I was asked to review a copy of
The Heights, Anatomy of a Skyscraper by
Kate Ascher by
the Penguin Press as part of her online 'book tour' and am pleased to participate. While not involved with this area of design (high rise) as a residential architect, it has been a subject that has fascinated me since childhood.
The book is jam-packed with a lot of basic information about skycrapers; technical, historical as well as how they impact the built environment and the future. While fears mount worldwide about how to efficiently house a growing population, sky-scrapers have become ever more desirable as a building type. One only has to note the growing number of them being built in developing countries across the globe to point out their importance let alone here at home in the United States (I live in a new high rise building myself).
As I said, the book very thoroughly examines the skyscraper but in a way which is geared towards the novice and not a seasoned architect (or even a less seasoned one, such as myself!). I see this as an ideal gift for either a high school student interested in architecture or engineering school or even a present architectural student.
The book is full of informative illustrations highlighting key points; lessons in and of themselves. I particularly enjoyed a timeline early in the book which puts scale drawings of well known skyscrapers, starting in 1875 with the
New York Tribune Building at 250 feet and advancing towards 2010 with the
Burj Khalifa in Dubai which soars over 2,600 feet.
All in all, the wonderfully smart graphics and precise information on skyscrapers, presented in an interesting and fun way, make this a perfect gift for anyone interested in the built environment. Skyscraper 101, an ever more important subject!
Located down the street from me in the old Riggs Bank building is one of my favorite casual restaurants, Gordon Biersch ( I love their garlic fries and burgers!). 
I love the repurposing of the old bank lobby into a restaurant (they kept all of the old features such as bank slip stands, etc) and the faux painted marble columns with corinthian capitals and beautifully coffered ceiling never cease to amaze me.
Designed by Arthur Heaton and James Hill in 1891, the Richardsonian Romanesque styled building now houses a Courtyard Marriot and retains a lot of the beautiful old details. Do you have any cool old repurposed buildings like this in your neighborhood?
Like many of the palaces facing the Grand Canal, the main rooms are on the upper floors facing the canal providing beautiful views, seen in the room above. Notice the Venetian glass chandelier.
While the Australian (who was kind enough to share these pictures) was in Venice, the Bienalli was taking place and the palace housed the glass exhibition, seen in part in the stairway above.
The palace has a rare side garden facing the canal which during the Bienalli housed a strange house called the Narrow House.
Designed by Austrian artist 
And I'm showing this because it's just amazing the detail that Wurm went to, but I promise you it's the only toilet you will ever see on 
The Palazzo Santa Sofia, commonly known as the Ca' d'Oro or golden house, is a 15th century palazzo along the Grand Canal in Venice. You probably recognize it from myriad postcards or the backdrop to movies, I know I do!
The building is known as the golden house because its exterior used to be decorated with gilt and polychrome but now is natural stone; Old habits die hard I suppose! 
Built for the Contarini family by sculptor/ architect Giovanni Bon and his son, Bartolomeo Bon, in gothic style, it was a more decorative version of the style prefered by the Venetians which the Bon's made famous throughout Venice. 
One arrives off the Grand Canal to the boat launch behind a screened loggia.
Which gives entry to the courtyard.
The loggias surrounding the courtyard have gorgeous inlaid marble floors and byzantine capitals topping the columns.
How many different types of marble can you count here?
The loggias upstairs off the main compartments offer breathtaking views of the Grand Canal.
Since 1922 the house has been owned by the state and operates as a museum.
In the collection is this bronze winged lion. The winged lion is representative of St. Mark the Evangelist who is the patron saint of the city and stands as the symbol of the city.
Photos courtesy of the Australian.
While this may not be a traditional 'hearth and home' piece, these wood stoves were considered much safer than fireplaces and were widely used in northern Europe and most sat on stone hearths. I could see something like this used as contrast in a very modern loft or house- useful AND art!
The first was an architectural screen with 82 white painted boiserie panels that, in Alice in Wonderland style , quickly descended from full scale at 8' to a miniature 12".
The holiday season is upon us once again and nothing says home for the holidays quite like a chimney: hearth and home afterall, right? I'll be posting some of my favorite fireplaces and chimneys in the upcoming month and thought I'd start with this unusual double chimney here in the Kalorama neighborhood of DC. Notice the plaque as well as the different brick treatments: such great detail! I wonder if the right hand chimney is decorative or houses a mechanical flue of some kind as it doesn't have the same chimney cap as the left hand one? Also notice the unusual dormer tucked deep into the roofline.
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