Focus sur la série “Children” commencée depuis près de 20 ans par le photographe et journaliste Steve McCurry. Ayant travaillé et voyagé à travers le monde, cet artiste reconnu a pu capter dans les quatre coins du globe des regards d’enfants et les immortaliser.
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Construction has begun on a large-scale housing development designed by Dutch firm MVRDV for Pune, India.
Called Future Towers India, the building will comprise 1,068 apartments plus a school, swimming pool, shops, bars, cafes and a cinema.
Nine wings will be arranged on a hexagonal grid around four cores, with raked roofs creating balconies and gardens.
The facade will be concrete, with metal shutters, wooden balconies and stone-clad circulation spaces.
The project is due for completion in 2014 and will form part of a larger scheme to create 3,500 apartments in the area.
Click above for larger image
Click above for larger image
The information below is from the architects:
CONSTRUCTION START FOR VERTICAL CITY PROJECT: FUTURE TOWERS, 3500 APARTMENTS AND SERVICES IN PUNE, INDIA
City Corporation Ltd, a leading real estate development corporation in the Indian state of Maharashtra has started construction on the first phase of Amanora Apartment City – Future Towers, designed by MVRDV. The project is located in Pune, India and comprises 1,068 apartments & public amenities, as a part of a large scale housing development with a total of 400.000m2 comprising 3,500 apartments. Completion is expected by summer 2014. The apartments and facilities are interwoven and create a vertical city which will due to its various apartment types offer housing to a diverse group of residents.
Future Towers phase one: The total surface of the first phase is about 210,000m2 comprising of 115,000m2 housing, 8,400m2 public amenities and 49,662m2 parking.
India is currently in a rapid development to provide housing for millions; as a result often monotonous large scale housing estates appear. MVRDV takes on the challenge to participate in this development which seems dominated by efficiency rather than quality. The Future Towers project introduces lost qualities to mass housing: increased density combined with amenities, public facilities, parks and a mix of inhabitants resulting in a vertical city. The 1,068 apartments of the first phase vary from 42m2 to 530m2 and are set to attract a diverse mix of population to the new neighbourhood with the ambition of creating a lively sub-centre for Pune. The studio to villa size apartments are designed according to an analysis of modern Indian housing standards. They are in general equipped with balconies, naturally ventilated service spaces and almost each bedroom has an individual bathroom. The hill shape structure with its peaks, valleys, canyons, bays, grottos and caves adds identity to the city and provides a large number of apartments with fine views and spacious balconies; its public space offers possibilities for interaction and communal activities.
The 400 acres site is located 10 kilometres from the city centre of Pune in the centre of the Amanora Park Town development; the plot will be built up with FAR5 but still maintain large gardens. The first phase building is raised by a basement and plinth which contain parking and various public facilities: A school, swimming pool, retail, bars, cafes and a cinema. At the tallest point of the structure a sky lounge will be established. The building follows a hexagonal grid to provide views and natural light to the apartments. This allows the 9 wings with double loaded corridors to be efficiently serviced by 4 cores. The interconnected courtyards are programmed to offer the inhabitants relaxing and social environments. There will be an herb garden, an event plaza, a flowerpot garden, a playground and a sculpture garden. In-between the volumes of each of the three phase’s gardens are planned.
The facade will be made of concrete and the large windows will have sun protection by ornamented metal shutters, allowing for natural ventilation between facade and the many ventilation shafts that cross the structure vertically. The circulation spaces and public spaces will be clad in natural stone; the balconies are all clad in wood.
City Corporation Ltd. has commissioned MVRDV to design in total 3 phases of Future Towers with in total approximately 3,500 apartments or 400,000m2 of housing and amenities. Besides MVRDV the team is based in Pune: Project Management by Northcroft India, co-architecture and MEP by Neilsoft, Structural Design by J+W. Future Towers was a competition won by MVRDV in November 2009 and it is the first MVRDV project in India presented to the public. MVRDV is currently also working on a range of projects in Mumbai and Bangalore.
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| Pushed Slab Building by MVRDV | Westerdok Apartment Building by MVRDV | Gwanggyo Power Centre by MVRDV |
Sprinkle culinary cred with a Sri Lankan chef’s enticing spices
Sri Lanka’s rich history as an important port and trading post in the ancient world has contributed to the mouth-watering cuisine—combining traditional ingredients with influences from merchants around the world—that the country is known for today.
Born in Sri Lanka, self-taught chef Dinesh Perera has vivid memories of growing up on the beautiful island and the scent of his grandmother’s cooking. After moving as a child to London, his family’s desire to eat food from their homeland inspired his father to learn how to mix spices and cook Sri Lankan food. Perera, now known as The Spicy Gourmet, continues the legacy. He searched the globe for the highest quality fair-trade spices, creating a spice box set with a custom-designed mill, sure to help even the novice home cook master a deliciously complex garam blend.
In addition to spices for Sri Lanka dishes, the Spice Blending Collection includes 16 flavors from India and Thailand and an illustrated recipe book with step-by-step instructions for roasting, blending, and cooking up fragrant dishes including Peppers and Cauliflower with Garam Masala, Lamb Skewers with Kashmiri Masala, and Beef Curry with Ceylon Roast Blend.
We asked Perera about his quest to offer the tastiest fair-trade spices, why he developed the Spicy Gourmet spice mill, and about how he became the man who loves to teach people around the world how to make the freshest most authentic garam masala warming blends.
I just wanted to bring absolutely the best product possible to the marketplace. This package is a means to introduce something that you can really use. That was my goal, and part of that was to provide the best possible spices available. By nature I am an entrepreneur. Food and spices have been a passion of mine. This idea started as a cookbook. I wanted to incorporate a selection of spices with the book. That project evolved into this package.
The Spicy Gourmet Collection with the electric spice mill ($125), as well as several single spices for $8-13, sell online from The Spicy Gourmet. Read more of the interview with Perera after the jump.
We have third-party verification. All of our spices come from small family farms, not from plantations. That is the way I wanted to build this business. We initially joined an organization called Trust. That is a group that consists of a combination of producers, suppliers, and manufactures. We all vouch for each other. The more commonly recognized organization in the United States is Fair Trade USA. We are applying to be accepted there too. That designation assures people who are looking for fair trade products that we are in fact fair trade.
All spices need to be processed. By that I mean, they are not fresh off of the plant. Spices have to be dried. Some of them need to be powdered like tumeric. There is a process involved. Many of these spices are sourced from tropical countries there are ways that historically these spices were preserved. Consumers don’t really know what is being sprayed on them to make sure that they do not get moldy. So to me it is important that they are organic. It is easy for spices to spoil, they get moisture and grow mold.
The mill is part of my mission is allowing people to experience the freshest possible spices. When spices are ground, the flavor and taste that are based in the essential oils start to dissipate. The difference between a fresh spice blend and one that has been sitting in a bottle is remarkable. When you make your own garam masala, it makes a huge difference. Traditionally people grind spices with coffee mills. I have too in the past before we created our own. I found the coffee mill that worked best for me in terms of ease of use. Milling spices is different than milling coffee. Coffee is a consistent in shape size and density. I designed a mill that is smaller, so that you could hold and operate it with one hand. While it is operating, you can shake it like a cocktail shaker. This technique allows the spices to better come in contact with the blade in a different way that if it was just sitting on the counter, so you get a better grind.
I love socialized enjoy good food and friends and wine. Friday Feast started as a way of promoting the product at a grassroots level and exposing people to this type of cuisine. When we first started we had about four people and for the last one more than 30 joined us. We had to turn people away. It’s a fun thing. I also offer a Spicy Gourmet Culinary Experience. In the class a small group learns to blend spices, cook some dishes and enjoy them after words. The cooking experience helps people learn how to experience traditional flavors of Sri Lanka.
Photographer Edmund Sumner has sent us his pictures of a temple by Mumbai studio Sameep Padora & Associates.
Called Shiv Temple, the project involved simplifying a traditional temple design by removing the usual decoration but maintaining symbolic elements.
A wood-clad frame wraps around one corner marking the entrance, while the interior is illuminated by a skylight.
The temple was constructed by the villagers using local stone from a quarry near the site.
See all our stories about Sumner’s photographs »
The information below is from Sameep Padora & Associates:
Designed in dialogue with the priest and the people from surrounding villages the temple design is a collaborative effort.
Built through ‘Shramdaan’ (self build) by the villagers, this temple was constructed on a shoestring budget, using a local stone as a primary building block because of its availability from a quarry within 200 meters from the temple site.
The stone’s natural patina seems to confer age, as if the temple had always existed… before inhabitation.
In realizing the temple design in close consultation with the temple priest & the villagers, we attempted to sieve out through discussion & sketches the decorative components from the symbolic. Adhering to the planning logic of traditional temple architecture, the form of the temple chosen evokes in memory, the traditional shikhara temple silhouette.
Only embellishments integral to the essence of temple architecture in memory actually appear in the finished temple.
The heavy foliage of trees along the site edge demarcate an outdoor room, which become the traditional ‘mandapa’ (pillared hall), a room with trees as walls and sky the roof.
The path to the temple winds in between white oak trees till two free-standing basalt stone walls embedded in the landscape create pause as well as direct a person onto the East-West axis on which the garbagriha / inner sanctum lies.
Click above for larger image
Entry to the sanctum is through an exaggerated threshold space which in turn frames the outside landscape for the inside.
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Stepped seating on the southern edge of the site negotiates steep contours while transforming the purely religious space into a socio-cultural one used for festival & gatherings.
Click above for larger image
Religious Iconography in the form of statues of the holy cow, Nandi and Lord Vishnu’s avatar as a turtle become installations in the landscape and hence find their positions in a natural setting of the metaphoric sky-roofed mandapa.
Click above for larger image
The ashtadhaatu (8 metal composite) temple kalash (finial) is held in place by a frame which also anchors a skylight to allow light to penetrate the inner sanctum/garbagriha.
Architects: Sameep Padora & Associates Design Team: Sameep Padora, Minal Modak, Vinay Mathias
Documentation: Viresh Mhatre, Anushka Contractor, Maansi Hathiwala, Prajish Vinayak
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| House with Balls photographed by Edmund Sumner | Tea House photographed by Edmund Sumner | Tokyo apartment photographed by Edmund Sumner |
Une campagne choc aux visuels impactants réalisée pour la compagnie de police de Bangalore et dont la baseline est : “Ne téléphonez pas au volant”. Pensée par l’agence de publicité Mudra Group en Inde, sur une direction artistique de Vinci Raj et des clichés de Mallikarjun.
The pet project of paint company Dulux, Let’s Colour is an international outreach project in which volunteers travel to drab and dreary corners of the world and enliven them with a fresh coat of paint. “Color your world” is the tagline for the program that hopes to transform communities by the brushstroke.
This year the Let’s Colour crew has travelled to London, Rio de Janeiro, Paris and Jodhpur to find and help neighborhoods paint themselves anew. They hope to expand to other countries, including Turkey, throughout the year.
In an interview with CH, Fernanda Romano—Global Creative Director of Marketing at Euro RSCG—talked about Let’s Colour. Says Romano, the idea behind it was: “let’s find locations, places around the world, they’re a bit dull, a bit grey. Let’s engage the local community.” She adds, encouraging community involvement was crucial to succeed: “Mandating things to people feels a bit old fashioned. People want to collaborate, people create content to share with the world.”
The project turned into something more than a P.R. campaign for Romano and her team. “We really wanted to get people excited about painting and color. We really wanted to get people excited about the effect color has on you. it was about a spiritual, emotional regeneration.”
When Dulux, a subsidiary of AkzoNobel, approached Romano, they brought a video of employees painting houses in Brazil that had sparked the original concept. The company approached countries where the company has a big presence about participating in the project and found enthusiasm from the local communities.
Romano found the response hopeful: “It was quite touching to see how much the community appreciated what was happening and how much they saw the benefit.”
The Let’s Colour blog documents all the locales, as well as their color choices and inspiration in each neighborhood. The project also has filmmaker Adam Berg filming the entire process. The individual video for the four places is online, and Berg has plans to release a full video of the project in the next month.
Says Fernanda, “by showing it and being it rather than telling people to do it, it’s a truer way to invite people to bring color into their own home.”
A residential block clad in perforated steel shutters by UK architects Piercy Conner Architects is about to begin construction in Kolkata, India. (more…)
Indian design firm Morphogenesis have completed an art retail store in New Delhi featuring movable wall panels that increase the display space. (more…)
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