#interior architectural design program

[architectureofindia1212]

The Art and Science of Architectural Interior Design

Architectural interior design combines the art of interior decoration with the science of architecture, creating spaces that are not only functional but visually captivating. The role of an architect extends beyond the structure of a building to how interior spaces are planned, designed, and experienced. It involves thoughtful consideration of layout, materials, lighting, and color to create environments that cater to the needs of the occupants while also enhancing the aesthetic appeal.

Key elements of architectural interior design include spatial planning, which ensures the efficient flow of movement within a space, and the careful selection of materials that balance durability and style. Lighting design also plays a crucial role, influencing the mood and usability of the space. Natural light is maximized through strategic window placements, while artificial lighting is used to highlight architectural features and create ambiance.

Modern architectural interior design often emphasizes clean lines, minimalist aesthetics, and the integration of smart technology for convenience and sustainability. Whether for residential, commercial, or hospitality spaces, architectural interior design aims to blend beauty with functionality, creating spaces that are not only visually stunning but also enhance the well-being and productivity of those who occupy them.

[vieformidable]

The picture of earth from space that we will rarely be shown

[cuntrytaylor]

i think i might collapse from stress

[marywoodartdept]

Stephen Garrison: Art, Architecture, & Podcasts

Stephen Garrison, #Art & #Arch Prof @MarywoodU, shares insights on his 23 years of teaching, his journey in art & design, and his international podcast "A Student’s Perspective." Discover his passion for creativity and inspiring students! 🎨✨ #MarywoodArt

[mcmansionhell]

on neuschwanstein castle (part 1)

This is an essay in two parts.

Neuschwanstein Concept Drawing by the stage designer (!!) Christian Jank (1869).

There exist in architecture clear precedents to the McMansion that have nothing to do with suburban real estate. This is because “McMansionry” (let’s say) has many transferable properties. Among them can be included: 1) a diabolical amount of wealth that must be communicated architecturally in the most frivolous way possible, 2) a penchant for historical LARPing primarily informed by media (e.g. the American “Tuscan kitchen”) and 3) the execution of historical styles using contemporary building materials resulting in an aesthetic affect that can be described as uncanny or cheap-looking. By these metrics, we can absolutely call Neuschwanstein Castle, built by the architect Eduard Riedel for King Ludwig II of Bavaria, a McMansion.

Constructed from 1869 through 1886 – the year of Ludwig’s alleged suicide after having been ousted and declared insane – the castle cost the coffers of the Bavarian state and Ludwig himself no fewer than 6.2 million German gold marks. (That's an estimated 47 million euros today.) The castle's story is rife with well-known scandal. I'm sure any passing Swan Enthusiast is already familiar with Ludwig’s financial capriciousness, his called-off marriage and repressed homosexuality, his parasocial obsession with Richard Wagner, his complete and total inability to run his country, and his alleged "madness," as they used to call it. All of these combine to make Neuschwanstein inescapable from the man who commissioned it -- and the artist who inspired it. Say what you like about Ludwig and his building projects, but he is definitely remembered because of them, which is what most monarchs want. Be careful what you wish for.

Neuschwanstein gatehouse.

How should one describe Neuschwanstein architecturally? You’d need an additional blog. Its interiors alone (the subject of the next essay) range from Neo-Baroque to Neo-Byzantine to Neo-Gothic. There are many terms that can loosely define the palace's overall style: eclecticism, medieval revivalism, historicism, chateauesque, sclerotic monarchycore, etc. However, the the most specific would be what was called "castle Romanticism" (Burgenromantik). The Germans are nothing if not literal. Whatever word you want to use, Neuschwanstein is such a Sistine Chapel of pure sentimentality and sugary kitsch that theme park architecture – most famously, Disney's Cinderella’s castle itself – owes many of its medieval iterations to the palace's towering silhouette.

There is some truth to the term Burgenromantik. Neuschwanstein's exterior is a completely fabricated 19th century storybook fantasy of the Middle Ages whose precedents lie more truthfully in art for the stage. As a castle without fortification and a palace with no space for governance, Neuschwanstein's own program is indecisive about what it should be, which makes it a pretty good reflection of Ludwig II himself. To me, however, it is the last gasp of a monarchy whose power will be totally extinguished by that same industrial modernity responsible for the materials and techniques of Neuschwanstein's own, ironic construction.

In order to understand Neuschwanstein, however, we must go into two subjects that are equally a great time for me: 19th century medievalism - the subject of this essay - and the opera Lohengrin by Richard Wagner, the subject of the next. (1)

Part I: Medievalisms Progressive and Reactionary

The Middle Ages were inescapable in 19th century Europe. Design, music, visual art, theater, literature, and yes, architecture were all besotted with the stuff of knights and castles, old sagas, and courtly literature. From arch-conservative nationalism to pro-labor socialism, medievalism's popularity spanned the entire political spectrum. This is because it owes its existence to a number of developments that affected the whole of society.

In Ludwig’s time, the world was changing in profound, almost inconceivable ways. The first and second industrial revolutions with their socioeconomic upheavals and new technologies of transport, manufacturing, and mass communication, all completely unmade and remade how people lived and worked. This was as true of the average person as it was of the princes and nobles who were beginning to be undermined by something called “the petit bourgeoisie.”

Sustenance farming dwindled and wage labor eclipsed all other forms of working. Millions of people no longer able to make a living on piecemeal and agricultural work flocked to the cities and into the great Molochs of factories, mills, stockyards, and mines. Families and other kinship bonds were eroded or severed by the acceleration of capitalist production, large wars, and new means of transportation, especially the railroad. People became not only alienated from each other and from their labor in the classical Marxist sense but also from the results of that labor, too. No longer were chairs made by craftsmen or clothes by the single tailor -- unless you could afford the bespoke. Everything from shirtwaists to wrought iron lamps was increasingly mass produced - under wretched conditions, too. Things – including buildings – that were once built to last a lifetime became cheap, disposable, and subject to the whimsy of fashion, sold via this new thing called “the catalog.”

William Morris' painting Le Belle Iseult (1868).

Unsurprisingly, this new way of living and working caused not a little discontent. This was the climate in which Karl Marx wrote Capital and Charles Dickens wrote A Christmas Carol. More specific to our interests, however, is a different dissenter and one of the most interesting practitioners of medievalism, the English polymath William Morris.

A lover of Arthurian legend and an admirer of the architect and design reformer John Ruskin, Morris was first trained in the office of architect G. E. Street, himself a die-hard Gothic Revivalist. From the very beginning, the Middle Ages can be found everywhere in Morris' work, from the rough-hewn qualities of the furniture he helped design to the floral elements and compositions of the art nouveau textiles and graphics he's most famous for -- which, it should be said, are reminiscent of 15th century English tapestries. In addition to his design endeavors, Morris was also a gifted writer and poet. His was a profound love for medieval literature, especially Norse sagas from Iceland. Some of these he even translated including the Volsunga Saga -- also a preoccupation of Wagner's. Few among us earn the title of polymath, but Morris' claim to it is undeniable. Aside from music, there really wasn't any area of creative life he didn't touch.

However, Morris' predilection for the medieval was not just a personal and aesthetic fascination. It was also an expression of his political rejection of the capitalist mode of production. As one of the founders of the English Arts & Crafts Movement, Morris called for a rejection of piecemeal machine labor, a return to handicraft, and overall to things made well and made with dignity. While this was and remains a largely middle class argument, one that usually leads down the road of ethical consumption, Morris was right that capitalism's failing of design and architecture did not just lie with the depreciated quality of goods, but the depreciated quality of life. His was the utopian call to respect both the object and the laborer who produced it. To quote from his 1888 essay called "The Revival of Architecture," Morris dreamed of a society that "will produce to live and not live to produce, as we do." Indeed, in our current era of AI Slop, there remains much to like about the Factory Slop-era call to take back time from the foreman's clock and once more make labor an act of enjoyable and unalienated creativity. Only now it's about things like writing an essay.

I bother to describe Morris at length here for a number of reasons. The first is to reiterate that medievalism's popularity was largely a response to socioeconomic changes. Additionally, since traditionalism - in Ludwig's time and in ours - still gets weaponized by right-wing losers, it's worth pointing out that not all practitioners of medievalism were politically reactionary in nature. However – and I will return to this later – medievalism, reactionary or not, remains inescapably nostalgic. Morris is no exception. While a total rejection of mass produced goods may seem quixotic to us now, when Morris was working, the era before mass industrialization remained at the fringes of living memory. Hence the nostalgia is perhaps to be expected. Unfortunately for him and for us, the only way out of capitalism is through it.

To return again to the big picture: whether one liked it or not, the old feudal world was done. Only its necrotic leftovers, namely a hereditary nobility whose power would run out of road in WWI, remained. For Ludwig purposes, it was a fraught political time in Bavaria as well. Bavaria, weird duck that it was, remained relatively autonomous within the new German Reich. Despite the title of king, Ludwig, much to his chagrin - hence the pathetic Middle Ages fantasizing - did not rule absolutely. His was a constitutional monarchy, and an embattled one at that. During the building of Neuschwanstein, the king found himself wedged between the Franco-Prussian War and the political coup masterminded by Otto von Bismarck that would put Europe on the fast track to a global conflict many saw as the atavistic culmination of all that already violent modernity. No wonder he wanted to hide with his Schwans up in the hills of Schwangau.

The very notion of a unified German Reich (or an independent Kingdom of Bavaria) was itself indicative of another development. Regardless if one was liberal or conservative, a king, an artist or a shoe peddler, the 19th century was plagued by the rise of modern nationalism. Bolstered by new ideas in "medical" “science,” this was also a racialized nationalism. A lot of emotional, political, and artistic investment was put into the idea that there existed a fundamentally German volk, a German soil, a German soul. This, however, was a universalizing statement in need of a citation, with lots of political power on the line. Hence, in order to add historical credence to these new conceptions of one’s heritage, people turned to the old sources.

Within the hallowed halls of Europe's universities, newly minted historians and philologists scoured medieval texts for traces of a people united by a common geography and ethnicity as well as the foundations for a historically continuous state. We now know that this is a problematic and incorrect way of looking at the medieval world, a world that was so very different from our own. A great deal of subsequent medieval scholarship still devotes itself to correcting for these errors. But back then, such scholarly ethics were not to be found and people did what they liked with the sources. A lot of assumptions were made in order to make whatever point one wanted, often about one's superiority over another. Hell, anyone who's been on Trad Guy Deus Vult Twitter knows that a lot of assumptions are still made, and for the same purposes.(2)

Meanwhile, outside of the academy, mass print media meant more people were exposed to medieval content than ever before. Translations of chivalric romances such as Wolfgang von Eschenbach’s Parzival and sagas like the Poetic Edda inspired a century’s worth of artists to incorporate these characters and themes into their work. This work was often but of course not always nationalistic in character. Such adaptations for political purposes could get very granular in nature. We all like to point to the greats like William Morris or Richard Wagner (who was really a master of a larger syncretism.) But there were many lesser attempts made by weaker artists that today have an unfortunate bootlicking je nais se quoi to them.

I love a minor tangent related to my interests, so here's one: a good example of this nationalist granularity comes from Franz Grillparzer’s 1823 pro-Hapsburg play König Ottokars Glück und Ende, which took for its source a deep cut 14th century manuscript called the Styrian Rhyming Chronicle, written by Ottokar Aus Der Gaul. The play concerns the political intrigue around King Ottokar II of Bohemia and his subsequent 1278 defeat at the hands of Grillparzer’s very swagged out Rudolf of Habsburg. Present are some truly fascinating but extremely obscure characters from 13th Holy Roman Empire lore including a long-time personal obsession of mine, the Styrian ministerial and three-time traitor of the Great Interregnum, Frederick V of Pettau. But I’m getting off-topic here. Let's get back to the castle.

The Throne Room at Neuschwanstein

For architecture, perhaps the most important development in spreading medievalism was this new institution called the "big public museum." Through a professionalizing field of archaeology and the sickness that was colonialist expansion, bits and bobs of buildings were stolen from places like North Africa, Egypt, the Middle East, and Byzantium, all of which had an enormous impact on latter 19th century architecture. (They were also picked up by early 20th century American architects from H. H. Richardson to Louis Sullivan.) These orientalized fragments were further disseminated through new books, monographs, and later photography.

Meanwhile, developments in fabrication (standardized building materials), construction (namely iron, then steel) and mass production sped things up and reduced costs considerably. Soon, castles and churches in the image of those that once took decades if not a century to build were erected on countless hillsides or in little town squares across the continent. These changes in the material production of architecture are key for understanding "why Neuschwanstein castle looks so weird."

Part of what gives medieval architecture its character is the sheer embodiment of labor embedded in all those heavy stones, stones that were chiseled, hauled, and set by hand. The Gothic cathedral was a precarious endeavor whose appearance of lightness was not earned easily, which is why, when writing about their sublimity, Edmund Burke invoked not only the play of light and shadow, but the sheer slowness and human toil involved.

This is, of course, not true of our present estate. Neuschwanstein not only eschews the role of a castle as a “fortress to be used in war” (an inherently stereotomic program) but was erected using contemporary materials and techniques that are simply not imbued with the same age or gravitas. Built via a typical brick construction but clad in more impressive sandstone, it's all far too clean. Neuschwanstein's proportions seem not only chaotic - towers and windows are strewn about seemingly on a whim - they are also totally irreconcilable with the castle's alleged typology, in part because we know what a genuine medieval castle looks like.

Ludwig's palace was a technological marvel of the industrial revolution. Not only did Neuschwanstein have indoor plumbing and central heat, it also used the largest glass windows then in manufacture. It's not even an Iron Age building. The throne room, seen earlier in this post, required the use of structural steel. None of this is to say that 19th century construction labor was easy. It wasn't and many people still died, including 30 at Neuschwanstein. It was, however, simply different in character than medieval labor. For all the waxing poetic about handiwork, I’m sure medieval stonemasons would have loved the use of a steam crane.

It's true that architectural eclecticism (the use of many styles at once) has a knack for undermining the presumed authenticity or fidelity of each style employed. But this somewhat misunderstands the crime. The thing about Neuschwanstein is that its goal was not to be historically authentic at all. Its target realm was that of fantasy. Not only that, a fantasy informed primarily by a contemporary media source. In this, it could be said to be more architecturally successful.

The fantasy of medievalism is very different than the truth of the Middle Ages. As I hinted at before, more than anything else, medievalism was an inherently nostalgic movement, and not only because it was a bedrock of so much children's literature. People loved it because it promised a bygone past that never existed. The visual and written languages of feudalism, despite it being a terrible socioeconomic system, came into vogue in part because it wasn't capitalism. We must remember that the 19th century saw industrial capitalism at its newest and rawest. Unregulated, it destroyed every natural resource in sight and subjected people, including children, to horrific labor conditions. It still does, and will probably get worse, but the difference is, we're somewhat used to it by now. The shock's worn off.

All that upheaval I talked about earlier made people long for a simplicity they felt was missing. This took many different forms. The rapid advances of secular society and the incursion of science into belief made many crave a greater religiosity. At a time when the effects of wage labor on the family had made womanhood a contested territory, many appeals were made to a divine and innocent feminine a la Lady Guinevere. Urbanization made many wish for a quieter world with less hustle and bustle and better air. These sentiments are not without their reasons. Technological and socioeconomic changes still make us feel alienated and destabilized, hence why there are so many medieval revivals even in our own time. (Chappell Roan of Arc anyone?) Hell, our own rich people aren't so different from Ludwig either. Mark Zuckerburg owns a Hawaiian island and basically controls the fates of the people who live there lord-in-the-castle-style.

Given all this, it's not surprising that of the products of the Middle Ages, perhaps chivalric romance was and remains the most popular. While never a real depiction of medieval life (no, all those knights were not dying on the behalf of pretty ladies), such stories of good men and women and their grand adventures still capture the imaginations of children and adults alike. (You will find no greater fan of Parzival than yours truly.) It's also no wonder the nature of the romance, with its paternalistic patriarchy, its Christianity, its sentimentality around courtly love, and most of all its depiction of the ruling class as noble and benevolent – appealed to someone like Ludwig, both as a quirked-up individual and a member of his class.

It follows, then, that any artist capable of synthesizing all these elements, fears, and desires into an aesthetically transcendent package would've had a great effect on such a man. One did, of course. His name was Richard Wagner.

In our next essay, we will witness one of the most astonishing cases of kitsch imitating art. But before there could be Neuschwanstein Castle, there had to be this pretty little opera called Lohengrin.

---

(1) If you want to get a head start on the Wagner stuff, I've been writing about the Ring cycle lately on my Substack: https://www.late-review.com/p/essays-on-wagners-ring-part-1-believing

(2) My favorite insane nationalist claim comes from the 1960s, when the Slovene-American historian Joseph Felicijan claimed that the US's democracy was based off the 13th century ritual of enthronement practiced by the Dukes of Carinthia because Thomas Jefferson owned a copy of Jean Bodin's Les six livres de la Republique (1576) in which the rite was mentioned. For more information, see Peter Štih's book The Middle Ages Between the Alps and the Northern Adriatic (p. 56 for the curious.)

If you like this post and want more like it, support McMansion Hell on Patreon for as little as $1/month for access to great bonus content including a discord server, extra posts, and livestreams.

Not into recurring payments? Try the tip jar! Student loans just started back up!

[amitypunjab]

Interior design is one of today's attractive job opportunities. It is now one of the most imaginative and tough jobs. There is a significant demand for spaces with limited resources, and your profession in interior design will allow you to contribute to the solution of the problem. Amity University Punjab provides a Bachelor of Interior Design Course

[rheya28]

Darlington Castle [ Wedding Venue ] ♥ The Sims 4: Build // CC

Welcome to Darlington Castle, a beautiful wedding venue located on the Island of Windenburg. This one of a kind venue is known for not only its iconic architecture and stunning views but also for its timeless elegance and romantic atmosphere, making a popular destination to hold weddings and other occasions.  Whether you’re planning an intimate ceremony or a grand celebration, Darlington Castle is the perfect setting for your sims dream wedding.

➽ Speed Build Video

➽ Rheya's Notes:

Programming includes an indoor and outdoor ceremonial space, an indoor and outdoor reception hall, suites for both the bride's and the groom's bridal party. Additionally, this venue also include a kitchen and multiple private bedrooms for the newly weds and their wedding entourage.

NOTE: The exterior of this venue was based on Villa Erba

➽ Important Notes:

● Please make sure to turn bb.moveobjects on! ● Please DO NOT reupload or claim as your own. ● Feel free to tag me if you are using it, I love seeing my build in other peoples save file ● Feel free to edit/tweak my builds, but please make sure to credit me as the original creator! ● Thank you to all CC Creators ● Please let me know if there's any problem with the build

➽Lot Details

Lot Name: Darlington Castle Lot type: Wedding Venue Lot size: 64x64 Location: Windenburg Island

➽ MODS:

TOOL MOD by TwistedMexi

➽ CC LIST:

Note: I reuse a lot of the same cc in all my builds, specifically cc's from felixandre, HeyHarrie, and Pierisim so if you're interested in downloading past, present, future build from me i suggest getting all their cc sets to make life a little easier! other creators include Sooky, Charlypancakes, Sixam, Thecluttercat, Myshunosun, awingedllama.

Joyceisfox: Simple Live (Bathroom, Blooming plant) S- Imagination: Rutland Kitchen Felixandre: Colonial (all), Chateau (all), Fayun, Berlin pt (1), Florence (all), Georgian, Gothic Revival, Grove (all), Kyoto pt (2), London exterior & interior, Paris (all), Jardane, Shop the look, SOHO, Tudor Sooky: Horizontal oil Painting (Landscape, Still life), Vertical oil paintings (landscape, still life, portrait) Awingedllama: Nostaligia Living Felixandre x Harrie: Baysic, Harluxe, Livin Rum, Orjanic (all) Bbygyal123: Minimal Prints Charlypancakes: Chalk, Lavish, Miscellanea, Smoll, Telly Harrie: Heritage, Brownstone Collection, Brutalist, Coastal (all), Shop the look 2, Spoons Madame Ria: Back to basic floor Myshunosun: Midsummer Eve Arsbotanica: Peonies bouquet Pierisim: Auntie Vera, Coldbrew (all), Domain du clos (all), MCM pt (2)(3), Oak house (all), Winter garden pt (1), Woodland ranch (all) Charlypancakes x Pierisim: Precious Promises Simplistic: Magnolia Cottage Rugs, Rug Holland Sixam: Stylistwood Nursery Simten: Playable Harp (mod) thecluttercat: Sunnysundae pt (3), Dandy Diary Syboulette: Nothing to wear Taurus Design: Eliza walk in closet Other CC Cowbuild: Family Kitchen (sink flowers only), Blooming Garden cafe (Hanging wisteria only) [ I think these are locked behind paywall, but you dont really need to download as they are not too important.

● DOWNLOAD Tray File and CC list: Patreon Page ● Origin ID: anrheya [previous name: applez] ● Twitter: Rheya28__ ● Tiktok: Rheya28__ ● Youtube: Rheya28__

[archelangeli]

accrued interest. | hinata s.

ACCOUNT HOLDER: an introduction to academic victims

hinata shoyo

first-year marketing student. the wheel of names chose his program for him because he was indecisive, but he ended up liking marketing. while he’s not the brightest, his enthusiasm and determination definitely make up for it. however, the practical aspect of their accounting subject has him in tears lately, and he blames their rarely present professor for having the audacity to give assignments. procrastinates a lot and would cram with others in the group call.

kozume kenma

second-year marketing student. supposed to be busy with marketing research but often hops on his computer to go gaming instead. he still manages to pass his classes with minimal effort. roommates with hinata, and since they’re in the same program, hinata got notes from him for most subjects. kenma couldn’t help him with accounting, though. he dealt with the same professor last year and forgot the lessons in that subject since that professor had more absences than attendance.

nishinoya yu

second-year communication student. tourism management was his first choice but due to the height requirements in the program, he wasn't qualified and ended up in communication instead. the incident has been a running joke in the group chat ever since. a menace. the biggest yapper ever and the only thing that shuts him up are tight deadlines. talks a lot during group calls where the everyone is doing homework only then to be told to shut up by an annoyed tsukishima.

yachi hitoka

first-year interior design student. she is the one that balances out the chaos in the group but sometimes, she needs a little saving from them. the biggest sweetheart ever and the go-to person for advice or a listening ear. her talent for designing spaces and creating beautiful layouts makes her a standout in her program, but her shy nature often leads her to second-guess herself.

yamaguchi tadashi

first-year architecture student. sleep-deprived because he always pulls all-nighters to finish his plates. he is often found sleeping in the oddest places, in any uncomfortable position, and through any noise. although architecture is stressful most of the time, he’s still having fun with it. just don’t ask him how much coffee he consumes in a day. roommates with kageyama and tsukishima, who are firsthand witnesses of his suffering.

kageyama tobio

first-year sports science student. currently waiting for the intramurals sports since he has a clear goal getting into the university volleyball team. he never hesitates to speak what's on his mind and call anyone out, especially if that person happens to be hinata. a lot of people are intimidated by him, but he actually just doesn't know how to function properly in social settings.

tsukishima kei

previously featured in CPA (can't pass accounting).

previous transaction. | masterlist. | next transaction.

[leibal]

Home in Beijing is a minimalist home located in Beijing, China, designed by BW Timeless. The villa, which borders a densely wooded park, establishes a dialogue between its modern framework and traditional Chinese architectural elements. The structure’s interior programming prioritizes spatial flow, with rooms connected via oversized double doors that create seamless transitions throughout

[cloudwhisper23]

Back into Grumbo Month (12 days late, but that's irrelevant). Since I had no idea how to do this prompt, I kinda winged it, but I am very pleased with how it turned out. Hope you enjoy! Check out the event creator's blog @grow-bettah too!

Day 2: Alternate Universe

The light was flickering again. Grian glared at it as he ate, knowing that any attempt he could possibly make to solve the problem would only make it worse. He’d probably electrocute himself in the process, actually.

Pearl would tell him to hire an electrician. Someone who would fix it easily while Grian focused on his degree. The degree that Grian seemed to change his mind about every day.

He had taken an electrical class a few years ago, back when he was going to major in interior design and architecture. Like most of his endeavors, it hadn’t stuck.

But the flickering light… Grian scowled. Maybe it wouldn’t hurt to take a tiny peek? Something had to be messing with the circuit, surely.

A few minutes later, Pearl arrived, a vaguely familiar man in tow. Pearl brought home a librarian. Not just any librarian though. She’d brought home Mumbo Jumbo, the man Grian had been going to the library to catch glimpses of for the past few years.

“I found an electrician willing to take a look, Grian- What are you doing on the table?”

“Oh dear,” Mumbo said quietly.

Grian glanced over, his face quickly warming up. “Umm… I thought I could fix it myself?”

“You are more accident-prone than anyone I’ve ever met. Put that light bulb down, and get off the table.”

“Yes ma’am,” Grian replied weakly.

Mumbo took over after that.

Pearl shook her head. “How did I know you were going to do this?”

“Family intuition?” Grian guessed. “Or maybe you just know me.”

“You took one class. One.”

“I didn’t get myself killed,” Grian said defensively.

“But you could have,” Mumbo interjected, eyes darkening. “Look, mate. You didn’t even turn the light off.”

Grian rolled his eyes. “I don’t need a second lecture.”

“You’re going to give me grey hairs.” Pearl shook her head.

“You can just pretend they’re silver. Give you a fancy aesthetic.”

“Hmm.”

“All done,” Mumbo flicked the light back on, and it no longer flickered.

“Brilliant!” Grian grinned. “That light was driving me mad.”

“It would drive anyone mad.” Mumbo fiddled with his mustache. “Next time something like this happens, how about you call me, yeah?” He offered Grian a business card.

“How much-“

“No charge. I’m not actually legally allowed to do stuff like this. It’s a hobby more than a career.”

Grian didn’t know what to say to that, so he glanced down at the business card. “Electrical work as a hobby?”

“You’re a freelance photographer who does three years of a degree program before changing pathways. You can’t talk.” Pearl elbowed him.

“Right, okay. I promise to not do any more electrical work without consulting you first.”

Mumbo raised an eyebrow. “Not what I was going for mate.”

“I won’t do any more electrical work?”

Mumbo nodded. “And if you have any problems, call me.”

“Yeah, sure.” Grian pocketed the business card.

Running to the library to get a book for class was nothing new for Grian. He was more than familiar with the place, and more than once he’d been jokingly offered a job as an assistant.

But Grian wasn’t ever just here for a book.

Looking around, it wasn’t as easy as Grian had initially hoped to find Mumbo. Sure, the man was tall, but that didn’t mean anything in the library. The shelves were even taller than Mumbo.

“Excuse me,” Grian said to the woman at the counter. “Do you know where I can find Mumbo Jumbo?”

“He doesn’t work today,” she replied easily. “Can I take a message for you?”

“No, thank you.” Grian set his book on the counter. “I need to check this out, though.”

“That I can do.”

Grian walked out of the library slightly disappointed. He’d been thinking a lot lately. A bit too much about his encounter with Mumbo if he was honest with himself. He was a mystery to Grian. Why would a librarian offer to fix a flickering light in a house he’d never been in before?

He couldn’t imagine it. Still, even without knowing how to solve the mystery of Mumbo, he had things to do.

The bakery was warm, as it always was. Scar didn’t ever seem to stop baking, even though his shop had closed hours ago. He smiled at Grian, dropping a plate of cookies on the table.

“You seem busy.”

“Not as busy as I could be,” Grian replied, taking a cookie. “You need to stop feeding me free samples. I’m going to get pudgy.”

“But that’d be a crime! Besides, these are experimental cookies.”

Grian looked at his friend skeptically. “No. These are the cookies you make when you’re stressed out.”

Scar’s smile thinned into a line. “It’s nothing for you to worry about.”

“What happened, Scar?”

“I… may or may not be living out of my bakery. But! It’s not because I lost the house or anything. It’s just…”

Grian tilted his head. “What is it?”

“There’s nothing wrong with the wiring at home. Nothing at all! I just… I can hear it, Grian, and I can’t hear it here. It’s easier to sleep when I can’t hear it.”

“Have you called an electrician?” Grian asked.

“They can’t hear it, so they tell me nothing is wrong. And everything works just fine. It’s ridiculous.”

The business card in Grian’s pocket felt heavy all the sudden. He dug it out, typing the number into his phone and dialing before Scar realized what he was up to. “Grian, don’t-“

“Hello?” Mumbo’s voice came through the phone.

“Hi, Mumbo. It’s Grian. The guy you fixed the light for last week?”

Scar raised an eyebrow. Grian made a face at him.

“Ah. Haven’t electrocuted yourself since then, I see.”

“Not as if I haven’t tried,” Grian replied with a faint smile. Scar munched on a cookie, watching with amusement. “Are you busy right now?”

“Another electrical problem? Or do you need my services as a librarian?”

“Electrical problem.” Scar shook his head, a smile gracing his face. “Got a friend who has something weird going on. Noisy wires.”

“How odd. I’m not too busy right now. Could you send me the address?”

“Yeah, sure thing.” Grian told him the address and packed up his stuff. “We’re going to get this sorted out, Scar.”

“Mumbo Jumbo, huh? He’s some kind of electrician as well as a librarian. You certainly don’t pick the easy ones,” Scar replied, but he helped clean up.

“Shut up, Scar.”

Mumbo considered himself to be a patient man. He could help sort out a mess in the library or come up with a new, albeit complicated, way to solve any electrical problem he came across. It all just took time, and Mumbo was fine with that.

He did not realize that no one would be home when he went to the address Grian sent him. Idly, he leaned against the wall, trying to hear the noisy wiring he was meant to be fixing.

There wasn’t a sound to be heard.

Frowning, Mumbo pressed closer to the wall. Maybe it just couldn’t be heard unless you were in the house? Or maybe it was a higher pitch, and it was just harder to discern.

Mumbo pulled a small device out of his bag and fiddled with it for a few minutes. The light on the side of the box lit up when Mumbo brought it closer to the house. So, there was a noise. It was just one that Mumbo couldn’t hear.

“Wow, you’re fast. Mumbo, right?” An unfamiliar man came up the sidewalk alongside Grian. “I wasn’t expecting you to get here before us.”

“I did say I wasn’t busy,” Mumbo replied.

“Not busy usually doesn’t mean ready to leave at a moments notice,” the man pointed out. “And you’re all dressed up! I’d hate to have torn you away from something important. Especially considering how I told Grian it wasn’t a big deal.”

“If you keep avoiding going home like this, Scar, it is a big deal.” Grian shook his head, fiddling with the strap of his bag. “Just let him try.”

“I did identify an odd frequency, even without going inside,” Mumbo replied, grateful about the subject change.

He didn’t want to mention that he’d been stood up on a date and really needed something else to think about. Grian’s phone call had come at the perfect time, really.

“Wait, really? You’re better than the other guy I called about it. Thanks Mumbo!” Scar was already beaming, green eyes twinkling.

Grian rolled his eyes. “He’s done the bare minimum, Scar. I don’t think he’s going to leave just after figuring out there is a problem.”

“Well, he’s the first one to believe me.”

“I believed you.”

“I know you did, Grian. But you have to believe me. Oh, Mumbo, do you want a cookie?”

Mumbo blinked. There was suddenly a tin of cookies in his face, and he couldn’t help but recoil slightly. “Um-“

“Give the man some space, Scar.” Grian snorted, a faint smile on his face.

Mumbo couldn’t help but stare. He’d found the man attractive the first time he’d met him, standing on his kitchen table with a light bulb in his hand and static electricity making his hair stand on end. But seeing him in other contexts was incredible as well.

He wanted to be the one to make Grian smile.

Shaking himself out of his thoughts, Mumbo set to work on figuring out what was making the noise that drove Scar out of his home. He got familiar with the sound of Grian and Scar holding their own conversation in the background.

“This is amazing,” Scar said softly as Mumbo double-checked his sensor. “The sound is completely gone.”

“I’m glad to hear it,” Mumbo replied, walking over to the sink. “Do you happen to have dish soap I could borrow?”

“Oh, right, yes.” Scar set the soap out. “How much do I owe you for this?”

“I don’t charge,” Mumbo replied.

“I still owe you something for this. Do you accept cookies? Oh! I can buy you dinner or something-“

“That won’t be necessary,” Mumbo pointedly did not glance over at Grian. “I’m happy to help.”

“He didn’t let me pay either,” Grian said.

“How very kind of you, Mumbo Jumbo.” Scar continued to smile. “Really. Are you sure I can’t do anything for you?”

“It is no trouble at all.”

Scar shook his head. “I’m not taking no for an answer. Tell you what, have a tin of cookies. Freshly baked from my bakery! On the house.”

“I couldn’t-“

“He bakes as a hobby as well as his job. You’d actually be helping him by taking some,” Grian said, glancing up finally. He had an amused smile on his face as he stretched in the chair. “There’s only so many times he can send me home with four containers full of cookies before it’s my problem as well as his.”

“Yeah! You’d be a huge help if you took some. Really.”

And so, Mumbo left the house with a tin of freshly baked cookies. Feeling a little disjointed, he turned and stared back at the house. Scar waved at him.

Scar was texting someone when Grian made it to the bakery the following week. “Finally join a dating app?” Grian asked.

“Haha. No. I’m talking to Mumbo.”

Grian paused, his bag barely over his head. “Do you have more issues with the wiring? Are they being loud again?”

“Don’t be silly, Grian! Mumbo is my friend.”

“You’ve known him a week.”

“Yes, but I’ve known you much longer. And you happen to have a type.”

Grian’s face burned. “I’m not-“

“Look, Mumbo seems like a great guy, from what I can tell. He’s just a tad lonely, that’s all.” Scar took Grian’s bag and set it on the table. “You can’t tell me you haven’t at least thought about it.”

“First Pearl, now you. Is a man not allowed to focus on his studies?”

“Come on, G. The only time I’ve ever seen you focused is when you’re taking pictures. You don’t even need a degree to be happy.”

“Yet you think I need a boyfriend.” Grian glanced skeptically at Scar. “What are you two even talking about?”

“Passed relationship failures. Did you know he was actually on a date when you called him?”

“What?”

“Well, not an actual date. The man he was meant to be meeting up with stood him up. We rescued him from a sorrowful night, Grian. Which you would know if you’d followed up like I did.” Scar grinned at his friend.

Mumbo had been on a date? It certainly explained the suit and tie. Grian shook his head. “Don’t be silly-“

“Grian, you’ve been pining after this man for years. Years! And now you’ve talked to him and have his phone number. It really couldn’t hurt to try, you know.”

Grian didn’t have a comeback to that one. He pointed at Scar, “If you tell him-“

“Wouldn’t dream of it! But I will keep bothering you about this if you don’t act on it.” Scar messed with the zipper on Grian’s bag. “He asks about you a lot, you know.”

“No he doesn’t,” Grian replied, refusing to believe it.

“How would you know? I’m the one who’s friends with him.”

Grian found himself scowling the next day. He couldn’t get what Scar said out of his mind. Was he overthinking this? It wasn’t like there was much of a friendship Grian could destroy at this point.

Going to the library would certainly be more awkward if he tried and it didn’t work out. Maybe he would just give up on college if that happened. He did already have an apartment and a job, after all.

Lost in his thoughts, Grian didn’t notice when someone sat down across from him. “Associated Press? I thought you were a photographer.”

Grian jolted, his knee banging against the underside of the table. Pain flared up his leg, but he ignored it to stare at Mumbo. Mumbo, who’d picked up the styleguide Grian had been staring blankly at.

“I am a photographer,” Grian replied slowly.

“So you’re just curious about everything then, huh?” Mumbo’s mouth curled up in a smile as he slid the book back across the table.

“Something like that.” Grian shrugged. “I’ve only changed my major half a dozen times.”

“That’s right. Your sister mentioned that when I was fixing your light.” Mumbo tilted his head. “Indecisive?”

Grian shrugged again. “That does appear to be the case.”

“Did you ever try photography as a program? There’s an excellent photography program in the journalism department.”

“Hence the Associated Press styleguide. I am majoring in Journalism. We’ll see how long that lasts.”

Mumbo nodded, straightening his tie. Wait, he was wearing a tie? Grian blinked, taking in the outfit. Mumbo typically wore button-ups, sure, but the layering he’d done today made it seem like maybe something else was going on. This was more dressed up than Mumbo typically was at the library.

“Got a hot date later?” Grian asked, half as a joke.

Mumbo blinked. “Oh, I don’t think so. The last time I tried dating, it didn’t go so well.”

“Scar said you told him you were stood up,” Grian replied, suddenly curious for more details.

Mumbo shifted uncomfortably. “Yes. But I suppose I wasn’t counting that time. At least then my night ended with a tin of cookies.”

“That’s Scar for you.” Grian shrugged. “Glad we were able to take your mind off it, at least.”

“Yeah…” Mumbo shifted again. “How about you?”

“Not really looking for anyone,” Grian answered. He fiddled with the stylebook, avoiding looking at Mumbo.

“Fair enough. There are some strange people out there.”

“But you never really answered my question. Why are you all dressed up today?”

“Ah. That. Well, I have been once again pressured into attempting to go on a date.”

Grian looked at Mumbo, surprised. “Is this some kind of family obligation? Scar and Pearl are always pressuring me to go on dates, but I never really feel too bad about not going.”

“Ah. I suppose I need to learn how to get around Scar, then. He’s the one who pressured me into this, really.” Mumbo scratched his neck, seeming even more uncomfortable. “Another blind date. Hopefully it goes better than the last ones I’ve been on.”

“You don’t seem to have much hope of that,” Grian remarked, silently fuming at Scar in his head. This was the quickest way to make Grian jealous, and Scar knew it.

“I’m trying to be optimistic, for Scar’s sake, but it feels like this will never go well, even if he seems to think he can help in some way.”

Grian shrugged. “If you’d been more careful about how you approached this, you could’ve pretended to have a partner.”

“Yeah, but Scar was so genuine when he asked me about myself. I didn’t realize he was a matchmaker who had been failing to make matches!”

Mumbo glanced around. “Actually, maybe it’d be best to leave the library for this conversation. Don’t want to get into too much trouble.”

“Probably for the best.” Grian packed up his things. “Hang on. Are you implying it’s my fault you’re stuck with a date tonight?”

“Maybe.”

“Harsh words, mate.” Grian pressed his mouth into a thin line. “And to think I was going to help you brainstorm ways to get out of your date.”

“You were?”

“I don’t know… maybe I should leave you to suffer.”

“But you know Scar better than I do. Surely you could-“

“Just because I could doesn’t mean I will.” Grian clenched his teeth to keep from laughing. Mumbo wasn’t in a good enough mindset for the date to go anything more than terribly. He was going to suffer for a few hours, sure, but that was the price he had to pay to lean into this a bit more.

“Please?”

“Maybe next time. If you aren’t blaming me for all your problems.”

“I’m not blaming you for all of my problems. Just the Scar related ones.”

Grian snorted. “That’ll become a majority of your problems if you’re not careful. I’ll sit this one out, thanks.”

“Grian!”

“Mumbo.” Grian finally let his grin loose. “Disappointed that you can’t pressure me the way Scar can pressure you? I’m unbreakable.”

Mumbo blinked, stopping in his tracks. He just stared at Grian for a moment. Grian paused as well. “What? Is there something in my hair?”

“No, I just thought of something. I have an idea for how I can get out of my date! Thanks, Grian!” Mumbo patted his shoulder and hurried off. And if Mumbo was blushing a little bit as he ran, Grian didn’t see it.

“Scar.” Mumbo said, slightly out of breath. “I can’t go on the blind date tonight.”

“You can’t? Why not?” Scar continued wiping the counter.

“Because whoever you’re setting me up with won’t compare to Grian.” Mumbo’s face burned as he said it, knowing this was a risky move.

Scar paused to look at him. “You’re interested in Grian?”

“I am. So, I cannot go on that date tonight because it wouldn’t be fair to them.” Mumbo swallowed harshly.

Was it too soon to say he was interested in Grian? Was it too early in his friendship with Scar? Would Scar tell Grian what he said? It was a risk, but Mumbo accepted that. Every encounter he’d had with Grian just made him more interested in the man. He’d give it his best shot if Scar decided to pressure him into taking action.

“Well, that’s good news! I’d hate to send you on a date with him if you weren’t remotely interested.”

What? Mumbo blinked. And then he blinked again. “The date tonight is with Grian?”

“Of course, of course.”

“How’d you manage that? Grian told me he’s not interested in dating.”

“He’s not. But Pearl and I can be really sneaky when we want to be. If I’m honest, he doesn’t actually know he’s going on a date with you tonight. It’s a surprise!” Scar grinned.

“What if this ruins how he views me?” Mumbo scrunched his eyebrows. “If he’s tricked into going on a date, he’s going to suspect that I had something to do with it.”

“Oh, no. Not at all. Grian’s a smart cookie, and he’ll know it was all me and Pearl. Well, mostly Pearl since this whole thing was her idea, but he won’t blame you for it. Promise.”

“Alright…” Mumbo hesitated. “If this goes badly, you’re going to owe me a lot, buddy.”

“Oh, don’t I know it.” Scar sighed. “If this goes badly, you understand that Grian will also be mad at me for being a part of it. I have nothing but hope that this will go well. For all of our sakes, Mumbo.”

Mumbo’s mustache twitched, but he tried to relax. Only a few more hours. You won’t mess this one up.

“What are we thinking for tonight?” Grian said absently, putting away his camera bag.

“I have reservations for us at that new restaurant downtown.”

“Reservations?

“You were the one who said we need to experience the community more. So, I’m not cancelling.” Pearl wrinkled her nose. “You would’ve ordered fast food if I hadn’t done it. This is significantly better.”

“Uh huh.”

“Actually, it’s about time that we head there. We will need time to order, after all.”

“Sure.” Grian ran a hand through his hair. “Good enough?”

“It never gets better for you,” Pearl replied.

“Hey!”

Pearl dragged Grian downtown rather quickly. “I made the reservation in your name, by the way.” She glanced at her phone. “You can go get the table. I need to take this call.”

“Right.” Grian shifted uncomfortably, but he walked into the restaurant, grateful it wasn’t too formal.

“Reservation for two. Under Grian?”

The server nodded. “Back here.”

Grian studied the menu, thinking about what he was going to get. He knew Pearl would expect him to pay this time, as she’d paid for the last meal they’d shared.

“Hi.”

Grian nearly jumped out of his skin. “Mumbo?”

Mumbo gave him an embarrassed smile. “Didn’t mean to startle you. Sorry.” He pulled out the chair across from Grian.

Grian put the menu down slowly. “They didn’t.”

“If by that you mean Scar managed to successfully set us up on a blind date with each other, then yes, they most certainly did.”

“Pearl…” Grian pressed his palms into his eyes. “I can’t believe I didn’t see this coming.”

“Neither of us did, mate. But if it makes you feel any better, I bullied Scar into paying for dinner.”

Grian’s hands retreated. “You did?”

“I told him that it’s his head if this goes wrong, and if it goes badly because we start arguing about who is paying for it, it’s completely his fault.”

“Wow.”

“I aim to impress,” Mumbo replied cheekily.

“You certainly did that.” Grian blushed slightly. “So, this is a date, then?”

“Afraid so. We have to at least try. For Scar’s sake, of course.”

“Of course.” Grian swallowed harshly.

After the initial moments where they both struggled to come up with things to say, the date went well. The food was good, the conversation was good, and Grian could almost convince himself that Mumbo had blushed at his attempts to flirt.

Eventually, the night came to a close, and Mumbo offered to take him home.

“Oh, that’s not necessary, Mumbo.”

“Isn’t it?” Mumbo smiled mischievously. “I believe it is my duty as the man who took you on this date to also be the one to take you home.”

“Don’t be cheeky. The reservation was in my name.”

“I still want to take you home,” Mumbo replied.

Grian’s face burned, but he still shook his head. “If only I was willing to make it that easy for you.”

Mumbo put his hand on Grian’s shoulder. “Well, if I can’t take you home, I can at least do this.”

Grian looked up, preparing to ask what exactly Mumbo meant by that when Mumbo kissed him. He froze, unsure how to react for a moment before melting into the kiss. Mumbo’s facial hair tickled his face, and Grian quietly loved it, using Mumbo’s tie to pull him even closer.

Mumbo laughed against his mouth when they pulled apart briefly. Grian pulled him right back in for another one, and Mumbo made a delighted noise as Grian’s hand wove its way into his hair.

“Scar’s going to be so smug about this,” Grian said quietly, nestling up against Mumbo on his couch.

“We’ll never be free of the teasing,” Mumbo agreed.

“He’s been trying to convince me to ask you out for years at this point,” Grian replied.

“Has he?”

“Yeah. I spent too much time in the library for Scar to not get suspicious. And he knew you were my type.”

“Ah.” Mumbo’s face grew warm. “So, when you called me, he knew exactly who I was then.”

“Yep.” Grian made sure to pop the ‘p.’ “If it makes you feel any better, I don’t think he figured out how you felt about me until you told him. Otherwise, I would’ve heard about it.”

“I was very aware of that, believe me. I think he was starting to figure it out though. I asked about you way too much.”

“Very suspicious,” Grian mused. “But very worth it, don’t you think?”

Mumbo wrapped his arms around Grian to squeeze him in a tight hug. “Very worth it indeed.”

[fashionsfromhistory]

Side Chair from the Worsham-Rockefeller Dressing Room

1881-1882

George A. Schastey & Co.

In 1881, Arabella Worsham, then-mistress of railroad magnate Collis P. Huntington, hired George A. Schastey & Co. to decorate her townhouse at 4 West Fifty-Fourth Street in New York City. The resulting artistic interiors would have been considered the height of cosmopolitan style in the early 1880s and were emblematic of Worsham’s quest to fashion her identity as a wealthy, prominent woman of taste. When Worsham married Huntington in 1884, she sold the house, fully furnished, to John D. and Laura Spelman Rockefeller, who made few subsequent changes to the decorations. Following Mr. Rockefeller’s death, the house was demolished in 1938, yet some furnishings, large-scale architectural elements, and three interiors were preserved, and the rooms were donated to local museums by John D. Rockefeller Jr.

This side chair of satinwood and purpleheart, one of a pair, is part of the suite (2009.226.1–.4) that furnished Worsham’s elaborately decorated dressing room, one of the preserved interiors now installed in The American Wing (Gallery 742). These objects were part of a decorative program that encompassed every aspect of the room, including the architectural woodwork, lighting, stenciled wall-treatment, painted ceiling and frieze, textiles, and other furnishings. On the chair’s back, the marquetry decoration of grotesque masks and vines echoes the ornamental motifs in the dressing room’s architectural woodwork. The overall form is light and rectilinear. The tapered front legs with cascading bellflowers channel the spirit of English Neoclassical designers such as Robert Adam and George Hepplewhite. It rests on castors, allowing it to be moved easily within the room.

Although few objects can be attributed to George A. Schastey & Co., the high quality of their work – as seen in this fine example – was comparable to other prominent firms of the Gilded Age, including Herter Brothers and Pottier & Stymus. At its peak in the early 1880s, the firm employed at least 125 people in its workshops. Their distinctive designs are steeped in Renaissance sources with flourishes from the Islamic world and the British design reform movement.

The MET (Accession Number: 2009.226.3)

[ravenclaw-athena27]

Annabeth Re-Designing the Met in Wrath of the Triple Goddess

Okay so I’m studying architecture and this is how I would rewrite Annabeth when she had a project to redesign the met

I bet she’d have sketches laid out to show her point tbh

She’d also probably explain in depth the types of pillars she’d include in the interior and even exterior

By using Revit or an AutoCad program, I think that she should also explain in depth how the changes would affect people and encourage children to want to learn more about the monuments and statues

(Revit is an architectural program that allows architects to design and 3D model buildings)- Annabeth would totally build monuments for fun (because that’s what I do too)

Also by adding more windows is smart but would be good to explain more how that could affect the building’s interior layout , then she could explain how that could encourage people to view the monuments from all angles

For the marshmallow thing, I wasn’t really a fan of that plus that’s also more interior design than architecture, but since I’m studying both for architecture, I’ll give my insight -

I think that she could have explained more about how using a different style chair suited for comfort and another way to view the art would be good for all generations and could encourage people to fully take the art in and even sketch or take notes

Obviously , Rick Riordan isn’t an architect so it’s okay and I respect him trying, but this is just how I’d personally have Annabeth redesign it!

No hate to Rick Riordan either and I loved the Chalice of the Gods!

Sorry for the rambling, this is just how I’d have Annabeth show off her inner architect.

[germanpostwarmodern]

Embassies always are special architectural projects that not only have to serve representational purposes but also themselves are representative of the commissioning country. In 1969 the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs approached, not surprisingly, Arne Jacobsen with the idea of building a new embassy in London after a suitable site had been determined and leased. And although Jacobsen died only two years after receiving the commission the design and layout were already in place and faithfully carried through by Jacobsen’s trustees Dissing and Weitling.

The complex building and the art collection it houses are the subject of the book „Arne Jacobsen in London - Art and Architecture at the Embassy of Denmark“, published last year by The Danish Architectural Press. In it several authors take a deeper look at this sleeper building in Jacobsen’s otherwise extensively discussed oeuvre. First ground is broken by Peter Thule Kristensen’s essay about the building and its genesis in which he especially goes into detail about Jacobsen’s intensive reaction to the surrounding buildings and their structure. Jacobsen had to accommodate a complex program consisting of the chancellery, the ambassador’s residence, staff accommodation and other facilities. But despite (or because of?) the complexity of the program Jacobsen on many levels responded to the neighboring townhouses, e.g. by means of highly differentiated facades and a toned-down color scheme that relates to the surrounding brick architecture.

On the interior the embassy not only featured the obligatory Jacobsen furniture and Danish restraint but also an eclectic mix of historic and contemporary art. As Barry Phipps points out in his essay, the collection, which is changing frequently, the artworks also serve a concrete purpose in stimulating conversation and creating dialogue but also by shedding light on contemporary Denmark.

With this said, the book could have benefited from a greater focus on the architecture (No plans? For security reasons?) and the genesis of the building but instead devotes a lot of space to art. Accordingly it is a diplomatic book balancing between architecture, art and intercultural dialogue.

[wealmostaneckbeard]

Minecraft always sucked

I dislike minceraft because it started off as a neckbearded-internet-libertarian's fantasy simulation of "living off the grid," in the mid-2000s. Since then it's been bought by Microsoft and marketed by YouTube's algorithm, two massive mostly untrustworthy corporations.

Okay, it's origins and current state are obnoxiously capitalistic but the gameplay is cool, right?

Yes, it is cool that people can express themselves through in-game architectural/interior designs, or learn about programming automation. But last I checked the unmodded game doesn't teach people how to live sustainably by keeping industrial/agricultural pollutants out of the water table. Or how replacing biomes with urban development can result in natural disasters such as floods and disease outbreaks. The game is basically teaching people that the destruction/exploitation of nature for industry and self-expression is an unavoidable necessity with barely any downsides. And as I've implied that is so very wrong!

Which brings me to my last point: The problem with a lot of survival-crafting games is that it reinforces the libertarian homesteader delusion. That society (with all it's efficient conveniences and life saving public services) can collapse and every one will be fine because they can just live off the bounty of the land. Therefore it's okay that in real life, corporate lobbying destroys governments around the world while corporate industry renders the earth uninhabitable for all life. As long as you have the ownership your little plot of land with your little log cabin, everything is okay! Fuck the rest of the world and everyone in it!

[beautifulchris]

fate brought us together again — road trip adventurers

⤷ pairing: bang chan x gn!reader

⤷ synopsis: after spending two years abroad, you come back to the only college that accepted you; the same chris goes to

⤷ genre: smau, college!au, exes to lovers!au, fluff, angst, humor, romance, drama

descriptions under the cut!

angel: twenty four. photography major. after breaking up with chris, angel left korea to focus on themself and visit a country they never went to before with an international program. met the group there and became inseparable in only a few days. has remorse because they truly love(d) chris

felix: twenty three. dance major. went to the same program as angel. they met on the plane as they were placed next to each other. he actually called y/n angel once and it stuck. they're besties. loves to bake and make other people smile, a true peacemaker

olivia: twenty three. interior design major. angel's go-to whenever they need. olivia speaks her mind and isn't afraid of the repercussions. is really sweet and an extrovert. she literally makes friends in minutes

mark: twenty four. worker. canadian dude that came solely for the food architecture and to learn the language. is fun to be around, hardworking and fair

soleil: twenty five. worker. french and the oldest of the group. basically took them all in when they arrived. is talented in terms of painting and drawing. gives the best advice

no angel: angel's rant acc ofc! 100% their thoughts when they feel like they can't tell anyone. no one else has access or even knows this acc exists

masterlist | it wasn't me

notes: i couldn't wait and had to post the profiles —at least— dhdhhs. i'm so excited for this smau!!

taglist: @badwithten @soobin-chois @raethethey @q1sng

[dynamicdata]

Studio Muoto

Patio House . Tel Aviv

This German embassy residence is designed as a patio house on stilts with four linked wings and a main storey.

The first two wings are dedicated to public and reception activities. The other two wings contain the ambassador’s private quarters. They are functionally separate, but form a single built entity. The courtyard trope is a reference to the emergence of the kibbutzim and the Bauhaus tradition in Israel – the social and communitarian dimension – since courtyard typologies were popular in that period. The design is also geared to a specific climatic factor, since it allows the north wind to enter the building, cooling the interior spaces. The use of stilts is typical of Tel Aviv’s domestic architecture, because it admits natural ventilation at ground floor level. The patio configuration also creates a protected and intimate environment, consonant with the program’s combined domestic and diplomatic function. The embassy has two gardens, a linear garden running around the four wings, and an interior garden designed as a private oasis. These two gardens are interconnected, a natural surface free of almost all construction.

The final aspect of this design lies in the building’s potential to evolve over time. The four wings can be joined to allow the building to function as a single loop.