Architecture · Faith · London · Observations · Heritage
In England, the problem of preserving an abandoned church has been solved in its own way: a swimming pool and a gym have opened inside a Victorian church. Repton Park in Redbridge is considered one of the most beautiful swimming pools in London. In 1892 the site was occupied by
NB! · Architecture · Art · Moscow · Heritage
Charming painted decoration in the summerhouse at Grimsthorpe Castle in Lincolnshire. Especially the cat, peering down like a deity from the summit of the ceiling. Such paintings were to be found in many wealthy houses of the 19th century and earlier. In Moscow they survive in the Stanislavsky house, and
Archive · Architecture · Heritage
The Moss Tower of the Sumsky Ostrog is one of the few surviving wooden defensive structures of the 16th century in Europe. The Sumsky Ostrog on the White Sea consisted of six hexagonal towers and protected the lands of the Solovetsky Monastery from the Swedes. The Moss Tower is 19
Architecture · Moscow · Observations · Nature
Most contemporary architectural projects look far better as visualisations than as built reality. So it was with the luxury residential complex Bosco Vertical in Milan, literally a "vertical forest", which in practice turned out to be not quite so green or so mysterious. Once construction was complete, the
NB! · Architecture · Moscow
Moscow has an almost authentic Shakespearean Globe Theatre, with a three-tiered auditorium arranged around an octagonal stage. This is what the small stage of the School of Dramatic Art on Sretenka looks like
Archive · Architecture · Cinema · Observations · Paris
Watching newsreel footage of the Kennedys' state visit to France in 1961, I noticed some curious openings in the wall of the Royal Opera of Versailles. What are these little squares, scattered across the different tiers of the auditorium, for? They are neither heating nor lighting vents. They are
NB! · Archive · Architecture · Monarchies
NB! · Architecture · Heritage · Mores
NB! · Aristocracy · Architecture · London · Monarchies · Mores
NB! · Archive · Architecture · Pop Culture
The hall of Villa Pirondini, an eighteenth-century residence where in the summer of 1990 the Italian band CCCP recorded the album Epica Etica Etnica Pathos. The photograph by Luigi Ghirri was on the album cover
Architecture · Moscow · Observations
Anyone who has ever driven from Moscow to Chekhov cannot have failed to notice, to the right of the highway, a house in the shape of an elephant. Thanks to Avito I learned that this striking piece of real estate is available to rent, and at a very reasonable price
Architecture · Faith · Ethnography
A Dove, Rockets, Santa Maria del Fiore, a Tower of Fireworks and Easter. You will never forget this Easter tradition once you have seen it: a priest takes a spark of the holy fire and lights a special fuse, which feeds a rocket in the shape of a dove, flying