Duncan Terrace. DOS Architects. London.

“Our clients brief for this project was to add a modern ground floor extension to their Grade II listed Georgian terraced house in Duncan Terrace, Islington. More specifically, they wanted this extension to contain an extra bedroom, a kitchen and a living space which would act as a connection between the house and the garden whilst also respecting the existing Georgian Architecture. Our response, which obtained full conservation and planning approval, was to create a split volume that, on one hand wouldn’t compete with the existing Architecture and on the other offered a direct link to the house’s surrounding: The first and more solid volume takes the form of a wooden box which, like a piece of Japanese origami, envelops the bedroom and literally brings a natural element (Iroko wood) from the outside world to the inside. The second volume, entire in glass, brings natural light into the new living space and acts as a visual link between the Georgian house, the wooden box and the garden. The high tech structural glass used for this volume, moreover, acts as a contrast to the beautifully handcrafted timber slatted detail which envelops the adjacent volume. Wood was the natural choice for the cladding of the volume, as it relates directly with its live surroundings and vegetation. Details such as the Olive tree, of the same age of the house, 150 years old, are only one of the connections between the interior and exterior.”
dosarchitects.com

Bombay Beach. Film. 2011.

A film by Alma Har'el.

Bombay Beach is one of the poorest communities in southern California located on the shores of the Salton Sea, a man-made sea stranded in the middle of the Colorado desert that was once a beautiful vacation destination. The story follows three protagonists: The trials of Benny Parrish, a young boy diagnosed with bipolar disorder whose vivid imagination create both suffering and joy for him and his complex family. The story of CeeJay Thompson, a black teenager and aspiring football player who has taken refuge in Bombay Beach hoping to avoid the same fate of his cousin who was murdered by a gang in LA; and that of Red, an ancient survivor, once an oil field worker, living on whiskey and cigarettes. Together these portraits form a triptych of manhood in America. True to her roots as a photographer, video artist, and music video director, Har'el has crafted an artistically innovative film with music by Beirut and Bob Dylan.

Tilo Uischner. Artist. Berlin.

mixed media.
saatchionline.com

Tokyo Bike Artist Series. London. 2012.

A. Four/Lucas Price.




Alex Daw.




Mike Guppy.



Simon Memel for Tokyo Bike




Tom Pearson.

To mark the opening of their new east London store, Tokyo Bike commissioned six creatives to customise one of their bikes and safe to say the results are tres jolie.
tokyobike.co.uk

Mystery Monday- Is there a Clue in the Court of Appeals?

Because my great-great-grandfather, Erastus Murray, had a half-brother, David L. Stanford, who was a prominent businessman in their hometown of Auburn, NY, I thought maybe I could uncover information about their mother, Ruth Snow, by researching David.  I’ve searched many times on variations of David Stanford based on census listing spellings, but this time something unexpected popped up—a New York Court of Appeals case with a William Murray as plaintiff and implied David Stanford or one of his associates might have committed fraud. 

I’m going to have to read the case more thoroughly, but it appears Stanford may have led Murray to believe that he had purchased property from Stanford when in fact the ownership of the property was in doubt.  It looks like the case lasted several years from the late 1850s into the early 1860s with the decision turning against Murray.  It meant not only did Murray not own the property, but he also had to pay court costs and other fees. 

Worse yet, it appears David Stanford may have been involved in a similar fraudulent real estate transaction on a second occasion with another person.

One of the mysteries I’ve been trying to unravel is why my great-great-grandfather deserted his family around 1860-1861.  The timing of the desertion and this court case could be mere coincidence, but I have lots of questions to answer before I can let it go.  Was William Murray connected to Erastus Murray and did William’s misfortune affect Erastus?  Was Stanford’s rise to prominence on the back of a family member?  Will I need to hire an attorney to help me understand the legalese?

I’ll need to be careful in my research…I know I’m biased toward finding someone other than Erastus to blame for children being sent to an orphanage.

Solbrinken Ordinary House. Sweden.

Photography by Björn Lofterud.

The founders of Swedish architecture firm In Praise of Shadows were so influenced by Jun’chirō Tanizaki’s renowned essay on Japanese aesthetics that they took the title of the essay as their firm's name; applying a Swedish interpretation to the discussions of light, darkness, and the contrasts of tradition and change. Situated outside a forest in Nacka, near Stockholm, this self-contained compound of two buildings provides a house and studio for an artist, designer, and their three children. compound features traditional wooden construction. The architects channeled copious amounts of light through double-height windows at both ends of the house.