l'Arc de Triomphe wrapped by those honoring late artists Christo & Jeanne-Claude

I’ve seen Christo’s drawings of this for years - so good to finally see images of this project being realized. In the link (below) there is a photomontage (sketch) of an early wrapping idea in 1962.

The Arc is covered by 25,000 sq metres of silvery fabric, secured by 3,000 metres of red rope and fulfills one of the many life-long proposals of Christo & Jeanne-Claude, who were best known for large-scale wrappings and other massive site-specific artistic interventions.

Lots more excellent images/information here.

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2019

2019

Artisans Ayutthaya Women Restaurant by Boonserm Premthada (Thailand)

I’ve never seen glass block assembled within a wood frame like this. Also, the outside begs for a look at the inside.

‘One curiosity of this place is that most of the residents are unmarried or widowed women,’ says Premthada. ‘Their daily activity is to give alms to monks in the early morning at a small run-down village temple. They try their best to earn money to repair the temple. Each of them cooks a few specialties in large pots and packs the food in smaller individual bags to offer to the monks and exchange among themselves. This is where the project began.’ Read more.

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Jingdezhen Imperial Kiln Museum / Studio Zhu Pe (CHINA)

This is an interesting museum, as only the Imperial Kiln porcelain relics are displayed in a section of the interior, the rest is borderless. With the help of information technology, it links the imperial kiln porcelain collected by major museums around the world, highlighting the significance of Chinese porcelain culture in the history of human civilization. Read more.

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Richard Neutra (April 8, 1892 – April 16, 1970)

Primarily known for his residential projects in Southern California, he would shepherd in over 100 modern structures, mostly homes, between the late thirties to the mid sixties. He, like Alvar Aalto, would heavily rely on his landscape background to create an inside-outside blur. “He was known for the attention he gave to defining the real needs of his clients, regardless of the size of the project, in contrast to other architects eager to impose their artistic vision on a client. Neutra sometimes used detailed questionnaires to discover his client's needs, much to their surprise. His domestic architecture was a blend of art, landscape, and practical comfort.”

NOTE: Images below are from a comprehensive coffee table book entitled Neutra that Emily just brought back from BookGive, mostly because late Uncle Les (who was also an architect) when asked 7-8yrs ago who his favorite designer or architect was, said, Neutra.

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