View allAll Photos Tagged Solidity
Villa Mansi in Segromigno, in the municipality of Capannori, is one of the main examples of 17th-century architecture in Lucca, belonging to the wealthy Mansi family who acquired it in the 17th century from the Cenami family.
Its main façade, which was planned by an architect from Urbino – Muzio Oddi– gives a visual effect of non-static solidity. The building actually looks like a compact block, but the façade is livened up by the fact that the central body is slightly set back from the two side parts.
The airy porticoon the raised floor, the double flight of stairs and the chromatic contrast between the plaster and the architectural and decorative elements contribute to the movement and lightness of the building. The composed motif of the serliana which characterises the portico continues in the highest part, throughout the double columns and central arcade.
Inside, there are paintings and frescoes by Lucca-based painter Stefano Tofanelli, greatly admired by Elisa Baciocchi, princess of Lucca and sister of Napoleon Bonaparte, dating back to the end of the 18th century and featuring mythological themes in the style of the time that depict the stories of the god Apollo.
In the garden, there are fountains and fishponds with statues by the architect Juvarra, whose original 18th-century garden design has been subsequently changed radically. Today, the property’s botanic gardens are home to over 40 types of trees from all over the world.
Part of the complete sequence of seven early 14th century windows preserving most of their original glass in the choir clerestorey.
The attractive town of Tewkesbury has been dominated by its superb abbey church since the beginning of the 12th century, and we can be forever grateful to its townspeople for purchasing the monastic church in 1540 for £453 for use as their parish church, saving it from the fate that befell countless similar great churches across the land during the turmoil of the Dissolution. It reminds us both how lucky we are to still marvel at it today, yet also how great a loss to our heritage the period wrought when many more such buildings were so utterly plundered as to have gone without trace (the fate of the monastic buildings here and even the lady chapel of the church whose footings are laid out in the grass at the east end).
Tewkesbury Abbey is thus rightly celebrated as one of our greatest non-cathedral churches, and remarkably much of the original Norman church remains substantially intact, most apparently in the great central tower, a fine example of Romanesque architecture adorned with rows of blind-arcading. The west front is dominated by a massive Norman-arched recess (enclosing the somewhat later west window) and the nave and transepts remain largely as originally built, though this is less clear externally owing to the changes made to the windows, nearly all of which were enlarged in the 14th century in the Decorated Gothic style. This century also saw the complete rebuilding of the eastern limb of the church, of a form less common in England with radiating chapels surrounding the eastern apse of the choir (the central lady chapel sadly missing since 1540).
The interior reveals far more of the Romanesque structure with mighty columns supporting the round Norman arches of the nave arcades giving the building a great sense of solidity. The space is further enlivened by the changes made during the 14th century by the stunning vault over the nave (adorned with a rewarding series of figurative bosses) which sits surprisingly well with the Norman work below. Beyond the apsidal choir beckons, and both this and the space below the tower are enriched with stunningly complex vaulted ceilings (replete with further bosses and gilded metal stars), all ablaze with colour and gilding.
There is much to enjoy in glass here, most remarkably a complete set of 14th century glazing in the clerestorey of the choir, seven windows filled with saints and prophets (and most memorably two groups of knights in the westernmost windows on each side). A few of the figures have fared less well over the centuries but on the whole this is a wonderfully rare and well preserved scheme. There is much glass from the 19th century too, with an extensive scheme in the nave of good quality work by Hardman's, and more recently a pair of rich windows by Tom Denny were added in one of the polygonal chapels around the east end.
Some of the most memorable features are the monuments with many medieval tombs of note, primarily the effigies and chantry chapels of members of the Despenser family around the choir (two of the chantries being miniature architectural gems in their own right with exquisite fan-vaulting). In one of the apsidal chapels is the unusual cenotaph to Abbot Wakeman with his grisly cadaver effigy, a late medieval reminder of earthly mortality.
Tewkesbury Abbey is not to be missed and is every bit as rewarding as many of our cathedrals (superior in fact to all but the best). It is normally kept open and welcoming to visitors on a daily basis. I have also had the privilege of working on this great building several times over the years (as part of the team at the studio I once worked for), and have left my mark in glass in a few discreet places.
Hornby Rd, Fort.
Formed in 1906 in Calcutta, the National Insurance Company was one of many local Indian insurance companies which were formed from 1906 to 1908 in response to the domination of the insurance market by mainly British insurance companies. Like bank buildings, the architecture of insurance company head offices were designed to give the impression of solidity and dependability.
Named after William Hornby, Governor of Bombay from 1771 to 1784, Hornby Road is at the heart of the European commercial centre of the Fort area of Bombay.This busy streetscape retains its heritage architecture, a medley of Victorian neo-Gothic, Indo-Saracenic, neo-classical and Edwardian structures linked together by a continuous ground floor pedestrian arcade mandated by government regulation in 1896. The pedestrian arcade provided shelter from rain and the sun and remains among the early urban design statements of colonial India.
Massimo Campigli, born Max Ihlenfeld, was an Italian painter and journalist. He was born in Berlin, but spent most of his childhood in Florence. His family moved to Milan in 1909, and here he worked on the Letteratura magazine, frequenting avant-garde circles and making the acquaintance of Boccioni and Carrà. During World War I Campigli was captured and deported to Hungary where he remained a prisoner of war from 1916–18. At the end of the war he moved to Paris where he worked as foreign correspondent for the Milanese daily newspaper. Although he had already produced some drawings, it was only after he arrived in Paris that he started to paint. At the Café du Dôme he consorted with artists including Giorgio de Chirico, Alberto Savinio, Gino Severini and Filippo De Pisis. Extended visits to the Louvre deepened Campigli's interest in ancient Egyptian art.
His first figurative works applied geometrical designs to the human figure, reflecting the influence of Pablo Picasso and Fernand Léger as well as the Purism of "L’Esprit Nouveau". In 1923, he organized his first personal exhibition at the Bragaglia Gallery in Rome. During the next five years his figures developed a monumental quality, often with stylized poses and the limbs interwoven into a sculptural solidity. The importance given to order and tradition, the atmosphere of serenity and eternity were in line with the post-war reconstruction and the program of the “Twentieth Century” artists with whom Campigli frequently exhibited both in Milan from 1926–29 and abroad from 1927–31. In 1926 he joined the "Paris Italians" together with Giorgio de Chirico, Filippo de Pisis, Renato Paresce, Savinio, Severini and Mario Tozzi. In 1928, year of his debut at the Venice Biennial, he was very much taken by the Etruscan collection when visiting the National Etruscan Museum in Rome. He then broke away from the compact severity of his previous works in favor of a plane with subdued tones and schematic forms rich in archaisms.
During a journey in Romania he started a new cycle of works portraying women employed in domestic tasks and agricultural labor. These figures were arranged in asymmetrical and hieratic compositions, hovering on a rough textured plane, inspired by ancient fresco. These works were enthusiastically received by the critics at the exhibition held in the Jeanne Bucher gallery, Paris, in 1929 and at the Milione Gallery, Milan, in 1931. During the ‘thirties he held a series of solo exhibitions in New York, Paris and Milan which brought him international acclaim. In 1933 Campigli returned to Milan where he worked on projects of vast dimensions. In the same year he signed Mario Sironi’s Mural Art Manifesto and painted a fresco of mothers, country-women, working women, for the V Milan Triennial which unfortunately was later destroyed. In the following ten years other works were commissioned: I costruttori ("The builders") for the Geneva League of Nations in 1937; Non uccidere ("Do not kill") for the Milan Courts of Justice in 1938, an enormous 300 square metre fresco for the entrance hall, designed by Gio Ponti, of the Liviano, Padua which he painted during 1939–40. He spent the war years in Milan and in Venice, then after the war they divided his time between Rome, Paris and Saint-Tropez. In a personal exhibition at the Venice Biennial in 1948 he displayed his new compositions: female figures inserted in complicated architectonic structures. During the 60s his figures were reduced to colored markings in a group of almost abstract canvasses. In 1967 a retrospective exhibition was dedicated to Campigli at the Palazzo Reale in Milan.
From www.artic.edu/artexplorer/search.php?tab=2&resource=272:
A study of van Gogh's visually and psychologically powerful landscape of a small, enclosed park near his home.
In February 1888, Vincent van Gogh left Paris for Arles, in southern France, hoping that the warm climate would renew his art. Installed in a small residence known as the Yellow House, van Gogh soon began to envision "The Studio of the South," an artists' cooperative whose presiding genius would be Paul Gauguin, whom he had met the previous November. Gauguin did go to Arles that October—supported by Vincent's brother Theo, an art dealer—but the high-strung temperaments of both artists made prolonged cohabitation difficult. After nine weeks, van Gogh suffered a breakdown and mutilated his own left ear, prompting Gauguin's return to Paris.
In anticipation of Gauguin's arrival in Arles, van Gogh embarked on a number of paintings intended for Gauguin's bedroom. Four of these works depict the Poet's Garden, a small, enclosed public park directly in front of the Yellow House. "I have tried to distill in the decoration . . . the immutable character of this country," van Gogh wrote to Gauguin, noting further that he had sought to picture the motif "in such a way that one is put in mind of the old poet from these parts (or rather from Avignon), Petrarch, and of the new poet from these parts—Paul Gauguin."
The view is unprepossessing, but van Gogh infused the park's unkempt grass and trees with great vitality by means of repetitive brush strokes and thick impasto, especially in the chrome-yellow sky and scraggly foliage. Prominent in this teeming, autumnal tapestry are a compact, round bush and a "weeping" tree (van Gogh's own characterization); their contrasting forms evoke the psychological tension between resolve and release. At the left, we glimpse the purplish tower of the church of St. Trophime, the only reminder of the bustling town beyond the garden walls.
An analysis of the artist's painting of an Arles garden, including its emotional and symbolic meaning for van Gogh.
On February 20, 1888, van Gogh arrived in the southern Provençal town of Arles, France. With the financial help of his brother Theo, he was able to rent, furnish, and ultimately move into the Yellow House in September. Van Gogh's second-floor bedroom looked directly over Place Lamartine, a small public park that served as a lush oasis amidst the active town of Arles. This painting depicts the garden's southeast section as confirmed by the appearance of the pale blue-purple belfry of the medieval church of Sainte Trophîme just visible past the foliage in the background.
In a letter written around mid–September, van Gogh states that he has just created a painting of "a corner of a garden with a weeping tree, grass, round clipped cedar shrubs and an oleander bushthere is a citron sky over everything, and also the colors have the richness and intensity of autumn." This serene, sunny landscape was the first of a four-painting series destined as a décoration—a series of linked pictures—for the bedroom Gauguin would occupy in the Yellow House. With Gauguin's bedroom as its destination, this series enabled van Gogh to engage in an ongoing dialogue with his potential collaborator. In their letters the two artists exchanged ideas, questions, and artistic philosophies; the Poet's Garden paintings became visual manifestations of the letters' words.
The garden's vitality, from its unkempt grass to its thriving trees, is conveyed by van Gogh's repetitive brushstrokes and his use of thick impasto. Seasons appear to change before our eyes from the lush greens of summer to the crisp deep golds of fall. The "citron" sky consists of layered horizontal strokes of yellow and lime, giving the sky both solidity and vibrancy. Rather than focusing on the optical effect of juxtaposed complementary colors, here van Gogh seems to be more interested in the total effect of a more limited range of colors.
By calling the painting The Poet's Garden, van Gogh intentionally linked the image to the 14th-century poets Francesco Petrarch (1304–1374) and Giovanni Boccaccio (1313–1375), about whom he had been reading in a recently published article on Italian Renaissance literature. Van Gogh's thoughts dwelt on Petrarch because he recalled that the poet had lived in nearby Avignon. As the artist wrote, "What I wanted was to paint the garden in such a way that one would think of the old poet from here (or rather from Avignon), Petrarch, and at the same time of the new poet living here—Paul Gauguin" In other words, van Gogh hoped that his artistic partnership with Gauguin would parallel the passionate, spiritual, and intellectual mentor-student relationship shared by the earlier poets. Van Gogh envisioned himself as Boccaccio, tutored by the older poet-artist, Gauguin.
Further symbolic associations may be found in van Gogh's inclusion of the oleander bush, the scraggly limbs of the weeping tree, and the upright cypress tree. Van Gogh attached meaning to the painting based on personal and conventional symbols: for him, the oleander bush was symbolic of Boccaccio and of hope that the new collaboration of the two painters would be fruitful; the "weeping" tree expressed mourning and loss; while the cypress was a symbol of death and immortality. Such symbolic imagery conveys van Gogh's doubts and fears that Gauguin would not come to Arles, and that they would never realize the dream of a Studio of the South. His fears, however, were allayed as the new poet (Gauguin) arrived in Arles to stay in his own bedroom overlooking Place Lamartine's Poet's Garden approximately one month later.
Bauhaus Museum Weimar, Germany
German architect Heike Hanada designed a minimalist concrete museum to celebrate the Bauhaus in Weimar, where the design school was founded 100 years ago. The building is dedicated to the design school creates a physical cultural presence for the Bauhaus in the German city where it was based between 1919 and 1925. Located near the Nazi-era Gauforum square and the Neue Museum Weimar, the Bauhaus Museum is a simple five-storey concrete box broken only with its entrance and a couple of windows. The enclosing shell of light-grey concrete lends the cube stability and dynamic solidity. Equally spaced horizontal grooves run around the facades of the museum, with the words "bauhaus museum" repeated in a band near the top of the building. Hanada designed the museum to be a public building for the city and has attempted to clearly connect it to the neighbouring park. With elements such as plinths, fasciae, portals, stairways and a terrace to the park, the architecture incorporates classical themes that underscore its public character.
The museum contains 2,000 m2 of exhibition space, which will be used to display around 1,000 items from the Weimar Bauhaus collection. A shop and entrance hall is located on the ground floor, with a cafe and toilets below, and three floors dedicated to telling the story of the Bauhaus above. Each of the galleries overlooks double-height spaces and are accessed from a long ceremonial staircase that stretches the height of the building. The visitors ascend a succession of interchanging open spaces and staircases until they finally arrive at the top floor where they are presented with an unobstructed view of the park. The cascading staircases are encased by ceiling-high walls and function as free-standing, enclosed bodies in the interior space. The collection is arranged to inform visitors about the history of the design school, with the gallery on the first floor dedicated to its origins in Weimar and the Bauhaus manifesto that Walter Gropius wrote in 1919. The second floor has exhibits that show how these ideas were implemented, with galleries dedicated to each of the Bauhaus directors – Gropius, Hannes Meyer and Mies van der Rohe – at the top of the building.
The museum in Weimar has opened to coincide with the centenary of the Bauhaus, which was established in the city in 1919. The school was forced to relocate from Weimar to Dessau in 1925, where Gropius designed a new school building for the institution. Following a short time based in Berlin the school closed for good in 1933. Although only open for just over a decade, the Bauhaus is the most influential art and design school in history. The ideas and people associated with the school had an incredible impact on design and architecture, and to mark its centenary we created a series exploring its key works and figures.
1.what name do you go by?
Jasmine Ann Cooray
2.how do you identify ethnically?
Mixed race
3.to what extent does your ethnic identity influence your character?
I am quite a complicated mix of ethnicities- sri lankan, dutch, russian, polish. my blood comes from four different places at least so I find it difficult to attain solidity of racial identity. It has pros and cons. The pros are that I am not tied to one specific set of stereotypes with other people on first impressions. The cons are that I don’t feel an authenticity of cultural identity. I don’t have strong cultural links to any of the places that my genetics come from.
4.describe a particular incident where you have encountered racism.
I find that because my ethnic identity is not obvious then I get a lot of questions about it. Usually when people ask ‘where are you from’, it means ‘what kind of brown is that?’, regardless of where that person is from. My favourite’s are ‘what are your tropical roots?’ and ‘are you part foreign?’ All of these things, especially when asked by white people, feel destabilising and annoying because you feel like someone is asking what you’re doing here. There are also two incidents separated by 18 years…(there are many more but I picked these two for now)
1. aged 5, infants school. Small white girl called lou-anna says ‘you can play with us, we’re playing princess and witches, but you have to be the witch because your hair smells of rice and curry’.
2. aged 22, kissing a white man on a patch of grass. I’m sitting on him. He says ‘oh god, your so sexy and amazonian and exotic, I can just imagine you milking my cock’.
5. how do you feel your oppression as a woman of colour differs from a white woman's experience?
Quite often I am expected to provide a perspective as a representative of all brown women or all asian women as opposed to my perspective as an individual.
6. do you feel comfortable identifying as a woman of colour?
it is weird, but sometimes I forget. I think it is because of the complicated mix, but it is becoming more and more part of my identity. When I first went to university it was something that I played up as the only non white person on my course, but I don’t do that anymore because I don’t want to encouraging a limitated representation or perpetuation of stereotype. A lot of time when you’re mixed race people behave as if you’re not there, because they don’t think you can ever fully be anything.
7. do you feel there is a problem in homogenising women as one oppressed entity and not acknowledging that women's oppression differs depending on your race, class, health, sexuality?
Yes. I also think there needs to be communication (and importantly, not competetion) between groups to explain what goes on.
8. if yes, do you think the term woman of colour could mobilise a new radical political agenda, where we understand our experiences as different from other women by tracing histories of colonialism and patriarchy? we can relearn history through the narratives of women of colour to gain a better understanding of the subjugation of our bodies today, and the continuation of white supremacy. And in learning this stand in solidarity with other women of colour globally who are being oppressed, and work to empower ourselves locally.
This is a difficult one. It’s a similar issue to the reclamation of ‘queer’- in that it can be recognised and appreciated within radical talk but outside of that, it serves a negative purpose or confuses people’s constructions of political correctness. You will get a lot of people who will react to it like ‘oh god a NEW thing we have to say’. But we have to use something. Identifying as Black politically isn’t always appropriate, and neither is Non-White.
9. finally please write if you have anything else to say, keeping in theme with the questions. or any opinions on the questions asked. write ANYTHING related!
It’s a hard line to tread. Sometimes in the separation within a group there can be competition ‘who is the most oppressed? No, we’re the most oppressed’, and also as a result of that we can lose sight of a common goal.I agree that the nature of that common goal is not as simple as people might think, but I also think that motion is important. Too many times in radical groups the dialogue takes over from the action, and we don’t get anywhere. If politics is a hobby, there isn’t really any point.
River Dargle Flood Defence Scheme.
These images were taken during the second week of March 2017.
These are the critical stabilisation works at the Silverbridge site, adjacent to the N11 dual-carriageway:
Back in November 2014, we'd observed bank stabilisation works here involving excavation, repair and building of a support wall structure -- carried out by JONS Construction on behalf of the National Roads Authority.
We would occasionally catch sight of this work in the distance. Quite an impressive little piece of structural engineering.
Having built a retaining concave wall, backfilled for solidity, they were also drilling, fixing and sealing ground anchors to pin the entire structure together.
Now we see that further works are being undertaken.
Word has it that extra ‘stabilisation work’ had to be done to protect the integrity of the riverbank.
At the section here we can see that there’s not much space between the edge of the rock face and the Armco at the side of the dual-carriageway.
Have yet to determine what precisely that will entail. Serious work to reinforce the side access ramp down to the river.
The N11 carriageway runs adjacent to this sunken side of the riverbank -- barely 2 (large) paces divide the two. Even with twin strips of Armco along the roadside, it's perilously close. Traffic speeds along this stretch (maximum speed 100 kmp). Only needs a touch from a heavy vehicle to cause secondary impact, which (worst possible scenario) could result in something going airborne.
Working in these confined spaces puts a premium of safety and communication.
The guys have hard-filled a working shelf on the riverbed, to allow machinery access to the rockface. Obviously some serious drilling is called for before a form of extra 'pinning' is put in place.
They have sunk a series of hollowed tubes/casings -- obviously to form the foundations of a more extensive structure.
And some investigative work around the transverse buttress of the access bridge, parallel to the heavy-duty pipeline carrying water down from the Vartry reservoir.
At a (rough) guess -- I'd say the foundations were sunk to a depth of approx 4+m.
With such secure foundations in place, they would then look to construct a substantial bank of material, and/or retaining wall (similar to that in place further along the roadside bank).
=================================================
Previously the guys drilled and sunk 4+metre deep reinforced tubing and rods along a newly laid concrete base. Those stubs were then used to attach steel rod cradles -- which, in turn, were filled with poured concrete. Result - the wall quickly rises. Variation on the method they've used elsewhere along this stretch of the river.
A continuous stretch of protective wall has now been poured, and joined up with the section originally erected back in 2014.
As we can see from the side-on shot, the base of the wall has pre-cut openings for the retaining pins that have been driven into the side wall of the roadside cliff. These have been sealed and capped.
Progress has been rapid, the full stretch of wall is completed, and the guys are now working on back-filling the empty space between the protective wall and the roadside rock face. You don't just throw in a few trucks loads of soil and hope for the best. You load, layer, level and compress.
By now the guys had clearing away material used to build access ramps down into the riverbed.
The thought crossed had my mind -- in doing so (removing the stone-filled gabions etc,) are they potentially exposing the river bank on that side to erosion, slippage etc?
We know the destructive force of fast running waters. Hell, this is precisely why the protective works have been carried out along the rest of the stretch, down to the Bray Harbour. Unless they have other plans to stabilise it, what is going to be left here is loose soil -- very close to the access road into the halting site itself.
Now that we can see the cleaned, exposed riverbank, we can see a substantial bedrock. Clearly this is not liable to subsidence. And there evidence that sections of the slope had already been 'nailed' * to prevent slippage. But, in talking to the guys there, it would seem that further 'nailing' might be required later in the year.
Some repair/reinforcing work is going on here to protect the (old) buttress that supports the pipework carrying water to the Bray region.
*
Soil nailing is a construction technique that can be used as a remedial measure to treat unstable natural soil slopes or as a construction technique that allows the safe over-steepening of new or existing soil slopes.
The technique involves the insertion of relatively slender reinforcing elements into the slope – often general purpose reinforcing bars (rebar) although proprietary solid or hollow-system bars are also available.
Solid bars are usually installed into pre-drilled holes and then grouted into place using a separate grout line, whereas hollow bars may be drilled and grouted simultaneously by the use of a sacrificial drill bit and by pumping grout down the hollow bar as drilling progresses.
River Dargle Flood Defence Scheme.
These images were taken during the second week of March 2017.
These are the critical stabilisation works at the Silverbridge site, adjacent to the N11 dual-carriageway:
Back in November 2014, we'd observed bank stabilisation works here involving excavation, repair and building of a support wall structure -- carried out by JONS Construction on behalf of the National Roads Authority.
We would occasionally catch sight of this work in the distance. Quite an impressive little piece of structural engineering.
Having built a retaining concave wall, backfilled for solidity, they were also drilling, fixing and sealing ground anchors to pin the entire structure together.
Now we see that further works are being undertaken.
Word has it that extra ‘stabilisation work’ had to be done to protect the integrity of the riverbank.
At the section here we can see that there’s not much space between the edge of the rock face and the Armco at the side of the dual-carriageway.
Have yet to determine what precisely that will entail. Serious work to reinforce the side access ramp down to the river.
The N11 carriageway runs adjacent to this sunken side of the riverbank -- barely 2 (large) paces divide the two. Even with twin strips of Armco along the roadside, it's perilously close. Traffic speeds along this stretch (maximum speed 100 kmp). Only needs a touch from a heavy vehicle to cause secondary impact, which (worst possible scenario) could result in something going airborne.
Working in these confined spaces puts a premium of safety and communication.
The guys have hard-filled a working shelf on the riverbed, to allow machinery access to the rockface. Obviously some serious drilling is called for before a form of extra 'pinning' is put in place.
They have sunk a series of hollowed tubes/casings -- obviously to form the foundations of a more extensive structure.
And some investigative work around the transverse buttress of the access bridge, parallel to the heavy-duty pipeline carrying water down from the Vartry reservoir.
At a (rough) guess -- I'd say the foundations were sunk to a depth of approx 4+m.
With such secure foundations in place, they would then look to construct a substantial bank of material, and/or retaining wall (similar to that in place further along the roadside bank).
=================================================
Previously the guys drilled and sunk 4+metre deep reinforced tubing and rods along a newly laid concrete base. Those stubs were then used to attach steel rod cradles -- which, in turn, were filled with poured concrete. Result - the wall quickly rises. Variation on the method they've used elsewhere along this stretch of the river.
A continuous stretch of protective wall has now been poured, and joined up with the section originally erected back in 2014.
As we can see from the side-on shot, the base of the wall has pre-cut openings for the retaining pins that have been driven into the side wall of the roadside cliff. These have been sealed and capped.
Progress has been rapid, the full stretch of wall is completed, and the guys are now working on back-filling the empty space between the protective wall and the roadside rock face. You don't just throw in a few trucks loads of soil and hope for the best. You load, layer, level and compress.
By now the guys had clearing away material used to build access ramps down into the riverbed.
The thought crossed had my mind -- in doing so (removing the stone-filled gabions etc,) are they potentially exposing the river bank on that side to erosion, slippage etc?
We know the destructive force of fast running waters. Hell, this is precisely why the protective works have been carried out along the rest of the stretch, down to the Bray Harbour. Unless they have other plans to stabilise it, what is going to be left here is loose soil -- very close to the access road into the halting site itself.
Now that we can see the cleaned, exposed riverbank, we can see a substantial bedrock. Clearly this is not liable to subsidence. And there evidence that sections of the slope had already been 'nailed' * to prevent slippage. But, in talking to the guys there, it would seem that further 'nailing' might be required later in the year.
Some repair/reinforcing work is going on here to protect the (old) buttress that supports the pipework carrying water to the Bray region.
*
Soil nailing is a construction technique that can be used as a remedial measure to treat unstable natural soil slopes or as a construction technique that allows the safe over-steepening of new or existing soil slopes.
The technique involves the insertion of relatively slender reinforcing elements into the slope – often general purpose reinforcing bars (rebar) although proprietary solid or hollow-system bars are also available.
Solid bars are usually installed into pre-drilled holes and then grouted into place using a separate grout line, whereas hollow bars may be drilled and grouted simultaneously by the use of a sacrificial drill bit and by pumping grout down the hollow bar as drilling progresses.
Ferstel
(Pictures you can see by clicking on the link at the end of page!)
Ferstel and Café Central, by Rudolf von Alt, left the men's alley (Herrengasse - Street of the Lords), right Strauchgasse
Danube mermaid fountain in a courtyard of the Palais Ferstel
Shopping arcade of the Freyung to Herrengasse
Entrance to Ferstel of the Freyung, right the Palais Harrach, left the palace Hardegg
The Ferstel is a building in the first district of Vienna, Inner City, with the addresses Strauchgasse 2-4, 14 Lord Street (Herrengasse) and Freyung 2. It was established as a national bank and stock exchange building, the denomination Palais is unhistoric.
History
In 1855, the entire estate between Freyung, Strauchgasse and Herrengasse was by Franz Xaver Imperial Count von Abensperg and Traun to the k.k. Privileged Austrian National Bank sold. This banking institution was previously domiciled in the Herrengasse 17/ Bankgasse. The progressive industrialization and the with it associated economic expansion also implied a rapid development of monetary transactions and banking, so that the current premises soon no longer have been sufficient. This problem could only be solved by a new building, in which also should be housed a stock exchange hall.
According to the desire of the then Governor of the National Bank, Franz von Pipitz, the new building was supposed to be carried out with strict observance of the economy and avoiding a worthless luxury with solidity and artistic as well as technical completion. The building should offer room for the National Bank, the stock market, a cafe and - a novel idea for Vienna - a bazaar.
The commissioned architect, Heinrich von Ferstel, demonstrated in the coping with the irregular surface area with highest conceivable effective use of space his state-of-the art talent. The practical requirements combine themselves with the actually artistic to a masterful composition. Ferstel has been able to lay out the rooms of the issuing bank, the two trading floors, the passage with the bazar and the coffee house in accordance with their intended purpose and at the same time to maintain a consistent style.
He was an advocate of the "Materialbaues" (material building) as it clearly is reflected in the ashlar building of the banking institution. Base, pillars and stairs were fashioned of Wöllersdorfer stone, façade elements such as balconies, cornices, structurings as well as stone banisters of the hard white stone of Emperor Kaiser quarry (Kaisersteinbruch), while the walls were made of -Sankt Margarethen limestone. The inner rooms have been luxuriously formed, with wood paneling, leather wallpaper, Stuccolustro and rich ornamental painting.
The facade of the corner front Strauchgasse/Herrengasse received twelve sculptures by Hanns Gasser as decoration, they symbolized the peoples of the monarchy. The mighty round arch at the exit Freyung were closed with wrought-iron bare gates, because the first used locksmith could not meet the demands of Ferstel, the work was transferred to a silversmith.
1860 the National Bank and the stock exchange could move into the in 1859 completed construction. The following year was placed in the glass-covered passage the Danube mermaid fountain, whose design stems also of Ferstel. Anton von Fernkorn has created the sculptural decoration with an artistic sensitivity. Above the marble fountain basin rises a column crowned by a bronze statue, the Danube female with flowing hair, holding a fish in its hand. Below are arranged around the column three also in bronze cast figures: merchant, fisherman and shipbuilder, so those professions that have to do with the water. The total cost of the building, the interior included, amounted to the enormous sum of 1.897.600 guilders.
The originally planned use of the building remained only a few years preserved. The Stock Exchange with the premises no longer had sufficient space: in 1872 it moved to a provisional solution, 1877 at Schottenring a new Stock Exchange building opened. The National Bank moved 1925 into a yet 1913 planned, spacious new building.
The building was in Second World War battered gravely particularly on the main facade. In the 1960s was located in the former Stock Exchange a basketball training hall, the entire building appeared neglected.
1971 dealt the President of the Federal Monuments Office, Walter Frodl, with the severely war damaged banking and stock exchange building in Vienna. The Office for Technical Geology of Otto Casensky furnished an opinion on the stone facade. On the facade Freyung 2 a balcony was originally attached over the entire 15.4 m long front of hard Kaiserstein.
(Usage of Leith lime: Dependent from the consistence and structure of the Leitha lime the usage differed from „Reibsand“ till building material. The Leitha lime stone is a natural stone which can be formed easily and was desired als beautiful stone for buildings in Roman times. The usage of lime stone from Eggenburg in the Bronze age already was verified. This special attribute is the reason why the Leitha lime was taken from sculptors and masons.
The source of lime stone in the Leitha Mountains was important for Austria and especially for Vienna from the cultur historical point of view during the Renaissance and Baroque. At the 19th century the up to 150 stone quarries of the Leitha mountains got many orders form the construction work of the Vienna „Ring road“.
At many buildings of Graz, such as the castle at the Grazer castle hill, the old Joanneum and the Cottage, the Leitha lime stone was used.
Due to the fact that Leitha lime is bond on carbonate in the texture, the alteration through the actual sour rain is heavy. www.geocaching.com/geocache/GC2HKZ9_leithagebirge-leithak...)
This balcony was no longer present and only close to the facade were remnants of the tread plates and the supporting brackets recognizable. In July 1975, followed the reconstruction of the balcony and master stonemason Friedrich Opferkuh received the order to restore the old state am Leithagebirge received the order the old state - of Mannersdorfer stone, armoured concrete or artificial stone.
1975-1982, the building was renovated and re-opened the Café Central. Since then, the privately owned building is called Palais Ferstel. In the former stock exchange halls now meetings and presentations take place; the Café Central is utilizing one of the courtyards.
This one probably needs no introduction even to the non-archi-fan; it's the centerpiece building from the 2008 Beijing Olympics, and it's probably the most famous work of architecture completed in the last ten years. It's also the product of another collaboration between the celebrated Swiss firm Herzog & de Meuron, and the Chinese artist-dissident, Ai Weiwei.
It was Ai who pressed the architects with the theme of order and chaos being equal forces in Chinese culture - hence the wild, pretend-random skin of this building in dialogue with the highly axial site plan. This theme also plays out experientially, according to the architects: "What is seen from afar as a geometrically clear-cut and rational overall configuration of lines, evaporates the closer one comes, finally separating into huge separate components." Only twenty-four of the arced steel columns are primary structure; the secondary supports are scaled up in cross-section, diffusing the visual sense of support and paradoxically making the building appear lighter than it is. Plans to make the building live on after the games as a shopping center seem to have gone incompletely fulfilled. When we visited it was abuzz with activity in its new role as a fake-snow theme park.
While the designers saw the project as a forest, or a Chinese basket, the media’s “Bird’s Nest” metaphor took on a life of its own, proof to the designers that the Chinese had “assimilated it as their own.” With or without the big idea, it's a pretty cool stadium building, as these photos hopefully convey (if you've somehow managed to never see this thing before). The building is also interesting in terms of the evolution of Herzog's work, and the strange, Alice in Wonderland scalar shifts of the pattern from surface decoration to massive, inhabitable poche. But that's Evan's thesis (which I can't seem to find online).
Ai would later distance himself from the project, condemning the Olympics as “a propaganda show [and] a giant masked ball,” although he did not repudiate the design itself. It's an interesting change of heart; one imagines Ai was well aware of the Chinese government's less-than-heroic aspects before the project began. Perhaps it has to do with his own biography and later persecution by that government - or perhaps he underwent a philosophical shift, revising his opinion of what progressive architecture can and cannot accomplish. Remember, at the Architecture Park he believed that weird architecture could work subversively in spite of autocratic government clients. Repudiating the Olympic project implicitly rejects that way of working within the system. It also re-opens age-old debates about monumentality and architectural form - can you build in a certain way that dials down the statist propaganda qualities of something like this building? Or is it just doomed by the scale and the function of the building within the propaganda machine of the Beijing Olympics?
Olympic venues have of course had a propaganda role more than once in the past. The Berlin stadium of 1936 attempted to provide the properly doughty, heavy, ancient and frill-free setting for the triumph of the Nazi body; though this ambition was undermined by the success of African-American star athlete Jesse Owens, it's clear that Hitler was interested enough to meddle in the design of the building (rejecting Werner March's original scheme as being too modern). The 1972 Munich buildings by Frei Otto clearly attempted to offer the world the new Germany, turning the latest technological innovations into an anti-Speer architecture so diaphonous it was barely there. The Bird's Nest, naturally, straddles the gap: the "clear-cut and rational overall configuration," the object-building seen from afar, has the requisite, client-pleasing solidity, terminating the monumental axis quite nicely. But the close-up "evaporation" maybe comes much closer to the Otto web-stadium.
Was this the idea? They think they're getting 1936, but they're actually getting 1972! That'll show 'em! In this scenario, one has to imagine the government being won over by the "basket" metaphor, and completely missing the bold and mind-blowing basket spatial experience. I find this sort of hard to believe, unfortunately; I think they were probably pretty excited to have this entirely unprecedented-looking building, to wow the world and provide the perfect setting for the games as well as the much-discussed opening ceremonies. I strongly doubt that there was any kind of Trojan Horse going on - at least in terms of the shift in the building's appearance as one gets closer.
A more general, Jinhua-esque mind-expansion seems the more likely intention. I also note that building the stadium this way gives rather a lot of views out, particularly, views framed by the weirdo-filter of the jaunty lattice-work. Once again I think of H&deM's claims that all their projects are really about urbanism. Maybe the big idea here is actually to get you to look out at the surroundings in a new way, to prepare you for imagining a different city and a different world. It's a shame the Olympic masterplan gives such vast space and so little context - there's really not much to look at. Looking for a punchline? That masterplan was designed by Sasaki Associates, with preliminary design studies by... Albert Speer, Junior. Small world, eh?
Ferstel
(Pictures you can see by clicking on the link at the end of page!)
Ferstel and Café Central, by Rudolf von Alt, left the men's alley (Herrengasse - Street of the Lords), right Strauchgasse
Danube mermaid fountain in a courtyard of the Palais Ferstel
Shopping arcade of the Freyung to Herrengasse
Entrance to Ferstel of the Freyung, right the Palais Harrach, left the palace Hardegg
The Ferstel is a building in the first district of Vienna, Inner City, with the addresses Strauchgasse 2-4, 14 Lord Street (Herrengasse) and Freyung 2. It was established as a national bank and stock exchange building, the denomination Palais is unhistoric.
History
In 1855, the entire estate between Freyung, Strauchgasse and Herrengasse was by Franz Xaver Imperial Count von Abensperg and Traun to the k.k. Privileged Austrian National Bank sold. This banking institution was previously domiciled in the Herrengasse 17/ Bankgasse. The progressive industrialization and the with it associated economic expansion also implied a rapid development of monetary transactions and banking, so that the current premises soon no longer have been sufficient. This problem could only be solved by a new building, in which also should be housed a stock exchange hall.
According to the desire of the then Governor of the National Bank, Franz von Pipitz, the new building was supposed to be carried out with strict observance of the economy and avoiding a worthless luxury with solidity and artistic as well as technical completion. The building should offer room for the National Bank, the stock market, a cafe and - a novel idea for Vienna - a bazaar.
The commissioned architect, Heinrich von Ferstel, demonstrated in the coping with the irregular surface area with highest conceivable effective use of space his state-of-the art talent. The practical requirements combine themselves with the actually artistic to a masterful composition. Ferstel has been able to lay out the rooms of the issuing bank, the two trading floors, the passage with the bazar and the coffee house in accordance with their intended purpose and at the same time to maintain a consistent style.
He was an advocate of the "Materialbaues" (material building) as it clearly is reflected in the ashlar building of the banking institution. Base, pillars and stairs were fashioned of Wöllersdorfer stone, façade elements such as balconies, cornices, structurings as well as stone banisters of the hard white stone of Emperor Kaiser quarry (Kaisersteinbruch), while the walls were made of -Sankt Margarethen limestone. The inner rooms have been luxuriously formed, with wood paneling, leather wallpaper, Stuccolustro and rich ornamental painting.
The facade of the corner front Strauchgasse/Herrengasse received twelve sculptures by Hanns Gasser as decoration, they symbolized the peoples of the monarchy. The mighty round arch at the exit Freyung were closed with wrought-iron bare gates, because the first used locksmith could not meet the demands of Ferstel, the work was transferred to a silversmith.
1860 the National Bank and the stock exchange could move into the in 1859 completed construction. The following year was placed in the glass-covered passage the Danube mermaid fountain, whose design stems also of Ferstel. Anton von Fernkorn has created the sculptural decoration with an artistic sensitivity. Above the marble fountain basin rises a column crowned by a bronze statue, the Danube female with flowing hair, holding a fish in its hand. Below are arranged around the column three also in bronze cast figures: merchant, fisherman and shipbuilder, so those professions that have to do with the water. The total cost of the building, the interior included, amounted to the enormous sum of 1.897.600 guilders.
The originally planned use of the building remained only a few years preserved. The Stock Exchange with the premises no longer had sufficient space: in 1872 it moved to a provisional solution, 1877 at Schottenring a new Stock Exchange building opened. The National Bank moved 1925 into a yet 1913 planned, spacious new building.
The building was in Second World War battered gravely particularly on the main facade. In the 1960s was located in the former Stock Exchange a basketball training hall, the entire building appeared neglected.
1971 dealt the President of the Federal Monuments Office, Walter Frodl, with the severely war damaged banking and stock exchange building in Vienna. The Office for Technical Geology of Otto Casensky furnished an opinion on the stone facade. On the facade Freyung 2 a balcony was originally attached over the entire 15.4 m long front of hard Kaiserstein.
(Usage of Leith lime: Dependent from the consistence and structure of the Leitha lime the usage differed from „Reibsand“ till building material. The Leitha lime stone is a natural stone which can be formed easily and was desired als beautiful stone for buildings in Roman times. The usage of lime stone from Eggenburg in the Bronze age already was verified. This special attribute is the reason why the Leitha lime was taken from sculptors and masons.
The source of lime stone in the Leitha Mountains was important for Austria and especially for Vienna from the cultur historical point of view during the Renaissance and Baroque. At the 19th century the up to 150 stone quarries of the Leitha mountains got many orders form the construction work of the Vienna „Ring road“.
At many buildings of Graz, such as the castle at the Grazer castle hill, the old Joanneum and the Cottage, the Leitha lime stone was used.
Due to the fact that Leitha lime is bond on carbonate in the texture, the alteration through the actual sour rain is heavy. www.geocaching.com/geocache/GC2HKZ9_leithagebirge-leithak...)
This balcony was no longer present and only close to the facade were remnants of the tread plates and the supporting brackets recognizable. In July 1975, followed the reconstruction of the balcony and master stonemason Friedrich Opferkuh received the order to restore the old state am Leithagebirge received the order the old state - of Mannersdorfer stone, armoured concrete or artificial stone.
1975-1982, the building was renovated and re-opened the Café Central. Since then, the privately owned building is called Palais Ferstel. In the former stock exchange halls now meetings and presentations take place; the Café Central is utilizing one of the courtyards.
52 x 67 cm.
Carlo Carrà was one of the most influential Italian painters of the first half of the 20th century. He is best known for his still lifes in the style of Metaphysical painting. He studied painting briefly at the Brera Academy in Milan, but he was largely self-taught. In 1909 he met the poet Filippo Marinetti and the artist Umberto Boccioni, who converted him to Futurism, an aesthetic movement that exalted patriotism, modern technology, dynamism, and speed. Carrà’s most famous painting, The Funeral of the Anarchist Galli (1911), embodies Futurist ideals with its portrayal of dynamic action, power, and violence.
With the advent of World War I, the classic phase of Futurism ended. Although Carrà’s work from this period, such as the collage Patriotic Celebration, Free Word Painting (1914), was based on Futurist concepts, he soon began to paint in a style of greatly simplified realism. Lot’s Daughters (1915), for example, represents an attempt to recapture the solidity of form and the stillness of the 13th-century painter Giotto. Carrà’s new style was crystallized in 1917 when he met the painter Giorgio de Chirico, who taught him to paint everyday objects imbued with a sense of eeriness. Carrà and de Chirico called their style pittura metafisica (“Metaphysical painting”), and their works of this period have a superficial similarity.
In 1918 Carrà broke with de Chirico and Metaphysical painting. Throughout the 1920s and ’30s, he painted melancholy figurative works based on the monumental realism of the 15th-century Italian painter Masaccio. Through such moody but well-constructed works as Morning by the Sea (1928), and through his many years of teaching at the Milan Academy, he greatly influenced the course of Italian art between the World Wars.
Olympiastadion (Olympic Stadium) in Berlin was built to host the 1936 Olympic Games on behalf of Adolf Hitler. The stadium had to be an imposing structure to express the power of the Nazi regime. Designed to hold 100 000 spectators, the stadium served as the centrepiece of the Reichsportfield, an Olympic complex of enormous dimensions. Solidity and authority were at the basis of the stadium project. These are now characterized by a colonnade of neoclassical origin that is placed along an elliptical structure. From a geometrical point of view, the colonnade is 'pure' and defines the external look in a powerful way. The interior ring of the tiers is dug into the ground. This enables the pillars of the colonnade to reach the top level of the stadium. The colonnade was designed to impress the spectators when accessing the stadium.
At one side of the stadium, the main axis is expressed by two identical towers. They indicate the main entrance. The Olympic rings are suspended between the towers to symbolically complete the design of the portal. At the other side of the stadium, the continuity of the tiers along the elliptical perimeter is suddenly interrupted by the 'Marathon Gate'. It is defined by two robust blocs that served to welcome the Olympic flame. The Marathon Gate contains the winners names of the Olympic Games. The axis subsequently culminates with the 'Führerturm' which is highest tower in front of the Marathon Gate. It heightens 75 meters (246 feet).
However, Hitler wanted a more noble stadium and assigned another architect at the end of the construction. Architect Werner March was replaced by architect Albert Speer, the trusted architect of the Führer. Later in history, Albert Speer would be called 'Architect of the Devil'.
After three years of hard labour, in 1936, the Olympiastadion was opened to the public with a total capacity of 100 000 and a seating capacity of 65 000. During the second world war, the stadium - symbol of the Nazi power - was bombed by the Allies. Afterwards, the stadium was completely restored and renovated.
On occasion of the World Cup 1974, the Olympiastadion was partly covered for the first time. A roof existing of steel and Plexiglas was added on the main tribunes. At that time, these were modern and light materials and gave the stadium a completely new look.
On occasion of the World Cup 2006, the stadium was yet again completely renovated. Works started in September 2000. The project of the renovated stadium respected the original structure of the Thirties. However, this time the stadium was completed covered by a new roof. Just like the tiers, the roof also interrupts at the Marathon Gate. A membrane of semitransparent Teflon was used to create the roof structure, contrasting the robust volume of the stadium.
Roof boss in the 14th century vault of the nave.
The attractive town of Tewkesbury has been dominated by its superb abbey church since the beginning of the 12th century, and we can be forever grateful to its townspeople for purchasing the monastic church in 1540 for £453 for use as their parish church, saving it from the fate that befell countless similar great churches across the land during the turmoil of the Dissolution. It reminds us both how lucky we are to still marvel at it today, yet also how great a loss to our heritage the period wrought when many more such buildings were so utterly plundered as to have gone without trace (the fate of the monastic buildings here and even the lady chapel of the church whose footings are laid out in the grass at the east end).
Tewkesbury Abbey is thus rightly celebrated as one of our greatest non-cathedral churches, and remarkably much of the original Norman church remains substantially intact, most apparently in the great central tower, a fine example of Romanesque architecture adorned with rows of blind-arcading. The west front is dominated by a massive Norman-arched recess (enclosing the somewhat later west window) and the nave and transepts remain largely as originally built, though this is less clear externally owing to the changes made to the windows, nearly all of which were enlarged in the 14th century in the Decorated Gothic style. This century also saw the complete rebuilding of the eastern limb of the church, of a form less common in England with radiating chapels surrounding the eastern apse of the choir (the central lady chapel sadly missing since 1540).
The interior reveals far more of the Romanesque structure with mighty columns supporting the round Norman arches of the nave arcades giving the building a great sense of solidity. The space is further enlivened by the changes made during the 14th century by the stunning vault over the nave (adorned with a rewarding series of figurative bosses) which sits surprisingly well with the Norman work below. Beyond the apsidal choir beckons, and both this and the space below the tower are enriched with stunningly complex vaulted ceilings (replete with further bosses and gilded metal stars), all ablaze with colour and gilding.
There is much to enjoy in glass here, most remarkably a complete set of 14th century glazing in the clerestorey of the choir, seven windows filled with saints and prophets (and most memorably two groups of knights in the westernmost windows on each side). A few of the figures have fared less well over the centuries but on the whole this is a wonderfully rare and well preserved scheme. There is much glass from the 19th century too, with an extensive scheme in the nave of good quality work by Hardman's, and more recently a pair of rich windows by Tom Denny were added in one of the polygonal chapels around the east end.
Some of the most memorable features are the monuments with many medieval tombs of note, primarily the effigies and chantry chapels of members of the Despenser family around the choir (two of the chantries being miniature architectural gems in their own right with exquisite fan-vaulting). In one of the apsidal chapels is the unusual cenotaph to Abbot Wakeman with his grisly cadaver effigy, a late medieval reminder of earthly mortality.
Tewkesbury Abbey is not to be missed and is every bit as rewarding as many of our cathedrals (superior in fact to all but the best). It is normally kept open and welcoming to visitors on a daily basis. I have also had the privilege of working on this great building several times over the years (as part of the team at the studio I once worked for), and have left my mark in glass in a few discreet places.
Commonwealth Bank building, 48 Martin Place, Sydney.
Designer: Ross & Rowe Architects and Consulting Engineers; Primary Structure - A.S. McDonald
Builder:Concrete Constructions Ltd.
Construction Years:1925 - 1928
Physical Description: The Commonwealth Bank building fronts Martin Place on the south, Elizabeth Street on the east and Castlereagh Street on the west. The building is an extensive eleven-storey structure plus mezzanine above ground, with three basement levels. Externally the building displays monumental civic scale and precise, symmetrical detailing utilising classical motifs. The Classic inspiration for the building is evident in the columns used on the exterior:
- Ionic columns on the Martin Place façade,
- Corinthian columns framing the balcony doors, and
- Doric columns on the roof.
The great Ionic columns on the Martin Place façade unite the six central floors, with the remaining floors serving as base and frieze. Above the base storey, strongly expressed with red granite facing, the cladding is pink terracotta blocks arranged in small tessellated effect. Terracotta cladding is also used on the Martin Place columns. At the upper levels, ornate terracotta detailing is included on the cornice, entablature and pilaster capitals. At roof level, the building has a Classical attic storey and dentilated cornice.
48 Martin Place has tremendous civic presence, portraying an image of massive solidity. The rich colour of the façade materials makes the Bank a most eminent landmark amongst its neighbours. It is a magnificent example of Beaux-Arts revivalist architecture, and a visual and technical masterpiece. The style was used to express the wealth and stability of financial institutions emphasising the qualities of:
- a monumental scale expressed by giant order;
- symmetry and the sculptural treatment of the facades;
- comprehensive use of classical motifs and details (both externally and internally);
- up-to-date structural techniques allowing expansive rooms; and
- high quality materials and finishes.
Extensive conservation works have restored the principal public areas to near original condition internally. The Banking Chamber, Grand Hall and Safe Deposit area are impressive in scale and detailing and form a sequence of grand interiors.
The Banking Chamber is detailed in an extravagant neo-Classical style, displaying substantial use of marble, and scagliola on tremendous stylised columns. The banking staff occupy the central space, which features marble, bronze and glass partitions. The main entrance is from Martin Place with access available from both Castlereagh and Elizabeth Streets, and also at the northern end of the building, between the Grand Hall and the Banking Chamber. The lofty ceiling is coffered and treated in a decorative manner, achieved by use of Wunderlich pressed metal panels fixed to the concrete slab. The arrangement had been detailed to give efficient and reflected light. Large bronze lamps supply artificial light reflected off the ceiling, providing diffused general lighting.
The Grand Hall forms a pedestrian way between Castlereagh and Elizabeth Streets. A ribbed barrel dome, embellished with mosaics and stained glass panels depicting prosperous Australian industries at the time of construction, surmounts the passage. Located centrally within the Hall is the Grand Stair, a wide marble staircase with bronze grille balustrade and Queensland maple handrail. The stair converges centrally at the Government Savings Bank’s Memorial Window and Tablet located on the northern-most wall. Walls of marble and the sumptuous detail create a remarkable architectural space.
The Safe Deposit area in the basement level is remarkably intact. Great barrel domes create a magnificent groined ceiling of three bays supported by marble pilasters. The ceilings are decorative, and brass pendant lights hang from the centre of each dome. Mosaic spandrels above marble walls are framed by the ceiling vaults and depict wreaths and festoons in rich green and red against a neutral setting. The whole is framed by a green and red leaf and berry motif on deep yellow mosaic tiles. The floors are white marble with decorative black border tiles.
While the lettable office space on the upper floors has been extensively altered, the stairways connecting the upper floors are largely intact. The stairs within the chambers are terrazzo, and balustrades are bronze with timber handrails. Original timber framed hydrant covers with frosted glazed panels and timber and brass mail chutes, no longer in use, have been retained within the stair chambers, along with the floor levels detailed in decorative tiles on the walls. Windows with deep reveals are located at each level of the stair chambers. (Tanner & Associates Pty Ltd, 2000)
The 4th Day, Aberdovey & Llangollen Canal 24th May 2004
The Pontcysyllte Aqueduct (Welsh pronunciation: [ˌpɔntkəˈsəɬtɛ], full name in Welsh: Traphont Ddŵr Pontcysyllte) is a navigable aqueduct that carries the Llangollen Canal across the River Dee in north east Wales. The 18-arched stone and cast iron structure, which took ten years to design and build, was completed in 1805. It is now the oldest and longest navigable aqueduct on Great Britain and the highest in the world.
The aqueduct was to be a key part of the central section of the proposed Ellesmere Canal, an industrial waterway that would create a commercial link between the River Severn at Shrewsbury and the Port of Liverpool on the River Mersey. However, only parts of the canal route were completed because the expected revenues required to complete the entire project were never generated. Most major work ceased after the completion of the Pontcysyllte Aqueduct in 1805. Although a cheaper construction course was surveyed further to the east, the westerly high-ground route across the Vale of Llangollen was preferred because it would have taken the canal through the mineral-rich coalfields of North East Wales.
The structure is a Grade I listed building[1] and a World Heritage Site.
Etymology
The name Pontcysyllte in the Welsh language means "Cysyllte Bridge".[2] It is derived from the township of Cysyllte. The completed aqueduct linked the villages of Froncysyllte, at the southern end of the bridge in the Cysyllte township of Llangollen parish (from where it takes its name[2]), and Trevor (Trefor in Welsh), at the northern end of the bridge in the Trefor Isaf township, also of Llangollen parish.
The aqueduct was originally known as Pont y Cysyllte ("Bridge of Cysyllte"). Other translations such as "Bridge of the Junction" or "The Bridge that links" are a modern definition. They are derived from the word cysylltau (plural of cyswllt) which means connections or links.
History[edit]
The aqueduct was built by Thomas Telford and William Jessop near the 18th-century road crossing, Pont Cysylltau. After the westerly high-ground route was approved, the original plan was to create a series of locks down both sides of the valley to an embankment that would carry the Ellesmere Canal over the River Dee. However, after Telford was hired the plan was changed to an aqueduct that would create an uninterrupted waterway straight across the valley. Despite considerable public scepticism, Telford was confident his construction method would work because he had previously built a cast-iron trough aqueduct – the Longdon-on-Tern Aqueduct on the Shrewsbury Canal.[3]
The aqueduct was one of the first major feats of civil engineering undertaken by Telford, who was becoming one of Britain's leading industrial civil engineers; although his work was supervised by Jessop, the more experienced canal engineer. Ironwork was supplied by William Hazledine from his foundries at Shrewsbury and nearby Cefn Mawr. The work, which took around ten years from design to construction, cost around of £47,000. Adjusted for inflation this is equivalent to no more than £3,500,000 in 2016[4], but represented a major investment against the contemporary GDP of some £400 million.[5]
The Pontcysyllte aqueduct officially opened to narrow boat traffic on 26 November 1805. A plaque commemorating its inauguration reads:
THE NOBILITY AND GENTRY, THE ADJACENT COUNTIES HAVING UNITED THEIR EFFORTS WITH THE GREAT COMMERCIAL INTERESTS OF THIS COUNTRY. IN CREATING AN INTERCOURSE AND UNION BETWEEN ENGLAND AND NORTH WALES BY A NAVIGABLE COMMUNICATION OF THE THREE RIVERS, SEVERNE DEE AND MERSEY FOR THE MUTUAL BENEFIT OF AGRICULTURE AND TRADES, CAUSED THE FIRST STONE OF THIS AQUEDUCT OF PONTCYSYLLTY, TO BE LAID ON THE 25TH DAY OF JULY MDCCXCV. WHEN RICHARD MYDDELTON OF CHIRK, ESQ, M.P. ONE OF THE ORIGINAL PATRONS OF THE ELLESMERE CANAL WAS LORD OF THIS MANOR, AND IN THE REIGN OF OUR SOVEREIGN GEORGE THE THIRD. WHEN THE EQUITY OF THE LAWS, AND THE SECURITY OF PROPERTY, PROMOTED THE GENERAL WELFARE OF THE NATION. WHILE THE ARTS AND SCIENCES FLOURISHED BY HIS PATRONAGE AND THE CONDUCT OF CIVIL LIFE WAS IMPROVED BY HIS EXAMPLE.
Copied as it is written. Severne, Pontcysyllty = Severn, Pontcysyllte MDCCXCV = 1795
The bridge is 336 yd (307 m) long, 4 yd (3.7 m) wide and 5.25 ft (1.60 m) deep.[6] It consists of a cast iron trough supported 126 ft (38 m) above the river on iron arched ribs carried on eighteen hollow masonry piers (pillars). Each of the 18 spans is 53 ft (16 m) wide. With the completion of the aqueduct, the next phase of the canal should have been the continuation of the line to Moss Valley, Wrexham where Telford had constructed a feeder reservoir lake in 1796. This would provide the water for the length of canal between Trevor Basin and Chester. However, as the plan to build this section was cancelled in 1798, the isolated feeder and a stretch of navigation between Ffrwd and a basin in Summerhill was abandoned. Remnants of the feeder channel are visible in Gwersyllt. A street in the village is still named Heol Camlas (Welsh: Canal Way).[7]
With the project incomplete, Trevor Basin just over the Pontcysyllte aqueduct would become the canal's northern terminus. In 1808 a feeder channel to bring water from the River Dee near Llangollen was completed. In order to maintain a continual supply, Telford built an artificial weir known as the Horseshoe Falls near Llantysilio to maintain water height.
Subsequently the Plas Kynaston Canal was built to serve industry in the Cefn Mawr and Rhosymedre areas in the 1820s. There might have been another canal extension ("Ward's") but detailed records do not survive.[8] Goods traffic was brought down to the canal by the Ruabon Brook Tramway which climbed towards Acrefair and Plas Bennion. This railway was eventually upgraded to steam operation and extended towards Rhosllannerchrugog and Wrexham.[8]
In 1844, the Ellesmere and Chester Canal Company, which owned the broad canals from Ellesmere Port to Chester and from Chester to Nantwich, with a branch to Middlewich, began discussions with the narrow Birmingham and Liverpool Junction Canal, which ran from Nantwich to Autherley, where it joined the Staffordshire and Worcestershire Canal. The two companies had always worked together, in a bid to maintain their profits against competition from the railways, and amalgamation seemed to be a logical step. An agreement was worked out by August, and the two companies then sought a Private Act of Parliament to authorise the takeover. This was granted on 8 May 1845, when the larger Ellesmere and Chester Canal Company was formed.[9]
In 1846, the canal and the aqueduct became part of the Shropshire Union Railways and Canal Company. But the intent of the merger was to build railways at a reduced cost, by using the existing routes of the canals they owned.[10] However, by 1849, the plan to turn canals into railways had been dropped.[10] As the aqueduct was largely in an area that was served by railways owned by the Great Western Railway, the LNWR was more than happy for the canal to remain open as long as it remained profitable. With the start of the First World War in 1914, the Shropshire Union – which the Pontcysyllte aqueduct was a part – served the war effort with its fleet of more than 450 narrow boats.[10]
Commercial traffic on the canal greatly declined after a waterway breach near Newtown, Powys (now part of the Montgomery Canal) in 1936. By 1939 boat movements across the aqueduct to Llangollen had ceased. The canal was formally closed to navigation under the London Midland and Scottish Railway Company Act of 1944. On 6 September 1945, due to inadequate maintenance, the canal breached its banks east of Llangollen near Sun Bank Halt. The flow of hundreds of tons of water washed away the embankment of the railway further down the hill, tearing a 40-yard (37 m) crater 50 feet (15 m) deep.[11] This caused the first traffic of the morning, a mail and goods train composed of 16 carriages and two vans, to crash into the breach, killing one and injuring two engine crew.[12]
However, the aqueduct was saved (despite its official closure to waterway traffic) because it was still required as a water feeder for the remainder of the Shropshire Union Canal. The aqueduct also supplied drinking water to a reservoir at Hurleston. In 1955 the Mid & South East Cheshire Water Board agreed to maintain the canal securing its future.[citation needed]
In the latter half of the 20th century, leisure boating traffic began to rise. In a rebranding exercise by British Waterways in the 1980s, the former industrial waterway was renamed the Llangollen Canal. It has since become one of the most popular canals for holidaymakers in Britain because of its aqueducts and scenery. The Pontcysyllte Aqueduct is now maintained and managed by the Canal & River Trust. Otters have been seen in the area.[13]
Construction and maintenance[edit]
Thomas Telford designed and built the Pontcysyllte aqueduct using the experience he gained from building Longdon-on-Tern Aqueduct on the Shrewsbury Canal.
The mortar used lime, water and ox blood.[14] The iron castings for the trough were produced at the nearby Plas Kynaston Foundry, Cefn Mawr, which was built by the Shrewsbury ironfounder and millwright William Hazledine in the hope of gaining the contract. The rib castings may have been made at Hazledine's original works at Coleham, near Shrewsbury.[15] The trough was made from flanged plates of cast iron, bolted together, with the joints bedded with Welsh flannel and a mixture of white lead and iron particles from boring waste.[16] After twenty-five years the white lead was replaced with ordinary tar.[17][18] As with Telford's Longdon-on-Tern Aqueduct, the plates are not rectangular but shaped as voussoirs, similar to those of a stone arch. There is no structural significance to their shape: it is a decorative feature only, following the lines of the stiffening plates (see below) in the castings beneath.[16] In nearby Cefn Mawr a high quartz content sandstone was discovered at the location where the New Cefn Druids football stadium has been built. Know locally as 'The Rock' the sandstone was extracted and worked here into the many numerous shapes as required by the architects. Many remnants of the workings are still visible alongside Rock Road which links Rhosymedre to Plas Madoc.
The supporting arches, four for each span, are in the form of cast-iron ribs, each cast as three voussoirs with external arches cast with an un-pierced web to give greater strength, at the cost of extra weight. Using cast iron in this way, in the same manner as the stone arch it supersedes, makes use of the material's strength in compression.[19] They also give an impression of greater solidity than would be the case were the webs pierced. This impression is enhanced by the arrangement of strips of thicker stiffening incorporated into the castings, arranged in the manner of joints between voussoirs.
Cast plates are laid transversely to form the bed of the canal trough. The trough is not fastened to the arches, but lugs are cast into the plates to fit over the rib arches to prevent movement.[16] The aqueduct was left for six months with water inside to check that it was watertight.[20] A feature of a canal aqueduct, in contrast with a road or railway viaduct, is that the vertical loading stresses are virtually constant. According to Archimedes' principle, the mass (weight) of a boat and its cargo on the bridge pushes an equal mass of water off the bridge.
The towpath is mounted above the water, with the inner edge carried on cast-iron pillars in the trough. This arrangement allows the water displaced by the passage of a narrow boat to flow easily under the towpath and around the boat, enabling relatively free passage. Pedestrians, and the horses once used for towing, are protected from falling from the aqueduct by railings on the outside edge of the towpath, but the holes in the top flange of the other side of the trough, capable of mounting railings, were never used. The trough sides rise only about 6 inches (15 cm) above the water level, less than the depth of freeboard of an empty narrow boat, so the helmsman of the boat has no visual protection from the impression of being at the edge of an abyss. The trough of the Cosgrove aqueduct has a similar structure, although it rests on trestles rather than iron arches. It is also less impressively high.
Every five years the ends of the aqueduct are closed and a plug in one of the highest spans is opened to drain the canal water into the River Dee below, to allow inspection and maintenance of the trough.[21][22] [23]
World Heritage Site[edit]
The aqueduct and surrounding lands were submitted to the "tentative list" of properties being considered for UNESCO World Heritage Site status in 1999.[24] The aqueduct was suggested as a contender in 2005—its 200th anniversary year[25]—and it was formally announced in 2006 that a larger proposal, covering a section of the canal from the aqueduct to Horseshoe Falls would be the United Kingdom's 2008 nomination.[26][27]
The length of canal from Rhoswiel, Shropshire, to the Horseshoe Falls, including the main Pontcysyllte Aqueduct structure as well as the older Chirk Aqueduct, were visited by assessors from UNESCO during October 2008, to analyse and confirm the site management and authenticity. The aqueduct was inscribed by UNESCO on the World Heritage List on 27 June 2009.[28]
Blythe size stand made of painted acrylic resin.
Inspired by Michael Ende's novel, 'The Neverending Story', and the imaginery of the 1984 movie by Wolfgang Petersen's, it shows the Auryn, a medallion with two serpents carved in relief, a light one and a dark one that bite each other's tails.
Because of the nature of the material used, it has a nice strong and compact presence and a stone-like solidity.
The pole is removable and it's crossed by a tin wire that can be bent to grab the doll.
55 x 67 cm.
Carlo Carrà was one of the most influential Italian painters of the first half of the 20th century. He is best known for his still lifes in the style of Metaphysical painting. He studied painting briefly at the Brera Academy in Milan, but he was largely self-taught. In 1909 he met the poet Filippo Marinetti and the artist Umberto Boccioni, who converted him to Futurism, an aesthetic movement that exalted patriotism, modern technology, dynamism, and speed. Carrà’s most famous painting, The Funeral of the Anarchist Galli (1911), embodies Futurist ideals with its portrayal of dynamic action, power, and violence.
With the advent of World War I, the classic phase of Futurism ended. Although Carrà’s work from this period, such as the collage Patriotic Celebration, Free Word Painting (1914), was based on Futurist concepts, he soon began to paint in a style of greatly simplified realism. Lot’s Daughters (1915), for example, represents an attempt to recapture the solidity of form and the stillness of the 13th-century painter Giotto. Carrà’s new style was crystallized in 1917 when he met the painter Giorgio de Chirico, who taught him to paint everyday objects imbued with a sense of eeriness. Carrà and de Chirico called their style pittura metafisica (“Metaphysical painting”), and their works of this period have a superficial similarity.
In 1918 Carrà broke with de Chirico and Metaphysical painting. Throughout the 1920s and ’30s, he painted melancholy figurative works based on the monumental realism of the 15th-century Italian painter Masaccio. Through such moody but well-constructed works as Morning by the Sea (1928), and through his many years of teaching at the Milan Academy, he greatly influenced the course of Italian art between the World Wars.
Ferstel
(Pictures you can see by clicking on the link at the end of page!)
Ferstel and Café Central, by Rudolf von Alt, left the men's alley (Herrengasse - Street of the Lords), right Strauchgasse
Danube mermaid fountain in a courtyard of the Palais Ferstel
Shopping arcade of the Freyung to Herrengasse
Entrance to Ferstel of the Freyung, right the Palais Harrach, left the palace Hardegg
The Ferstel is a building in the first district of Vienna, Inner City, with the addresses Strauchgasse 2-4, 14 Lord Street (Herrengasse) and Freyung 2. It was established as a national bank and stock exchange building, the denomination Palais is unhistoric.
History
In 1855, the entire estate between Freyung, Strauchgasse and Herrengasse was by Franz Xaver Imperial Count von Abensperg and Traun to the k.k. Privileged Austrian National Bank sold. This banking institution was previously domiciled in the Herrengasse 17/ Bankgasse. The progressive industrialization and the with it associated economic expansion also implied a rapid development of monetary transactions and banking, so that the current premises soon no longer have been sufficient. This problem could only be solved by a new building, in which also should be housed a stock exchange hall.
According to the desire of the then Governor of the National Bank, Franz von Pipitz, the new building was supposed to be carried out with strict observance of the economy and avoiding a worthless luxury with solidity and artistic as well as technical completion. The building should offer room for the National Bank, the stock market, a cafe and - a novel idea for Vienna - a bazaar.
The commissioned architect, Heinrich von Ferstel, demonstrated in the coping with the irregular surface area with highest conceivable effective use of space his state-of-the art talent. The practical requirements combine themselves with the actually artistic to a masterful composition. Ferstel has been able to lay out the rooms of the issuing bank, the two trading floors, the passage with the bazar and the coffee house in accordance with their intended purpose and at the same time to maintain a consistent style.
He was an advocate of the "Materialbaues" (material building) as it clearly is reflected in the ashlar building of the banking institution. Base, pillars and stairs were fashioned of Wöllersdorfer stone, façade elements such as balconies, cornices, structurings as well as stone banisters of the hard white stone of Emperor Kaiser quarry (Kaisersteinbruch), while the walls were made of -Sankt Margarethen limestone. The inner rooms have been luxuriously formed, with wood paneling, leather wallpaper, Stuccolustro and rich ornamental painting.
The facade of the corner front Strauchgasse/Herrengasse received twelve sculptures by Hanns Gasser as decoration, they symbolized the peoples of the monarchy. The mighty round arch at the exit Freyung were closed with wrought-iron bare gates, because the first used locksmith could not meet the demands of Ferstel, the work was transferred to a silversmith.
1860 the National Bank and the stock exchange could move into the in 1859 completed construction. The following year was placed in the glass-covered passage the Danube mermaid fountain, whose design stems also of Ferstel. Anton von Fernkorn has created the sculptural decoration with an artistic sensitivity. Above the marble fountain basin rises a column crowned by a bronze statue, the Danube female with flowing hair, holding a fish in its hand. Below are arranged around the column three also in bronze cast figures: merchant, fisherman and shipbuilder, so those professions that have to do with the water. The total cost of the building, the interior included, amounted to the enormous sum of 1.897.600 guilders.
The originally planned use of the building remained only a few years preserved. The Stock Exchange with the premises no longer had sufficient space: in 1872 it moved to a provisional solution, 1877 at Schottenring a new Stock Exchange building opened. The National Bank moved 1925 into a yet 1913 planned, spacious new building.
The building was in Second World War battered gravely particularly on the main facade. In the 1960s was located in the former Stock Exchange a basketball training hall, the entire building appeared neglected.
1971 dealt the President of the Federal Monuments Office, Walter Frodl, with the severely war damaged banking and stock exchange building in Vienna. The Office for Technical Geology of Otto Casensky furnished an opinion on the stone facade. On the facade Freyung 2 a balcony was originally attached over the entire 15.4 m long front of hard Kaiserstein.
(Usage of Leith lime: Dependent from the consistence and structure of the Leitha lime the usage differed from „Reibsand“ till building material. The Leitha lime stone is a natural stone which can be formed easily and was desired als beautiful stone for buildings in Roman times. The usage of lime stone from Eggenburg in the Bronze age already was verified. This special attribute is the reason why the Leitha lime was taken from sculptors and masons.
The source of lime stone in the Leitha Mountains was important for Austria and especially for Vienna from the cultur historical point of view during the Renaissance and Baroque. At the 19th century the up to 150 stone quarries of the Leitha mountains got many orders form the construction work of the Vienna „Ring road“.
At many buildings of Graz, such as the castle at the Grazer castle hill, the old Joanneum and the Cottage, the Leitha lime stone was used.
Due to the fact that Leitha lime is bond on carbonate in the texture, the alteration through the actual sour rain is heavy. www.geocaching.com/geocache/GC2HKZ9_leithagebirge-leithak...)
This balcony was no longer present and only close to the facade were remnants of the tread plates and the supporting brackets recognizable. In July 1975, followed the reconstruction of the balcony and master stonemason Friedrich Opferkuh received the order to restore the old state am Leithagebirge received the order the old state - of Mannersdorfer stone, armoured concrete or artificial stone.
1975-1982, the building was renovated and re-opened the Café Central. Since then, the privately owned building is called Palais Ferstel. In the former stock exchange halls now meetings and presentations take place; the Café Central is utilizing one of the courtyards.
I love the way the kntted fishing line is so transparent it has about as much solidity as its own flimsy shadow, like a drift of smoke in the sun.
Oil on canvas; 140 x 120 cm.
Carlo Carrà was one of the most influential Italian painters of the first half of the 20th century. He is best known for his still lifes in the style of Metaphysical painting. He studied painting briefly at the Brera Academy in Milan, but he was largely self-taught. In 1909 he met the poet Filippo Marinetti and the artist Umberto Boccioni, who converted him to Futurism, an aesthetic movement that exalted patriotism, modern technology, dynamism, and speed. Carrà’s most famous painting, The Funeral of the Anarchist Galli (1911), embodies Futurist ideals with its portrayal of dynamic action, power, and violence.
With the advent of World War I, the classic phase of Futurism ended. Although Carrà’s work from this period, such as the collage Patriotic Celebration, Free Word Painting (1914), was based on Futurist concepts, he soon began to paint in a style of greatly simplified realism. Lot’s Daughters (1915), for example, represents an attempt to recapture the solidity of form and the stillness of the 13th-century painter Giotto. Carrà’s new style was crystallized in 1917 when he met the painter Giorgio de Chirico, who taught him to paint everyday objects imbued with a sense of eeriness. Carrà and de Chirico called their style pittura metafisica (“Metaphysical painting”), and their works of this period have a superficial similarity.
In 1918 Carrà broke with de Chirico and Metaphysical painting. Throughout the 1920s and ’30s, he painted melancholy figurative works based on the monumental realism of the 15th-century Italian painter Masaccio. Through such moody but well-constructed works as Morning by the Sea (1928), and through his many years of teaching at the Milan Academy, he greatly influenced the course of Italian art between the World Wars.
1992 Tetsuo HARADA
LE 38ème PARALLÈLE
1992s234-38th parallele-kajigawa-Japan
Hauteur 4 m, l’axe 20 m, dallage 25 m2
Granit rose de la Clarté
Kajigawa, Niigata, Japon
La ville de Kajigawa, au Japon, est située sur le 38ème parallèle (latitude). Cette ligne sépare la Corée du Nord de la Corée du Sud.
Tetsuo Harada a réalisé cette sculpture pour la paix et la réconciliation entre les deux Corée. Les deux blocs de la pyramide se rejoignent exactement au niveau du 38ème parallèle et sont unis par une spère.
Le Tricot de la Terre, porteur de paix et d’union, est également présent dans cette sculpture.
Comme Tetsuo Harada, la ville de Kajigawa et le Ministère de l’Equipement qui ont commandé cette sculpture, souhaitent exprimer ce message de paix. Ils invitent les autres villes du monde situées également sur le 38ème parallèle à exprimer cet espoir par la culture, l'art ou le sport.
La ville d’Athènes, également située sur le 38ème parallèle, a adopté ce thème “38ème parallèle, horizon” pour le programme artistique et culturel des Jeux olympiques de 2004. Le 38ème traverse : Italie, Espagne, Portugal, Turquie, Iran, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, Chine, Corée, Japon, Californie, Utah, Colorado, Kansas, Indiana, Kentucky, Virginia.
1992
THE 38th PARALLEL
Height 4 m, axis 20 m, paving 25 m2
Pink Granite of Clarity
Kajigawa, Niigata, Japan
The city of Kajigawa, Japan, is located on the 38th parallel (latitude). This line separates North Korea from South Korea.
Tetsuo Harada created this sculpture for peace and reconciliation between the two Koreas. The two blocks of the pyramid meet exactly at the level of the 38th parallel and are joined by a marker.
The Knit of the Earth, bearer of peace and union, is also present in this sculpture.
As Tetsuo Harada, the city of Kajigawa and the Ministry of Equipment who commissioned this sculpture, wish to express this message of peace. They invite the other cities of the world also located on the 38th parallel to express this hope through culture, art or sport.
The city of Athens, also located on the 38th parallel, has adopted this theme "38th parallel, horizon" for the artistic and cultural programme of the 2004 Olympic Games. The 38th parallel runs through: Italy, Spain, Portugal, Turkey, Iran, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, China, Korea, Japan, California, Utah, Colorado, Kansas, Indiana, Kentucky, Virginia.
1992 KAGIGAWA-NIIGATA (JAPON)
ASSOCIATION DE VILLE ET DE L’EQUIPEMENT
Le 38ème parallèle sépare la Corée de nord de celle du Sud. Ce lieu particulier devient dans la ville de Kagigawa le symbole de la Paix. Tetsuo HARADA semble tout à fait indiqué en y installant le Tricot de la Terre. Les liens du Tricot de la Terre se tournent vers cette sculpture, forte, pyramidale, rehaussée d’une très belle colonne de granit. La solidité et le temps semble imposer leur sérénité. On y vient à pied, en vélo, en voiture sur cet air destiné à la rencontre et au dialogue. Du train on l’aperçoit petite et de plus en plus grande avant de disparaître dans son écrin de verdure et de rizières. Plus qu’une simple destination le 38ème parallèle entoure la terre et se veut réunir les hommes de Paix. Athènes contribue à donner une suite ...
Sur le 38ème le programme est ouvert pour Hamonten (Chine), San Fransisco (USA), Sado (Japon).
1992 KAGIGAWA-NIIGATA (JAPAN)
CITY AND EQUIPMENT ASSOCIATION
The 38th parallel separates North and South Korea. This particular place becomes in the city of Kagigawa the symbol of Peace. Tetsuo HARADA seems quite appropriate by installing there the Knitting of the Earth. The links of the Knitwear of the Earth turn towards this sculpture, strong, pyramidal, raised by a very beautiful granite column. Solidity and time seem to impose their serenity. One comes there on foot, by bicycle, by car on this air intended for the meeting and the dialogue. From the train you can see it small and getting bigger and bigger before disappearing into its green and rice fields. More than a simple destination, the 38th parallel surrounds the earth and is intended to bring together men of Peace. Athens contributes to give a continuation ...
On the 38th the program is open for Hamonten (China), San Fransisco (USA), Sado (Japan) ...
————————
ASSOCIATION OF THE CITY AND THE EQUIPEMENT
The 38th parallel separtes North and South Korea. The sculpture represents in a way the union of both these countries. This particular site in Kagigawa city becomes symbol of Peace. Tetsuo Harada’s ideas and interests find a great deal of expression here, through the theme of the “Earth Weaving”. The links of the “Earth Weaving” head towards this sculpture, strong pyramidal, matched with an imposing granite column. The solidity and the permanence seem to surround the site with serenity. One can go there walking or by car, the area is dedicated to meetings ans dialogue. By train, one can catch the sight of it, slowly disappearing amongst the setting of greenery and paddy fields. More than a mere destination, th e38th parallel surrounds the earth and aims to unify men of peace. Athena contributes to giving a continuation...
One the theme of the 38th, opportunieies are to be found the Hamonten (China), San Francisco (USA), Sado (Japan)...
El paralelo 38 separa Korea del norte de Korea del sur. La escultura representa en cierta manera la union de estos dos paises. Tetsuo Harada parece completamente la persona indicada en este lugar para construir “La tejeduria de la tierra”. Los vinculos de La tejeduria de la tierra vuelven hara esta escultura, fuerte piramidal realjada par una manestuosa columna de granito. La solidez y la parecn imponer su serenidad. Se viene en este sitio destinado a los encuentros y al dialogo andando, en bicideta, en coche. Desde el tren se preda divisar pequerran mas y mas grande, rapidamente desapareciedo joyera de verdura y de arrozales. Mas que una simple destincion, “el 38 paralelo” rodea toto el planeta y quiere runir los hombres de paz. Alterras contribuye a dar una continuacion...
A proposito des 38 paralelo, los aportunidades quedan abiertas en Hamonten (China), San Francisco (Estados Unidos), Sado (Japon)...
An old steam locomotive stands waiting to be refurbished with its paint streaked with water and rust.
I shot this to capture the colours and textures on this old loco. I wanted to convey some of the solidity and weight in its construction.
Prince St, the Fort.
Although Ceylon was not part of the British Raj and was governed as a separate Colony from 1815 to 1948, it was always influenced by events across the water and many commercial ventures from British India found their way to Ceylon. One such entity was the Imperial Bank of India which had been formed in 1921 by the merging of the former presidency Banks of Bengal, Bombay and Madras respectively. The new bank took on the triple role of a commercial bank, a banker's bank and a banker to the Government of India.
This grand building was designed by prominent Colombo architects Messrs Walker & Adams and is located in the heart of Colombo's financial district, the Fort. The architecture is a mix of neo-classical and Palladian and conveys a very British air of solidity appropriate for an imperial bank. The bank chambers to the right of the photo continues to be used by the Imperial Bank's successor, the State Bank of India. Walking inside the bank chambers is like stepping back in time; tiled floor, vaulted high ceiling, original fittings and IBI adornments and is very similar to the the interior of bank buildings of the 1920s from London to Shanghai. There is the architect's impression of the building hanging in a side-room of the main chamber identifying the firm of Walker & Adams.
In common with all buildings in the Fort, the requirement for a covered street level arcade can be clearly seen. Municipal building regulations mandated that all buildings be linked together by a continuous ground floor pedestrian arcade which provided shelter from rain and the sun.
The other half of the building is now occupied by HSBC and its interior is a real let-down for architectural buffs; it is all modern fixtures and fittings, false ceilings, corporate branding and modern lighting with little if any trace of its origins.
Commonwealth Bank building, 48 Martin Place, Sydney.
Designer: Ross & Rowe Architects and Consulting Engineers; Primary Structure - A.S. McDonald
Builder:Concrete Constructions Ltd.
Construction Years:1925 - 1928
Physical Description: The Commonwealth Bank building fronts Martin Place on the south, Elizabeth Street on the east and Castlereagh Street on the west. The building is an extensive eleven-storey structure plus mezzanine above ground, with three basement levels. Externally the building displays monumental civic scale and precise, symmetrical detailing utilising classical motifs. The Classic inspiration for the building is evident in the columns used on the exterior:
- Ionic columns on the Martin Place façade,
- Corinthian columns framing the balcony doors, and
- Doric columns on the roof.
The great Ionic columns on the Martin Place façade unite the six central floors, with the remaining floors serving as base and frieze. Above the base storey, strongly expressed with red granite facing, the cladding is pink terracotta blocks arranged in small tessellated effect. Terracotta cladding is also used on the Martin Place columns. At the upper levels, ornate terracotta detailing is included on the cornice, entablature and pilaster capitals. At roof level, the building has a Classical attic storey and dentilated cornice.
48 Martin Place has tremendous civic presence, portraying an image of massive solidity. The rich colour of the façade materials makes the Bank a most eminent landmark amongst its neighbours. It is a magnificent example of Beaux-Arts revivalist architecture, and a visual and technical masterpiece. The style was used to express the wealth and stability of financial institutions emphasising the qualities of:
- a monumental scale expressed by giant order;
- symmetry and the sculptural treatment of the facades;
- comprehensive use of classical motifs and details (both externally and internally);
- up-to-date structural techniques allowing expansive rooms; and
- high quality materials and finishes.
Extensive conservation works have restored the principal public areas to near original condition internally. The Banking Chamber, Grand Hall and Safe Deposit area are impressive in scale and detailing and form a sequence of grand interiors.
The Banking Chamber is detailed in an extravagant neo-Classical style, displaying substantial use of marble, and scagliola on tremendous stylised columns. The banking staff occupy the central space, which features marble, bronze and glass partitions. The main entrance is from Martin Place with access available from both Castlereagh and Elizabeth Streets, and also at the northern end of the building, between the Grand Hall and the Banking Chamber. The lofty ceiling is coffered and treated in a decorative manner, achieved by use of Wunderlich pressed metal panels fixed to the concrete slab. The arrangement had been detailed to give efficient and reflected light. Large bronze lamps supply artificial light reflected off the ceiling, providing diffused general lighting.
The Grand Hall forms a pedestrian way between Castlereagh and Elizabeth Streets. A ribbed barrel dome, embellished with mosaics and stained glass panels depicting prosperous Australian industries at the time of construction, surmounts the passage. Located centrally within the Hall is the Grand Stair, a wide marble staircase with bronze grille balustrade and Queensland maple handrail. The stair converges centrally at the Government Savings Bank’s Memorial Window and Tablet located on the northern-most wall. Walls of marble and the sumptuous detail create a remarkable architectural space.
The Safe Deposit area in the basement level is remarkably intact. Great barrel domes create a magnificent groined ceiling of three bays supported by marble pilasters. The ceilings are decorative, and brass pendant lights hang from the centre of each dome. Mosaic spandrels above marble walls are framed by the ceiling vaults and depict wreaths and festoons in rich green and red against a neutral setting. The whole is framed by a green and red leaf and berry motif on deep yellow mosaic tiles. The floors are white marble with decorative black border tiles.
While the lettable office space on the upper floors has been extensively altered, the stairways connecting the upper floors are largely intact. The stairs within the chambers are terrazzo, and balustrades are bronze with timber handrails. Original timber framed hydrant covers with frosted glazed panels and timber and brass mail chutes, no longer in use, have been retained within the stair chambers, along with the floor levels detailed in decorative tiles on the walls. Windows with deep reveals are located at each level of the stair chambers. (Tanner & Associates Pty Ltd, 2000)
Qi Kang's museum for the Nanjing Massacre is an ongoing project, begun in the 1980s and recently given a substantial addition by the same architect. The initial pieces correspond closely to western ideas of a "memorial" (wall of names, empty field), as well as acting quite literally as tombs: the museum was sited on the location of a mass grave from the massacre, and, under a vast, solemn roof, one can make out the skeletal remains of many of those murdered by the Japanese army in 1937 and 1938. It's difficult for any architectural statement to face such sadness without seeming flimsy or, worse, disrespectful. While I don't know the culture nearly well enough to say whether he truly succeeds here, I will say that for me, these early structures seemed appropriately quiet, unconfrontational, and apolitical, notwithstanding the severe figural statuary outside. (Naturally, I don't have any photos of those interiors, out of respect for the deceased.)
The museum, begun in the mid-1990s, is a little harder to get a bead on. Architecturally it picks up on the materials and scaleless solidity of the memorial, although the formal language of severe angles is closer to the mainstream of Deconstructivism. But the difficulty in evaluating it stems more from the content than anything the architect is doing; many students complained that the permanent exhibit, which tells the story of the Massacre in harrowing detail, was one-sided or even jingoistic. I have to say that I didn't take it that way; for one thing, if anybody has a right to a one-sided narrative, it's the victims of a massacre. As well, the historical events in this case have been denied by certain high-profile Japanese individuals, suggesting that the story is by no means universally known.
I was also surprised to find a degree of nuance in the storytelling that's not entirely in character for a one-party state's propaganda machine; while the only Japanese who get accolades are those who have spoken out or confessed their crimes, the exhibit gives more than token space to positive actions taken by the Chinese Nationalist Army. That's unexpected, because the Nationalists were of course the enemies of the Communists, and it would be quite convenient to pin the tragedy in part on hapless bourgeois leadership, et cetera; indeed, I believe this has been the party line at some point in the past. That's not to say the exhibit comes out entirely even-handed - but I didn't get the unpleasant whiff of Official State Lies that some students seemed to. Perhaps they objected more to the literalism of the exhibit, which features various dioramas of frightened mannequins assembled in environments of burlap and barbed wire, with bomb sound effects providing the soundtrack. If you've come to expect abstraction and attempts at poetry through space-making as the principal devices of a historical museum, then undoubtedly this would all seem a bit on-the-nose and cheesy. At the same time, given that our group, for one, was composed largely of people unfamiliar with the outlines of the massacre, perhaps a clearly communicative exhibit is the way to go.
None of that has much to do with the architecture, of course, but I'm not really prepared to tackle that either. To me, the whole idea of combining a memorial and a museum is an almost unwinnable brief: they're two really different things, and the aforementioned communicative role of a museum is perhaps inverted in a memorial, which invites the survivors to bring their own meaning to a place which offers them calm and silence.
It so happened that, the day before we reached Nanjing, we got a report from Evan's iPhone that the Iraq War was "over," with the final withdrawal of American combat troops to come by the time we'd be back in school for the next term. I speculated on the microphone: who among you would really like a studio project that asked you to both create a memorial to the dead (Iraqi and American), and a museum that expressed the official American state position on the war, what it meant, and what the hell the point of the whole thing was. (That we have no such official position was an obvious additional hurdle for the project.) Despite the strong opinions bouncing around about Qi Kang's work, nobody seemed that keen on the idea.
Drawn by J. Thurston. Engraved by W. Finden.
LADY MARY WORTLEY MONTAGUE.
From an enamel Miniature by Zink in the possession of Charles Colville Esqr.
LADY MARY WORTLEY MONTAGU.
200
[BORN 1690. DIED 1762.]
JEFFREY.
ADY Mary Pierrepoint, eldest daughter of the Duke of Kingston, was born in 1690, and gave, in her early youth, such indications of a studious disposition, that she was initiated into the rudiments of the learned languages along with her brother. Her first years appear to have been spent in retirement, and yet her first letters indicate a great relish for that talent and power of observation, by which she afterwards became so famous and so formidable. These letters were addressed to Mrs Wortley, the mother of her future husband, and, along with a good deal of girlish flattery and affectation, display such a degree of easy humour and sound penetration, as is not often to be met with in a damsel of nineteen, even in this age of precocity. "My knight-errantry," she says, "is at an end, and I believe I shall henceforth think freeing of galley-slaves and knocking down windmills more laudable undertakings than the defence of any woman's reputation whatever. To say truth, I have never had any great esteem for the generality of the fair sex, and my only consolation for being of that gender has been the assurance it gave me of never being married to any one among them." But, in the course of this correspondence with the mother, she appears to have conceived a very favourable opinion of the son. Her ladyship, though endowed with a very lively imagination, seems not to have been very susceptible of violent or tender emotions, and to have imbibed a very decided contempt for sentimental and romantic nonsense, at an age which is commonly more indulgent.
201Married to Mr Wortley in 1712, she entered upon a gay life; but she does not appear to have been happy. We have no desire to revive forgotten scandals, but it is a fact which cannot be omitted, that her ladyship went abroad without her husband, on account of bad health, in 1739, and did not return to England till she heard of his death in 1761. Whatever was the cause of their separation, there was no open rupture, and she seems to have corresponded with him very regularly for the first ten years of her absence; but her letters were cold without being formal, and were gloomy and constrained when compared with those that were spontaneously written to show her wit or her affection to her correspondents.
A little spoiled by flattery, and not altogether "undebauched by the world," Lady Mary seems to have possessed a masculine solidity of understanding, great liveliness of fancy, and such powers of observation and discrimination of character, as to give her opinions great authority on all the ordinary subjects of practical manners and conduct. After her marriage, she seems to have abandoned all idea of laborious or regular study, and to have been raised to the station of a literary character merely by her vivacity and love of amusement and anecdote. The great charm of her letters is certainly the extreme ease and facility with which everything is expressed, the brevity and rapidity of her representations, and the elegant simplicity of her diction. While they 202unite almost all the qualities of a good style, there is nothing of the professed author in them; nothing that seems to have been composed, or to have engaged the admiration of the writer. She appears to be quite unconscious either of merit or of exertion in what she is doing, and never stops to bring out a thought, or to turn an expression, with the cunning of a practised rhetorician. Her letters from Turkey will probably continue to be more universally read than any of the others, because the subject commands a wider and more permanent interest than the personalities and unconnected remarks with which the rest of her correspondence is filled. At the same time, the love of scandal and private history is so great, that these letters will be highly relished as long as the names they contain are remembered, and then they will become curious and interesting, as exhibiting a truer picture of the manners and fashions of the time, than is to be found in most other publications.
Poetry, at least the polite and witty sort which Lady Mary has attempted, is much more of an art than prose writing. We are trained to the latter by the conversation of good society, but the former seems always to require a good deal of patient labour and application. This her ladyship appears to have disdained; and, accordingly, her poetry, though abounding in lively conceptions, is already consigned to that oblivion in which mediocrity is destined by an irrevocable sentence to slumber till the end of the world. Her essays are extremely insignificant, and have no other merit that we can discover, but that they are very few and very short.
Of Lady Mary's friendship and subsequent rupture with Pope, we have not thought it necessary to say anything, both because we are of opinion that no new light has been latterly thrown upon it, and because we have 203no desire to awaken forgotten scandals by so idle a controversy. Pope was undoubtedly a flatterer, and was undoubtedly sufficiently irritable and vindictive; but whether his rancour was stimulated upon this occasion by anything but caprice or jealousy, and whether he was the inventor or the echo of the imputations to which he has given notoriety, we do not pretend to determine. Lady Mary's character was certainly deficient in that cautious delicacy which is the best guardian of female reputation; and there seems to have been in her conduct something of that intrepidity which naturally gives rise to misconstruction, by setting at defiance the maxims of ordinary discretion.
From WOMEN OF HISTORY:
SELECTED FROM THE WRITINGS OF STANDARD AUTHORS.
BY THE EDITOR OF "MEN OF HISTORY."
“Biography is the most universally pleasant and universally profitable of all reading."
EDINBURGH: W. P. NIMMO, HAY, & MITCHELL. 1890.
MORRISON AND GIBB, PRINTERS, EDINBURGH.
i210
This is an English translation of Ambassador Gunanayagam’s Interview to the Venezeula newspaper “Correo del Orinoco”)
1. You are Sri Lanka’s Ambassador to Cuba. What brought you to Caracas?
Our attention was drawn to the active presence in Caracas of a delegation representing Canadian HART meeting Government authorities making false, fabricated and defamatory accusations against the Government of Sri Lanka, alleging that there was a ‘genocide’ against the Tamil community in Sri Lanka and ‘concentration camps.’
It baffles me why an organisation in Canada, an immigration country with some 250,000 Tamil residents, should ask Venezuela country world – Indonesia and who want to go to Australia!
I can only surmise that this was only a pretext, the real objective being to lure Venezuela into providing symbolic recognition to the pseudo Transnational Government of Tamil Eelam (TGTE) that had just held its inaugural Congress in Philadelphia, its goal being to establish a separate State in Sri Lanka. They were also hoping to obtain Venezuela’s help to organise a network in Latin America to promote their separatist cause.
2. Who is behind Canadian HART?
Canadian HART was launched in 2008 by LTTE front organisations, the Tamil Youth Organisation of Canada (TYO Congress and Tamil Women’s Organisation. The LTTE’s Tiger flag boldly flutters on the home page of the TYO-Canada website, despite the LTTE being banned as a terrorist organisation. The TYO and the Canadian Tamil Congress are also listed as supporters of the Canadian HART operated website .
The Canadian Tamil Congress is one of the most influential founders of the recently formed Global Tamil Forum (GTF), which was created by ex- LTTE International Chief Selvarasa Pathmanathan alias KP by bringing together 15 existing LTTE front organizations from different Western countries with the goal of establishing a separate State in Sri Lanka. KP is one of the two architects of TGTE.
In January this year, Canadian HART Media Team Coordinator Jessica Chandrashekar accompanied Saradha Nathan, a member of another LTTE front organisation, the Australian Tamil Congress, to Indonesia to visit the so-called asylum-seekers detained in Indonesia. The Australian Tamil Congress is also founder of the pro-LTTE pro-separatist Global Tamil Forum. Canadian HART Jessica Chandrashekar was apprehended trying to smuggle laptops and other documents to those on board. Both she and Saradha Nathan were taken into questioning in Indonesia on suspicion of human trafficking. It is reported that a high-profile LTTE leader who had been deported from Toronto and several other identified LTTE members were on board the vessel.
These organisations and their campaign of defamation have the support of certain major powers, their institutions and NGOs such as the International Crisis Group, Human Rights Watch, Reporters without Borders, Amnesty International, The Real News Network of Sharmini Peries, and individuals such as Ron Ridenour and Patrick O’Donoghue.
3. You are part of the Tamil community yourself. What do you have to say about the allegations of genocide by Canadian HART?
Such allegations are ridiculous, a caricature and dangerous. Yes, I belong to the Tamil community and I’m proud to be Sri Lankan! Cries of genocide were heard only during the last phase of the war and only when the military defeat of the LTTE became possible and to justify external intervention to rescue its leaders. If one takes a closer look at the definition of ‘genocide’ in the 1948 UN Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, you will have a hard time finding evidence that there was intent on the part of the Government of Sri Lanka “to destroy, in whole or in part” the Tamil community.
The Tamil community represents about 18% of a total Sri Lankan population of about 21 million. Although there is a large concentration of the community in the North, the majority live outside alongside other Sri Lankan communities, Sinhala, Muslim, Moor, Malay and Burghers. If there was genocide, would the communities be living peacefully alongside each other? Since time immemorial, mixed marriages have been common.
This is true in my own family. You will find political parties emanating from the Tamil community in Government. Others emanating from the same community have elected representatives in parliament. Even the pro-LTTE political Party TNA has entered the democratic process and participated in recent elections. Members of the community are at senior levels of Government, in the judiciary and law enforcement agencies, in the various professions, in Universities, in the press, in business former Minister of Foreign Affairs, Lakshman Kadirgamar was from community. He was assassinated by the LTTE. After the EasternProvince was liberated by Government forces with the aid of a breakaway LTTE faction, provincial elections were held and a former LTTE child-soldier was appointed by the President as Chief Minister of that province. An ex-LTTE Commander was appointed as Minister of National Integration.
Government forces were engaged not against the Tamil community, but against a terrorist organisation that fought a relentless and ruthless war for separation. They were engaging LTTE suicide squads, the Black Tigers, trained in suicide operations, unprecedented in history. The Black Tigers were involved in the assassination of former Prime Minister of India Rajiv Gandhi and Sri Lankan President Ranasinghe Premadasa.
Let’s recall that right from the beginning of his mandate and practically until the end of the war in May 2009, President Mahinda Rajapaksa continued to call for discussions, even face to face, with the leader Prabakharan, who didn’t even respond. Throughout the war, the Sri Lankan Government continued to transport physically Tamil community was not deprived of essential services.
The Eastern Province was liberated in 2007 by the Sri Lankan armed forces fighting alongside other groups emanating from the Tamil community, including an important faction that split from the LTTE, Within 6 months the Government had resettled 220,000 IDPs from that Province. In fact, some NGOs and governments protested that it was too fast! The more recent IDPs numbering some 300,000 members are those who fled for safety from LTTE-controlled areas to Government cleared areas in May 2009. They had been forced to follow the trail of a retreating LTTE across jungles for use as human shields. Many had been corralled out of the Jaffna peninsula at gunpoint by the LTTE, as early as 1995, during the first big enforced exodus.
In the last stages of the war when the LTTE was cornered, it is well known that civilians were prevented from moving out of the line of fire or escaping to government-controlled areas. In an attempt to prevent them escaping, the LTTE fired at the fleeing civilians, launched grenade and mortar attacks, and sent suicide bombers to explode in their midst.
4. But, what about allegations of concentration camps?
There are NO concentration camps in Sri Lanka! To accommodate this unprecedented surge of fleeing hostages, the Government rapidly set up welfare villages with UN assistance. In the welfare villages, not a single person starved even for a day! Not a single outbreak of disease! Not a single death by unnatural causes reported! Efforts were made to provide education facilities for children. In November 2009, 19,364 boys and 19,644 girls were attending classes within the Welfare Village. An important programme of rehabilitation of former child soldiers and ex-combatants was conducted. From May 2009, mortality rates had dropped to an average of 2 to 3 per day giving an annual crude mortality rate of 4,4 per 1000 persons in Vavuniya, which had the largest number of IDP villages. This is compatible with mortality rates in any other part of the country.
The resettlement process conducted in cooperation with UNHCR according to International standards has been rapid, despite the over 1.5 million landmines and UXOs that have had to be cleared to guarantee the safety of returnees. Today, more than 80% of the IDPs have returned to their homes or are with host families. The 20% remaining in welfare villages have been cleared to leave at any time.
More than 68 UN agencies, INGOs and NGOs have access to the villages and assist in the resettlement process. More than 173 media personnel have visited the area since 2009 and can testify. So far, out of 11,000 IDPs identified as LTTE combatants, over 2000 have been released after completing a rehabilitation programme. These include 847 females, 253 children and 55 university students. At present, there are 148 University students, including 51 females, under rehabilitation. Canadian HART and foreign supporters of separatism such as Ron Ridenourconveniently forget the collective forcible eviction of the Muslim population by the LTTE from the North and North-West of the country in October 1990. They were given only 24 hours to take a few personal items. It is only now, 20 years after their expulsion that my Government has been able to even begin resettling the over 60,000 Muslims still displaced.
At that time and ever since, nobody called this barbarous act ‘genocide’ or ‘ethnic cleansing’!
5. Does the Global Tamil Forum (GTF) and the Transnational Government of Tamil Eelam (TGTE) represent the Tamil Diaspora and the entire Tamil community?
No, they don’t!
The GTF and the TGTE claim that they represent the ‘Tamil Diaspora,’ which is then rehashed by individuals like Ron Ridenour, to justify claims of genocide and hence the need for a separate State. Both organisations were formed by international leaders of the earlier LTTE and are composed of LTTE front organisations and their supporters in various Western countries. What they have in common is their LTTE origins and the demand for a separate State. Having lost territory and control over the Tamil community in Sri Lanka, claims of genocide has become a facile argument to justify foreign intervention to help create a separate State.
The TGTE is a re-branded manifestation of the LTTE overseas structure. Its co-architects are Visuvanathan Rudrakumaran, former international legal advisor of the LTTE and New York based Lawyer, and Selvarasa Pathmanathan alias KP, previously International Chief in charge of international LTTE branch administration, global fund raising and arms acquisition. The TGTE is unambiguously clear about its ultimate goal being creation of a separate State. At its inaugural Congress in Philadelphia, the LTTE flag was openly flaunted alongside the US flag, despite it being a banned terrorist organization, and Rudrakumaran waselected as Interim Chief Executive of TGTE. As I mentioned earlier, the GTF too is an entity formed by bringing together several LTTE front organisations in the West.
These organisations are unrepresentative, but project themselves as the ‘sole representatives of the Tamil people.’ Their leaders belong to a financially powerful and influential class of educated professionals and businesspeople residing in the West and benefiting from external political and financial backing.
Let us recall the brutal war the LTTE waged against other groups issuing from the Tamil community, assassinating intellectuals, politicians and activists to establish itself as the ‘sole representative.’ At the same time, its representatives moved into gain a stranglehold over the Tamil community in the west threats to families in Sri Lanka. Paris and Toronto were prime examples of the phenomenon, where unquestioning compliance was demanded and wrought.
The TGTE too has made clear that it will not take into account decisions of the so-called “Tamil leadership” inside Sri Lanka unless they accept its separatist agenda.
No, the Tamil community is not a homogenous group!
Our perceptions of who we are and the choices we make depend essentially on our historical origins, our economic and social status, geographic location, and cultural background. For instance, the demand of almost 1 million workers belonging to the Tamil community brought as indentured labour by the British from India was to obtain Sri Lankan nationality. The LTTE showed no concern whatsoever for the fate of this working class. Within Sri Lanka, even in regions such as the East and the northern Jaffna peninsula, which separatists claim as their territory, there is no popular support for the separatist cause.
As for INGOs and their backers and individuals who tow the LTTE/TGTE line, genocide is only a pretext for achieving a hidden agenda. Perhaps we are seeing a new model for external intervention in the making, creation of a dangerous precedent. First, encourage groups without territory or control over the population to establish ‘Transnational Governments.’ Then, facilitate a campaign of defamation to justify intervention by a nebulous ‘international community’ to exercise the so-called ‘Responsibility to Protect’.’ Of course, all this has nothing to do with the principles of the UN Charter or human rights!
My question to you is, would you like to see this happening in Latin America where regional integration, the dream of Bolivar, is on the agenda?
6. In Latin America we have little information about Sri Lanka. Was a popular insurrection in your country?
Insurrection implies an organised rebellion aimed at overthrowing the Government in place. The goal of the LTTE was not to overthrow the Government but to establish a separate State of Tamil Eelam under its totalitarian control. That is why they projected the Sinhalese people as the enemy.
The LTTE was NOT a liberation movement. It never had an economic or social programme nor did it concern itself with development of the areas it controlled or in improving the well-being of the Tamil community. The only institutions they set up were institutions of coercion stations, tribunals, prisons. They had airplanes, a fleet of tankers, and even submarines.
It was a terror organisation terrorising even members of the community they claimed to represent. Theirs was an anti-civilian approach! Child were forcibly recruited for their notorious baby-brigades and forewarned that their families would be wiped out if they surrender. They invented the suicide belt and pioneered the use of women in suicide attacks. Their soldiers wore cyanide vials for consumption upon capture.They practiced extortion. They were known within the Tamil community as the “Eelam Enterprise” for their involvement in human, arms and drug trafficking and sea piracy.
Tens of thousands of civilians from the community who did not subscribe to their separatist goal were physically eliminated, including leaders of progressive political groups and their cadres, politicians and intellectuals. In one day alone, they killed 175 leaders of the Tamil Eelam Liberation Organisation. Then they machine-gunned the entire Central Committee of the left-wing EPRLF Revolutionary Liberation Front.
It shocks me to hear comparisons being made between the LTTE and genuine liberation movements in Latin America and the Middle East. Is it ethical to brand an entire community – in every walk of life! Sri – – salaries of pubic servants to LTTE-controlled areas so that – including through intimidation, assault, and – police – the Eelam Peoples´ – the Sinhalese in this case – pubic places, transit hubs, buses, trains, marketplaces, temples, banks, office buildings, etc.
Ron Ridenour’s presentation of Rudrakumaran, top LTTE and TGTE leader associate of the mafiosi KP, as a moral reference is an insult to the intelligence of people, particularly of the Tamil community itself!
7. How do you see your country going forward?
A new historical period is opening up for our country with a strong potential for development. Sri Lanka is the 2nd fastest growing economy in Asia, second only to China, and the 8th fastest growing economy in the world. According to the UNDP, Sri Lanka is one of the countries of the world on the threshold of achieving the Millennium Development Goals. With the elimination of an autocratic group, democratic space has been opened. A large number of important emergency laws and regulations have relaxed and a Commission on Lessons Learned and Reconciliation established. Soon, Northern Provincial Council elections will be held and members of the Tamil community in the North will be able to choose their own Chief Minister and administration. We are also engaging in a comprehensive dialogue with all political parties to stabilise the democratic administration.
We are building a strong national industry and agriculture to reduce import dependence and to achieve greater self-reliance, food and energysecurity. Every effort is being made to harness and further develop the country’s natural wealth and resources. A massive development programme is underway in the recently liberated Northern and Eastern provinces with a total budget of US$ 4,3 billion for the period 2007 to 2012. In addition, from 2010 onwards, the Government will allocate some US$ 1 billion each year for the North and East for reconstruction and rehabilitation.
With an average GDP growth of 6% or above between 2005 to 2008, our target is to achieve an average economic GDP growth of 8% after 2010 and to double GDP per capita to US$4,000 by 2016. Our priority is to ensure that growth is spread more evenly.
The almost 30-year old conflict ended and Sri Lanka has the potential to develop into a naval, aviation, commercial, energy and knowledge hub, serving as a key link between the East and West. As one of the fastest growing economies and a feeder to rapidly growing China and India, Sri Lanka can become a regional centre and major gateway to India.
8. How do you see the relations between Sri Lanka and Venezuela?
Our Governments have excellent relations based on the principles of mutual respect, solidarity and reciprocity, and the relations between President Hugo Chavez and President Mahinda Rajapaksa have always been warm and friendly.
Sri Lanka and Venezuela are both firmly committed to the defence of State sovereignty, national independence, territorial integrity and non-interference, and to the pursuance of an independent, free and non-aligned foreign policy. Strengthening the national economy for the benefit of people, improving social well-being, achieving food and energy security, protection and preservation of the environment are common concerns. We are also firmly committed to a strong multilateral system and vibrant South-South cooperation.
During my cordial meeting with the Minister of External Relations, Mr.Nicolas Maduro, we reaffirmed the continuing solidity of the friendly relations between our two countries and the need to strengthen our cooperation in areas of mutual interest. My Government will exert every effort to do so at the bilateral as well as multilateral levels Nations, within the Non-Aligned Movement and the G.-15, which is chaired by Sri Lanka.
(This is an English translation of Ambassador Gunanayagam’s Interview to the Venezeula newspaper “Correo del Orinoco”) /
Strasbourg was when it was first mentioned in 12BC the Roman camp Argentoratum. Strasbourg was probably a bishop's seat from the 4th century. Alemanni, Huns, and Franks conquered the city in the 5th century. Strasbourg was then ruled by the Strasbourg bishops until 1262 when the citizens violently rebelled against the bishopric and Strasbourg became a free imperial city and so belonged to the Holy Roman Empire. Led by two rival patrician families (Müllheim and Zorn), the city prospered, although the town hall required two separate entrances for the two families.
On February 14, 1349, one of the first and largest pogroms of persecution of Jews in connection with the plague in the German area took place here. In the course of the St. Valentine's Day massacre, several hundred (some say up to 3000) Jews were publicly burned, and the survivors were expelled from the city. Until the end of the 18th century, Jews were forbidden to stay within the city walls after 10 pm.
Strasbourg came under French rule in 1681, after the conquest of Alsace by the armies of Louis XIV. However, the revocation of the Edict of Toleration of Nantes in 1685, which legalized the suppression of Protestantism in France, did not apply in Alsace, and religious freedom prevailed, even if the French authorities endeavored to favor Catholicism wherever possible.
Strasbourg's Lutheran, German-influenced university continued to exist. Moreover, until 1789, Alsace was a de facto foreign province, separated from the rest of France by a customs border running along the Vosges Mountains. Therefore, the city and its surrounding area remained German-speaking. In the period of the French Revolution, the city became attractive for republicans from Germany and later an exile for German oppositionists.
Around 600, a monastery with a church dedicated to the Apostle Thomas was founded at the current location. In the 9th century, a new church was built with an adjoining school. Both burned down in 1007 by lightning. After reconstruction, the monastery was converted into a collegiate monastery in 1031. Lightning struck again in 1144. The construction of a new building began in 1196, which combines Romanesque solidity with early Gothic details. The construction work ended in 1521 with side chapels in the late Gothic style.
It is the main Lutheran church of the city since its cathedral became Catholic again after the annexation of the town by France in 1681. So it is nicknamed "la cathédrale du Protestantisme alsacien". It is the only hall church in the Alsace region. In the church, there are many tombs and monuments. This is the decorated sarcophagus of Bishop Adelochus (+823). It is a work of the "Master of Eschau", created around 1130.
St Mary, Walpole, Suffolk
Walpole is a fairly large village on the outskirts of Halesworth. I've been cycling through it long enough to remember when it still had a shop and a pub, and what felt like a life of its own, but these are gone now. However, St Mary survives, set back from the road in a large graveyard up the hill on the way to Halesworth. At first sight, it appears to be a fairly run-of-the-mill Victorian village church, but a Norman doorway has been preserved within the south porch. Otherwise, what you see today is largely the work of the 19th century architect HM Eyton.
To be honest, It is easy to moan about churches like this. But here it is, at the heart of its village, open to visitors, reasonably friendly inside - honestly, it is hard to criticize. From the outside, it puts me in mind of Catholic churches in northern France, rebuilt in this style after the destruction of the First World War. This design is also familiar from a thousand municipal cemetery chapels, with its funny little spire and restrained mock-decorated windows.
There are some medieval survivals here. But not many. The base of the tower was retained, and footings of the nave walls suggest it was originally Saxon. The Norman doorway is remarkably well-preserved, suggesting the previous porch had survived for many centuries. It has had an electric light fitting driven through it, presumably by someone who thought it was a good idea.
Even on a sunny day the church seems dark inside, but as your eyes become accustomed to the gloom your first surprise is the rather odd medieval font. It is not originally from this church but from St Andrew, in the centre of Norwich, which may explain its urban solidity. It must be said that it is much more attractive than the vulgar 19th century one that replaced it in Norwich.
The parish have been busy here over the last few years, and one of the most striking aspects of the interior is that the long chancel has been cleared of all its furnishings, exposing a fine Victorian tiled floor. It does perhaps accentuate the gloom of the nave, and modern chairs would look much better in that space than clumpy old Victorian pews.
The village of Walpole is a mecca for church explorers, but they are on their way to visit Walpole Old Chapel up the hill, rather than the homely charms of St Mary. I was headed there next, as I understood it was open on Saturday afternoons, and I hadn't seen inside since recording a programme about it for BBC Radio Suffolk a year or so previously. I came out of St Mary into the rain. It was that horrible seeping drizzle, and so I sped as fast as I could up to the Old Chapel. I got there to find that it didn't open until 2pm. There was no shelter, and waiting an hour in the rain wasn't really an option, so I hurried back to Halesworth and took shelter in the Angel Hotel instead.
Roof boss in the 14th century vault of the nave.
The attractive town of Tewkesbury has been dominated by its superb abbey church since the beginning of the 12th century, and we can be forever grateful to its townspeople for purchasing the monastic church in 1540 for £453 for use as their parish church, saving it from the fate that befell countless similar great churches across the land during the turmoil of the Dissolution. It reminds us both how lucky we are to still marvel at it today, yet also how great a loss to our heritage the period wrought when many more such buildings were so utterly plundered as to have gone without trace (the fate of the monastic buildings here and even the lady chapel of the church whose footings are laid out in the grass at the east end).
Tewkesbury Abbey is thus rightly celebrated as one of our greatest non-cathedral churches, and remarkably much of the original Norman church remains substantially intact, most apparently in the great central tower, a fine example of Romanesque architecture adorned with rows of blind-arcading. The west front is dominated by a massive Norman-arched recess (enclosing the somewhat later west window) and the nave and transepts remain largely as originally built, though this is less clear externally owing to the changes made to the windows, nearly all of which were enlarged in the 14th century in the Decorated Gothic style. This century also saw the complete rebuilding of the eastern limb of the church, of a form less common in England with radiating chapels surrounding the eastern apse of the choir (the central lady chapel sadly missing since 1540).
The interior reveals far more of the Romanesque structure with mighty columns supporting the round Norman arches of the nave arcades giving the building a great sense of solidity. The space is further enlivened by the changes made during the 14th century by the stunning vault over the nave (adorned with a rewarding series of figurative bosses) which sits surprisingly well with the Norman work below. Beyond the apsidal choir beckons, and both this and the space below the tower are enriched with stunningly complex vaulted ceilings (replete with further bosses and gilded metal stars), all ablaze with colour and gilding.
There is much to enjoy in glass here, most remarkably a complete set of 14th century glazing in the clerestorey of the choir, seven windows filled with saints and prophets (and most memorably two groups of knights in the westernmost windows on each side). A few of the figures have fared less well over the centuries but on the whole this is a wonderfully rare and well preserved scheme. There is much glass from the 19th century too, with an extensive scheme in the nave of good quality work by Hardman's, and more recently a pair of rich windows by Tom Denny were added in one of the polygonal chapels around the east end.
Some of the most memorable features are the monuments with many medieval tombs of note, primarily the effigies and chantry chapels of members of the Despenser family around the choir (two of the chantries being miniature architectural gems in their own right with exquisite fan-vaulting). In one of the apsidal chapels is the unusual cenotaph to Abbot Wakeman with his grisly cadaver effigy, a late medieval reminder of earthly mortality.
Tewkesbury Abbey is not to be missed and is every bit as rewarding as many of our cathedrals (superior in fact to all but the best). It is normally kept open and welcoming to visitors on a daily basis. I have also had the privilege of working on this great building several times over the years (as part of the team at the studio I once worked for), and have left my mark in glass in a few discreet places.
One of the real pleasures of Flickr is finding out so much more about the areas you thought you knew.
I have been to Wymondham a few times, delivered beer to a hotel (more of that another time) and a friend used to run the Railway Inn near the station, but I hadn't really explored the town.
But having seen a friend's shots, I really thought I should go back and look at it anew. And then there was this building, the Abbey Church with two towers, ruins and all the associated history.
Whatever you think of the works inside, it is as a complete building, something to leave me, at least, in awe at the beauty. Of course, it might not please everyone, but it does me.
Many thanks to Sarah and Richard for taking me here.
--------------------------------------------
This massive church and its famous twin towers will be familiar to anyone who has ever been within five miles of Wymondham, pronounced Win-d'm; its presence always there above the roof tops, and still there on the horizon when the rooftops can no longer be seen. Closer to, it is like a mighty city on a hill. It is often referred to as Wymondham Abbey, which isn't entirely correct; but there was an Abbey here, and you can see a scattering of remains in the fields between the church and the river, gradually reduced over the centuries as the stone and rubble were taken away for use elsewhere.
We came to Wymondham on a day that was breathtakingly cold; although the temperature was hovering around freezing, there was a biting east wind that made it feel colder still. Hence, the clarity of the light in the photographs above. The top photograph, taken from the south on the far bank of the river, is worth a second glance, because it provides a number of clues as to how this extraordinary and magnificent building came to be the way it is today.
In the beginning, there was a Benedictine Priory, an offshoot of the Abbey of St Albans. It was founded here because, after the Conquest, William I granted the lands of Wymondham to the Duc d'Albini, and the Duke's brother was Abbot of St Albans. Part of the project consisted of building a massive Priory church, much bigger than the one you see today. In style, it was like the Abbey church of Bury St Edmund, or Ely Cathedral. It was a cruciform church about 70 metres long, and had twin west towers - you can see something similar today at Kings Lynn St Margaret. As at St Margaret, there was a third tower above the central crossing, the chancel extending a long way eastwards, and transepts that were as tall as the nave roof. It was completed during the 12th century.
You can see a surviving trace of the south-west tower in the photograph above. The base of its northern wall rises above the roofline at the western end of the clerestory, just beside the current west tower. The central crossing tower, however, was built to the east of the current east tower, the chancel extending eastwards beyond it.
D'Albini intended the church to serve the parish as well as the Priory, but this was not managed without recourse to the advice of Pope Innocent IV, who granted the people use of the nave and the north aisle, the Priory retaining the south aisle, transepts and chancel.
However, when the central crossing tower became unsafe in the late 14th century and had to be taken down, the Priory rebuilt it to the west of the crossing, actually within the nave. This is the east tower that you see today, now a shell. In turn, the parish extended the church further west, demolishing the two west towers and replacing them with the massive structure you see today. It really is huge; although it is not as tall as the church tower at Cromer, its solidity lends it a vastness not sensed there.
When the new east tower was built, the western face of it cut off the nave from the chancel, creating two separate spaces. When the west tower was built, it blocked off the former west window between the old towers. Because of this, Wymondham is the only medieval parish church in Norfolk, and one of the few in England, that has no window at either end.
Wymondham Priory became an Abbey in 1448, and seems to have lived its final century peaceably enough before being closed and asset-stripped by Henry VIII in the 1530s. The church then became solely the charge of the parish; the eastern parts, apart from the tower, were demolished.
Still without parapet or panelling, the west tower was never finished; but it features in the turbulent history of mid 16th century England because William Kett, one of the leaders of Kett's Rebellion, was hung from the top of it by Edward VI's thought police, a reminder of just how closely church and state became allied during the Reformation. It did give me pause for thought - hanging your enemy from a church tower seems such an obvious thing to do when you want to make a point. I wonder just how many more times it happened to less notable victims over the centuries, on church towers up and down the land?
You enter today through the great north porch, which is similar to that nearby at Hethersett, even to the extent of having an almost identical series of bosses. They depict rosary scenes in the life of Christ and the Blessed Virgin.
As I said, we came here on a spectacularly cold day, but I was delighted to discover that the interior of the church was heated, even on a Saturday. The church attracts a considerable number of visitors, as you might expect; but I still thought this was a nice gesture.
Wymondham church is above all else an architectural wonder; but in many ways this is a simple building, easy to explore and satisfying to visit. It has the feel of a small Anglican cathedral in that there is a pleasing mix of ancient Norman architecture and modern Anglican triumphalism; as in a cathedral, there are open spaces, and the old pews have been replaced with modern chairs, which almost always seems to work well. The glorious arcading, triforium and clerestory create a sense of great height; this, coupled with the lack of east or west windows, can make you feel rather boxed in, but I found I quite liked that; it made the place seem more intimate, despite its size.
The modern, triumphant feel to the place is largely owing to the vast reredos by Ninian Comper. This is generally considered to be his finest single work, and forms the parish war memorial. It was built and gilded during the 1920s and 1930s, and you have to say it is magnificent. It consists of three tiers of saints, with a glorious Christ in Majesty topping the tiers under the great tester. It was never completed; the space where the retable should be is now hidden by curtains.
The rood and beam, a bay to the west, is also Comper's work, and it is hard to conceive that work of this kind and to this scale will ever again be installed in an English church. The low sun, slanting through the south windows of the clerestory, picked out the gilding, and clever lighting from underneath helped to put Comper's vision of Heaven into practice. The row of candlesticks on the altar leaves you in no doubt in which wing of the Church of England Wymondham finds itself.
Comper's glory shouldn't distract you from the early 16th century facade above the sedilia. It is terracotta, and probably from the same workshop as the Bedingfield tombs at Oxborough. Here you see what might have happened to English church architecture if theReformation hadn't intervened. Looking west from the sanctuary, the original west window is clearly discernible, now home to the organ.
If Comper's work is a little rich for you, you may prefer the north aisle, which is wide enough to be a church in itself. Cleared of clutter, a few rows of chairs face a gorgeous early 20th century triptych depicting Mary and John at the foot of the cross. The Madonna and child towards the west is also Comper's, but the 1930s towering font cover on the typical East Anglian 15th century font is not; it is by Cecil Upcher. The south aisle is truncated, the eastern bays now curtained off; but here are the few medieval survivals in glass. From slightly later, but the other side of the Reformation divide, is an Elizabethan text on the arcade. It probably marks the point to which the pulpit was moved by the Anglicans in the 16th century.
St Mary and St Thomas of Canterbury is a church that it is easy to admire, and it certainly impressed me. Perhaps, it is not so easy a building to love. Inevitably, there is something rather urban in its grandeur, and even the warmth of the heating couldn't take the edge off the remoteness and anonymity you inevitably find in such a space.
However, the friendliness of the people on duty helped to make up for this. The area beneath the west tower has been converted into a shop, and the nice lady working there was very chatty and helpful. I have to say that I think it would concentrate my mind a bit, knowing that mighty weight was above me. The shop itself is good of its kind, selling books and religious items rather than just souvenirs, and more icons and rosaries than you would normally expect to find in an establishment of the Church of England.
The lady said that she was a Methodist really, and found the services rather formal, but she'd started coming to the Abbey because her daughter went there. "You ought to come, Mum, we're just like real Catholics!", she giggled, as she recalled her daughter's words. As a 'real Catholic' myself, I couldn't help thinking that we would have stripped out Comper's reredos long ago, and Masses would be accompanied by guitars and percussion, possibly with a modicum of clapping and the help of an overhead projector screen; but I kept my counsel.
Simon Knott, January 2006
I spent months and months working on wall textures and also on the base rock-work and greenery. In the end I'm exceptionally happy with the finished result - the base in particular really 'grounds' the Fortress and gives it a sense of solidity.
The Roman bridge and The Mezquita.
The Mezquita dates back to the 10th century when Córdoba reached its zenith under a new emir, Abd ar-Rahman 111 who was one of the great rulers of Islamic history. At this time Córdoba was the largest, most prosperous cities of Europe, outshining Byzantium and Baghdad in science, culture and the arts. The development of the Great Mosque paralleled these new heights of splendour.
The Roman bridge which, according to the Arab geographer, Al-drisi 'surpasses all other bridges in beauty and solidity' yet reflects little of its Roman roots, owing to frequent reconstruction over many decades. In the centre of the east stone hand rails there is an little shrine to St Raphael at whose feet the devout burn candles.
It is of course unlikely that much of the original structure stands. The present structure is a medieval reconstruction though the 19th Century cobbled paving does give a roman feel. There is an irregular pattern to the 16 arches in size and abutment protections.............Don't use and don't link this images on websites, blogs or other media without my explicit permission.All rights reserved.
Life is a stage
propped up as an actor
or dumped in a garbage
a click
i am on the wrong
webpage
online
they call it
coming of age
a parrot
cock eyed
in her gilded cage
a poker faced porn poet
also a pedestrian sage
overtime on the internet
no minimum wage
just her thoughts
my battered hopes
assuage
fires than within
the entrails of my groin enrage
seminal solidity ..
masturbated verbiage
genital stage
uncopulated in my minds eye
lies the sweeping sorrow
weeping tears thoughts engage for
the Saint of Homosexuals
Oscar Wilde
Aestheticism
Lord Alfred Douglas
Queensbury Boxing Laws
Reading Gaol
A Poetic Forum
Reminiscent of
the Victorian age
Devoid of testicular fortitude
Eunuch euphoria
A War they Wage
This is a ~2040 year old, one denarius silver coin issued by the Roman Empire. The portrait depicts Caesar Augustus (real name: Gaius Octavian), the first emperor of the ancient Roman Empire - he ruled from 27 B.C. to 14 A.D.
This coin was produced at the Caesaraugusta Mint in Spain (= modern day city of Zaragoza) in 19 to 18 B.C. The flip side depicts a comet that appeared in the year 44 B.C. The pit on the cheek is a "banker's mark", which was made to test the legitimacy and solidity of the coin (fakes were made in ancient times).
-------------------------------
Identification: Augustus 37B of "Roman Imperial Coinage, Volume I", Second Edition
-------------------------------
See info. at:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Augustus
and
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Denarius
and
St Mary, Walpole, Suffolk
Walpole is a fairly large village on the outskirts of Halesworth. I've been cycling through it long enough to remember when it still had a shop and a pub, and what felt like a life of its own, but these are gone now. However, St Mary survives, set back from the road in a large graveyard up the hill on the way to Halesworth. At first sight, it appears to be a fairly run-of-the-mill Victorian village church, but a Norman doorway has been preserved within the south porch. Otherwise, what you see today is largely the work of the 19th century architect HM Eyton.
To be honest, It is easy to moan about churches like this. But here it is, at the heart of its village, open to visitors, reasonably friendly inside - honestly, it is hard to criticize. From the outside, it puts me in mind of Catholic churches in northern France, rebuilt in this style after the destruction of the First World War. This design is also familiar from a thousand municipal cemetery chapels, with its funny little spire and restrained mock-decorated windows.
There are some medieval survivals here. But not many. The base of the tower was retained, and footings of the nave walls suggest it was originally Saxon. The Norman doorway is remarkably well-preserved, suggesting the previous porch had survived for many centuries. It has had an electric light fitting driven through it, presumably by someone who thought it was a good idea.
Even on a sunny day the church seems dark inside, but as your eyes become accustomed to the gloom your first surprise is the rather odd medieval font. It is not originally from this church but from St Andrew, in the centre of Norwich, which may explain its urban solidity. It must be said that it is much more attractive than the vulgar 19th century one that replaced it in Norwich.
The parish have been busy here over the last few years, and one of the most striking aspects of the interior is that the long chancel has been cleared of all its furnishings, exposing a fine Victorian tiled floor. It does perhaps accentuate the gloom of the nave, and modern chairs would look much better in that space than clumpy old Victorian pews.
The village of Walpole is a mecca for church explorers, but they are on their way to visit Walpole Old Chapel up the hill, rather than the homely charms of St Mary. I was headed there next, as I understood it was open on Saturday afternoons, and I hadn't seen inside since recording a programme about it for BBC Radio Suffolk a year or so previously. I came out of St Mary into the rain. It was that horrible seeping drizzle, and so I sped as fast as I could up to the Old Chapel. I got there to find that it didn't open until 2pm. There was no shelter, and waiting an hour in the rain wasn't really an option, so I hurried back to Halesworth and took shelter in the Angel Hotel instead.
Commonwealth Bank building, 48 Martin Place, Sydney.
Designer: Ross & Rowe Architects and Consulting Engineers; Primary Structure - A.S. McDonald
Builder:Concrete Constructions Ltd.
Construction Years:1925 - 1928
Physical Description: The Commonwealth Bank building fronts Martin Place on the south, Elizabeth Street on the east and Castlereagh Street on the west. The building is an extensive eleven-storey structure plus mezzanine above ground, with three basement levels. Externally the building displays monumental civic scale and precise, symmetrical detailing utilising classical motifs. The Classic inspiration for the building is evident in the columns used on the exterior:
- Ionic columns on the Martin Place façade,
- Corinthian columns framing the balcony doors, and
- Doric columns on the roof.
The great Ionic columns on the Martin Place façade unite the six central floors, with the remaining floors serving as base and frieze. Above the base storey, strongly expressed with red granite facing, the cladding is pink terracotta blocks arranged in small tessellated effect. Terracotta cladding is also used on the Martin Place columns. At the upper levels, ornate terracotta detailing is included on the cornice, entablature and pilaster capitals. At roof level, the building has a Classical attic storey and dentilated cornice.
48 Martin Place has tremendous civic presence, portraying an image of massive solidity. The rich colour of the façade materials makes the Bank a most eminent landmark amongst its neighbours. It is a magnificent example of Beaux-Arts revivalist architecture, and a visual and technical masterpiece. The style was used to express the wealth and stability of financial institutions emphasising the qualities of:
- a monumental scale expressed by giant order;
- symmetry and the sculptural treatment of the facades;
- comprehensive use of classical motifs and details (both externally and internally);
- up-to-date structural techniques allowing expansive rooms; and
- high quality materials and finishes.
Extensive conservation works have restored the principal public areas to near original condition internally. The Banking Chamber, Grand Hall and Safe Deposit area are impressive in scale and detailing and form a sequence of grand interiors.
The Banking Chamber is detailed in an extravagant neo-Classical style, displaying substantial use of marble, and scagliola on tremendous stylised columns. The banking staff occupy the central space, which features marble, bronze and glass partitions. The main entrance is from Martin Place with access available from both Castlereagh and Elizabeth Streets, and also at the northern end of the building, between the Grand Hall and the Banking Chamber. The lofty ceiling is coffered and treated in a decorative manner, achieved by use of Wunderlich pressed metal panels fixed to the concrete slab. The arrangement had been detailed to give efficient and reflected light. Large bronze lamps supply artificial light reflected off the ceiling, providing diffused general lighting.
The Grand Hall forms a pedestrian way between Castlereagh and Elizabeth Streets. A ribbed barrel dome, embellished with mosaics and stained glass panels depicting prosperous Australian industries at the time of construction, surmounts the passage. Located centrally within the Hall is the Grand Stair, a wide marble staircase with bronze grille balustrade and Queensland maple handrail. The stair converges centrally at the Government Savings Bank’s Memorial Window and Tablet located on the northern-most wall. Walls of marble and the sumptuous detail create a remarkable architectural space.
The Safe Deposit area in the basement level is remarkably intact. Great barrel domes create a magnificent groined ceiling of three bays supported by marble pilasters. The ceilings are decorative, and brass pendant lights hang from the centre of each dome. Mosaic spandrels above marble walls are framed by the ceiling vaults and depict wreaths and festoons in rich green and red against a neutral setting. The whole is framed by a green and red leaf and berry motif on deep yellow mosaic tiles. The floors are white marble with decorative black border tiles.
While the lettable office space on the upper floors has been extensively altered, the stairways connecting the upper floors are largely intact. The stairs within the chambers are terrazzo, and balustrades are bronze with timber handrails. Original timber framed hydrant covers with frosted glazed panels and timber and brass mail chutes, no longer in use, have been retained within the stair chambers, along with the floor levels detailed in decorative tiles on the walls. Windows with deep reveals are located at each level of the stair chambers. (Tanner & Associates Pty Ltd, 2000)
Commonwealth Bank building, 48 Martin Place, Sydney.
Designer: Ross & Rowe Architects and Consulting Engineers; Primary Structure - A.S. McDonald
Builder:Concrete Constructions Ltd.
Construction Years:1925 - 1928
Physical Description: The Commonwealth Bank building fronts Martin Place on the south, Elizabeth Street on the east and Castlereagh Street on the west. The building is an extensive eleven-storey structure plus mezzanine above ground, with three basement levels. Externally the building displays monumental civic scale and precise, symmetrical detailing utilising classical motifs. The Classic inspiration for the building is evident in the columns used on the exterior:
- Ionic columns on the Martin Place façade,
- Corinthian columns framing the balcony doors, and
- Doric columns on the roof.
The great Ionic columns on the Martin Place façade unite the six central floors, with the remaining floors serving as base and frieze. Above the base storey, strongly expressed with red granite facing, the cladding is pink terracotta blocks arranged in small tessellated effect. Terracotta cladding is also used on the Martin Place columns. At the upper levels, ornate terracotta detailing is included on the cornice, entablature and pilaster capitals. At roof level, the building has a Classical attic storey and dentilated cornice.
48 Martin Place has tremendous civic presence, portraying an image of massive solidity. The rich colour of the façade materials makes the Bank a most eminent landmark amongst its neighbours. It is a magnificent example of Beaux-Arts revivalist architecture, and a visual and technical masterpiece. The style was used to express the wealth and stability of financial institutions emphasising the qualities of:
- a monumental scale expressed by giant order;
- symmetry and the sculptural treatment of the facades;
- comprehensive use of classical motifs and details (both externally and internally);
- up-to-date structural techniques allowing expansive rooms; and
- high quality materials and finishes.
Extensive conservation works have restored the principal public areas to near original condition internally. The Banking Chamber, Grand Hall and Safe Deposit area are impressive in scale and detailing and form a sequence of grand interiors.
The Banking Chamber is detailed in an extravagant neo-Classical style, displaying substantial use of marble, and scagliola on tremendous stylised columns. The banking staff occupy the central space, which features marble, bronze and glass partitions. The main entrance is from Martin Place with access available from both Castlereagh and Elizabeth Streets, and also at the northern end of the building, between the Grand Hall and the Banking Chamber. The lofty ceiling is coffered and treated in a decorative manner, achieved by use of Wunderlich pressed metal panels fixed to the concrete slab. The arrangement had been detailed to give efficient and reflected light. Large bronze lamps supply artificial light reflected off the ceiling, providing diffused general lighting.
The Grand Hall forms a pedestrian way between Castlereagh and Elizabeth Streets. A ribbed barrel dome, embellished with mosaics and stained glass panels depicting prosperous Australian industries at the time of construction, surmounts the passage. Located centrally within the Hall is the Grand Stair, a wide marble staircase with bronze grille balustrade and Queensland maple handrail. The stair converges centrally at the Government Savings Bank’s Memorial Window and Tablet located on the northern-most wall. Walls of marble and the sumptuous detail create a remarkable architectural space.
The Safe Deposit area in the basement level is remarkably intact. Great barrel domes create a magnificent groined ceiling of three bays supported by marble pilasters. The ceilings are decorative, and brass pendant lights hang from the centre of each dome. Mosaic spandrels above marble walls are framed by the ceiling vaults and depict wreaths and festoons in rich green and red against a neutral setting. The whole is framed by a green and red leaf and berry motif on deep yellow mosaic tiles. The floors are white marble with decorative black border tiles.
While the lettable office space on the upper floors has been extensively altered, the stairways connecting the upper floors are largely intact. The stairs within the chambers are terrazzo, and balustrades are bronze with timber handrails. Original timber framed hydrant covers with frosted glazed panels and timber and brass mail chutes, no longer in use, have been retained within the stair chambers, along with the floor levels detailed in decorative tiles on the walls. Windows with deep reveals are located at each level of the stair chambers. (Tanner & Associates Pty Ltd, 2000)
Ferstel
(Pictures you can see by clicking on the link at the end of page!)
Ferstel and Café Central, by Rudolf von Alt, left the men's alley (Herrengasse - Street of the Lords), right Strauchgasse
Danube mermaid fountain in a courtyard of the Palais Ferstel
Shopping arcade of the Freyung to Herrengasse
Entrance to Ferstel of the Freyung, right the Palais Harrach, left the palace Hardegg
The Ferstel is a building in the first district of Vienna, Inner City, with the addresses Strauchgasse 2-4, 14 Lord Street (Herrengasse) and Freyung 2. It was established as a national bank and stock exchange building, the denomination Palais is unhistoric.
History
In 1855, the entire estate between Freyung, Strauchgasse and Herrengasse was by Franz Xaver Imperial Count von Abensperg and Traun to the k.k. Privileged Austrian National Bank sold. This banking institution was previously domiciled in the Herrengasse 17/ Bankgasse. The progressive industrialization and the with it associated economic expansion also implied a rapid development of monetary transactions and banking, so that the current premises soon no longer have been sufficient. This problem could only be solved by a new building, in which also should be housed a stock exchange hall.
According to the desire of the then Governor of the National Bank, Franz von Pipitz, the new building was supposed to be carried out with strict observance of the economy and avoiding a worthless luxury with solidity and artistic as well as technical completion. The building should offer room for the National Bank, the stock market, a cafe and - a novel idea for Vienna - a bazaar.
The commissioned architect, Heinrich von Ferstel, demonstrated in the coping with the irregular surface area with highest conceivable effective use of space his state-of-the art talent. The practical requirements combine themselves with the actually artistic to a masterful composition. Ferstel has been able to lay out the rooms of the issuing bank, the two trading floors, the passage with the bazar and the coffee house in accordance with their intended purpose and at the same time to maintain a consistent style.
He was an advocate of the "Materialbaues" (material building) as it clearly is reflected in the ashlar building of the banking institution. Base, pillars and stairs were fashioned of Wöllersdorfer stone, façade elements such as balconies, cornices, structurings as well as stone banisters of the hard white stone of Emperor Kaiser quarry (Kaisersteinbruch), while the walls were made of -Sankt Margarethen limestone. The inner rooms have been luxuriously formed, with wood paneling, leather wallpaper, Stuccolustro and rich ornamental painting.
The facade of the corner front Strauchgasse/Herrengasse received twelve sculptures by Hanns Gasser as decoration, they symbolized the peoples of the monarchy. The mighty round arch at the exit Freyung were closed with wrought-iron bare gates, because the first used locksmith could not meet the demands of Ferstel, the work was transferred to a silversmith.
1860 the National Bank and the stock exchange could move into the in 1859 completed construction. The following year was placed in the glass-covered passage the Danube mermaid fountain, whose design stems also of Ferstel. Anton von Fernkorn has created the sculptural decoration with an artistic sensitivity. Above the marble fountain basin rises a column crowned by a bronze statue, the Danube female with flowing hair, holding a fish in its hand. Below are arranged around the column three also in bronze cast figures: merchant, fisherman and shipbuilder, so those professions that have to do with the water. The total cost of the building, the interior included, amounted to the enormous sum of 1.897.600 guilders.
The originally planned use of the building remained only a few years preserved. The Stock Exchange with the premises no longer had sufficient space: in 1872 it moved to a provisional solution, 1877 at Schottenring a new Stock Exchange building opened. The National Bank moved 1925 into a yet 1913 planned, spacious new building.
The building was in Second World War battered gravely particularly on the main facade. In the 1960s was located in the former Stock Exchange a basketball training hall, the entire building appeared neglected.
1971 dealt the President of the Federal Monuments Office, Walter Frodl, with the severely war damaged banking and stock exchange building in Vienna. The Office for Technical Geology of Otto Casensky furnished an opinion on the stone facade. On the facade Freyung 2 a balcony was originally attached over the entire 15.4 m long front of hard Kaiserstein.
(Usage of Leitha lime: Dependent from the consistence and structure of the Leitha lime the usage differed from „Reibsand“ till building material. The Leitha lime stone is a natural stone which can be formed easily and was desired als beautiful stone for buildings in Roman times. The usage of lime stone from Eggenburg in the Bronze age already was verified. This special attribute is the reason why the Leitha lime was taken from sculptors and masons.
The source of lime stone in the Leitha Mountains was important for Austria and especially for Vienna from the cultur historical point of view during the Renaissance and Baroque. At the 19th century the up to 150 stone quarries of the Leitha mountains got many orders form the construction work of the Vienna „Ring road“.
At many buildings of Graz, such as the castle at the Grazer castle hill, the old Joanneum and the Cottage, the Leitha lime stone was used.
Due to the fact that Leitha lime is bond on carbonate in the texture, the alteration through the actual sour rain is heavy. www.geocaching.com/geocache/GC2HKZ9_leithagebirge-leithak...)
This balcony was no longer present and only close to the facade were remnants of the tread plates and the supporting brackets recognizable. In July 1975, followed the reconstruction of the balcony and master stonemason Friedrich Opferkuh received the order to restore the old state am Leithagebirge received the order the old state - of Mannersdorfer stone, armoured concrete or artificial stone.
1975-1982, the building was renovated and re-opened the Café Central. Since then, the privately owned building is called Palais Ferstel. In the former stock exchange halls now meetings and presentations take place; the Café Central is utilizing one of the courtyards.
Corfe Castle
Corfe Castle, Dorset, United Kingdom
Corfe Castle is a fortification standing above the village of the same name on the Isle of Purbeck in the English county of Dorset. Built by William the Conqueror, the castle dates back to the 11th century and commands a gap in the Purbeck Hills on the route between Wareham and Swanage. The first phase was one of the earliest castles in England to be built using stone when the majority were built with earth and timber. Corfe Castle underwent major structural changes in the 12th and 13th centuries.
In 1572, Corfe Castle left the Crown's control when Elizabeth I sold it to Sir Christopher Hatton. Sir John Bankes bought the castle in 1635, and was the owner during the English Civil War. His wife, Lady Mary Bankes, led the defence of the castle when it was twice besieged by Parliamentarian forces. The first siege, in 1643, was unsuccessful, but by 1645 Corfe was one of the last remaining royalist strongholds in southern England and fell to a siege ending in an assault. In March that year Corfe Castle was demolished on Parliament's orders. Owned by the National Trust, the castle is open to the public and in 2010 received around 190,000 visitors. It is protected as a Grade I listed building and a Scheduled Ancient Monument.
Corfe Castle was built on a steep hill in a gap in a long line of chalk hills, created by two streams eroding the rock on either side. The name Corfe derives from the Old English ceorfan, meaning 'a cutting', referring to the gap. The construction of the medieval castle means that little is known about previous activity on the hill. However, there are postholes belonging to a Saxon hall on the site.The hall may be where Edward the Martyr was assassinated in 978.
A castle was founded at Corfe on England's south coast soon after the Norman Conquest of England in 1066. The royal forest of Purbeck, where William the Conqueror enjoyed hunting, was established in the area.Between 1066 and 1087 William established 36 such castles in England. Sitting as it does on a hill top, Corfe Castle is one of the classic images of a medieval castle, however despite popular imagination, occupying the highest point in the landscape was not the typical position of a medieval castle. In England, a minority are located on hilltops, but most are in valleys; many were near important transport routes such as river crossings.
Unusually for castles built in the 11th century, Corfe was partially constructed from stone indicating it was of particularly high status. A stone wall was built around the hill top, creating an inner ward or enclosure. There were two further enclosures: one to the west, and one that extended south (the outer bailey); in contrast to the inner bailey, these were surrounded by palisades made from timber. At the time, the vast majority of castles in England were built using earth and timber, and it was not until the 12th century that many began to be rebuilt in stone. The Domesday Book records one castle in Dorset; the entry, which reads "Of the manor of Kingston the King has one hide on which he built Wareham castle", is thought to refer to Corfe rather than the timber castle at Wareham. There are 48 castles directly mentioned in the Domesday Book, although not all those in existence at the time were recorded. Assuming that Corfe is the castle in question, it is one of four the Domesday Book attributes to William the Conqueror; the survey explicitly mentions seven people as having built castles, of which William was the most prolific.
Corfe's keep dates from the early 12th century.
In the early 12th century, Henry I began the construction of a stone keep at Corfe. Progressing at a rate of 3 to 4 metres (10 to 13 ft) per year for the best part of a decade, the work was complete by 1105. The chalk of the hill Corfe Castle was built on was an unsuitable building material, and instead Purbeck limestone quarried a few miles away was used. By the reign of King Stephen (1135–1154) Corfe Castle was already a strong fortress with a keep and inner enclosure, both built in stone. In 1139, during the civil war of Stephen's reign, Corfe withstood a siege by the king. It is thought that he built a siege castle to facilitate the siege and that a series of earthworks about 290 metres (320 yd) south-south-west of Corfe Castle mark the site of the fortification.
The south-west gatehouse, which allowed access from the outer bailey to the west bailey, dates from the mid 13th century.
During the reign of Henry II Corfe Castle was probably not significantly changed, and records from Richard I's reign indicate maintenance rather than significant new building work. In contrast, extensive construction of other towers, halls and walls occurred during the reigns of John and Henry III, both of whom kept Eleanor, rightful Duchess of Brittany, in confinement ar Corfe. It was probably during John's reign that the Gloriette in the inner bailey was built. The Pipe Rolls, records of royal expenditure, show that between 1201 and 1204 over £750 was spent at the castle, probably on rebuilding the defences of the west bailey with £275 spent on constructing the Gloriette. The Royal Commission on the Historical Monuments of England noted the link between periods of unrest and building at Corfe. In the early years of his reign John faced lost Normandy to the French, and in further building work at Corfe coincided with the political disturbances later in his reign. At least £500 was spent between 1212 and 1214 and may have been focused on the defences of the outer bailey.[15] R. Allen Brown noted that in John's reign "it would seem that though a fortress of the first order might cost more than £7,000, a medium castle of reasonable strength might be built for less than £2,000". The Pipe Rolls show that John spent over £17,000 on 95 castles during his reign spread; he spent over £500 at nine of them, of which Corfe was one. Additional records show that John spent over £1,400 at Corfe Castle.
One of the secondary roles of castles was to act as a storage facility, as demonstrated by Corfe Castle; in 1224 Henry III sent to Corfe for 15,000 crossbow bolts to be used in the siege of Bedford Castle. Following John's work, Henry III also spent over £1,000 on Corfe Castle, in particular the years 1235 and 1236 saw £362 spent on the keep. While construction was under-way, a camp to accommodate the workers was established outside the castle. Over time, this grew into a settlement in its own right and in 1247 was granted a market and fair by royal permission. It was Henry III who ordered in 1244 that Corfe's keep should be whitewashed. Four years previously, he also ordered that the keep of the Tower of London should be whitewashed, and it therefore became known as the White Tower.
In December 1460, during the Wars of the Roses Edmund Beaufort and his army marched from the castle destined for the Battle of Wakefield. During the march the army split at Exeter so the cavalry could reach the north quicker, and on 16 December 1460 some of his men became embroiled in the Battle of Worksop, Nottinghamshire. Beaufort and the Lancastrians won the skirmish.
Post-medieval
The castle remained a royal fortress until sold by Elizabeth I in 1572 to her Lord Chancellor, Sir Christopher Hatton. Ralph Treswell, Hatton's steward, drafted a series of plans of the castle; the documents are the oldest surviving survey of the castle.
Lady Mary Bankes defended the castle during two sieges in the English Civil War.
The castle was bought by Sir John Bankes, Attorney General to Charles I, in 1635. The English Civil War broke out in 1642, and by 1643 most of Dorset was under Parliamentarian control. While Bankes was in Oxford with the king, his men held Corfe Castle in the royal cause. During this time his wife, Lady Mary Bankes, resided at the castle with their children. Parliamentarian forces planned to infiltrate the castle's garrison by joining a hunting party from the garrison on a May Day hunt, however they were unsuccessful. The Parliamentarians gave orders that anyone joining the garrison would have their house burned and that no supplies were to reach the castle. Initially defended by just five people, Lady Bankes was able to get food through and swell the garrison to 80. The Parliamentarian forces numbered between 500 and 600 and began a more thorough siege; it went on for six weeks until Lady Bankes was relieved by Royalist forces. During the siege the defenders suffered two casualties while there were at least 100 deaths among the besieging force.
In the 17th century Corfe Castle was demolished by order of parliament.
The Parliamentarians were in the ascendency so that by 1645 Corfe Castle was one of a few remaining strongholds in southern England that remained under royal control. Consequently it was besieged by a force under the command of a Colonel Bingham. One of the garrison's officers, Colonel Pitman, colluded with Bingham. Pitman proposed that he should go to Somerset to and bring back a hundred men as reinforcements, however the troops he returned with were Parliamentarians in disguise. Once inside, they waited until the besieging force attacked before making a move, so that the defenders were attacked from without and within at the same time. Corfe Castle was captured and Lady Bankes and the garrison were allowed to leave. In March that year, Parliament voted to slight (demolish) the castle, giving it its present appearance. In the 17th century many castles in England were in a state of decline, but the war saw them pressed into use as fortresses one more time. Parliament ordered the slighting of many of these fortifications, but the solidity of their walls meant that complete demolition was often impractical. A minority were repaired after the war, but most were left as ruins. Corfe Castle provided a ready supply of building material, and its stones were reused by the villagers.
After the restoration of the monarchy in 1660, the Bankes family regained their properties. Rather than rebuild or replace the ruined castle they chose to build a new house at Kingston Lacy on their other Dorset estate near Wimborne Minster.
The first archaeological excavations were carried out in 1883. No further archaeological work was carried out on the site until the 1950s. Between 1986 and 1997 excavations were carried out, jointly funded by the National Trust and English Heritage. Corfe castle is considered to be the inspiration for Enid Blyton's Kirrin Island, which had its own similar castle. It was used as a shooting location for the 1957 film Five on a Treasure Island (film).
Corfe Castle is on a hill overlooking the village which bears its name
Corfe Castle's outer gatehouse
In the 1980s, Ralph Bankes bequeathed the entire Bankes estate to the National Trust, including Corfe Castle, much of the village of Corfe, the family home at Kingston Lacy, and substantial property and land holdings elsewhere in the area. In the summer 2006, the dangerous condition of the keep caused it to be closed to visitors, who could only visit the walls and inner bailey. The National Trust undertook an extensive conservation project on the castle, and the keep was re-opened to visitors in 2008, and the work completed the following year.
During the restoration work, an "appearance" door was found in the keep, designed for Henry I. The National Trust claims that this indicates that the castle would have been one of the most important in England at the time.
The castle is a Grade I listed building, and recognised as an internationally important structure. It is also a Scheduled Monument, a "nationally important" historic building and archaeological site which has been given protection against unauthorised change. The earthworks known as "The Rings", thought to be the remains of a 12th-century motte-and-bailey castle built during a siege of Corfe are also scheduled. In 2006, Corfe Castle was the National Trust's tenth most-visited historic house with 173,829 visitors. According to figures released by the Association of Leading Visitor Attractions, the number of visitors in 2010 had risen to nearly 190,000.
This elevator and grain terminal located on North Maple street in McPherson, Kansas, is being demolished. The property is owned by Mid Kansas COOP and was built in the 1920's. It was last used in the 1960's. The solidity of the structure was no loger there. There are no definite plans for the lot.
From www.artic.edu/artexplorer/search.php?tab=2&resource=209:
A look at Monet's still life painting and his ability to both animate the scene and anchor it with a sense of stability.
Claude Monet took up still-life painting for a time around 1880. This traditional genre may seem an unlikely arena in which to stage a career shift, but Monet hoped to expand his market during a period of economic recession. He renewed his attempts to gain access to the Salon and tried to form associations with dealers other than Paul Durand-Ruel. In addition to being easier to sell than landscapes, still lifes allowed the artist to continue his experimentation with the textures and colors of nature during periods when bad weather prohibited him from painting outdoors.
Here, Monet depicted an assortment of two different kinds of apples, together with green and red grapes, and introduced an element of animation, even suspense. This still life is anything but still: the smaller apples at the lower right seem ready to roll off the steeply angled table, and the folds of the cloth appear to ripple like waves. Yet the artist's control over the objects is evident, giving the composition a sense of stability and vitality. Not only did Monet adopt a magisterial view from above, but he also anchored the fruits and basket with palpable, grayish-green shadows. Exploring the possibilities of materials at hand—one of the central challenges of still-life painting—Monet found several ways to use the same dabs of white pigment: on the grapes, they represent translucent fragility; on the large apples, matte solidity; and on the little apples, glossy sheen.
Still life never became central to Monet's repertory, but it is tempting to look from this brief experiment to those of his colleagues—most notably Paul Cézanne, who would bring the genre to new heights of complexity and beauty.
Ferstel
(Pictures you can see by clicking on the link at the end of page!)
Ferstel and Café Central, by Rudolf von Alt, left the men's alley (Herrengasse - Street of the Lords), right Strauchgasse
Danube mermaid fountain in a courtyard of the Palais Ferstel
Shopping arcade of the Freyung to Herrengasse
Entrance to Ferstel of the Freyung, right the Palais Harrach, left the palace Hardegg
The Ferstel is a building in the first district of Vienna, Inner City, with the addresses Strauchgasse 2-4, 14 Lord Street (Herrengasse) and Freyung 2. It was established as a national bank and stock exchange building, the denomination Palais is unhistoric.
History
In 1855, the entire estate between Freyung, Strauchgasse and Herrengasse was by Franz Xaver Imperial Count von Abensperg and Traun to the k.k. Privileged Austrian National Bank sold. This banking institution was previously domiciled in the Herrengasse 17/ Bankgasse. The progressive industrialization and the with it associated economic expansion also implied a rapid development of monetary transactions and banking, so that the current premises soon no longer have been sufficient. This problem could only be solved by a new building, in which also should be housed a stock exchange hall.
According to the desire of the then Governor of the National Bank, Franz von Pipitz, the new building was supposed to be carried out with strict observance of the economy and avoiding a worthless luxury with solidity and artistic as well as technical completion. The building should offer room for the National Bank, the stock market, a cafe and - a novel idea for Vienna - a bazaar.
The commissioned architect, Heinrich von Ferstel, demonstrated in the coping with the irregular surface area with highest conceivable effective use of space his state-of-the art talent. The practical requirements combine themselves with the actually artistic to a masterful composition. Ferstel has been able to lay out the rooms of the issuing bank, the two trading floors, the passage with the bazar and the coffee house in accordance with their intended purpose and at the same time to maintain a consistent style.
He was an advocate of the "Materialbaues" (material building) as it clearly is reflected in the ashlar building of the banking institution. Base, pillars and stairs were fashioned of Wöllersdorfer stone, façade elements such as balconies, cornices, structurings as well as stone banisters of the hard white stone of Emperor Kaiser quarry (Kaisersteinbruch), while the walls were made of -Sankt Margarethen limestone. The inner rooms have been luxuriously formed, with wood paneling, leather wallpaper, Stuccolustro and rich ornamental painting.
The facade of the corner front Strauchgasse/Herrengasse received twelve sculptures by Hanns Gasser as decoration, they symbolized the peoples of the monarchy. The mighty round arch at the exit Freyung were closed with wrought-iron bare gates, because the first used locksmith could not meet the demands of Ferstel, the work was transferred to a silversmith.
1860 the National Bank and the stock exchange could move into the in 1859 completed construction. The following year was placed in the glass-covered passage the Danube mermaid fountain, whose design stems also of Ferstel. Anton von Fernkorn has created the sculptural decoration with an artistic sensitivity. Above the marble fountain basin rises a column crowned by a bronze statue, the Danube female with flowing hair, holding a fish in its hand. Below are arranged around the column three also in bronze cast figures: merchant, fisherman and shipbuilder, so those professions that have to do with the water. The total cost of the building, the interior included, amounted to the enormous sum of 1.897.600 guilders.
The originally planned use of the building remained only a few years preserved. The Stock Exchange with the premises no longer had sufficient space: in 1872 it moved to a provisional solution, 1877 at Schottenring a new Stock Exchange building opened. The National Bank moved 1925 into a yet 1913 planned, spacious new building.
The building was in Second World War battered gravely particularly on the main facade. In the 1960s was located in the former Stock Exchange a basketball training hall, the entire building appeared neglected.
1971 dealt the President of the Federal Monuments Office, Walter Frodl, with the severely war damaged banking and stock exchange building in Vienna. The Office for Technical Geology of Otto Casensky furnished an opinion on the stone facade. On the facade Freyung 2 a balcony was originally attached over the entire 15.4 m long front of hard Kaiserstein.
(Usage of Leith lime: Dependent from the consistence and structure of the Leitha lime the usage differed from „Reibsand“ till building material. The Leitha lime stone is a natural stone which can be formed easily and was desired als beautiful stone for buildings in Roman times. The usage of lime stone from Eggenburg in the Bronze age already was verified. This special attribute is the reason why the Leitha lime was taken from sculptors and masons.
The source of lime stone in the Leitha Mountains was important for Austria and especially for Vienna from the cultur historical point of view during the Renaissance and Baroque. At the 19th century the up to 150 stone quarries of the Leitha mountains got many orders form the construction work of the Vienna „Ring road“.
At many buildings of Graz, such as the castle at the Grazer castle hill, the old Joanneum and the Cottage, the Leitha lime stone was used.
Due to the fact that Leitha lime is bond on carbonate in the texture, the alteration through the actual sour rain is heavy. www.geocaching.com/geocache/GC2HKZ9_leithagebirge-leithak...)
This balcony was no longer present and only close to the facade were remnants of the tread plates and the supporting brackets recognizable. In July 1975, followed the reconstruction of the balcony and master stonemason Friedrich Opferkuh received the order to restore the old state am Leithagebirge received the order the old state - of Mannersdorfer stone, armoured concrete or artificial stone.
1975-1982, the building was renovated and re-opened the Café Central. Since then, the privately owned building is called Palais Ferstel. In the former stock exchange halls now meetings and presentations take place; the Café Central is utilizing one of the courtyards.
Ferstel
(Pictures you can see by clicking on the link at the end of page!)
Ferstel and Café Central, by Rudolf von Alt, left the men's alley (Herrengasse - Street of the Lords), right Strauchgasse
Danube mermaid fountain in a courtyard of the Palais Ferstel
Shopping arcade of the Freyung to Herrengasse
Entrance to Ferstel of the Freyung, right the Palais Harrach, left the palace Hardegg
The Ferstel is a building in the first district of Vienna, Inner City, with the addresses Strauchgasse 2-4, 14 Lord Street (Herrengasse) and Freyung 2. It was established as a national bank and stock exchange building, the denomination Palais is unhistoric.
History
In 1855, the entire estate between Freyung, Strauchgasse and Herrengasse was by Franz Xaver Imperial Count von Abensperg and Traun to the k.k. Privileged Austrian National Bank sold. This banking institution was previously domiciled in the Herrengasse 17/ Bankgasse. The progressive industrialization and the with it associated economic expansion also implied a rapid development of monetary transactions and banking, so that the current premises soon no longer have been sufficient. This problem could only be solved by a new building, in which also should be housed a stock exchange hall.
According to the desire of the then Governor of the National Bank, Franz von Pipitz, the new building was supposed to be carried out with strict observance of the economy and avoiding a worthless luxury with solidity and artistic as well as technical completion. The building should offer room for the National Bank, the stock market, a cafe and - a novel idea for Vienna - a bazaar.
The commissioned architect, Heinrich von Ferstel, demonstrated in the coping with the irregular surface area with highest conceivable effective use of space his state-of-the art talent. The practical requirements combine themselves with the actually artistic to a masterful composition. Ferstel has been able to lay out the rooms of the issuing bank, the two trading floors, the passage with the bazar and the coffee house in accordance with their intended purpose and at the same time to maintain a consistent style.
He was an advocate of the "Materialbaues" (material building) as it clearly is reflected in the ashlar building of the banking institution. Base, pillars and stairs were fashioned of Wöllersdorfer stone, façade elements such as balconies, cornices, structurings as well as stone banisters of the hard white stone of Emperor Kaiser quarry (Kaisersteinbruch), while the walls were made of -Sankt Margarethen limestone. The inner rooms have been luxuriously formed, with wood paneling, leather wallpaper, Stuccolustro and rich ornamental painting.
The facade of the corner front Strauchgasse/Herrengasse received twelve sculptures by Hanns Gasser as decoration, they symbolized the peoples of the monarchy. The mighty round arch at the exit Freyung were closed with wrought-iron bare gates, because the first used locksmith could not meet the demands of Ferstel, the work was transferred to a silversmith.
1860 the National Bank and the stock exchange could move into the in 1859 completed construction. The following year was placed in the glass-covered passage the Danube mermaid fountain, whose design stems also of Ferstel. Anton von Fernkorn has created the sculptural decoration with an artistic sensitivity. Above the marble fountain basin rises a column crowned by a bronze statue, the Danube female with flowing hair, holding a fish in its hand. Below are arranged around the column three also in bronze cast figures: merchant, fisherman and shipbuilder, so those professions that have to do with the water. The total cost of the building, the interior included, amounted to the enormous sum of 1.897.600 guilders.
The originally planned use of the building remained only a few years preserved. The Stock Exchange with the premises no longer had sufficient space: in 1872 it moved to a provisional solution, 1877 at Schottenring a new Stock Exchange building opened. The National Bank moved 1925 into a yet 1913 planned, spacious new building.
The building was in Second World War battered gravely particularly on the main facade. In the 1960s was located in the former Stock Exchange a basketball training hall, the entire building appeared neglected.
1971 dealt the President of the Federal Monuments Office, Walter Frodl, with the severely war damaged banking and stock exchange building in Vienna. The Office for Technical Geology of Otto Casensky furnished an opinion on the stone facade. On the facade Freyung 2 a balcony was originally attached over the entire 15.4 m long front of hard Kaiserstein.
(Usage of Leith lime: Dependent from the consistence and structure of the Leitha lime the usage differed from „Reibsand“ till building material. The Leitha lime stone is a natural stone which can be formed easily and was desired als beautiful stone for buildings in Roman times. The usage of lime stone from Eggenburg in the Bronze age already was verified. This special attribute is the reason why the Leitha lime was taken from sculptors and masons.
The source of lime stone in the Leitha Mountains was important for Austria and especially for Vienna from the cultur historical point of view during the Renaissance and Baroque. At the 19th century the up to 150 stone quarries of the Leitha mountains got many orders form the construction work of the Vienna „Ring road“.
At many buildings of Graz, such as the castle at the Grazer castle hill, the old Joanneum and the Cottage, the Leitha lime stone was used.
Due to the fact that Leitha lime is bond on carbonate in the texture, the alteration through the actual sour rain is heavy. www.geocaching.com/geocache/GC2HKZ9_leithagebirge-leithak...)
This balcony was no longer present and only close to the facade were remnants of the tread plates and the supporting brackets recognizable. In July 1975, followed the reconstruction of the balcony and master stonemason Friedrich Opferkuh received the order to restore the old state am Leithagebirge received the order the old state - of Mannersdorfer stone, armoured concrete or artificial stone.
1975-1982, the building was renovated and re-opened the Café Central. Since then, the privately owned building is called Palais Ferstel. In the former stock exchange halls now meetings and presentations take place; the Café Central is utilizing one of the courtyards.
Olympiastadion (Olympic Stadium) in Berlin was built to host the 1936 Olympic Games on behalf of Adolf Hitler. The stadium had to be an imposing structure to express the power of the Nazi regime. Designed to hold 100 000 spectators, the stadium served as the centrepiece of the Reichsportfield, an Olympic complex of enormous dimensions. Solidity and authority were at the basis of the stadium project. These are now characterized by a colonnade of neoclassical origin that is placed along an elliptical structure. From a geometrical point of view, the colonnade is 'pure' and defines the external look in a powerful way. The interior ring of the tiers is dug into the ground. This enables the pillars of the colonnade to reach the top level of the stadium. The colonnade was designed to impress the spectators when accessing the stadium.
At one side of the stadium, the main axis is expressed by two identical towers. They indicate the main entrance. The Olympic rings are suspended between the towers to symbolically complete the design of the portal. At the other side of the stadium, the continuity of the tiers along the elliptical perimeter is suddenly interrupted by the 'Marathon Gate'. It is defined by two robust blocs that served to welcome the Olympic flame. The Marathon Gate contains the winners names of the Olympic Games. The axis subsequently culminates with the 'Führerturm' which is highest tower in front of the Marathon Gate. It heightens 75 meters (246 feet).
However, Hitler wanted a more noble stadium and assigned another architect at the end of the construction. Architect Werner March was replaced by architect Albert Speer, the trusted architect of the Führer. Later in history, Albert Speer would be called 'Architect of the Devil'.
After three years of hard labour, in 1936, the Olympiastadion was opened to the public with a total capacity of 100 000 and a seating capacity of 65 000. During the second world war, the stadium - symbol of the Nazi power - was bombed by the Allies. Afterwards, the stadium was completely restored and renovated.
On occasion of the World Cup 1974, the Olympiastadion was partly covered for the first time. A roof existing of steel and Plexiglas was added on the main tribunes. At that time, these were modern and light materials and gave the stadium a completely new look.
On occasion of the World Cup 2006, the stadium was yet again completely renovated. Works started in September 2000. The project of the renovated stadium respected the original structure of the Thirties. However, this time the stadium was completed covered by a new roof. Just like the tiers, the roof also interrupts at the Marathon Gate. A membrane of semitransparent Teflon was used to create the roof structure, contrasting the robust volume of the stadium.
River Dargle Flood Defence Scheme.
These images were taken during the 2nd week of September 2017.
Hard to believe - but I've been recording this project now for 5+ years.
These are the critical stabilisation works at the Silverbridge site, adjacent to the N11 dual-carriageway:
Back in November 2014, we'd observed bank stabilisation works here involving excavation, repair and building of a support wall structure -- carried out by JONS Construction on behalf of the National Roads Authority.
We would occasionally catch sight of this work in the distance. Quite an impressive little piece of structural engineering.
Having built a retaining concave wall, backfilled for solidity, they were also drilling, fixing and sealing ground anchors to pin the entire structure together.
=================================================
Previously the guys drilled and sunk 4+metre deep reinforced tubing and rods along a newly laid concrete base. Those stubs were then used to attach steel rod cradles -- which, in turn, were filled with poured concrete. Result - the wall quickly rises. Variation on the method they've used elsewhere along this stretch of the river.
A continuous stretch of protective wall has now been poured, and joined up with the section originally erected back in 2014.
As we can see from the side-on shot, the base of the wall has pre-cut openings for the retaining pins that have been driven into the side wall of the roadside cliff. These have been sealed and capped.
Progress was rapid, the full stretch of wall completed, and the guys worked on back-filling the empty space between the protective wall and the roadside rock face. You don't just throw in a few trucks loads of soil and hope for the best. You load, layer, level and compress.
They then clearing away material used to build access ramps down into the riverbed.
The thought crossed had my mind -- in doing so (removing the stone-filled gabions etc,) are they potentially exposing the river bank on that side to erosion, slippage etc?
We know the destructive force of fast running waters. Hell, this is precisely why the protective works have been carried out along the rest of the stretch, down to the Bray Harbour. Unless they have other plans to stabilise it, what is going to be left here is loose soil -- very close to the access road into the halting site itself.
Back in March of this year we could see the cleaned, exposed riverbank, we can see a substantial bedrock. Obviously this is not liable to subsidence. And there was evidence that sections of the slope had already been 'nailed' * to prevent slippage. But, in talking to the guys there, it would seem that further 'nailing' might be required later in the year.
6 months later, when passing by, I stopped to check . . . and confirmed that they had already completed the task of sheathing+nailing that section of the slope at most risk of destabilisation over the long term.
In 10, 20, 50 years time . . . what odds on further protection work here.
Hell, 10 10, 20, 50m months time . . . what odds . . . .!
Some repair/reinforcing work is going on here to protect the (old) buttress that supports the pipework carrying water to the Bray region.
*
Soil nailing is a construction technique that can be used as a remedial measure to treat unstable natural soil slopes or as a construction technique that allows the safe over-steepening of new or existing soil slopes.
The technique involves the insertion of relatively slender reinforcing elements into the slope – often general purpose reinforcing bars (rebar) although proprietary solid or hollow-system bars are also available.
Solid bars are usually installed into pre-drilled holes and then grouted into place using a separate grout line, whereas hollow bars may be drilled and grouted simultaneously by the use of a sacrificial drill bit and by pumping grout down the hollow bar as drilling progresses.