Category Archives: architecture

A Stroll around the Roeterseiland Campus in Amsterdam

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Roeterseiland

The Roeterseiland Campus is an open city campus of the University of Amsterdam (UvA). The campus is situated in the eastern part of Amsterdam, a neighbourhood with houses predominantly built in the 19th century. In the midst of this historical “Plantage neighbourhood” you find the campus which is finished in the summer of 2018.

architectural textures galore
architectural textures galore
architectural textures galore
architectural textures galore
stairs to nowhere
abandoned bicycle lock
new buildings/protection
older buildings/protection

(image credits: Mimi Berlin)

Large-scale reinvention

Allford Hall Monaghan Morris architects renovated the existing buildings, redesigned the outdoor area and added “new lecture theatres, seven seminar rooms, 86 tutorial rooms, a Law Library, a Moot Court, research offices, meeting areas, study landscapes, breakout areas, a roof terrace, 1,700 square metres of catering environments and 2,260 square metres of ground floor public gathering space”. Also, important in Amsterdam: a large bicycle parking facility and a new bridge across the water at the main entrances has been added to the campus.

See more outdoor spaces at roeterseiland here on mimi berlin’s blog Continue reading →

The Tomb of Eurysaces the Baker

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Eurysaces

Marcus Vergilius Eurysaces was a baker, his familiy tomb was built around 50-20 BC. It is one of the best preserved ‘freedman’ funerary monuments in Rome. Eurysaces
(image via pocketrome.wordpress.com)

Modern

Apart from it’s modern look; the circles are believed to be grain-measuring vessels and the collums refer to a bakers’ kneading devices. The encription “Est hoc monimentvm marcei vergilei everysacis pistoris redemptoris apparet” which means “This is the monument of Marcus Vergilius Eurysaces, baker, contractor, public servant, obviously” seems written with a touch of humour, obviously.

Freedmen

This tomb is special because it was built by a freedmen. Freedmen were Roman citizens, former slaves set free by their masters. Nowadays one could call these selfmade persons “Nouveau Riche” because they wanted to show how wealthy they became, or leave a legacy because they weren’t noble men. Viewing history in this manner surely brings the Roman Empire closer to the years we live in nowadays. Interesting n’est pas?!

Enoteca Dai Tosi Winery in Matera Italy

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Enoteca Dai Tosi Winery in Matera Italy

The Enoteca dai tosi is a winery situated in a cave, completely carved out of stone and developed as a single circular staircase. Enoteca dai tosi is designed by the Belgian studio architecten de vylder vinck taillieu, it is a tribute to Matera, it’s home city in Italy.

(images courtesy of enoteca dai tosi)

The city of Matera lies in a small canyon carved out by the Gravina river. The historical center, along with the Park of the Rupestrian Churches, is a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1993. Continue reading →

The Ideal City/La Città Ideale in the 15th Century

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The Ideal City/La Città Ideale in the 15th Century

If you paid attention during art history classes (well, even if you didn’t) you know that the paintings ‘The Ideal City/La Città Ideale’ are one of the most fine examples of Italian Renaissance work. The Ideal City/La Città Ideale is a name given to 3 paintings which are kept at Urbino, Baltimore and Berlin and are named likewise. They are also known as the Urbino perspectives. The Ideal City of Urbino is the one we would like to share with you in specific. The Ideal City of Urbino, circa 1470, tempera on panel. (image via commons.wikimedia.org)

At the time we were in school this painting was believed to be made by Piero della Francesca. After that it was attributed to Luciano Laurana (and Francesco di Giorgio, Martini or Melozzo da Forlì.) Nowadays nobody knows for sure. (#theunneccesraythings #youneedlearnandremember) Continue reading →

The Courtaulds at Eltham Palace

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The Courtaulds at Eltham Palace

Textiles heir Stephen Courtauld and his wife Virginia bought Eltham palace, in the south east of London, as their main residence in 1936. The Courtaulds lived there from 1936 until 1944. Before the couple moved into the palace it was transformed (and revamped) into a 1930s design dream in combination with the remains of a royal, medieval palace. The Courtalds hired the architects Seely and Paget for this job. We guess you have to see it in real life to appreciate this palace….Anyways it’s decadence galore!

The Courtalds portrait painted by Leonard Campbell Taylor in 1934
Virginia Courtauld’s bathroom, one of many original interiors to survive from the 1930s. The walls are lined with onyx, with gold mosaic tiles in the bath niche.
The interior of the entrance hall, created by the Swedish designer Rolf Engströmer
Royal heritage: The Great Hall of the palace was refurbished in the 1930s, saving what had been the childhood home of Henry VIII
(See and read more / via english-heritage.org.uk/ bbc.com  / dailymail.com)

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Matti Suuronen’s Futuro House

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Matti Suuronen’s Futuro House

We, at Mimi Berlin, came to know about Matti Suuronen’s Futuro House via the Salone del Mobile 2017. On Instagram; we didn’t attend the Design Week this year because we missed our flight.  So this week we will be posting about venues, designs and other places we feel we really missed out on.
Matti Suuronen’s Futuro House in Milan
Matti Suuronen’s Futuro House
Matti Suuronen’s Futuro House

Image of yellow Futuro house via artsy.net if you are interested in trends spotting go to this site for some trend watching as well.

This flying saucer type of building is something we really wanted to see in real life. A yellow version stood in front of the Louis Vuitton Fondation at the Palazzo Bocconiin in Milan, where the newest designs for the Objets Nomades Collection were on display.

The Futuro House was designed in 1968 by Finnish architect Matti Suuronen. It was commissioned as a portable “holiday house” or ski chalet. Because it would be used in a mountainside setting, the structure needed to be easy to transport to the site, low maintenance and shed snow easily. The final design of the Futuro House met all those criteria. It’s just over 26 feet in diameter and came completely equipped with ctom furnishings that fit the interesting shape of this house. (read more at futurohouse.net)

“Hiring the Futuro. Why think outside the box, when you can think inside a circle? Various forward looking companies and institutions have already taken the opportunity to use the  Futuro House as an inspirational and unique meeting or event space. “more info at futurohouse.co.uk

An other website devoted to documenting the history of the Futuro House and the current status and whereabouts of the remaining examples. thefuturohouse.com

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