I just heard a talk from a brilliant individual (and designer) who I wish to adopt (Please don’t ask me why I wish to do that, I don’t know the answer either). By the way, his name is Thomas Heatherwick. His talk was about projects that he and his team have come up with, the design process and their final outputs. Let me just say that I am simply fascinated by people who come up with structures that go beyond one’s imagination, it’s simply amazing! *boggled look*
He has done amazing projects (which I will do posts on in this journal) that exhibit this but one particular project which I am in awe with is his entry for the Shanghai 2010 Expo – The Seed Cathedral.
Sample pictures below (which I found from Time Magazine) so that you’ll get what I mean.
The Specifics
The Seed Cathedral is Heatherwick’s entry for the Shanghai World Expo. It is formed from 60, 000 transparent rods, each rod 7.5 metres in length. (With seeds embedded in them! In Heatherwick’s talk, he mentioned that they got their inspiration for this from the film, Jurassic Park . Remember the mosquito trapped inside a piece of amber and how beautiful it looked?)
The structure is 20 metres in height. The rods (each and every one of them) are simply fascinating for they were designed to draw daylight inwards during the day to provide illumination for the interior. At night time, the said rods serve as optic lighting which makes the whole structure “glow”.
This amazing work of art creates an utterly dynamic effect because when a gust of wind is present, the building itself and its “optic hairs” gently move with it.
Curious about the seeds? Heatherwick teamed up with Millenium Seedbank project (another amazing group whose mission is to collect the seeds of 25% of the world’s plant species by 2020).
Construction-wise (and as quoted), “The holes in the 1 metre thick wood diaphram structure forming the visitor space inside the Seed Cathedral were drilled with great geometric accuracy to ensure precise placement of the aluminium sleeves through which the optic fibre filaments are inserted. This was achieved using 3D computer modelling data, fed into a computer controlled milling machine.”
Do you wish to adopt him yourself now? Haha 
P.S. I’d love to visit this amazing structure myself someday!
I thank God for an amazing day and for creating amazing places like the one above so that I can take pictures of them.
I also love going on trips, eating lechon manok (roast chicken with minced garlic, lemon grass, onions, soy sauce, lemon juice), eating strawberry-flavored fresh milk ice cream, dancing to funky music and being with family.
How was your weekend? ♥
“You cannot prevent the birds of sorrow from flying over your head, but you can prevent them from building nests in your hair”
“A bird does not sing because it has an answer. It sings because it has a song.”
- Chinese Proverbs
(Beautiful Print Credits: Juri Romanov)
Rewind to the day before my birthday. *Rewind/Wind Swooshing/People rotating in a funny way*
I would have posted this. (I apologize for being a weird girl who makes weird/random posts at times. *blush*)
Yup, in a couple of hours I turn a year older (hello there by the way). It seems quite surreal actually that a year has passed already since I wrote a post about last year’s birthday. Just like how I was then and in spite of what my family and I are going through, I am excited for when my birthday comes (Some things never change it seems. Haha.). But then again, I prefer things this way still – birthdays are meant to be celebrated and to be acknowledged. The year that passed had been a very challenging one and it certainly brought about change after change. Let me tell you, change is hard but I am hoping to be able to get through it a stronger and better person.
I do not know what tomorrow awaits for me but it’s alright. I’d still be the luckiest girl alive because I’ll be in the company of those who matter most in this world – and basically, that’s what matters in the scheme of things. Yup, they matter more than presents
Here are a couple of pictures from my birthday last year, I’ve been reminiscing.
Lunch with Bernie and Joh
I love this place no matter what. Eating Stroganov makes one a happy birthday girl Bernie and I ordered the exact same thing! Haha.
Dinner with Family
I love eating here too (why is it always about food?). My family is amazing and I got serenaded with a reggae birthday song. Cool beans! Haha. Oh, I ate five sets of crepe and took a picture of only one of the said sets.
Birthday Condiments
I loved my birthday cake last year and Georgia was patient enough to blow the candle with me. I think she smiled! Thanks sweets ♥
Birthdays are amazing. Cheers! ♥
Breakfast at Tiffany’s.
Yup, I am indeed destined to do a post related to this 1961 romantic comedy film starring Audrey Hepburn. I enjoy watching the movie, I love her, I love Tiffany blue (the color) and I love her classy outfits in the film. This post is simply inevitable.
I am not doing a movie review actually but am talking about a particular space/interior inspired by the film. It is awesome and I’d love to stay there myself
This gem is at the fourteenth floor of the St. Regis Hotel in New York which they aptly named as their “Tiffany Suite”. It has just been revamped recently – the old suite in 1991 then described to be corporate and “imperial”. A couple of specifics include the sizes being 1, 700 square feet (for the one bedroom) and 2, 300 square feet (for the two bedroom), a dining area that sits ten, a view that faces Central Park. A sample floor plan below.
Design-wise, the interior lends a whimsical yet opulent feel to it (with it’s crystal decanters, silver, streaming pearls) and utilizes a timeless color palette of neutrals (such as charcoal, whites, creams, silver) with Tiffany and Co.’s signature Tiffany color as the accent color. A couple of pictures of the beautiful suite below.
I definitely fell in love with this space and I love the lovely mounted wall ornaments (they look so delicate and feminine). I love the Barbara Barry Fretwork Lounge Chairs (with mirror finishes and lacquer)by Barbara Berry for Mcguire.
The person responsible for this is John Loring (Design Director Emeritus of Tiffany and Co.). He wanted to redesign the suite for a young and fashion conscious audience. As quoted, “The style of New York (in the late 80′s and early 90′s) was anything but young, and fresh, and hip. It was rather ponderous and the suite was aimed at a very different audience than today”.
Definitely taking the Tiffany experience to another level!
P.S. With regards to the movie, I definitely love this iconic dress, especially the back detail ♥
to me ♥
P.S. Yup, I was born today and I had an especially amazing day. Three cheers for my awesome loved ones. Georgia blew her cake as well!
P.P.S. I love the prints above.
Hello Everyone! How I have missed all of you and this darling design journal. My family and I are still fighting an ongoing battle, do pray for my mom (thanks!).
On a more lighter note, its August and I love this month ♥
The Sea Green Journal turned a year old a few days ago (thus I wanted to make this post extra special) and I can hardly believe it. This has been a lot of fun and I do plan to continue on writing and pouring my design thoughts here.
More randomness, here are a couple of things I love (I have a lot actually, stuff that I love I mean) -
Lunch (Something I whipped up, it turned up to be quite tasty actually. Cool beans!) Egg white Omelette with Oregano and Basil, Lean Beef Sausages with Herbs and some fresh English Baby Spinach. Yum!
Definitely someone I am grateful for, a really cool friend over the net – Belinda! She was kind enough to do an interview with me about what I do (this mention is long overdue), it was a lot of fun. If you wish to check it out, you may do so here.
Yup, it’s the little one. I believe she’ll be in all of my lists (haha) and in lots of my future posts. Its my little Georgia – I love her ♥
P.S. Advanced Happy Birthday, Nikko Biko!
