The cooling board table. This piece of furniture may be one of the strangest objects that I have ever encountered, and definitely the strangest that I own. Ever since learning what its true purpose might be, I have rethought how it should be used with other pieces of furniture and objects in our home (Portraits of a Collection).
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The history of mirrors goes back to the first human gaze in a pond of still water, which in around 6000 BCE evolved to become the ubiquitous object that we call a mirror. To create mirrors, man started with polished stone (or volcanic glass when available), later fabricating them from various metals, finally ending with rough polished man-made glass backed by mercury. This technique was invented in Venice, which during the Renaissance held the monopoly for the production of mirrors.
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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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Overnight train wagon lits. 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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