Barragan

Luis Barragan is Mexico's most renowned architect.  I would also give him top billing as a landscape architect by virtue of the paint palette he mixed for his exterior stucco facades.  His iconic work is pinpointed by the rubik's cube strokes that spun the beat of his color wheel. 

The Architecture of Death

In the spirit of Halloween.... Carlo Scarpa's Italian Brion Cemetery is breathtaking. The memorial was meant to be not only the ultimate resting place for the Brion family but also pose as a green oasis for it's visitors to enjoy. His keen attention to detail is evidenced in every aspect of the design. On my visit, highlights were abound. Cleverly, the height of the perimeter concrete walls are level with the corn fields beyond as a means to stitch the site into it's surrounding landscape. I loved the inaccessible island of land he positioned center in a pool of water as an allegory to the afterlife. He truly used every opportunity to design each centimeter of the space which took him 10 years to complete. His affinity for the project was deeply rooted. Tucked away in a remote area, Scarpa himself is buried here, vertically.

Guggenheim Redux

The sense of arrival you feel at Peggy Guggenheim's Venice outpost is bellissimo. Green, Botero-style columns are found beached at the entrance. Mimicking the structural pilings from the water, they rhythmically pull you into the space. Their large-scale is perfection too. Recalling the Lion Gate, a Mycenaean treasure, they make you feel childish in proportion. Suddenly, I was cued to be "seen and not heard" in anticipation of entering the museum. Brilliant.

andreas amador

Andreas Amador is a rising Robert Smithson of the Land Art Movement. A San Francisco Earthworks artist, Amador is known for the tattoos he etches on beachscapes.  Working against time, he orchestrates his art form in an ebbed static before it is consumed by the tide.  

MYFLAIR

Sexy from all angles, the Garden at Annabel's in London makes the Baroque Movement seem lackluster.  The Wagner Biro designed steel and glass retractable roof allows nature to bite back in an urban environment typically devoid of it's sweet bounty.  Brace for a floral hangover.

courtyard crush

Hiding in the folds of Umbria are clutches of stone farmhouses that are caught in a web of sweeping views.   This one in particular is the bomb. 

The center courtyard fountain's nod to the Alhambra, the iconic cypress that perforate the landscape, the pergola that forms the first tread to the stepped secondary structure and the path that leads to the Smithson -inspired stone ringed olive tree .....stunning.

Rock Garden

It's rare that beetles are a benevolent element to a garden.  However, in this case Ringo and friends act like Vitruvian gents, showcasing the dramatic scale of the biannual digitalis.