Light & Form

Church of Light (光の教堂), Ando Tadao (安藤忠雄 あんど　ただお), 1989.
4-3-50 Kita-Kasugaoka, Ibaraki- Shi, Osaka Perfecture.   
Tel) 0726-27-0071

Ando Tadao is one of my favourite architects.  His famous artistic creation, the Church of the Light, is a valuable gift to the world.

Born in Osaka, 13 Sept 1941, Ando entered into the profession of Architecture in 1969 after doing self-study and travelling around the world between 1962 and 1969.  He has won lots of architectual awards since 1979.  The lastest one is the 2002 Gold Medal of the American Institute of Architects, by his “Chikatsu-Asuka Historical Museum, Osaka”. 

Ando’s signature is his favourite material, the fair-faced concrete (清水混凝土, in Chinese).  In his master pieces, one could easily appreciate the contrasts of solid and fluid, dark and light, raw and artifice, hard and soft, form and space, concrete and abstract.  His work always blends well with the natural environment, instead of confrontation and alienation, which shows his love and respect to the nature. 

The Church of the Light is one of Ando’s most famous creations.  Applying his favourite material, the fair-faced concrete, Ando has created a clean, quiet and humble space for people to pray and meditate.  Inside the Church, a cross-shaped opening is crafted on the plain concrete wall at the shrine to allow natural light from outside to come in.  One may find it miracle or even sublime that when natural light comes into the Church, a “light cross” appears at the shrine, a cross that is made form light and form only.  With the non-materialistic “light cross”, one would immediately understands the concept of divine and spiritual and be “enlightened”.  I would say that, the Church of the Light, by itself, incorporates Ando’s philosophy and representation of beauty with sublime beauty.     

       

   

“There is a role and function for beauty in our time. In Japan it may be translated into the concept of Uskuji, which also means a beautiful life, that is, how a person lives––his or her inner life. It’s something beyond appearance, or what only meets the eye. You can’t really say what is beautiful about a place, but the image of the place will remain vividly with you. People tend not to use this word beauty because it’s not intellectual—but there has to be an overlap between beauty and intellect.“

- Ando Tadao, in an interview by Architectual Record, talking about “beauty”.

Awards

• Annual Prize (Row House, Sumiyoshi), Architectural Institute of Japan, 1979
• Cultural Design Prize (Rokko Housing One and Two), Japan, 1983
• Alvar Aalto Medal, The Finnish Association of Architects, 1985
• Gold Medal of Architecture, French Academy of Architecture, 1989
• Carlsberg Architectural Prize, Denmark, 1992
• Japan Art Academy Prize, Japan, 1993
• Pritzker Architecture Prize, 1995
• Chevalier de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres, France, 1995
• Praemium Imperiale First “FRATE SOLE” Award in Architecture, Japan Art Association, 1996
• Officier de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres, France, 1997
• Royal Gold Medal, Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA), 1997
• AIA Gold Medal, American Institute of Architects (AIA), 2002

In progress

• House, stable, and mausoleum for former fashion designer Tom Ford , near Santa Fe, New Mexico
• Expansion for the Clark Art Institute in Williamstown, Massachusetts
• Rebuilding the Kobe Kaisei Hospital in Nada Ward, Kobe, Japan
• New Tokyo Tower

sophie’s gallery

 

             

    

I was driving along the Western Corridor this evening when I saw the breath taking sun setting scene.

It was Peter KAM (金培達, a renouned Hong Kong film scoring musician, the award winner of the Silver Bear For Best Film Music kudos at the 56th Berlin International Film Festival by the Hong Kong film “Isabella” in 2006. ) who said: “there should be a moment in life, a piece of music, a photo, a song, etc., that touches us.  Artist, is to pursuit, re-create and capture the very moments throughout ones life. ”

This is exactly what photography, art, literature and architecture meant to me.  This is the very reason I wish to share all those breath taking moments with you.

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金培達 KAM, Peter
Peter KAM is a versatile musician. He was first admitted to the University of San Francisco State, and then Dick Grove School of Music to study music composition and arrangement. Upon returning to Hong Kong, he focused on song writing, music arranging, music producing and commercials and film scoring. He has written myriad works for a host of famous Hong Kong artists such as Aaron Kwok, Andy Lau, Gigi Leung, Jordan Chan, Hacken Lee, Karena Lam, Shawn Yue, etc.

Peter has won a number of awards including “Best Original Film Score”and “Best Original Film Song” (“Fly Me to Polaris”) in the 19th Hong Kong Film Award , “Best Original Film Score”(“Lost in Time”) in the 23th Hong Kong Film Award, and “Golden Horse Award for Best Original Score” ( “Purple Storm”).

The movie “Isabella”: http://www.mediaasia.com/chn/newsLetter2.php?Id=88&subsection=1&file=../newsletter/20060603/

http://www.loveasianfilm.com/features/isabella_feature02.html

Grappa

                   

Starting  this blog with this strong Italian beverage is a mere coincidence, yes or no, it depends. 

For sure I am a wine and beverage lover.  The fragrances and tastes of fruit, wood and flowers preserved by either distillation and fermentation are as precious and artistic as the making of a perfume.  Having a glass of wine and chatting with good friends, should be one of the most enjoyable moments in life.

I enjoy wine and beverages, as much as I enjoy life.  This blog is created for all those who love and enjoy our lives and who appreciate every little beautiful thing in our lives.

Back to this Grappa. I was having my b/d dinner with one of my best friends tonight at the Cammino of the Excelsior Hotel when I saw a tray of Grappa.  The most eye-catching was the serving glasses.  I asked the manager and he told me that the glass was called “Raffinato Piacere”, a tall and slim little glass just looked like a lovely Tulip.  The manager also told me that this berverage was a kind of after dinner drink.  Without second thought, I ordered one Chardonnay Grappa to taste.

This Grappa Chardonnay is no question a very strong beverage, around 40%.  The taste of grape comes after the strong spirit taste.  A kind of berverage quite similar to Brandy, but with a clear body. 

A bit too strong for me, but I really love the Tulip glass. 

Let’s see how Wikipedia tells us something about Grappa:

Grappa is a fragrant grape-based pomace brandy of between 40% and 70% alcohol by volume (80 to 140 proof), of Italian origin. Literally “grape stalk”, grappa is made by distilling pomace, grape residue (mainly the skins, but also stems and seeds) left over from winemaking after pressing. It was originally made to prevent waste by using leftovers at the end of the wine season. It quickly became commercialised, mass-produced, and sold worldwide. The flavour of grappa, like that of wine, depends on the type and quality of the grape used as well the specifics of the distillation process.

In Italy, grappa is primarily served as a “digestivo” or after dinner drink. Its main purpose was to aid in the digestion of the heavy meals. Grappa may also be added to espresso coffee to create a caffè corretto. Another variation of this is the “ammazza caffè” (literally, “coffee-killer”): the espresso is drunk first, followed by a few ounces of grappa served in its own glass.

Among the most well-known producers of grappa are Nonino, Berta, Sibona, Nardini and Jacopo Poli. While these grappas are produced in significant quantities and exported, there are many thousands of smaller local and regional grappas, all with distinct character.

Most grappa is clear, indicating that it is an un-aged distillate, though some may retain very faint pigments from their original fruit pomace. Lately, aged grappas have become more common, and these take on a yellow, or red-brown hue from the barrels in which they are stored.

Alcohol	Ethanol • History of alcohol • Alcohol consumption and health • Alcohol advertising • Drinking culture • Alcohol abuse
Production	Brewing • Distilling • Winemaking
Fermented beverages	Beer (Beer variations) • Wine (Wine variations) • Cider (Cider variations) • Rice wine (Rice wine variations) Other Fermented beverages • Basi • Huangjiu • Kumis • Mead • Pulque • Sahti • Gouqi jiu
Distilled beverages	Agave: Tequila • Mezcal  |  Almond: Amaretto  |  Anise: Absinthe • Arak • Ouzo • Rakı • Pastis • Sambuca Apple: Applejack • Calvados  |  Barley: Scotch whisky • Irish whiskey • Japanese whisky  |  Coconut: Arrack Egg: Advocaat  |  Fruit: Brandy • Cognac • Gin • Kirschwasser • Limoncello • Pisco • Rakia • Schnapps • Palinka Honey: Bärenjäger • Krupnik  |  Maize: Bourbon whiskey • Corn whiskey • Tennessee whiskey Plum: Slivovitz • Ţuică  |  Pomace: Grappa • Orujo • Zivania • Tsikoudia • Tsipouro • Rakia Potato: Vodka • Aquavit • Brennivín • Snaps  |  Sorghum: Baijiu (Kaoliang) Rice: Rice baijiu • Soju• Awamori  |  Rye: Rye whiskey Sugarcane/Molasses: Rum • Cachaça • Aguardiente • Falernum • Guaro • Seco Herrerano Various cereals: Shōchū • Vodka • Whisky • Canadian whisky
Mixed drinks	Alcopop / Ready to drink / Premixed • Beer cocktails • Cocktails (true) • Flaming beverages • Shooters • Wine cocktails • Mulled wine