View allAll Photos Tagged Solidity
Our driver is checking the depth of the puddle and solidity of the ground. Water was icy cold that morning.
"Conundrum" by Bill Perrin.
Erected at the Grange Community Centre in Hogans Road, Hoppers Crossing.
It is approx 5 metres high, and suggests a tension between the solidity of the bronze sphere and the fluid confligurations made from the twisted stainless steel rods which suspend the sphere in a buoyant state.
Victoria, Australia.
Cost = AUS$46,700
In order to realise ourselves, as we actually are, we need to gain some understanding of exactly how we have distanced ourselves from ourselves. We need to recognise the mechanisms by which we have distances ourselves from our essential being. To do this, we need to explore the geography of duality. We need to do this because every aspect of our personal duality is dynamically linked to our intrinsic enlightenment -- our liberated-being. Exploration of this nature progresses on three fronts; and in Tibetan tradition these are known as view, meditation, and action. In Tibetan, view is tawa, meditation is gompa, and action is chodpa. These also equate to cho-ku (dharmakaya, the sphere of unconditioned potentiality), long-ku (sambhogakaya, the sphere of intangible appearance), and trul-ku or tulku (nirmanakaya, the sphere of realised manifestation).
We can develop our view. View in this sense has nothing to do with philosophy. View is the uncharacterised way in which we see ourselves and our surroundings. That is to say: it is not a constructed conceptualised way of seeing the world. It is simply seeing the world. It is intrinsically effortless and uncontrived. View involves our ceasing to employ preconceptions as part of the methodology with which we investigate our situation. View is the recognition that logical analysis is limited. It is the recognition that intellectual comprehension is no substitute for direct experience.
The development of view is encouraged by meditation. In the context of starting out on the path, meditation is the practice of shi-ne: the discovery of space. From the ultimate perspective (the perspective of the realised state itself), meditation is not a fabricated state that needs to be artificially maintained; it is our natural state and as such only needs to be discovered. It is actually quite hilarious, that the method of discovery IS the discovery. This hilarity itself is only possible because our innate realisation sparkles through. The real quality of meditation is sheer efforlessness, and shi-ne is a way of approaching this state. It is a way of encouraging ourselves to dispense with the illusion that we are unenlightened.
View encourages us to gain direct experience through meditation, and meditation gives us confidence of view. View and meditation are the basis of action, which is the dynamic of our relationship with the world. That is to say: how we respond when view and meditation are present in the moment. Action is the endless and spontaneous dance ignited by precise sensitivity to whatever happens. We flow harmoniously with what is, wherever we happen to find ourselves. Action is not a "way of acting" -- it is being: unrestricted, uncontrived, unconditioned, and unlimited. In Tibetan tradition, the development of these three -- tawa, gompa and chodpa -- is the principle of the path.
In this exploration of emotions we are dealing largely with view. In the development of view we come to recognise the different patterns that evolve from referentiality. We recognise the different styles of distraction that are available when we distance ourselves from experience and drift into indirect experience -- duality. These patterns are pale and painful imitations of our liberated energies. The pain that we experience arises from our continual struggle to maintain our illusion of solidity, permanence, separateness, continuity and definition.
Being is not attached to reference points. Being does not rely for its existence on any style of perceptual cross-referencing. Trying to locate being is like attemptimg to suspend time and movement -- it is not possible. So, we might as well simply be. Ironically, in order to just be, we need discipline. This is necessary because from our bizarre standpoint we apparently do not know how to be. We seem to have the idea that there is a special method involved in being; but being is methodless. However, the methodlessness of being is something that the limitations of our foggy faculties cannot encompass. Conventional perspectives cannot handle that principle; in fact most avenues of approach cannot cope with it at all. So we need to feel our way with delicacy, daring and determination. We have to acclimatise ourselves to the method of non-method. We discover the effortless spontaneity of being, through the practice of shi-ne -- the introduction to space.
NGAKPA CHOGYAM with KHANDRO DECHEN / Spectrum of Ecstasy / Shambhala Publications
If there's one place in London that merits an Art Deco Fair, it's Eltham Palace,
with its Art Deco entrance hall, created by the textile magnates the Courtaulds in 1936. The much-loved weekend fair is held twice a year - once in the summer and a second time in September - giving visitors the chance to buy original 1930s objects, from furniture and collectables to hats, handbags and jewellery. Browse the original 1930s objects, from jewellery to furniture while you take in the magnificent Art Deco surroundings of the Palace. Ticket price includes entry to Eltham Palace and gardens and you can see the house by guided tour.
About Eltham Palace
Restored by English Heritage, this fantastic house boasts Britain's finest Art Deco interior and offers visitors the chance to indulge in the opulence of 1930s Britain whilst at the same time experiencing the solidity and symbolism of medieval London. Eltham Palace began to evolve during the 15th century when Edward IV commissioned the Great Hall, which survives today as a testament to the craftsmanship of the period. More about Eltham Palace
Cloud 2016
Marble, Aluminum, Steel, Custom Electronics
78” x 72” x 60”
“Cloud” is composed of a carved marble cloud perched on an armature of broken sticks cast in aluminum. The marble has been hollowed to translucence in places, and fitted with an array of high powered LED’s controlled by a microcomputer to simulate lightning which flickers through the stone. The external illumination of the sculpture rises and falls at regular intervals. When lit externally the materiality of the marble and aluminum dominate, in darkness the flickering lights lend and ethereal air which undermines the solidity of the marble.
The seemingly precarious armature and the sprawling shadows cast by the work serve to capture a large area and give the room a perpetual presence that reaches into every corner. The room has a sense of change and potential that makes the experience of the space one of tacit pressures.
Video of the illumination can be seen at www.youtube.com/watch?v=f1SMN_Dz-XA
Astounding! Gracious custom built single family home in Chicago's East Village. All brick residence offers elegant finishes with coffered ceilings and crown molding and perfectly selected stones and tiling. Comfortable rooms including massive master suite with a spa-like bath. This is a home that will not disappoint, especially the attached garage or decks atop the home and garage. Call Tom McCarey to arrange private showing at 773.848.9241. Delightful custom built single family in Chicago's East Village. What sets this home apart? Its profound solidity of construction, made of all brick with limestone accents, the detail within with coffered ceilings and crown molding, and the degree of detail with perfectly chosen stones and mosaic tiling in the baths. The home features three outdoor areas that include decks atop the home and garage and a balcony off the home's great room. Another unique and unexpected plus is an attached two-car garage. Arrange private showings with Tom McCarey of The Real Estate Lounge Chicago at 773.848.9241.
liked this chair, Euvira, designed by Jader Almeida, 2013.
"a masterful blend of yesterday and today, lightness and solidity. With its precisely orchestrated flowing lines, thickening and tapering to form a pleasing rhythm..." I kind of agree again.
The international activists demo for Gaza in front the press syndicate in dec 28th 2009, cairo, Egypt
Within the Jewish faith, it is customary to leave a small stone on the grave. The visitor positions the stone on the grave using his or her left hand. Placing a stone on the grave serves as a sign to others that someone has visited the grave. It also enables visitors to partake in the mitzvah tradition of commemorating the burial and the deceased. Stones are fitting symbols of the lasting presence of the deceased’s life and memory.
"There is something suiting the antiquity and solidity of Judaism in the symbol of a stone. In moments when we are faced with the fragility of life, Judaism reminds us that there is permanence amidst the pain. While other things fade, stones and souls endure."
(From Wrestling with the Angel: Jewish Insights on Death and Mourning).
Prague, 2017
Along Lafayette St., at the back of a smallish parking lot, I first noticed the colorful graffiti, but then realized some of it was "missing" because the first layer of the wall had simply fallen away. We've all seen walls ruined by graffiti; this was the first time I've seen graffiti ruined by a wall! In French, we might call this "briques apparentes" (visible bricks). Probably not a very good sign regarding the safety and/or solidity of the building being held up by the wall...
E. Village; New York City
After the first black-and-white test film of my Rolleiflex 3.5F model-3 (or « K4F », see details given below), I decided to do a negative-color film with a roll of Kodak Ektar 100. I expected for some weather improvements but finally it was essentially overcast during the session giving a very soft light to the scene. The sun came after on my way back for a moment only.
For all the frames, the Rolleiflex was equipped with the Rollei RII protecting filters (UV) on both lenses and the taking lens additionally equipped with the Rollei RII original shade hood. The film was exposed for 100 ISO. Light-metering was done using a Minolta Autometer III equipped with a 10° finder for selective measures privileging the shadow areas or with the integrating white dome for incident light metering. The camera was held using the brand-new leather neck strap for the Rolleiflex that I received from China.
Documentary smartphone picture.
March 25, 2025
Parc de la Tête d'Or
69006 Lyon
France
After the view #12 exposed, the film was fully rolled to the taking spool and was developed using the C41 protocol by a local laboratory service (one-hour service).
Digitizing was made using a Sony A7 camera (ILCE-7, 24MP) held on a Minolta vertical macro stative device and adapted to a Minolta MD Macro lens 1:3.5 f=50mm. The light source was a LED panel (approx. 4x5') CineStill Cine-lite fitted with film holder "Lobster" to maintain flat the film.
The RAW files obtained were inverted within the latest version available of Adobe software Lightroom Classic (14.2) and edited to the final jpeg pictures without intermediate file. They are presented either as printed files with frame or the full size JPEG together with some documentary smartphone pictures.
About the camera
I got this stunning Rolleiflex 3.5F from a French artist near Paris, France. The camera came in it original box and leather bag with accessories and a reference book year 1955. The whole kit is in a remarkable state of conservation.
The Rolleiflex 3.5F is the model-3 that Rollei-Werke Franke & Heidecke produced in about 50.000 units in Germany from 1960 to 1965. The Rolleiflex originates from 1928 for the very first model and was produced still in a limited number until the years 2000’s. The 3.5F model 3 was available etheir with a Schneider-Kreuznak Xenotar taking lens or the Call Zeiss Planar 1:3.5 f=75mm as this camera. The Rolleiflex, that was a quality reference for many professional photographers in the 50’s for the medium-format 6X6 camera’s. Many worked both with the Leica M3 (starting from 1954) as small-format 24x36mm camera and the Rolleiflex for other appliances. The Rolleiflex remained one of the most iconic and trusted camera of all the times.
This specific 3.5F is labelled on the right side with nice badge made of enameled brass « T » « Telos » that was the exclusive first French importer of Rollei to France until 1972.
The Rolleiflex 3,5 F model 3 is equipped with the Synchro-Compur central shutter MXV CR00 with cone-wheel differential. The distance scale is only in meters here with automatic DOF indication.
Serial number with ‘3,5F’ prefix on of top name shield.
I detailed the camera and accessories and studied carefully the user manual and the book to be more familiar with this beauty before waiting for a quiet moment to prepare for a test film. I did not trust the solidity of the old leather original neck strap to carry this precious machine on the field to avoid the real risk to drop the camera. I first used my modern Peak-Design Leach safe strap before using a Chinese nice remake of the original leather strap, reproducing even the famous « crocodile » connectors.
The first Avalanche Creates took place on Oct. 24-28, 2022 in Berkeley, CA, bringing together an intimate group of passional developers for a rare opportunity to receive mentorship and a chance to pitch for investments.
Check out the winning pitches: twitter.com/avalancheavax/status/1587429538270777344?s=20...
In the 1640's Claude produced many of his most ambitious pictures, such as the two versions of the Landscape with Dancing Figures (sometimes called The Mill) in the Galleria Doria in Rome and the National Gallery, London (called The Marriage of Isaac and Rebecca). They are wide in scale and the atmosphere is of broad daylight. There is a complete balance between careful observation of the reality of the Roman Campagna and the need to produce an organized composition. Unfortunately both versions of the picture suffer from a problem afflicting a number of Claude's works, the darkening of the greens in the trees. This gives them a much greater solidity than the artist intended. Moreover, in Claude's later pictures there is also sometimes a fading out of the fugitive yellows he used, which gives the pictures a much stronger bluish hue than he intended.
Painted in 1648, these two pictures sum up Claude s mature art. He had arrived at this maturity by degrees, almost imperceptibly, refining and perfecting his technique. He had for many years been drawing from nature almost obsessively, and several hundred of his sensitive and often atmospheric drawings survive. He was therefore able to combine the more naturalistic approach seen in the Ponte Molle of 1645 with an increasing desire to turn the landscape into an idealized world. He had tried dramatic atmosphere in some of his early compositions, and had succeeded with direct sunlight but had not pursued it; but he developed in his later years the soft and subtle light effects which were the most difficult of all to achieve convincingly. As he grew older Claude became even more meticulous, and his pictures never acquired the looseness sometimes seen in the works of painters in their old age, even Poussin.
The painting is included in Liber Veritatis (LV 113).
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.
Blythe size stand made of painted acrylic resin.
Inspired by the mexican Día de Muertos skulls, this stand shows a big eyed and toothy one which has conveniently lost its jaw in order to fit on the shelf ;)
Because of the nature of the material used, it has a nice strong and compact presence and a stone-like solidity.
Height: 7.5 inch / 19 cm.
Diameter: 4.7 inch / 12 cm.
Weight can vary: 0.9 pounds / 400 g.
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 created this artwork while working for an architecture firm. I wanted to marry the solidity of an architectural vision with the intangible variables of dream, fantasy and nostalgia.
Bernadette Berger is a born storyteller, an experience weaver, a maker of magic. She is an airplane nerd and a former professional dancer/choreographer. At the University of Washington she teaches Experience Design in the Masters of Human Computer Interaction and Design program. After running an R+D Incubator, designing airplanes, building eComm websites and experimenting with new VR audio experiences she has embarked on her first career sabbatical to fully experience life at a different pace.
pril’s theme is Movement, chosen by @cm_wlg, illustrated by Hannah Webster @forestdrawn, and presented by @Mailchimp. The body in motion is a thing of beauty. Our cells shake kinetic energy through the finely articulated instruments of muscle, ligament, and bone. We blink, we pulse, we dance.
.
Movement is a universal state of being. Even at rest, the matter we’re composed of is in motion — subatomic particles whir about at dizzying speeds, to create the sense of solidity.
.
When we move together, we can build social and collective movements. Like a murmuration of swallows, we can form sweeping visions of a world never seen before. Our collective energy directed like a mighty river flowing downstream, taking unexpected and winding turns to carve mountains. #CMMovement #CreativeMornings
Horribly naff quoins in the Southgate development. The breaks arise because the walling is made of prefabricated panels but they completely undermine the impression of solidity that quoins ought to give to a corner.
Shankar Balan
BANGALORE
The Bolero combines great value for money, with toughness, solidity, tough looks and aggressive
If there's one place in London that merits an Art Deco Fair, it's Eltham Palace,
with its Art Deco entrance hall, created by the textile magnates the Courtaulds in 1936. The much-loved weekend fair is held twice a year - once in the summer and a second time in September - giving visitors the chance to buy original 1930s objects, from furniture and collectables to hats, handbags and jewellery. Browse the original 1930s objects, from jewellery to furniture while you take in the magnificent Art Deco surroundings of the Palace. Ticket price includes entry to Eltham Palace and gardens and you can see the house by guided tour.
About Eltham Palace
Restored by English Heritage, this fantastic house boasts Britain's finest Art Deco interior and offers visitors the chance to indulge in the opulence of 1930s Britain whilst at the same time experiencing the solidity and symbolism of medieval London. Eltham Palace began to evolve during the 15th century when Edward IV commissioned the Great Hall, which survives today as a testament to the craftsmanship of the period. More about Eltham Palace
After the first black-and-white test film of my Rolleiflex 3.5F model-3 (or « K4F », see details given below), I decided to do a negative-color film with a roll of Kodak Ektar 100. I expected for some weather improvements but finally it was essentially overcast during the session giving a very soft light to the scene. The sun came after on my way back for a moment only.
For all the frames, the Rolleiflex was equipped with the Rollei RII protecting filters (UV) on both lenses and the taking lens additionally equipped with the Rollei RII original shade hood. The film was exposed for 100 ISO. Light-metering was done using a Minolta Autometer III equipped with a 10° finder for selective measures privileging the shadow areas or with the integrating white dome for incident light metering. The camera was held using the brand-new leather neck strap for the Rolleiflex that I received from China.
View Nr. -11: 1/125s, f/8 focusing @ 2.5m
Serre Hollandaise, March 25, 2025
Jardin Botanique de Lyon
Parc de la Tête d'Or
69006 Lyon
France
After the view #12 exposed, the film was fully rolled to the taking spool and was developed using the C41 protocol by a local laboratory service (one-hour service).
Digitizing was made using a Sony A7 camera (ILCE-7, 24MP) held on a Minolta vertical macro stative device and adapted to a Minolta MD Macro lens 1:3.5 f=50mm. The light source was a LED panel (approx. 4x5') CineStill Cine-lite fitted with film holder "Lobster" to maintain flat the film.
The RAW files obtained were inverted within the latest version available of Adobe software Lightroom Classic (14.2) and edited to the final jpeg pictures without intermediate file. They are presented either as printed files with frame or the full size JPEG together with some documentary smartphone pictures.
About the camera
I got this stunning Rolleiflex 3.5F from a French artist near Paris, France. The camera came in it original box and leather bag with accessories and a reference book year 1955. The whole kit is in a remarkable state of conservation.
The Rolleiflex 3.5F is the model-3 that Rollei-Werke Franke & Heidecke produced in about 50.000 units in Germany from 1960 to 1965. The Rolleiflex originates from 1928 for the very first model and was produced still in a limited number until the years 2000’s. The 3.5F model 3 was available etheir with a Schneider-Kreuznak Xenotar taking lens or the Call Zeiss Planar 1:3.5 f=75mm as this camera. The Rolleiflex, that was a quality reference for many professional photographers in the 50’s for the medium-format 6X6 camera’s. Many worked both with the Leica M3 (starting from 1954) as small-format 24x36mm camera and the Rolleiflex for other appliances. The Rolleiflex remained one of the most iconic and trusted camera of all the times.
This specific 3.5F is labelled on the right side with nice badge made of enameled brass « T » « Telos » that was the exclusive first French importer of Rollei to France until 1972.
The Rolleiflex 3,5 F model 3 is equipped with the Synchro-Compur central shutter MXV CR00 with cone-wheel differential. The distance scale is only in meters here with automatic DOF indication.
Serial number with ‘3,5F’ prefix on of top name shield.
I detailed the camera and accessories and studied carefully the user manual and the book to be more familiar with this beauty before waiting for a quiet moment to prepare for a test film. I did not trust the solidity of the old leather original neck strap to carry this precious machine on the field to avoid the real risk to drop the camera. I first used my modern Peak-Design Leach safe strap before using a Chinese nice remake of the original leather strap, reproducing even the famous « crocodile » connectors.
After the first black-and-white test film of my Rolleiflex 3.5F model-3 (or « K4F », see details given below), I decided to do a negative-color film with a roll of Kodak Ektar 100. I expected for some weather improvements but finally it was essentially overcast during the session giving a very soft light to the scene. The sun came after on my way back for a moment only.
For all the frames, the Rolleiflex was equipped with the Rollei RII protecting filters (UV) on both lenses and the taking lens additionally equipped with the Rollei RII original shade hood. The film was exposed for 100 ISO. Light-metering was done using a Minolta Autometer III equipped with a 10° finder for selective measures privileging the shadow areas or with the integrating white dome for incident light metering. The camera was held using the brand-new leather neck strap for the Rolleiflex that I received from China.
View Nr. -11: 1/125s, f/8 focusing @ 2.5m
Serre Hollandaise, March 25, 2025
Jardin Botanique de Lyon
Parc de la Tête d'Or
69006 Lyon
France
After the view #12 exposed, the film was fully rolled to the taking spool and was developed using the C41 protocol by a local laboratory service (one-hour service).
Digitizing was made using a Sony A7 camera (ILCE-7, 24MP) held on a Minolta vertical macro stative device and adapted to a Minolta MD Macro lens 1:3.5 f=50mm. The light source was a LED panel (approx. 4x5') CineStill Cine-lite fitted with film holder "Lobster" to maintain flat the film.
The RAW files obtained were inverted within the latest version available of Adobe software Lightroom Classic (14.2) and edited to the final jpeg pictures without intermediate file. They are presented either as printed files with frame or the full size JPEG together with some documentary smartphone pictures.
About the camera
I got this stunning Rolleiflex 3.5F from a French artist near Paris, France. The camera came in it original box and leather bag with accessories and a reference book year 1955. The whole kit is in a remarkable state of conservation.
The Rolleiflex 3.5F is the model-3 that Rollei-Werke Franke & Heidecke produced in about 50.000 units in Germany from 1960 to 1965. The Rolleiflex originates from 1928 for the very first model and was produced still in a limited number until the years 2000’s. The 3.5F model 3 was available etheir with a Schneider-Kreuznak Xenotar taking lens or the Call Zeiss Planar 1:3.5 f=75mm as this camera. The Rolleiflex, that was a quality reference for many professional photographers in the 50’s for the medium-format 6X6 camera’s. Many worked both with the Leica M3 (starting from 1954) as small-format 24x36mm camera and the Rolleiflex for other appliances. The Rolleiflex remained one of the most iconic and trusted camera of all the times.
This specific 3.5F is labelled on the right side with nice badge made of enameled brass « T » « Telos » that was the exclusive first French importer of Rollei to France until 1972.
The Rolleiflex 3,5 F model 3 is equipped with the Synchro-Compur central shutter MXV CR00 with cone-wheel differential. The distance scale is only in meters here with automatic DOF indication.
Serial number with ‘3,5F’ prefix on of top name shield.
I detailed the camera and accessories and studied carefully the user manual and the book to be more familiar with this beauty before waiting for a quiet moment to prepare for a test film. I did not trust the solidity of the old leather original neck strap to carry this precious machine on the field to avoid the real risk to drop the camera. I first used my modern Peak-Design Leach safe strap before using a Chinese nice remake of the original leather strap, reproducing even the famous « crocodile » connectors.
The Frost and Wood Company, started by Ebenezer Frost in 1839, is without doubt the company that put Smiths Falls on the world stage. Among their many accomplishments it was through their leadership and lobbying that they were successful in bringing the CPR to town in 1885, an industry which futher enhanced the growth and well being of Smiths Falls in the 1800's. In 1843 Ebenezer would add a iron foundry to his blacksmith shop and hired Alexander Wood as an iron worker. After a short stint in Ottawa Alexander returned to Smiths Falls in 1846 and entered into a partnership with Ebenzer to form the Frost & Wood Company.
After Ebenezer's death in 1863 his sons would continue the growth of the company and make substatial contibutions to the financial, social and civic fabric of the town. William Henry Frost, the youngest son of Ebenezer, would found The Smiths Falls Malleable Iron Works.
A sort of biography of Ebenezer and the beginnings of The Frost & Wood Company was written up by Charles H. Brush called 'The Mysterious Boulder and the Frost Family' published by The Rural New-Yorker Newspaper on December 16, 1939. It reads as follows;
In a pasture on the east bank of Lyd Brook at Hopkinton, St. Lawrence County, N. Y., downstream about 40 rods from the historic MilitaryTurnpike, lies a granite boulder of three or four tons weight, with a hole a hole about eight inches square, and of a like depth, cut squarely down from its upper surface. It was a mystery to the few who saw it until recent years, when complete evidence of its use has been brought to life.
The historian, C. E. Sanford, became greatly interested, started an investigation, and in his splendid “History of the Town of Hopkinton” records his findings as follows:
During the war of 1812, Ebenezer Frost, a young blacksmith of Barton Vt., attached himself to the U. S. Cavalry as a horseshoer and general blacksmith at Plattsburg. At the close of the war, he wended his way through the woods to the enterprising young village of Hopkinton, looking for work at his trade as a general blacksmith.
Most of the iron then in use at interior points was Swedish wrought in all forms and sizes, but of short lengths, as heavier pieces could not be brought in. To draw it out into lengths for wagon tires and pound it down into small pieces for horse and ox shoes and other small articles, required much time and hard work. Frost conceived the idea of saving time and arm work by using mechanical power. He bought a strip of land extending from the North and South Road back to the brook, which here has a rapid descent. Building a dam of stone and timber, he erected a few rods below it a building which became to be known as the Trip Hammer Shop. It housed the boulder, selected for its weight and solidity to support the heavy anvil, which evidently had a square projection on the underside, and to receive this, the square hole was cut. Power from a water-wheel was used to raise the giant hammer. It could be tripped at the desired time and height to fall with great force on the heated iron on the anvil, moved and turned by men with large tongs. The Trip Hammer Shop was the forerunner of the mighty rolling mills of today.
The writer’s grandfather, Eliphalet Brush, was one of the six Hopkinton pioneers of 1802. Money was an exceedingly scares article, trade being by barter, the doctor, minister and merchant taking their pay in any conceivable farm produce, and glad to get it. Each man kept an account of his credits, and at intervals they balanced to see which was ahead. Grandfather’s old day-book has accounts with nearly every man in town. That with E. Frost has these items for 1815;
‘Ebenezer Frost to E. Brush, Dr:
To cutting and hauling timber for sleepers $1.25
To hauling iron $1.00
To drawing anvil $1.50
To use of oxen 8 days $8.00
To 2 ½ pounds butter .50
Despite its good work, the venture was not profitable. The property was sold under execution in 1820 for a small sum. How long the building stood no one knows. But the die stone remains in its original position after 120 years of idleness. The wonder is that it has not been cracked by freezing of water each winter in the square hole, or been broken up for use in road building.
Frost then moved his family to Canton, where he opened another similar shop, but using horse-power to raise the hammer. This also failed. Moving to Canada, he made another effort in Hawksbury, Ontario, failing again. He then made a similar effort at Hull, Quebec which also failed. This succession of failures would down any ordinary man. But Frost was made of sterner stuff. With faith in the soundness of his original idea, he made another start in Smiths Falls, Ontario. Profiting from earlier mistakes, he began in a small way, the making of plows, farm kettles etc., gradually expanding until it became the greatest farm implement works in Canada.
Canton has laid claim to being the starting point of Frost’s career, but Hopkinton clearly has that distinction with the evidence to prove it. His first wife, Clarissa was one of 10 children of Abijah Chandler, a Hopkinton pioneer. After her death, he married Caroline Harwood, from another good pioneer family of this section.
Ebenezer Frost was typical of the men to whom all progress is due. Deep thinkers, refusing to be bound by precedent, with faith in the soundness of their conceptions, they persisted in the face of failures and ridicule of their fellow men, until they had achieved success. Someone has written; On the plains of hesitation, bleach the bones of countless millions, who, on the eve of victory, sat down to rest, and resting, died.” Ebenezer Frost did not sit down to rest.
Astounding! Gracious custom built single family home in Chicago's East Village. All brick residence offers elegant finishes with coffered ceilings and crown molding and perfectly selected stones and tiling. Comfortable rooms including massive master suite with a spa-like bath. This is a home that will not disappoint, especially the attached garage or decks atop the home and garage. Call Tom McCarey to arrange private showing at 773.848.9241. Delightful custom built single family in Chicago's East Village. What sets this home apart? Its profound solidity of construction, made of all brick with limestone accents, the detail within with coffered ceilings and crown molding, and the degree of detail with perfectly chosen stones and mosaic tiling in the baths. The home features three outdoor areas that include decks atop the home and garage and a balcony off the home's great room. Another unique and unexpected plus is an attached two-car garage. Arrange private showings with Tom McCarey of The Real Estate Lounge Chicago at 773.848.9241.
A2-Level. I wanted to show the fragility of life & how some bodies need man-made things to run such as a pace-maker/electrodes in the brain.
Blythe size stand made of painted acrylic resin.
Inspired by the mexican Día de Muertos skulls, this stand shows a big eyed and toothy one which has conveniently lost its jaw in order to fit on the shelf ;)
Because of the nature of the material used, it has a nice strong and compact presence and a stone-like solidity.
Height: 7.5 inch / 19 cm.
Diameter: 4.7 inch / 12 cm.
Weight can vary: 0.9 pounds / 400 g.
Apologies for the poor quality shot, will replace at next opportunity.
Scene from the Life of Christ, 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.
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.
his is an early work by Caravaggio, who sought above all to convey the reality and solidity of the surrounding world. We can already see the elements of the artist's style which were to have such a widespread influence on other artists. The figure of a young boy dressed in a white shirt stands out clearly against the dark background. (Hermitagemuseum.org)
‘Scene’ in Hebden Bridge, West Yorks 3.
on Dennis Basford’s railsroadsrunways.blogspot.co.uk’
Friend Peter Rose had one of his occasional breaks in Hebden recently and has forwarded these images. The are reproduced here with his permission and my thanks.
I have visited Hebden Bridge several times and I always like the stone buildings that are the backdrop to the images. To me, they signify solidity and strength.
The Hindu deity Parvati, approx. 1050-1100
India; Jaynagar-Hasanpur, Bihar state
Chlorite
"Parvati, the wife of Shiva, holds in her left hand a now-broken figure of her child Skanda; her other child, the elephant-headed Ganesha, can be seen near her right foot. Beneath her lotus throne is the lioon which she customarily rides. Above her, elephants pour water over her in a gesture of homage... the ... artist has emphasized broad swelling volumes and a sense of weight and solidity, and has kept the surroundings of the main figure rather plain..."
This was done in a workshop. I remember we painted the same drawing ( our own, of course) in several different ways. I don't have a copy of all of them..some were more colorful than others. And this one with the shapes of the foliage done rather abstractly, was one of those put away in the back of a bottom drawer. It does have some attributes. The background is obviously gouache, but the solidity of the color seems to accent the ornateness of the temple building. Strange painting...actually seems to be 3 styles all in one. It was a full sheet.
About a month ago I came across the work of James Ravilious. I was intrigued by his signature b/w photographs taken towards the light source - an angle which I discovered creates amazing perspective and 'solidity' of his subject, but which I'd previously never seriously attempted because of technical issues. Although this photo is not representative by any means of his style, it was taken shortly after sunrise on a morning of experimentation inspired by Ravilious' work.
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.
Blythe size stand made of painted acrylic resin.
Inspired by the mexican Día de Muertos skulls, this stand shows a big eyed and toothy one which has conveniently lost its jaw in order to fit on the shelf ;)
Because of the nature of the material used, it has a nice strong and compact presence and a stone-like solidity.
Height: 7.5 inch / 19 cm.
Diameter: 4.7 inch / 12 cm.
Weight can vary: 0.9 pounds / 400 g.
Caption:Built around the year 1000, the church of Hosios Loukas (Saint Luke) was a product of the thriving Byzantine monastic movement. Most citizens of the empire contributed to that movement, either by offering money or goods or by spending part of their lives in a monastery or convent.
In Byzantium as in the Far East, it was common for older people to join a holy community as a way of preparing for the hereafter. But the true champions of the faith tended to embrace the ascetic life at an early age. The tenth-century saint for whom the church of Hosios Loukas was named left his parents at the age of fourteen to join other monks. In time, a longing for solitude led him to a rugged hillside in Phocis where ancient Greeks had once worshipped the goddess Demeter. there Luke passed his last eight years in a small cell, visited now and again by pilgrims and acquiring a reputation as a healer and prophet. Before his death in 943, it was said. he foretold the liberation of Crete from Muslim control. When that prophecy was fulfilled in 961, Luke's reputation was bolstered, and powerful patrons offered their support to the monastic community that had grown up around the saint rude dwelling. By one account, the church that arose there drew support from Basil II, the ruler who led the Byzantine Empire to new heights. A fitting monument to power and piety, the building projected a fortress like solidity, relieved by a host of graceful arches that left ample space for windows to throw light on the sacred designs within.
Caption #2:Wrought of stone, brick and tile, the exterior of Hosios Loukas reveals the building's symbolic plan- a cross defined by the gable transepts projecting from the central dome. Although Hosios Loukas has endured as a shining example of Byzantine church architecture. similar shrines were constructed wherever the Eastern Orthodox faith took hold, including Russ and the Balkans.
Insubstantial, untouchable, lacking any kind of solidity, London fog still inspired many writers and artists from the 1840s to the 1950s. Dr Christine L Corton tells the story as seen through the eyes of Charles Dickens, Robert Louis Stevenson, Henry James, Joseph Conrad, James McNeill Whistler, Claude Monet, and many lesser-known writers and artists.
It exudes civic pride and solidity, and yet it was the centre of much debate and controversy. It took several years to even choose a site, and it is sometimes known as "The Town Hall at the Wrong End of Town". The foundation stones were laid by King George V and Queen Mary in 1914. I think its position above the Mersey is excellent, but I am not a local so who am I to say?
Impressed by the solidity of its construction, a 19th century traveller Trebeck referred to this monastery as The Cold Fort.
Sept 2012
Travel Diary: bnomadic.wordpress.com/2013/05/16/sham-wild-creature/
Insubstantial, untouchable, lacking any kind of solidity, London fog still inspired many writers and artists from the 1840s to the 1950s. Dr Christine L Corton tells the story as seen through the eyes of Charles Dickens, Robert Louis Stevenson, Henry James, Joseph Conrad, James McNeill Whistler, Claude Monet, and many lesser-known writers and artists.
Blythe size stand made of painted acrylic resin.
It shows a little bit of a cobbled street including a storm drain and it's inspired by cities like Rome or Lisbon.
Because of the nature of the material used, it has a nice strong and compact presence and a stone-like solidity.
Measures
Height: 7.5 inch / 19 cm.
Diameter: 4.7 inch / 12 cm.
Weight: 12 ounces / 350 g. aprox.
Astounding! Gracious custom built single family home in Chicago's East Village. All brick residence offers elegant finishes with coffered ceilings and crown molding and perfectly selected stones and tiling. Comfortable rooms including massive master suite with a spa-like bath. This is a home that will not disappoint, especially the attached garage or decks atop the home and garage. Call Tom McCarey to arrange private showing at 773.848.9241. Delightful custom built single family in Chicago's East Village. What sets this home apart? Its profound solidity of construction, made of all brick with limestone accents, the detail within with coffered ceilings and crown molding, and the degree of detail with perfectly chosen stones and mosaic tiling in the baths. The home features three outdoor areas that include decks atop the home and garage and a balcony off the home's great room. Another unique and unexpected plus is an attached two-car garage. Arrange private showings with Tom McCarey of The Real Estate Lounge Chicago at 773.848.9241.
Metropolitan - Foster and Partners
The site of the Metropolitan office development is at the northern edge of Pilsudski Square, one of Warsaw’s most important public spaces and home to the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier and national ceremonial events. Formerly Victory Square, the large space was bordered by the seventeenth-century Saski Palace and the Baroque Brühl Palace, however both were destroyed during the war. The new building completes the missing edge of the square, providing a modern counterpart to neighbouring historic buildings, while sympathetically echoing their height, massing and materials.
The building extends to the perimeter of the site to establish an appropriate presence on the square, while an open public space, 50 metres wide at its heart, maintains pedestrian routes through the site. The drum-like space provides the social focus of the scheme and is lined with cafes and restaurants. At its centre is a dramatic water feature, surrounded by a ring of mature trees. The circular motif continues with a ring of light, cantilevered from the first floor of the building, which provides illumination for evening al fresco dining, and a gently glowing halo of light around the top of the building.
Above the ground level shops and restaurants there are five storeys of flexible office accommodation, grouped in three separate, yet connected buildings. Below, the underground parking level provides space for 400 cars. The glazed façades maximise daylight in the offices and take advantage of views over the square and surrounding historic buildings, while vertical granite fins balance this sense of transparency with the impression of solidity. Transforming the building’s appearance from solid to transparent according to the viewer’s perspective, the fins give the façade a rich texture appropriate to the significance of the Metropolitan’s setting.