ART- Architectural

Dubai to have the world’s tallest arch bridge by 2012

The collection of artificial islands a.k.a. World is just a tiny step towards Dubai’s dream of being the land with the most futuristic infrastructure. By 2012 Dubai is all set to take a big leap by constructing an arch bridge – but not just any arch bridge; this arch bridge is touted to be the tallest in the world! New York’s architecture firm Fxfowle has been selected to turn this dream into a reality. The architects have gone all out and have envisioned the most unique features for this arch bridge. Measuring one mile long and 670 feet tall, this bridge will have 12 lanes for traffic with a metro line running across the middle! Once complete, the bridge is expected to carry more than 2,000 vehicles per hour in each direction. This massive project is expected to cost a whopping $817 million and has already been approved by Dubai’s Sheikh Mohammed.

Jaeger-LeCoultre's Limited Edition Atoms Regulator watch for Dunhill is elegantly vintage

Jaeger-LeCoultre's Atoms Regulator for Dunhill is an extremely stunning time piece. The classy design derives its inspiration from Dunhill's lighters and cigarette cases from the 1930s. The vintage feel of the piece is quite apparent. This 242 piece caliber 582 movement runs on small changes in temperature in which a change of one degree will give the clock enough power to keep going for 48 hours which means no winding, electricity or batteries required. The black varnished casing gives it a really sophisticated look.

Gold vending machines to be launched across Germany, Switzerland and Austria

I always expected Dubai to be the place to come up with a unique idea like Gold vending machines. But on the contrary it is Germany who has decided to introduce these machines that would be selling gold. A German company plans to install about 500 of these gold vending machines in Germany, Austria and Switzerland. What has me confused is that you are expected to pay by cash and not card. The idea to launch these machines has stemmed from the increasing demand of German households for gold as an investment over the past few months.

 

The taste of luxury at the Grande Epicerie

Until May 17th, the luxury chic supermarket of Paris, La Grande Epicerie, hosts 14 photographs by Fulvio Bonavia.

The artist amused himself by turning upside down fashion accessories in a gourmet way.

The handbag is made in raspberries, the belt with sardines, artichokes on the cap, the ring is full of Bayonne ham and the watch is a kiwi!

In his book “A Matter of Taste”, Fulvio Bonavia fuses haute couture with cuisine with results that are guaranteed to tantalize fashionistas and foodies alike.

Step out in style in a pair of corn espadrilles. A tagliatelle belt makes for a delicious main course, but should always be worn al dente.

Later, for dessert, you can dine on fruit-paste bangles and a cheese necklace, then dance the night away in a pair of aubergine slippers !

 

15 Amazing Monasteries, Sanctuaries and Abbies

Monastic architecture is often spectacular, an attribute seemingly at odds with the ascetic lifestyle of its adherents. Time is a harsh mistress and after centuries of war, religious strife and natural disasters, only the strongest - and strangest - have survived. For that at least, we may be thankful.

 

Meteora and The Stone Forest

Meteora means “suspended in air” in Greek, and that’s an apt description for these centuries-old monasteries. Perched atop 1200-ft tall crags of Thessaly’s “Stone Forest”, as many as 24 separate monasteries thrived during the area’s heyday in the 14th century. Today only a half-dozen are still active. Today tourists - not rampaging Ottoman warriors - are the main visitors to this stunning setting in northern Greece.

 

Taktsang, the “Tiger’s Nest”

The Taktsang monastery in mountainous Bhutan is one of Buddhism’s holiest - and most beautiful - places. Said to have been constructed in the 8th century by a holy man who flew to the site on the back of a flaming tigress. Taktsang is known as the Tiger’s Nest. Looking at the complex, perched upon a sheer cliff nearly 2,000 feet above the Paro river valley, one begins to believe the ancient legend just may be true! Taktsang can be considered a work in progress as new buildings continue to be added to the complex, the most recent in 1982.

Pechersk Lavra Monastery, Kiev

Kiev Pechersk Lavra, or the Kiev Monastery of the Caves, is a huge complex of spectacular buildings in the heart of Ukraine’s capital, Kiev. Originally established in the year 1051, the monastery was destroyed by the Mongols twice: in 1240 and again in 1480. In the centuries following, the complex grew both in size and in wealth, gaining its brilliant golden domes that are its trademark.

Mont Saint-Michel, a Mountain in the Sea

Mont Saint-Michel is a “fortified abbey”, and it sure does look the part! Construction on the site began in the year 966, when the abbey’s location was a rocky island protected from land-based marauders by Europe’s highest tides. Marsh drainage and construction of a causeway in the 19th century disrupted the natural flow of water, allowing silt to gradually surround Mont Saint-Michel on three sides, but a reclamation project now underway should restore the abbey’s isolation by the year 2015.

The Monastery at Petra

This 150ft tall building in the ancient Nabataean city of Petra, Jordan, was laboriously carved out from the red sandstone canyons over 2,000 years ago. It resembles it’s more famous neighbor, the so-called “Treasury” so prominently featured in the 1984 film Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom. Curiously, both the Treasury and the Monastery are nothing of the kind - their true purposes are still unknown.

Rumtek Monastery, a Riot of Color

Nestled in the lush, monsoon-drenched foothills of the mighty Himalayas in northern India lies the Rumtek Monastery. Home to monks of all ages, even boys such as the one pictured above, Rumtek revels in bright colors set off with the glint of gold. The glorious mandala above graces the ceiling of a porch leading to Rumtek’s main temple.

Nilov Monastery on Stolbnyi Island

Sergei Mikhailovich Prokudin-Gorskii took the above (upper) color photo of the Nilov Monastery in Tver, Russia, in 1910 - before there WAS such a thing as commercial color photography. The process used by Prokudin-Gorskii to create magnificent images like this one was so complex, Czar Nicholas II gave him a fully equipped railroad car with which to travel through Russia and document its most iconic sights.

Xuan Kong Si “Hanging” Temple, near Datong, China

Xuan Kong Sì was built into a cliff face near Mount Heng in Shanxi province, China, about 1,400 years ago. HOW it was built, is anyone’s guess. Although it may look rather fragile, the Hanging Temple has hung in there through dozens of severe seismic events including the deadliest earthquake in recorded history: a 1556 temblor in which up to 830,000 lost their lives.