The Merchant House is considered one of the finest surviving examples of architecture from the Antebellum period, and has been recognized as a National Historic Landmark and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. In New York City, it has been awarded landmark status not only for its 1832 late-Federal brick exterior but also for its Greek revival interior rooms.
The house was built for Seabury Treadwell who spent $18,000 on its construction. Mr. Treadwell made his money as a merchant of hardware. The house has four floors with the original gasoliers (gas chandeliers) and Rococo Revival furniture. The second floor has two parlors with chairs designed by Duncan Phyfe. Mr. and Mrs. Treadwell had separate bedrooms.
The front parlor in The Merchant House Photo by by Denis ViasovSecond floor bedroom in The Merchant House
The family had 8 children who lived in four bedrooms on the third floor. The four servants were Irish Catholic girls who had to climb the steep stairs to their fourth floor rooms. In the 1830’s Irish were on the lowest rung of the social ladder; the contempt towards members of this large immigrant group was strenuous and prevalent.
Merchant House had no electricity or running water. There were chamber pots of the family and a privy out back for the servants’ use. The kitchen had a cast iron stove and a bee have oven
The youngest daughter Gertrude Treadwell (shown below) was born in the house in 1840. She never married and maintained the home until her death in 1933.
When the house was threatened with demolition, a distant nephew named George Chapman bought the house and turned it into a museum in 1936.
Once again The Merchant House is threaten with destruction as modern construction next door is being planned. You can watch a full video tour of The Merchant House at this address:
Fog Sculpture rendering in Olmsted Park over an island on Leverett Pond, Brookline, Massachusetts
To celebrate the 20thanniversary of the Emerald Necklace Conservancy Japanese artist Fujiko Nakaya will exhibit five fog works along the historic urban parks that link more than a dozen Boston neighborhoods.
Fujiko Nakaya. Photo courtesy of the Emerald Necklace Conservancy
Nakaya is the daughter of the physicist and science essayist Ukichiro Nakaya, renowned for his work in glaciology and snow crystal photography. Like her father, Ms. Nakaya’s lifelong artistic investigation engages the element of water and instills a sense of wonder in everyday weather phenomena.
Working as part of the legendary group Experiments in Art and Technology (E.A.T.), she first enshrouded the Pepsi Pavilion at the 1970 World Exposition in Osaka in vaporous fog, becoming the first artist to create a sculptural fog environment.
Pepsi Pavilion Osada Japan Photo by Fujiko Nakaya
For the last forty years Nakaya has been partnering with Thomas Mee, a Los Angeles-based engineer. Mee figured out a system for generating water-based artificial fog. To make it work the installation uses a special fog system that included high-pressure pumps and specifically designed fog nozzles. Several outside factors, like wind conditions, temperature and relative humidity in the environment, determined how intense or thick the fog would be at any given time.
Nakaya has established many other fog installations at galleries worldwide, including the Australian National Gallery, Canberra and the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao, Spain.
Guggenheim Museum Bilbao Photo by Phillip Maiwald
Here are two views of the Cloud Parking by Nakaya located in Linz, Australia – by day and at night:
Daytime photo of Cloud Parking by Fujiko Nakaya
Night View of Cloud Parking
Veil: The Glass House fog installation by Fujiko Nakaya in New Canaan, Connecticut Photo: theglasshouse.org
In Veil – shown above, Nakaya has wrapped the Glass House or Johnson House in a veil of dense mist that comes and goes. For approximately 10 to 15 minutes each hour, the Glass House will appear to vanish, only to return as the fog dissipates. Inside the structure, the sense of being outdoors will be temporarily suspended during the misty spells.
The 85-year-old artist describes her work as a “conversation with nature,” creating shape-shifting, cloud-like, pure water forms that rhythmically appear and dissipate, inviting visitors to immerse themselves in the art while experiencing the landscape anew.
“As If It Were Already Here” sculpture for Boston’s Rose Kennedy Greenway by Janet Echelman
Making sculpture to visually knit together the fabric of the city Janet Echelman’s art is made by hand-splicing rope and knotting polyester twine into an interconnected mesh with more than a half-million nodes. Monumental in scale and strength, yet delicate as lace, her sculpture responds to ever-changing wind and weather. The sculpture is completely soft and constructed from highly technical fibers that are 15 times stronger than steel yet incredibly lightweight and resilient. By day the artwork blends with the sky. At night colored lighting transforms the work into a floating, luminous beacon.
Night shot of “As If It Were Already Here” sculpture by Janet Echelman
The artwork incorporates dynamic light elements which reflect the changing effects of wind. Sensors around the installation register fiber movement and tension and direct the color of the lights projected onto the sculpture’s surface.
Asked to express the spirit of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation’s work and mission in a sculpture, and to create a heart for their new global campus in downtown Seattle, Janet Echelman created “Impatient Optimist.”
“Impatient Optimist” Seattle, 2015 by Janet Echelman
Night shot of “Impatient Optimist”, Seattle 2015. Sculpture by Janet Echelman
“1.26” is a travelling sculpture about the interconnectedness of our world. It has been installed in 5 cities and 4 continents. Originally commissioned in 2010 for Denver, CO it then traveled to Sydney Australia in 2011, then in Amsterdam in 2013 and on to Singapore in 2014. Shown below in Montreal.
“1.26” sculpture by Janet Echelman
It takes a crew of construction workers and structural engineers plus the cooperation of host city to install one of Echelman’s creations. Here’s a time-lapse video of the Boston installation:”
Boston installation rising above the Rose Kennedy Greenway.
No visit to Rome is complete without a visit to the Pantheon, Trajan’s Markets, the Colosseum, or the other spectacular examples of ancient Roman concrete monuments that have stood the test of time and the elements for nearly two thousand years.
Built in the 2nd century AD, the Pantheon is a massive concrete building capped by an impressive 142-foot-high dome – the largest in the ancient world. Photo credit: Jean Christophe Benoist/Wikipedia.
Colosseum at night Credit: David Iliff
Trajan’s Market in Rome Photo Credit: Getty Images
Interior of Trajan’s Markets – Museum of Imperial Forums, Rome Credit: PhotoBucket
All of these building have weathered earthquakes, barbarian invasions and the persistent onslaught of Mother Nature. For years researchers have figured there must be something special about the concrete used to build the Roman monuments that lend them to such longevity. The key ingredient is a specific blend of limestone and volcanic ash used in the mortar.
In a new study by an international and interdisciplinary collaboration of researchers a key discovery has been made about the composition of Roman concrete using beams of X-rays.
Ancient Roman concrete consists of coarse chunks of volcanic tuff and brick bound together by a volcanic ash-lime mortar that resists microcracking. (Photo by Roy Kaltschmidt, Berkeley Lab)
Mixing mortar according to the recipe of 1st century Roman architect Vitruvius and then letting it harden for 180 days proves that the mortar includes dense clusters of a durable mineral called strätlingite. The crystals formed because of a reaction that took place over time between the lime and the volcanic matter in the mortar. This helped prevent microscopic cracks by reinforcing interfacial zones. The strätlingite crystals provide superior reinforcement and are resistant to corrosion.
Scanning electron micrograph of strätlingite crystals Credit: Mineralogy and Geochemistry Review
By comparison, Portland cement (the most common modern concrete blend) lacks the lime-volcanic ash combination, and doesn’t bind well compared with Roman concrete. Portland cement, in use for almost two centuries, tends to wear particularly quickly in seawater, with a service life of less than 50 years.
Another advantage of the Roman recipe is that it’s more environmentally friendly than Portland cement. Portland cement is made by heating limestone at high temperatures, which burns enough fossil fuel to account for 7 percent of the total carbon emitted into the atmosphere each year, according to a press release from Berkeley. If modern cement were tweaked to resemble the original Roman recipe, it could cut carbon emissions and make modern buildings more durable, the researchers claimed.
A team of archeologists from Ankara University recently unearthed three ancient Greek mosaics in the Turkish city of Zeugma near the border of Syria. The excavation project began in 2007 when the area was flooded due to the construction of a dam on the Euphrates River. Fearing that the ancient treasures of Zeugma would be lost forever, the archaeologist rushed to excavate, protect and conserve these remarkably intact glass mosaics that date back to the 2nd century BC.
The first mosaic depicts the nine Muses in portraits. This mosaic was originally in a large room of a house that archaeologists have named “House of Muses.” In the center of the mosaic is Muse Calliope who is surrounded by her sisters. According to ancient Greek poet Isiodos, Calliope was the greatest and finest of the nine Muses, the protector of Epic Poetry.
The second mosaic depicts Oceanos a divine personification of the sea and his sister Tethys. What is really striking about this mosaic is the wonderful and vivid colors used as well as the beauty of the heroes’ faces. Experts say that special glass mosaic pieces have been created for this mosaic alone.
Photo: Adam Jones
Mosaics were an integral part of homes installed in a room so guests could admire them while chatting and drinking. Subject matter was carefully selected according to the function of a room. For example, a bedroom might feature a mosaic portraying lovers. Common mythological figures were gods, goddesses and ancient heroes.
Zeugma was a rich and cultural city founded by one of Alexander the Great’s generals and later taken over by the Romans. Due to the high volume of road traffic and its geographic position, Zeugma became a collection point for road tolls. Political and trade routes converged here and the city was the last stop in the Greco-Roman world before crossing over to the Persian Empire. Archaeologists estimate that the ancient city had a population of 80,000 citizens at its peak and approximately 2,000-3,000 houses. Twenty-five of them remain under water.
At the close of the 2014 field season the excavation team will switch gears to work on restoration and conservation. A temporary shelter has been build to protect both the ancient structures and numerous visitors from Zeugma’s harsh climate, where summer temperatures average 97 degrees F.
Photo by Matthew Brunwasser
While many of the mysteries of this ancient city will remain forever sealed under the waters of the Euphrates, archaeologists are convinced that Zeugma has only started to tell its story.
Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art (Mass MoCA) is a museum in a converted factory building located in North Adams, Massachusetts. Opening in 1999 with 19 galleries it has grown to be one of the largest centers for contemporary visual and performing arts in the United States.
The newest building on the Mass MoCA campus, constructed over the abandoned foundation, is unlike any other at Mass MoCA. While the factory buildings are noted for their vast windows and side lighting, the new building has none. Instead it is illuminated from above by skylights with UV filters. The space is also unique for its concrete floor. The architectural impact is minimalist and industrial.
The interior space has three configurations all by a German artist named Anselm Kiefer. The art is on a 15-year loan from megacollector Andrew Hall and his wife, Christine. The Hall Art Foundation paid some $2 to $3 million to realize the project.
There is a free standing wall dividing the galleries as you enter on the left. The first long, narrow area displays “Etroits sont les viasseaux” (Narrow are the Vessels), an 82-foot-long wave-like structure of concrete and rebar.
Anselm Kiefer, Étroits sont les Vaisseaux (Narrow are the Vessels,) 2002
Narrow are the Vessels is expected to age in place, to deteriorate over time. Bits and pieces are expected to fall off the piece as time goes on, and in fact little bits of dust and debris are already in evidence on the floor under the undulating concrete slabs, simply from the piece having been moved around its new site. Mass MoCA’s director, Joseph Thompson, calls Kiefer’s art “biodegradable” since even his paintings will develop cracks and fissures meant to deepen the texture of the works.
The next gallery with identical dimensions on the other side has a series of 20 beds covered with crinkled, distressed lead sheets and hollowed-out centers with water and/or assorted solids which comprise “Les Femmes de la revolution (The Women of the Revolution).”
Les Femmes de la revolution (The Women of the Revolution) by Anselm Kiefer
Many museum visitors will be daunted by the unattractive visual aspect of this work. There is brutal beauty if you are willing to be embraced by the poetic irony. Each bed is meant to honor a heroine of the French Revolution.
The remaining half of the building contains a prefabricated metal pavilion with a grid of 30 large scale paintings comprising “Velimir Chlebnikov.” There are fragments of hand written text as well as attached lead models of vessels and submarines. The work is based on the Russian poet and futurist Chlebnikov (1885-1922), who used a complex system of mathematical calculation, to deduce that there are naval battles every 317 years.
Overview of “Velimir Chlebnikov” Courtesy of MASS MoCA
Anselm Kiefer, close up of Velimir Chlebnikov, 2004, steel pavilion containing 30 paintings each made of mixed mediums including dirt, lead, straw to give the 3-D effect of a rolling, angry sea.
The collaboration with the Hall Art Foundation comes with complete transparency and no strings attached. This new project represents a special relationship with private collectors and their foundation.
“The building, the construction, the new road and gate — all of that is 100 percent paid for by the Hall Art Foundation. They are paying 100 percent of the operating costs — the utilities, electricity, security and all the other things,” Thompson said. “Mass MoCA does the ticket taking, the educational docents and provides all the other museological infrastructure. There is no pretense that this art is going to come to Mass MoCA. It all belongs to the Hall Art Foundation. If, at the end of the 15-year agreement, they choose not to renew it, the art will go back to the foundation and we’ll keep the building and the improvements.”
Mass MoCA, by mandate, does not collect. This allows for great flexibility as the galleries constantly rotate giving it the ability to refresh and update itself. It promises to be a cutting edge institution for generations to come. In that regard, arguably, it is the world’s most interesting contemporary art museum.
Researching on the Library of Congress web site I came across this 2009 photograph by Carol Highsmith showing construction of Ground Zero in Lower Manhattan which got me wondering how much of the original design is complete.
Gound Zero under contruction, New York City 2009. Photo by Carol Highsmith/Library of Congress
During construction two symbolic beams of light celebrated the anniversary of 9/11:
Ground Zero lights to memorize 9/11
So here is an artist’s rendering of the four skyscrapers designed for the site:
Artist’s concept of four main buildings designed for World Trade Center site.
1 World Trade Center – scheduled to be completed 2013
Originally called Freedom Tower this building it is now being referred to as One World Trade Center, or Tower 1. The central skyscraper is 1,368 feet (104 stories), with an enormous 408-foot steel spire antenna. It can take the blast from a truck bomb or the fiery impact of a jet airplane — and yet, at 1,776 feet in height, the supertower rises higher than the terror-hit twin towers that once stood on the site.
On May 10, 2013, the final tower sections were in place bring the estimated total construction cost of $3.8 billion.
Looking a Tower 1 in background. Photo: George Dieblod/Blend Images/Getty Images
2 World Trade Center – incomplete
At 78 stories (1,254 feet), Tower 2 was slated to be the second tallest building at the New York World Trade Center. With a dazzling diamond-shape crest, 2 World Trade Center also promised to be one of the most interesting buildings at Ground Zero. However, a troubled economy has delayed construction. The near future is uncertain for Norman Foster’s skyscraper.
Artist’s drawing of Tower 2
3 World Trade Center – to be completed in 2014
3 World Trade Center is a bold design by Pritzker Prize winning architect Richard Rogers. Rising eighty stories, 3 WTC will include 2.8 million square feet of space spread across 53 floors and five base building floors. Tower 3 will have five levels of retail at and below grade. Its safety systems will exceed New York City building code and Port Authority of New York and New Jersey requirements, and it will seek to achieve the LEED Gold standard for energy efficiency.
Artist’s drawing of Tower 3 & 4
4 World Trade Center – incomplete
WTC Tower 4 is an elegant, minimalist design. Each corner of the skyscraper rises to a different height, with the highest elevation at 977 feet. Japanese architect Fumihiko Maki designed 4 World Trade Center to complete the spiral configuration of towers on the World Trade Center site.
Tower 4 Credit: Joe Woolhead Courtesy of Silverstein Properties
To watch a Time-Lapse video of the construction from 2004-2013 go to:
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