ARCHITECTURE

 The Cathedral at Nantes.  Built originally in April 1434 - the façade took nearly 50 years to build.  On December 25 1891, 457 years after the first stone was laid it was inaugurated by the then Bishop of Nantes, Jules Francois Lecoq, having been entirely completed.

 The Cathedral was damaged many times in the past. During the French Revolution, when the castle's arsenal exploded on May 25th 1800 , when the city was bombed on June 15th, 1944 and more recently on January 28th 1972 when a gigantic fire nearly destroyed the whole building.  Built in the Flamboyant Gothic style what stands out  from the whole building is the harmonious balance

 of its proportions, enhanced by the dazzling whiteness of the stone and the magic sight of the stained glass windows of the choir, particularly in the morning sunlight.  The original stained glass windows have all been destroyed and have been replaced with modern leaded glass panels.

I am away at the moment.  We have been to the Stitchcraft show in Nantes where there is an

Exhibition of replica 'Dear Jane' quilts.  The original was due to be there but unfortunately due to the incapacity of Brenda Papadakis who was unable to travel the Quilt had to remain in the Bennington Museum.  It was a breathtaking  sight to see over 100 of the replicas hanging together.  It  was a fabulous show and well worth a visit.  It is held annually.

 

The Fremont Bridge

I love bridge architecture. This bridge is no exception. Located in Portland, OR, it is used for crossing the Willamette River when on the north leg of the 405.

When my daughter was small and interested in quilting and quilt block names, we came to call this bridge the "Flying Geese" bridge. A closer image explains this. It came to signify home. When we arrived at the bridge, we always knew we were nearly home.

I made a quilt based on these images for a show called Portlandia. The quilt presented many challenges but I love everything about it.I offer it here.

Architectural Details

Chambercombe Manor in Devon dates from around 1162 although it is much older than that. It is steeped in legend and history previously owned by several historic figues including Henry Duke of Suffolk in the 16th century, father to the ill fated Lady Grey one of the wives of King Henry 8th. Chambercombe Manor is mentioned in the Doomsday Book.
  

I'm not much of a walker..

..much prefer my bike.
This caught my eye, perhaps I can ride this instead

She's made of all manner of metal, including bicycle parts

Outside the Assembly House, Norwich, England..

More architecture

After seeing Janet's fabulous bridge photos I was reminded of a recent addition to our city the Rewarewa Bridge spanning the Waiwakaiho River in New Plymouth, New Zealand.   It was designed to resemble a wave and when viewed from end on as in the first picture it is possible on a clear day to get a great image of Mount Taranaki. 

Knowlton Church - architectural details

I have driven past this church several times without noticing it - it took a TV programme to draw it to my attention. It is unusual in that it sits inside a Neolithic henge - a good example of the way that the early Christians staked a claim to earlier religious sites.

The henge is the earthwork which you can just see in front of the yew trees. it is a circle with two entrances. In the middle ages yews were believed to keep witches away. so it is not surprising that there are several of them.

As you can see, the tiny church is now in ruins.

The tower from the knave

.

The tower from the inside looking up.

The tower from outside.

The rear of the church

Another prehistoric earthwork just outside the henge.

Although it was a grey day, the views from the earthwork were stunning.

Yet more yews

bike trail

This is part of a bike trail tucked away in Central Iowa.  It really has amazing views and if you hang around until twilight the High Trestle Bridge, becomes spectacular.

architecture

A log cabin in Roundtop, Texas.  The careful randomness of the chimney stones.

Whitebait Stands

No architectural details here but interesting structures.   

These are three of the hundreds of whitebait stands on the Mokau River in New Zealand. 
Whitebait are the juvenile stage of five different fish.   Whitebaiting is a very popular pastime.  In our area the season runs from August 15 and finishes November 30th.  Whitebaiters sit for hours on these stands with large nets in the water to catch these little fish.  They are considered a delicacy.

Ancient and Modern Iconic Architecture

I am very late posting this month. I had computer issues and then other things got in the way. But I went into London today, so I thought I would post some photos from London...most from previous visits!

What fascinates me about the Architecture in cities like London is the cheek-by-jowl juxtapositions of different periods of history. These things can be seen in the detail of the buildings - details which give them distinction.

We have a phrase 'Ancient and Modern'...from the traditional Church of England hymnbook. But I think it expresses the architecture, too. Whether Medieval, Tudor, Georgian, Victorian, 20th or 21st Century.

For instance the Houses of Parliament - iconic building but the remaining ancient parts are hidden and what you see does a very good job of looking the part to neighbouring Westminster Abbey, which you can see behind it from this view. The present-day Palace of Westminster was constructed after the Great Fire of 1834.

Other buildings that have become iconic for one reason and another.
Buckingham Palace

taken from the London Eye

It seems it has been there forever, but not long in the scheme of things when it comes to the Monarch's residence.

Tower Bridge

a reminder of London when Britannia Ruled the Waves.

St Paul's - rallied spirits during the Blitz due to the photo showing that it still stood in spite of the damage all around.

Even engineering feats of the Victorians with their 'cathedrals to the machine' like Waterloo Station.

And still more modern buildings which could easily be anachronistic in the city scape, but instead become recognisable features which say 'London'.

The award winning 'Gherkin' or 30 St. Mary Axe.

Even the London Eye - is it even architecture?

and the newest - The Shard, formerly London Bridge Tower, a 72-storey skyscraper in London. Its construction began in March 2009; it was topped out on 30 March 2012 and inaugurated on 5 July 2012.

This photo was taken around the end of May 2012.

Of course their are 'normal' places in London where people live. But even then it looks like London!

Ohio River bridge

These pictures were taken several years ago before I moved to Lexington, KY. You can tell by the trees and plants that they were taken in late spring or early summer. I've been out of town for several weeks so I'm late posting so I selected these pictures. I love the significance and structures of bridges! There are 2 bridges crossing the Ohio River at Ashland, KY where I used to live. The green bridge crosses the Ohio River from the Ohio side into Ky and the blue bridge crosses the Ohio River from KY into Ohio. If you turn right when you cross the bridge, it takes you to WVa. Otherwise you are in Ohio. I think the bridge is green because it's Marshall University color. Marshall is located in Huntington, WVa. I don't know if that's the real reason or not. The blue bridge represents UK's color.

 I was testing to see if my camera could take a picture from a moving car and I thought it worked very well.

 As you can see, the bridge is quite tall.  The blue bridge is on the left and is the newer of the 2 bridges and not as tall.

Another view of the blue bridge through the car window.

Hundertwasser House in Vienna

In October I had the opportunity to visit The Hundertwasser House in Vienna. Fredrick Hundertwasser was an artist and an architect, he disliked straight lines and his work is very free form. The apartment complex is currently public housing, and is located down an alley.

There are trees and plants growing out of the building (on purpose), it's very colorful and hard to get good pictures because of it's alley location.

Even the sidewalks in the alley undulate.

Chateau

Chateau d'Oinon  23.9.2011.   Henri IV of France used to exercise his horse along this beautiful colonnade completely made of stone, totally exquisite in it's craftmenship.

The drawing is a tribute to one of Henri's many horses.

The loft space in the Chateau, used as a display area for sculpture.

You may just be able to see the owl sculpture in the distance.

Detail of the complex wooden roof structure.

This magnificent Chateau is near Thouars  central France.

The Chateau houses a continuous contemporary art exhibition.

And we had the whole place to ourselves for 2 hours....magnifique!!!  

March -- architectural details

No matter what hemisphere you live in, this should be a good month to get outside and take a walk!  Your challenge: find something with interesting architecture or structure, and examine it up close.

My contribution comes from an old railroad bridge turned pedestrian walkway over the Ohio River.  Strictly utilitarian, strong as can be, and built to last forever!