Is This The Heaviest Map Ever?

Post by: Camila da Paz | Source: Design Like

A scaled model of Manhattan hand carved from a block of marble tips the scales at an astounding two-and-a-half tons and measures 21 3/4 x 104 3/8 x 33 1/2 inches.

The miniature creation of America's most famous skyline, carved by Japanese artist Yutaka Sone, had art enthusiasts at a New York City gallery awestruck.

This impressive map was exhibited between September and October, 2011 at the David Zwirner gallery in New York. Little Manhattan’s sculpture map reflect an obsessive attention to details of the artist who tried to recreate the island to scale in marble, pending more than two years after 2006 making a wood-and-foam model based on Google Earth and his own photos taken during a helicopter ride to render Manhattan with its Central Park, skyscrapers, streets, avenues, and the bridges to the east and west to scale.

It was the highlight of the exhibit when it opened, with passers-by noting the painstaking precision with which Mr Sone carved the city's every building and sloping street.

The exhibition marks Mr Sone's fifth solo showing since his first exhibition at the gallery in 1999. The exhibition also included other marble works and sculptures of trees.

Some structures from the sculpture were slightly enlarged to show their iconic details which together with the pure white marble give an industrial look to the top, while the bottom is more elegant and poetic appearing from a distance like a large, weightless feminine dress.

Contemporary artist Yutaka Sone was born in 1965 in Shizuoka, Japan.

Sone studied fine art and architecture at Tokyo Geijutsu University and currently lives and works in Los Angeles. Across a wide range of media, Sone's work revolves around a tension between realism and perfection. A conceptual framework, paired with a meticulous attention to detail, has characterized his practice since the early 1990s.

His sculptural works in particular attest to a profound interest in landscapes, whether natural or architectural. Work by the artist is held in prominent international museum collections, including the Art Institute of Chicago; High Museum of Art, Atlanta, Georgia; Kunsthalle Bern; Mori Art Museum, Tokyo; Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles; Museum of Contemporary Art, Tokyo; The Museum of Modern Art, New York; Tate Gallery, London; and the Whitney Museum of American Art, New York. Yutaka Sone is represented by Tommy Simoens, Antwerp.

LIVING IN MARBLE

Post by: Camila da Paz | Source: Archilovers

There are around 16.000 abandoned quarries in Italy, most of them marble quarries. Although the crisis in the construction sector has actually contributed to reducing the amount of stone extracted, the numbers are still impressive: over one billion euros in revenue. The breathtaking landscapes of marble quarries, shaped by the human hand, has an incredible evocative power. It still echoes from its industrialized past, where man has dug ceaselessly to extract a noble material, shaping the landscape for eternity, leaving its ineffaceable trace in the territory.

Extraction sustains our society, and even in recent decades we have been advancing technologically, we have not progressed enough that slowing down the pace would be possible. We rarely stop to think about the origin of the materials which makes up the building business, or the raw materials necessary to the endless demands of contemporary human activity. And so, as the world population has become more urban, the landscapes that provide these raw materials become more remote and spatially distant from the daily view.

And it is within these numbers, but yet also this enormous architectural potential that the project MARMOR III, by Hannes Peer Architecture, comes into play. This project intends to give several possible strategic but also provocative answers to the following questions: What to do with these abandoned sites? How can our actions contribute to the nature? How can the nature contribute to our way of life?

The real architectural provocation here is to actually 'live in marble', with this simple evocative slogan and through the images provided the viewers mind is immediately transported into a modern interpretation of a penthouse in the midst of a marble quarry with spectacular views, minimalist residential units immersed in marble, a thermal bath entirely excavated in a quarry. That is when the viewer realizes that this project is realistic, we can imagine to actually live in one of those spaces, surrounded by marble in an archaic yet hyper modern and minimalist environment.

Water as added element nourishes a new ecosystem that extends outward. While inhabiting the spaces deep within the mountain, the visitor gets the true sense of the land altering process of marble mining while being able to take in the breath taking experience of inhabiting these spaces, once only seen by the eyes of the men and woman who excavated the stone. It is a true escape from our busy lives to become one with the natural environment. We, as humans, have the opportunity to benefit the environment and all living things. It is our relationships with the environment and other species that make us part of an ecosystem.

In proposing the intervention in different marble quarries, in addition to readjust the space for a new use, it highlights an atmosphere that encourages the visitor to reflect on the impacts caused by the extraction of materials, represented the contrast between human scale and the monumentality of the site. At the same time the visitor or inhabitant will have as well a very intimate relationship with the marble as material but also with marble in its purest architectural form.

Marmor III proposes a strategic reuse of these abandoned marble quarries. These different site specific architectural interventions would reconfigure the former volumes excavated for marble extraction and excavating new ones to better adapt the different project typologies. Meanders of sculptural porosity and unique architectural compositions are created by occupying and modifying the voids of each quarry. The building approach is somewhere between architecture and nature, it is an expression of diversified architectures that live between raw and glossy, modular and sculptural, opaque and transparent, solid and void.

Try Natural Stone On Headboards, Staircases, Fireplaces and More!

Post by Camila da Paz | Source: The Dallas Morning Views

Prized for its beauty and rich in texture, natural stone has become a sought-after decorative accent for home interiors. Varieties from quartzite and marble to onyx and limestone are enhancing not only kitchens, but living areas, bedrooms and furnishings.

Drawn to stone’s exotic patterns, homeowners are turning to interior designers and contractors for help with selecting the right type for their homes.

“Some of them ask for stone right off the bat. They’ve seen it before and have an elevated aesthetic. Others are asking questions,” says Nicole Arnold of Nicole Arnold Interiors, Dallas.

Timeless and elegant, stone complements any décor, and trends in variety and color are driving new choices. Stone distributors offer a selection of slabs and tile in polished, honed and brushed finishes.

“We use stone in beautiful ways, going up staircases, as headboards, as artwork, and beautiful pieces that are mirror images of each other,” says Fraun Delafield, design consultant at Allied Stone, Dallas.

While granite is still popular, especially as countertops in kitchens, stone suppliers offer a much broader collection of inviting options. Different varieties offer a range of color from deep hues to natural tones.

“There’s some incredibly beautiful stone out there. The trend in color tends to be white, taupe and gray, and smooth. Marble and quartzite provide that. They’ve been ‘in’ lately,” Delafield says.

To decide which choice is best, homeowners should first consider how the stone and the room will be used. Areas with ongoing family traffic will benefit from categories that are durable and easily maintained. Specialty stones work well in less frequently used rooms.

“A homeowner’s lifestyle should determine the type of stone they use,” says Delafield.

Marble

An alternative to granite, marble looks and feels glamorous with distinctive veining and elegant hues. It’s heat resistant, but must be sealed yearly in order to avoid staining. Sharp knives can scratch the surface, so a cutting board is a must. Marble is better used in a bathroom for counters or flooring.

“In a bathroom, you can use marble on walls and floors and water jet liners,” Arnold says.

In living areas, bookmatched marble slabs create a dramatic accent wall or fireplace surround. Cut slabs with opposite sides polished are placed side-by-side to create a mirror image of each other. Bookmatching is best used in larger spaces where the full pattern can be visible.

Quartzite

Designers will often suggest quartzite in lieu of granite or marble for kitchens, baths and wet bars. Not to be confused with quartz, an engineered product, quartzite is a natural stone known for its crystalline sparkle and generally neutral hues.

Quartzite is often used for headboards and fireplace facings. When stacked, it creates a distinctive wall treatment.

Soapstone

A sophisticated choice for a kitchen, sink, fireplace or tabletop is soapstone. Extremely dense, it’s resistant to water, stains, heat and cold. Unlike other stones it doesn’t need to be sealed before using.

Its unpolished look appeals to homeowners who don’t like the shiny, glossy finish of granite and marble.

“It’s the most durable, and it has heat tolerance because it’s so dense. It’s not polished, and it has a chalky look,” says Arnold.

Limestone

Limestone is a personal favorite of Arnold who has used it in multiple applications including slab, honed tile and stacked elements. Striking and trendy, the natural stone is best used for walls and floors. Its broad appeal comes partly from shells and fossils embedded in the stone which create an interesting pattern.

“Limestone is so cool, especially the gray tones that are so popular right now. You can use the vein cut or the more fossilized,” she says.

Onyx

Perhaps most elegant is onyx which is used often for bathroom walls, tables and bar tops. Expensive and impractical, its veining adds contrasting colors that make the slab resemble a work of art. Backlighting the stone causes it to have a warm glow.

Though beautiful, onyx is soft and requires much maintenance including sealing and frequent cleaning with a non-abrasive cleaner.

“We’ve used split-face onyx in a shower before. That’s a desirable look in some cases. Onyx has such translucency, it’s fun to work with,” says Arnold.

Travertine

Once relegated to entryway floors, travertine has moved into every room of the home. So many colors and varieties are available that it is sometimes mistaken for limestone or marble. Rustic or polished, travertine can be purchased in sizes from small mosaic tiles to large slabs for walls and countertops.

“You can tile a full house in travertine. It’s a good balance between affordability and a good look,” Arnold says.

In addition to learning the individual characteristics of a specific stone, homeowners should be mindful of the stone’s weight and size. It’s best to consult a builder to determine the structural requirements of a stone installation.

“The builder is an integral part of this. We need to consider the weight load and how we’re going to adhere it to a wall. We might just have a structural engineer come in,” says Delafield.

The size of cabinets and islands should also be taken into consideration. More than one slab may need to be used to fit large cabinetry, resulting in a visible seam joining the pieces.

“Know the general size of the stone and how to get it into the house. You’ve got to know the application, what use the stone will be used for,” Delafield says.

Natural stone brings a new dimension to a home’s interior design. Eco-friendly and durable, stone brings character and fashion to every room.