London is a unique film work about a unique city written and directed by architect Patrick Keiller. It concerns a series of journeys made by an unseen narrator and his companion Robinson to discover the spirit of London during the period immediately before and after the 1992 General Election. There is a wealth of detail pertaining to literature, history, architecture and a variety of locales and a highly original style with ironic wit.
Perspecta: The Yale Architectural Journal the oldest student-edited architectural journal in the United States, is internationally respected for its contributions to contemporary architectural discourse with original presentations of new projects as well as historical and theoretical essays.
Fonthill Abbey was the stuff of legend in its day and much admired by the great romantic painters Constable and Turner. Walled and girdled round and closed to visitors, it intrigued the regency public; so much so that when it was first put up for sale through Christie's in 1822, between 600 and 700 people a day traipsed through its soaring mock-medieval halls, gawping up to the plaster vaulting at the top of its wobbly tower. In all, at least 7,200 people paid a guinea each for a catalogue that gave admission to the abbey. It was the Disneyland of its day.
Hearst Castle was the residence for newspaper magnate William Randolph Hearst.
Villa Mairea is a villa, guest-house, and rural retreat designed and built by the Finnish modernist architect Alvar Aalto.
The Royal Palace of Caserta is a former royal residence in Caserta, constructed for the Bourbon kings of Naples. It was the largest palace and one of the largest buildings erected in Europe during the eighteenth century.
The Einstein Tower is an astrophysical observatory by Erich Mendelsohn. According to lore, Mendelsohn took Einstein on a long tour of the completed structure, waiting for some sign of approval. The design, while logical and perfectly sufficient to its purpose, stood out like an "ungainly spaceship" in the suburbs of Potsdam. Einstein said nothing until hours later, during a meeting with the building committee, when he whispered his one-word judgment: "Organic".
The Yonaguni Monument is a massive underwater rock formation off the coast of Yonaguni, Japan.
21_21 Design Sight is a museum in Tokyo, Japan, which opened in 2007. The museum was created by architect Tadao Ando and fashion designer Issey Miyake.
Without a doubt, the tale of the grand limestone chateau on Madison Avenue at 72nd Street is the one of the most bizarre in New York social history. Although the house had been commissioned by Gertrude Rhinelander Waldo, the eccentric heiress never moved into it, preferring to live across the street. There was said to be a top-floor ballroom and 2,000 electric lights, but only two bedrooms for servants. Ralph Lauren obtained the net lease in 1983 and started a massive overhaul of the building to create his Ralph Lauren flagship store.