All Things Considered

Cortijada Los Gázquez
Posted by Angie Lewin

It's day 5 at Cortijada Los Gázquez, a remote farmhouse in the Andalusian mountains surrounded by the most inspiring abundance of wild flowers and grasses, almond and olive trees.

I'm here as part of the Joya: arte + ecología programme of artist residencies alongside students on the Art Forms in Nature course run by Simon Beckmann. Here's a drawing made in the studio here of tassel hyacinth and stems of sage seedheads.

Posted by Angie Lewin on May 25th, 2011

Rural architecture
Posted by Simon Lewin

Angie and I are travelling in Spain at the minute. Yesterday we took a favourite walk in the Pyrenees. 

Here's a modern refuge on the route, part of the GR-150, close to Santuari del Boscalt, near Ansovell. No idea who designed it - I'll try to find out.

The first photo shows the hut at the start of the circular route we took - the second towards the end of the day when a thunder & hail storm allowed us to make proper use.

Posted by Simon Lewin on May 19th, 2011

About Britain No. 3
Posted by Simon Lewin

This is the next in the "About Britain" series of books published for the Festival of Britain office in 1951, 'Homes Counties', featuring a title page illustrated by E. W. Fenton.

Posted by Simon Lewin on March 30th, 2011

The Dune House, Thorpeness
Posted by Simon Lewin

We took a walk from Thorpeness to Sizewell and back earlier today. Got to have a look close up at the The Dune House in Thorpeness, Suffolk.

It's one of the properties the Living Architecture present - offering the chance to holiday in buildings designed by leading architects including Peter Zumthor, Michael & Patty Hopkins, NORD, Jarmund/Vigsnæs Architects & MVRDV.

Living Architecture is the brain child of Alain de Botton who had the idea for the company whilst working on a book on architecture.

The Dune House is designed by Jarmund/Vigsnæs Architects who are best known for their work in and around Oslo.

View the other properties offered by Living Architecture.

Posted by Simon Lewin on February 14th, 2011

Chandigarh
Posted by Matthew Loukes

Earlier this year Matthew Loukes visit Chandigarh, India's modernist dream designed by Le Corbusier.

When the armed soldier smiled for the first time I finally started to relax and take in what was around us. We stood on the roof of Le Corbusier’s immense Secretariat and looked down towards the front of a justice building held up by enormous coloured pillars. To the left of the court, a vast sculpture of an open hand turned slowly in the hot wind, waving us welcome to the Capitol in Chandigarh, India’s modernist dream. The soldier smiled again and, with his gun barrel, pointed to the hand.

The reason for the military presence is that, due to an apparent terrorist threat, one can’t visit the Capitol without several signed letters of introduction from the Tourist Office, interviews with several stern-looking officers and an armed escort. The letters charmingly presented my partner and me as representatives of British Architecture, which could hardly be further from the truth. Fortunately, nobody asked us searching questions about pilotis or buttresses. The nearest we got to being embarrassed was when a group of soldiers all stood to attention and saluted as we approached the building. I was about to reciprocate when a man with braid on his shoulders strode past, glaring at the tourists spoiling his moment of superiority.

Following independence in 1947, the Indian government, and Pandit Nehru in particular, were keen to show that the new country was just that. Nehru called Chandigarh a city “unfettered by the traditions of the past, a symbol of the nation's faith in the future”. That faith was largely invested in Le Corbusier, who took over the project when the American architect Albert Mayer pulled out following the death of his partner. Students of Le Corbusier would probably point out that, despite the unflinching modernity of the buildings, the architect was far from unfettered by the past. Academics drool over the placing of buildings in the asymmetric tradition of classical antiquity and so on (and on). Unburdened with all that knowledge, we just wanted to look at the buildings and do a bit of gaping.

And there’s plenty to make the jaw drop. The Assembly building contains a debating chamber that’s a treasure trove of modernist furniture – enough painted, bent ply to fill all the loft apartments in Manhattan and then some. This vast chamber is decorated with abstract blobs of colour, reminiscent of Miro’s tapestries and irregular shaped acoustic panels. Sadly one’s not allowed to take pictures inside but if you can imagine our own House of Commons given a make-over by a surrealist with a yen for rocking furniture you may get the idea. Outside, the roof along one side forms a scooping curve looking down on some garages (yes plain old garages) that are decorated with perforated concrete panels and bright splashes of primary colours. The High Court building with its immense slabs of concrete colour and a wild geometric shell is entered by a series of sloping pathways rising to give a view of the Open Hand and the other two huge monuments to modernity.

Guidebooks to India are often rather sniffy about Chandigarh. It’s not uncommon to see it called “Un-Indian” (whatever that is supposed to mean in a country with more than 20 languages) or to imply that the place is somehow a failure, because Le Corbusier’s designs have proved impractical in some ways. It’s true that the concrete structures have problems in the heat and that the city itself seems to be reliant on a series of interconnected roundabouts that mean walking is a nuisance. But Chandigarh is one of the cleanest and richest cities in India, with good housing and a good deal of civic pride. Compare that with the truly horrific shanty dwellings in turbo-capitalist Delhi or the embarrassingly twee colonial representations of “The Old Country” in hill stations like Shimla and Chandigarh emerges pretty well. It has an Open Hand. All we need is an open mind.

To view further images visit Matthew's Flickr album from the trip.

Matthew Loukes is a London based Crime Writer. His novels ESTRELLA DAMN and GOOSE FLESH are available from the usual outlets. More information from www.soulbaypress.com

Posted by Matthew Loukes on October 19th, 2010

Angie Lewin’s Salthouse poster
Posted by Simon Lewin

LATEST Angie's 'Salthouse' poster will feature in her forthcoming 'Plants and Places' book, published Autumn 2010. For details nearer the launch, sign up for Angie's newsletter.

UPDATE The bidding closed on the 16th May 2010 and the winning bid for Angie's print was over £2,200. In total just over £4900 was raised for the Marine Conservation Society.

Earlier this year Angie was asked by Coast magazine to produce a linocut print, re-inventing the seaside poster.

Seven artists have contributed to the project including paper-cut artist Rob Ryan, Red or Dead founders Wayne and Gerardine Hemingway and Biba creator Barbara Hulanicki.

This three-colour linocut print (50cm x 70cm) is a one-off and is being auctioned to raise proceeds for the Marine Conservation Society.

The auction launches on Ebay on Thursday 6th May 2010 - if you'd like to receive a reminder nearer the time, do sign up for Angie's e-mail newsletter.

Posted by Simon Lewin on April 22nd, 2010

More from Toby Morison
Posted by Simon Lewin

Just back from Toby Morison's exhibiton of Indian watercolours at The Coningsby Gallery. Highly recommended.

If you're in London, you can visit the exhibition until 13th March 2010 at The Coningsby Gallery, 30 Tottenham Street, London W1T 4RJ. Visit their website to view further images.

Posted by Simon Lewin on March 9th, 2010

Indian Spring – Toby Morison
Posted by Simon Lewin

Illustrator Toby Morison has an exhibition of Indian watercolours opening at the Coningsby Gallery in London next week.

The thirty images were painted on the spot in the Indian states of Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan and Gujaret.

Toby Morison studied at the Royal College of Art. He was a founder member of the influential Big Orange studio and has worked internationally as an illustrator for the past twenty years. He is the author of Little Louis Takes Off (Simon and Schuster 2006).

Toby has always travelled widely - often with a sketchbook as companion. He has an abiding fascination and love for India. These images were painted on streets and from rooftops and balconies - often with a small audience in attendance. From a teeming Delhi through the holy town of Pushkar, to the blue washed city of Jodhpur and the boat building port of Mandvi on the shores of the Arabian Ocean these images reflect the vibrancy, ingenuity, colour and humour of India.

The exhibition runs from 8th March 2010 until 13th March 2010 at The Coningsby Gallery, 30 Tottenham Street, London W1T 4RJ. Website

Posted by Simon Lewin on March 3rd, 2010

Dieter Rams
Posted by Simon Lewin

We're hoping to get along to the Dieter Rams exhibition at the Design Museum in the next few days. First became aware of his work through Vitsoe (we've developed a bit of an addiction for his shelving system) though as a kid I remember Dad having one of his Braun alarm clocks.

Particularly like Dieter Rams' Ten Principles of good design:

Good design is innovative.
Good design makes a product useful.
Good design is aesthetic.
Good design makes a product understandable.
Good design is unobtrusive.
Good design is honest.
Good design is long-lasting.
Good design is thorough down to the last detail.
Good design is environmentally friendly.
Good design is as little design as possible.

The exhibition runs at the Design Museum until March 2010 (if you visit before the end of January you'll also be able to see the show about the work of architect David Chipperfield). Here's a film about Rams' work for Vitsoe:

Posted by Simon Lewin on December 30th, 2009

Cairn Daimh
Posted by Angie Lewin

Just back from another stunning walk up to the top of Cairn Daimh. One of those hill walks that suddenly reveals all once you're at the top, with views to Ben Rinnes and the rest of Moray on one side and the Cairngorms on the other. Glorious. It's one of the many waywarked walks on the Glenlivet Estate.

Posted by Angie Lewin on November 15th, 2009