Centre Le Corbusier

The Maison l'Homme of Zurich, Switzerland, today the Centre Le Corbusier / Heidi Weber Museum, is an inspiring art museum, which I always make a point of visiting when I am back home. 

The center was commissioned on the initiative of Heidi Weber, owner of the interior design gallery Mezzanin. She met Le Corbusier (Charles-Eduard Jeanneret, 1887- 1965) in 1958 in Roquebrune Cap Martin and maintained a close professional relationship with the architect throughout last years of his life. 
Thanks to her inspiration and tenacity, Le Corbusier completed his sketch of the kind of dream house he had been working on since 1950. Heidi Weber's vision was a museum / an exhibition hall serving as the perfect space to house Le Corbusier's works of art - a Gesamtkunstwerk reflecting all aspects of his oeuvre: architecture, sculptures, paintings, furniture, design and theoretical writings in unified harmony. Construction began in 1964. The center was completed in 1967, after the death of Le Corbusier. 

To learn more, visit Heidi Weber Museum.

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Abbeye de Fontenay

The Abbeye of Fontenay, near Montbard Burgundy France, was founded in 1118 by Saint Bernard de Clairvaux, abbot and primary builder of the reformed Cistercian order, and it is considered to be one of the oldest Cistercian abbeys. Beautifully restored through the initiative of Edouard Aynard in the early 20th century and well maintained by the Aynard family to this day, it became a Unesco World Heritage Site 1981.

Fontenay is one of the most complete abbeys in Europe and my absolute favorite abbey to visit. The interior of the church wonderfully reflects the aesthetic as well as spirit of the Cistercian order. Devoid of any pomp, its magnificence is characterized through simple, pointed arches and beautiful latticed glass windows. It is the light in particular shining through that lets you experience the spirituality of this glorious space. Simplicity and quietness is also featured throughout the complex, most significanlty in the cloister. In the capitals for instance there are no decorative motifs - such as figurines or images so poplar with the Benedictines - only floral themes like leaves and flower buds. This abbey truly is an inspiring site. 

To learn more, visit Abbeye de Fontenay. 

Euro Trip

With our hometown being out base, this trip took us to beautiful Alsace and Burgundy to enjoy fabulous wines, delicious food and medieval architecture. 

~ EUROPE BOUND over the North Bay ~

~ ZURICH on a rainy day ~

~ ZURICH on a sunny day ~

~ ZURICH: Reliefs at the Grossmünster ~

~ BASEL: Kristof Kintera at The Museum Tinguely ~ 
The museum was designed by Mario Botta and opened in 1996. It houses a permanent collection of the works of Swiss artist Jean Tinguely (1925-1991), whose kinetic sculptures never fail to delight the young and the old to this day. Therefore the Museum Tinguely provides a fitting backdrop to the works by Czech artist and sculptor Kristof Kintera (1973*). 

~ ALSACE ~

~ BURGUNDY ~
Please feel free to check out also my blog on the Abbeye of Fontenay (September 02, 2014). 

~ HOMEWARD BOUND TO THE BEAUTIFUL SF BAY AREA ~

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SFAI

This is one of the most interesting and inspiring places San Francisco has to offer. The San Francisco Art Institute, founded in 1871 and with the main campus being located on 800 Chestnut Street, is a two-story complex featuring two versions of exposed, reinforced concrete. The original, older part, designed by Bakewell & Brown (1926), was crafted as a Mediterranean Revival, a monastary complete with cloister. Its later companion was designed by Paffard Keatinge-Clay (1970) and cast as a brutalist addition.

Don't miss the Diego Rivera legendary mural The Making of a Fresco Showing the Building of a City (1931) inside the older building. And make sure to enjoy the magnificent views of San Francisco, The Russian Hill district and beyond.  

Check out SFAI. 
Check out Bakewell & Brown.
Check out Paffard Keatinge-Clay.
Check out Diego Rivera and Diego Rivera + SFAI. 
 

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Impressions from Edge Effect May 14-17, 2015 at Fort Mason, Herbst Pavilion

Artists at the SFAI's graduate exhibition presenting their eclectic visions: installations, panting, photography, film/video, sculpture, printmaking, performances and hybrid forms. 

To learn more, visit SFAI. 

Top center: Elizabeth Bowler
Center left: Jay Scantling
Center center: Ann-Marie Cunningham
Center right: Shiwen Jing
Bottom left: Takako Matoba
Bottom center: Brittany Acocelli
Bottom right: Bari Fleischer, detail

Craneway Pavilion

Albert Kahn (1869-1942) was born in Rhaunen, Kingdom of Prussia, and came to Detroit in 1880.  In 1895, he founded the architectural firm Albert Kahn Associates with his brother Julius. Their new style of construction, where reinforced concrete to replaced wood in factory buildings, was used for the first time with the Packard Motor Car Company's factory (1903). Henry Ford, whose was impressed by Packard plant's success and intrigued by its design, commissioned Albert Kahn to design the Ford Motor Company Assembly, now Ford Richmond Plant, in Richmond California. It opened in 1931 and became a major stimulant to the local and regional economy of Richmond and the SF Bay Area. During WWII the factory switched to assembling military vehicles. After the war the factory continued production of the Ford Plant keeping the economy afloat. However due to inability to accommodate increase production demands, the factory was closed in 1956 and production transferred to a new San Jose plant. The Loma Prieta earthquake of 1989 severely damaged the plant. For decades the building stood largely abandoned. 

In 2004 Orton Development purchased the building and commissioned Marcy Wong Donn Logan for the restoration. The project was completed in 2009. Beautifully restored this outstanding example of 20th century industrial architecture is now home to retail and industrial tenants like Mountain Hardware and others.
The Craneway pavilion is a state-of-the-art facility hosting events, concerts and other productions. One of which is Codex, a biennial international (art) book fair and symposium being held this year from February 8th through 11th. Featuring close to 200 of the world's leading fine presses and book artists, this event is loved by bibliophiles, collectors and scholars alike. A must-see!

To learn more, visit Craneway Pavilion. 
To learn more, visit Codex Foundation.  

St. George's Abbey

I always enjoy exploring medieval churches as well as abbeys. St. George's Abbey in Stein am Rhein, Switzerland, is one of my favorite places to visit. 

As a former Benedict monastery founded in 970, it has a rich history to look back on. The banquet hall, containing the frescos commissioned by David von Winkelsheim (dating from around 1515) are a must-see and are considered to be the earliest proof of Renaissance influence in northern Switzerland. The cloisters are equally note-worthy. In 1525 the abbey was secularized. In 1927 the property underwent an extensive restoration and was eventually turned into a museum.  St. George's abbey is a wonderful place in order to immerse yourself into the monastic life of the Late Middle Ages. 

To learn more, visit Kloster St. Georgen. 

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Neues Museum

This was a long awaited dream of mine. On our recent Euro trip we made it all the way up to Berlin and spent an entire day, if not two, on the Museumsinsel, devoting most of the time to The Neues Museum. It was built from 1843 to 1855 according to the plans by Friedrich August Stüler (1800-1865), a student of the prominent Prussian architect Karl Friedrich Schinkel (1781-1841). Over the decades, time took a heavy toll on the museum and it was in danger of being demolished. In 1997, David Chipperfield and Julian Harrap were chosen to overview the rebuilding and renovating of this UNESCO world heritage site. The museum officially reopened in 2009. 
I thoroughly enjoyed wandering through the museum and catching myself time and again being more fascinated by the renovation than by the actually art collection itself.  I loved how Chipperfield and Harrap accomplished to gently restore and touch up the building while leaving murals, mosaics, columns or sculptured unfinished or just filled in and juxtaposing them with modern materials.