#Vinci compound space area

[marketresearchreportsinsights]

Construction Market Size Set to Exceed USD 17.1 Billion by 2031-TMR

The global construction market is poised for substantial growth, with an estimated Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 4.5% anticipated from 2023 to 2031. Transparency Market Research forecasts a remarkable surge in overall sales revenue for construction, reaching an estimated US$ 17.1 billion by the conclusion of 2031.

A key driver behind this growth is the increasing emphasis on prefabricated and modular construction methods. These approaches streamline project timelines, cut costs, and elevate quality by assembling components off-site. The trend is gaining momentum due to its effectiveness in addressing labor shortages and providing innovative design possibilities.

Another transformative force in construction practices is the escalating demand for wellness-oriented spaces. Designs driven by wellness prioritize elements such as air quality, natural lighting, and ergonomic layouts, aiming to enhance the health and productivity of occupants. This trend aligns with the growing significance attributed to well-being in various residential, commercial, and institutional settings.

Download PDF Sample of the Report: https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=S&rep_id=75107

The introduction of 3D printing technology in construction stands as a transformative catalyst, facilitating the creation of intricate architectural designs while minimizing material waste and construction duration. As this technology advances, it holds the potential for cost-effective and sustainable construction methodologies, particularly in the development of affordable housing solutions and critical infrastructure in remote or disaster-affected areas.

Key Insights from the Market Report

Dominance of General Construction: The general construction category, encompassing residential (houses, apartments), commercial (hotels, offices, hospitals, malls/multiplexes, educational institutes), and industrial segments, takes the lead in the global construction market.

Urban Sector Leading the Way: Rapid urbanization propels the urban sector to the forefront of the construction market, driven by escalating demands for infrastructure and commercial developments.

Renovation Takes Center Stage: Renovation commands a significant share in the construction market, fueled by the increasing need to refurbish existing structures and adapt to sustainable practices.

Construction Market: Competitive Landscape

The construction market is characterized by intense competition shaped by various factors. Industry giants, including Vinci, Bechtel, and Turner Construction, maintain their dominance through a global presence, diverse project portfolios, and specialized expertise in mega projects. Emerging players like Skanska and Jacobs challenge conventional norms by leveraging innovative technologies and prioritizing sustainable practices.

Regional firms such as Larsen & Toubro (L&T) and China State Construction Engineering Corporation (CSCEC) capitalize on local expertise and government initiatives, contributing to the competitive dynamics. The competition escalates further with the advent of modular construction, digitalization, and the implementation of green building techniques.

This vibrant landscape fosters a culture of innovation, compelling companies to deliver solutions that are not only cost-effective and efficient but also environmentally conscious, thereby driving the evolution of the global construction industry. Notable manufacturers in this competitive landscape include: [List of prominent manufacturers].

Actividades de Construcción y Servicios

ACO Industries k.s.

Bechtel

Bouygues

China Communications Construction Company

Larsen & Toubro

PowerChina

Skanska

STRABAG

TechnipFMC

 Vinci

About Transparency Market Research 

Transparency Market Research, a global market research company registered at Wilmington, Delaware, United States, provides custom research and consulting services. Our exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trends analysis provides forward-looking insights for thousands of decision makers. Our experienced team of Analysts, Researchers, and Consultants use proprietary data sources and various tools & techniques to gather and analyses information.

Contact: Nikhil Sawlani Transparency Market Research Inc. CORPORATE HEADQUARTER DOWNTOWN, 1000 N. West Street, Suite 1200, Wilmington, Delaware 19801 USA Tel: +1-518-618-1030 USA – Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453

[skanda-shastry]

Problem Solving from First Principle!

On one side tech entrepreneur like Jack Ma advocating for 9-9-6 work culture & other side people fight for 40 hours equality! But, there are some global leaders like Narendra Modi, Warren Buffett, Marissa Mayer, Elon Musk who work more than 100+ hours to accomplish their goals.

In this diverse argument, At the age of 46, Elon Musk has innovated and built four revolutionary multibillion-dollar companies in completely different fields — Paypal (Financial Services), Tesla Motors (Automotive) and SpaceX (Aerospace), Boring (Transportation).

How these people achieve so much within a short span of time??

How did he able to manage all these things ??

What is the secret behind there success??

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.

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The answer is simple:

Read, Read & More Read!!!

No doubt Reading plays an important role in unlocking your inner creative genius and becoming the best at what you do — but there’s more to this —

Reading new things continuously over a period of time. (power of compounding) will change the way you think!!

Learning is the single best investment of our time that we can make. Or as Benjamin Franklin said, “An investment in knowledge pays the best interest.”

Thinking from the First Principle gives many Out of box & innovative solutions to hard problems.

Your brain encourages you to think in analogies, as this is the most efficient and safest way of thinking. So how do you break this programming, take a step back and start thinking in basic principles?

First Principle: The Building Blocks of True Knowledge!!

First-principles thinking is one of the best ways to reverse-engineer complicated problems. the idea is to break down complicated problems into basic elements and then reassemble them from the ground up. It’s one of the best ways to learn to think for yourself, unlock your creative potential, and move from linear to non-linear results.

When Elon Musk’s started development of the TESLA electric car, many experts felt that electric vehicles could not be popular because of battery costs. The $600/kW is the market price, The battery has always been so expensive. Which increased in 2/3rd of production cost.

Why it's $600/kW ??

“That’s just the way they will always be because that’s the way they have been in the past”.

However, Elon Musk does not agree!! He needs to understand the root cause of the Problem, He applied First-principles methodology!!

What are the material constituents of the batteries?

What is the spot market value of the material constituents?

When he dig dipper into the ground, basic things like cobalt, nickel, aluminum, carbon, and some polymers for separation, and steel can enough to produce a battery pack;

Next, If we bought that on a London Metal Exchange, what would each of these things cost? Oh, god, it’s … $80 per kilowatt-hour. So, clearly, you just need to think of clever ways to take those materials and combine them into the shape of a battery cell, and you can have batteries that are much, much cheaper than anyone realizes.

Through these “basic facts”, Elon Musk and the team will further analyze and experiment each part of the raw materials and re-engineer each work process.

Finally, he and the team will optimize the original parts and add a comprehensive improvement of the production method, which significantly reduces the Cost-of electric vehicles.

Musk used first principles thinking not only for making inexpensive battery packs for his Tesla cars but also for building cheaper rockets for his other space exploration company SpaceX.

The result of such thinking was astonishing!!

The Basic: Analogy vs Axioms

“I think it is important to reason from first principles rather than by analogy.” — Elon Musk

Your brain encourages you to think in analogies, as this is the most efficient and safest way of thinking. So how do you break this programming, take a step back and start thinking in first principles?

In our day to day life, we tend to use what is known as Comparison Thinking, this is when we do what comes naturally and normally to us and reason through analogy. What this means is that we make decisions and judgment calls based on what we’ve seen, heard or done from our experiences or from others. Knowing the outcome due to past experiences, we either repeat or iterate slightly to suit the current situation. This is an easy mode of thinking, and for the most part effective, but also offers no innovation or large changes.

Thinking from First Principles. In this, you take a problem and break it down into its fundamental parts and truths, until you get to the bare bones as it were. Once you’ve eliminated everything down to its constituent parts then you start reasoning up from there. This is a harder mode of thinking, but does offer better results, is far more effective and creates recognizable change.

Analogy thinking: Cook vs Chef ?? He compares people and how they behave to cooks and chefs. With a chef, he means a person who invents their own recipe, while a cook is someone who follows an already existing recipe.

Some people usually behave like cooks and follow recipes from a cookbook, while others prefer to come up with their own. A cook takes some ingredients and goes through a series of steps to come up with a standard dish. On the other hand, a chef might use those same ingredients, but mix them up in new and original ways and come up with a new dish. For both of these guys, the ingredients were the first principles, but the way they used them was different.

🔸Iteration: doing the same things again.

🔸Innovation: doing new things.

🔸Disruption: doing new things that make old things obsolete.

Examples of First Principles in ActionSpaceX:

Problem: Elon musk childhood dream is to send the First Rocket to Mars.🚀

Reasoning from analogy: Build Vs Hire? As a startup, It's difficult to understand the new rocket technology & build from scratch. so purchase the unused rocket from existing companies/Govt agencies like NASA/ISRO but the cost of purchasing a rocket was astronomical — up to $65 million.

Reasoning from first principles: let’s look at the first principles. What is a rocket made of? Aerospace-grade aluminum alloys, plus some titanium, copper, carbon fiber. Then I asked, what is the value of those materials on the commodity market? It turned out that the materials cost of a rocket was around two percent of the typical price.

Within a few years, SpaceX had cut the price of launching a rocket by nearly 10x while still making a profit. Musk used first principles thinking to break the situation down to the fundamentals, bypass the high prices of the aerospace industry, and create a more effective solution.

Minimal Product Design:

Problem: Create a login system for a web/mobile app.

Reasoning from analogy: Most apps require a user to provide a username, email address and password, with the password confirmed twice!! That seems to be the best practice, so I’ll do the same.

Reasoning from first principles: What’s the least information I need to collect from the user to make the app functional? The app creates a page for each user that is their online identity hub. I want their full name to be displayed at the top of the page, so I need to collect that. I won’t display a username anywhere in the app, so Do I really need that?

But if two users have the same name, how will I create a unique URL slug for each? I guess I could add a randomized number to the slug, and do a check before saving that ensures the number is unique. I’ll then need to collect the user’s email in-case they forget their password. I probably don’t need to verify their password twice, since the app will allow them to easily reset it as long as they have access to their email account.

Artists thinking:

Problem: Even after 500 years, we are unable to produce one more world-class painting like Mona-lisa??

Reasoning from analogy: This generation artist learns drawing & painting. Mostly they expertise in one specific area. they unable to visualize depth & authenticity of the image. (not a polymath).

Reasoning from first principles: It’s hard to talk about the First principle thinking without mentioning the impressive genius of Leonardo da Vinci. Before writes in the world famous Mona Lisa, he knows the art, anatomy, engineer, science, biology, optics & experimenter which makes him a renaissance!! With all these basics principle, da Vinci will draw the picture of the millennium.

Neem Coated Urea

Problem: The urea was subsidized for agriculture use but it was being diverted to non-agricultural purposes, chemical factories.This lead to a shortage of urea to the farmer.

How to solve this ??

How it reaches to the Farmers or beneficiaries??

Reasoning from analogy: Think to avoid the middlemen & directly distribute to the farmers. But It's a challenging job to distribute proper fertilizers, seeds to the 110 million farmers across India. Either we need to * Produce excess adequate amount of the Urea. * Create a task force which monitors the distributions on various level.

Reasoning from first principles: The GoI has mandated neem coating of urea while producing it in the Factories!! Expect Agriculture, coated urea is not good for any other commercial usage.

Why ??

🔸Urea is highly subsidized in India for agricultural usage. However, people were using the subsidized urea for other industrial applications due to its high nitrogen content. Hence Neem coating was adopted to prevent usage of Urea for any other application than farming as Neem coating doesn’t affect agriculture but does so for industrial usage.

🔸Urea is very volatile in nature. If it is applied directly on the crops, it is released very rapidly. This results in high usage of urea by farmers on the crop thereby hampering the quality crop and soil. Neem coating slow downs the release of urea to crops. Also, Neem is an excellent ingredient for farming which improves plant and soil quality.

What Are You?

Who we are ??

How This Universe Created??

How can something appear without nothing??

The best way to understand the Universe, Physics laws, Human evolution, Culture, Consumer behavior or predict the future is to deduce that from the First Principle.

Reasoning from the first principle allows gives a structured framework for thinking & gives a solution to the above-mentioned complex problem!

Timeline: Big Bang Theory: (13.5 Billion years ago)

Big Bang Theory A starting point for all the above Questions!! It gives an explanation about how the universe began.

At its simplest, it says the universe as we know it started with a small singularity. Physicist define Bigbang as Singularity! Its a point at which all known laws of nature id not exists, even time too did not exist.

Once all the matter, energy & space in the universe were once squeezed into an infinitesimally small volume, which erupted in a cataclysmic “explosion” which has become known as the Big Bang. Thus, space, time, energy and matter all came into being at an infinitely dense, infinitely hot gravitational singularity, and began expanding everywhere at once.

String Theory :(4.5 Billion years ago)

String theory helps us to group all Physics laws into the theoretical framework. which helps to understand the substance, matters & species formation of the Planet Earth leads to the Evolution of Biology & leaving organisms over a period of time to evolve the Homo Sapiens

Homo Sapiens : (2.5 million years ago)

The story of humanity is a story of adaptation. Over the past 200,000 years, ever since the first modern humans (Homo sapiens) appeared in Africa, people have been spreading outward from that continent in every possible direction. As they encountered new environments and challenges, our ancestors had to change in many ways to survive.

Discovered how to make fire. (300000 years ago) This small event transformed the way we ate, the way we grew to live on heated food, it changed our digestive system, it transformed our groups and societies as we literally came to gather around the fire and told each other stories. (Cognitive Revolution)

Above timeline from Bigbang exploration, String theory, Homo sapiens to the build a culture & creating a History. we come in a long way. This will give an answer to all the fundamental questions in the discipline of science, technology, Engineering, Mathematics (STEM)

How to cultivate the First Principle Thinking :

If I had an hour to solve a problem and my life depended on the solution, I would spend the first 55 minutes determining the proper question to ask, for once I know the proper question, I could solve the problem in less than five minutes. — Albert Einstein

✨ Most don’t know where to begin or how to attack the problem? ✨ Most lack a structured approach and don’t have the patience or time to dig deep enough? ✨ How you frame the problem is important??

How to think in a First Principles way: 🔸Keep asking “WHY” to get into the deeper layers of understanding 🔸Read more classics in the field 🔸 Learn the subjects that form the foundation of the field you are exploring. (math, physics, biology, etc)

✔️Want to learn marketing? Read Psychology.

✔️Want to learn Health and Fitness? Read Biology.

✔️Want to learn Economy ?? Read supply and demand.

✔️Want to learn Data Analyst/Science ?? Understand Excel, statistics.

✔️Want to understand relationships and trust work ?? Read Game theory.

✔️Want to understand Blockchain ?? Read Edge computing, attack vector, Encryption.

Moreover, try to study the fundamentals of *different* fields.

“The secret to a great life is to nail the basics.” — @Naval

Bottom line: The Future

Now, We are in the exact middle in the spectrum of the transformation of the Biological evolution to the Technological transform.

Globalization effect & rapid change in the competitive environment it's difficult to understand/learn everything!

learn from basic principle help to sustain in future!!

Understand the concept from First principles. First, deconstructs knowledge into fundamental principles Next, reconstructs the fundamental principles in new fields to become world-class Modern Polymath!

Footnote:

* https://medium.com/the-mission/elon-musks-3-step-first-principles-thinking-how-to-think-and-solve-difficult-problems-like-a-ba1e73a9f6c0

* https://gainweightjournal.com/elon-musk-problem-solving-applications-of-first-principles-thinking/ 

*https://twitter.com/ARanganathan72/status/846697666608189441

*https://iascurrentaffairsbyamityadav.wordpress.com/2017/06/22/what-are-the-benefits-of-neam-coated-urea-ncu/  

*http://theengineeringmanager.com/growth/first-principles-and-asking-why/ 

[nightmare-afton-cosplay]

The Full Download: A Window Into the Property Portfolio of Bill and Melinda Gates

realtor.com

Bill Gates, co-founder of Microsoft and the now fourth-richest person in the world,��and his wife, Melinda Gates, recently announced the end of their 27-year marriage. With an estimated net worth of $131 billion, the couple now must work out how to separate their sizable assets. Which includes an array of lavish real estate holdings. 

Just a year ago, they added to their extensive real estate collection with a $43 million purchase in Del Mar, CA, about 20 miles north of San Diego. The splashy beach retreat with 120 feet of ocean frontage is one of the most expensive sales of all time in the area.

The 5,800-square-foot residence with ocean views features six bedrooms, plus two guesthouses. Upscale amenities include a health spa, glass-tiled pool, home theater, tennis court, and a 10-person hot tub.

The couple is also widely known for their largesse. As chairs of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, they pledged some $300 million to respond to the coronavirus threat last year.

As they’ve been dispensing cash through their private charity, they’ve also spent some of their wealth on multiple posh properties. The announcement of the Gates split prompted us to review their vast and impressive property portfolio.

Beach house in Del Mar, CA

realtor.com

Medina, WA

Medina is the site of the most massive Gates estate. Located just outside Seattle, the home has been dubbed “Xanadu 2.0,” after the fictional mansion in the movie “Citizen Kane.”

Measuring 66,000 square feet, the palatial home took more than seven years and a reported $60 million to build. 

Loaded with high-tech innovations and opulent amenities, the estate was valued at $131 million last year. That’s likely to be on the low side, given the scope of what Gates has built.

In 1988, Gates purchased what was then a 5-acre property for just $2.05 million, with plans to build his dream home. The property on Lake Washington grew to incorporate additional parcels that Gates bought up to create a buffer around his estate.

Inside, the modern mansion’s extensive technology has taken on an almost mythic quality. While we don’t know if there are any robot butlers or Jetsons-style hovercrafts, the home does have some futuristic features.

They include a 60-foot pool that flows outdoors and has music piped in underwater. An article from 1997 touts the “miles of fiber-optic cable … strung inside the walls and crawl spaces.”

It’s also equipped with touch pads in every room to control the environment, and sensors that customize temperature, lighting, and even music to follow you from room to room.

It’s also an eco-friendly, “earth-sheltered” house, for efficient climate control.

Within the compound, there’s a formal dining room measuring 1,000 square feet. For larger events, a 2,300-square-foot reception hall can seat 150.

A separate building houses a 2,500-square-foot gym, which is part of a fitness facility that includes a trampoline room with 20-feet ceilings. 

The home also includes a library with a domed roof that includes a Leonardo da Vinci manuscript that he picked up at auction for $30.8 million. A 1,500-square-foot home theater seats 20 in plush, art deco-style seats and couches.

Bill Gates’ compound in Medina

Ted Soqui/Corbis via Getty Images

———

Indian Wells, CA

When not bouncing around in a trampoline room, the Gates family may want to hit the links, or at least entertain potential clients at a fancy private club in the desert.

In 1999, the billionaire plunked down $12.5 million for a mansion in the ultra-exclusive Vintage Club in Indian Wells, CA. The posh town, known for its annual tennis tournament, sits next to La Quinta, CA—a different desert hot spot for A-listers.

Gates’ spread in the Coachella Valley sits on 1.33 acres in the guard-gated club conveniently adjacent to a golf course designed by Tom Fazio.

The club bills itself as “one of the United States’ most prestigious and ultra-exclusive private country club communities.”

If you have to ask about the fee to join the Vintage Club, well, you know how the cliché goes. But we did learn that the initiation fee is reportedly $250,000, with annual dues running $34,000 for members.

Built in 1993, the Gates mansion measures in at 13,573 square feet, and includes six bedrooms, along with 11 bathrooms.

———

Wellington, FL

Following up on his land grab in the Pacific Northwest, Gates has bought up his fair share of property in the horse-lovin’ haven of Wellington, FL. He bought a spread in the area to support his daughter Jennifer, who is a competitive show jumper.

In March 2016, he picked up a pricey property close to the Palm Beach International Equestrian Center for $13.5 million.

The home features four bedroom suites, a 16-stall equestrian facility, plus a pool and spa. The listing details for the home played up its appeal to equine aficionados, touting it as within “walking distance to the Winter Equestrian Festival and Global Dressage Festival grounds.”

Then in May 2016, we reported that Gates had snapped up two empty lots on the same street for $5 million. At that point, Gates had bought up four of the six properties in a quiet court within the guard-gated Mallet Hill community.

Wellington estate

realtor.com

However, the tech mogul might be downsizing in Florida—just a bit. He sold one of his four properties in Wellington in 2019 for $8.7 million. And he clearly wasn’t concerned about ROI—that’s the exact price he paid in 2013 for the 7,234-square-foot home that kicked off his Wellington buying spree.

———

Hobe Sound, FL

Even before Gates owned in Wellington, he seems to have spent some time in Hobe Sound, FL, about an hour to the north. In 2009, he purchased a European-style villa in the town for $5 million.

According to the listing details, the nearly 10,000-square-foot mansion on 5.24 acres features 200 feet of direct Intracoastal frontage and a private yacht dock.

After the family turned their attention to Wellington, this mansion came on the market for $6.6 million in 2012. It eventually sold in 2013 for $5 million. 

Hobe Sound, FL

realtor.com

———

Rancho Santa Fe, CA

Never done with horsing around, Gates purchased another equestrian estate in 2014 for $18 million. Once owned by the weight-loss guru Jenny Craig, the massive horse facility, called Rancho Paseana, totals 229 acres.

Gates intended to turn the compound into a hunting and jumping training facility for his daughter.

“The family has enjoyed visiting the San Diego area with friends and family for many years, and has purchased the Rancho Paseana property in Rancho Santa Fe,” a spokesperson for the Gates family told Forbes in a statement at the time. 

It looks as if the Gates’ love for the area has blossomed, with the family’s recent purchase of the Del Mar beach retreat. 

The property is close to the Del Mar Race Track. Craig, the weight-loss queen, and her husband, Sid Craig, owned the ranch and an adjoining luxury estate for decades, before it made it onto the market in 2010, after Sid Craig passed away.

After initially offering it for $30 million, Craig reduced the price to $25 million before taking it off the market in 2012. She opted to quietly shop the property in search of a buyer who would continue to use it for horses, rather than develop the land for housing or a golf course. 

The expansive space contains a main house, a three-quarter-mile racetrack, as well as four 30-stall barns and a fifth barn with 21 stalls, a veterinarian’s area, two staff apartments, and an olive orchard.

Rancho Santa Fe, CA

realtor.com

———

Yellowstone Mountain Club, Big Sky, MT

As you might imagine, when Bill Gates hits the slopes, he prefers privacy, security, and exclusivity. He can find that at the Yellowstone Mountain Club near Big Sky, MT. 

The swanky ski club just north of Yellowstone National Park includes a members-only mountain, no lines at the ski lift, and pristine powder. 

To become a member (and Gates reportedly is one) requires a $300,000 initiation fee and upward of $37,000 a year in dues. Oh, and you must buy a home within the community.

Prices start at $4 million for a condo and range from $5 million to $25 million for a single-family home.

The ski-in, ski-out dwellings include high-end features like “ski rooms with individual lockers, heated driveways, bunk rooms and $5,000 boot dryers,” according to The New York Times. Only members, their families, and guests can access the club, which adjoins the Gallatin National Forest. 

In the winter, skiing is plentiful. For warmer months, there’s an 18-hole golf course. And you can leave your security detail at home. The club’s security team is managed by a former Secret Service officer. 

Along with the Gates, Google’s Eric Schmidt, Justin Timberlake and Jessica Biel, and Tom Brady and Gisele Bündchen have also been members. In addition to the outdoor activities, an upscale lodge includes a restaurant, spa, fitness center, and pool. 

You can rest assured that the place will never be overrun. Membership is capped at 864 households, according to the Times. If you can’t have your own personal mountain, this could be the next best thing.

The post The Full Download: A Window Into the Property Portfolio of Bill and Melinda Gates appeared first on Real Estate News & Insights | realtor.com®.

from https://www.realtor.com/news/celebrity-real-estate/bill-gates-property-portfolio/

[shikungigi]

After getting lost in Madrid, I came back to my comfort zone for a week then headed out the next Saturday to Marseille. I was very anxious about this trip to France because it was going to be loooooong. When I say long, I mean very long. Why? Because cheap is expensive. As a newbie, I am not an expert at looking at the best flights with the shortest layovers, neither was my friend. Plus we let these flight booking sites trick us with their cookies. So much so that we later discovered that people who booked different flights months after, all got even cheaper rates and better flights. SMH. So it’s not even a matter of cheapness, it’s inexperience.

Anywho, the day came and I got relieved a bit. Etihad Airways is a cool airline with female and male cabin crew that sport very striking lipstick and perfect hair cuts respectively. And it was my first time on such a large plane. I sat next to this American girl who was quite chatty at the beginning, with some braids on her blonde hair. LOL. Total hippie. Plus since we booked these flights via Alitalia originally, I could not book seats in advance so I ended up next to the lavatories. LOL. So you keep hearing that loud vacuum flushing all the time. I can’t seem to remember what I watched during this leg. I think it was The 15:17 to Paris. I had to Google the title now. I was not sleepy yet, the best was yet to come. I got to Abu Dhabi at some minutes to 9. A few minutes into walking into the terminal, I met up with this other Kenyan who had an even longer layover, but we lost each other at the security check.

Abu Dhabi International Airport is a real swanky airport. They have poured a lot of their abundant money into making it the airport of choice for layovers. I was going to spend 6 hours here, so I decided to find the best seats in the terminal of my next flight. If I was sleepy, these would have been very helpful. I was not. Yet. I grabbed something to eat and chat up my people. I am not exactly sure what I did for the rest of the six hours. What I remember is too much a/c and people running across the terminal to their flights. I finally moved down to my gate about an hour to my flight. I was obviously starting to get real tired, so I did not like the next flight much. But hold that thought.

Real nice, right?

I think this is when I watched The Greatest Showman in my utter fatigue. And even then, I was so enraptured by the movie, even in this poor airplane quality amidst that continuous annoying drone, I cannot stop playing the soundtrack album now. A Million Dreams is playing in my ears right now, while I’m in the belly of a different drone — a hairdryer. I will not deny I watched it on and off, between dozing off, trips to the loo and munching some bits and pieces of Etihad supper. That notwithstanding, I really had to fight off my tears, an endeavour I failed at miserably. I ended up with a serious lump of pain in my throat by the end of it. If you’re into musicals or looking for a movie you can watch with little ones, I think this is it. I am definitely rewatching it in better quality soon.

Off to Fiumicino, Aeroporti di Roma (Rome) a.k.a. Leonardo da Vinci, my last and longest layover before Marseille. And the 8 hours were tortuuuuuure. I got there some minutes to 7AM, Sunday. And let us not forget crossing time zones just makes it even more confusing. Abu Dhabi is an hour ahead of us. Rome is 2 hours behind us. I think. And remember, I have not really slept since 8AM, Saturday. We all squeeze into the transfers hall which seems a bit too cramped for my liking and I already know I will not like my stay at this airport. The only flashy things that could not help me one bit were the luxury stores across Terminal E on two floors. I was in Italy, after all. Dolce&Gabbana. Pandora. Gucci. Burberry. The seats were not going to help in my sleepy misery, so I just sat there and played with my phone until my flight was finally displayed on the screens. I went through passport control as I was now really entering the Schengen area and went on to more shops and uncomfortable chairs. Try as I might, I could not sleep. So, again, I do not know what I did with those 8 hours. This is also mixed with the fact that I could have sworn I watched Modern Family for hours on Netflix but I can neither confirm this from my watch history nor from searching on Netflix. I was definitely not day-dreaming because my Google history tells me I was on Netflix all afternoon. But the other Google says Modern Family has never been on Netflix. Wacha tuachie hapo kwanza. What I am sure about is that I finally found myself inside a small Alitalia flight to Marseille in the early evening. I sat next to a polite boy who was all Bonjour on me. That was the first time I acted like I learnt French from my mum.

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———————————————————— Marseille is definitely hot. It’s a coastal town. I have never been happier to alight from anything in my life like I was when we did at Marseille. I just wanted to sleep! The immigration lines were so long I almost gave up. But since I had already got the stamp in Rome, the guy did not look at my passport twice. I ventured out into the Arrivals hall to wait for my people to get me. We headed out into the Alps (Alpes in French) some minutes after that. This is where we were going to spend most of the time in France. Destination, a little village called Saint Jacques. Why? Wedding Bells!!!!! How? All under the auspices of my dear loving friend Leilah and her very beautiful family. Just writing this almost made me tear up, so let me stop and will pick that up later. In private. Where no peering eyes are wondering why this crazy black girl is crying on a plane. LOL. I have clearly written this post for many days in different places and spaces, so don’t even try to envision my writing pattern.

So from Marseille, the capital of Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur region (south-East France basically), the roads are a delight. They literally pay for them highways at toll gates. Cars stick to the right here too. I will never get used to that. The drive was a feast for my sore eyes as we drew nearer to the Alps. I temporarily forgot I was tired and sleepy. My new road trip friends offered some very sweet bread too. I mean, how else was I to really know I was in France? There was a bit of a drizzle too. Darkness had covered the mountains by the time we got to the village. And that is to say a lot considering the sun goes down late. Again, a warm welcome awaited us as the family ushered us into the most ageless home I have ever walked into right next to a church. I remember walking in and commenting on how I smelt history around. And great food! And books! And French! Oh my goodness. Was I not supposed to be sleepy btw?

After the warm dinner, mamé walked us to what we would call home for the next few days. I was in awe. This was the second most antique home I had ever walked into. She showed us everything and kept apologizing because she believed this was not good enough for us. I was confused. Why was she apologizing? This was like walking through a dream for me. Like walking into one of those fairy tales I had read as a kid. Red Riding Hood, perhaps. Or living inside the set of Once Upon A Time. Just look at these pics and tell me I am wrong?

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Anyway, I finally got over my awe and slept like a log. I think we woke up at 11 the next day. On a Monday. I mean, what else would I want in life than to wake up like that and open wooden shutters into the most awe-inspiring view of the Alps outside. Sigh. I want to go back.

Monday was chill, with more bread, cheese, chicken and sausages. We had lunch outside in the luscious green compound outside the main house. Then we attended mass in the church. Legitimately the most ancient church I have walked into. The experience was made all the more exotic because most of the mass was in French. I could not wait for the next day, wedding day!

And it came! A beautiful summer morning with everyone getting ready for the occasion. Leilah looked exquisite! She has always had a way with elegant gowns. Speaking of elegance, the wedding was the epitome of admirable simple-elegance. Sorry, what did you say? I can’t make up words? Not today. It made me rethink my whole wedding dream. I do think that the fact that we were already in a naturally beautiful place that needed no expensive and unnecessary decor contributed to this. And the people who streamed in to share in this joy. What else do you really need? Nothing. It was a lovely ceremony which included the baptism of the couple’s adorable baby girl. You should have seen me singing along to French hymns! 😀 You would have thought I had been there for months.

After the church ceremony, we spent some time out in the sun on some drinks and snacks. We then headed out to the wedding party. It was an intimate affair, not much different from the Kenyan ones we know with speeches and good food. Let me not talk too much about this from here. I will let the pictures do that for us.

The evening was wonderful! I never thought I could dance in public until this night. I guess I was still in a dream. We danced for hours in the open to all kinds of tunes, from African to pop, to reggae and samba. Suffice to say, my limbs were in pain the next day. I got over that real quick though as we headed out for a little hike in the Alps that afternoon. The views here are to die for, even when you’re not into climbing stuff. Worry not. You can just come here to stare.

The weather has a funny way of communicating, because after all the sun, the Alps decided it was time for rain on Thursday. So we tucked in and spent the rest of the day just making some Kenyan noise and eating. I could have sworn I had gained many kilos during my stay here but I actually didn’t.

We headed back to Marseille, with a short stopover at Gap. A little town that left nothing imagination, especially after experiencing dreamy Alps, but I did love these!!!

I got to experience Marseille for a few hours when the temperatures had dipped a little this time. The sights from Basilique Notre Dame de la Garde were amazing, including the sunset.

I also got to feast on the biggest burger I have seen in my life. Generally the short experience in France encouraged me in my quest to learn French. And to experience the love of a people brought together by love that supersedes all the many unnecessary complications we insist on bringing upon ourselves. The next time I am back there (because there will be a next time), I will have more to say about the city. Or maybe even drop by Paris. No, not maybe. Definitely. By then, I will be a master of French.

For now, I bow out, with a dreamy smile on my

&nface. À bientôt, mon amis!

An Alpine Affair After getting lost in Madrid, I came back to my comfort zone for a week then headed out the next Saturday to Marseille.

[connorrenwick]

Design Milk Travels To… Milan

Unlike its sisters Rome, Florence, or Venice, Milan isn’t swathed nor defined by its past. As the capital of Lombardy and the second-most populous city in Italy after Rome, Milan unapologetically defines itself as a city of today: modern and lively, occasionally unsightly in its urbanity, it’s a commercial metropolis more interested in the prospects and possibilities of the future rather than perpetuating the glories of its past. Yes, you’ll find remnants of its Roman past and numerous historical buildings to haunt, but as a visitor it’s more likely you’ll remember Milan for its modern offerings, all painted colorfully by the industries of fashion and design. Milan Fashion Week, MIDO Eyewear Show, and Milano Design Week all unfold here, which makes the possibility a visit will coincide with a global convergence of the design community highly likely, making it one of the few cities that can truly claim design as part of its cultural and civic DNA.

WHERE TO STAY

Photo: Hotel Viu Milan

Hotel Viu Milan Decorated in greys, beige, and browns, the Hotel Viu embodies many of the same shades of color associated with the generally overcast weather that looms over Milan throughout the year – but stylishly so. Each of the hotel’s 124 rooms are are furnished with a calm elegance in the spirit of Armani Casa: neutral earth tones partnered with the forms of subdued modernity.  This hotel isn’t central to the the heart of the city, but it earns extra points for being in walking distance of my favorite Milanese pastry shop, Pavé, located in the adjacent trendy area of Porta Venezia.

The Salone Grande at Fifty House showcases the works of Torino artist, Bisha.

Picasso’s Guernica as reinterpreted by contemporary Italian artist, Bisha.

Fifty House Milan There are indeed 50 rooms available at the Fifty House, a boarding house turned boutique hotel festooned with details of brash humor delivered by way of artist, Bisha, whose work plays prominent within both the hotel’s public and private spaces. A classically rendered Leonardo da Vinci Dama con l’ermellino sitting above the hotel mantel isn’t what it initially seems; polka dotted armchairs befitting of Yayoi Kusama offer a comfortable spot for two to find respite, while some of the rooms’ furnishings will undoubtedly tempt a guilty touch. The overall vibe here is Hollywood Regency interpreted through the colorful prism of contemporary Italian art and design. Subtle, it is not, but that’s all part of Fifty House’s charm.

Lobby photo: Sina the Gray

Sina the Gray If you’re in Milan to soak in il teatro della moda, this hotel’s centrality to the city’s most famous streets and landmarks (“just 100 meters from the Duomo”), alongside its proximity to the Quadrilatero d’Oro – aka the Golden Rectangle – makes Sina the Gray a strategic accommodation pick for those operating under a fashionable itinerary. The hotel’s decor exemplifies Milan’s identifiable design hotel motif: a neutral canvas of travertine enlivened by bright splashes of color, lights, and contrasting patterns of wenge wood. Some rooms even have their own private gym or Turkish bath.

Palazzo Matteotti Milano

Decorated unmistakably by an Italian eye, the 154 rooms and suites of this hotel wears its local bona fides represented by its mosaics of Bisazza, lighting provided by Artemide, the Driade furnishings, and seats by Meritalia. Be sure to ask for one of the rooms with the astounding view of the nearby Duomo’s Gothic vaults.

Photo: Babil Hostel

Babil Hostel Staying in Milan can be an expensive affair, but this affordably tiered hostel offers guests the opportunity to stay within contemporary-decorated rooms inhabiting a beautifully restored Neo-Gothic building (you can bunk together in shared rooms or book one of three private rooms upstairs).

Notable mentions: The Yard Milano \\\ Glam Hotel \\\ Hotel nhow Milano

WHERE TO PLAY

Film director Wes Anderson’s eye for design gives the Bar Luce within Fondazione Prada a timeless atmosphere. Photo: Fondazione Prada/Attilio Maranzano

Bar Luce: It was back in 2013 when Wes Anderson directed Castello Cavalcanti, an eight-minute short produced for Prada styled with neon and formica of the 1950s and 60s in full display in the auteur’s signature fashion. Anderson superimpose many of the same stylistic touches onto this architectural recreation of a “typical Milanese cafè” located just outside the doors of the fashion house’s museum. It’s one of my favorite places in Milan to grab a snack and people watch.

Photo: Fondazione Achille Castiglioni

Fondazione Achille Castiglioni: There are few names in the history of modern design as renowned as Achille Castiglioni. Even those who don’t recognize the name likely recognizes his work. The architect and furniture designer’s name remains nearly synonymous with modern Italian design, and the native’s shadow still looms across the city today, with design lovers flocking to this four room studio/apartment turned into a museum. The archive of his life’s work is on display, but only to those reserving a spot ahead of time for one of the guided tours, so plan accordingly.

It was during my second visit to Milan when I walked in pouring rain for an hour to be greeted by the glowing 24-carat gold leaf haunted house visible from the street for the first time; once inside I became quickly became enamored by the entirety of the compound, complete with a seated talking android. Every subsequent visit has been nearly as memorable and rewarded, with the recently opened tower building promising more to explore during the next visit. Photo: Gregory Han

Fondazione Prada: One thing admirable about Milan is the city’s propensity to reuse and reinterpret their city’s older buildings. The Fondazione Prada, situated in a slightly sketchy-industrial section of Milan was once a gin distillery dating from 1910 (note: excellent examples of graffiti line the walls along the streets leading up to the museum entrance); it’s now the stage for the fashion brand’s vision of contemporary art, design, and cinema.

The buildings of the Fondazione Prada retain their industrial past. Photo: Gregory Han

Housed within the former distillery warehouses, laboratories and brewing silos as re-envisioned by Rem Koolhas, Fondazione Prada offers an austere architectural tableau in service of the artwork inside each of the buildings, one that unconsciously motivates exploration (I attribute it to the mix of heights and widths of each building which feel abandoned even with the crowds).

Photo: Gregory Han

La Triennale Di Milano Design Musem: Even before stepping inside architect Giovanni Muzio’s exemplar of rationalist architecture, I knew the Palazzo dell’Arte was going to be a favorite inside and out. My last visit offered a ridiculous abundance of interests: exhibitions dedicated to the furniture and photography of Ettore Sottsass, the body of work of visionary Rick Owens, and the playful childhood memories of Italian design all under one roof.  There’s also a very fine gift shop with design objects and book selection worthy of a visit after finishing your tour. Just arrive here before opening if possible, as lines form early. Also, the adjoining park makes for a highly recommended secondary stroll ‘n sit destination afterward.

Pavilion outside La Triennale di Milano. Photo: Gregory Han

Notable mentions: Corso Como 10 \\\ Walking around the Brera District \\\ Museo Nazionale Scienza e Tecnologia Leonardo da Vinci

WHERE TO SHOP

Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II. Photo by Liza Daly (CC BY 2.0)

Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II Nicknamed “Il Salotto di Milano”, or Milan’s Living Room, it can feel like the entirety of Milan has gathered under the arched ornamental glass and metal of the city’s storied artery. It’s undeniably a tourist destination, but a prerequisite for any first time visitor, a glamorous thoroughfare bolstered by the presence of many of most storied and recognizable names of haute couture – Versace, Prada, Gucci, Armani, and Louis Vuitton. I make it an imperative to cut across this section of Milan every visit, never disappointed by the grandiosity.

RAW: The Brera design district is where you’ll want to wander for at least one afternoon, and in doing so you’ll likely be tempted to drift inside the modernist interpretation of a cabinet of curiosities on display inside Raw. If you’re partial to the John Derian and Fornasetti aesthetic, this is your shop.

De Padova: Located in the fashionable neighborhood of Corso Venezia, this Milan showroom has already attained legendary status for its curated selection of contemporary furnishings immediately recognizable by the design cognoscenti. Graced with the namesake of its founders Maddalena and Fernando DePadov, the store arguably houses the most prestigious selection of top tier global designs under one roof in Milan. Aspirational and inspirational, even if you can’t afford to purchase anything within, one exits the doors of De Padova feeling a little bit more knowledgeable about design.

Nilufar Depot: It seems appropriate that the Teatro alla Scala is cited by architect Massimiliano Locatelli as the inspiration for this enormous three-story retail space dedicated to the theater of home furnishings. The multi-level vignettes of decorative scenes set the stage for an experience in a fashion very few furniture shops could even dream of offering customers…with astronomical price tags to match.

FINAL WORDS

Milan at night can be magical. Photo: Gregory Han

The charm of some cities are immediately evident and obvious. Milan isn’t one of these destinations. Meaningful gratification here arrives in stages, rewarding those compelled to investigate its smaller streets and outlying neighborhoods, speak to its people, with its best only offered to those patience enough to walk the proverbial extra mile (occasionally literally). The city’s diverse and progressive populace is perhaps its greatest asset, reflected by a Milanese pride for the traditional, yet an openness to reinterpret them in perpetually novel fashion. Milan may be celebrated most for its remarkable sense of style, but it also deserves attention for its accessibility and willingness to envision itself something anew every year, just like the culture of design and fashion it plays home to.

If you’ve traveled to Milan and have any travel recommendations, let us know below so we can check it out for the next trip!

via http://design-milk.com/

from WordPress https://connorrenwickblog.wordpress.com/2018/04/24/design-milk-travels-to-milan/

[nofomoartworld]

Art F City: L.A. Art Diary: Week Two, Part Two

A Parker Ito transfer painting in the office of Chateau Shatto, One of my favorite images I’ve seen of L.A.

Michael Anthony Farley (lifelong non-driver) is in Los Angeles, checking out the art scene and learning to love the city. Read parts one and two of his L.A. diary. 

Saturday 7/1

“At this stage” Installation view.

I am hungover and terrified that I agreed to go to yoga.

Thankfully, Megan Gordon, artist and L.A. tour guide extraordinaire, is also hungover. We decide to skip yoga. “Sigh of relief” is the breathing exercise I learn today. She picks me up and we head to Downtown’s Chateau Shatto. The drive takes about 45 minutes longer than it should, because there is an anime convention happening a few blocks away from the gallery. Megan explains that L.A. drivers aren’t used to this many pedestrians (let alone ones in giant wigs and spandex outfits) so people “just kind of sit at intersections waiting to see what other people do”.

We arrive at the gallery, and the current show At this stage seems to reflect many of the same uncertainties as True Lies, the show I had seen the night before. With a hangover, however, the show here is mildly panic-inducing rather than commiserative. There’s a small mountain of American flag scraps in the middle of the gallery. The piece, Gardar Eide Einarsson’s “Flagwaste (Stars and Stripes)”, is made up of waste materials collected from flag factories. Around it, monitors display works by Jordan Wolfson and Elaine Sturtevant, among others. One Wolfson piece, “Con Leche,” follows a gaggle of animated Diet Coke bottles as they cheerfully traverse post-industrial suburbia. All the while, a narrator flatly discusses things like the bioaccumulation of toxins in our bodies. It’s upsetting on a level my hungover self isn’t prepared for.

We embrace the healing power of greasy/spicy eggplant in a Chinatown eatery where Rush Hour 2 was filmed, apparently. We’re ready to see more art.

I’m told Chinatown is fading as an arts neighborhood, but there are still plenty of galleries—many occupying niche specialties. The Los Angeles Contemporary Archive is an artist-run library with the near-impossible goal of indexing the city’s vast art scene. It’s unfortunately closed when we attempt to pop in, as is the Institute for Art and Olfaction, where artist Saskia-Wilson Brown teaches workshops about the potential of scent. The Good Luck Gallery, which specializes in “outsider artists” is open, however. They have a show up of self-taught Anna Zemánková’s mixed-media illustrations of imaginary plants. The late artist, who began making work in her retirement, left behind a relatively small portfolio of drawings incorporating embroidery and pieces of fabric. We’re told a substantial number of her surviving works are on display here. We decide to skip Velveteria: The Museum of Velvet Paintings because we don’t feel like paying the admission while we’re already short on time.

Christine Stormberg, “Virgin and Child”

The highlight of Chinatown is undeniably Christine Stormberg’s solo show Tina Warrior Princess Gallery at Leiminspace. The show features lumpy figurative cement sculptures and oil paintings depicting everything from grotesque Madonna-like icons to a huge painting titled “Lesbian Twins”. All the work is high-femme but exaggerated and slightly ridiculous—a diptych features feet bulging out of stripper heels and the shorts one of the sculptures is wearing sit about an inch off her butt, exposing her crack. Everything in here is great.

Christine Stormberg, “Standing in Line for the Club”.

Paul McCarthy at Hauser & Wirth, installation view.

It’s a bit of a disappointment, then, to arrive at Paul McCarthy’s solo show at Hauser & Wirth. Here, he’s going for a similar grotesqueness, but in massive wooden sculptures that resemble toys warped in both scale and perspective. They’re monumental but disconcertingly illegible—the luxurious wooden carvings don’t lend themselves to the same graphic sensibility as Stromberg’s vulnerable sculptures. They just look expensive and large—unapproachable in a way that negates their sensuous potential.

Hauser & Wirth

Then again, everything about Hauser & Wirth’s Arts District location feels expensive and large. It’s a massive warehouse complex around a central courtyard, complete with “a ridiculously expensive brunch spot” at the center of the compound. The works in the other galleries aren’t all that impressive either. Monika Sosnowska’s massive sculptures—in which architectural details are crumpled into inutile abstractions—are memorable only due to their size. The curatorial ethos here seems to be “shock and awe” with scale, rather than providing any opportunities for intimate access to actual content. After roughly twenty minutes walking around the cavernous spaces, I decide my time is better spent at a dinner party.

Sunday 7/2

I notice a peculiar tendency in Los Angeles: people frequently make oddly specific plans without going into any details explaining precisely what they are. I am told to meet at a friend-of-a-friend’s apartment because we’re being picked up to attend *something* that another friend-of-a-friend curated. I am told it involves the beach, and to dress accordingly.

Myself and a group comprised mostly of male models and artists assemble in Hollywood and are picked up by a party bus. No one seems to know exactly where we’re going, but champagne is flowing so there are few complaints. About an hour later, we’re herded into a VIP area (I can’t tell if it’s a house or restaurant) and handed whisky. I still have no idea what this curatorial endeavor we’re here to see is.

Hours later, we’re in an Uber to Malibu (despite my best protestations to the fact that Malibu is really far away) and I find myself at a house party, stranded over an hour away. I fall asleep in a guest room, and the last thing I see is a Jeff Koons Da Vinci purse for Louis Vuitton.

Monday 7/3

I’m performing at Exposure Drag, an eclectic queer night at a Highland Park punk bar. From the start of my time in L.A., Highland Park has been an uncommonly hotly discussed topic—the neighborhood is rapidly gentrifying, as yoga studios and chain stores push out taquerias and laundromats. Many Angelinos speak about spaces in the neighborhood as “a white people thing” or “a Mexican thing”. This night, however, is jam-packed and pleasantly diverse—with perhaps a slight majority of Latinx queers. There are performance art weirdos alongside more traditional drag queens, and the crowd is a nice mix of gay, straight, male, female, and everything in between.

#happy4thofjuly everyone from #unclesam singing #yankeedoodle . . . #dragking @spaceekadett making his #debut at #exposuredrag #theoffbeat #highlandpark #dragnight #dragshow

A post shared by Exposure Drag (@exposuredrag) on Jul 4, 2017 at 8:25pm PDT

The night is Independence Day themed. Two queens, Izzy A. She and Maebe A. Girl, put on a veritable soap-opera of a performance in which they alternately lip synch to prerecorded dialogue of housewives bickering about Fourth of July barbecues, and music. It’s so good. The drag king Spacee Kadett emerges as the world’s most terrifying Uncle Sam. For the first time since I’ve arrived in L.A., I feel at home.

from Art F City http://ift.tt/2syWdg4 via IFTTT

[nightmare-afton-cosplay]

The Full Download: A Window Into the Property Portfolio of Bill Gates

realtor.com

Bill Gates, co-founder of Microsoft and the second-richest person in the world, boasts a lavish real estate portfolio.

Gates and his wife, Melinda Gates, recently added to their extensive real estate holdings with a $43 million purchase in Del Mar, CA, about 20 miles north of San Diego. The splashy beach retreat with 120 feet of ocean frontage is one of the most expensive sales of all time in the area.

The 5,800-square-foot residence with ocean views features six bedrooms, plus two guesthouses. Upscale amenities include a health spa, glass-tiled pool, home theater, tennis court, and a 10-person hot tub.

The splurge on an oceanfront property prompted us to take a look at the philanthropic power couple’s other real estate holdings.

They are widely known for their largesse, most recently in response to the coronavirus threat. As they’ve been dispensing cash through their foundation, they’ve also been spending some of their wealth on a collection of posh properties.   

Beach house in Del Mar, CA

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Even if you’re not running the latest version of Windows, you should join us on a tour of Gates’ housing portfolio.

Medina, WA

Medina is the site of the most massive Gates estate. Located just outside Seattle, the home has been dubbed “Xanadu 2.0,” after the fictional mansion in the movie “Citizen Kane.”

Measuring 66,000 square feet, the palatial home took more than seven years and a reported $60 million to build. 

Loaded with high-tech innovations and opulent amenities, the estate was valued at $131 million last year. That’s likely to be on the low side, given the scope of what Gates has built.

In 1988, Gates purchased what was then a 5-acre property for just $2.05 million, with plans to build his dream home. The property on Lake Washington grew to incorporate additional parcels that Gates bought up to create a buffer around his estate.

Inside, the modern mansion’s extensive technology has taken on an almost mythic quality. While we don’t know if there are any robot butlers or Jetsons-style hovercrafts, the home does have some futuristic features.

They include a 60-foot pool that flows outdoors and has music piped in underwater. An article from 1997 touts the “miles of fiber-optic cable … strung inside the walls and crawl spaces.”

It’s also equipped with touch pads in every room to control the environment, and sensors that customize temperature, lighting, and even music to follow you from room to room.

It’s also an eco-friendly, “earth-sheltered” house, for efficient climate control.

Within the compound, there’s a formal dining room measuring 1,000 square feet. For larger events, a 2,300 square-foot reception hall can seat 150.

A separate building houses a 2,500-square-foot gym, which is part of a fitness facility that includes a trampoline room with 20-feet ceilings. 

The home also includes a library with a domed roof that includes a Leonardo da Vinci manuscript that he picked up at auction for $30.8 million. A 1,500-square-foot home theater seats 20 in plush, art deco-style seats and couches.

Bill Gates’ compound in Medina

Ted Soqui/Corbis via Getty Images

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Indian Wells, CA

When not bouncing around in a trampoline room, the Gates family may want to hit the links, or at least entertain potential clients at a fancy private club in the desert.

In 1999, the billionaire plunked down $12.5 million for a mansion in the ultra-exclusive Vintage Club in Indian Wells, CA. The posh town, known for its annual tennis tournament, sits next to La Quinta, CA—a different desert hot spot for A-listers.

Gates’ spread in the Coachella Valley sits on 1.33 acres in the guard-gated club conveniently adjacent to a golf course designed by Tom Fazio.

The club bills itself as “one of the United States’ most prestigious and ultra-exclusive private country club communities.”

If you have to ask about the fee to join the Vintage Club, well, you know how the cliché goes. But we did learn that the initiation fee is reportedly $250,000, with annual dues running $34,000 for members.

Built in 1993, the Gates mansion measures in at 13,573 square feet, and includes six bedrooms, along with 11 bathrooms.

———

Wellington, FL

Following up on his land grab in the Pacific Northwest, Gates has bought up his fair share of property in the horse-lovin’ haven of Wellington, FL. He bought a spread in the area to support his daughter Jennifer, who is a competitive show jumper.

In March 2016, he picked up a pricey property close to the Palm Beach International Equestrian Center for $13.5 million.

The home features four bedroom suites, a 16-stall equestrian facility, plus a pool and spa. The listing details for the home played up its appeal to equine aficionados, touting it as within “walking distance to the Winter Equestrian Festival and Global Dressage Festival grounds.”

Then in May 2016, we reported that Gates had snapped up two empty lots on the same street for $5 million. At that point, Gates had bought up four of the six properties in a quiet court within the guard-gated Mallet Hill community.

Wellington estate

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However, the tech mogul might be downsizing in Florida—just a bit. He sold one of his four properties in Wellington last year for $8.7 million. And he clearly wasn’t concerned about ROI—that’s the exact price he paid in 2013 for the 7,234-square-foot home that kicked off his Wellington buying spree.

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Hobe Sound, FL

Even before Gates owned in Wellington, he seems to have spent some time in Hobe Sound, FL, about an hour to the north. In 2009, he purchased a European-style villa in the town for $5 million.

According to the listing details, the nearly 10,000-square-foot mansion on 5.24 acres features 200 feet of direct Intracoastal frontage and a private yacht dock.

After the family turned their attention to Wellington, this mansion came on the market for $6.6 million in 2012. It eventually sold in 2013 for $5 million. 

Hobe Sound, FL

realtor.com

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Rancho Santa Fe, CA

Never done with horsing around, Gates purchased another equestrian estate in 2014 for $18 million. Once owned by the weight-loss guru Jenny Craig, the massive horse facility, called Rancho Paseana, totals 229 acres.

Gates intended to turn the compound into a hunting and jumping training facility for his daughter.

“The family has enjoyed visiting the San Diego area with friends and family for many years, and has purchased the Rancho Paseana property in Rancho Santa Fe,” a spokesperson for the Gates family told Forbes in a statement at the time. 

It looks as if the Gates’ love for the area has blossomed, with the family’s recent purchase of the Del Mar beach retreat. 

The property is close to the Del Mar Race Track. Craig, the weight-loss queen, and her husband, Sid Craig, owned the ranch and an adjoining luxury estate for decades, before it made it onto the market in 2010, after Sid Craig passed away.

After initially offering it for $30 million, Craig reduced the price to $25 million before taking it off the market in 2012. She opted to quietly shop the property in search of a buyer who would continue to use it for horses, rather than develop the land for housing or a golf course. 

The expansive space contains a main house, a three-quarter-mile racetrack, as well as four 30-stall barns and a fifth barn with 21 stalls, a veterinarian’s area, two staff apartments, and an olive orchard.

Rancho Santa Fe, CA

realtor.com

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Yellowstone Mountain Club, Big Sky, MT

As you might imagine, when Bill Gates hits the slopes, he prefers privacy, security, and exclusivity. He can find that at the Yellowstone Mountain Club near Big Sky, MT. 

The swanky ski club just north of Yellowstone National Park includes a members-only mountain, no lines at the ski lift, and pristine powder. 

To become a member (and Gates reportedly is one) requires a $300,000 initiation fee and upward of $37,000 a year in dues. Oh, and you must buy a home within the community.

Prices start at $4 million for a condo and range from $5 million to $25 million for a single-family home.

The ski-in, ski-out dwellings include high-end features like “ski rooms with individual lockers, heated driveways, bunk rooms and $5,000 boot dryers,” according to The New York Times. Only members, their families, and guests can access the club, which adjoins the Gallatin National Forest. 

In the winter, skiing is plentiful. For warmer months, there’s an 18-hole golf course. And you can leave your security detail at home. The club’s security team is managed by a former Secret Service officer. 

Along with the Gates, Google’s Eric Schmidt, Justin Timberlake and Jessica Biel, and Tom Brady and Gisele Bündchen have also been members. In addition to the outdoor activities, an upscale lodge includes a restaurant, spa, fitness center, and pool. 

You can rest assured that the place will never be overrun. Membership is capped at 864 households, according to the Times. If you can’t have your own personal mountain, this could be the next best thing.

The post The Full Download: A Window Into the Property Portfolio of Bill Gates appeared first on Real Estate News & Insights | realtor.com®.

from https://www.realtor.com/news/celebrity-real-estate/bill-gates-property-portfolio/