Faux Finishing
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Plaster and soot mottling on this Portuguese building almost made it look like a 3D print, but nope - just a weird color/texture.
RichB. Alen Set Piercing (wear)
RichB. Eye Plaster
At Mancave Event
maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Match/171/128/46
© Leanne Boulton, All Rights Reserved
Street photography from Glasgow, Scotland.
Digging through previously unpublished shots, such as this from April 2018, is just a sticking plaster on a gaping street photography wound. I wish it was safe for me to be out there now, perhaps one day in the distant future it may be so again. Stay safe everyone.
No Foundation!
Hawa Mahal is the tallest building in the world without a foundation. The five-storey building managed to maintain upright because of it is curved. Just another masterpiece of Rajput and Mughal architecture.
Durga Puja pandal architecture is a vibrant and dynamic art form, deeply rooted in Bengali tradition but continuously evolving with contemporary trends. The pandal serves as the temporary abode for the goddess Durga during the annual festival and is often an elaborate and creative expression of architectural ingenuity.
Materials Used
Bamboo: The traditional material used for the structure of the pandal, which is highly flexible and abundant.
Cloth and Paper: These are used for decorations, draping, and wall coverings. They are often painted or printed with intricate designs.
Plaster of Paris and Clay: Used for creating idols and sculptures.
Fiberglass and Metal: These are often used in modern pandals for creating stronger, more durable structures.
1. Traditional Designs
Bengali Folk Art: Traditional pandals often draw from rural Bengal’s heritage, incorporating local materials like bamboo, jute, and clay. These pandals typically feature motifs inspired by nature, mythology, and folk art.
Sholar Kaaj: This is a technique involving intricate designs made from shola (a type of plant) and is used to create ornaments, canopies, and decorations within the pandal.
Terracotta and Wooden Crafts: Terracotta sculptures, wooden carvings, and images of mythological figures are common in older pandals.
2. Modern Interpretations
Innovative Materials: Modern pandals often use contemporary materials like fiberglass, metal, and plastic alongside traditional materials. For instance, large fiberglass idols of Durga are increasingly used, along with innovative lighting, mirrors, and glasswork.
Thematic Pandals: Many pandals these days are built around a specific theme. The themes can range from environmental issues (like conservation of rivers or wildlife) to technological advancements, historical events, or even popular culture. The architecture of the pandal is designed to reflect this theme, often incorporating multimedia elements.
Eco-friendly Designs: In recent years, there has been a push for sustainable and eco-friendly pandals. These are often constructed using biodegradable materials such as bamboo, paper, and cloth, with designs that minimize environmental impact.
3. Architectural Features
Structural Form: Traditionally, pandals were dome-shaped or cylindrical, but now they can take on all sorts of avant-garde shapes, from temples to spaceships to replicas of famous monuments like the Eiffel Tower or the Taj Mahal.
Facade and Entrances: The entrance of the pandal is often grand and acts as a focal point of the design. It may incorporate arches, columns, and ornate carvings, often reflecting the temple architecture of India.
Ceilings and Roofs: The roofs of pandals are a key area for artistic expression, ranging from elaborate canopies made of flowers to highly stylized, often abstract, designs using light and color.
Lighting: Pandals are spectacularly lit, with millions of light bulbs strung up in intricate patterns. The lighting not only enhances the aesthetics but also creates a divine ambiance, especially at night.
Interior Layout: The interior of the pandal is designed to accommodate the idol of Durga, with a focus on creating a spiritual environment. The idol is often placed on a raised platform, surrounded by artistic depictions of various deities, animals, and scenes from mythology.
4. Regional Variations
Kolkata Pandals: In Kolkata, Durga Puja pandals are known for their immense creativity and often become larger-than-life structures. Famous areas like Kumartuli, Behala, and Santoshpur are known for their extravagant pandals.
Delhi and Other Urban Centers: Pandal designs in metropolitan areas might incorporate modern styles, influenced by international trends, such as futuristic designs, art installations, or replicas of foreign monuments. These pandals often blend cultural elements with urban sophistication.
Rural and Smaller Town Pandals: These tend to have simpler, more rustic designs but are rich in cultural symbolism. Often constructed with bamboo, they may showcase more traditional and handcrafted artworks.
5. Innovative and Avant-Garde Designs
Optical Illusions: Some pandals are designed to give the illusion of floating structures, using materials like mirrors and lights to create mesmerizing visual effects.
Interactive and Immersive Designs: Some pandals now aim to create immersive experiences. Visitors can walk through installations that engage all their senses, with sounds, lights, and even augmented reality elements enhancing the experience.
6. Famous Pandals and Their Architects
Kumartuli Park (Kolkata): Known for its amazing artistry!
A late afternoon departure helps silhouette the 111's profile as it begins its 26 mile trek to the Fish Creek quarry rolling north over one of many dry wash crossings.
In Plaster City, California the United States Gypsum Company operates the last narrow gauge freight railway in North America. The 3 foot gauge railway runs from the USG wallboard plant to a quarry North of town on a 27 mile line. The railroad transports limestone from the quarry to the plant and also supplements the water supply at the quarry with a water car. USG operates two MLW/Bombardier DL-535EW locomotives (numbers 111 and 112) which were built in 1982 for the Whitepass and Yukon Railway who never took delivery of them. Four units were built total, with 113 having been wrecked and the 114 getting delivered to the Whitepass & Yukon with a 14 year delay in 1994. 114 was later sold to the Durango and Silverton Railway.
Here USG 111 departs the Plaster City wallboard plant with the usual train of hoppers to be loaded at the quarry 27 miles East of town and a water tank to supplement the water supply out there. During my last visit there had been no morning train due to trackwork, but this time around the plant was much busier and both a morning and afternoon (and probably a night crew as well) ran this day. Plaster City, CA
Shortly after arriving in town and its crew tying down handbrakes on the 24 loads, and spotted the lone water tank car, USG No. 111 would rest in the evening sun where it’ll sit it out until the next call to duty.
Marquette Rail Z151 and CSX N956 both wait at Plaster Creek for a light into the yard. N956 had just gotten their power from the house and was getting ready to back down the main to their train. GLLX #3003 and a pair of GP38-2s wait on the Sunnyside Lead. In the foreground are the now-removed Maggie's Lead and switch to the old piggy back ramps.
It’s quitttin’ time, the engineer lightens his load dumping out his cooler before helping his conductor tighten handbrakes before heading home for the day.
Example of an older, asbestos plaster wall system on wood lath. While these plaster materials may look like any typical plaster, that's partly the point of this photo: asbestos-containing plaster might be present in any ordinary-looking plaster material; whether the plaster is troweled-on or spray-applied onto wood or metal lath, on gypsum wallboard panels, onto concrete or applied to any type of substrate. In this particular example, asbestos was found within the thicker, plaster base layer.
For a more conclusive determination about whether or not plaster contains asbestos (or any type of suspect material for that matter), multiple bulk samples of the material, including all layers of a "system", are to be properly collected by a trained, certified, and accredited ("licensed") asbestos inspector, and then tested via specialized, laboratory microscopy method(s) to determine asbestos presence or absence and its respective percentage therein. The testing can be relatively inexpensive, ranging on average between $6-to-$30 USD (or more) per sample, per layer, often depending upon required turn-around time
Another point of interest regarding the plaster system in the above example is that there are actually three layers of plaster: the bottom ("render") thick base-layer; the thin ("floating" or "setting") skim-layer, and a textured finishing layer. Each type of plaster layer, (base-coat, skim-coat, textured surfacing, etc.) has been known to contain asbestos.
The coarse, base plaster in this instance, sometimes referred to as "brown-coat" or "scratch-coat", in addition to asbestos, also contains small aggregate and animal hair fibers (likely bovine, equine, porcine, caprine, or cervine). These constituents are more visible in the inset image.
Although not in this particular case, sometimes the white, finish layer or "skim-coat" may contain asbestos. Or, even the textured finish, stucco-style spackling may contain asbestos as well.
Particular attention to different types of plasters, possibly applied in different areas, such as: mechanical rooms, boiler rooms, fan rooms, auditoriums, stages, arenas, churches/temples (or other places of worship), cafeterias, theaters, air plenums, utility areas, electrical rooms/vaults, workshops, stairwells, corridors, decorative applications, lobbies, elevator shafts, radiator shielding, instrumental-band/choir rooms, library/media centers, etc.; are all unique functional spaces that should be especially considered when evaluating the potential for differing types of plaster applications.
Further yet, ceiling plaster may contain asbestos and wall plaster may not, despite being in the same functional space and having similar appearance/texture.
Of further importance in distinguishing different types of plasters that may exist in a building is knowing the renovation history of the structure, and also if additions were constructed or patching was installed that contain plaster(s) applied at later date(s). Each plaster from differing dates of construction or patches should be assessed separately.
There are also examples of asbestos inspection surveys in multi-floor buildings where asbestos (> 1% content) was found in wall/ceiling plasters on certain floors, but not others (trace to < 1%).
Keep in mind that if asbestos (>1%) is identified in one layer of a plaster application, then the entire plaster "system" is treated as an ACM.
Additionally, don't forget about potential lead or cadmium-based paint or respirable silica dust exposure issues when dealing with older painted plaster materials during demolition or renovation activities.
UP 1413 once had the distinction of being the last SP Roman lettered unit on the roster but that’s no longer the case since its tour of duty in the LA area back in late 2020. So imagine my surprise when I saw it switching US Gypsum with another former SP GP60 as we followed the first USG turn back into town.
With angry brush strokes
the pain of the wall
was removed – caused
by spray applied on the plaster that
covered the ancient stones -
as it depicted
an opinion by a medium of
a different time and mood.
'Twas a nice morning walk over to Sampford Spiney
That's 10 years of a pic a day 🎉
366 /20 /366
Happy New Year
Additional close-up view of a two-layer asbestos-containing plaster material. Image shows painted skim-coat layer on beige base-coat layer with various animal hairs and conspicuous chrysotile asbestos fiber bundles.
Emphasizing the importance of sampling EACH layer of a suspect materials "system"!
Image of an asbestos-containing plaster wall system, showing the base-coat layer with various animal hairs and chrysotile asbestos fiber bundles protruding from the crumbly plaster material.
Damaged wall section showing several layers of materials, including asbestos plaster base-coat (indicated by arrow).
Outer-most plaster-board system is comprised of more recently applied two-layered plaster on gypsum panel-board (drywall); this is on top of an older (original) 3-layer plaster system on concrete substrate. The initial brown, scratch-coat plaster was tested and found to contain approx. 2% chrysotile asbestos.