ARCHITECT ANONYMOUS: May 2012

Thursday, 31 May 2012

Rush for safe havens as euro fears rise

Tag Rush for safe havens as euro fears rise

US benchmark borrowing costs plunged to levels last seen in 1946 and those for Germany and the UK hit all-time lows as investors took fright at what they see as a disjointed policy response to the debt crisis in Spain and Italy. In a striking sign of the flight to haven assets, German two-year bond yields fell to zero for the first time, below the equivalent rate for Japan, meaning investors are willing to lend to Berlin for no return. US 10-year yields fell as low as 1.62 per cent, a level last reached in March 1946, according to Global Financial Data. German benchmark yields reached 1.26 per cent while Denmark's came close to breaching the 1 per cent level, hitting 1.09 per cent. UK rates fell to 1.64 per cent, the lowest since records for benchmark borrowing costs began in 1703. "They are extreme levels because we are in an extremely perilous situation. People just want to put their money somewhere where they think they will get it back. People may soon be paying Germany or the US to look after their money," said Gary Jenkins, head of Swordfish Research, an independent credit analysis company. The flight to safety came as the situation in Italy and Spain, the eurozone's third- and fourth-largest economies, deteriorated further. Italy held a disappointing debt auction and saw its benchmark borrowing costs rise above 6 per cent for the first time since January. The euro fell 0.8 per cent against the dollar to under $1.24 for the first time in two years. Confusion over how the Spanish government's rescue of Bankia, the stricken lender, will be structured led the premium Madrid pays over Berlin to borrow to hit fresh highs for the euro era at 540 basis points. Analysts said the elevated level meant that clearing houses could soon raise the amount of margin, or collateral, that traders need to post against Spanish debt, a move that led to the escalation of crises in Portugal and Ireland. The European Central Bank has made clear to Spain that it cannot use the bank's liquidity operations as part of a recapitalision of Bankia. However, the central bank said on Wednesday it had not been officially consulted on the plans. Equity markets globally fell on the eurozone fears with bourses in Paris, Frankfurt and London all dropping 2 per cent. But Nick Gartside, international chief investment officer for JPMorgan Asset Management, noted that while US bond yields had halved since April last year the S&P 500 equity market was at the same level. "One of those two markets is mispriced. Core government bonds are an efficient market and they are ahead," he added. Investors said borrowing costs for the US, UK and Germany were likely to continue to fall amid a worsening economic backdrop and the threat of more central bank intervention. Wealth managers have been moving client assets into currency havens in recent weeks, with the Swiss franc and the US dollar among the biggest beneficiaries "Risk aversion, a rapidly slowing global economy and unusually low policy rates will pin these short and intermediate maturity bonds at unprecedented low levels for quite a while," said Mohamed El-Erian, chief executive of Pimco, one of the world's largest bond investors. Mr Gartside said he could easily see German rates going below 1 per cent, following a path that only Japan and Switzerland have taken among major economies, while the US and UK could dip under 1.5 per cent. Markets are increasingly resigned to more turmoil until policy makers take more radical action. The two most popular plans of action for investors are for the ECB to buy Spanish and Italian bonds in unlimited size or for eurozone countries to agree on a fiscal union involving the pooling of debt. "You have to throw everything at it. Spain is just too big for half measures. The next intervention has to be not just massive in size but it has to show a total commitment," said Mr Jenkins. He recommends that the ECB set targets either for the premium Spain and Italy pay to borrow over Germany or for their yields.

Euro break-up 'could wipe 50pc off London house prices'

Tag Euro break-up 'could wipe 50pc off London house prices'

Property prices in the capital’s most sought-after postcodes have been driven up by investors moving funds out of assets held in euros to buy into what is seen as a “safe haven” alternative. Foreign money seeking a refuge from the wider economic turmoil accounted for 60pc of acquisitions of prime central London property between 2007 and 2011, according to a report by Fathom Consulting for Development Securities. If the shared currency broke up completely, London property would initially be boosted by the continued flight towards a safe haven, the report predicts. But, once the break-up had taken place, demand for these assets as an insurance against this event would start to ebb. “Although fears about a messy end to the euro debt crisis may account for much of the gain in prime central London (PCL) prices that has taken place over the past two years, we find that a break-up of the single currency area is also the single greatest threat to PCL,” said researchers.

lush saigon lounge bar

Tag lush saigon lounge bar

'lush saigon lounge bar' by MIA, saigon, vietnam
all images courtesy of MIA

vietnamese practice MIA design studio has developed 'lush saigon lounge bar' in saigon, vietnam. within the space, a billboard of sound is projected using
2400 LED diodes to create a spectacular wall of light and motion. the dj's tunes express an artistic display of flashing colors and moving graphics across
this partition becoming a music designer. the new grammar let's the sound narrate a visual story. maverick murals of graffiti, which have been one of
the pillars of the hip hop movement, is reflected throughout the club with dynamic murals anchoring the interior design.

on one wall a prominent black and white stencil-like piece that portrays the fictional comic book character rick grimes that faces a giant mural of
the iconic 1969 woodstock musician jimi hendrix to create a sense of avant-garde street art.
the graphics express an approach which is all about pleasure but with an underlying conscious knowledge of resounding madness which brings a feathery smile from the soul.
a sculpted wall overhangs 3D modeled stainless steel pieces to refract the light bringing more bling to the kinky ring.

nightclub space

3D stainless steel wall

bar

lounge

glass detail

LED dj booth

Ilott Vintage takes classic mid-century rangefinder cameras and refurbishes them to working order.

Tag Ilott Vintage takes classic mid-century rangefinder cameras and refurbishes them to working order.

Ilott Vintage Cameras

You do remember cameras that use film, right? Well, Ilott replaces their worn out leathers with wood veneer making each camera completely unique and one-of-a-kind. They also make sure each one passes a round of tests to ensure that it functions correctly before they put it on the market.

Ilott Vintage Cameras
Argus C3 Mahogany (above also)

Ilott Vintage Cameras

Ilott Vintage Cameras
Argus C3 Mansonia

Ilott Vintage Cameras

Ilott Vintage Cameras
Canonet QL17 Mansonia

Ilott Vintage Cameras

Ilott Vintage Cameras
Konica Auto S2 Mansonia

Ilott Vintage Cameras

Visit their online store here.

Bering Strait Crossing

Tag Bering Strait Crossing

It sounds like science fiction, but is back on the table after nearly a century of talk: a railway to reconnect the Far East with the Far West, theoretically enabling a Londoner to travel by rail all the way to the US of A (though industrial uses are currently the priority over passengers).

The undertaking might cost as much as a hundred billion dollars, but it could also carry a hundred million tons of freight per year, which puts that price tag in perspective. As for relative examples in engineering: consider the fact that the English Channel tunnel is only half the proposed length of this next world wonder.

Representatives from the Kremlin and White House recently met on the matter and have approved this incredible project to link Alaska with Siberia across the Bering Strait, continuing an existing line on both sides that branches deep into both participating countries.

Commonly known as the Bering Strait Crossing, this is a variant on a surprisingly long-lived theme, from visions of Czar Nicholas II to connect these two countries underground, and more recent ideas to use two islands between the closest points of connection as pit stops for long-span “peace bridges”.

a nature-filled interior evoking the essence of the outdoor environment.

Tag a nature-filled interior evoking the essence of the outdoor environment.

'kofunaki house' by ALTS design office, shiga, japan
all images courtesy of ALTS design office

positioned within an eco-village in shiga, japan, the 'kofunaki house' designed by sumiou mizumoto and yoshitaka kuga of
shiga-based practice ALTS design office offers inhabitants a nature-filled interior evoking the essence of the outdoor environment.
derived from the memory of ancient humans and their previous cohabitation in nature and japanese desire to experience
changing seasons, this dwelling integrates the woods into the heart of the living space.

wood is the prevalent finishing material, surfacing accent walls in planks along with matching cabinets, tables and chairs.
on the ground level, patches are removed from the concrete floors and filled with fine gravel to plant shrubs and trees.
wooden boards are inset into the loose floor covering like stepping stones for a secure foothold. these components are continued
as the treads on the open-riser stair to the upper-storey.

shrubs are planted within small plots on the home's ground level

wooden planks are inset into gravel patches

green plants are perched at various heights to surround inhabitants with vegetation

children's room

illuminated at night

at night

The A-G House reinterprets classic mid-century California Modern design

Tag The A-G House reinterprets classic mid-century California Modern design

The A-G House reinterprets classic mid-century California Modern design principles to suit the Australian design vernacular, creating a contemporary home for a young at heart – three generational family. The varied requirements of three generations of family living together shaped the brief from the clients.

Three wings are connected via a functional spine, whilst the archetypal Australian backyard is reoriented to the front of the house in the form of a central, alfresco entertaining area that merges seamlessly with the indoor living space. Each of the spaces is open and clean-lined, dominated by a tactile finishes palette of stone, glass and warm timber. Within this framework, each wing reflects the personality of its inhabitants through custom designed joinery and fittings and furniture selections.

Blue stone, a quintessentially Victorian material, wraps through vertical and horizontal planes to form warm and tactile kitchen benches and bathroom vanities. The internal blue stone flooring also continues through to outside living areas where, in conjunction with extensive use of glazing, it acts to further dissolve the barriers between inside and out – from generation to generation.

The family’s Italian heritage places importance on the role that cooking plays in their personal and social lives. Separate cooking facilities are provided in the Grandmother’s wing, her daughter’s wing and in the outdoor area connecting the generations. Each kitchen was designed to suit its primary inhabitants’ cooking style whether it be restrained and clean or open and chaotic.

Stephan Tuchila, an architecture photographer based in Bucarest/Paris shared with us a set of images of the latest Monumenta exhibition in Paris.

Tag an architecture photographer based in Bucarest/Paris shared with us a set of images of the latest Monumenta exhibition in Paris. Stephan Tuchila

Stephan Tuchila, an architecture photographer based in Bucarest/Paris shared with us a set of images of the latest Monumenta exhibition in Paris. After the amazing installation by Anish Kapoor last year, it was Daniel Buren‘s time to take this challenge and create a concept for the 2012 edition.