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| 16:29 Fri 09 May 2008 |
Tag: Italy
These items have all been tagged with the tag "Italy", You can see other tags in the Tag Cloud| Alfa Romeo 8C Spider |
| 2008-02-21 17:21:17 |
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Here are the first pictures that Alfa Romeo have released of its sexy 8C Spider, to be introduced to the world at next months Geneva Motor Show. Based on the hard-topped 8C Competizione, the two-seat Spider featuring a twin-layer fabric roof which can be raised at the press of a button, is expected to hit 60mph in 4.2 seconds with a top speed of around 180mph. The mechanics will be similar to that of the Competizione as it uses the same 4.7-litre V8 engine and six-speed semi-automatic gearbox. As the limited run is just 500 vehicles, we expect to see all of these selling like hotcakes and commanding more than their £130,000 price tag. So roll up your sleeves and have your cheque books ready; the fight to get one of these beauties is not going to be pretty. By Brendan McKnight |
| Ellipse 1501 House |
| 2007-07-05 18:29:38 |
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Here at TCH, we strive to bring you the most cutting edge and inspiring pieces of design. From houses to hotels, walls to wine racks, there isn’t much we haven't covered. All under the premise, that if we like something, then, maybe you’ll like it as well. But, there comes a time when we’re not quite sure. And if we don’t like it, why are we telling you about it? This new house designed by Antonino Cardillo has stumped us good and proper. Is it just another vacuous interior that looks an awful lot like a museum? Or is it a very shrewd example of how shapes and colours interact when placed next to each other? Built on a hillside somewhere in Italy, Cardillo has created a concrete ellipse that dilates to the east and west. It also just happens to look like a grey blob squatting on a hill. Inside you’re met with an enormous curve that sweeps across the central hall, forcing the eye to look down through the space at the brutal lines of the rest of the house. A smooth exterior hides the phantasmagoria of shapes inside. The other rooms are built around the dramatic opening. A kitchen at one end, the guest room at the other. Up a darkened circular staircase lies the mezzanine bedroom fitted out with the absolute minimal of disruption to the form of the interior. It’s all wonderfully cohesive. But at the same time, you can’t help but think, ‘where do all the people go?’ The unrelenting stylising says this isn’t a space to be lived in. Rather, it’s a place to be seen in. But at the same time, you can’t help but wonder what life must be like living here. The deep excavations in the outer wall reveal jagged pockets of the outside world at random. Outside, forests and mountains. Inside, lifeless concrete forged into geometric shapes. But the clever thing about the positioning of the windows is, it lets different types of light to fill different parts of the house. Direct sunlight beams into the main hall, while refracted light from trees outside filters into the smaller side windows. Creating instant moods inside according to the weather outside. As this is going on, the building remains in its original essence: colourless or tending to grey. A challenging house that makes you love it for its ingenuity, but hate it for its formality. Either way, we can’t decide. By Matt Hussey |
| Pontificial Lateral University Library - Italy |
| 2007-05-26 00:28:52 |
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Libraries aren’t generally known for amazing architecture but this incredible one in Italy has us dying to get there amongst the books. Pictured below, it’s actually an extension on the existing library at the Pontificial Lateran University, which houses new reading rooms and an Auditorium. The incredibly stylish space was designed by Rome firm King Roselli, who took totally fresh approach to the project by employing features not usually seen in these types of spaces, such as a curved ceiling, angular stair-casing and vast glass paneling. The university holds an outstanding collection of books numbering around 600,000 volumes, some of which date back to the 16th century, whose subjects for the most part coincide with the principal academic courses: philosophy, theology and law. The bulk of them are now deposited in the newly restored compartmentalized underground vaults equipped with an adequate fire extinguisher system and humidity and temperature control. Learning has never been so glamorous. By Laura Demasi |
