 Tucked along the narrow and muted streets of the Marais is a lively hub where citizens drop by to enjoy cultural food and thought-provoking artistic offerings.
However, there are no croissants or impressionists to be found; instead, you'll find doughy cinnamon buns and glossy photographs of Borås, Västergötland in western Sweden. Bienvenue to the Centre Culturel Suédois or the Swedish Cultural Center...
Read the rest of: "Centre Culturel Suédois"»  A host of Italian politicians and businessmen became on Saturday the first passengers of the newly launched high-speed
Milan-Bologna
line dubbed Frecciarossa (red arrow). The inaugural crowd (which consisted, as would be expected, almost entirely of middle-aged men in suits) talked cheerfully to journalists and didn't even try to contain their excitement. "The country's longest subway line" was just one hyperbole coined during that amicable chatter.
One can easily understand the reasons for their enthusiasm. After 99 months of work and almost 7 billion euros of investments, the high-speed Milan-Bologna line is operational and they are probably going to be its most loyal customers. The new line promises to radically improve travel times between Italy's industrial centers..
Read the rest of: "Milan to Bologna in One Hour with High-Speed Train"»  Renzo Piano's name sounds as harmonious and striking as his architectural works. The Italian architect is perhaps best known for his design of the Centre Georges Pompidou, the unmistakable cultural center in the heart of Paris, and thirty years after its construction, Piano uses similar techniques in the new New York Times Building, but to a different end...
Read the rest of: "From Le Marais to Midtown in 30 Years"»  The Waldorf=Astoria brand seems to be on a roll, financial crisis be damned. It was only a few months ago that we
announced
the planned Waldorf=Astoria hotel in Montreal and now we're adding Chicago to the list of lucky cities.
The hotel tower, designed by DeStefano & Partners is projected to reach 1,100 feet (that's over 100 floors!), but unlike certain other landmarks planned for Chicago, it will not surpass the height of the Sears Tower...
Read the rest of: "Waldorf=Astoria Hotel Comes To Chicago"»  Any architecturally curious visitor to Downtown Manhattan would probably remember three buff-colored high-rise towers occupying the southern fringes of Central Greenwich Village, just above Houston Street. They are University Village (also known as Silver Towers) - a residential complex designed by James Ingo Freed (I.M.Pei & Associates) and owned by New York University. And they've just been landmarked, protecting them from future alterations or modifications...
Read the rest of: "I.M.Pei-Designed Apartment Buildings Landmarked"»  After more than two years of reconstruction, a former funeral parlor in the 19th arrondissement of Paris reopened in its new incarnation as the city's newest modern arts center christened "104" (Centquatre)...
Co-directed by Robert Cantarella and Frédéric Fisbach, the center, at 104 rue d'Aubervilliers was green-lighted by Paris mayor Bertrand Delanoë
in 2005. More than two years and 100M euros later, Centquatre opened to the public in October.
Read the rest of: "104: New Modern Art Center"»  Affordable design and even 'affordable luxury' is not an oxymoron. Well, not exactly, anyway... In fact, it's a trend that's been sweeping the hotel industry in recent years. Using modern construction methods in combination with innovative cost-cutting techniques and choosing slightly off-prime locations, a handful of hoteliers have attempted to reshape the industry by providing low-cost designer hotel experience for the younger, tech-savvy crowd.
Mama Shelter is the latest example of the trend. (De)signed by
Philippe Starck,
this modern hotel on Rue Bagnolet in the 20th Arrondissement
of Paris opened just a couple of weeks ago....
Read the rest of: "Mama Shelter Hotel Aims for Affordable Design Experience"»  A bewildered American tourist who vacationed in Montreal
this summer recently wrote a letter to the Gazette, the
local anglophone daily, wondering why announcements
on the métro are delivered only in French.
The newspaper's response and the quotes it extracted
from various officials highlighted an interesting
contrast in policies between Montreal and Paris
public transportation services. While in
Paris,
announcements
are routinely delivered in three languages (French,
English and a rotating third major language), Montreal
metro will only play a pre-recorded bilingual
tape in an emergency situation ("fire! get out!").
"Routine" messages such as announcements of delays
are delivered only in French as a matter of policy...
Read the rest of: "Montreal Métro Passengers Lost With No Translation"» |
