A long due postcard from Hong Kong…. or looking for the spirit of « In the mood for love », a constant travel in time that hits the most flamboyant modernity Back home, our Christmas deco is shifting from Chile, to east of France and to the Far East :)…. Merry Christmas and […]
The Fort d’Entrecasteaux is quite emblematic of the fiercely independent Marseille. Built in the XVIIe century by the order of Louis XIV, it was dubbed the worst military design ever by Vauban…. maybe that had something to do with the fact that unlike all of it’s contemporary forts, this one was not built to protect
Baerk (I know, strange name ain’it?) a mini concept store in mitte by Berlin designer Ilov Ilov, a few clever objects available on their website.
Of course, going to Berlin also means doing a bit of a Bauhaus pilgrimage: it started with the bauhaus archive. The building was finished in 1979 and designed by Walter Gropius. it showcases the classic icons from bauhaus member such as Breuers various studies for the tub chairs, and Mies Van de Rohe furniture as
Built in the XIXe century to house the stolen archaeologic findings from Egypt, as was unfortunately the way Europeans liked to behave in those days, the Neues Museum even sported a pastiche copy of the great hypostyle hall in Karnak. It was almost destroyed by WWII and left abandoned until the 80’s. It was painstakingly
Meisenthal, like a few better known villages around as: St Louis, Lalique, Baccarat, were built around a glass or cristal factory. The museum guides explain that the secret of the chemistry for making glass and cristal, was so precious at the time, that it was always set up in very remote valleys were spies could
On more stop on the architectural pilgrimage before getting back to Marseille: Chapelle Ronchamp, on the Notre-dame-du-haut hill, has become an icon of Le Corbuisier’s design, and experimenting the play with light inside the church is really a mystic experience. The two altars outside the chapel allow the thousands of pilgrims who converge to ronchamp
Located above a hip internet cafe invaded by macbook users, our first try at airbnb is a large, tall and handsome flat. Restored keeping all architectural artefacts, which starkly contrast with the black and white deco and contemporary art. Right on buzzy Rosenthaler strasse, it really ticket all the right boxes.. We « lived like a
This still existing bit of wall in Berlin is dubbed the Eastside gallery, it is indeed beautiful, and emotionally very strong, as many of those painting where made @ the fall of the wall in 89 and recently restored for the 20th commemoration. The « Brejnev kiss » is still there but constantly covered with tourists taking
Playing around with reflections in Dan Graham’s exhibition… Inside the MAMO: Skateboard pavillion, 1989 Ying Yang, 1998 Two half-cylinders off-aligned, 2000 And on the roof terrasse: Two nodes and Tight squeeze, both 2015
Although Jean-Marc Drut and Patrick Blauwart have obsessively restored this flat to its original state (see their website here), and are graciously opening it to the public on appointment; they don’t intend it to become a museum but a living project. Their clever approach to this challenge is to invite a designer to furbish it
Thanks to Jean-Marc Drut and Patrick Blauwart, who bought and meticulously restored this well preserved « E1/inferieur/monofacade » apartment in the mythic Citee Radieuse; one can discover an apartment in its original state; a must for anyone with interest in architecture and Le Corbusier’s work. I must here pay tribute to the owners altruism, as not only
The story starts with an idea: refurbish a vintage caravan into a fun-loving bar/occasional extra bedroom for guests…… next thing we know, our friends Alain and Benedicte show up at our place with « Titine » at the back of the car/truck (but that’s another long story…) So here is Titine with Alain and Ben, before the
Although no where close to being a fashionista, and looking a bit out of place amongst the most exuberant fashion crowd at this exhibition… But it was this years must see as I understood it from a friend who had been fascinated at the MET version back in 2011.. and didn’t shy away from seeing
Although the V&A is one of my favourite haunts in London. My memories of awful « restaurants » in the Kensington museums when the kids were toddlers always kept me away from having any kind of meal in one of them… But there is good news: the London restaurant scene upgrading has also widely touched the Kensington
This year’s edition had a strong accept on craftsmanship as witnessed by the main exhibits by the pond: Glassbolwing: Boqa, the company behind the Acapulco chair revival in France’s terraces Marius Fabre traditional « savon de Marseille » As this year was the 25th birthday of the magazine, there was an extensive collection of limited edition
This is a project located in Calle Capri, Santiago, Chile, thus it will be written in Spanish, but I guess the before-after images speak by themselves anyway! De vuelta a Marseille después de unas semanas muy intensas: la meta de renovar esta casa de Vitacura fue algo exagerada para las 6 semanas de obra que
Kind of a surprise to find this Brooklyn-like art space at the very end of the world, down in Puerto Natales: definitely a place to visit if you are down there! Galpon Patagonia was inaugurated early this year, this exhibition included works by: Antonio Rodríguez, Carlos Edwards, José Vicente Gajardo, Soledad Ramsay, Mauricio Guajardo, y Marcela
I am just throwing a little post about Punta Arenas as a tip. Most travellers skip this town to go straight to Puerto Natales, the door to the Torres del Paine National Park. It is a shame because Punta Arenas has this frontier town feeling and looks that is definitely worth a little visit.
The gateway to Torres del Paine has a pretty good selection of hotels. We picked the Altiplanico because we had a great stay at the original one in San Pedro before. We where not disappointed by the Patagonia brother: nice ecofriendly architecture (with an interesting exterior insulation made with raw earth bricks), and home made feeling