Trujillo Streets, Spain

Trujillo was one of my favorite stops during my recent visit to Spain. It has all the key elements: a castle, plaza mayor, medieval churches, and great food. As mentioned before, I like to roam through these old towns, just amble along, take in the sights, snap a few photos and make a few videos. Naturally food and beverages are involved, but I’ll get to those in another post. For now, here’s a video of the stroll:

Lots of blind alleys, corner doorways, and even a cat. Like I said above, all the key elements. That cat looks a lot like my cat, too. Maybe they’re distant cousins. In future posts, I’ll be covering the places where I stayed and dined. Both were fantastic. Then again, most all of them were in Spain. That’s why I keep going back.

Published in: on June 2, 2010 at 11:27 pm  Leave a Comment  
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New Ideas for Housing

In the wake of natural disasters, urban sprawl, and neighborhood renewal, there are smart people coming up with new ideas for housing.  A recent exhibit in New York City’s Museum of Modern Art, revealed some of these concepts including this tiny example, a 76 square food house.

The place is big enough for one. It features all the amenities of any normal house: bathroom, kitchen, sleeping area, dining area. There’s less space than you’re typical tugboat cabin; I can confirm that. But it is functional. Here are two more examples as seen from above.

The one in the foreground is very much like a shipping container. It can be combined with similar sized units to expand the living area. At the same time, it is economical to transport given it’s standard size. The one in the background was rather bizarre in that it featured a unique construction method using cut plywood shapes. It had an organic feel to it on the inside but nothing I’d want to live in. Then there was this cottage which also used die-cut plywood shapes to allow for easy assembly.

The way the shapes are assembled gives the walls tremendous strength. It’s also easy to transport as all the pieces can be cut at the factory, shipped flat, and put together on site with less skilled labor than a traditionally built home.

These type of exhibits get your mind going, which is why I try to take them in every time I’m in New York.

Published in: on September 20, 2008 at 3:34 pm  Leave a Comment  
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Cunucu Houses, Part 1

My house in Aruba is located in the town of Savaneta, which I mentioned in some other posts. The house itself is rather nondescript. (I might also mention that it is a work in progress with regards to remodeling it.) However, as this is one of the oldest towns on the island there are a number of interesting homes around.

This example is one that sits directly at the edge of the sea. Large boulders were incorporated into the wall structure giving texture to the exterior.

Gives it a bit of a different look from the smooth walls seen in most buildings. Then there is this one, which looks to have been expanded at some point.

Sometimes you’ll find the kitchen built at one end, with a masonry oven jutting out. Given the strong sunshine found at Aruba’s latitude, any extra heat quickly builds inside so it is best to keep the oven as far from the living area as possible. This next one was built in 1922 and is well cared for.

Over the years I’ve seen more coats of paint go on this house than any other. The owners keep the flowers blooming, too, which adds another welcoming element. The owner of the house below chose a different color for his roof tiles and that makes it stand out.

That blue/green just says, “cool,” doesn’t it? Notice the flowers all lined up in pots. Finally, take a look at a house that is going through a complete rehabilitation. This thing was taken down to the bare walls. Even the roof was removed. At this point, they have a long way to go.

Nonetheless, that roof is now in good shape, the windows have been properly framed out, and the front wall is looking solid. In another six months or so this place will be another gem and I’ll post an update. I hope to go inside for interior photos.

As this blog continues, I’ll be adding more photos of traditional and new homes that can be found in Aruba. Stay tuned.

Published in: on July 12, 2008 at 10:07 am  Leave a Comment  
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