http://www.sitebits.com/gromco/ Gromco en Copyright &copy; 1999-2008 Gromco, Inc. Wed, 07 Jan 2009 13:33:47 EST Tue, 16 Dec 2008 21:20:00 EST info@sitebits.com info@sitebits.com 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. <br><br> 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.. Gromco http://www.sitebits.com/2008/milan-to-bologna-in-one-hour-high-speed-9688716.html Tue, 16 Dec 2008 21:20:00 EST The Waldorf=Astoria brand seems to be on a roll, financial crisis be damned. It was only a few months ago that we <a href="http://www.sitebits.com/2008/waldorf-astoria-to-open-in-montreal.html">announced</a> the planned Waldorf=Astoria hotel in Montreal and now we're adding Chicago to the list of lucky cities. <br><br> 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... Gromco http://www.sitebits.com/2008/waldorf-astoria-comes-to-chicago-1228898.html Tue, 25 Nov 2008 20:10:00 EST 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... Gromco http://www.sitebits.com/2008/impei-designed-apartment-buildings-landmarked.html Wed, 19 Nov 2008 12:45:00 EST 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)... <br><br> Co-directed by Robert Cantarella and Frédéric Fisbach, the center, at 104 rue d'Aubervilliers was green-lighted by Paris mayor <a href="http://www.sitebits.com/people/bertrand_delanoe.html">Bertrand Delanoë</a> in 2005. More than two years and 100M euros later, Centquatre opened to the public in October. Gromco http://www.sitebits.com/2008/104_new_modern_art_center-1295730.html Mon, 10 Nov 2008 14:20:00 EST 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. <br><br> Mama Shelter is the latest example of the trend. (De)signed by <a href="http://www.sitebits.com/people/philippe_starck.html">Philippe Starck</a>, this modern hotel on Rue Bagnolet in the <a href="http://www.sitebits.com/france/paris/districts/paris-20.html">20th Arrondissement</a> of Paris opened just a couple of weeks ago.... Gromco http://www.sitebits.com/2008/mama-shelter-affordable-design-hotel-3976264.html Mon, 20 Oct 2008 23:05:00 EDT You gain some, you lose some. While the city is busy adding thousands of hotels rooms (we <a href="http://www.sitebits.com/2008/new-hilton-garden-inn-centreville-5610323.html">wrote</a> about one new project last month), some in the hospitality business decided they'd had enough of the Montreal market. <br/><br/> The management of the Omni Mont-Royal hotel on Sherbrooke street has announced its decision to close the 32-year old 299-room property (which had previously been operated under the brands of Westin and Four Seasons) on Dec 10th, citing "operational difficulties"... Gromco http://www.sitebits.com/2008/omni-mont-royal-to-close-1146256.html Fri, 03 Oct 2008 17:40:00 EDT Many tourists (not to mention the residents) find the lack of direct transport links between <a href="http://www.sitebits.com/canada/montreal/districts/downtown-montreal.html">Downtown</a> and <a href="http://www.sitebits.com/canada/montreal/districts/old-montreal.html">Old Montreal</a> inconvenient. Sure, the métro is there, but because of the U-shaped configuration of its lines, a traveler who wants to go from centrally located Peel Street to no less central <a href="http://www.sitebits.com/canada/montreal/districts/old-montreal.html">Old Montreal</a> would have to travel a few stops west (or east) on the green line, switch to the orange line, then essentially come back to the geographic center of the city albeit 10-15 blocks south. Annoying. <br/><br/> Fortunately, the city is aware of that - in fact, many recent proposals for building a tramway line cited this very inconvenience as the major reason for building it. Well, the tramway, if it's ever built, is still years away, but something much more feasible is already coming, the Gazette reported: <a href="http://www.sitebits.com/canada/montreal/districts/old-montreal.html">Old Montreal</a> and <a href="http://www.sitebits.com/canada/montreal/districts/downtown-montreal.html">Downtown Montreal</a> are to be linked by a new bus route... Gromco http://www.sitebits.com/2008/new_bus_route_downtown_old_port.html Wed, 04 Jun 2008 13:06:00 EDT <img ALT="Ice House" class="leftill" src="http://www.sitebits.com/images/2006/ice-house-tile.jpg"> What do you do if you're a Russian architect wishing to please your tsar? Why, you build an ice palace in the Palace Square, of course! This architectural technique has been used, to varying degrees of success, at least twice in the past three hunred years. We're happy to report that the most recent application did not yet result in any decapitations or torn out tongues (the first one did). Yet for some of us, waiting outside for 2 hours with the Russian winter in full swing may be the modern day equivalent of these severe punishments. <br><br> Puzzled? Read the explanations and see more pictures of the Ice Palace in the article. Gromco http://www.sitebits.com/2006/ice_house_st_petersburg.html Wed, 22 Feb 2006 00:00:00 EST <img alt="" class="rightill" src="http://www.sitebits.com/images/2006/trophia_exile.jpg"> Via <a href="http://www.exile.ru/" target="_ext">eXile.ru</a> Do you know of such urban creatures as Arbusius Azerbaijanius, Pafus Maximus, or Sugarus Daddius? If not, you probably haven't read eXile's illustrated <a href="http://www.exile.ru/field_guide.html" target="_ext">field guide to Moscow</a> (exile.ru). </p><p> Check it out, it's witty and funny... especially if you've been to Moscow. If not, but you're planning on visiting, it can be useful as almost every type they describe really exists and is really common. Might as well prepare yourself for the jungle Moscow is. </p><p> [<a href="http://www.exile.ru/field_guide.html" target="_ext">Field Guide To Moscow</a>] (exile.ru) Gromco http://www.sitebits.com/2006/exile_field_guide.html Fri, 03 Feb 2006 00:00:00 EST