in the family Teloschistaceae.
To see the other photos and descriptions of this series, visit
my Integrative Natural History of Minnesota's North Shore album.
by David Spangler, Summer 2019
Made from abandoned wood scraps, these beautiful wall panels will brighten any room.
by David Spangler, Summer 2019
Made from old drawers and wooden boxes, this shelf is a perfect edition to a craftsman style home.
From over 1900 companies, CEMEX UK is just one of 10 companies to achieve Gold Status in the Fleet Operators Recognition Scheme (FORS) run by Transport for London (TFL).
CEMEX has been a member of the scheme since 2008 and has cement tankers, aggregate tippers and readymix concrete trucks delivering vital building materials to construction projects in London.
FORS, a voluntary certification scheme, is a method of recognizing fleet operations in the Capital that meet with the required standards covering management, vehicles, drivers and operations. The standards are based upon lawfulness, safety, efficiency and environmental protection.
Andy Taylor, Health and Safety Director, CEMEX UK comments “Our vehicles cover over 15 million miles per annum and we aim to do everything we can to reduce the risk of accidents for the benefit of everyone on the roads. Reaching the standards for the Gold level requires that our vehicles and drivers are operating to the highest standard and helping to improve road safety in the Capital.”
Ends
by David Spangler, Summer 2019
Made from abandoned wood scraps, these beautiful wall panels will brighten any room.
by David Spangler, Summer 2019
Made from abandoned wood scraps, these beautiful wall panels will brighten any room.
This series complements my award-winning guidebook, Chicago in Stone and Clay: A Guide to the Windy City's Architectural Geology. Henceforth I'll just call it CSC.
The CSC section and page reference for the building featured here: 9.2; pp. 142-144.
Looking down one of the grand stairways leading from street level down to the Waiting Room.
Here the warmer tones of the Quaternary-age Tivoli Travertine, quarried east of Rome, Italy, are contrasted with the grayer Ordovician-age Holstone Limestone ("Tennessee Marble") of the Waiting Room flooring. More on that anon.
The Tivoli is found in the columns, stair treads and risers, and lower-level walls. On the steps it assumes an uncharacteristic roseate hue because of the overhead lighting.
For more on this site, get and read Chicago in Stone and Clay, described at its Cornell University Press webpage.
The other photos and discussions in this series can be found in my "Chicago in Stone and Clay" Companion album. In addition, you'll find other relevant images and descriptions in my Architectural Geology: Chicago album.
frame 28
Matte size (in): 8x8
Frame outer size (in): 7.25x7.25
Material: Painted and unpainted maple floor
Source (approx age) Syracuse Farm Supply, Syracuse NY (approx 1930)
Price: 35.00
8x8 picture frame made from reclaimed maple flooring.
The wood in this frame came from the floor of the former Syracuse Farm Supply Warehouse in Syracuse NY. The building dates roughly from the 1940s. The owners wanted the building removed. ReUse Action (reuseaction.com) was contracted to remove as much wood as possible from the structure before the main concrete structure was demolished.
Several thousand square feet of hard maple flooring was recovered and re-sold to be used as beautiful reclaimed flooring in residential housed.
We used a few pieces of this flooring to create this picture frame. The wood shows its age and experience: years of farmer's boots shuffling across it, machines dragged across it, sacks of feed and probably even animal marks on it.
This frame was made of part of the floor that was never painted and part of the floor that had been painted red. Both show the wear and tear of the feed and seed warehouse.
We love all these random marks and patina that simply cannot be duplicated artificially.
This frame embodies our eco philosophy. Most components are reclaimed materials. The glass is salvaged from old stock or from window sashes. Only the glaziers points biscuits and carpenter's glue are new materials. Each is coated with Minwax water based urethane.
In the scheme these crafts make a miniscule difference in the fate of the environment. However building materials comprise the largest part of landfills. Anaerobically rotting wood and other organic components contribute significantly to climate change by releasing methane as a byproduct.
The Stockwell Arms, West Stockwell Street, Colchester. "15th-century but over-restored", pronounces the recently revised Pevsner. Actually I was delighted by its un-smart, down-at-heel look, but I see what the book means. These are non-structural stick-on timbers by the look of it.
These jettied, timber-framed houses are no longer routinely painted in strident black and white. All over the country such buildings are having their timbers de-blacked, greatly to their advantage. The blacking was a product of the Victorian taste for the picturesque. It was said to be necessary to the preservation of the timber, but this is not so. Oak hardens with time. As long as the timbers are protected above and below from damp ...a good hat and a good set of shoes, as the late Alec Clifton-Taylor was fond of saying... they will be more durable even than stone. The treatment we see above is not exactly what I would recommend. All over East Anglia timber-framed buildings are now being limewashed in the correct vernacular manner. This is not always popular. My own preference ...moderate as I am in all things... is for a mere de-blacking of the timbers, which leaves them a lovely aged silver-grey.
Serpentine Gallery Pavillion 2017, text from website copyright of serpentinegalleries.org
Summary
Diébédo Francis Kéré, the award-winning architect from Gando, Burkina Faso, was commissioned to design the Serpentine Pavilion 2017, responding to the brief with a bold, innovative structure that brings his characteristic sense of light and life to the lawns of Kensington Gardens.
Kéré, who leads the Berlin-based practice Kéré Architecture, is the seventeenth architect to accept the Serpentine Galleries’ invitation to design a temporary Pavilion in its grounds. Since its launch in 2000, this annual commission of an international architect to build his or her first structure in London at the time of invitation has become one of the most anticipated events in the global cultural calendar and a leading visitor attraction during London’s summer season. Serpentine Artistic Director Hans Ulrich Obrist and CEO Yana Peel made their selection of the architect, with advisors David Adjaye and Richard Rogers.
Inspired by the tree that serves as a central meeting point for life in his home town of Gando, Francis Kéré has designed a responsive Pavilion that seeks to connect its visitors to nature – and each other. An expansive roof, supported by a central steel framework, mimics a tree’s canopy, allowing air to circulate freely while offering shelter against London rain and summer heat.
Kéré has positively embraced British climate in his design, creating a structure that engages with the ever-changing London weather in creative ways. The Pavilion has four separate entry points with an open air courtyard in the centre, where visitors can sit and relax during sunny days. In the case of rain, an oculus funnels any water that collects on the roof into a spectacular waterfall effect, before it is evacuated through a drainage system in the floor for later use in irrigating the park. Both the roof and wall system are made from wood. By day, they act as solar shading, creating pools of dappled shadows. By night, the walls become a source of illumination as small perforations twinkle with the movement and activity from inside.
As an architect, Kéré is committed to socially engaged and ecological design in his practice, as evidenced by his award-winning primary school in Burkina Faso, pioneering solo museum shows in Munich and Philadelphia.
Serpentine Pavilion Architect's Statement:
The proposed design for the 2017 Serpentine Pavilion is conceived as a micro cosmos – a community structure within Kensington Gardens that fuses cultural references of my home country Burkina Faso with experimental construction techniques. My experience of growing up in a remote desert village has instilled a strong awareness of the social, sustainable, and cultural implications of design. I believe that architecture has the power to, surprise, unite, and inspire all while mediating important aspects such as community, ecology and economy.
In Burkina Faso, the tree is a place where people gather together, where everyday activities play out under the shade of its branches. My design for the Serpentine Pavilion has a great over-hanging roof canopy made of steel and a transparent skin covering the structure, which allows sunlight to enter the space while also protecting it from the rain. Wooden shading elements line the underside of the roof to create a dynamic shadow effect on the interior spaces. This combination of features promotes a sense of freedom and community; like the shade of the tree branches, the Pavilion becomes a place where people can gather and share their daily experiences.
Fundamental to my architecture is a sense of openness. In the Pavilion this is achieved by the wall system, which is comprised of prefabricated wooden blocks assembled into triangular modules with slight gaps, or apertures, between them. This gives a lightness and transparency to the building enclosure. The composition of the curved walls is split into four elements, creating four different access points to the Pavilion. Detached from the roof canopy, these elements allow air to circulate freely throughout.
At the centre of the Pavilion is a large opening in the canopy, creating an immediate connection to nature. In times of rain, the roof becomes a funnel channelling water into the heart of the structure. This rain collection acts symbolically, highlighting water as a fundamental resource for human survival and prosperity.
In the evening, the canopy becomes a source of illumination. Wall perforations will give glimpses of movement and activity inside the pavilion to those outside. In my home village of Gando (Burkina Faso), it is always easy to locate a celebration at night by climbing to higher ground and searching for the source of light in the surrounding darkness. This small light becomes larger as more and more people arrive to join the event. In this way the Pavilion will become a beacon of light, a symbol of storytelling and togetherness.
At the centre of the Pavilion is a large opening in the canopy, creating an immediate connection to nature. In times of rain, the roof becomes a funnel channelling water into the heart of the structure. This rain collection acts symbolically, highlighting water as a fundamental resource for human survival and prosperity.
In the evening, the canopy becomes a source of illumination. Wall perforations will give glimpses of movement and activity inside the pavilion to those outside. In my home village of Gando (Burkina Faso), it is always easy to locate a celebration at night by climbing to higher ground and searching for the source of light in the surrounding darkness. This small light becomes larger as more and more people arrive to join the event. In this way the Pavilion will become a beacon of light, a symbol of storytelling and togetherness.
by Matt Vaughn, Summer 2019
This table was made from particle board and resin. What a way to showcase common and often ignored material!
Built by David Spangler, Revision Division, The RE Store, Winter 2018
This beauty started as an ugly formica dresser. A new paint job and a bit of love turned it into a work of art.
Photo of Griffin Lumber Company. This photograph is dated in the 1950s. Griffin Lumber Company was a family-owned business which sold building materials. The business was located off Scenic Highway in Lake Wales.
Photograph by Ruth Gilman
From the Lake Wales News - Owen & LaVerne Brice Archives held at the Lake Wales Public Library.
Taken from the eastern walkway, just south of the southern tower. And looking up at it!
For more on Golden Gate geology, see Part 8 of this set.
Walking across a beautifully engineered bridge is by no means the equivalent in danger to walking the plank of a pirate ship. Still, there's always a small voice in the back of one's head asking, "Will this thing really hold up until I'm across?"
Here are some splendid reasons it will hold up: the well-anchored tower, replete with Art Deco ornament, and its supporting stays and cables. All these are made of a geologically derived material that balances the immense stresses while yielding to the wind in proper proportion. This wonderful substance, of course, is steel, the very synonym of strength. It's the alloy of iron and carbon, and nowadays often of other elements as well.
As I mentioned in Part 9, steel was probably first discovered and utilized in Asia Minor, in the nineteenth century BC. However, its widespread use in architecture, bridge building, and other civil-engineering applications didn't occur, albeit in a nice numerical symmetry, until the the latter half of the nineteenth century AD.
Iron, the main constituent of steel, can be found in economically viable quantities in a number of different geologic settings. This should come as no surprise, because it's the second most plentiful metal in our planet's crust. Traditionally, it's been extracted from such oolitic sedimentary deposits as Wisconsin's Ordovician Neda Formation, and from wetland environments, where it was called bog iron.
In modern times, however, it mostly comes from the Earth's huge supply of Banded Iron Formations (BIFs), such as those found in the northeastern Minnesota and Michigan's Upper Peninsula. These strange and striking sedimentary beds, composed of alternating layers of red jasper and silvery hematite or magnetite, formed almost exclusively in Archean or Paleoproterozoic times, when our atmosphere had a considerably lower free-oxygen content.
While geologists still debate the details of how BIFs formed where and when they did, and why they are not forming now, they agree that there are two basic types. The Lake Superior variety was deposited over large areas—relatively undisturbed foreland or ocean basins. On the other hand, the Algoma BIFs occupied more restricted environments, where there was also a significant amount of submarine volcanic activity.
The other photos and descriptions of this series can be found in my Love of Bridges album.
Built by David Spangler, Revision Division, The RE Store, Spring 2019
This stunning piece would be sure to brighten up any room. Crafted with a salvaged mirror and damaged CVG fir, the patina and character of this piece really shine through.
Construction d'un bâtiment de bureaux.
Pays : France 🇫🇷
Région : Grand Est (Lorraine)
Département : Meurthe-et-Moselle (54)
Ville : Nancy (54000)
Quartier : Nancy Sud
Adresses : boulevard de la Mothe / rue des Cinq-Piquets
Fonction : Bureaux
Construction : 2024 → 2026
▻ Architecte : PPX Architectes
Permis de construire n° PC 54 395 23 00034
▻ Délivré le 11/10/2023
Niveaux : R+5
Hauteur : 22,00 m
Surface de plancher : 5 296,60 m²
Superficie du terrain : 1 834 m²
A load of stone mix on top of a black DiamondBack HD cover on a Dodge Ram belonging to Matthew B. from Ontario.
London Design Festival 2019 - Bamboo (竹) Ring: Weaving into Lightness
“Bamboo (竹) Ring, or ‘Take-wa 竹わ’, is an experiment in the concept of weaving, as explored by Kengo Kuma.
Japanese architect Kuma (founder of Kengo Kuma & Associates) has most recently designed the V&A Dundee, his first building in the UK, as well as the New National Stadium for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics along with Taisei Corporation and Azusa Sekkei.
Inspired by the John Madejski Garden and curated by Clare Farrow, the doughnut-shaped structure – like a nest or cocoon – has been created by weaving rings of bamboo and carbon fibre together. For Kuma, working with Ejiri Structural Engineers and the Kengo Kuma Laboratory at The University of Tokyo, the installation is an exploration of pliancy, precision, lightness and strength: by pulling two ends, it naturally de-forms and half of the woven structure is lifted into the air.
Bamboo has been used traditionally in Japanese architecture in part due to its linearity and flexibility, and as a symbol of strength and rapid growth. The basic component of the structure – a 2m-diameter ring – is made from strips of the bamboo Phyllostachys edulis. By combining carbon fibre, a contemporary material, with the traditional material of bamboo and laminating each ring, the resulting effect achieves a certain rigidity while maintaining the unique material properties and beauty of bamboo – a remarkable, sustainable material that resonates with Kuma’s childhood memories and looks into the future of architecture.
Bamboo (竹) Ring, or ‘Take-wa 竹わ’, is intended to be a catalyst for weaving people and place together.
In Partnership with OPPO.
Further Support by Komatsu Matere, ANA (All Nippon Airways), and Jayhawk Fine Art.
Design Team (Kuma Lab): Kengo Kuma, Toshiki Hirano, Kohyoh Yang, Hiroki Awaji, Tomohisa Kawase
Fabrication Team at Komatsu Matere premises in Japan: Alexander Mladenov, Cristina Mordeglia, Luciana Tenorio, Simone Parola, Sarah Wellesley, Valentin Rodriguez de las Cuevas”
All text Copyright of www.londondesignfestival.com
by Matt Vaughn, Summer 2019
This table was made from particle board and resin. What a way to showcase common and often ignored material!
8x10 picture frame made from reclaimed maple flooring.
The wood in this frame came from the floor of the former Syracuse Farm Supply Warehouse in Syracuse NY. The building dates roughly from the 1940s. The owners wanted the building removed. ReUse Action (reuseaction.com) was contracted to remove as much wood as possible from the structure before the main concrete structure was demolished.
Several thousand square feet of hard maple flooring was recovered and re-sold to be used as beautiful reclaimed flooring in residential housed.
We used a few pieces of this flooring to create this picture frame. The wood shows its age and experience: years of farmer's boots shuffling across it, machines dragged across it, sacks of feed and probably even animal marks on it.
We love all these random marks and patina that simply cannot be duplicated artificially.
This frame embodies our eco philosophy. Most components are reclaimed materials. The glass is salvaged from old stock or from window sashes. Only the glaziers points biscuits and carpenter's glue are new materials. Each is coated with Minwax water based urethane.
In the scheme these crafts make a miniscule difference in the fate of the environment. However building materials comprise the largest part of landfills. Anaerobically rotting wood and other organic components contribute significantly to climate change by releasing methane as a byproduct.
DRS CL 66 heads an intermodal of building materials across the newly refurbished Network Rail Bridge ECN5 133/392 at the River Dee beside Duthie Park. This was the Aberdeen Craiginches-Grangemouth TDG Siding (4N83) scheduled to depart @1809.
By Matt Vaughn, Summer 2019
Matt Vaughn
Wed, Sep 11, 12:06 PM
to me
These rebar and Fir display shelves would be perfect in your home or retail environment. Paired together, or individually, these shelves are sturdy and unique, sure to bring attention to the wonders you store on them
Built by Matt Vaughn, Revision Division, The RE Store, Spring 2018
This free standing coat rack uses a variety of materials donated to our store. A brake drum, pine from an old table top and saw blade make up the base. The long rods which create the mast were originally bolts which held office partitions together. The top features foundation bolts capped with vintage billiard balls to hang your coats, hats or whatever you like on!
Built by Matt Vaughn, Revision Division, The RE Store, Spring 2018
This free standing coat rack uses a variety of materials donated to our store. A brake drum, pine from an old table top and saw blade make up the base. The long rods which create the mast were originally bolts which held office partitions together. The top features foundation bolts capped with vintage billiard balls to hang your coats, hats or whatever you like on!
Serpentine Pavilion 2019 designed by Junya Ishigami "The Japanese architect Junya Ishigami, celebrated for his experimental structures that interpret traditional architectural conventions and reflect natural phenomena, was selected to design the Serpentine Pavilion 2019.
Ishigami’s design takes inspiration from roofs, the most common architectural feature used around the world. The design of the 2019 Serpentine Pavilion was made by arranging slates to create a single canopy roof that appeared to emerge from the ground of the surrounding park. Within, the interior of the Pavilion was an enclosed cave-like space, a refuge for contemplation. For Ishigami, the Pavilion articulated his ‘free space’ philosophy in which he seeks harmony between man-made structures and those that already exist in nature.
Describing his design, Ishigami said: ‘My design for the Pavilion plays with our perspectives of the built environment against the backdrop of a natural landscape, emphasising a natural and organic feel as though it had grown out of the lawn, resembling a hill made out of rocks. This is an attempt to supplement traditional architecture with modern methodologies and concepts, to create in this place an expanse of scenery like never seen before. Possessing the weighty presence of slate roofs seen around the world, and simultaneously appearing so light it could blow away in the breeze, the cluster of scattered rock levitates, like a billowing piece of fabric.’
Junya Ishigami (b. 1974) worked as an architect at SANAA before founding the prize-winning Junya Ishigami + Associates in 2004. Winner of the Golden Lion award at the Venice Biennale of Architecture in 2010, he was the subject of a major and critically acclaimed solo exhibition at the Fondation Cartier pour l’art contemporain in 2018 that is traveling to the Power Station of art in Shanghai later this year. He is known for designs with dream-like qualities that incorporate the natural world, such as landscapes, forests and clouds, in an architectural practice that places humankind as part of nature.
He is the nineteenth architect to accept the invitation to design a temporary Pavilion on the Serpentine Gallery’s lawn in Kensington Gardens. This pioneering commission, which began in 2000 with Zaha Hadid, has presented the first UK structures by some of the biggest names in international architecture. In recent years it has grown into a highly-anticipated showcase for emerging talent, from Frida Escobedo of Mexico to Francis Kéré of Burkina Faso and Bjarke Ingels of Denmark, whose 2016 Pavilion was the most visited architectural and design exhibition in the world.
Serpentine Galleries Artistic Director Hans Ulrich Obrist and former CEO Yana Peel selected 2019’s architect with advisors Sir David Adjaye OBE, Lord Richard Rogers and David Glover alongside Julie Burnell (Head of Construction and Buildings, Serpentine Galleries) and Amira Gad (Curator, Exhibitions and Architecture, Serpentine Galleries).
Serpentine Pavilion Architect's Statement
The design for the 2019 Serpentine Pavilion takes roofs, the most common architectural feature, as its point of departure and inspiration. It is reminiscent of roofing tiles seen around the world, bridging both architectural and cultural references through this single architectural feature. The roof of the Pavilion is made by arranging slates to create a canopy that alludes to nature. It appears to emerge from the ground of the surrounding Park.
My design for the Pavilion plays with our perspectives of the built environment against the backdrop of a natural landscape, emphasising a natural and organic feel as though it had grown out of the lawn, resembling a hill made of rocks. This is an attempt to supplement traditional architecture with modern methodologies and concepts, to create in this place an expanse of scenery like never seen before. Possessing the weighty presence of slate roofs seen around the world, and simultaneously appearing so light it could blow away in the breeze, the cluster of scattered rock levitates, like a billowing piece of fabric.
The interior of the Pavilion is an enclosed cave-like space, a refuge for contemplation. For me, the Pavilion articulates a ‘free space’ philosophy that is to harmony between man-made structures and those that already exist in nature.”
Text above © Copyright The Serpentine Gallery 2019
from www.serpentinegalleries.org/exhibitions-events/serpentine...