Home Builder Developer - Interior Renovation and Design

Phare No. 1-9, by London based Dutch designer Simon Heijdens. The installation was commissioned by Perrier-Jout for Design Miami.

My practice is about countering the perpetual nature of architecture, said Simon Heijdens, a London-based designer. His hypnotic installation, consisting of nine glass vessels hung from the ceiling of a 600-square-foot booth, was a hit of the Design Miami fairand one of many temporary engagements with architecture on display during Art Basel week.

Photo Architectural Record

Garrett Ricciardi, of formlessfinder, in front of the firm's entry pavilion for Design Miami.

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Heijdenss vessels operate like high tech lava lamps: electronic pulses dissolve dye in the water to form ripple patterns, which are based on data recorded by wind sensors outside the building. He spent a year creating the installation, which he said was on the border between graphics and sculpture, under the sponsorship of the champagne company Perrier-Jout. Next week, the piece will be in storage.

But whos to say the temporary installation isnt architecture? Outside the fairs massive tent, an entry pavilion by the young Brooklyn firm formlessfinderarchitects whose name is a kind of manifestoused a sand pile as ballast to support a roof on aluminum trusses. Below the roof were aluminum formlessfinder benches that Design Miami founder Craig Robins said he had decided to transplant to his Design District, where new buildings by the likes of Sou Fujimoto, Aranda/Lasch, Johnston Marklee, and Keenen Riley are under construction. Robins has the golden touch when it comes to picking architects: Aranda/Lasch, David Adjaye, and Snarkitecture have created Design Miami pavilions before going on to bigger things.

As a proving ground, the annual pavilion commission has come to resemble the Young Architects Program sponsored by MoMA PS1, the Museum of Modern Arts contemporary art space in Queens, New York. But if the Young Architects creationspavilions in the PS1 courtyardare aimed mostly at 20-somethings, Design Miami attracts an older, well-heeled crowd (including, this year, architectural grandees Jean Nouvel, Richard Meier, and Norman Foster).

Meanwhile, in a corner of the Design Miami tent, a show organized by Terence Riley, the former MoMA curator of architecture and design, featured detailed plans for an apartment complex in Coconut Grove, designed by OMA, as well as the losing designs of Nouvel, Christian de Portzamparc, and Diller Scofidio + Renfro. (Riley ran an informal competition on the developers behalf.) It will take time, and hard work, Riley said, for the slick models and renderings to become real buildings. Heijdenss installation will have come and gone before OMAs complex breaks ground.

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Design Miami Dispatch: Temporary Architecture Against a Background of Big Building

Air Duct Cleaning Utilising State Of the Art Equipment

By: Amish Jogi

Excerpt from:
Air Duct Cleaning Utilising State Of the Art Equipment - Video

Post-Tribune Staff Report January 8, 2014 1:50PM

Emergency personnel look over a Mercury Grand Marquis driven by Shelby Street, 56, of Portage, Wednesday, Jan. 8, 2014. Street was merging onto eastbound Interstate-80/94 from southbound Interstate 65 when she lost control on the icy roads. The Mercury went off the road to the right and flipped over the retaining wall landing on its roof. Street had to be extricated and was taken to St. mary Medical Center, Hobart, with non-life threatening injuries to her face, police said. | Indiana State Police photo.

storyidforme: 60345685 tmspicid: 21880261 fileheaderid: 10323638

Updated: January 8, 2014 6:25PM

A car going too fast for existing road conditions lost control and flipped over a Borman Expressway retaining wall and onto its roof, according to the Indiana State Police.

Preliminary investigation by Trooper Tim Grayson revealed that at approximately 10:05 a.m., Wednesday, a 2000 Mercury Grand Marquis driven by Shelby Street, 56, of Portage, had just gotten off the Interstate 65 southbound and was merging onto eastbound I-80 in the right lane when she lost control on the icy roads, police said. The Mercury went off the road to the right and flipped over the retaining wall, landing on its roof.

Street, who was wearing her seat belt, had to be extricated from her car. She was taken to Saint Mary Medical Center in Hobart with non-life threatening injuries to her face, police said.

The Mercury was a total loss.

A short time later, a tractor trailer driver going too fast for road conditions

lost control and wrapped his vehicle around an informational sign that spans the interstate.

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Car flips on Borman ramp; driver escapes serious injuries ...

Sheldon Williams, Staff Reporter

The livelihood of several skilled residents from Dallas Castle in rural St Andrew has been boosted following their contribution to the construction of a retaining wall in their community.

The erected wall and widened road have been considered a saving grace for commerce and job opportunities and have made travel on the August Hill road easier.

It was officially opened yesterday following six weeks of repair between September and November last year.

Dahlia Thompson, one of the females who worked on the project overwhelmed by males, quickly admitted it was hard work, but it was worth it.

"It was the hardest construction work I've ever done," she said with a chuckle.

"I threw stones and I lifted stones and I cleared the riverbed, and at one point, I worked with the welder and carpenters and lifted cement," she said.

Months earlier, the road was in such a deplorable state that taxi drivers left residents halfway into the journey.

"It affected people going to school and work because when rain fall, you would have landslides [and] so persons would have to struggle with their load. If you had baskets, you would have to struggle with them by yourself or ask somebody to help you. The drivers used to use it as excuse since they didn't want to come, but now it's fixed, so they have to go the full journey," she said proudly.

Michael Patterson was employed as a carpenter on the project and said the repair work was long overdue. He said prior to the repairs, only the brave would risk using the road.

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Residents benefit from retaining wall work - Lead Stories ...

LONDON - Longer boats, decks for discos and underwater lighting are among the offerings yacht builders are hoping will help steer them out of a sales slump this week at the London Boat Show, the biggest British showcase for their wares.

It's all about new markets and tastes in Asia and Latin America at the cavernous exhibition center in the east of the city.

A 40-m (130-ft), 16.5-million-pound ($27 million) super yacht and the presence of Olympic gold medalist/America's Cup sailor Ben Ainslie are among the main attractions expected to lure some 100,000 enthusiasts to the show.

Not all the boats there will be extravagant; the Boat Show also still caters to family budgets.

But super well-heeled visitors can set course around these to inquire about having their more substantial yachts delivered without any cabinsoutfitted instead with disco dance floors and mini casinos, as increasing number of buyers are doing.

"It's to do with the personal taste of the owner. The whole thing is fun, you take these boats and put them on the water and the whole thing comes alive," said Carl Richardson, communications director of yacht builder Princess Yachts International.

Orders from fast-growing economies like China and Brazil have helped renew demand for floating palaces, which tanked after the economic crash of 2008, industry representatives said.

Princess, whose stand cost 1 million ($1.64 million) to build and is one of the main attractions, sold two of its 60-foot-plus yachts to British buyers in the first three days.

But the company is pitching for buyers from non-traditional markets with yachts to suit any taste.

"Five years ago customers had two or three different options. These days it goes on and on...from underwater lighting to personal water crafts," Richardson said.

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Yachts with disco decks, underwater lighting cast off at London Boat Show

LONDON - Longer boats, decks for discos and underwater lighting are among the offerings yacht builders are hoping will help steer them out of a sales slump this week at the London Boat Show, the biggest British showcase for their wares.

It's all about new markets and tastes in Asia and Latin America at the cavernous exhibition center in the east of the city.

A 40-m (130-ft), 16.5-million-pound ($27 million) super yacht and the presence of Olympic gold medalist/America's Cup sailor Ben Ainslie are among the main attractions expected to lure some 100,000 enthusiasts to the show.

Not all the boats there will be extravagant; the Boat Show also still caters to family budgets.

But super well-heeled visitors can set course around these to inquire about having their more substantial yachts delivered without any cabinsoutfitted instead with disco dance floors and mini casinos, as increasing number of buyers are doing.

"It's to do with the personal taste of the owner. The whole thing is fun, you take these boats and put them on the water and the whole thing comes alive," said Carl Richardson, communications director of yacht builder Princess Yachts International.

Orders from fast-growing economies like China and Brazil have helped renew demand for floating palaces, which tanked after the economic crash of 2008, industry representatives said.

Princess, whose stand cost 1 million ($1.64 million) to build and is one of the main attractions, sold two of its 60-foot-plus yachts to British buyers in the first three days.

But the company is pitching for buyers from non-traditional markets with yachts to suit any taste.

"Five years ago customers had two or three different options. These days it goes on and on...from underwater lighting to personal water crafts," Richardson said.

Go here to read the rest:
Yacht with disco decks, underwater lighting cast off at London Boat Show

Delhi was the first Congress citadel to fall to the Aam Aadmi Party. Now Arvind Kejriwal and his team have set their sights on another Congress fortress: Haryana where the Congress has ruled for 10 years. Amid speculation that assembly polls in the state could be held simultaneously with the Lok Sabha election in summer, AAP has stepped up its political forays into this neighbouring state through its chief ideologue Yogendra Yadav.

Like Kejriwal, Yadav is a Haryana boy and is being touted as AAP's candidate for chief minister. He has been touring frenetically and is said to be looking for good candidates for both parliamentary and state polls. The Communist Party of India (Marxist), which is quite active there, is upset because it seems Yadav has been connecting with its local leaders, many of who enjoy an honest reputation and have good grass roots support. Could AAP be trying to wean away CPI(M) cadres? The Leftists certainly fear so.

Haryana is particularly fertile ground for a new party like AAP for many reasons. It borders Delhi and winds from the Capital are already blowing through satellite towns like Gurgaon and Faridabad. The state has been ruled by the Congress for 10 years now and the government of Bhupinder Singh Hooda, like Sheila Dikshit's in Delhi, is hugely unpopular and perceived to be thoroughly corrupt. Robert Vadra's land scams and the witch hunt against the IAS officer who blew the whistle, Ashok Khemka, have only reinforced negative perceptions about the state government.

Most importantly, like Delhi, there is a huge vacuum in the opposition space. Om Prakash Chautala's Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) is in disarray after the boss and his sons were convicted in a fraud case. Although the old man is out of jail, he is a pale shadow of his former self and the sons have turned out to be quite worthless in terms of carrying the family's political legacy forward. The BJP has only a marginal presence and the son of another Haryana stalwart, Kuldeep Bishnoi whose father Bhajan Lal was a formidable Congress chief minister, has not taken off.

AAP is hoping to fill this vacuum. The most interested spectators of the party's heightened political activity in Haryana are in the anti-Hooda faction of the Congress. The buzz in the Congress is that some of them may secretly help AAP to defeat Hooda.

Decks cleared for Rahul Gandhi

With Prime Minister Manmohan Singh paving the way for Rahul Gandhi to be anointed as the Congress challenger to the BJP's Narendra Modi, all eyes are on the Jan 17 All India Congress Committee (AICC) session which is expected to mark the dawn of Rahul Gandhis era. Congress circles are bracing themselves for sweeping changes at all levels of the organisation so that the grand old party gets a younger, fresher look to reinforce the message of change that Rahul wants to send out as he prepares to take charge.

But some are wondering whether things will really change in the dynasty-driven party. Decision-making remains a closed family affair and the impression was reinforced with Priyanka Vadra jumping in to help her brother craft the transition. It seems she has been roped in to tackle the old guard and she has started meeting senior leaders, some on her own and some with her brother. Priyanka has always been regarded as the tougher of the two and she has often helped her mother in the past to deal with knotty problems concerning party elders. Now, she's put her talent for blunt talk at her brother's service.

Few know what changes are likely. In fact, some cynics speculate that nothing may come of all the hectic activity that is going on at different locations like 12 Tughlak Lane, which is Rahul's residence, and the war room on Gurudwara Rakabganj Road. But this time, Rahul can't afford to flounder and take the safer option of keeping the status quo. Having convinced Manmohan Singh with great difficulty to throw in the towel (at one point, Singh had hinted that he was ready to try for a third term) so that Rahul can be projected as the PM candidate, the Gandhi scion better put his money where his mouth is. Playing musical chairs instead of performing radical surgery will only diminish him.

Rahul resists Lalu tie-up

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Decks cleared for Rahul Gandhi

Ranbaxy Laboratories Canadian subsidiary Ranbaxy Pharmaceuticals Canada Inc has received approval to manufacture and sell Donepezil Hydrochloride 5 mg and 10 mg. (BL)

L&T Electrical and Automation (E&A) expects to grow 4-5 % and cross Rs50bn in revenue this fiscal, even as the industry is witnessing a contraction of 2-3 %. (BL)

The decks have been cleared for selling the Governments remaining stake in Balco with the Law Ministry giving its nod to the proposal. (BL)

Even though South Korean major LG Chemicals backed out of Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limiteds (BPCL) Rs50bn petrochemicals project in Kochi, the oil marketing company has found another partner in Chennai-based Manali Petrochemicals Limited (MPL) for another project in Kerala. (BS)

With the Karnataka High Court ordering a probe into the diversion of Rs40bn from United Spirits Ltd (USL) to entities based in the tax haven of British Virgin Islands, the ball is now in the court of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and Enforcement Directorate (ED), say corporate lawyers. (BS)

Torrent Pharmaceuticals has indicated it is open to more acquisitions in the future, both in domestic and overseas market, according to sources. (BS)

Riding on improved market conditions, NMDC Limited showed a 37 % jump in iron ire production at 7.3 mt during the third quarter (Q3) of the current financial year, as against a production of 5.3 mt for the corresponding period last year.(BS)

Even as the supply of iron ore is yet to be streamlined in Karnataka, JSW Steel is trying hard to achieve its production goals for 2013-14 . The company is increasing its raw material sourcing from outside Karnataka to achieve the target of 12 mt of crude steel this financial year. (BS)

The Piramals-backed private equity fund said it has finished raising a Rs10bn fund and has already committed Rs2.5bn from the corpus in three projects. (ET)

Solar power plants of Reliance Power, Lanco and others, are seeking higher tariffs saying that the data on solar radiation provided by the government was faulty which has led to lower generation. (ET)

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By LENORA LAKE Special Correspondent

Published: December 30, 2013 | Updated: January 8, 2014 at 09:28 AM

TAMPA HEIGHTS An abandoned historical church soon will be filled with about 150 teens learning about cooking, computers, financial literacy, art and more.

Major reconstruction is expected to start soon on the Tampa Heights Youth and Community Center, which should open its doors in June at 2005 N. Lamar St., a low-income area just north of downtown Tampa.

The Tampa Heights Junior Civic Association has worked more than three years to get to this stage. During this time, executive director Patrick Sneed and the nonprofits board has been securing a lease, raising funds for the supplies, seeking grants and organizing volunteers.

We have the money approved to go ahead with the construction, Sneed said recently, adding that grants from the Sears Foundation and Hillsborough County government will total $100,000 of the $650,000 project. Most of the funds have been raised.

The plan calls for the 10,000-square-foot former Old Faith Temple Church to have an open community room and separate rooms for art, cooking, computers and business education as well as offices and a conference room. Local businesses, including the Suncoast Schools Federal Credit Union, MIT Computers and the Columbia Restaurant Group are sponsoring the various rooms.

Richard Gonzmart of the Columbia Restaurant Group is donating a commercial kitchen to the facility, which is near the groups new Ulele Restaurant, currently under construction. Keith Sedita, managing partner of Ulele, is a junior civic association board member.

We want to come into Tampa Heights and make a difference. We want to change the statistics and improve the future, Sedita said.

The kitchen will provide training for students who may wish to enter the culinary field. They also would be able to work at the center, which will be available for rentals and catering, Sedita said.

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Historic Tampa Heights church to become community center

WHAT'S NEXT

The building will be up for initial approval from the Regional Planning Commission at 1 p.m. Jan. 13 in the Hamilton County Courthouse. The meeting is open to the public. After the planning commission, the plan will go to the City Council for final approval.

Bessie Smith Cultural Center, 200 E. M.L. King Blvd.: Built as a Chattanooga Times warehouse, the Bessie Smith Cultural Center renovated and moved into the space in 1996.

Urban League of Greater Chattanooga, 730 E. M.L. King Blvd.: Formerly the Boys' Club, the Urban League moved in during the 1970s or 1980s.

UTC South Campus Housing, North of 400-600 E.M.L. King Blvd: This string of UTC student housing was built in stages between 2001 and 2004, and housed more than 1,700 students last fall.

AT&T building, 300 E. M.L. King Blvd.: Built as a South Central Bell equipment building in the 1970s, the facility still serves AT&T and now includes offices.

Champy's, 526 E. M.L. King Blvd.: Seth Champion has been serving chicken and catfish at Champy's for five years.

A Chattanooga private developer plans to build a seven-story student apartment building just off M.L. King Boulevard aimed at helping to alleviate UTC's campus housing shortage.

It's a move that could bring hundreds of students into a neighborhood where empty storefronts now dominate -- and neighborhood leaders hope that influx will be a catalyst for M.L. King's rebirth.

Local firm Riverside Development proposed the project, which will include two stories of parking and five stories of student housing at 930 Douglas St. The building should be open by August 2015, said Chris Curtis, president of Riverside Development.

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7-story housing complex planned for Chattanooga's M.L. King Boulevard area