Home Builder Developer - Interior Renovation and Design

A number of automakers have launched in-house restoration services for their models, and they will soon be joined by Mazda, which has announced a restoration program for the first-generation MX-5 Miata.

Starting in 2018, the Hiroshima-based automaker will offer complete restorations as well as a parts support program for the NA-generation Miata, known as the Eunos Roadster (it's a long story) back home. The automaker has already performed a test restoration and is currently accepting applications for customer restorations scheduled to start next year. Each restoration will be tailored to the requirements of each car and customer, which will open up some customization options, but we suspect that applicants will be those seeking to keep their cars stock or return them to stock condition.

For now this service will apply only to the first-gen Miatas and will only be offered to customers in Japan, but rereleased parts such as the Nardi steering wheel, the convertible top and Bridgestone SF-325 tires (for those who demand originally supplied tires) should be available worldwide via mail order. Of course, if you're already shelling out some yen for a factory restoration for your Miata, the cost of the car's round trip to Japan is a pretty modest expense, so we expect to see some Miatas from other countries make the pilgrimage back to Japan.

Along with restoration, the factory program will produce some spare parts that are now in short supply.

The NA-generation MX-5 Miata (as if it needs any introduction) debuted in the U.S. in May 1989; its 1.6-liter and later, 1.8-liter engines complimented a short wheelbase, compact exterior dimensions and a choice of five-speed manual or a four-speed automatic transmission. The pocket-size roadster was a hit from the outset, ruling its segment with little to no direct competition and offering plenty of thrills despite the relatively modest horsepower output. The Miata was about driving dynamics rather than sheer power, which were slowly coming back into vogue in the early 1990s, but with a curb weight of just over 2,000 pounds, the roadster didn't need much zoom-zoom underhood to game the traffic.

For a car approaching its 30th birthday, the Miata's design has aged remarkably well, but it's still the roadster's driving dynamics that attract new fans. The first-gen models now have a cult following, so it makes perfect sense that Mazda wants to preserve the legacy of the debut model.

H/T: Japanese Nostalgic Car

Excerpt from:
Mazda is starting Miata factory restoration program to celebrate the roadster's 30th birthday - Autoweek

Luxury Portfolio International, the luxury face of Leading Real Estate Companies of the World (LeadingRE), is hosting the 2017 Affluence Forum this August in Chicago, Ill., the network recently announced. The two-day Forum, be held August 22-23 at The Merchandise Mart, is open to staff members at Luxury Portfolio member companies and select invited guests.

Having The Merchandise Mart so near our Chicago office is a real opportunity to do something special, says Paul Boomsma, president of Luxury Portfolio International. We are excited to be joined by many luxury brands and speakers that work with the high-net worth, who will offer education on a myriad of trends in the home/shelter industry and more.

Former CEO of Dwell Media Michela OConnor Abrams, a noted lifestyle expert, will be on hand at the Forum to speak to the growing trend of experiencing marketing, and how brands can use it as a differentiator for their customers.

Luxury Portfolio is committed to providing actionable research and information for their members, says OConnor Abrams. Ive attended their annual conference and been impressed by the variety of speakers they bring together, creating a comprehensive view of the way real estate touches all aspects of our lives.

The agenda additionally includes the latest research on the affluent consumer from YouGov and Leading Real Estate Companies of the World Chief Economist Dr. Marci Rossell, who will share an analysis of the global economic landscape. The Forum will also bring together representatives to speak about the latest trends in home technology, customization, restoration and wealth management, from companies such as Barretts Technology Solutions, The Lord Companies, Fraser Builders and UBS Wealth Management.

Attendees will also have enrichment opportunities, including an architecture cruise which will showcase some of Chicagos innovative local buildings and visits to some of The Merchandise Marts showrooms to view the latest in home renovation.

We are always challenging ourselves to do something different, Boomsma says. This Forum will deliver real value for attendees who need to be conversant with the latest trends in luxury.

For more information, please visit http://www.luxuryportfolio.com.

For the latest real estate news and trends, bookmarkRISMedia.com.

Link:
Luxury Portfolio International to Host 2017 Affluence Forum - RisMedia.com (press release)

By Andrea Rose

Most people who are searching for a home are looking to find something that fits their family's needs, whether it be more bedrooms, a bigger kitchen or a safer community, and they need the home to fit their price range.

But Dwaine Gipe is on a different kind of house hunt. He isn't looking to buy.

Gipe, 81, is searching for homes in this area that were built by his father, Edgar "Murphy" Gipe.

Building a family home

Gipe was born and raised in Franklin County, spending his early life in the Marion area before his parents moved to 606 S. Washington St., Greencastle.

His dad built the stone home over the course of a couple years. The homestead began with a garage. "We lived above dad's workshop and garage from 1945 when I entered seventh grade until the home was finished in 1947," Gipe, 81, recalled. "It was the first home east of Mississippi River with radiant heat in ceiling plaster, installed by Howard Cook, a plumber in Marion."

Gipe said the house was built with local materials. "The beautiful blue limestone came for a mine in West Virginia," he said. "It was my father's dream home.As most examples go, this dream home didn't come without a cost.

"This home, when registered, became one of the highest taxed homes in the county," Gipe said. "Contrary to much of today's thinking, my dad was proud to be paying the fiddler."

The elder Gipe built homes and barns, updated businesses, made bridge repairs and completed church renovations throughout Franklin County, including Marion, Greencastle and Chambersburg, as well as Halfway, Maryland, from probably 1925 through 1970.

"The part of Chambersburg most interesting was a group of properties covering about three blocks from the square to a Waffle House. Dad worked long-term in the late 1930s updating the right-hand side of old U.S. 11 south. The properties were owned by a Jerry B. Hanks or Henks by my memory and guess at his last name. He was a single poor farmer who owned a beautiful farm near New Franklin. I never saw this person wearing anything but coveralls," Gipe recalled. "The faces of the buildings were upgraded, but in keeping with design of the times. On occasion Jerry paid in hams, beef or other farm-raised foods. We ate well when Jerry came up a little short," Gipe said with a chuckle.

"In Fort Loudon, Dad turned a bank barn into the retail and mail-order business, home of the worldwide known Hawbaker's Trappers Supply."

Beyond his childhood home and a few places in Chambersburg he can recall his father working on, Gipe can't identify other properties his dad built or worked on.

He knows the accomplished craftsman sent somewhere in Virginia, working for Civilian Conservations Corps for several years in the 1930s.

His lack of knowledge clearly has nothing to do with lack of memory.

Gipe was just a boy when his dad was zig-zagging across the county working to feed his family. The young man was focused on things beyond his father's construction business.

Quest for knowledge

Gipe, who now lives in the Williamsport, Pennsylvania, area, kept busy as a young man.

When he moved to Greencastle from Marion, he had a paper route for the Echo Pilot and Grit.

During high school he participated in Fred Kaley's gym circus, played varsity basketball and became a Troop 13 Eagle Scout, working seven years at the Boy Scout's Camp Sinoquipe in Fort Littleton.

He was also a junior Rescue Hose Co. fireman under Chief Dave Warren.

Gipe went on to become recognized as a top amateur Pennsylvania archer at the Greencastle Sportsman's Association's Archery Club and shot in his first Professional Archers Indoor Tournament in Chicago earning 37th among the nations best tournament archers.

He went on to marry his high-school sweetheart, Elizabeth Ziegler, and the couple raised two boys, Daniel, now a dentist in Portland, Oregon, and Douglas, a retiring professional fireman.

He graduated from Shippensburg State College in 1959 and taught for three years in the Waynesboro Area School District at Clayton Avenue and Hooverville elementary schools, before taking a job as principal of a county-run school for children with special needs in Pond Bank.

Gipe then took a job with Boy Scouts of America as a district scout executive in Williamsport, before working a variety of other jobs, including salesman, boiler restoration, tool franchise operator and doll restoration doctor.

Having worked most of his life, Gipe wasn't about to rest on his laurels in retirement. He focuses on his work with a camera as a freelance photographer and is hoping to combine his passion for photography with his desire to document some family history.

Anyone who has knowledge of homes or businesses built or worked on by Edgar "Murphy" Gipe can email Gipe at dolldoc4@comcast.net.

"I'd like to see some of the stuff my dad built," he said.

If he can find the properties, he plans to photograph them. "Hopefully, our children and grandchildren will enjoy the photo scrapbook of our family interests," he said.

Contact Andrea Rose at arose@therecordherald.com or 717-762-2151 or on Twitter@AndreaCiccociop.

See the article here:
Area native seeks homes his father built - Waynesboro Record Herald

Most of approximately 1,000 displaced Bedford County residents were allowed to return to their homes this weekend after a train derailed last week and caught fire.

Tests on air quality led the railroad companyCSX, an incident management team and environmental specialists to decide that it was safe to reduce the evacuation zone to a limited area immediately surrounding the derailment site in Hyndman, about 100 miles southeast of Pittsburgh, a CSX spokesman said Saturday.

The remaining evacuation zone affecting about 30 homes is intended only to protect residents from the impact of site restoration activity, which would involve "heavy truck traffic, movement of derailed cars and other noisy, disruptive activity 24 hours per day," the company said.

Thirty-two cars, some containing hazardous materials, derailed Wednesday morning as a train with five locomotives and 178 rail cars was heading from Chicago to Selkirk, New York. Cars containing liquefied petroleum gas and sulfur caught fire. One house was sheared in half and a garage caught fire. No injuries were reported. The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating.

CSX said liquefied petroleum gas, molten sulfur and asphalt spilled from derailed tank cars and caught fire, and nonhazardous soybean mill and calcium phosphate also spilled but weren't affected by the fire. The company said examination of "a highly sensitive air-quality sample" analyzed by an American Industrial Hygiene Association-accredited lab and other tests prompted officials to decide it was safe for residents to return home.

"It is highly unlikely that there will be any long-term health effects from this event," CSX said. The company said, however, that people with asthma, heart disease, lung disease and those who are elderly, pregnant or infants might be more sensitive and should consult with doctors if necessary. There was no indication that city or well water was affected, CSX said.

CSX said it would be setting up an outreach center at the HOPE for Hyndman Charter School to allow compensation for affected residents and reimbursement of related expenses such as lost earnings. Residents were asked to bring driver's license or other identification, proof of residency, receipts for expenses and proof of lost earnings.

Gov. Tom Wolf said his administration would work closely with CSX and federal and local officials "to ensure the safety and well-being of the residents in the days ahead.

"I want to thank the residents of Hyndman Borough for their patience as CSX worked to resolve this incident with assistance from many first responders and officials from various agencies," he said in a statement.

See the rest here:
Residents Allowed Home After Hyndman Train Derailment - 90.5 WESA

Francisco Rodriguez wore a white prison uniform with the letters "ICE" U.S. Immigration Customs and Enforcement emblazoned in black across his back. He had a weary smile on his face as we sat down in a family meeting room at the Suffolk County House of Corrections on a recent afternoon. There were games and puzzles stocked on shelves and Sesame Street posters lining the walls. Rodriguez's family, though, hasn't been able to visit him since he was arrested on July 13.

"I miss everything. Honestly, I miss everything," he said.

Rodriguez's wife gave birth to their first son last week, but he has yet to meet the newborn. Rodriguez requested to visit his son and wife in the hospital but his request was denied by ICE, which cited his ongoing court case and potential safety concerns.

Rodriguez says the whole ordeal has been hard on his family, especially his 10-year-old daughter Mellanie.

"She was, she was having nightmares about me that she, she sees me dead," Rodriguez says. "And she was crying a couple days."

Rodriguez, who has no criminal record and works as a janitor at MIT, arrived in the U.S. in 2006 after fleeing gang violence in El Salvador. He was denied asylum in 2011, but had been routinely granted permission to stay in the country under what's called prosecutorial discretion. Then last month he was taken into federal custody during a check-in with ICE.

Shawn Neudauer, a spokesman for ICE, said in a statement that Rodriguez was arrested after he failed to make timely arrangements for his departure back to El Salvador.

The day after he was detained, Rodriguez'sdaughter Mellanie spoke to the media, fighting back tears.

"The president said he was only taking criminals out of this country and my dad doesn't have any criminal record," she said with a whimper. "I hope and I'm going to pray for my dad to be together with all my family again."

Rodriguez has become a public figure in the debate over immigration. His case exemplifies ICE's expanded enforcement priorities, and he's gained the support of the state's congressional delegation, with Massachusetts U.S. Sens. Elizabeth Warren and Edward Markey both calling for his release.

In order to really understand Rodriguez's situation, we need to go back to 2005, before he left El Salvador.

"I study, I do my college in El Salvador. I have my own business selling cars and have a car wash too. And I was, I was doing wonderful but I have an issue with the gang members. They try extortion and they kill one of my employees too," he recalls in imperfect English.

Rodriguez filed a police report in 2005 documenting a fight between one of his employees and a gang member. Rodriguez broke up the fight andthe alleged gang member threatened to kill him.

The gangs showed up later at his car wash demanding money, according to the police report. Shaking down local business owners is a routine way for gangs to make money in El Salvador. The car wash was on a busy commercial street which was good for business but, Rodriguez says, it was also in between two different gang territories: split betweenMara Salvatrucha, or MS-13, and 18th Street.

Rodriguez paid for private security for a while but says he never really felt safe. So in 2006 he illegally crossed the U.S.-Mexico border.

"It was like a life decision, to stay or not stay, because you have to find a way to live," he says.

Rodriguez eventually applied for asylum, but he was denied. Since 2011 he's checked in regularly with ICE agents and has been routinely granted permission to stay in the country under prosecutorial discretion. During that time, he's created a life in Chelsea where he started his own carpet cleaning business.

"I'm focused on, on work and support my family and follow all the rules from the government," he says. "Just try to deal with everything that I had to be responsible. Tried to live, I would say, the American dream. I don't know, now it's the nightmare dream or something like that."

ICE agents have been given broader authority under President Trump's beefed-up enforcement policies,arresting more immigrants with no criminal backgrounds whose only offense may be entering the country without authorization.

Rodriguez pauses for a moment when asked what might happen if he's deported to El Salvador, where he fears retaliation from the gangs. He says he's easily identifiable because of a purplish skin discoloration that he callsa birthmark. He drops his head, full of thick white hair, into his hands and begins to cry.

"I don't know if I can keep helping my children. I don't know howbut I have to be a ghost over there. My problem is, like you see, is I have this birth mark. I'd be so obvious," he says. "That's very easy to get recognized. Over there is a small country."

Rodriguez'slegal team is exploring the appeals process and in the meantime heremains at the Suffolk County House of Corrections. He says he knows these things take time and he's trying to be patient.

Read the original post:
'I Miss Everything': Chelsea Man Awaits Deportation Ruling From Behind Bars - WBUR

Im adding a 94-year-old company with a 31-year history of dividend growth to the Safe Income Tier of our model portfolio; the company is a leader in the rapidly growing field of sustainability, notes Chloe Jensen Lutts, income specialist and editor of Cabot Dividend Investor.

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Ecolab (ECL) was founded in St. Paul, Minnesota in 1923. The companys original product was a hotel carpet cleaner called Absorbit.

Now, 90 years later, Ecolab operates in 170 countries and still provides cleaning products and training to the hospitality industry. But the company has expanded broadly largely through acquisitions and now also serves companies in the food, healthcare, industrial and energy industries.

Most products are related to cleaning or water, and generally help customers be both more efficient and more environmentally friendly.

For example, Ecolabs 3D TRASAR technology monitors the water conditions in industrial cooling systemslike those used in power plantsso they operate more efficiently and use less water.

In the food processing industry, Ecolabs antimicrobial wash for fruits and vegetables reduces spoilage and food waste, while also preventing food-borne illnesses like E. coli and Salmonella.

But because Ecolabs technologies are indispensable to those who use them and the company is the undisputed leader in the space, the vast majority of its revenues are recurring and cash flow is rock solid.

Over the past five years, free cash flow per share has increased every year by an average of 18% per year.

Visit link:
Ecolab: Clean Gains & Sustainability - Moneyshow.com (registration)

Vaughan, ON - Finding a reputable and experienced carpet and duct cleaning company can be extremely difficult for a home or business owner. More often than not, an untrained eye cannot assess or examine the quality of service after the service provider leaves. To solve this dilemma for home and business owners, Vaughan Carpet and Duct Cleaning has launched a new website that caters to the York region of Ontario. This will help educate and teach their customers some of the common carpet and duct misconceptions out there.

Vaughan Carpet and Duct Cleaning owes its rapid growth and success to their excellent and high-quality service that leaves fully-satisfied customers. Whether you are a homeowner, condo owner, apartment renter, or a small business owner, our goal is to provide 100% satisfaction guarantee. We are skilled, easy to work with, and we treat the art of duct and carpet cleaning with respect, says company representative.

Aside from duct and carpet cleaning, they also provide an upholstery cleaning service. They understand that every piece of upholstery is different. Hence, they adjust their cleaning techniques depending on the kind of piece they encounter. They couple their 15 years of experience with sufficient technical knowledge and the latest carpet cleaning techniques. More importantly, they keep a consistent price rate for their clients without any hidden or additional charges once the final bill is presented. As true professionals, they will find a way to minimize the expense of their clients never pressuring them into buying something they will not need. They have put that commitment in writing on their 'About Us' section which can be accessed here: http://www.carpetcleanersvaughan.com/about-us.html.

Vaughan Carpet and Duct Cleaning is well known for the affordability of their services. They are fully committed to offering the best quality of carpet, duct, and upholstery cleaning for the residents in Vaughan, Ontario, and the surrounding York regional area. They have been in the carpet and duct cleaning service industry for over 15 years which has allowed them and their technicians to do thousands of residential cleaning projects. To learn more about their company and their services, visit their website at http://www.carpetcleanersvaughan.com/. Customers and prospects can give them a call at (905) 231-3082 or send an email to vaughanductandcarpet@gmail.com for any questions or concerns.

Media ContactCompany Name: Vaughan Carpet and Duct CleaningContact Person: Terence JacksonEmail: vaughanductandcarpet@gmail.comPhone: (905) 231-3082City: VaughanState: Ontario Country: CanadaWebsite: http://www.carpetcleanersvaughan.com/

Read more:
Vaughan Carpet and Duct Cleaning Launches their Website and is Serving the York Region in Ontario - Digital Journal

The Trump administration is changing the way it protects the greater sage grouse in an effort to provide states more flexibility in how they deal with the imperiled bird.

Interior Secretary Ryan ZinkeRyan Keith ZinkeFederal employees step up defiance of Trump Why our large-scale national monuments should stay intact Climate change and oil prices should bury Arctic drilling forever MORE publicly released a 53-page report Monday from an internal review committee and ordered his department to implement numerous recommendations from the report.

The strategy answers longstanding complaints from the oil and natural gas industries, ranchers and others, as well as some Republican state officials in the West, who said the Obama administrations conservation strategy was too restrictive and costly.

The 2015 plan set new management standards for federally owned land in the birds 11-state rangeand sought to coordinate with states on other policies.

It was seen at the time as a way to avoid listing the sage grouse as threatened or endangered, a more blunt instrument that would have been far more restrictive.

In a letter to Deputy Interior Secretary David Bernhardt Monday, Zinke ordered the implementation of nine broad recommendations, including re-evaluating habitat protections, allowing states to set population objectives, providing more flexibility in management decisions, clarifying standards for waivers to habitat protections and changing the policy on oil leasing in affected areas.

I am particularly interested in assisting the states in setting sage-grouse population objectives to improve management of the species, Zinke wrote. I also believe we should examine a program to enhance scientific research.

Population standards were a top request of opponents of President Barack ObamaBarack ObamaDemocrats introduce another 'false hope' act to immigrants Illinois makes 'Barack Obama Day' a state holiday GOP senator: I wish Republicans had stood up to birtherism MOREs policy, but conservationists criticized the idea as a poor measure of recovery.

The internal task force said population standards can be good, but they shouldnt be relied on too heavily.

The best method for determining [sage grouse] viability will be to assess a combination of habitat availability and populations, which are inseparable, it wrote.

Green groups sharply criticized Zinkes new plan.

The recommendations are a sideways attempt to abandon habitat protection for unfettered oil and gas development and in favor of discredited, narrow tools like captive breeding and population targets, Nada Culver, senior director of policy and planning at the Wilderness Society. Gutting the structure of these plans puts the entire landscape at risk.

When you hear the same message from western governors, ranchers, your own wildlife biologists and land managers and you still ignore it, that's a problem, said Kate Kelly, public lands director at the Center for American Progress and a former Obama administration Interior official.

These recommendations confirm that Zinke is on a path to derail years of collaborative work, putting an entire landscape and the economy that relies on it at risk.

The recommendations stem from a June secretarial order Zinke wrote seeking a full review of sage grouse policies.

Read more from the original source:
Trump administration to overhaul sage grouse conservation strategy - The Hill

Auburn Universitys College of Agriculture has launched a project to establish a highly productive, on-campus teaching garden that will give greater visibility to active agricultural fieldwork at Auburn and enhance the legacy of the historic Old Rotation.

Faculty from three of the colleges academic departmentsHorticulture; Crop, Soil and Environmental Sciences; and Entomology and Plant Pathologyand an Auburn architecture faculty member are finalizing the master design for the 11.3-acre garden, which will be adjacent to the Old Rotation on Lem Morrison Drive.

The garden also will extend to the edge of Auburns Donald E. Davis Arboretum.

Featuring a broad spectrum of ornamentals, crops, trees and turfgrasses, the hands-on teaching garden, designated on the universitys comprehensive campus master plan as Field Lab No. 1, will be a significant resource for Auburn agriculture students and faculty, garden steering committee chair Dave Williams says.

We want to create an experience for our students, said Williams, Department of Horticulture professor and department head. The garden will be an outdoor classroom, a living lab for instruction. Its going to provide support for numerous courses within the college and, in the future, courses in other colleges and schools across campus.

The working garden also will enhance the legacy of the Old Rotation, circa 1896, the longest continuous cotton experiment in the world.

An 1892 map of what was then the Agricultural and Mechanical College of Alabama shows that the vast majority of the campus was agricultural experiment land, but today, agriculture is almost invisible here, Williams said. This garden, which well use for research and demonstration as well as teaching, will expand the spirit and range of the Old Rotation and be a reminder that Auburns roots are in agriculture.

Charles Mitchell, for one, says its about time. Mitchell is professor emeritus in the Department of Crop, Soil and Environmental Sciences and was long-time manager and curator of the Old Rotation. Several times over the past 40 years, Mitchell and others have pushed for a teaching, research and demonstration garden on the site where the first agricultural research was conducted after Auburns designation as a land-grant institution for Alabama in 1872.

Im thrilled to see this finally happening, said Mitchell, who remains involved as a steering committee member. Finally, were seeing progress toward creating a real facility on the Auburn campus that will showcase our land-grant mission in the plant sciences. Students, gardeners, homeowners, faculty and friends will have a place they can use and enjoy and share with others the beauty and productivity of the plant sciences at this university.

In developing the master plan, the steering committee called in David Hill, chair and associate professor of landscape architecture in the College of Architecture, Design and Construction at Auburn and owner of Hillworks, an Auburn-based architecture and landscape architecture design studio. The complete master plan for Field Lab No. 1 at the historic Old Rotation can be found online at http://www.hillworks.us/fieldlab.html.

The design calls for the garden to be divided into field plots that will include, among its offerings, an ornamental shade garden, teaching orchards, turfgrasses, field crops, an ornamentals garden and maze, fruit and vegetable crops, trial gardens for annuals and the existing medicinal plant garden which, along with the field crops, will be moved to the new site from its current location on the old agronomy farm on Woodfield Drive.

Physical structures include a pavilion, which will be used for classes and outreach events, and greenhouses. Williams is especially excited about the greenhouses.

Were collaborating with Glenn Loughridge, director of Campus Dining, toward development of hydroponic greenhouses where our students, as well as other interested Auburn students, can work and raise produce that will be served in dining venues across the Auburn campus.

Although the committee and Hills design team continue tweaking the plan, preliminary site work has begun.

In addition to Williams and Mitchell, steering committee members are Professors Joe Eakes and Wheeler Foshee, Associate Professors Glenn Fain and Jay Spiers and Assistant Professor Daniel Wells, all in the Department of Horticulture; Professors Scott McElroy and Dennis Shannon and Extension Specialist Dennis Delaney, all in the Department of Crop, Soil and Environmental Sciences; and Professor Art Appel in the Department of Entomology and Plant Pathology.

Jamie Creamer is an employee of Auburn University.

See more here:
Auburn's College of Agriculture planning to add on-campus garden as outdoor classroom - Opelika Auburn News

Japanese architectTadao Andohas concealed ahuge stone statue of the buddha within ahill covered in lavender plants at theMakomanai Takino Cemetery in Sapporo.

The top of thestatue's head just crests through a circular well at the centre of the verdant mound, which iscarpetedin150,000of the purple-flowering plants.

Visitors must pass through a 40-metre tunnel to get to the foot of the 13.5-metre-tall statue.

Madeup of arches of folded concrete, the tunnel is dimly lit to create a "womb-like" atmosphere, while the opening at the centre is naturally litand surrounded by concertinaed concrete walls that narrow towards the sky.

Ando completed the Hill of the Buddha at theMakomanai Takino Cemeteryin northern Japan in late 2015, but photographs and aerial drone footage of the project have just begun to circulate.

"The aim of this project was to build a prayer hall that would enhance the attractiveness of a stone buddha sculpted 15 years ago. The site is a gently sloping hill on 180 hectares of lush land belonging to a cemetery," Andowrotein an essay for Domus magazine.

"Until now, the buddha statue has stood alone in the field, giving an unrestful impression. The client wanted to give visitors a more serene appreciation of the buddha," he continued. "Our idea was to cover the buddha below the head with a hill of lavender plants. We called the idea the 'head-out buddha'."

The vegetation provides a seasonally appropriate backdrop for the statue, changing from green in spring topurple in summer and finally white in winter, when the mound is heaped in snow.

A water garden at the base of the mound is surrounded by tall cast-concrete walls and a small border of grey gravel.

"One of the cemetery's charms is how well it achieves harmony with the natural landscape," said theMakomanai Takino Cemetery.

"Surprisingly, one only sees the head of the statue surrounded by the landscape of the hill," it continued.

"Atama Daibutsu (The Buddha's Head) was named for its novel, impressive appearance. It stands in perfect harmony with the surrounding landscape in all seasons. Thus a new symbol of the cemetery been established."

"The whole body of the Atama Daibutsu can't be seen from outside. Snow accumulates on its head in winter. What remains hidden from view sparks the creativity," addedAndo.

A self-taught architect, Ando has become one of the mostrenowned in his field,winning the Pritzker Prize in 1995, the RIBA Royal Gold Medal in 1997 and AIA Gold Medal in 2002. He ranked at number 16 on the inaugural Dezeen Hot List.

Manyof Ando's recently completed projects have been in Mexico, including aconcrete house and art centre for a picturesque seaside site, and aschool of art, design and architecture at theUniversity of Monterrey.

This project exhibits some of the keycharacteristics of Ando's work namely the use of raw concrete, dramatic play of natural light, and the interplay of interior and exterior spaces.

Go here to see the original:
Tadao Ando surrounds huge buddha statue with lavender-covered mound at Sapporo cemetery - Dezeen