View allAll Photos Tagged BuildingMaterial
Built by Tim O'Donnell, Summer 2021
This apothecary cabinet was made from a salvaged automotive parts cabinet. It has new drawers, made with salvaged trim scraps and a welded steel frame.
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.
Image © Susan Candelario / SDC Photography, All Rights Reserved. The image is protected by U.S. and International copyright laws, and is not to be downloaded or reproduced in any way without written permission.
If you would like to license this image for any purpose, please visit my site and contact me with any questions you may have. Please visit Susan Candelario artists website to purchase Prints Thank You.
A solid marble column from Caesarea Maritima. The marble in the public buildings of this Herodian city was imported from nearly every corner of the Mediterranean world and includes an astonishing variety of colours.
CEMEX UK has won the Construction News Supply Chain Excellence of the Year award for its joint venture with Aggregate Industries on Al Dishforth to Leeming. Two companies that are more used to competing against one another than working together co-operated to use all of their local resources to deliver on the A1 Dishforth to Barton project. CEMEX and Aggregate Industries came together in a joint venture that required extensive teamwork and collaboration to deliver more than 2.2m tonnes of aggregate and 600,000 tonnes of asphalt to the project. “This is a great example of two companies who would normally be in fierce competition coming together to deliver a project that demonstrates effective integration of supply chain”
Judges’ comment
"The level of integration between CEMEX, Aggregate Industries, their customer Carillion/Morgan Sindall, local hauliers and a local independent quarrying firm is almost unprecedented.
The contract highlights the company's vision to help build a greater Britain.
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.
The tanker delivers its load to the concrete plant. Readymixed concrete is being delivered across the street to the construction site of the new city centre police headquarters on Forth Banks.
The project, being delivered by Willmott Dixon on behalf of the Northumbria Police Authority, involves the clever use of two existing buildings that will be refurbished and connected together by a new build element.
At the Walt Disney Music Center in Los Angeles on a winter morning, stainless steel shapes soar upward towards the blue sky.
Built by Matt Vaughn, Spring 2021
This rough sawn Fir was recently salvaged from a home by our field crew.
Made by Matt Vaughn, Winter 2020/21
This frame was crafted from mahogany salvaged from a boat. The bell is a decommissioned Scuba oxygen tank. Other random scraps of metal were welded together to create the base. The base features large leveling feet so you can ensure it sits solidly regardless of where you decide to place it. As a final detail the top rail is pinned to the mahogany posts with large peened over brass rivets.
You see this types of slate roof on most traditional houses in Northern Spain. Ah, but there's more than simple roofing going on. In fact, this finely-grained Northern Spanish slate was formed over 500 million years old during the Palaeozoic period. It's a beautiful building material, with splendid texture when dry in sunshine and when wet from rain.
As seen here, Spanish slate roofs are hung using a unique hook-fixing method, which reduces the appearance of weak points on the tile (since no holes are drilled) and allows narrower tiles to be used - allowing various roofing features (eg: valleys and domes). Hook-fixing is important in areas like N Spain that are subject to severe climatic conditions, since the lower edge of the slate is secured, so greater resistance to wind uplift.
By Matt Vaugn, Winter 2021
This series of coffee tables were made from salvaged plywood. The bases were made from steel concrete form stakes, rebar and other scrap metal.
Training women in production of improved clay stoves.
Photo by Arnauld Chyngwa/CIFOR
If you use one of our photos, please credit it accordingly and let us know. You can reach us through our Flickr account or at: cifor-mediainfo@cgiar.org and m.edliadi@cgiar.org
Serpentine Pavilion 2022 Black Chapel by Theaster Gates
“Designed by Chicago-based artist Theaster Gates, the Serpentine Pavilion 2022 Black Chapel draws inspiration from many of the architectural typologies that ground the artist’s practice.
The structure, realised with the support of Adjaye Associates, references the bottle kilns of Stoke-on-Trent, the beehive kilns of the Western United States, San Pietro and the Roman tempiettos, and traditional African structures, such as the Musgum mud huts of Cameroon, and the Kasubi Tombs of Kampala, Uganda. The Pavilion’s circularity and volume echo the sacred forms of Hungarian round churches and the ring shouts, voodoo circles and roda de capoeira witnessed in the sacred practices of the African diaspora.
Black Chapel is a site for contemplation and convening, set within the grounds of Serpentine in Kensington Gardens. The structure’s central oculus emanates a single source of light to create a sanctuary for reflection, refuge and conviviality. The project mirrors the artist’s ongoing engagement with ‘the vessel’ in his studio practice, and with space-making through his celebrated urban regeneration projects.
Drawn to the meditative environment of the Rothko Chapel – which holds fourteen paintings by American artist Mark Rothko in Houston, Texas – Gates has produced a series of new tar paintings titled Seven Songs for Black Chapel. Creating a space that reflects the artist’s hand and sensibilities, seven paintings hang from the interior. In these works, Gates honours his father’s craft as a roofer by using roofing strategies including torch down, a method which requires an open flame to heat material and affix it to a surface.
As part of Serpentine’s dynamic summer programme, the Pavilion becomes a platform for live performances and public convenings. An operating bronze bell – salvaged from St. Laurence, a landmark Catholic Church that once stood in Chicago’s South Side – is placed directly next to the entrance. Pointing to the erasure of spaces of convening and spiritual communion in urban communities, the historic bell will be used to call, signal and announce performances and activations at the Pavilion throughout the summer.
Gates’ Serpentine Pavilion 2022 Black Chapel is part of The Question of Clay, a multi-institution project which comprised of exhibitions at Whitechapel Gallery (September 2021 – January 2022), White Cube (September – October 2021) and a two-year long research project at the V&A. The project seeks to investigate the making, labour and production of clay, as well as its collecting history, through exhibitions, performance and live interventions, with the aim of generating new knowledge, meaning and connections about the material.”
All text © Serpentine Gallery 2022, see: www.serpentinegalleries.org/whats-on/serpentine-pavilion-...
A solid marble column from Caesarea Maritima. The marble in the public buildings of this Herodian city was imported from nearly every corner of the Mediterranean world and includes an astonishing variety of colours.
Extension du réseau de chauffage urbain au niveau de la place de la République.
Pays : France 🇫🇷
Région : Grand Est (Alsace)
Département : Bas-Rhin (67)
Ville : Strasbourg (67000)
Quartier : Tribunal-République
Adresse : place de la République
Bamboo
Thank you very much for viewing my work, and thank you VERY MUCH for more than 1,000,000 views!! Wow!! Unbelievable!!
It’s very humbling, and I’m very appreciative of all the support I receive. I’m glad so many people enjoy my work. :-)
Please Like me on FaceBook
If you like my work and would like to speak with me about it, please email me at dm.schmidt@shaw.ca
Built by Matt Vaughn, Spring 2021
This large full length mirror (29”x81”) was made from Douglas Fir, Red Cedar and features hammered copper details at each corner. A custom mounting bracket allows it to be flush mounted to wall or moved out to accommodate baseboards
This is a creative commons image, which you may freely use by linking to this page. Please respect the photographer and his work.
[This set has 7 images] Built 1921-1922 in Spanish Mission style, St. Agnes Catholic Church in Mena, Arkansas, uses fieldstone as its primary building material, the entire structure on a continuous cast concrete foundation. The locally obtained stone enhances the architectural style well. All the roofs are clad with green ceramic tile, from the gable roof on the front (eastern) facade to the hipped roof surfaces over the asymmetrical towers flanking the front entrance. My bad knee prevented taking photographs of the 3-sided apse on the western facade and other facades. The church is a single story. In the central gable above the entrance is a monumental symmetrically placed Gothic window of leaded glass and a trim of bricks as its surround. Stone simulates quoins on either side of this window. Below is a large entrance that mimics the shape of the window above. There is a double-leaf door with large single-pane sidelights. Just above the door is a rectangular stained glass pane and above this a single pane of an exaggerated triangle. Brick surrounds the door frame on 3 sides. The shorter tower at the entrance has a low hipped roof and two lancet windows, a short one at the lowest part and a taller one above (again with the brick at the outer edges). There are corner buttresses to this tower. The taller tower has the two lancet windows plus an open belfry in addition to the corner buttresses. On each tower is a cross. The National Register of Historic Places nomination form (link below) provides more information on the other facades and details of the interior, which I was unable to photograph. The dimensions of the church and 85x50 feet, the walls being 1 1/2 feet thick. The final cost in the early 1920s was about $25,000. St. Agnes was added to the National Register of Historic Places June 5, 1991 with ID#91000696.
The nomination form in .pdf format is found at www.arkansaspreservation.com/National-Register-Listings/P...
The church website is at www.stagneschurchmena.org/
The photos in this series:
1) front facade
2) front facade and a partial view of the north facade
3) a portion of the tall tower at the entrance
4) the shorter tower at the entrance
5) the entrance
6) the monumental window above the entrance
7) a close-up of the building material used throughout
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License
The outdoor ceiling fan hangs from a custom built cedar box to hide the electrical, and to match the pergola.
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.
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
Made by Matt Vaughn, Winter 2020/21
This frame was crafted from mahogany salvaged from a boat. The bell is a decommissioned Scuba oxygen tank. Other random scraps of metal were welded together to create the base. The base features large leveling feet so you can ensure it sits solidly regardless of where you decide to place it. As a final detail the top rail is pinned to the mahogany posts with large peened over brass rivets.
In the city's River North neighborhood, at the intersection of N. Wabash Avenue and E. Huron Street. Facing southeastward.
This portion of the Windy City boasts an impressive collection of Gothic Revival churches whose main exterior building material is rock-faced ashlar of the Silurian-period Lemont-Joliet Dolostone (LJD). It was quarried in the Lower Des Plaines River Valley southwest of the metropolis.
St. James is one of my favorites of these houses of worship, because it shows off this rock type's tendency to weather to ocher and buttery tones. This lovely patina develops as the stone's iron impurities change with exposure to the atmosphere from the ferrous to the ferric state.
As its original completion year indicates, the cathedral had been standing for almost a decade and a half by the time the Great Fire of 1871 swept through many of the city's existing neighborhoods, including River North. And it suffered grievously from the conflagration. Only its belltower and a portion of its nave walls were left standing afterward. But, as part of the great flurry of civic reconstruction that followed, new LJD was added to complete the church's reconstruction.
It's tempting to think that the heavy coating of soot visible today on the tower's railing and finials bears witness to the disaster. But, as I explain in Chicago in Stone and Clay, I've come across a stereograph photo pair that shows the church soon after the fire. On it, the tower top is clearly as pale-toned as the ashlar below it, and utterly grime-free. So the blackness seen today must have accumulated in the years of rampant bituminous-coal burning that followed. This makes sense when one also notes that the building's central chimney, which had to be rebuilt after the blaze, is now similarly sooty.
The LJD here was deposited about 425 Ma ago, in a shallow saltwater sea that covered the Kankakee Arch. That narrow crustal upwarp separated the deeper waters of the developing Michigan and Illinois Basins. At this point in the Paleozoic era, the American Midwest was situated in the subtropics south of the equator.
The other photos and descriptions in this series can be found at Glory of Silurian Dolostone album.
And for even more on this architectural and geologically impressive building, immediately and unhesitatingly get a copy (or two or three) of my book, Chicago in Stone and Clay. Here's the publisher's description: www.cornellpress.cornell.edu/book/9781501765063/chicago-i...
Built by Matt Vaughn, Spring 2021
This large full length mirror (29”x81”) was made from Douglas Fir, Red Cedar and features hammered copper details at each corner. A custom mounting bracket allows it to be flush mounted to wall or moved out to accommodate baseboards
Archaeologists have begun the careful reburial of a unique model of the town of Messines, Belguim, covering an area of over 1400 sq metres, which commemorated a famous victory in the Great War and helped to train troops for future battles.
A team of archaeologists working on Cannock Chase, on behalf of Staffordshire County Council and funded by Natural England, uncovered the historic treasure after a painstaking dig. The scaled terrain model was built by German Prisoners of War at Brocton Camp in 1918 under the supervision of the New Zealand Rifle Brigade.
Due to the scale and fragility of the model it is believed that it could be lost in just six months if left uncovered or exposed and reburial is the only way to preserve the model.
Philip Atkins, Leader of Staffordshire County Council, said: “The excavation of the Messines has been an amazing project, and the team has done a wonderful job in bringing the model to life. But once uncovered it would have been lost to the elements if we don’t recover it.
“Around 120 tonnes of CEMEX sand is needed and in the coming days the site will poignantly disappear, however, the memories that it has evoked and the story that the excavation has told will undoubtedly live on.”
Andrew Bingham MP High Peaks visited CEMEX Dove Holes quarrry. Seen here in centre. Dove Holes provides valuable aggregates for construction projects not only in the local community but has an integral rail link to transport aggregates to other parts of the country.
Coronado Castle, which sits atop Coronado Heights, was built in 1936 as part of a WPA project. Along with the castle are a park with picnic tables, a fireplace, and a restroom, all built with Dakota limestone. Unbeknownst to me, the castle was in the midst of renovation when I visited, so I hope to return sometime in the near future.
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 Vaugn, Winter 2021
This series of coffee tables were made from salvaged plywood. The bases were made from steel concrete form stakes, rebar and other scrap metal.
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
Made by Matt Vaughn, Winter 2020/21
This frame was crafted from mahogany salvaged from a boat. The bell is a decommissioned Scuba oxygen tank. Other random scraps of metal were welded together to create the base. The base features large leveling feet so you can ensure it sits solidly regardless of where you decide to place it. As a final detail the top rail is pinned to the mahogany posts with large peened over brass rivets.
Built by Matt Vaughn, Spring 2021
This large full length mirror (29”x81”) was made from Douglas Fir, Red Cedar and features hammered copper details at each corner. A custom mounting bracket allows it to be flush mounted to wall or moved out to accommodate baseboards
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...
Made by Matt Vaughn, Winter 2020/21
This frame was crafted from mahogany salvaged from a boat. The bell is a decommissioned Scuba oxygen tank. Other random scraps of metal were welded together to create the base. The base features large leveling feet so you can ensure it sits solidly regardless of where you decide to place it. As a final detail the top rail is pinned to the mahogany posts with large peened over brass rivets.
A solid marble column from Caesarea Maritima. The marble in the public buildings of this Herodian city was imported from nearly every corner of the Mediterranean world and includes an astonishing variety of colours.
CEMEX Marine Aggregates has been Commended in the RoSPA Occupational Health and Safety Awards. CEMEX Marine was entered in the Transport, Storage and Distribution sector and has been commended for its outstanding approach to the prevention of accidents and ill- health.
John Miller, Director Marine Aggregates "This is a fantastic achievement particularly as ships operate in very hazardous environments not just at sea but during major repairs. It therefore reflects our efforts in not only reinforcing the right behaviours with our officers and crew but also working with our major contractors and ship repair yards to achieve what everyone wants, zero injuries. In this respect it has been a tremendous effort from a team who constantly seek to look after themselves and their colleagues.
“We operate a fleet of 6 vessels on a 24/7 365 day basis that supply millions of tonnes of sand and gravel into the UK and near Continent. It is a constant challenge as we all know, excellent safety performance demands that everyone makes the right decision every time - the good thing is that our employees, contractors and ship repairers are up for the challenge.
This award is one of 12 awards gained by CEMEX UK at the RoSPA awards and included six gold awards and two Presidents Awards.