Ocupação policial realizada no Complexo do Alemão, no dia 20/11/2010, em represália a uma serie de atentados promovidas por traficantes que protestavam contra a implantação das UPPs (Unidade de Policia pacificadora) em favelas do Rio de Janeiro.

Cheonggyecheon

complex

Test fold done. Shifting away from stars for new horizons, I am continuing with other twisting shapes. (Previous: www.flickr.com/photos/36647565@N00/24096157744). The idea behind started when I wanted to come up with a simpler shape than just a star for twisting. Then the thought process of an interesting pattern with it. Took a while to figure, avoid overlapped pleats and accomplish the shape.

twitter.com/Memoire2cite #recherche #archives #Banlieue #socialhousing #logement #Collectif #Copropriété #Habitation #Habitat #HLM #Quartier #Béton #immeuble #Cité #Moderne #Europe #World #Mémoire2Cité #Mémoire2Ville @ Les 30 Glorieuses . com l' #Urbanisme d'Antan, et ses belles cartes postales @ mais aussi les clichés d'Archilaid, comme les "prix citron" de la France moche.. ou encore la laideur architecturale en Françe et Ailleurs. Dans le triste sillage des cités de banlieue construites ds les années 50, 60, 70... @ l'apres guerre.. dans l'urbanisation massive des territoires via l'industrialisation du logement @ le Logement Collectif* 50,60,70's dans tous ses états..Histoire & Mémoire de l'Habitat / Rétro-Villes / HLM / Banlieue / Renouvellement Urbain / Urbanisme @ De grandes barres d’immeubles, appelées les grands ensembles, sont le symbole de nos banlieues. Entrée Libre revient sur le phénomène de destruction de ces bâtiments banlieue89 ANRU1 ANRU2 bientot ANRU3 @ le Renouvellement urbain, la rénovation urbaine, des "Ensembles Tout Béton" qui reflètent aujourd’hui la misere www.youtube.com/watch?v=mCqHBP5SBiM L'urbanisation à marche forcée des années 60 est devenue synonyme de bétonnage et d'enlaidissement. Dans L'Express du 23 août 1971 @ "La loi du 7 juillet dernier relative à la liberté de la création, à l'architecture et au patrimoine a ainsi créé un label spécifique permettant de veiller sur cet héritage architectural récent, que le Comité du patrimoine mondial de l'Unesco vient lui aussi de mettre en lumière", ajoute la ministre de la Culture.

Pas un village, dans la plus reculée des provinces, qui ne soit atteint. C'est comme une lèpre qui, peu à peu, prolifère sur l'épiderme du paysage urbain français. Un des plus beaux du monde, disait-on. Agressive médiocrité des bâtiments publics, des écoles, des postes, des administrations, monotonie concentrationnaire des grands ensembles, prétention et passéisme débile des maisons individuelles : le bilan architectural des dix dernières années est, en France, catastrophique. Jamais on n'a autant construit. Jamais si mal, si pauvre, si triste. A de rares exceptions. Cela devient si flagrant à la lumière de l'été, que même l'O.r.t.f. s'en est ému. Après Vivre aujourd'hui, l'émission de Jacques Frémontier (dimanche, consacrée à "la rue"), La France défigurée, de Michel Péricart et Louis Bériot, a donné l'alerte : par milliers, des témoignages ont afflué. Les Français prennent conscience du mal et s'interrogent : "Comment, pourquoi, en est-on arrivé là ?" Spéculation Que "cet avachissement, cet avilissement de la qualité architecturale", comme le définit M. Michel Denieul, directeur de l'Architecture au ministère des Affaires culturelles, ne soit pas l'exclusivité de la France, personne ne le conteste. Le monde entier connaît un malaise architectural. Après avoir, des siècles durant, bâti pour le seigneur, le prince, le mécène, l'architecture ne sait pas encore bâtir pour la masse, le peuple, "l'innombrable", comme le dit l'architecte Emile Aillaud. En Grande-Bretagne, en Allemagne, en Italie, aux Etats-Unis, aussi, elle tâtonne. Ce n'est pas une consolation. Ni une raison suffisante pour admettre comme une fatalité la piètre architecture française. Ni pour excuser ceux qui l'ont laissée pousser comme les mauvaises graines, à tous les vents. Le premier des responsables, avant les architectes dépassés (voir page suivante l'opinion de Pierre Schneider) et les promoteurs avides, c'est l'Etat. Qui, par le jeu des servitudes, des permis de construire, etc., contrôle et, le plus souvent, paralyse la totalité de ce qui se bâtit en France. Qui est lui-même le premier client des architectes, le premier maître d'ouvrage des nouveaux édifices (hôpitaux, écoles, logements sociaux). Qui, à ce titre, aurait pu, et ne l'a pas fait, promouvoir une politique de l'habitation qui soit une politique d'embellissement. "Construire beaucoup, c'est une occasion d'embellir", dit Bertrand de Jouvenel.Au lieu de cela, que voit-on, en dépit de la réaction amorcée depuis quelques années par le ministère des Affaires culturelles ? La médiocrité primée, la création handicapée, la spéculation triomphante. Les grands ensembles sont une erreur, mais nous ne savons pas pourquoi. Colin Davidson, professeur à l'Ecole d'architecture de l'université de Montréal.Dans un vieux pays comme la France, pour lutter contre la laideur, il y a deux méthodes : une stratégie de choc qui favorise la qualité architecturale ; une stratégie défensive qui prévient la détérioration du patrimoine ancien. La première n'a jamais été définie. Comment s'étonner des résultats ? On ne s'est même jamais soucié d'en jeter les bases en pratiquant une politique d'urbanisme conséquente. "Une ville comme Paris, dit M. Denieul, se caractérise par une propension à accorder les permis de construire, quand ils sont demandés, au coup par coup. Et cela, faute de documents d'urbanisme suffisamment précis, souples et contraignants en même temps."Appréciation Contre ce système du n'importe quoi, n'importe où, n'importe comment, M. André Malraux avait voulu réagir. Il avait demandé à l'architecte urbaniste Gaston Leclaire d'étudier l'aménagement du quartier de la rotonde de La Villette, et spécialement des abords du bassin, appelé à devenir le pôle d'attraction d'un site urbain peu connu et insolite. L'étude a été menée à terme, mais ses conclusions sont restées lettre morte. De telles études, faites systématiquement, auraient pu freiner bien des désastres, non seulement à Paris, mais sur la Côte d'Azur, autre victime notoire d'une urbanisation désordonnée. Et servir de tremplin à une architecture raisonnée, sinon réussie, alors que celle dont nous souffrons n'est ni l'un ni l'autre. C'est aussi M. André Malraux qui, par la loi du 4 août 1962, dite des secteurs sauvegardés, tenta de consolider la stratégie défensive. De fait, à l'intérieur des quartiers préservés, au voisinage des monuments historiques on ne peut construire ni détruire n'importe quoi. Un immeuble tout en verre où se reflète la cathédrale d'Amiens ? Soit : le mélange des siècles n'est pas prohibé, au contraire, c'est la vie même des villes. A condition que les deux architectures soient, comme c'est le cas, bien intégrées l'une à l'autre. La R.a.t.p., en revanche, n'a pas reçu le droit de construire sur les quais de la Seine, déjà si meurtris, une tour de bureaux qui viendrait s'inscrire entre celles de Notre-Dame. Il y aurait donc sauvegarde sans le drame des dérogations laissées à l'appréciation des administrations. A cause d'une de ces dérogations, va s'élever, rue de l'Université, l'immeuble de bureaux réservé aux membres de l'Assemblée nationale. On le verra, de la place de la Concorde, se profiler derrière les deux étages de l'hôtel de Lassay, résidence du président de l'Assemblée. Dérogation aussi pour la barre massive des immeubles de Maine-Montparnasse et la tour de 200 m qui les couronnera : quand la maquette fut présentée devant la Commission des sites, un ministre et cinq préfets étaient présents pour l'appuyer de leur autorité politique. Il n'y eut pour ainsi dire pas de discussion. Quant à la tour de la Halle aux vins, autre pont aux ânes architectural, c'est l'enfant bâtard d'un grand projet : une flèche hélicoïdale, construite par l'architecte Edouard Albert, et couverte de mosaïque par Georges Braque. Hélas ! Albert et Braque sont morts, et les Parisiens n'ont sous les yeux que la tour sans génie d'Henri Coulomb. Bénédiction A Strasbourg, c'est le maire lui-même, M. Pierre Pflimlin, qui s'est obstiné à permettre la construction, à deux pas de la cathédrale, d'un complexe immobilier de 60 m de haut et de plus de 60 millions de Francs. La Commission départementale des sites, les Monuments historiques, la direction départementale de l'Equipement ont émis un avis défavorable. Les P.t.t. aussi, car cette tour fera écran aux liaisons hertziennes entre Strasbourg et Paris. Rien n'y a fait. M. Pflimlin a gagné. Les P.t.t. devront déplacer le relais de leurs ondes hertziennes, situé à Saverne, et la flèche rose de la cathédrale, point de ralliement de toute l'Alsace, se verra fâcheusement disputer le ciel. La Côte d'Azur regorge, hélas ! d'exemples tout aussi significatifs. Le dernier en date n'est pas le moins accablant. A Mandelieu-La Napoule, sur un terre-plein de 10 ha gagné sur la mer, vient d'être construit un "complexe" d'une quinzaine d'immeubles, hauts de sept étages, et d'une médiocrité affligeante, qui dépare un des plus beaux panoramas de la Côte, entre le massif de l'Esterel et les îles de Lérins. Avant de voir le jour, ce projet a reçu toutes les bénédictions officielles. Quinze organismes différents ont été consultés par le Conseil municipal, et, parmi eux, la Commission des sites. Pas un souffle de protestation ne s'est élevé. L'affaire est remontée à Paris. Finalement, le ministre de l'Equipement lui-même a signé le permis de construire et la concession d'endigage du port. Aujourd'hui, l'Association pour la défense des sites de Cannes et des environs distribue la photo du chantier à des milliers d'exemplaires. "Ce que nous voulons empêcher désormais." Et Mme Louise Moreau, élue maire de La Napoule aux dernières élections, est formelle : "Si, alors, j'avais été maire, je n'aurais jamais permis cela."

Répétition D'une part, l'Etat protège peu ou mal, d'autre part, loin de promouvoir la recherche et la qualité, il impose les normes d'une architecture concentrationnaire. Ainsi par le système des Cos (Coefficients d'occupation des sols), dans Paris et dans les grandes villes, où la pression de la rentabilité est énorme, on construit au maximum, même si c'est dépourvu de toute plausibilité, même si, du point de vue architectural. c'est une hérésie. "Il faudrait, dit M. Denieul, créer des zones de discontinuité : des Cos de 3 à un endroit, et, à d'autres, des Cos de 0 à 5, ce qui donnerait au faciès urbain un modelé, un relief. Au lieu de cela, le mot d'ordre est de 'bourrer' partout. Et le XVIe arrondissement de Paris, entre autres victimes, devient un immense chantier où se multiplient les surélévations intempestives." A quoi M. Jean Chapon, directeur du cabinet de M. Albin Chalandon, rétorque : "Il faut bâtir au maximum, sinon, où logera-t-on les milliers de gens qui affluent dans les villes ?" On touche, ici, au coeur du problème. Parce que les besoins étaient immenses et impérieux, on a construit beaucoup. Très vite. Sans se préoccuper du plaisir de vivre des futurs habitants. Comme si un environnement harmonieux était un luxe, cet environnement que les arbres et les champs fournissaient naturellement aux gens d'autrefois. Comme si l'on ne savait pas que la laideur monotone sécrète l'ennui, la morosité, le désespoir. Était-il impossible, au même prix, de construire bien ? Les réussites d'Emile Aillaud, par exemple, à Grigny-la-Grande-Borne, ou de Michel Andrault et de Pierre Parat à Sainte-Geneviève-des-Bois prouvent le contraire. Même avec les crédits limités des H.l.m., même en respectant les normes étouffantes de l'urbanisme réglementaire, on peut créer des habitations à l'échelle de l'homme, du paysage, des architectures favorables à la détente et au bien-être. Ce n'est pas une question de crédits, ni de servitudes ni de préfabrication. C'est une question d'audace, d'invention. Malheureusement, les inventeurs, en cette époque de conformisme, sont rares, et on les encourage peu. Sauf dans les cas où l'obstination d'un créateur a réussi à vaincre les résistances pour modeler un univers vraiment neuf, on s'est contenté d'additionner, de juxtaposer les machines à vivre, les cités dortoirs, de confondre industrialisation et répétition, fonctionnalisme et monotonie. Multiplication "Quand je me promène autour de Paris, disait, peu de temps avant sa mort, le grand architecte américain Richard Neutra, j'ai l'impression que ceux qui bâtissent n'ont jamais été à l'école maternelle. Ils ne savent pas où le soleil se lève, ni où il se couche. Ils ont oublié que l'homme a besoin de chlorophylle comme les arbres et d'espace comme les oiseaux. Ils ne savent faire que des prisons." Le ministère de l'Equipement, pour sa part, est fier d'avoir mis au point un catalogue de grands ensembles --boîtes géantes et tours de tous calibres -- qui permet aux maires et aux offices d'H.l.m. de choisir sur photos et sur plans des immeubles types, spécialement étudiés par des architectes (certains sont renommés) qui en garantissent la qualité de la fabrication et le prix. Au ministère de l'Education nationale qui, à lui seul, dépense 3 milliards par an pour construire 4 millions de m2 (un C.e.s. par jour), on prône la préfabrication (sauf dans les établissements de l'enseignement supérieur). Chaque année, parmi les propositions des trente-cinq entreprises agréées, qui se sont engagées à ne pas dépasser le prix plafond de 520 Francs le m2, on choisit trois ou quatre types nouveaux de C.e.s. On les expérimente en petite série l'année suivante. Puis, on se lance dans la fabrication industrielle. En soi, le système pourrait être bon. S'il n'aboutissait pas à la multiplication de bâtiments déprimants. Même à Cajarc (Lot), cher à M. Georges Pompidou, le C.e.s. offense la vue. L'Education nationale, à qui incombe, entre autres tâches, le soin de former l'oeil et le goût des enfants, ne s'en émeut pas. "Elle n'accepte, dit un haut fonctionnaire, aucun conseil, et se drape dans sa dignité de gros consommateur d'architecture." Subvention Le ministère de l'Agriculture n'agit pas avec plus de discernement. Il n'impose pas de modèles. Mais les prix plafonds des bâtiments agricoles ont été calculés si bas (en partant de la tôle ondulée et du parpaing non enduit) que l'agriculteur qui souhaiterait construire convenablement ne peut le faire, sans risquer de perdre le bénéfice de la subvention. Ainsi, la campagne française s'est couverte peu à peu de bergeries et d'étables qu'on dirait échappées de bidonvilles. Aucun site n'est épargné. Ni la Bretagne ni la Lozère. Si le classement de Colombey-les-Deux-Eglises n'était pas intervenu à temps, un hangar de tôle ondulée serait venu boucher la perspective historique qui s'étend devant la Boisserie... Une grande part de ces diverses calamités est due à l'incompétence des maîtres d'ouvrage - fonctionnaires et élus - desquels dépend la commande publique. "Le sens de l'architecture est aussi rare chez eux que le bon sens", disait quelqu'un qui les pratique. Et Raymonde Moulin, dans sa récente étude sur l'Etat et les architectes, l'a noté : "L'intérêt pour la qualité architecturale appartient sinon à l'ordre du rêve, du moins de ce qui peut être considéré comme un hasard heureux." Les promoteurs privés ne sont pas plus royalistes que le roi. Pas plus que l'Etat, ils ne se soucient d'apporter aux Français le plaisir que procure un heureux agencement de l'espace. Pour la plupart, ils se contentent d'appâter avec du clinquant - baies vitrées, travertin dans le hall, céramique dans la salle de bains - et offrent des immeubles de (faux) prestige, mal insonorisés, mal compris, étriqués, qui n'ont que de lointains rapports avec l'architecture, même s'ils portent des signatures connues.

Impulsion Peut-on enrayer l'épidémie de laideur ? Alertés par les avertissements de la Commission du VIe Plan, les Pouvoirs publics semblent vouloir secouer leur torpeur. Pas question de définir une politique. "On ne peut imposer une architecture officielle, comme en U.R.S.S., se défend M. Chapon. Nous sommes en pays de liberté." Mais on éprouve la nécessité d'agir. Premier essai de stratégie dynamique : le plan-construction, lancé, en mai, conjointement par MM. Chalandon, Jacques Duhamel et François-Xavier Ortoli. Son objectif avoué : rechercher un habitat qui réponde mieux au besoin de l'homme d'aujourd'hui. En fait, il s'agit de trouver des remèdes à l'échec des grands ensembles.

Au ministère des Affaires culturelles, dans la même foulée réformatrice on prépare deux projets de loi : l'un sur la profession d'architecte, l'autre sur les conditions de la commande publique. Toujours sous l'impulsion de M. Duhamel, la Fondation de France finance un concours d'architecture agricole qui sera lancé à l'automne en Franche-Comté, en Bourgogne et en Bretagne. Enfin, une étude a été menée pour voir de quelle façon on pourrait, dès l'école maternelle, sensibiliser les enfants aux problèmes de volumes et d'espaces. Il reste à convaincre l'Education nationale d'inscrire cet enseignement nouveau à ses programmes.A la direction de l'Architecture, malgré les faibles moyens financiers dont il dispose, M. Denieul souhaite influer plus directement sur la qualité de la construction, en développant les services de la création architecturale. Dans les trente prochaines années, la France va construire autant de logements qu'il en existe actuellement. Il est temps de se souvenir que le degré de civilisation d'un peuple se juge à la qualité des édifices qu'il laisse à la postérité. "La France n'est ni belle ni laide", Vasarely "La France n'est ni belle ni laide. C'est le point de vue où nous nous plaçons qui décide. Celui qui se promène à New York ne voit qu'une ville chaotique et sale. Mais si, le soir, on arrive de l'aéroport, on découvre les gratte-ciel illuminés qui émergent au-dessus du fog. C'est un spectacle inoubliable. La Courneuve ou Sarcelles, vues d'avion, présentent des aspects intéressants.""Remédier à la laideur est une tâche extrêmement complexe qui se place sur d'innombrables plans, sociologiques, psychologiques, esthétiques. Le gouvernement actuel est favorable à l'esthétique, mais peut-on imposer la beauté comme on a imposé la vaccination obligatoire ? Actuellement on construit partout des habitations du genre clapier. Ce phénomène est universel. Sarcelles et Saint-Denis ressemblent à Sydney ou à Tokyo." Le droit à la beauté, par Pierre Schneider Le mot "esthétique" a mauvaise presse. Mais l'esthétique, dans la bouche des architectes, c'est ce que font les autres... En réalité, jamais l'architecture n'a été plus préoccupée de beauté. Elle peut prendre les formes les plus diverses. Ici, elle est dans l'intense présence d'un édifice ; là, dans un agencement heureux de l'espace obtenu par des moyens insignifiants. Tantôt harmonieuse, tantôt agressive. L'élégance du chemin le plus court, mais aussi l'extravagance du chemin des écoliers : Ludwig Mies Van der Rohe ne nie pas Antonio Gaudi. L'essentiel est de ne pas se soumettre passivement aux idées reçues, d'exprimer son temps - fût-ce en s'efforçant de le réorienter. "Lorsqu'une oeuvre est à son maximum d'intensité, de proportions, de qualité d'exécution, de perfection, il se produit un phénomène d'espace indicible, les lieux se mettent à rayonner, physiquement. C'est du domaine de l'ineffable." Cette définition du beau est due au père du fonctionnalisme : Edouard Le Corbusier. L'absence de volonté créatrice se traduit par des formes inertes. Et l'inertie démoralise. Le jour n'est pas loin où le plus fanatique des technocrates sera contraint d'inclure le droit à la beauté dans ses frais généraux. A quelques exceptions près, l'histoire de l'architecture moderne - celle du dernier quart de siècle, surtout - ne s'est pas écrite en France. Pourquoi ? La raison la plus évidente est qu'elle n'a pas voulu ou su produire des architectes. La faute en incombe, en premier lieu, à l'Ecole des beaux-arts. La formation, ou plutôt la déformation qu'elle dispensait à ses élèves, était, depuis cent cinquante ans, résolument passéiste : on se référait à Versailles ou au Parthénon, oubliant que leur pouvoir de fascination venait de ce qu'ils avaient été, en leur temps, des bâtiments modernes. Le premier travail des élèves utilisant l'acier, le verre, fut présenté à l'Ecole en 1950.Vers 1956, un groupe d'élèves qui proposaient à Nicolas Untersteller, directeur de l'Ecole, d'organiser une exposition Mies Van der Rohe, s'entendirent répondre : "Je ne connais pas cette demoiselle." Un promoteur définit assez brutalement le produit de cet enseignement figé : "Les architectes ? Ils se croient des artistes. Ils ignorent la vie." Effectivement, l'Ecole n'a pas su assimiler la révolution industrielle. Vers 1840, un divorce s'opère entre architecte et ingénieur. Le premier n'a que mépris pour le second. Lorsque, au début du siècle, Fulgence Bienvenüe, ingénieur en chef du métropolitain, veut enseigner aux élèves de l'Ecole la technique du béton armé, ceux-ci le chahutent au cri de : "Tu nous prends pour des entrepreneurs ?" Bibliothèque nationale, Halles de Baltard, viaduc de Garabit - les chefs-d'oeuvre de la construction industrielle du XIXe siècle sont si peu considérés comme de l'architecture, que le premier d'entre eux à avoir été classé monument historique fut la tour Eiffel. Depuis quelques générations, les architectes apprenaient les techniques modernes, mais comme un mal nécessaire. "Un tuyau, ça se cache", dit l'un d'eux. Ils acceptaient de construire une usine ou une H.l.m. - il faut bien vivre - mais leur rêve restait de bâtir pour un prince. Aucune place n'était faite, dans l'enseignement, à l'économie, à la sociologie - en un mot à la donnée humaine qui est à la fois le grand problème de l'époque et sa chance de renouvellement : les nombres. Que pèsent ces rêveurs anachroniques en face de gens qui ont le sens des réalités - ceux-là mêmes qui les font travailler : les promoteurs ? Rien. Dans les pays anglo-saxons, l'architecte est respecté ; chez nous, c'est le pauvre type qui oublie un escalier. Un promoteur explique : "Comment je choisis un architecte ? C'est simple : je prends celui qui fait ce que je veux." Et ce qu'il veut, c'est ce qui se vend, c'est-à-dire le "standing". Il n'y a pas de grand architecte sans grand client, note l'architecte Michel Bezançon. Or, à l'encontre des Etats-Unis ou de l'Italie, en France, l'architecture ne se vend pas comme image de marque." M. Claude Alphandéry, P.d.g. de la Banque de la construction et des travaux publics, confirme : "Les gens d'affaires français ne considèrent pas encore l'architecture comme le bon signe extérieur de la réussite." Créer, dans ces conditions, tient du miracle. L'architecture abdique ou se condamne à périr de faim. Dans le secteur public, l'accueil à l'architecture vivante n'est pas meilleur que dans le privé. L'architecte, pour faire aboutir un projet, doit avoir l'obstination des personnages de Kafka. Un disciple connu de Le Corbusier se voit refuser une commande parce que, selon les mots du financier désolé, "il n'a personne dans sa manche". Savoir se débrouiller est plus important que savoir créer. "Le secteur public est démembré en parties qui doivent négocier entre elles", explique M. Alphandéry. D'excellentes réalisations, toutes dues à la volonté d'individus, soulignent d'autant plus cruellement la formidable indifférence des hommes politiques (qu'ils soient de droite ou de gauche) et des technocrates à "la dimension poétique". Les ministres se préoccupent de pouvoir proclamer à la fin de l'année qu'on a construit tant de logis, mais II ne vient à l'idée de personne de supposer que ces logis devraient, en toute justice, tomber sous le coup de la loi qui interdit de déposer des ordures sur la voie publique. Pourtant, il est des raisons d'espérer. La principale est l'apparition d'une génération d'architectes pour qui l'industrie n'est plus l'ennemi - pas plus que la panacée - mais un instrument. Un instrument qui, bien utilisé, peut libérer l'architecture de ses servitudes. Ici et là, surgissent des bâtiments, des ensembles dont la réussite démontre qu'aujourd'hui les contraintes techniques et budgétaires ne sont plus que l'alibi facile des médiocres. L'imagination est humainement nécessaire. Elle est techniquement possible. A nous de savoir l'exiger. www.lexpress.fr/culture/1971-architecture-et-urbanisme-la... Métamorphoses des villes : d'hier à aujourd'hui L'oeuvre de Le Corbusier classée au patrimoine mondial de l'Unesco Marseille, d'hier à aujourd'hui Lille d'hier à aujourd'hui... www.lexpress.fr/culture/en-images-l-oeuvre-de-le-corbusie... Dix-sept réalisations de l'architecte franco-suisse, dont dix situées en France, sont désormais inscrites au patrimoine mondial de l'organisation. Une proposition adoptée par consensus et sans changement par le comité en charge du classement. La troisième aura été la bonne. Après deux tentatives infructueuses, l'oeuvre architecturale de Le Corbusier a été inscrite au Patrimoine mondial, a annoncé dimanche l'Unesco. La décision a été prise lors de la 40e session du Comité du patrimoine mondial de l'Unesco à Istanbul. Cette réunion a été suspendue samedi en raison de la tentative de putsch militaire, avant de reprendre dimanche matin. Le classement porte sur dix-sept réalisations de l'architecte franco-suisse dans sept pays. Dix d'entre elles sont situées en France. Parmi elles figure la Maison de la Culture de Firminy A ces réalisations s'ajoutent les Maisons La Roche et Jeanneret à Paris, la Villa Savoye et loge du jardinier à Poissy, l'Immeuble locatif à la Porte Molitor à Boulogne-Billancourt, la Manufacture à Saint-Dié-des-Vosges, le couvent Sainte-Marie-de-la-Tourette à Eveux. Le Corbusier : hommage au virtuose de la modernité www.cotemaison.fr/chaine-d/deco-design/le-corbusier-un-ar... frontières françaises, d'autres créations de Le Corbusier ont également été classées. L'immeuble Clarté à Genève, la petite villa au bord du lac Léman à Corseaux (Suisse), la maison Guiette à Anvers (Belgique), les maisons de la Weissenhof-Siedlung à Stuttgart (Allemagne), la Maison du Docteur Curutchet à La Plata (Argentine), le musée national des beaux-Arts de l'Occident à Taito-Ku à Tokyo (Japon) et le complexe du capitole à Chandighar (Inde)."Cette bonne nouvelle survient après plus de dix ans de travail, de concertation et deux échecs", s'est félicité dans un communiqué Benoît Cornu, premier adjoint à Ronchamp (Haute-Saône), qui préside depuis 2016 l'Association des Sites Le Corbusier créée en 2010. Le Corbusier: hommage au virtuose de la modernité Interrogé par Le Monde, le même interlocuteur considère que Icomos, le Conseil international des monuments et des sites, avait par le passé jugé la série proposé "trop pléthorique et éclectique, et surtout, déploré l'absence du site de Chandigarh en Inde, qui révélait la dimension urbanistique de l'oeuvre". En intégrant ce site qui comprend un quartier, sa maison de la culture, son stade, sa piscine et son église -le plus grand conçu par l'architecte- les promoteurs du dossier de candidature ont tiré parti des expériences passées. La ministre de la Culture et de la Communication, Audrey Azoulay, s'est réjouie de la décision de l'Unesco, en relevant qu'elle soulignait "l'importance de la préservation et de la valorisation du patrimoine récent, de moins de cent ans". l'architecture moderne au rang d'art majeur. L'occasion de revisiter son oeuvre architecturale avec notamment la Cité radieuse à Marseille, sans oublier son parcours de peintre et de designer. L'Express Styles est aussi parti à la rencontre d'artistes comme India Mahdavi ou Ora-ïto qui s'en sont inspirés... Découverte ! L'architecte de tous les possibles est aussi celui de tous les paradoxes. Mort en eaux troubles - on a retrouvé son corps noyé sur la plage de Roquebrune-Cap-Martin le 27 août 1965 -, Le Corbusier est, aussi, l'homme solaire qui a accouché de la Cité radieuse et un "visionnaire persuadé de pouvoir apporter la joie de vivre", affirme Sylvie Andreu, directrice de collection du livre Cher Corbu... (1). Cinq décennies après sa disparition, son aura continue de briller et son héritage est intact, de la villa Savoye, à Poissy (Yvelines), à l'unité d'habitation de Firminy (Loire), en passant par la chapelle de Ronchamp en Franche- Comté ou la ville nouvelle de Chandigarh en Inde. Et pourtant, l'homme n'a pas que des admirateurs... La Cité radieuse à Marseille.La Cité radieuse à Marseille.SDP La ville nouvelle de Chandigarh, en Inde, construite en 1947.La ville nouvelle de Chandigarh, en Inde, construite en 1947.Narinder Nanu/AFP

Critiquant ses excès et sa mégalomanie, ses détracteurs lui reprochent également, encore aujourd'hui, son approche fonctionnaliste trop radicale et d'être à l'origine de l'urbanisme des banlieues. Autant dire que le mystère autour de Charles-Edouard Jeanneret- Gris, dit Le Corbusier - né en Suisse en 1887 -, reste entier. Qui était vraiment cet autodidacte insatiable et obstiné dont l'oeuvre attend toujours son classement à l'Unesco, au titre de sa "contribution exceptionnelle au mouvement moderne"? Un virtuose de l'architecture bien qu'il n'ait pas le diplôme (il a quitté l'école à 13 ans) ? Un grand designer ? Un peintre compulsif ("Le dessin est fait avant que je ne l'aie pensé") ? Un sculpteur majeur ?

De toute évidence, un artiste surdoué et protéiforme "qui a profon dément marqué le XXe siècle et bouleversé notre façon d'habiter, explique Sylvie Andreu. Il sera guidé toute sa vie par l'esprit nouveau de son époque et n'au ra de cesse de combattre les conservatismes". A partir du 29 avril 2015, l'exposition du Centre Pompidou propose une relecture de ses créations - plus de 300 dessins, tableaux, sculptures, photos, meubles, dont certaines pièces réalisées dès 1923 avec Pierre Jeanneret... - qui seront présentées via le prisme de la mesure du corps humain. La villa Savoye (1928-1931), à PoissyLa villa Savoye (1928-1931), à PoissyArcaid/Corbis

Empreinte du modulor dans le béton, visible a Rezé (Loire-Atlantique)Empreinte du modulor dans le béton, visible a Rezé (Loire-Atlantique)SDP "L'homme a toujours été au centre de ses préoccupations, explique Jacques Sbriglio, architecte urbaniste et commissaire de l'exposition organisée à Marseille, en 2013, Le Corbusier et la question du brutalisme. Il a inventé un langage et fait basculer l'architecture dans le XXe siècle. Chacune de ses réalisations inter - rogeait le rapport de l'homme aux usages quotidiens. Quand il dessinait les plans d'une ville, il indiquait l'échelle, mais aussi le temps de déplacement d'un point à un autre." Et Olivier Cinqualbre, commissaire de l'exposition du Centre Pompidou, d'ajouter : "La cellule d'habitation pensée par Le Corbusier est petite mais pratique, à taille humaine. Pour épouser les mouvements du corps, le mobilier devient réglable (dès 1929), modulable ou encastrable." La chapelle Notre-Dame-du-Haut (1950-1955), à RonchampLa chapelle Notre-Dame-du-Haut (1950-1955), à RonchampCalle Montes/Photononstop

Avant-gardiste, ce bâtisseur souhaite libérer l'individu des contraintes, du mal-logement, de l'inconfort. Car, ne l'oublions pas, au lendemain de la guerre, chaque mètre carré compte! Pour modifier la perception des volumes, il use en plus de couleurs franches. Là aussi, il connaît sa palette... Depuis qu'il s'est installé à Paris en 1917, il peint tous les jours et manie le nuancier avec finesse. Voilà qui explique sans doute qu'il ait autant d'influence auprès des créateurs tous azimuts : designers et stylistes de mode! La preuve, ci-contre, en cinq témoignages... . Le Corbusier. Mesures de l'homme, du 29 avril au 3 août 2015, Centre Pompidou, Paris (IVe), www.centre pompidou.fr

Chandigarh, 50 ans après Le Corbusier, du 11 novembre 2015 au 14 mars 2016 à la Cité de l'architecture et du patrimoine, Paris (XVIe). www.citechaillot.fr

"Cher Corbu" Recueil de témoignages de 12 architectes contemporains sur le grand homme, dans lequel chacun lui écrit une lettre."Cher Corbu" Recueil de témoignages de 12 architectes contemporains sur le grand homme, dans lequel chacun lui écrit une lettre.SDP

(1) Cher Corbu..., un ouvrage collectif qui recueille le témoignage de 12 architectes contemporains sur le grand homme : de Paul Chemetov à Odile Decq en passant par Elisabeth de Portzamparc ou Claude Parent, qui lui ont chacun écrit une lettre. Bernard Chauveau éd., 48 p., 22,50 ?

Ils se sont inspirés du Corbusier...India Mahdavi, amoureuse d'innovation

India Mahdavi, architecte d'intérieur et designer. Vient de terminer le restaurant I Love Paris pour Guy Martin.India Mahdavi, architecte d'intérieur et designer. Vient de terminer le restaurant I Love Paris pour Guy Martin.SDP

L'Express Styles : Que représente pour vous le Corbusier ?

India Mahdavi : C'est un révolutionnaire et un provocateur, qui a fait renaître l'architecture moderne en mettant l'homme au centre de la vie et de la ville. Il a eu l'intelligence de s'interroger sur les modes de vie des gens bien avant tout le monde. Son rapport aux proportions m'a imprégnée. Sur mes chantiers, j'utilise aussi le Modulor. Ses références sont devenues les miennes. Il a cassé les normes bourgeoises de l'habitat. L'Express Styles : En quoi a-t-il inspiré vos créations ? India Mahdavi : J'aime beaucoup sa façon d'appliquer la couleur en aplats pour redessiner les volumes, rythmer les espaces, marquer les perspectives. C'était un formidable coloriste. L'ouvrage Le Corbusier. Polychromies architecturalesest d'ailleurs une de mes bibles. Il référence toutes les nuances et permet, grâce à une réglette, de les associer harmonieusement. C'est un outil dont je me sers sur tous mes chantiers.

L'Express Styles : Quelle est pour vous la pièce ou le bâtiment culte ? India Mahdavi : Le tabouret à poignées, en chêne, qu'il a conçu pour son cabanon, d'après une caisse à whiskys. On peut évidemment s'asseoir dessus, mais on peut surtout l'empiler pour séparer une pièce, le transformer en chevet ou en table basse. Il n'y a pas de meuble qui résume mieux son oeuvre. Le Corbusier : hommage au virtuose de la modernitéSDP Ora-ïto et sa fascination pour la minutie

Ora-ïto, architecte designer. Propriétaire du toit terrasse de la Cité radieuse à Marseille.Ora-ïto, architecte designer. Propriétaire du toit terrasse de la Cité radieuse à Marseille.SDP L'Express Styles : Que représente pour vous Le Corbusier ? Ora-ïto : Il est l'inventeur de la modernité. Pour chacune de ses réalisations, il a établi un vrai scénario de vie. La Cité radieuse en est le plus bel exemple. Tout y est pensé au millimètre près et à bonne hauteur grâce au Modulor-une grille de mesures qu'il a inventée et représentée par la silhouette d'un homme debout, le bras levé. C'était aussi un obsessionnel. D'ailleurs, quand il érige cette unité d'habitation, on le surnomme le "Fada". Mais il reste un grand monsieur qui m'a beaucoup influencé.

L'Express Styles : En quoi a-t-il inspiré vos créations ?

Ora-ïto : Je ne suis pas habité par Corbu, mais imprégné de ses concepts. Sa rigueur, sa façon d'organiser les espaces en lien avec les modes de vie et sa simplicité restent des valeurs essentielles. C'est le Steve Job de l'architecture !

L'Express Styles : Quelle est pour vous la pièce ou le bâtiment culte ? Ora-ïto : La villa Savoye à Poissy. Art déco, cette première maison de week-end est spectaculaire : une "boîte en l'air" montée sur pilotis, qui a tout pour elle. Elle est lumineuse, élégante et intemporelle.

Le Corbusier : hommage au virtuose de la modernitéSDP

Pierre Charpin, sensibilité des couleurs Pierre Charpin, designer. Prépare une exposition pour la galerie Kréo à Londres.Pierre Charpin, designer. Prépare une exposition pour la galerie Kréo à Londres.SDPL'Express Styles : Que représente pour vous Le Corbusier ?Pierre Charpin : Ce n'est pas un maître à penser, mais un grand architecte et aussi un étonnant plasticien doué d'une sensibilité aux formes hors pair. La chapelle de Ronchamp - tout en courbes et en harmonie avec le paysage - en est un des plus beaux exemples, le contraire d'un bâtiment standardisé. L'Express Styles : En quoi a-t-il inspiré vos créations ? Pierre Charpin : Je ne sais pas s'il m'a influencé, mais son travail sur les couleurs m'a beaucoup intéressé. Il utilise une gamme de coloris plus subtile et sophistiquée que celle des primaires. Comme lui, je n'aime pas les fausses couleurs et les demi-teintes, ni les objets trop lisses. J'apprécie sa façon d'appréhender le béton, notamment à la Cité radieuse. Il en a fait une surface vivante et pas si brutale que ça ! Pour y avoir séjourné, je suis frappé par la sophistication et la simplicité de ce grand vaisseau. Corbu fait partie, avec Sottsass, des gens qui comptent pour moi. C'est à la fois un théoricien et un être très sensible. L'Express Styles : Quelle est pour vous la pièce ou le bâtiment culte ? Pierre Charpin : Son cabanon de Roquebrune-Cap-Martin, de 3,66 mètres sur 3,66, est un modèle d'intelligence : il a optimisé chaque centimètre carré. Cette réalisation démontre à quel point il était libre. Eux aussi l'apprécient... Jérome Dreyfuss, créateur de sacs"Mes grands-parents étant les voisins de Jean Prouvé, à Nancy ; j'ai été sensible, très jeune, à l'architecture et à Corbu, qui a toujours eu une longueur d'avance. A chaque problème il trouvait une solution. Il avait cette capacité d'inventer des concepts et des principes de construction. Il était à la fois rationnel et créatif. Quand j'ai aménagé mon cabanon à Fontainebleau, j'ai optimisé chaque mètre carré. Chaque objet a sa fonction et sa raison d'être." www.jerome-dreyfuss.com Frédérique Dessemond, créatrice de la marque de bijoux Ginette NY "Je vis aujourd'hui à New York mais j'ai grandi - juqu'à 28 ans - à la Cité radieuse, dont je garde un souvenir ému. On vivait en autarcie, entre copains, c'était mieux que le Club Med ! Les appartements étaient très lumineux, remarquablement bien étudiés. J'ai conçu ma future boutique [66, rue des Saints-Pères, Paris VIe] à partir du Modulor. Et mes bijoux sont simples, faciles à vivre et sans ostentation, comme l'étaient ses réalisations." www.ginette-ny.com - www.ladepeche.fr/article/2010/11/02/940025-140-ans-en-arc... dreux-par-pierlouim.over-blog.com/article-chamards-1962-9... missionphoto.datar.gouv.fr/fr/photographe/7639/serie/7695...

Official Trailer - the Pruitt-Igoe Myth: an Urban History

www.youtube.com/watch?v=g7RwwkNzF68 - la dérive des continents youtu.be/kEeo8muZYJU Et la disparition des Mammouths - RILLIEUX LA PAPE & Dynacité - Le 23 février 2017, à 11h30, les tours Lyautey étaient foudroyées. www.youtube.com/watch?v=W---rnYoiQc …

Ginger CEBTP Démolition, filiale déconstruction du Groupe Ginger, a réalisé la maîtrise d'oeuvre de l'opération et produit les études d'exécution. L'emblématique ZUP Pruitt Igoe. vaste quartier HLM (33 barres de 11 étages) de Saint-Louis (Missouri) USA. démoli en 1972 www.youtube.com/watch?v=nq_SpRBXRmE … "Life is complicated, i killed people, smuggled people, sold people, but perhaps in here.. things will be different." ~ Niko Bellic - cité Balzac, à Vitry-sur-Seine (23 juin 2010).13H & Boom, quelques secondes plus tard, la barre «GHJ», 14 étages et 168 lgts, s’effondrait comme un château de cartes sous les applaudissements et les sifflets, bientôt enveloppés dans un nuage de poussière. www.youtube.com/watch?v=d9nBMHS7mzY … - "La Chapelle" Réhabilitation thermique de 667 logements à Andrézieux-Bou... youtu.be/0tswIPdoVCE - 11 octobre 1984 www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xk-Je1eQ5po …

DESTRUCTION par explosifs de 10 tours du QUARTIER DES MINGUETTES, à LYON. les tours des Minguettes ; VG des tours explosant et s'affaissant sur le côté dans un nuage de fumée blanche ; à 13H15, nous assistons à l'explosion de 4 autres tours - St-Etienne Métropole & Montchovet - la célèbre Muraille de Chine ( 540 lgts 270m de long 15 allees) qui était à l'époque en 1964 la plus grande barre HLM jamais construit en Europe. Après des phases de rénovation, cet immeuble a été dynamité en mai 2000 www.youtube.com/watch?v=YB3z_Z6DTdc … - PRESQU'ILE DE GENNEVILLIERS...AUJOURD'HUI...DEMAIN... (LA video içi parcours.cinearchives.org/Les-films-PRESQU-ILE-DE-GENNEVI... … ) Ce film de la municipalité de Gennevilliers explique la démarche et les objectifs de l’exposition communale consacrée à la presqu’île, exposition qui se tint en déc 1972 et janvier 1973 - le mythe de Pruitt-Igoe en video içi nextcity.org/daily/entry/watch-the-trailer-for-the-pruitt... … - 1964, quand les loisirs n’avaient (deja) pas le droit de cité poke @Memoire2cite youtu.be/Oj64jFKIcAE - Devenir de la ZUP de La Paillade youtu.be/1qxAhsqsV8M v - Regard sur les barres Zum' youtu.be/Eow6sODGct8 v - MONTCHOVET EN CONSTRUCTION Saint Etienne, ses travaux - Vidéo Ina.fr www.ina.fr/video/LXF99004401 … via - La construction de la Grande Borne à Grigny en 1969 Archive INA www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=12&v=t843Ny2p7Ww (discours excellent en seconde partie) -David Liaudet : l'image absolue, c'est la carte postale" phothistory.wordpress.com/2016/04/27/david-liaudet-limage... … l'architecture sanatoriale Histoire des sanatoriums en France (1915-1945). Une architecture en quête de rendement thérapeutique..

passy-culture.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/Les-15-Glori... … … & hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/tel-01935993/document … explosion des tours Gauguin Destruction par implosion des Tours Gauguin (quartier de La Bastide) de Limoges le dimanche 28 novembre 2010 à 11 heures. Limoges 28/11/2010 youtu.be/cd0ln4Nqqbs … 42 Roanne - c'etait le 11 novembre 2013 - Souvenirs des HLM quartier du Parc... Après presque 45 minutes de retard, les trois dernières tours Chanteclair sont tombées. Le tir prévu etait à 11h14 La vidéo içi www.leprogres.fr/loire/2013/11/01/roanne-les-3-dernieres-... … … www.leprogres.fr/loire/2013/11/01/roanne-une-vingtaine-de... …Besançon (25) - la Nouvelle cité d'HLM La Planoise en 1960 avec la video des premiers habitants de Planoise en juin 1968 www.youtube.com/watch?v=LVKAkJSsCGk … … … archive INA … BEGIN Japanology - les utopies de l'extreme et Kenzo Tange l'architecte japonnais - la video içi www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZlAOtYFE4GM … 71 les Prés Saint-Jean a Chalon-sur-Saône - L'Implosion des 3 tours HLM de 15 etages le 5 décembre 2009 par FERRARI DEMOLITION içi www.youtube.com/watch?v=oDsqOjQJS8E … … … & là www.youtube.com/watch?v=ARQYQLORBBE … 21 DIJON Cité des Grésilles - c'etait l'implosion de la residençe HLM Paul Bur le 19 02 2010 www.youtube.com/watch?v=fAEuaq5mivM … … & la www.youtube.com/watch?v=mTUm-mky-sw … 59 - la technique dite du basculement - Destruction de l'immeuble Rhone a Lille avec pleins de ralentit içi video-streaming.orange.fr/actu-politique/destruction-de-l... … 21 Chenôve (le GRAND DIJON) - Implosion de la barre François RUDE le 3 nov 2010 (top video !!) www.youtube.com/watch?v=ClmeXzo3r5A … …Quand l histoire çe repete et çe repetera autant de fois que nesçessaire quand on voie la quantitée de barres 60 70's...dans le collimateur de l'ANRU2.. 77 MEAUX 3 grandes tours..& puis s'en vont.. Démolition Pierre Collinet Batiment Genêt, Hortensia et Iris - Reportage Journal le 26 juin 2011 youtu.be/fpPcaC2wRIc 71 CHALON SUR SAONE C'etait les Prés Saint Jean le 05 décembre 2009 , pour une implosion hlm hors du commun !!! Caméra mise à même le sol , à une vingtaine de mètres de la première tour .... www.youtube.com/watch?v=kVlC9rYU-gs … 78 les MUREAUX le 3 octobre 2010 ,Les dernières minutes de la Tour Molière aux Mureaux (Yvelines) et sa démolition par semi-foudroyage, filmés du quartier de la Vigne Blanche. www.youtube.com/watch?v=u2FDMxrLHcw …71 MACON LES GRANDES PERRIERES C'etait un 30 juin 2013, avec l'implosion de la barre HLM des Perrières par GINGER www.youtube.com/watch?v=EzYwTcCGUGA … … une video exceptionnelle ! c'etait Le Norfolk Court un ensemble résidentiel, le Norfolk Court, construit dans les années 1970, a été démoli à Glasgow en Ecosse le 9 mai 2016 . Il rate la démolition d'un immeuble au tout dernier moment LES PASSAGERS DU BUS EN PROFITE A SA PLAçE lol www.20minutes.fr/tv/t-as-vu/237077-il-rate-la-demolition-... … 69 LYON Quand La Duchère disait adieu à sa barre 230 le jeudi 2 juillet 2015 www.youtube.com/watch?v=BSwidwLw0NA … www.youtube.com/watch?v=BdLjUAK1oUk … www.youtube.com/watch?v=-DZ5RSLpYrM …Avenir Deconstruction : Foudroyage de 3 barres HLM - VAULX-EN-VELIN (69) www.youtube.com/watch?v=-E02NUMqDno Démolition du quartier Bachelard à Vaulx-en-Velin www.youtube.com/watch?v=DSAEBIYYpXY Démolition des tours du Pré de l'Herpe (Vaulx-en-Velin)

www.youtube.com/watch?v=fG5sD1G-QgU REPORTAGE - En sept secondes, un ensemble de 407 appartements à Vaulx-en-Velin a été détruit à l'explosif dans le cadre du renouvellement urbain... www.youtube.com/watch?v=Js6w9bnUuRM www.youtube.com/watch?v=MCj5D1NhxhI - St-QUENTIN LA ZUP (scic)- NOUMEA - NOUVELLE CALEDONIE historique de la cité Saint-Quentin içi www.agence-concept.com/savoir-faire/sic/

www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Gt6STiH_pM …[VIDEOS] Trois tours de la cité des Indes de Sartrouville ont été démolies dans le cadre du plan de rénovation urbaine du quartier Mille quatre cent soixante-deux détonateurs, 312 kilos le 06/06/2010 à 11 heures. la belle video içi www.youtube.com/watch?v=fY1B07GWyDE VIGNEUX-SUR-SEINE, VOTRE HISTOIRE, VOS SOUVENIRS. içi www.youtube.com/watch?v=8o_Ke26mB48 … , Film des Tours et du quartier de la Croix Blanche, de 1966 à 1968. Les Tours en train de finir de se construire, ainsi que le centre commerciale. Destruction de la Tour 21, pour construire de nouveaux HLM... l'UNION SOCIALE POUR L HABITAT fete ses 90 ans "TOUT savoir tout voir, tout connaitre, sur le LOGEMENT SOCIAL des HLM aux HBM avec le Musée HLM" en ligne sur le WEB içi musee-hlm.fr/ www.banquedesterritoires.fr/lunion-sociale-pour-lhabitat-... … içi www.banquedesterritoires.fr/lunion-sociale-pour-lhabitat-... … De grandes barres d’immeubles, appelées les grands ensembles, sont le symbole de nos banlieues. Entrée Libre revient sur le phénomène de destruction de ces bâtiments qui reflètent aujourd’hui la misere www.youtube.com/watch?v=mCqHBP5SBiM twitter.com/Memoire2cite/status/1121877386491043840/photo... Avril 1993, 6 ans après l'implosion de la tour DEBUSSY des 4000, 30% seulement des travaux de rénovation ont été réalisés et le chômage frappe toujours 1/3 des hbts. C'est un échec. A Mantes la Jolie, 6 mois après la destruction des 4 tours du Val Fourré, www.youtube.com/watch?v=ta4kj05KJOM … Banlieue 89, Bacalan à Bordeaux 1986 - Un exemple de rénovation urbaine et réhabilitation de l'habitat dans un des quartiers de Bordeaux La Cité Claveau à BACALAN. A l'initiative du mouvementla video içi www.youtube.com/watch?v=IN0JtGBaA1o … L'assoçiation de ROLLAND CASTRO @ Le Plan Banlieue 89 - mode d'emploi - Archive INA - La video içi. TRANSFORMER LES PAYSAGES URBAINS AVEC UNE APPROCHE CULTURELLE www.youtube.com/watch?v=Aw-_f-bT2TQ … SNCF les EDITIONS DU CABRI PRESENTE PARIS LA BANLIEUE 1960-1980 -La video Içi. www.youtube.com/watch?v=lDEQOsdGjsg … Içi la DATAR en 1000 clichés missionphotodatar.cget.gouv.fr/accueil - Notre Paris, 1961, Réalisation : André Fontaine, Henri Gruel Les archives filmées de la cinémathèque du ministère de 1945 à nos jours içi www.dailymotion.com/video/xgis6v?playlist=x34ije

31 TOULOUSE - le Mirail 1962 réalisation : Mario Marret construction de la ville nouvelle Toulouse le Mirail, commentée par l'architecte urbaniste Georges Candilis le film www.dailymotion.com/video/xn4t4q?playlist=x34ije Il existe de nos jours, de nombreux photographes qui privilégient la qualité artistique de leurs travaux cartophiles. A vous de découvrir ces artistes inconnus aujourd’hui, mais qui seront peut-être les grands noms de demain.Les films du MRU - Le temps de l'urbanisme, 1962, Réalisation : Philippe Brunet www.dailymotion.com/video/xgj2zz?playlist=x34ije … … … … -Les grands ensembles en images Les ministères en charge du logement et leur production audiovisuelle (1944-1966) MASSY - Les films du MRU - La Cité des hommes, 1966, Réalisation : Fréderic Rossif, Albert Knobler www.dailymotion.com/video/xgiqzr?playlist=x34i - Les films du MRU @ les AUTOROUTES - Les liaisons moins dangereuses 1972 la construction des autoroutes en France - Le réseau autoroutier 1960 Histoire de France Transports et Communications - www.dailymotion.com/video/xxi0ae?playlist=x34ije … - A quoi servaient les films produits par le MRU ministère de la Reconstruction et de l'Urbanisme ? la réponse de Danielle Voldman historienne spécialiste de la reconstruction www.dailymotion.com/video/x148qu4?playlist=x34ije … -les films du MRU - Bâtir mieux plus vite et moins cher 1975 l'industrialisation du bâtiment et ses innovations : la préfabrication en usine, le coffrage glissant... www.dailymotion.com/video/xyjudq?playlist=x34ije … - TOUT SUR LA CONSTRUCTION DE NOTRE DAME LA CATHEDRALE DE PARIS Içi www.notredamedeparis.fr/la-cathedrale/histoire/historique... -MRU Les films - Le Bonheur est dans le béton - 2015 Documentaire réalisé par Lorenz Findeisen produit par Les Films du Tambour de Soie içi www.dailymotion.com/video/x413amo?playlist=x34ije …

archipostcard.blogspot.com/search?updated-max=2009-02-13T... -Créteil.un couple à la niaiserie béate exalte les multiples bonheurs de la vie dans les new G.E. www.youtube.com/watch?v=FT1_abIteFE … La Ville bidon était un téléfilm d'1 heure intitulé La Décharge.Mais la censure de ces temps de présidence Pompidou en a interdit la diffusion télévisuelle - museedelacartepostale.fr/periode-semi-moderne/ - archipostalecarte.blogspot.com/ - Hansjörg Schneider BAUNETZWOCHE 87 über Papiermoderne www.baunetz.de/meldungen/Meldungen_BAUNETZWOCHE_87_ueber_... … - ARCHITECTURE le blog de Claude LOTHIER içi leblogdeclaudelothier.blogspot.com/2006/ - - Le balnéaire en cartes postales autour de la collection de David Liaudet, et ses excellents commentaires.. www.dailymotion.com/video/x57d3b8 -Restaurants Jacques BOREL, Autoroute A 6, 1972 Canton d'AUXERRE youtu.be/LRNhNzgkUcY munchies.vice.com/fr/article/43a4kp/jacques-borel-lhomme-... … Celui qu'on appellera le « Napoléon du prêt-à-manger » se détourne d'ailleurs peu à peu des Wimpy, s'engueule avec la maison mère et fait péricliter la franchise ...que dire de RICARDO BOFFIL Les meilleures balades que j’ai fait autour de Paris je les ai faites dans l’application Plans. Je ne minore pas le rôle de Google Maps, révolution cartographique sans précédent et sans égale, qui aura réalisé nos fantasmes d’Aleph borgesien — l’idée d’un point d’où le monde serait visible en totalité — parachevé Mercator et permis d’explorer des parties du globe inconnues de Cook, Bougainville et Amundsen. Je n’oublie pas non plus cet exercice de cartographie au collège, qui nous avait démontré que nous étions à 3 cartes IGN de la capitale, et que le tissu urbain était de plus en plus serré à mesure que nous avancions vers le nord. Mais Plan possédait une fonctionnalité inédite, le Flyover, technologie à l’origine destinée aux pilotes de chasse, et qui fournissait des rendus 3D spectaculaire des bâtiments survolés — ainsi que des arbres et des déclivités du sol On quittait enfin les champs asphyxiants de la photographie aérienne pour des vues à l’oblique des villes visitées : après un siècle d’écrasement — la photographie aérienne est étroitement contemporaine du bombardement aérien — les villes reprenaient enfin de la vigueur et remontaient vers le ciel. J’avais d’ailleurs effectué moi-même une manœuvre de redressement similaire le jour où j’étais parti, à pied depuis Paris, visiter à Nanterre une exposition sur la photographie aérienne. J’étais à la quête des premières vues de Paris qu’avait prises Nadar depuis un ballon captif. À défaut de ces images, définitivement manquantes, j’avais parcouru, après la Grande Arche, les derniers kilomètres de la Voie Royale, cette prodigieuse perspective historique partie du Louvre — rare exemple de frise chronologique implémentée dans une structure urbanistique.J’avais en réalité un peu dévié de la ligne droite pour aller voir les tours Nuages d’Emile Aillaud, le Facteur Cheval du modernisme, dont je connaissais déjà les autres chefs d’œuvres d'architecture naïve, les nouilles chinoises de Grigny et le spaghetti de Pantin.C’était précisément l’usage que j’avais fait de l’application Plans : j’étais parti à la recherche de tous les groupements de tour qu’elle m’avait permis d’identifier, sur mon iPad. Je les faisais tourner avec deux doigts, comme un éclaireur qui marcherait autour d’un donjon, avant de les immortaliser, sous leur plus bel angle, par une capture d’écran.Un éclaireur autour d’un donjon : c’était exactement cela, qui m’avait fasciné. Les guerres territoriales entre Les Tarterêts de Corbeil et les Pyramides d’Evry avaient marqué mon enfance. La notion de cité, telle qu’elle avait été définie, à partir des années 80, dans le second âge des grands ensembles, l’âge du déclin, avait conservé un cachet médiéval. Ici, vivaient guetteurs et trafiquants, condottieres à la tête d’une écurie de go-fast et entretenant des chenils remplis de mâtins rares et dangereux. Ici, l’État central ne remplissait plus ses tâches régaliennes, ici la modernité laïque était entrée en crise. Mais ce que j’avais découvert, en collectionnant ces captures d’écran, c’était à quel point l’urbanisme de la banlieue parisienne était, strictement, d’obédience médiévale. On était passé, d’un seul mouvement et sans même s’en rendre compte de Château-Gaillard à la Cité 4000, du Donjon de Vincennes aux tours de Sarcelles, du château de Gisors aux choux fleurs de Créteil.J’ai même retrouvé la colonne détruite du désert de Retz dans le babylonien château d’eau de Noisiel.Des hauteurs de Rosny à celle de Chanteloup, du plateau de Clichy à la dalle d’Argenteuil, on avait bizarrement livré des pastiches inconscients de la grande architecture militaire médiévales : les environs de Paris s’étaient retrouvés à nouveau fortifiés, la vieille tour de Montlhéry n’était plus solitaire, et même les immeubles de briques rouges qui avaient succédé à l’enceinte de Thiers évoquaient des murailles.Et ce que j’avais initialement pris pour des anomalies, des accidents malheureux du post-modernisme, les grand ensembles voûtés et cannelés de Ricardo Boffil, étaient peut-être ce qui exprimait le mieux tout cela — ou du moins qui clôturaient avec le génie le plus clair cet âge des grands ensembles.Car c’était cela, ces Carcassonnes, ces Acropoles, ces Atlandides qui surnageaient avec le plus de conviction au milieu des captures d’écrans de ruines médiévales qui s’accumulaient sur mon bureau.Si décriées, dès leur construction, pour leur kitch intolérable ces mégastructures me sont soudain apparues comme absolument nécessaires.Si les Villes Nouvelles n’ont jamais existé, et persisteront dans la mémoire des hommes, elles le doivent à ces rêveries bizarres et grandioses, à ces hybridations impossibles entre les cités idéales de Ledoux et les utopies corbuséennes.L’Aqueduc de Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines, les Espaces d’Abraxas à Marne-la-Vallée, les Colonnes de Saint-Christophe à Cergy-Pontoise sont les plus belles ruines du Grand Paris. www.franceculture.fr/emissions/la-conclusion/ricardo-bofill immerssion dans le monde du logement social, l'univers des logements sociaux, des H.B.M au H.L.M - Retour sur l'histoire du logement collectif d'apres guerre - En Françe, sur l’ensemble du territoire avant, 4 millions d’immeubles étaient vétustes, dont 500.000 à démolir; au total 10% des logements étaient considérés comme insalubres et 40% réputés d’une qualité médiocre, et surpeuplés. C’est pour ces raisons que, à partir de 1954, le Ministre à la Reconstruction et au Logement évalue le besoin en logements à 2.000.660, devenant ainsi une priorité nationale. Quelques années plus tard à l’appel de l’Abbé Pierre, le journaliste Gilbert Mathieu, en avril 1957 publiait dans le quotidien Le Monde une série d’articles sur la situation dramatique du logement : Logement, notre honte et dénonçant le nombre réduit de logements et leur impitoyable état. Robert Doisneau, Banlieue après-guerre, 1943-1949 /Le mandat se veut triple : reconstruire le parc immobilier détruit durant les bombardements essentiellement du printemps/été 1944, faire face à l’essor démographique et enfin résorber l’habitat insalubre notamment les bidonvilles et les cités de transit. Une ambition qui paraît, dès le début, très élevée, associée à l’industrialisation progressive de la nation entre autre celle du secteur de la construction (voir le vidéo de l’INA du 17 juillet 1957 intitulée La crise du logement, un problème national. Cela dit, l’effort pour l’État français était d’une ampleur jamais vue ailleurs. La double nécessité de construire davantage et vite, est en partie la cause de la forme architecturale excentrique qui constituera les Grands Ensembles dans les banlieues françaises. Cinq caractéristiques permettent de mieux comprendre ce terme : la rupture avec le tissu urbain ancien, un minimum de mille logements, une forme collective (tours, barres) de quatre jusqu’à vingt niveaux, la conception d’appartements aménagés et équipés et enfin une gestion destinée pour la plupart à des bailleurs de logement social.Pour la banlieue parisienne leur localisation s’est opérée majoritairement dans la périphérie, tandis que dans les autres cas, plus de la moitié a été construite dans le centre ville, le plus souvent à la limite des anciens faubourgs. Architecture d’Aujourd’hui n° 46, 1953 p. 58-55 C’est le triomphe de l’urbanisme fonctionnel et rationaliste cher à Le Corbusier. Entre 1958 et 1973, cent quatre-vingt-quinze Zones à Urbaniser en Priorité (ZUP)

One of the grandest and most rewarding monuments of the ancient world, the Temple of Amun at Karnak simply cannot fail to impress with its grandeur. It is a vast complex of buildings over three main precincts, the greatest of which is that of Amun with the enormous great temple at its heart. This is the main draw for all visitors to Karnak, with its avenue of sphinxes, huge courtyards and incomparable pillared hypostyle hall. It is not only one of Egypt's most important monuments but simply one of the greatest ancient sites anywhere.

The great temple of Amun dominates the complex and is the work of successive dynasties throughout the New Kingdom, at which point the local god Amun had been established as the state god of Egypt (his name means 'the hidden one', as he only rose to prominence relatively late in Egyptian history, largely connected to the rising importance of Thebes as the centre of power, thus its local god rose with it). Some of the earliest parts at the east end date to the reign of Thutmoses I with successive sections added by other 18th & 19th Dynasty rulers, with great obelisks erected by Hatshepsut and much of the Hypostyle Hall and pylons built under Seti I and his son Ramesses II. The first courtyard and the main pylon were the latest additions to the temple under the reign of Nectanebo I and were never fully finished.

The temple is approached through and avenue of large ram-headed sphinxes, each protecting a small pharoah figure between their paws, representing the god Amun (whose sacred animal was the ram) protecting the king. These statues are usually identified as dating to the reign of Ramesses II, but it is possible they may date further back to Amenophis III. Originally this avenue stretched all the way through what is now the first courtyard to the 2nd pylon and hypostyle hall, but after construction of the 1st pylon and courtyard those beyond the new facade were stored in rows either side of the new courtyard beyond the entrance pylon.

The main facade is formed by the towering 1st pylon built under Nectanebo I and never finished, the stonework is still rough-hewn and lacking in decoration and the northern tower remains somewhat shorter than its southern neighbour. The southerrn tower has at its rear the remains of a mud-brick ramp used during construction. The courtyard beyond is vast and dotted with pillars and statues from various earlier stages in the growth of Karnak, including a towering column from a pavilion built by Nubian Pharoah Taharqa, two colossi of Ramesses II (one usurped later by Pinedjem) and more of the ram-sphinxes that once lined the approach.

Beyond the courtyard is the more ruinous 2nd pylon which leads to the most famous part of the Karnak Temple complex, the incredible Hypostyle Hall, sometimes called the 'Hall of a Hundred Columns' owing to the great multitude of thick, round columns in every direction, like a forest of enormous tree-trunks in stone. There are 134 columns in all in 16 rows, the central axis columns being taller with palm-capitals, whilst the rows either side of this carried a clerestorey of stone-latticed windows, many of which survive (originally these would have been the main light source when the hall had its roof). The decoration on the columns and side walls dates mostly to the reign of Ramesses II and is in sunken relief, but some earlier work from Seti I's reign in raised-relief can be seen on the north side.

Continuing along the main eastern axis the great temple becomes more ruinous and harder to follow, but several major features stand out such as the obelisk of Hatshepsut and the much later barque shrine, whilst some distance beyond the festival hall of Thutmosis III, a pillared structure that represents the most substantial remaining part of the eastern sections of the temple and retains some coloured decoration inside.

In addition to the main eastern axis of the temple there is the southern axis that is formed of four courtyards and further pylon towers and gates which extend towards the precinct of Amun's consort Mut (a much more ruined site reached by equally ruined sphinx avenues to the south, one of which also connects with that leading to Luxor Temple a mile or so further on).. These sections of the complex are mostly closed to visitors at present with stabilisation works ongoing.

There are further smaller temples and areas of great interest around the huge Karnak site, which we have visited on a previous trip (we once spent an entire day here in the pre-digital 1990s), but sadly time was limited on this occasion to focusing on the major sections of the great temple itself, so we hope to return to spend longer here another time.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karnak

Prague Castle is a castle complex in Prague, Czech Republic, built in the 9th century. It is the official office of the President of the Czech Republic. The castle was a seat of power for kings of Bohemia, Holy Roman emperors, and presidents of Czechoslovakia. The Bohemian Crown Jewels are kept within a hidden room inside it.The history of the castle began in 870 when its first walled building, the Church of the Virgin Mary, was built. The Basilica of Saint George and the Basilica of St. Vitus were founded under the reign of Vratislaus I, Duke of Bohemia and his son St. Wenceslas in the first half of the 10th century.

The first convent in Bohemia was founded in the castle, next to the church of St. George. A Romanesque palace was erected here during the 12th century.

Thirteenth-century Venetian coins found there were studied by numismatist, Zdenka Nemeškalová-Jiroudková.

King Ottokar II of Bohemia improved fortifications and rebuilt the royal palace for the purposes of representation and housing. In the 14th century, under the reign of Charles IV the royal palace was rebuilt in Gothic style and the castle fortifications were strengthened. In place of rotunda and basilica of St. Vitus began building of a vast Gothic church, that were completed almost six centuries later.

During the Hussite Wars and the following decades, the castle was not inhabited. In 1485, King Vladislaus II Jagiellon began to rebuild the castle. The massive Vladislav Hall (built by Benedikt Rejt) was added to the Royal Palace. New defence towers were also built on the north side of the castle.

A large fire in 1541 destroyed large parts of the castle. Under the Habsburgs, some new buildings in Renaissance style were added. Ferdinand I built the Belvedere as a summer palace for his wife Anne. Rudolph II used Prague Castle as his main residence. He founded the northern wing of the palace, with the Spanish Hall, where his precious art collections were exhibited.

The Third Defenestration of Prague in 1618 took place at the castle and began the Bohemian Revolt. During the subsequent wars, the Castle was damaged and dilapidated. Many works from the collection of Rudolph II were looted by Swedes in 1648, in the Battle of Prague (1648) which was the final act of the Thirty Years' War.

The last major rebuilding of the castle was carried out by Empress Maria Theresa in the second half of the 18th century. Following his abdication in 1848, and the succession of his nephew, Franz Joseph, to the throne, the former emperor, Ferdinand I, made Prague Castle his home.

In 1918, the castle became the seat of the president of the new Czechoslovak Republic, T.G. Masaryk. The New Royal Palace and the gardens were renovated by Slovenian architect Jože Plečnik. In this period the St. Vitus Cathedral was finished (on September 28, 1929). Renovations continued in 1936 under Plečnik's successor Pavel Janák.

On March 15, 1939, shortly after Nazi Germany forced Czech President Emil Hacha (who suffered a heart attack during the negotiations) to hand his nation over to the Germans, Adolf Hitler spent a night in the Prague Castle, "proudly surveying his new possession." During the Nazi occupation of Czechoslovakia in World War II, Prague Castle became the headquarters of Reinhard Heydrich, the Reich Protector of Bohemia and Moravia. According to a popular rumor, he is said to have placed the Bohemian crown on his head; old legends say a usurper who places the crown on his head is doomed to die within a year. Less than a year after assuming power, on May 27, 1942, Heydrich was ambushed during Operation Anthropoid, by British-trained Slovak and Czech resistance soldiers while on his way to the Castle, and died of his wounds - which became infected - a week later. Klaus, his firstborn son, died the next year in a traffic accident, also in line with the legend.

After the liberation of Czechoslovakia and the coup in 1948, the Castle housed the offices of the communist Czechoslovak government. After Czechoslovakia split in 1993 into the Czech Republic and Slovakia, the castle became the seat of the Head of State of the new Czech Republic. Similar to what Masaryk did with Plečnik, president Václav Havel commissioned Bořek Šípek to be the architect of post-communism Prague Castle's necessary improvements, in particular of the facelift of the castle's gallery of paintings.

The castle buildings represent many of the architectural styles of the last millennium. Prague Castle includes Gothic St. Vitus Cathedral, Romanesque Basilica of St. George, a monastery and several palaces, gardens and defense towers. Most of the castle areas are open to tourists. The castle houses several museums, including the National Gallery collection of Bohemian baroque and mannerism art, exhibition dedicated to Czech history, Toy Museum and the picture gallery of Prague Castle, based on the collection of Rudolph II. The Summer Shakespeare Festival regularly takes place in the courtyard of Burgrave Palace.

The neighborhood around Prague Castle is called Hradčany.

When hunger strikes, the KSC mess hall is the place to be. Support Village has one too. Which is better depends on who you ask

Angkor Wat or "Capital Temple" is a temple complex in Cambodia and the largest religious monument in the world. It was first a Hindu and later a Buddhist temple. It was built by the Khmer King Suryavarman II in the early 12th century in Yaśodharapura, present-day Angkor, the capital of the Khmer Empire, as his state temple and eventual mausoleum.

Breaking from the Shiva tradition of previous kings, Angkor Wat was instead dedicated to Vishnu. As the best-preserved temple at the site, it is the only one to have remained a significant religious center since its foundation. The temple is at the top of the high classical style of Khmer architecture. It has become a symbol of Cambodia, appearing on its national flag, and it is the country's prime attraction for visitors. Angkor Wat combines two basic plans of Khmer temple architecture: the temple-mountain and the later galleried temple, based on early Dravidian architecture, with key features such as the Jagati. It is designed to represent Mount Meru, home of the devas in Hindu mythology: within a moat and an outer wall 3.6 kilometres long are three rectangular galleries, each raised above the next. At the centre of the temple stands a quincunx of towers. Unlike most Angkorian temples, Angkor Wat is oriented to the west; scholars are divided as to the significance of this. The temple is admired for the grandeur and harmony of the architecture, its extensive bas-reliefs, and for the numerous devatas adorning its walls.

The modern name, Angkor Wat, means "Temple City" or "City of Temples" in Khmer; Angkor, meaning "city" or "capital city", is a vernacular form of the word nokor (នគរ), which comes from the Sanskrit word nagara (नगर). Wat is the Khmer word for "temple grounds" (Sanskrit: वाट vāṭa ""enclosure").

HISTORY

Angkor Wat lies 5.5 kilometres north of the modern town of Siem Reap, and a short distance south and slightly east of the previous capital, which was centred at Baphuon. It is in an area of Cambodia where there is an important group of ancient structures. It is the southernmost of Angkor's main sites.

According to one legend, the construction of Angkor Wat was ordered by Indra to act as a palace for his son Precha Ket Mealea.

According to the 13th century Chinese traveler Daguan Zhou, it was believed by some that the temple was constructed in a single night by a divine architect. The initial design and construction of the temple took place in the first half of the 12th century, during the reign of Suryavarman II (ruled 1113-C. 1150). Dedicated to Vishnu, it was built as the king's state temple and capital city. As neither the foundation stela nor any contemporary inscriptions referring to the temple have been found, its original name is unknown, but it may have been known as "Varah Vishnu-lok" after the presiding deity. Work seems to have ended shortly after the king's death, leaving some of the bas-relief decoration unfinished.

In 1177, approximately 27 years after the death of Suryavarman II, Angkor was sacked by the Chams, the traditional enemies of the Khmer. Thereafter the empire was restored by a new king, Jayavarman VII, who established a new capital and state temple (Angkor Thom and the Bayon respectively) a few kilometers to the north.

In the late 13th century, Angkor Wat gradually moved from Hindu to Theravada Buddhist use, which continues to the present day. Angkor Wat is unusual among the Angkor temples in that although it was somewhat neglected after the 16th century it was never completely abandoned, its preservation being due in part to the fact that its moat also provided some protection from encroachment by the jungle.

One of the first Western visitors to the temple was António da Madalena, a Portuguese monk who visited in 1586 and said that it "is of such extraordinary construction that it is not possible to describe it with a pen, particularly since it is like no other building in the world. It has towers and decoration and all the refinements which the human genius can conceive of."

In the mid-19th century, the temple was visited by the French naturalist and explorer, Henri Mouhot, who popularised the site in the West through the publication of travel notes, in which he wrote:

"One of these temples - a rival to that of Solomon, and erected by some ancient Michelangelo - might take an honorable place beside our most beautiful buildings. It is grander than anything left to us by Greece or Rome, and presents a sad contrast to the state of barbarism in which the nation is now plunged."

Mouhot, like other early Western visitors, found it difficult to believe that the Khmers could have built the temple, and mistakenly dated it to around the same era as Rome. The true history of Angkor Wat was pieced together only from stylistic and epigraphic evidence accumulated during the subsequent clearing and restoration work carried out across the whole Angkor site. There were no ordinary dwellings or houses or other signs of settlement including cooking utensils, weapons, or items of clothing usually found at ancient sites. Instead there is the evidence of the monuments themselves.

Angkor Wat required considerable restoration in the 20th century, mainly the removal of accumulated earth and vegetation. Work was interrupted by the civil war and Khmer Rouge control of the country during the 1970s and 1980s, but relatively little damage was done during this period other than the theft and destruction of mostly post-Angkorian statues.The temple is a powerful symbol of Cambodia, and is a source of great national pride that has factored into Cambodia's diplomatic relations with France, the United States and its neighbor Thailand. A depiction of Angkor Wat has been a part of Cambodian national flags since the introduction of the first version circa 1863. From a larger historical and even transcultural perspective, however, the temple of Angkor Wat did not become a symbol of national pride sui generis but had been inscribed into a larger politico-cultural process of French-colonial heritage production in which the original temple site was presented in French colonial and universal exhibitions in Paris and Marseille between 1889 and 1937. Angkor Wat's aesthetics were also on display in the plaster cast museum of Louis Delaporte called musée Indo-chinois which existed in the Parisian Trocadero Palace from C. 1880 to the mid-1920s. The splendid artistic legacy of Angkor Wat and other Khmer monuments in the Angkor region led directly to France adopting Cambodia as a protectorate on 11 August 1863 and invading Siam to take control of the ruins. This quickly led to Cambodia reclaiming lands in the northwestern corner of the country that had been under Siamese (Thai) control since 1351 AD (Manich Jumsai 2001), or by some accounts, 1431 AD. Cambodia gained independence from France on 9 November 1953 and has controlled Angkor Wat since that time.

ARCHITECTURE

SITE AND PLAN

Angkor Wat, located at 13°24′45″N 103°52′0″E, is a unique combination of the temple mountain, the standard design for the empire's state temples and the later plan of concentric galleries. The temple is a representation of Mount Meru, the home of the gods: the central quincunx of towers symbolises the five peaks of the mountain, and the walls and moat the surrounding mountain ranges and ocean. Access to the upper areas of the temple was progressively more exclusive, with the laity being admitted only to the lowest level. Unlike most Khmer temples, Angkor Wat is oriented to the west rather than the east. This has led many (including Maurice Glaize and George Coedès) to conclude that Suryavarman intended it to serve as his funerary temple.Further evidence for this view is provided by the bas-reliefs, which proceed in a counter-clockwise direction - prasavya in Hindu terminology - as this is the reverse of the normal order. Rituals take place in reverse order during Brahminic funeral services. The archaeologist Charles Higham also describes a container which may have been a funerary jar which was recovered from the central tower. It has been nominated by some as the greatest expenditure of energy on the disposal of a corpse. Freeman and Jacques, however, note that several other temples of Angkor depart from the typical eastern orientation, and suggest that Angkor Wat's alignment was due to its dedication to Vishnu, who was associated with the west.

A further interpretation of Angkor Wat has been proposed by Eleanor Mannikka. Drawing on the temple's alignment and dimensions, and on the content and arrangement of the bas-reliefs, she argues that the structure represents a claimed new era of peace under King Suryavarman II: "as the measurements of solar and lunar time cycles were built into the sacred space of Angkor Wat, this divine mandate to rule was anchored to consecrated chambers and corridors meant to perpetuate the king's power and to honor and placate the deities manifest in the heavens above." Mannikka's suggestions have been received with a mixture of interest and scepticism in academic circles. She distances herself from the speculations of others, such as Graham Hancock, that Angkor Wat is part of a representation of the constellation Draco.

STYLE

Angkor Wat is the prime example of the classical style of Khmer architecture - the Angkor Wat style - to which it has given its name. By the 12th century Khmer architects had become skilled and confident in the use of sandstone (rather than brick or laterite) as the main building material. Most of the visible areas are of sandstone blocks, while laterite was used for the outer wall and for hidden structural parts. The binding agent used to join the blocks is yet to be identified, although natural resins or slaked lime has been suggested. The temple has drawn praise above all for the harmony of its design. According to Maurice Glaize, a mid-20th-century conservator of Angkor, the temple "attains a classic perfection by the restrained monumentality of its finely balanced elements and the precise arrangement of its proportions. It is a work of power, unity and style." Architecturally, the elements characteristic of the style include: the ogival, redented towers shaped like lotus buds; half-galleries to broaden passageways; axial galleries connecting enclosures; and the cruciform terraces which appear along the main axis of the temple. Typical decorative elements are devatas (or apsaras), bas-reliefs, and on pediments extensive garlands and narrative scenes. The statuary of Angkor Wat is considered conservative, being more static and less graceful than earlier work. Other elements of the design have been destroyed by looting and the passage of time, including gilded stucco on the towers, gilding on some figures on the bas-reliefs, and wooden ceiling panels and doors.

FEATURES

OUTER ENCLOSURE

The outer wall, 1024 by 802 m and 4.5 m high, is surrounded by a 30 m apron of open ground and a moat 190 m wide. Access to the temple is by an earth bank to the east and a sandstone causeway to the west; the latter, the main entrance, is a later addition, possibly replacing a wooden bridge. There are gopuras at each of the cardinal points; the western is by far the largest and has three ruined towers. Glaize notes that this gopura both hides and echoes the form of the temple proper. Under the southern tower is a statue of Vishnu, known as Ta Reach, which may originally have occupied the temple's central shrine.Galleries run between the towers and as far as two further entrances on either side of the gopura often referred to as "elephant gates", as they are large enough to admit those animals. These galleries have square pillars on the outer (west) side and a closed wall on the inner (east) side. The ceiling between the pillars is decorated with lotus rosettes; the west face of the wall with dancing figures; and the east face of the wall with balustered windows, dancing male figures on prancing animals, and devatas, including (south of the entrance) the only one in the temple to be showing her teeth. The outer wall encloses a space of 820,000 square metres, which besides the temple proper was originally occupied by the city and, to the north of the temple, the royal palace. Like all secular buildings of Angkor, these were built of perishable materials rather than of stone, so nothing remains of them except the outlines of some of the streets. Most of the area is now covered by forest. A 350 m causeway connects the western gopura to the temple proper, with naga balustrades and six sets of steps leading down to the city on either side. Each side also features a library with entrances at each cardinal point, in front of the third set of stairs from the entrance, and a pond between the library and the temple itself. The ponds are later additions to the design, as is the cruciform terrace guarded by lions connecting the causeway to the central structure.

CENTRAL STRUCTURE

The temple stands on a terrace raised higher than the city. It is made of three rectangular galleries rising to a central tower, each level higher than the last. Mannikka interprets these galleries as being dedicated to the king, Brahma, the moon, and Vishnu.

Each gallery has a gopura at each of the points, and the two inner galleries each have towers at their corners, forming a quincunx with the central tower. Because the temple faces west, the features are all set back towards the east, leaving more space to be filled in each enclosure and gallery on the west side; for the same reason the west-facing steps are shallower than those on the other sides.

The outer gallery measures 187 by 215 m, with pavilions rather than towers at the corners. The gallery is open to the outside of the temple, with columned half-galleries extending and buttressing the structure. Connecting the outer gallery to the second enclosure on the west side is a cruciform cloister called Preah Poan (the "Hall of a Thousand Gods"). Buddha images were left in the cloister by pilgrims over the centuries, although most have now been removed. This area has many inscriptions relating the good deeds of pilgrims, most written in Khmer but others in Burmese and Japanese. The four small courtyards marked out by the cloister may originally have been filled with water.

North and south of the cloister are libraries.

Beyond, the second and inner galleries are connected to each other and to two flanking libraries by another cruciform terrace, again a later addition. From the second level upwards, devatas abound on the walls, singly or in groups of up to four. The second-level enclosure is 100 by 115 m, and may originally have been flooded to represent the ocean around Mount Meru.

Three sets of steps on each side lead up to the corner towers and gopuras of the inner gallery. The very steep stairways represent the difficulty of ascending to the kingdom of the gods. This inner gallery, called the Bakan, is a 60 m square with axial galleries connecting each gopura with the central shrine, and subsidiary shrines located below the corner towers. The roofings of the galleries are decorated with the motif of the body of a snake ending in the heads of lions or garudas. Carved lintels and pediments decorate the entrances to the galleries and to the shrines. The tower above the central shrine rises 43 m to a height of 65 m above the ground; unlike those of previous temple mountains, the central tower is raised above the surrounding four. The shrine itself, originally occupied by a statue of Vishnu and open on each side, was walled in when the temple was converted to Theravada Buddhism, the new walls featuring standing Buddhas. In 1934, the conservator George Trouvé excavated the pit beneath the central shrine: filled with sand and water it had already been robbed of its treasure, but he did find a sacred foundation deposit of gold leaf two metres above ground level.

DECORATION

Integrated with the architecture of the building, and one of the causes for its fame is Angkor Wat's extensive decoration, which predominantly takes the form of bas-relief friezes. The inner walls of the outer gallery bear a series of large-scale scenes mainly depicting episodes from the Hindu epics the Ramayana and the Mahabharata. Higham has called these, "the greatest known linear arrangement of stone carving".

From the north-west corner anti-clockwise, the western gallery shows the Battle of Lanka (from the Ramayana, in which Rama defeats Ravana) and the Battle of Kurukshetra (from the Mahabharata, showing the mutual annihilation of the Kaurava and Pandava clans). On the southern gallery follow the only historical scene, a procession of Suryavarman II, then the 32 hells and 37 heavens of Hindu mythology.

On the eastern gallery is one of the most celebrated scenes, the Churning of the Sea of Milk, showing 92 asuras and 88 devas using the serpent Vasuki to churn the sea under Vishnu's direction (Mannikka counts only 91 asuras, and explains the asymmetrical numbers as representing the number of days from the winter solstice to the spring equinox, and from the equinox to the summer solstice). It is followed by Vishnu defeating asuras (a 16th-century addition). The northern gallery shows Krishna's victory over Bana (where according to Glaize, "The workmanship is at its worst"). and a battle between the Hindu gods and asuras. The north-west and south-west corner pavilions both feature much smaller-scale scenes, some unidentified but most from the Ramayana or the life of Krishna. Angkor Wat is decorated with depictions of apsaras and devata; there are more than 1,796 depictions of devata in the present research inventory. Angkor Wat architects employed small apsara images (30–40 cm) as decorative motifs on pillars and walls. They incorporated larger devata images (all full-body portraits measuring approximately 95–110 cm) more prominently at every level of the temple from the entry pavilion to the tops of the high towers. In 1927, Sappho Marchal published a study cataloging the remarkable diversity of their hair, headdresses, garments, stance, jewelry and decorative flowers, which Marchal concluded were based on actual practices of the Angkor period.

CONSTRUCTION TECHNIQUES

The stones, as smooth as polished marble, were laid without mortar with very tight joints that are sometimes hard to find. The blocks were held together by mortise and tenon joints in some cases, while in others they used dovetails and gravity. The blocks were presumably put in place by a combination of elephants, coir ropes, pulleys and bamboo scaffolding. Henri Mouhot noted that most of the blocks had holes 2.5 cm in diameter and 3 cm deep, with more holes on the larger blocks. Some scholars have suggested that these were used to join them together with iron rods, but others claim they were used to hold temporary pegs to help manoeuvre them into place. The monument was made out of millions of tonnes of sandstone and it has a greater volume as well as mass than the Great Pyramid of Giza in Egypt. The Angkor Wat Temple consumes about 6 million to 10 million blocks of sandstone with an average weight of 1.5 tons each. In fact, the entire city of Angkor used up far greater amounts of stone than all the Egyptian pyramids combined, and occupied an area significantly greater than modern-day Paris. Moreover, unlike the Egyptian pyramids which use limestone quarried barely half a km away all the time, the entire city of Angkor was built with sandstone quarried 40 km (or more) away. This sandstone had to be transported from Mount Kulen, a quarry approximately 40 km to the northeast. The route has been suggested to span 35 kilometres along a canal towards Tonlé Sap lake, another 35 kilometres crossing the lake, and finally 15 kilometres upstream and against the current along Siem Reap River, making a total journey of 90 kilometres. However, Etsuo Uchida and Ichita Shimoda of Waseda University in Tokyo, Japan have discovered in 2012 a shorter 35-kilometre canal connecting Mount Kulen and Angkor Wat using satellite imagery. The two believe that the Khmer used this route instead.

Virtually all of its surfaces, columns, lintels even roofs are carved. There are miles of reliefs illustrating scenes from Indian literature including unicorns, griffins, winged dragons pulling chariots as well as warriors following an elephant-mounted leader and celestial dancing girls with elaborate hair styles. The gallery wall alone is decorated with almost 1000 square metres of bas reliefs. Holes on some of the Angkor walls indicate that they may have been decorated with bronze sheets. These were highly prized in ancient times and were a prime target for robbers. While excavating Khajuraho, Alex Evans, a stonemason and sculptor, recreated a stone sculpture under 1.2 m, this took about 60 days to carve. Roger Hopkins and Mark Lehner also conducted experiments to quarry limestone which took 12 quarrymen 22 days to quarry about 400 tons of stone. The labor force to quarry, transport, carve and install so much sandstone must have run into the thousands including many highly skilled artisans. The skills required to carve these sculptures were developed hundreds of years earlier, as demonstrated by some artifacts that have been dated to the seventh century, before the Khmer came to power.

ANGKOR WAT TODAY

The Archaeological Survey of India carried out restoration work on the temple between 1986 and 1992. Since the 1990s, Angkor Wat has seen continued conservation efforts and a massive increase in tourism. The temple is part of the Angkor World Heritage Site, established in 1992, which has provided some funding and has encouraged the Cambodian government to protect the site. The German Apsara Conservation Project (GACP) is working to protect the devatas and other bas-reliefs which decorate the temple from damage. The organisation's survey found that around 20% of the devatas were in very poor condition, mainly because of natural erosion and deterioration of the stone but in part also due to earlier restoration efforts. Other work involves the repair of collapsed sections of the structure, and prevention of further collapse: the west facade of the upper level, for example, has been buttressed by scaffolding since 2002, while a Japanese team completed restoration of the north library of the outer enclosure in 2005. World Monuments Fund began conservation work on the Churning of the Sea of Milk Gallery in 2008 after several years of conditions studies. The project restored the traditional Khmer roofing system and removed cement used in earlier restoration attempts that had resulted in salts entering the structure behind the bas-relief, discoloring and damaging the sculpted surfaces. The main phase of work ended in 2012, and the final component will be the installation of finials on the roof of the gallery in 2013. Microbial biofilms have been found degrading sandstone at Angkor Wat, Preah Khan, and the Bayon and West Prasat in Angkor. The dehydration and radiation resistant filamentous cyanobacteria can produce organic acids that degrade the stone. A dark filamentous fungus was found in internal and external Preah Khan samples, while the alga Trentepohlia was found only in samples taken from external, pink-stained stone at Preah Khan. Angkor Wat has become a major tourist destination. In 2004 and 2005, government figures suggest that, respectively, 561.000 and 677.000 foreign visitors arrived in Siem Reap province, approximately 50% of all foreign tourists in Cambodia for both years. The site has been managed by the private SOKIMEX group since 1990, which rented it from the Cambodian government. The influx of tourists has so far caused relatively little damage, other than some graffiti; ropes and wooden steps have been introduced to protect the bas-reliefs and floors, respectively. Tourism has also provided some additional funds for maintenance - as of 2000 approximately 28% of ticket revenues across the whole Angkor site was spent on the temples - although most work is carried out by foreign government-sponsored teams rather than by the Cambodian authorities. Since Angkor Wat has seen significant growth in tourism throughout the years UNESCO and its International Co-ordinating Committee for the Safeguarding and Development of the Historic Site of Angkor (ICC), in association with representatives from the Royal Government and APSARA, organized seminars to discuss the concept of "cultural tourism". Wanting to avoid commercial and mass tourism, the seminars emphasized the importance of providing high quality accommodation and services in order for the Cambodian government to benefit economically, while also incorporating the richness of Cambodian culture. In 2001, this incentive resulted in the concept of the "Angkor Tourist City" which would be developed with regard to traditional Khmer architecture, contain leisure and tourist facilities, and provide luxurious hotels capable of accommodating large amounts of tourists. The prospect of developing such large tourist accommodations has encountered concerns from both APSARA and the ICC, claiming that previous tourism developments in the area have neglected construction regulations and more of these projects have the potential to damage landscape features. Also, the large scale of these projects have begun to threaten the quality of the nearby town's water, sewage, and electricity systems. It has been noted that such high frequency of tourism and growing demand for quality accommodations in the area, such as the development of a large highway, has had a direct effect on the underground water table, subsequently straining the structural stability of the temples at Angkor Wat. Locals of Siem Reap have also voiced concern over the charming nature and atmosphere of their town being compromised in order to entertain tourism. Since this charming local atmosphere is the key component to projects like Angkor Tourist City, local officials continue to discuss how to successfully incorporate future tourism without sacrificing local values and culture. At the ASEAN Tourism Forum 2012, both parties have agreed Borobudur and Angkor Wat to become sister sites and the provinces will become sister provinces. Two Indonesian airlines are considering the opportunity to open a direct flight from Yogyakarta, Indonesia to Siem Reap.

WIKIPEDIA

Dendera Temple complex, (Ancient Egyptian: Iunet or Tantere)(19th century English spelling in most sources, including Belzoni was Tentyra). located about 2.5 km south-east of Dendera, Egypt. It is one of the best-preserved temple complexes in Egypt. The area was used as the sixth Nome of Upper Egypt, south of Abydos.

NASA's 9th Annual Robotic Mining Competition concludes with an awards ceremony May 18, 2018, at the Apollo/Saturn V Center at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex in Florida. The team from North Dakota State University in collaboration with James Madison University received the IEEE Judges' Innovation Award for the most innovative design of a mining robot. At left is retired NASA astronaut Jerry Ross. At right is Michael Johansen, mining judge. More than 40 student teams from colleges and universities around the U.S. participated in the competition, May 14-18, by using their mining robots to dig in a supersized sandbox filled with BP-1, or simulated lunar soil, gravel and rocks, and participate in other competition requirements. The Robotic Mining Competition is a NASA Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate project designed to encourage students in science, technology, engineering and math, or STEM fields. The project provides a competitive environment to foster innovative ideas and solutions that could be used on NASA's deep space missions. Photo credit: NASA/Wayne Saxer

NASA image use policy.

south american games

The entrance to Chinatown Complex Market and Food Centre decorated for the Chinese New Year Festival.

Leaders from U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Europe District, U.S. Army Garrison Bavaria; Family and Morale, Welfare and Recreation; the Bavarian state ministry and Installation Management Command-Europe cut the ribbon on the new Outdoor Recreation Complex at Grafenwoehr Training Area, Germany, during a grand opening ceremony Sept. 24. Known as the Wild B.O.A.R., which stands for Bavaria Outdoor Adventure & Recreation, the $11.6 million facility boasts a bevy of services, amenities and attractions. They include a high-ropes team adventure course, indoor rock-climbing hall, lodges, campsites, a playground, sports facilities and boat dock on Dickhaeuter Lake. The main center consists of a reception area, snack bar and multipurpose room that can be rented for receptions, parties and other functions. Construction began in May 2011. The project was managed by Europe District’s Grafenwoehr Resident Office, which incorporated numerous sustainable design and energy-saving features to increase the complex’s life span. (U.S. Army Corps of Engineers photo by Vince Little)

The frigate complex in Devonport Dockyard, Plymouth

Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark returns ball to Kim Clijsters of Belgium in the singles final on day six of the WTA Championship held at the Khalifa Tennis Complex on October 31, 2010 in Doha, Qatar.

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Horse stalls inside a Traditional Post & Beam wood barn

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Another visual: The thought behind this is if the 4 stars twisted in the same direction it would force squashes in the four areas adding more shapes. But I haven't got around to it. As I've just completed the 1st draft of a long test fold model. PS look at next recent post!

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. . . 3. 3. 2007 - this is the second day of a funeral ceremony in Bori for a High Class Woman. She died on 18. 1. 2007 at the age of 85 years. The ceremony will last for one week.

If you wonder why the quality of the pictures is a little less: these are no photographs - it all are snapshots of my videos! So sorry for the less resolution, but I think, they are worth to be shown.

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The Toraja are an ethnic group indigenous to a mountainous region of South Sulawesi, Indonesia. Their population is approximately 1,100,000, of whom 450,000 live in the regency of Tana Toraja ("Land of Toraja"). Most of the population is Christian, and others are Muslim or have local animist beliefs known as aluk ("the way"). The Indonesian government has recognized this animist belief as Aluk To Dolo ("Way of the Ancestors").

The word toraja comes from the Bugis Buginese language term to riaja, meaning "people of the uplands". The Dutch colonial government named the people Toraja in 1909. Torajans are renowned for their elaborate funeral rites, burial sites carved into rocky cliffs, massive peaked-roof traditional houses known as tongkonan, and colorful wood carvings. Toraja funeral rites are important social events, usually attended by hundreds of people and lasting for several days.

Before the 20th century, Torajans lived in autonomous villages, where they practised animism and were relatively untouched by the outside world. In the early 1900s, Dutch missionaries first worked to convert Torajan highlanders to Christianity. When the Tana Toraja regency was further opened to the outside world in the 1970s, it became an icon of tourism in Indonesia: it was exploited by tourism developers and studied by anthropologists. By the 1990s, when tourism peaked, Toraja society had changed significantly, from an agrarian model - in which social life and customs were outgrowths of the Aluk To Dolo - to a largely Christian society. Today, tourism and remittances from migrant Torajans have made for major changes in the Toraja highland, giving the Toraja a celebrity status within Indonesia and enhancing Toraja ethnic group pride.

ETHNIC IDENTITY

The Torajan people had little notion of themselves as a distinct ethnic group before the 20th century. Before Dutch colonization and Christianization, Torajans, who lived in highland areas, identified with their villages and did not share a broad sense of identity. Although complexes of rituals created linkages between highland villages, there were variations in dialects, differences in social hierarchies, and an array of ritual practices in the Sulawesi highland region. "Toraja" (from the coastal languages' to, meaning people; and riaja, uplands) was first used as a lowlander expression for highlanders. As a result, "Toraja" initially had more currency with outsiders - such as the Bugis and Makassarese, who constitute a majority of the lowland of Sulawesi - than with insiders. The Dutch missionaries' presence in the highlands gave rise to the Toraja ethnic consciousness in the Sa'dan Toraja region, and this shared identity grew with the rise of tourism in the Tana Toraja Regency. Since then, South Sulawesi has four main ethnic groups - the Bugis (the majority, including shipbuilders and seafarers), the Makassarese (lowland traders and seafarers), the Mandarese (traders and fishermen), and the Toraja (highland rice cultivators).

HISTORY

From the 17th century, the Dutch established trade and political control on Sulawesi through the Dutch East Indies Company. Over two centuries, they ignored the mountainous area in the central Sulawesi, where Torajans lived, because access was difficult and it had little productive agricultural land. In the late 19th century, the Dutch became increasingly concerned about the spread of Islam in the south of Sulawesi, especially among the Makassarese and Bugis peoples. The Dutch saw the animist highlanders as potential Christians. In the 1920s, the Reformed Missionary Alliance of the Dutch Reformed Church began missionary work aided by the Dutch colonial government. In addition to introducing Christianity, the Dutch abolished slavery and imposed local taxes. A line was drawn around the Sa'dan area and called Tana Toraja ("the land of Toraja"). Tana Toraja was first a subdivision of the Luwu kingdom that had claimed the area. In 1946, the Dutch granted Tana Toraja a regentschap, and it was recognized in 1957 as one of the regencies of Indonesia.

Early Dutch missionaries faced strong opposition among Torajans, especially among the elite, because the abolition of their profitable slave trade had angered them. Some Torajans were forcibly relocated to the lowlands by the Dutch, where they could be more easily controlled. Taxes were kept high, undermining the wealth of the elites. Ultimately, the Dutch influence did not subdue Torajan culture, and only a few Torajans were converted. In 1950, only 10% of the population had converted to Christianity.

In the 1930s, Muslim lowlanders attacked the Torajans, resulting in widespread Christian conversion among those who sought to align themselves with the Dutch for political protection and to form a movement against the Bugis and Makassarese Muslims. Between 1951 and 1965 (following Indonesian independence), southern Sulawesi faced a turbulent period as the Darul Islam separatist movement fought for an Islamic state in Sulawesi. The 15 years of guerrilla warfare led to massive conversions to

CHRISTIANITY

Alignment with the Indonesian government, however, did not guarantee safety for the Torajans. In 1965, a presidential decree required every Indonesian citizen to belong to one of five officially recognized religions: Islam, Christianity (Protestantism and Catholicism), Hinduism, or Buddhism. The Torajan religious belief (aluk) was not legally recognized, and the Torajans raised their voices against the law. To make aluk accord with the law, it had to be accepted as part of one of the official religions. In 1969, Aluk To Dolo ("the way of ancestors") was legalized as a sect of Agama Hindu Dharma, the official name of Hinduism in Indonesia.

SOCIETY

There are three main types of affiliation in Toraja society: family, class and religion.

FAMILY AFFILIATION

Family is the primary social and political grouping in Torajan society. Each village is one extended family, the seat of which is the tongkonan, a traditional Torajan house. Each tongkonan has a name, which becomes the name of the village. The familial dons maintain village unity. Marriage between distant cousins (fourth cousins and beyond) is a common practice that strengthens kinship. Toraja society prohibits marriage between close cousins (up to and including the third cousin) - except for nobles, to prevent the dispersal of property. Kinship is actively reciprocal, meaning that the extended family helps each other farm, share buffalo rituals, and pay off debts.

Each person belongs to both the mother's and the father's families, the only bilateral family line in Indonesia. Children, therefore, inherit household affiliation from both mother and father, including land and even family debts. Children's names are given on the basis of kinship, and are usually chosen after dead relatives. Names of aunts, uncles and cousins are commonly referred to in the names of mothers, fathers and siblings.

Before the start of the formal administration of Toraja villages by the Tana Toraja Regency, each Toraja village was autonomous. In a more complex situation, in which one Toraja family could not handle their problems alone, several villages formed a group; sometimes, villages would unite against other villages. Relationship between families was expressed through blood, marriage, and shared ancestral houses (tongkonan), practically signed by the exchange of water buffalo and pigs on ritual occasions. Such exchanges not only built political and cultural ties between families but defined each person's place in a social hierarchy: who poured palm wine, who wrapped a corpse and prepared offerings, where each person could or could not sit, what dishes should be used or avoided, and even what piece of meat constituted one's share.

CLASS AFFILIATION

In early Toraja society, family relationships were tied closely to social class. There were three strata: nobles, commoners, and slaves (slavery was abolished in 1909 by the Dutch East Indies government). Class was inherited through the mother. It was taboo, therefore, to marry "down" with a woman of lower class. On the other hand, marrying a woman of higher class could improve the status of the next generation. The nobility's condescending attitude toward the commoners is still maintained today for reasons of family prestige.

Nobles, who were believed to be direct descendants of the descended person from heaven, lived in tongkonans, while commoners lived in less lavish houses (bamboo shacks called banua). Slaves lived in small huts, which had to be built around their owner's tongkonan. Commoners might marry anyone, but nobles preferred to marry in-family to maintain their status. Sometimes nobles married Bugis or Makassarese nobles. Commoners and slaves were prohibited from having death feasts. Despite close kinship and status inheritance, there was some social mobility, as marriage or change in wealth could affect an individuals status. Wealth was counted by the ownership of water buffaloes.

Slaves in Toraja society were family property. Sometimes Torajans decided to become slaves when they incurred a debt, pledging to work as payment. Slaves could be taken during wars, and slave trading was common. Slaves could buy their freedom, but their children still inherited slave status. Slaves were prohibited from wearing bronze or gold, carving their houses, eating from the same dishes as their owners, or having sex with free women - a crime punishable by death.

RELIGIOUS AFFILIATION

Toraja's indigenous belief system is polytheistic animism, called aluk, or "the way" (sometimes translated as "the law"). In the Toraja myth, the ancestors of Torajan people came down from heaven using stairs, which were then used by the Torajans as a communication medium with Puang Matua, the Creator. The cosmos, according to aluk, is divided into the upper world (heaven), the world of man (earth), and the underworld. At first, heaven and earth were married, then there was a darkness, a separation, and finally the light. Animals live in the underworld, which is represented by rectangular space enclosed by pillars, the earth is for mankind, and the heaven world is located above, covered with a saddle-shaped roof. Other Toraja gods include Pong Banggai di Rante (god of Earth), Indo' Ongon-Ongon (a goddess who can cause earthquakes), Pong Lalondong (god of death), and Indo' Belo Tumbang (goddess of medicine); there are many more.

The earthly authority, whose words and actions should be cleaved to both in life (agriculture) and death (funerals), is called to minaa (an aluk priest). Aluk is not just a belief system; it is a combination of law, religion, and habit. Aluk governs social life, agricultural practices, and ancestral rituals. The details of aluk may vary from one village to another. One common law is the requirement that death and life rituals be separated. Torajans believe that performing death rituals might ruin their corpses if combined with life rituals. The two rituals are equally important. During the time of the Dutch missionaries, Christian Torajans were prohibited from attending or performing life rituals, but were allowed to perform death rituals. Consequently, Toraja's death rituals are still practised today, while life rituals have diminished.

CULTURE

TONGKONAN

Tongkonan are the traditional Torajan ancestral houses. They stand high on wooden piles, topped with a layered split-bamboo roof shaped in a sweeping curved arc, and they are incised with red, black, and yellow detailed wood carvings on the exterior walls. The word "tongkonan" comes from the Torajan tongkon ("to sit").

Tongkonan are the center of Torajan social life. The rituals associated with the tongkonan are important expressions of Torajan spiritual life, and therefore all family members are impelled to participate, because symbolically the tongkonan represents links to their ancestors and to living and future kin. According to Torajan myth, the first tongkonan was built in heaven on four poles, with a roof made of Indian cloth. When the first Torajan ancestor descended to earth, he imitated the house and held a large ceremony.

The construction of a tongkonan is laborious work and is usually done with the help of the extended family. There are three types of tongkonan. The tongkonan layuk is the house of the highest authority, used as the "center of government". The tongkonan pekamberan belongs to the family members who have some authority in local traditions. Ordinary family members reside in the tongkonan batu. The exclusivity to the nobility of the tongkonan is diminishing as many Torajan commoners find lucrative employment in other parts of Indonesia. As they send back money to their families, they enable the construction of larger tongkonan.

WOOD CARVINGS

To express social and religious concepts, Torajans carve wood, calling it Pa'ssura (or "the writing"). Wood carvings are therefore Toraja's cultural manifestation.

Each carving receives a special name, and common motifs are animals and plants that symbolize some virtue. For example, water plants and animals, such as crabs, tadpoles and water weeds, are commonly found to symbolize fertility. In some areas noble elders claim these symbols refer to strength of noble family, but not everyone agrees. The overall meaning of groups of carved motifs on houses remains debated and tourism has further complicated these debates because some feel a uniform explanation must be presented to tourists. The image to the left shows an example of Torajan wood carving, consisting of 15 square panels. The center bottom panel represents buffalo or wealth, a wish for many buffaloes for the family. The center panel represents a knot and a box, a hope that all of the family's offspring will be happy and live in harmony, like goods kept safe in a box. The top left and top right squares represent an aquatic animal, indicating the need for fast and hard work, just like moving on the surface of water. It also represents the need for a certain skill to produce good results.

Regularity and order are common features in Toraja wood carving (see table below), as well as abstracts and geometrical designs. Nature is frequently used as the basis of Toraja's ornaments, because nature is full of abstractions and geometries with regularities and ordering. Toraja's ornaments have been studied in ethnomathematics to reveal their mathematical structure, but Torajans base this art only on approximations. To create an ornament, bamboo sticks are used as a geometrical tool.

FUNERAL RITES

In Toraja society, the funeral ritual is the most elaborate and expensive event. The richer and more powerful the individual, the more expensive is the funeral. In the aluk religion, only nobles have the right to have an extensive death feast. The death feast of a nobleman is usually attended by thousands and lasts for several days. A ceremonial site, called rante, is usually prepared in a large, grassy field where shelters for audiences, rice barns, and other ceremonial funeral structures are specially made by the deceased family. Flute music, funeral chants, songs and poems, and crying and wailing are traditional Toraja expressions of grief with the exceptions of funerals for young children, and poor, low-status adults.

The ceremony is often held weeks, months, or years after the death so that the deceased's family can raise the significant funds needed to cover funeral expenses. Torajans traditionally believe that death is not a sudden, abrupt event, but a gradual process toward Puya (the land of souls, or afterlife). During the waiting period, the body of the deceased is wrapped in several layers of cloth and kept under the tongkonan. The soul of the deceased is thought to linger around the village until the funeral ceremony is completed, after which it begins its journey to Puya.

Another component of the ritual is the slaughter of water buffalo. The more powerful the person who died, the more buffalo are slaughtered at the death feast. Buffalo carcasses, including their heads, are usually lined up on a field waiting for their owner, who is in the "sleeping stage". Torajans believe that the deceased will need the buffalo to make the journey and that they will be quicker to arrive at Puya if they have many buffalo. Slaughtering tens of water buffalo and hundreds of pigs using a machete is the climax of the elaborate death feast, with dancing and music and young boys who catch spurting blood in long bamboo tubes. Some of the slaughtered animals are given by guests as "gifts", which are carefully noted because they will be considered debts of the deceased's family. However, a cockfight, known as bulangan londong, is an integral part of the ceremony. As with the sacrifice of the buffalo and the pigs, the cockfight is considered sacred because it involves the spilling of blood on the earth. In particular, the tradition requires the sacrifice of at least three chickens. However, it is common for at least 25 pairs of chickens to be set against each other in the context of the ceremony.

There are three methods of burial: the coffin may be laid in a cave or in a carved stone grave, or hung on a cliff. It contains any possessions that the deceased will need in the afterlife. The wealthy are often buried in a stone grave carved out of a rocky cliff. The grave is usually expensive and takes a few months to complete. In some areas, a stone cave may be found that is large enough to accommodate a whole family. A wood-carved effigy, called Tau tau, is usually placed in the cave looking out over the land. The coffin of a baby or child may be hung from ropes on a cliff face or from a tree. This hanging grave usually lasts for years, until the ropes rot and the coffin falls to the ground.

In the ritual called Ma'Nene, that takes place each year in August, the bodies of the deceased are exhumed to be washed, groomed and dressed in new clothes. The mummies are then walked around the village.

DANCE AND MUSIC

Torajans perform dances on several occasions, most often during their elaborate funeral ceremonies. They dance to express their grief, and to honour and even cheer the deceased person because he is going to have a long journey in the afterlife. First, a group of men form a circle and sing a monotonous chant throughout the night to honour the deceased (a ritual called Ma'badong). This is considered by many Torajans to be the most important component of the funeral ceremony. On the second funeral day, the Ma'randing warrior dance is performed to praise the courage of the deceased during life. Several men perform the dance with a sword, a large shield made from buffalo skin, a helmet with a buffalo horn, and other ornamentation. The Ma'randing dance precedes a procession in which the deceased is carried from a rice barn to the rante, the site of the funeral ceremony. During the funeral, elder women perform the Ma'katia dance while singing a poetic song and wearing a long feathered costume. The Ma'akatia dance is performed to remind the audience of the generosity and loyalty of the deceased person. After the bloody ceremony of buffalo and pig slaughter, a group of boys and girls clap their hands while performing a cheerful dance called Ma'dondan.

As in other agricultural societies, Torajans dance and sing during harvest time. The Ma'bugi dance celebrates the thanksgiving event, and the Ma'gandangi dance is performed while Torajans are pounding rice. There are several war dances, such as the Manimbong dance performed by men, followed by the Ma'dandan dance performed by women. The aluk religion governs when and how Torajans dance. A dance called Ma'bua can be performed only once every 12 years. Ma'bua is a major Toraja ceremony in which priests wear a buffalo head and dance around a sacred tree.

A traditional musical instrument of the Toraja is a bamboo flute called a Pa'suling (suling is an Indonesian word for flute). This six-holed flute (not unique to the Toraja) is played at many dances, such as the thanksgiving dance Ma'bondensan, where the flute accompanies a group of shirtless, dancing men with long fingernails. The Toraja have indigenous musical instruments, such as the Pa'pelle (made from palm leaves) and the Pa'karombi (the Torajan version of a jaw harp). The Pa'pelle is played during harvest time and at house inauguration ceremonies.

LANGUAGE

The ethnic Toraja language is dominant in Tana Toraja with the main language as the Sa'dan Toraja. Although the national Indonesian language is the official language and is spoken in the community, all elementary schools in Tana Toraja teach Toraja language.Language varieties of Toraja, including Kalumpang, Mamasa, Tae' , Talondo' , Toala' , and Toraja-Sa'dan, belong to the Malayo-Polynesian language from the Austronesian family. At the outset, the isolated geographical nature of Tana Toraja formed many dialects between the Toraja languages themselves. After the formal administration of Tana Toraja, some Toraja dialects have been influenced by other languages through the transmigration program, introduced since the colonialism period, and it has been a major factor in the linguistic variety of Toraja languages. A prominent attribute of Toraja language is the notion of grief. The importance of death ceremony in Toraja culture has characterized their languages to express intricate degrees of grief and mourning. The Toraja language contains many terms referring to sadness, longing, depression, and mental pain. Giving a clear expression of the psychological and physical effect of loss is a catharsis and sometimes lessens the pain of grief itself.

ECONOMY

Prior to Suharto's "New Order" administration, the Torajan economy was based on agriculture, with cultivated wet rice in terraced fields on mountain slopes, and supplemental cassava and maize crops. Much time and energy were devoted to raising water buffalo, pigs, and chickens, primarily for ceremonial sacrifices and consumption. Coffee was the first significant cash crop produced in Toraja, and was introduced in the mid 19th century, changing the local economy towards commodity production for external markets and gaining an excellent reputation for quality in the international market .

With the commencement of the New Order in 1965, Indonesia's economy developed and opened to foreign investment. In Toraja, a coffee plantation and factory was established by Key Coffee of Japan, and Torajan coffee regained a reputation for quality within the growing international specialty coffee sector Multinational oil and mining companies opened new operations in Indonesia during the 1970s and 1980s. Torajans, particularly younger ones, relocated to work for the foreign companies - to Kalimantan for timber and oil, to Papua for mining, to the cities of Sulawesi and Java, and many went to Malaysia. The out-migration of Torajans was steady until 1985. and has continued since, with remittances sent back by emigre Torajans performing an important role within the contemporary economy.

Tourism commenced in Toraja in the 1970s, and accelerated in the 1980s and 1990s. Between 1984 and 1997, a significant number of Torajans obtained their incomes from tourism, working in and owning hotels, as tour guides, drivers, or selling souvenirs. With the rise of political and economic instability in Indonesia in the late 1990s - including religious conflicts elsewhere on Sulawesi - tourism in Tana Toraja has declined dramatically. Toraja continues to be a well known origin for Indonesian coffee, grown by both smallholders and plantation estates, although migration, remittances and off-farm income is considered far more important to most households, even those in rural areas.

TOURISM AND CULTURAL CHANGE

Before the 1970s, Toraja was almost unknown to Western tourism. In 1971, about 50 Europeans visited Tana Toraja. In 1972, at least 400 visitors attended the funeral ritual of Puang of Sangalla, the highest-ranking nobleman in Tana Toraja and the so-called "last pure-blooded Toraja noble." The event was documented by National Geographic and broadcast in several European countries. In 1976, about 12,000 tourists visited the regency and in 1981, Torajan sculpture was exhibited in major North American museums. "The land of the heavenly kings of Tana Toraja", as written in the exhibition brochure, embraced the outside world.

In 1984, the Indonesian Ministry of Tourism declared Tana Toraja Regency the prima donna of South Sulawesi. Tana Toraja was heralded as "the second stop after Bali". Tourism was increasing dramatically: by 1985, a total number of 150,000 foreigners had visited the Regency (in addition to 80,000 domestic tourists), and the annual number of foreign visitors was recorded at 40,000 in 1989. Souvenir stands appeared in Rantepao, the cultural center of Toraja, roads were sealed at the most-visited tourist sites, new hotels and tourist-oriented restaurants were opened, and an airstrip was opened in the Regency in 1981.

Tourism developers have marketed Tana Toraja as an exotic adventure - an area rich in culture and off the beaten track. Western tourists expected to see stone-age villages and pagan funerals. Toraja is for tourists who have gone as far as Bali and are willing to see more of the wild, "untouched" islands. However, they were more likely to see a Torajan wearing a hat and denim, living in a Christian society. Tourists felt that the tongkonan and other Torajan rituals had been preconceived to make profits, and complained that the destination was too commercialized. This has resulted in several clashes between Torajans and tourism developers, whom Torajans see as outsiders.

A clash between local Torajan leaders and the South Sulawesi provincial government (as a tourist developer) broke out in 1985. The government designated 18 Toraja villages and burial sites as traditional tourist attractions. Consequently, zoning restrictions were applied to these areas, such that Torajans themselves were barred from changing their tongkonans and burial sites. The plan was opposed by some Torajan leaders, as they felt that their rituals and traditions were being determined by outsiders. As a result, in 1987, the Torajan village of Kété Kesú and several other designated tourist attractions closed their doors to tourists. This closure lasted only a few days, as the villagers found it too difficult to survive without the income from selling souvenirs.

Tourism has also transformed Toraja society. Originally, there was a ritual which allowed commoners to marry nobles (puang) and thereby gain nobility for their children. However, the image of Torajan society created for the tourists, often by "lower-ranking" guides, has eroded its traditional strict hierarchy. High status is not as esteemed in Tana Toraja as it once was. Many low-ranking men can declare themselves and their children nobles by gaining enough wealth through work outside the region and then marrying a noble woman.

WIKIPEDIA

Central Government Complex, Tamar is the new location for the offices of the Government of Hong Kong Special Administrative Region.

The new government building uses neither Chinese nor European government building designs, but instead it is a mix of postmodern architecture and low-frills international design.

Located at the Tamar site, the complex houses the Office of the Chief Executive of Hong Kong, the Legislative Council of Hong Kong and the Central Government Offices.

GMP - Greater Manchester Police - Vauxhall Corsa - MX09 BHU - RTC Damaged - Openshaw Workshops Complex - Saturday the 3rd of September 2011. DSCF5329

The Owyhee Complex Gather began on September 21, 2018. Horses in temporary holding.

The cathedral complex of Astorga encompasses three outstanding areas of service to the community: worship (the Cathedral), culture (the archives and museum) and charitable work (the Hospital of St John).

Cathedral is the name given to a church where the Bishop, in succession to the Apostles, holds the permanent and visible seat of his authority. The episcopal see guides the Christian community of the particular Church in communion with the Pope.

The Cathedral of Astorga bears the title "Apostolic" because of the antiquity of the diocese. This title is first found in a synodal letter of St Cyprien, Bishop of Carthage, in the 3rd century, which presumes a much earlier foundation. Father Florez, in his book "Sacred Spain", writes that "its origin is very close to the preaching of the Apostles".

The construction of the present Gothic Cathedral commenced on August 16th, 1471 as an extension to the east end of the earlier Romanesque church (11th to 13th century). This work, based on the same ground plan, lasted from the 15th to the 18th century. It presents us with a harmonious synthesis of styles: flamboyant Gothic and Renaissance, Baroque and neo- Classical; it reflects centuries of history and life, culture and art, tradition and faith.

Certain masterpieces stand out:

- The main altarpiece by Gaspar Becerra (1558-1584), painted by Gaspar de Hoyos and Gaspar de Palencia (1570-1575) which represents the peak of the Spanish Mannerist Renaissance. It is an example of Spanish fine art, a Marian theological, christological and ecclesial synthesis.

- The image of Our Lady of Majesty (12th c.), Byzantine-Romanesque style.

- Renaissance Gothic choir stalls (16th c.), with 97 walnut seats.

- Hispano - Flemish altarpiece of the Passion (1530)

- The organ in its very fine baroque case (18th c.)

- Gregorio Fernandez's "Purification" (1626)

- Mateo de Prado's, escultura: "St John the Baptist" (17th c.) and Lucas Gutiérrez's escultura: "St Jerome" (17th c.)

The main door depicts biblical scenes and has rounded columns of the Leonese Baroque period by Pablo Antonio Ruiz.

The golden gable end between green and pink twin towers, a monumental neo-classical sacristy and cloister, the enigmatic and popular depiction of Pedro Mato (1798) are also important features.

Pillars, wrought iron work and allegorical figures from the 19th century complete the porch.

Palace Gardens under Prague Castle (Palácové zahrady pod Pražským hradem)

This complex of interconnected historical gardens (Ledeburg, Small and Large Palffy, Kolovrat and Small Fürstenberg Garden) is situated on the southern slopes below Prague Castle. All of these palatial terrace gardens have a rich architectural decoration, decorative staircases, balustrades, scenic terraces, garden-houses and pavilions carefully integrated into the vegetation to create a picturesque whole. Concerts and social events are often held here.

The Southern slopes under the Prague Castle premises above Valdštejnská Street are the location of terrace Baroque gardens established in place of vineyards or Renaissance gardens by the spectacular noble palaces. In the direction from the square Valdštejnské náměstí towards Klárov, there are the following gardens: Ledeburg Garden, Lesser and Greater Pálffy Gardens, Kolowrat Garden, Lesser and Greater Fürstenberg Gardens. All the gardens have been restored and newly replanted. The Langweil’s model of Prague from 1826 - 1836 (today situated in the Museum of the Capital City of Prague) served as a very good model for the restoration of the gardens, as it documented their appearance most completely. All the palace terrace gardens have rich architectural decorations, decorative staircases, balustrades, observation terraces, gloriettes and pavilions composed into picturesque units together with the vegetation. During the summer seasons, they are opened for public in their representative state. Concerts and different social events are held in these gardens.

Ledeburg Garden

is located behind the Ledeburg Palace, house No. 162, and spreads on 0.18 hectares, 205 - 230 m high above sea level. It is also called the Trautmannsdorf Garden, after its founders, Marie and Leopold Trautmannsdorf. The garden was established in 1697 during a reconstruction of the palace carried out by Giovanni Santini Aichl or Giovanni Battista Alliprandi. In 1787 it was acquired by the Kolowrats, and it was modified in Baroque style by Ignác Jan Palliardi.

The garden is divided into two parts. The lower part is situated on a plane, spreading as wide as the palace, and the upper part has half the width and the slant terrain has been modified into five terraces, permeated via an extended steep staircase, terminated via a small octagonal pavilion - a gloriette, built in 1787 at the time of Josef Kolowrat. There is a sala terrena in the lower, parterre part of the garden at the Western front, which used to be decorated by wall paintings. Today, the sala terrena serves the purposes of a concert venue. On the opposite Eastern side, there is a scenery wall with a double staircase and a fountain with a statue of Hercules fighting a several-headed hydra (probably a copy of the original sculpture from the first quarter of the 18th century). There is another fountain in the central part of the green parterre area. The garden is decorated with a female act named Fertility (Plodnost) by Jan Štursa from 1920. There is a supporting wall between the lower parterre and the terraced part, which was originally decorated with Reiner’s fresco. One sundial has been preserved in the garden. By the supporting walls, there are wooden brackets with grapevine and climbing roses, and further on, there are cut evergreen hems, summer annual flowers, as well as plants in terracotta pots.

In the 1950s, there was a complete reconstruction of the garden according to a project of V. Kříž. From 1977 on, the garden was closed for emergency reasons. The last reconstruction was initiated in 1989. Over the years, several professionals participated in the project documentation regarding the garden’s rehabilitation. Their preparation resulted in a project of architect Karel Císař and his team, and the team of a garden architect Květoslav Vlček. Upon the completion of the constructional, technical, restoring and silvicultural works, the garden was festively opened for public in full glory on the 14th June 1995.

Lesser and Greater Pálffy Gardens

Both the terrace gardens of Baroque origin above the Pálffy Palace in Valdštejnská Street No. 158 were established in place of a Renaissance garden of Italian type after Jan Josef of Valdštejn united and re-built two burgess houses with gardens into a palace in 1712 - 1720. After 1731, the property was owned by the Fürstenbergs. The terrace gardens were established in 1751 by Marie Anna of Fürstenberg; we do not know the authors of the project. In 1881, the palace and the gardens were purchased by Eduard Pálffy of Erdöd, hence the name of the gardens. Both the gardens underwent significant reconstruction in the 1950s, but later they had to be modified and relieved of some unsuitable elements.

Lesser Pálffy Garden (0.07 ha) rises up above the former service wing of the palace. It was extensively rehabilitated in the years 1988 - 95 according to the project of architect Josef Lešetický and ing. Václav Pína. Agricultural restoration was realized by ing. Božena Mackovičová. Seven terrace levels of the garden are interconnected via a staircase. At the level of the lowest and the highest terraces, there is an interconnection with the neighbouring gardens - Ledeburg and Greater Pálffy Gardens. The garden has a utility character; the terraces are planted with pear-trees, apple-trees and sour cherry-trees. Grapevine climbs upon the upper supporting wall. Behind the steep staircase in the upper part, there is a small garden with medicinal plants. The Lesser Pálffy Garden was festively opened together with the Ledeburg Garden on the 14th June 1995.

Greater Pálffy Garden spreads in 8 height levels, interconnected in an axis of staircases, alternatively tunnelled and open. In the middle of the lowest terrace, there is a Baroque portal with round pool decorated with a statue of a blowing Triton. On the second terrace, there is a sundial within a Baroque portal. Underneath the clock, there is an inscription on a band: Claret in orbe dies, ac teatras, hora pete umbras - let a clear day in the world scare the gloomy shadows away. Red letters of the inscription, read as Roman numerals, give the year 1751.

There used to be a skittle alley in the garden. As Josef Dobrovský or František Palacký mention, it was a popular place for walks. In place of the original connection with the premises of Prague Castle, there is an oval marble desk, which reads that rehabilitation of the palace gardens was realized with a contribution of the Prague Heritage Fund, under the patronage of President Václav Havel and His Royal Highness Prince Charles. It was in the years 1995 - 1997 according to a project of Václav Girsa and Miloslav Hanzl; the garden modifications were carried out by Irena Bartošová. Greater Pálffy garden was festively opened on the 9th September 1997, and it was added to the observation round of the Ledeburg and the Lesser Pálffy Gardens.

Kolowrat Garden spreads on a steep hill behind the Kolowrat Palace No. 154 on an area of 0.07 hectares. It was established on the bailey of the former medieval ramparts, strengthened by supporting walls, as a terrace with fruit trees. The axis is formed by a narrow, straight staircase connecting seven terraces. In the Eastern part, there is a Baroque fountain with a gargoyle head. The garden is planted with medlars, pear-trees and apricot-trees. The garden was opened for public on the 30th August 2000, following rehabilitation according to projects of architect Václav Jirsa and Miloslav Hanzl, and silvicultural arrangements realized by architect Irena Bartošová.

Lesser Fürstenberg Garden (also the Lesser Černín Garden or the Černín Terraces) used to be a part of the lesser Fürstenberg, former Černín House, No. 155. In the mid-18th century, there used to be a Baroque terrace garden of an Italian type. When it became the property of countess Marie Barbora of Černín, born Schaffgotsche, the house went through an extensive reconstruction carried out by Ignác Jan Palliardi in the years 1784 - 88, which gave the house its current appearance, and at the same time, the architect rebuilt an older Baroque garden into an impressive Rococo terrace garden. It takes up a narrow, but long strip of the slope on the castle hill. The axis has a form of an formidable staircase leading from the gloriette to the observation pavilion, intersected by supporting walls, terraces and balustrades. The gloriette on the ground level, originally containing a bath as well, is painted with grisaille motives with a central genre painting named Swings in the nature (Houpačky v přírodě) and with allegoric paintings of four seasons in the year (perhaps by Ignác František Platzer). There are symmetrically spread orangeries on the second terrace. The staircase is terminated under the Castle’s enclosure wall by a three-piece sala terrena, an observation terrace with a loggia and with plastic stucco articulation, the front of which contains the coats of arms of the Černín and the Schaffgotsch Families. The balustrade is decorated with putti and decorative vases. The staircase leads from here to the observation pavilion with a cylindrical tower, in which Countess of Černín had her bathroom. The last landing of the staircase by the tower allows for access into the Prague Castle Southern Gardens. The garden is characteristic for its climbing roses.

Despite the relatively small extent of the garden, the combination of architectural, sculptural and painting elements with the vegetation on the terraces and the exotic plants in the orangeries provides the best possible effectiveness for the visitors. It is specifically the location under the Castle with a unique view of the town what contributes to the garden’s excellence. In 1997 - 2000, the garden was completely rehabilitated according to the project of architect Václav Jirsa and Miloslav Hanzl, with the silvicultural modifications realized by architect Irena Bartošová. The garden has been accessible for public since the 30th August 2000.

Greater Fürstenberg Garden is situated by the Fürstenberg Palace (Palace of Berka of Dubá, Netolický Palace). It was established by an unknown architect in place of the former vineyards in the 1st half of the 18th century. It consists of two parts - lower plane and rear terraces, intersected via a staircase terminated by a triaxial summer house from the mid-18th century. Modifications were made in 1790 by I. G. Palliardi, and at this time, the fountain with Neptune was founded. In 1822, the garden together with the adjoining palace was purchased by the Fürstenberg Family, and around 1860 they had architect Josef Leibl transforming it into an English park. At the same time, the lower part of the garden was also arranged, in place of the former dumping place, and a fountain was installed here with a sculpture of a boy playing with a stork. The lower plane went through a reconstruction in the 20th century, which was related to the transformation for the Polish Embassy, and the modern modifications were rather of a maintenance character. The upper terraces dilapidated due to lack of care. It was only renewed during reconstruction in the years 2006 - 2008.

The garden spreads on the surface area of 1.55 hectares, it is 130 m wide and the overall height of the ten terraces from the bottom plane amounts to 35 m. It was planted with over 3,500 flowers, 8,500 woody plants, and 2,200 roses. The newly installed lighting allows for evening visits.

www.prague.eu/en/object/places/497/palace-gardens-under-p...

uritours.com/blog/entry/new-dprk-site-spotted-haedanghwa-...

Angkor Wat

Domplatz/Residenzstraße

New residence (Bamberg)

Cathedral Square with the cathedral , and New Age royal household residence

New residence, Vierzehnheiligen (Fourteen Saints) Pavilion

New residence on a model

The new residence is a more winged listed building on Cathedral Square in Upper Franconia Bamberg. It was the former home of Bamberg's prince-bishops. Today the complex consists of sandstone , the State Library and the National Gallery of Bamberg houses .

From the rose garden of the Neue Residenz one has a view to the St. Michael's Church and the rooftops of the citizens-town (Bürgerstadt).

History

The new residence was built with its four-bladed split in two construction phases.

First, from 1602 the two-leaf rear part was built in the Renaissance style and 1697-1703 under Prince-Bishop Lothar Franz von Schönborn the baroque front part under Prince-Bishop Johann Philipp von Gebsattel with the help of Leonhard Dietzenhofer. From 1803 on it was a royal residence .

History since 1803

On 1 June 1815 the residence of Bamberg was scene of one of the last episodes of the Napoleonic era : Louis- Alexandre Berthier, a marshal of Napoleon, found there by fall from an upper window his death. He chose to commit suicide because he did not want to fall into the hands of the approaching Russian army. A plaque in the center of the residence street commemorates the event .

The residence served for the abdicated Greek king pair Otto I and Amalie from 1862 to 1867 and in 1875 as exile.

Yet another time was the new residence for a short time the scene of the Bavarian history, as the elected government in 1919 under Prime Minister dodged Hoffmann and the parliament to Bamberg. The first Bavarian democratic constitution was adopted in the Mirror Hall of harmony on Schiller Square.

See also Munich Soviet Republic

Current usage

State Gallery, Department of German Painting

Showrooms

Rose Garden in May

There are over 40 state rooms, as the marble hall, the mirror room (each with stucco decorations of Antonio Bossi ) and the Imperial Hall. The Emperor's Hall is on the second floor of the middle section. It is fitted with wall and ceiling paintings by Melchior Steidl. Motives are medallions of Roman Emperors, the four ancient empires, a central ceiling representation of good regiment of Sciences ( represented by putti ) and about 16 life-size portraits of Emperors. The ceiling is constructed as a trompe l'oeil (French for deceive the eye).

State Library

The east wing of the new residence is the Bamberg State Library .

State Gallery

The State Gallery in the new residence is a branch gallery of the Bavarian State Painting Collections. Among the most famous paintings in the collection belongs Hans Baldung Grien's painting The Flood. [3]

Rose Garden

The rose garden between the wings of the residence is a resort for locals and visitors to the city. It granted an eastward view of the city landscape and the Jura mountains .

Before installation of the Rose Garden, there were in the 16th Century on the site a Renaissance garden, which was converted in 1733 by Prince- Bishop Friedrich Carl von Schönborn in a baroque garden. The design of the garden was transferred to the renowned architect Balthasar Neumann. By the architect Johann Jakob Michael Küchel the gazebo comes in the rococo style . The sculptures from the ancient mythology of the subject area (origin 1760 and 1761 ) come from Ferdinand Tietz.

On the area enclosed by beech hedges are flower beds where 4500 roses are blooming.

A Erinnerungsmal (commemorative plaque) for Otto I and his wife Amalie with an inscription in Greek and German language is in a blind arch of the wall.

de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neue_Residenz_(Bamberg)

From the August 2016 return trip to Siem Reap and the Angkor complex:

I love the Angkor complex, Siem Reap, and the Cambodian people so much that I returned again for about a week to photograph as much of the “non-major” sites as I could. Some of them are slightly far from Angkor Wat (by that, I mean to say more than 10 kilometers away), and usually require a little more money to get to. Also, some of the sites (Beng Mealea, Phnom Kulen) are not included in the Angkor ticket price and have an additional admission fee.

I don’t know if there’s a set number of how many sites belong in the Angkor complex, though I’m sure it would vary. (Do you only count the major sites like Angkor Wat, Bayon, Ta Prohm? Do you add the sites that aren’t included in the standard “Angkor Pass,” but are clearly of the same era? Do you include sites that aren’t even named (as are one of the sites in this series)? All in all, I’ll put a very rough number at…50 sites in the Siem Reap area, and that includes the sites that are about 100 km away. Of those, I would say I’ve been to all but 5-10 now. All are included here with the exception, obviously, of the sites that I didn’t visit. (Off the top of my head, I can say they include Koh Ker & that respective group, which is about 120 km ENE of Siem Reap; Phnom Krom, one of the three “mountains” with temples; Ta Prohm Kel; and Mangalartha.)

In practical terms, I’m afraid that with the volume of shooting (about 1,500 frames in the past 7 days), photos will start to look redundant to those who don’t have the same interest in ancient/historical architecture or Angkor as I do. That being said, there are a few things besides temples here. The Old Market area (now Night Market/Pub Street) is represented – a little – and Phnom Kulen has a pretty nice waterfall which is also in this series. Also, I tried to catch a few people in here, though didn’t get as many as I would’ve liked.

I had my friend Mao (tuktuk driver) take me around for 5 of these 7 days this time around. As I mentioned last time, he may cost a little more than what you can arrange through a hotel/guesthouse, but he’s well worth the money (and, in the grand scheme of things, not too expensive; I paid less than $200 for the five days, two of which were “long” trips). He loves his country and heritage, he knows what he’s showing you, he’s flexible, he gives you enough ice water to keep you hydrated, and he’s just a good guy. (He even bought me a birthday cake for cryin’ out loud…) Anyway, I highly recommend Mao. You can find him here: www.facebook.com/mao.khvan (or on Trip Advisor: www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g297390-d10726821-R... )

Now that shameless plugs and other assorted rhetoric are out of the way, it’s time to get on to the temples, ruins, and other miscellany.

The fifth day (and last time I’ll see Mao unless I go back to Siem Reap again) started just the same as my birthday. Chhiengmai brought me a ham & cheese omelette at the hotel, then Mao picked me up and off we went.

Following the same route to Banteay Kdei, we took a right and headed out on the grand loop. The first stop was at Pre Rup, which I’d seen in May, but wanted to photograph again this time around. I love the May shots because it’s in afternoon light, so there are some nice silhouette shots in there. This time, however, was early morning. We didn’t shoot as extensively as we did in May; only staying on the eastern side of the temple and not ascending it. Still, it’s a rather striking temple and worth seeing, even with the restoration that looks as if it hasn’t been touched since May – and didn’t look like it was being touched then, either.

Pre Rup is on the southeast corner of the Grand Loop. From there, continue north. Right before you reach East Mebon is a road going east. (This is the road that would lead you to Banteay Samré if taken straight, or Banteay Srei, Phnom Kulen, and Kbal Spean, if you turn left at the first intersection about 1 kilometer east from here.)

Our second destination, though, was Phnom Bok. To reach here, continue east on the aforementioned road – pass Banteay Samré – taking the first left, then continuing north about 5-10 minutes. All in all, it’s about 20 minutes from the Grand Loop road.

Having seen snow-capped mountains enough in my life, I chuckle to call these mountains instead of hills. However, Angkor is in a large plain, as you can see in these pictures, so any hill looks like a mountain. In the same breath, these aren’t baby hills.

Mao’s wife and daughter stayed with the tuktuk while we went clambering up the hill. I was giving Mao a good ribbing about him not being my friend for making me climb a mountain in tropical heat, but it really wasn’t too bad. He said, “there are only 100 stairs to the top!” I laughed and said there’s no way that’s a mountain then. We walked up a hill for about five minutes before getting to the bottom of the staircase on the south side of the mountain that goes to the summit. He still insisted it was only 100 steps. I counted, just for fun. Turns out, there are 626 steps, give or take one, to the top of the hill and, even when you get to the top, you still have to climb up…a little farther.

As I mentioned, though, it wasn’t a bad climb. The first 400 or so steps are forested, so you’re in shade, though it’s hot and humid. After that, the views of the surrounding plains open up which are quite nice. Mostly, you can see to the south or southeast. I couldn’t see any of the main temples which would be southwest from here. (I couldn’t see them from the peak when looking southwest, though, either…)

At the top of Phnom Bok, there’s a little shelter/rest area where you can sit and buy ice cold drinks. There’s a new Hindu temple up there, and also the ruins of an Angkor-era temple. Sadly, there are also remnants of the Khmer Rouge era, too; machine gun mounts and the like, surrounding the temple.

After 30-45 minutes on the mountaintop, we went back down and I was glad to have a rest in the tuktuk while we made our way back to the Grand Loop. It was a good chance to rest up and enjoy the scenery (in addition to waving like a fool at every passerby as I’m wont to do).

Upon returning to the Grand Loop road, we made a quick right heading north for about 200 meters to the East Mebon. In May, we stopped here, but didn’t do anything other than climb the main stairs, take a few shots, and head off to lunch. (We were tired by that point.)

Because of that, I told Mao I wanted to take time to extensively go around the East Mebon. It’s a surprisingly nice temple mount. (I don’t know how the West Mebon compares; unlike this one, there is still water in the west baray, and I didn’t go out there.) All told, Mao and I wandered our separate ways here for about half an hour or so. I got back to the tuktuk right before one of the daily summer downpours. Mao was stuck out in the rain, but had my backpack, P&S, and umbrella, so was fine.

After a 5-10 minute rest, a Coke and a smile later, the four of us went back on our way around the Grand Loop continuing clockwise. We bypassed Ta Som (which I’d shot well enough in May) and stopped for a very quick shoot at Prasat Krol Ko. This is a very small temple built in the late 12th and early 13th century by Jayavarman VII. It looks like many of the other temples, so most don’t stop here as it’s not terribly interesting. It’s a temple surrounded by two concentric enclosures, in the Bayon style, and rather small. However, it’s near Neak Pean and Preah Khan, so there’s no reason not to stop. This is a Hindu (I believe) temple, as it’s named/dedicated to a cow. I enjoyed it.

The next stop – Neak Pean – was less than two minutes down the road. (Again, no reason not to stop at both. Neak Pean (sometimes spelled “Neak Poan” and pronounced “neek poh-an”) is architecturally different than most of the other sites, as is the setting. Neak Pean is a cruciform arrangement of ponds that centers on a sanctuary tower on a circular island in the middle. Currently, access is limited and you can’t go all the way around it. You approach from the north over a boardwalk – this crosses over the Jayatataka baray, which offers some nice panoramic views of Phnom Bok about 5 kilometers to the east – and finally arrive at the north end of the monument. You can walk around either side to the eastern and western corners, but can go no farther. There are (were) four different sculpted animals on each of the four small ponds around the sanctuary. Eavesdropping a tour guide, he said the four ponds represent earth, air, fire, and water. I had read somewhere what the four animals were, but can’t seem to find that information now. I was very pleased with this stop, too, mainly because it offered a little variety.

After the nice stroll over the boardwalk back to the tuktuk, we continued heading west. At the turn off for Preah Khan (which I skipped this time since we spent a bit of time here in May), there are also two other nearby, rarely visited temples: Banteay Prei and Prasat Prei. These are immediately north of Preah Khan on the outside of the Loop road. Preah Khan is about 200 meters south on the inside of the loop. Neither of these two temples are listed in either LP Cambodia or my Ancient Angkor guidebook, so I unfortunately can’t tell you a thing about them, but would venture to say they were probably built by Jayavarman VII…but, that’s pure conjecture. They were both rather nice to see, and in a fair state of decomposition, so it lent to nice photography. As they are so close to Preah Khan, again…I don’t see why you wouldn’t visit here. You can see both temples in about 20 minutes without going out of your way to do so.

The next stop on today’s private tour is Krol Romeas. This is a very unassuming structure that is less than five minutes outside the North Gate of Angkor Thom. I’m a little confused about what “romeas” means. At first Mao’s wife told me it meant sheep. Then I believe she said it meant hippopotamus. Either way, this structure was an animal pen for one of those. Given the size and depth, I’ll say hippo enclosure is probably correct. Currently, it’s just a very nice setting in the forest. It’s a round enclosure about 20 meters in diameter, just east of the Grand Loop road.

After Krol Romeas, our next stops were the remaining (for me) gates of Angkor Thom: first, the North Gate for a very quick shoot, then down to Bayon and due west on a relaxing, rarely traveled road to the West Gate. The West Gate is supposed to be the one in the most pristine (unrestored) state, though I thought it looked fine. The setting was good.

By this time, it was getting to be early afternoon, probably around 4:00. The next – and last – stop of the day was south of town, away from the majority of Angkor sites. Going south from the Night Market area of Siem Reap along the river, there are two sites of interest: The main one Is the third of the “major” hills – Phnom Krom. This is supposed to be a nice place to see the sunset. However, from having climbed Phnom Bok earlier in the day, I wasn’t inclined to go here, though it was on my original “wish list” that I gave to Mao. Instead, we just went to the other temple in the area: Wat Athvea (sometimes also written Athwea). This is a very tranquil temple and is great in the late afternoon. It’s attached to a functioning monastery, but isn’t noisy. There is a pagoda built on the site of an ancient temple here. What you see here is a 12th century Hindu temple. There is a cemetery adjacent, but that’s not included in this set.

Upon finishing for the day, Mao dropped me back off at my guesthouse. This would be the last time I saw Mao on this trip, though his wife and daughter insisted on taking me to the airport on Tuesday, so I would see them one more time. I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again. Mao’s a good man (Cambodian Mao, that is…)

As always, I hope you enjoy this set. I appreciate you taking time to look. If you have any questions, please feel free to send me a message or leave it via comment.

This temple complex lies around 2.5km southeast of the egyptian city of Dendera and extends to around 40.000 square meters.

by Emi Bell

Summer '15

Los Angeles, CA

Nikon F2

The Drakelow Tunnels are a former underground military complex beneath the Kingsford Country Park near the village of Kinver, Staffordshire, which cover 250,000 sq ft (23,000 m2).

The tunnels, which have a total length of 3.5 mi (5.6 km) to 4 mi (6.4 km) have a very interesting past and are a historical monument to the military history of the United Kingdom.

Designed by Sir Alexander Gibb & Partners, the Drakelow Tunnel Complex (originally called "Drakelow Underground Dispersal Factory")[1] was excavated during World War II in sandstone hills near the village of Kinver and the town of Kidderminster, Worcestershire.

It was originally constructed as a shadow factory for the Rover car company who were at the time manufacturing engines for the Bristol Aeroplane Company.

It was also intended to supply components to Rover's main shadow factories at Acocks Green and Solihull, to supply spare parts, and to act as a backup facility if either of the main shadow factories was damaged by enemy action.

The cost of the facility was originally estimated at £285,000, and construction, which began in June 1941, was expected to take just one year.

In the event, the underground factory achieved full production in May 1943 and the final cost exceeded £1,000,000.

The site consists of numerous tunnels that stretch for around 3.5 mi (5.6 km), although public access on tours is limited to less than a quarter of the site.

The tunnels contained dormitories, storage areas, workshops, electrical equipment, toilets, offices, a BBC studio, a GPO Telephones communications facility and other facilities.

During the 1950s and the growing Cold War, the site was initially used by the Ministry of Supply for storage.

Then around 1958 part of the site was developed by the Home Office as a Regional Seat of Government (RSG9).

It was publicly exposed in a demonstration held there by the West Midlands Committee of 100 in the summer of 1963. Under later Home Defence schemes the bunker was designated a Sub-Regional Control (SRC), Sub-Regional Headquarters (SRHQ) and finally Regional Government Headquarters (RGHQ).

The site was greatly modernised in the early 1980s, only a small portion of the site was designated for use.

New blast doors were fitted in place of the previous wooden factory doors and the interior of the site was refurbished in the areas forward of tunnel 4.

In about 1990 there was a plan to move the RGHQ to a much smaller bunker, formerly used by UKWMO, at Lawford Heath near Rugby.

In the end this never happened, and the Drakelow site was decommissioned and sold in around 1993.

DRAKELOW TUNNELS...

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drakelow_Tunnels

GHOST HUNTING IN THE TUNNELS...

www.dusktilldawnevents.co.uk/enter-the-abyss-drakelow-tun...

Гітара -- Ukrainian for Guitar. I figured that since I'm making an everyday familiar object look so foreign to the visual senses that I needed a foreign language to describe the set too.

More here in my set, "Гітара:"

www.flickr.com/photos/motorpsiclist/sets/72157630600730218/

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My photographs and videos and any derivative works are my private property and are copyright © by me, John Russell (aka “Zoom Lens”) and ALL my rights, including my exclusive rights, are reserved. ANY use without my permission in writing is forbidden by law.

Sochi, Mountain cluster, Gazprom complex, Artificial lake, 27 Dec 2010

© Sochi 2014 Organizing Committee

Many hours.. You can see the progression of the border version. I will keep this handy for a variation (on the center) as the north and south star points don't touch; so will adjust one last time for the final.

Patron: Qāytbāy (Abu al-Nasr Sayf al-Din al-Ashraf Qaitbay (the restored)) c.1416/1418-1496, Burji (Circassian) Mamluk Sultan of Egypt (r.1468–1496).

Islamic Monument #99