Chipperfield’s Kunsthaus in Zurich. During a visit to the latest addition to the Kunsthaus in Zürich, Switzerland—an extension that opened October 2021 more than doubling the museum’s exhibition space and making it the largest cultural institution in Switzerland—I was first and foremost enthralled by the magnitude of the art collection.
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Harrods mid-century cocktail cabinet. I occasionally enjoy Campari, Aperol, or a glass of wine, but rarely liquor, with the exception of the sweet variety such as Amaretto, Cointreau, or Grand Marnier. I guess it’s because I have a sweet tooth, yet I own a cocktail cabinet and bar! And not just any cocktail cabinet.
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After investigating the historical origins of the Speicherstadt (blog) and its use of the neo-Gothic style I delved into how they functioned with an eye toward the future.
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“The distinguishing feature of great beauty is that first it should surprise to an indifferent degree, which, continuing and then augmenting, is finally changed to wonder and admiration.”
Montesquieu
Speicherstadt in Hamburg. Part 1. For reasons that I have yet to rationally pin down, I have, during my numerous travels to Germany, ignored the city of Hamburg. Other cities, such as Berlin and Leipzig (where my father had lived and studied), Cologne, Dessau, Frankfurt, Munich, and Weimar, along with the towns along the famous Rhine Valley, have frequently been part of my travels for both pleasure and work. Each of these visits arose from my interest in architecture, history, and culture, and, I will admit, have been slowly checked-off of an endless ambitious list of places that I wish to learn more about. Perhaps selfishly, I am trying to create my own set of 1,000 Places to See Before You Die, which of course, will never happen.
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The drop-leaf secretary is a derivative of:
Post-office-box cabinet. This piece of furniture may at first glance seem unusual, even surprising, as it has little to do with what one thinks of typical domestic furnishings. Yet, upon closer examination, one gains a sense of familiarity after noting the bank of keyless lockboxes, each face marked with a number, suggesting a bank of mailboxes.
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Preparing to travel with students this Fall, I could not remember how long ago it was that I took an overnight train between two major European cities. After some thought, I realized that the last time I took an international sleeper car was a decade ago, traveling from Zürich to Vienna.
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Giuseppe Terragni, Casa Rustici. After visiting the Casa Lavezzari, followed by a delectable apricot-filled croissant and Italian espresso at a local Bar-Tabacchi (coffee bar that sells tobacco and stamps in addition to drinks of all sorts), I located a nearby metro entrance and rode to the Domodossola station in the western part of Milan.
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Giuseppe Terragni, Casa Lavezzari. I feel conversant with key projects of Italian architect Giuseppe Terragni (1904-1943), particularly those built in Como; a provincial city on Lake Como just an hour north by train from Milan. The Casa del Fascio (1932), Sant’Elia nursery (1937), Novocomum (1929), and the Casa Giuliani-Frigerio (1939)—the latter two being apartment projects—are emblematic of Terragni’s oeuvre and continue to be observed, researched, and used since his early death at the age of thirty-nine.
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An Architecture travel abroad program (i.e., field trips), historically coined the Grand Tour, were established in the 17th century and tailored to British aristocrats in pursuit of refining their liberal arts education through a visit to continental Europe. For students tutored under a mentor, favored destinations such as Italy and Greece introduced the Classical world of antiquity to those who were expected to be leaders of their country, especially in that time of the beginning of “greater political or economic cooperation among states and nations.”
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