Archive for August, 2011
Last Wednesday of the Month Architecture: Alpine Capsule
Believe it or not (and personally I’m leaning towards “not”), August is at an end, and over here at the White Line Hotels Blog that means it’s time once again for the Last Wednesday of the Month Architecture feature. This month’s is a puzzler. Is it a product or is it a building? I’ll tell you now, though — no — it is not an Anish Kapoor.
You may be familiar with industrial designer Ross Lovegrove for any number of his organically shaped products. Solar Trees or Car On A Stick, anyone? It might seem like an unlikely pairing, but a few years ago when a private commission came along to find a way to sleep (protected, mind you) under the stars in Alta Badia, Lovegrove stepped in with a self-sustainable solution. Yes, you can say a lot of things about Lovegrove, but you have to give him credit for his unending dedication to environmental issues and sustainable energy.
Lovegrove wanted to provide contrast to the traditional wood and stone architecture of the region, but remain respectful to its environment. The result was Alpine Capsule, an 8 meter wide…well…do you call it a structure? Pod? Drop-of-mercury-like blob? Whatever your preference, Lovegrove calls it an “ephemeral infinity space”. Reflective glass means that, once inside, your view is infinite nature. From outside, that same reflective glass renders it nearly invisible in some conditions. Alpine Capsule pays its respect to its environment by mirroring it, and when that mirroring means it nearly vanishes, it gives a whole new meaning to the idea of a low-impact building.
Although the exact location and how to get to it appears to have something in common with the holy grail, it might be worth the effort to take a gander. After searching, return for a dose of the good life at the altogether more spacious Lagació Mountain Residence, as chosen by the team at White Line Hotels.
All photos www.rosslovegrove.com
Getting to know Christina Berger
Christina Berger is an emerging Austrian fashion designer based in Vienna. She started her label in 2006 during her studies, and since then has been exploring different fashion markets in order to establish her label on an international level. Today, through an exclusive interview, she is giving us an insight into what it takes to make it in the fashion business.
Notes on Denver International Airport and the New World Order
I fly, on average, once a year from Berlin to Phoenix. Maybe someday air links will be better in and out of the German capital, even if it means losing my very beloved Tegel Airport, but for now the only direct connections to the USA are New York and, I think, Miami. Now, there’re lots of reasons to go to either of those cities, but for a West Coast girl like myself trying to get home from time to time, what this amounts to is a puzzle of connecting flights. Via London or Newark? Save $50 and add a stop in either Chicago or Dallas? It can be a patchwork effort. I can tell you, though, every year I consider spending $100 or so more, not to mention the extra time, just to have a couple hour layover at Denver International Airport.
You could call me crazy – and you very well might be right – but no crazier than the legends and their physical traces surrounding that airport, which I think I’d still have to see with my own eyes to believe. From the blue mustang sculpture best described as simply terrifying, to the Masonic symbol on its capstone, to text mysteriously engraved around the building, to the now legendary murals I won’t try to describe (one’s below, find the others online), there’s plenty to keep one busy, and puzzled, for at least an afternoon. As for the conspiracy theories of the center of the New World Order occupying a massive 8-story structure underneath the airport, an excessively large on-site power station, and frequent and mysteriously cracked windscreens, rather than any summery I could give, I suggest typing “What’s going on at Denver Airport” into Google.
It’s a lot of material to deal with, but in her New York debut artist Deb Sokolow doesn’t just have her own mind wrapped around it all, she draws us in with her. Upon entering the gallery space, you are transformed into “You”, a third party detective figure going through your own findings that jump from the illogical to moments that cast doubt not just on Denver Airport, but maybe just a little bit on everything around you. If you ever loved a good spy story, if not a good conspiracy theory, don’t miss this exhibition.
Because of the opening hours, you probably can’t get there under the cover of darkness, but you can check out the show at Abrons Arts Center until September 3rd. And have no doubt, there’s no conspiracy at White Line Hotels edit The Greenwich Hotel, just an honestly amazing place.
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Photos from Abrons Arts Center/Henry Street Settlement, Extraordinary Intelligence, and The Ministry of Exposing Lucifer and his Hidden Agenda. It takes all sorts, doesn’t it?
Surfs up! In Sweden?!
Maybe, like me, you had no clue that Sweden has a thriving surf culture, but I’ll bet you that, considering the Swedes’ reputation for relaxed perfection, it’s totally awesome!
In kind of a backwards version of the story told in Stacy Peralta’s legendary 2001 documentary Dogtown and Z-Boys, sometime in the late 70s Per Torstensson, Stisse Bengtsson, Micki Carlsson and Ake Gylling decided to take their skateboarding skills and hit the waves. The resulting, mythic Porridge Bay Surf Club was at the forefront of the sport in Sweden’s West Coast where famously tight-lipped local surfers still safeguard the hottest stretches for the areas best surf.
The Conservation Evolution
History is a funny thing. The status quo for one generation is often something of a puzzlement to one a little further down the timeline, and that’s probably the way it should be. If it weren’t, that would probably mean we hadn’t made any progress. This came to mind while reading about Frederick Courteney Selous, famous big game hunter and conservationist, and the namesake of the Selous Game Reserve in Tanzania. Yes, big game hunter and conservationist. While the description seems plain contradictory, particularly if we view the idea from a late-19th century state of mind, the two are not mutually exclusive; over 500 animal specimens in London’s Natural History Museum and over 5000 plant and animal specimens held at the British Museum were shot or collected by Selous. This was a time when conserving meant specimen hoarding, and not protecting it where and how it is, as we understand the term today. Read the rest of this entry »