Showing posts with label Architecture. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Architecture. Show all posts
Sunday, March 25, 2012
Saturday, March 24, 2012
Red Barn with Garden
I took this photo several years ago in Basking Ridge, NJ. It wasn't that far away from a great old farmhouse so the homeowner could run outside and tend the garden easily. Don't you just love barns that become garages, potting sheds, and great dry storage lofts?
I can see the light at the end of the tax tunnel.
I can see the light at the end of the tax tunnel.
Tuesday, March 20, 2012
Potting Shed Envy
I wanted to post them all but I resisted. There are more charming potting sheds for you to lust over at My Sweet Savannah
Monday, March 19, 2012
'Temppeliaukio' The Rock Church, Helsinki
LastSeptember my wife had to go to a conference to Helsinki, Finland, so I decidedto tag along and see what Helsinki is all about.
On arrivingI quickly noticed that much of the buildings and stone walls in Helsinki aremade of a lovely pink granite. If you had a geologist to hand he wouldtell you the reason for this is because Helsinki sits on an indented Pegmatitic(pink) granite peninsula that makes up part of the Baltic shield. I did nothave a geologist to hand, but walking in some of the many green areas inHelsinki, large outcrops of this rock were poking out of the ground everywhere I looked.
Most of the buildings built with this stone are highlymanicured and well dressed. The central train station and the parliamentbuildings are fine examples of this. One building that I was very muchtaken by was a place called The Temppeliaukio Church or The Rock Church.
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| Exterior, dry stacked wall of the rock church. |
A stark contrast to the well dressed pink granite buildingsaround Helsinki, the rock church is rugged and unmanicured.
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| 360º view of the inside |
Temppeliaukio Church is a Lutheran church in the Töölöneighborhood of Helsinki. The project comes from an architectural competitionwon by the architect brothers Timo and Tuomo Suomalainen in 1961. The design oftheir project was recognized by the jury as “completely original” andrespectful of the competition goal to “include the organization plan to keep asmuch of the giant granite outcrop that makes up Temppeliaukio Square intact.”
Their original solution to saving the square was to have theinterior of the church site excavated and built into the rock. It dawnedintuitively on the Suomalainen brothers when they visited the building sitethat in order to save the character of place, the rock itself had to be understoodas a church and everything built at the site should be adjusted to accompanythe character of the rock.
Before the Suomalainen brothers started designing the TemppeliaukioChurch, they had done planning work for the Ministry of Defence and thus hadbecome familiar with rock building.
The brothers' aim was to locate the floor of the sanctuaryat the level of the widest and highest street, Fredrikinkatu Street, which endsat the square. This required the church hall to be cut into thebedrock. As a result this leads the visitor to the sanctuary without the needto climb stairs, simultaneously offering a friendly rather than overbearingexperience of the church space.
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| The Rock church looking down at Temppeliaukio Square. Photo by MKFI via Wikipedia |
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| The seemliness transition of the rock walls from inside to outside. |
The 24m diameter roof is made up of a copperplate-covered dome, using a impressive 13.6 miles (22 km) of copper plate strips. The dome is connected to the natural rock wall by 180 window panes thatlet in natural light. Due to the varying height of the rock wall, each glasspart of the roof is different in size.
As a result of the natural slope of the bedrock walls, the glass panes above the altar area are bigger, allowing the altar to become more illuminated compared to the other parts of the sanctuary
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| 13.6 miles (22 km) of copper plate strips covered the inside of the dome. |
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| The alter |
The colour scheme of the interior was based on the red, purple and grey shades of granite. The metals were also carefully selected to match the colours of the stone. Steel, made bluish by hammering, non-oxidised copper for the entrance doors as well as for the front facing of the gallery and interior of the dome, concrete left in its raw state.
The brothers' vision was for the church to have a strong connection with nature and its surroundings, and they wanted the natural rough quarried stone to have a leading role in creating the atmosphere inside the sanctuary. To achieve this the bedrock walls were left rough, with all drill markings from the quarrying visible, while the resulting quarried rock was stacked on top to create the rest of the walls that continue out and over the park surface.
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| Drill marks leftover from quarrying |
Aside from the aesthetic and structural benefits, an additional benefit of the solid rough walls is its acoustic qualities, and with a seating capacity for 940, it is no wonder that the church is also a popular concert venue.
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| The glistening Non-oxidised copper entrance doors to the church. |
Friday, March 16, 2012
A Beautiful Outbuilding
This delightful outbuilding belongs to a good friend. It will be covered in English ivy before you know it. I honestly thought that ivy covered buildings stayed green all year long but I was wrong. That is one thing I like about winter. When the leaves are off the trees and the ivy you can really appreciate the architecture. This charmer has been many things from a potting shed to an office and I can't remember what in between. iPhone photos all.
Carriage House Garage
I don't even want to see the rest of this house. I'll just live in the garage. Designed by David Phillips, a Massachusetts architect.
Thursday, March 15, 2012
Monday, March 12, 2012
Inside a Seaside Cottage
A country sitting room of a seaside cottage with timber roof, beams and iron girders, built in shelving, sofa, upholstered armchairs, wicker baskets, sisal rugs and more.
Are you in love yet? I certainly am!!! Click HERE for a complete house tour with many, many fabulous photos. I am ready to be teleported there now, aren't you? I have always loved a beautiful thatched roof.
Thursday, March 8, 2012
A kitchen to shout about!
Wouldn't it be fun to slide on this floor in your sock feet? It's big enough to get a good running start. And then you could shout for joy up to the clerestory windows. (Windows set in a roof structure or high in a wall, used for daylighting.) via
Tuesday, March 6, 2012
Another View of the Estate Cottage with Greenhouse and Gardens
It will be a while before I can take another picture showing spring blooms and foliage. In the meantime, here is the other view I have showing more of the cottage. Be patient and I'll make every effort to go back and take more pictures.
Monday, March 5, 2012
Estate Cottage with Greenhouse and Garden
As usual, I like the estate cottage better than the mansion. I didn't get any closer because my group was in a hurry. Next time, I'll go alone and see what it's like inside. It will be spectacular later on when things are in bloom. I took this iPhone photo just as it was starting to rain a few weeks ago.
A Real House for Owls
This house is approved for renovation by the owls. They are watching for someone to step up to the plate. via
I love all the attention to detail in this shingle style home by Birdseye Disign first spotted here.
Monday, February 27, 2012
Courtyard Garden
Designed by Fairfax & Sammons Architecture. The far building must be a combination conservatory/garden room/pool house assuming there is a pool on the other side. via
Thursday, February 23, 2012
Wednesday, February 22, 2012
Amazing Gray Paneled Walls
Gray and white is always right. I love the gorgeous wood-paneled walls in this room. And everything else too. via
A Wonderful Cottage
This would have been the perfect house for me to grow up in because I could have been inside and outside at the same time reading in that attic window.
Sunday, February 19, 2012
Great Place for A Fireside Chat
As seen in a remodeled circa 1908 home nearby. I'm so glad they kept this cozy nook with a fireplace in the living room. What a great place for guests to sit and warm up upon arrival on a winter visit just the way they did when this home was built before central heating was perfected.
Friday, February 17, 2012
Lake House in Winter
I don't think it's in the cards for us to be tucked in with snow this year. I don't really mind because we deserve a mild winter after last year, agreed? Lake house in winter. Maine home by Whitten Architects.
Thursday, February 16, 2012
Remembering the Beauty of Winter
Isn't this one of the most beautiful winter scenes you've ever seen with the perfectly distributed dusting of snow? It really accents the geometric garden design. via
