SUGAR

Toronto's Sugar Beach is located on the Waterfront next to Corus Entertainment and the Redpath Sugar Refinery on Corus Quay. Although set to officially open Aug. 9, people have been using it even while construction was finishing up. Make no mistake, thank heavens this "beach" has landed in the East Bayfront but while media such as Blogto, Post, or the Star are hyping it up, we felt like there should've been a little something MORE especially as it approaches opening day...

It has a very similar feel to HtO, which is not surprising since Claude Cormier Paysagistes are responsible for both. But being sugar beach, the candy-coloured sun-brellas and the candy-striped Yorkville-esque rocks were fun and fitting but not enough. We were hoping that it wouldn't just be a larger HtO! The sandbox like "beach" with its beautiful white sand was still a little lack-luster at the edge of this quay. It needs a little extra "kick", a little extra "SWEETNESS"... perhaps a tad more colour, perhaps a water feature (like a Yorkville waterfall) would help to elevate the site and transport us from the industrial surrounding on one side and corporate complex on the other side!

Nevertheless, the fact that it's here is a great start! :) (Thanks to YY for the tip)

(peering into the Corus Entertaiment atrium)

(green mounds and candy-striped rocks)

(candy-coloured sun-brella-ellas on white sand beach)

MASP

MASP or Museu de Arte de São Paulo is just off the main drag of Av. Paulista. A glass box lifted on red legs, you can't miss it! It houses a wonderful mix of paintings, sculptures, and drawings from Monet to Van Gogh, Dali to Rodin, you name it. They also have an amazing collection of Max Ernst's surrealist collages using old graphic novels. Amazing. Must See!

IBIRAPUERA

For an escape from the concrete jungle that is São Paulo, we headed to Ibirapuera Park, a large urban park similar to Central Park in NYC. A relief from the density of the city, the park is popular on weekends for joggers, b-ballers, families, and lovers, not to mention the birds and fish that call it home. With buildings by Oscar Niemeyer including a theatre and pavilion with a Modern Art Museum and landscape by Robbie Burle Marx, the park is a literal breath of fresh air in the busy city. We easily spent the better half of the day taking it all in the first time, and then came back for more before leaving São Paulo. Highly Recommended!

São Paulo: The Real Concrete Jungle

MS and I escaped for a few days Northward to São Paulo, Brasil. Trying to go from broken Spanish (Argentinian-style) to Portuguese (São Paulo-style) is no easy feat but we survived. As soon as we started heading into the city we realized how dense even the suburbs were and every building was concrete. With nearly 20 million Paulistanos in the metropolitan area, it's no wonder. This is the real concrete jungle! (as MS puts it, "New York is but a concrete garden compared to this jungle!") The disparity in the city is remarkable, the rich are ridiculously rich while the poor live in favelas on the outskirts of town. We thought is was actually quite expensive to be in São Paulo, and while there were moments that were magical, the city is more impressive as a sum than most of its individual parts. We definitely enjoyed the extensive catalogue of fresh & exotic fruits available, though! We'll meet again, São Paulo!

CC in Argentina

(Above - Flying over Los Andes)

CC is in Buenos Aires and surrounding area for the next couple of weeks.
I will be blogging about cute little boutiques and yummy restaurants & cafes!
MEAT! MEAT! MEAT! MEAT! MEAT! MEAT! MEAT! MEAT! MEAT! MEAT! MEAT! MEAT!

HERE'S A PREVIEW!

Chloe

(Above) A scene from Chloe on Queen st. West.


Atom Egoyan has been known for his films with non-linear narratives and themes of isolation. His films are often presented with an artful manipulation of space and time to bring richness into the storytelling and where perception matters most. Atom also loves to use Toronto as the backdrop to many of his films but the familiar (to Torontonians) scenery is often transcended by the narrative itself which I find so atmospheric. The last film I saw of his, Adoration, was fascinating in this regard along with the clever use of internet video to mediate the contemporary coming-of-age experience. His most recent film Chloe, a drama thriller that explores the issues of betrayal and control contains a bigger cast and a faster-paced story. I'm also excited to see how he will make use of the Toronto backdrop in this experience. Often met with mixed reviews, this film is no exception, I'm still excited to see what Atom has done with this film.

The Living

Amphibious Architecture (New York)


Living Light (Seoul)

The Living is a young New York-based firm formed by David Benjamin & Soo-In Yang. I recently had the privileged to see David present some of their works in a lecture, most of which were described as prototypes and experimental research projects that investigate the possibilities of technology, human/environmental interaction, and architecture. Of particular interest are projects that turns what's invisible in our natural and built environments into a visible representation with the help of sensors and data collecting.

Projects such as Living City (a series of sensors that collect air quality/carbon levels in various locations in the city and through the internet sends the info such that an installation in a remote gallery will translate that data into a series of actions), the installation is an extension of their previous prototype called Living Glass which is a wall system will "gills" that can move and breathe. Other projects such as Living Light (a canopy on a pavilion in Seoul that displays air quality information by region by tapping into an existing online data resource, this info can be transmitted to mobile phones via text message) or Amphibious Architecture (an installation on the East River of NY that translates water quality, fish/aqua life, and other data into colour-coded led lights) use a similar method to make the invisible around us visible and interactive.

Through these experiments and prototyping, The Living and other firms and researchers doing similar things are interrogating what the future of interactive/responsive architectures can be. What can we do with the data? How can we represent it? How can our built environments respond to improve/alter the conditions? What would a larger network of such systems look like an function?

Living Glass:

GONE FISHIN'

Added to wish list:

3. SNS Shawl Neck Sweater @ OAKnyc

The snow has started falling, school is out. My mind's "gone fishin'"... What better way to accommodate my vacation stupor than a super-comfy, super-warm fisherman's sweater?

TWIST AND "SHOT"

Another item for the xmas wish list:

2. TWIST by Mypressi

Portable espresso maker for your espresso needs, anywhere, anytime, a perfect shot!

DROP IT LIKE IT'S "ICE"

It's the season to give again and I'm adding items to my wish list, starting with:

1. ETERNAL ICE DROP FOR HENNESSY COGNAC by 5.5 Designers

If your familiar with Whiskey Stones that cools your drink without diluting it, the Eternal Ice Drop works the same way with Cognac. Simple & elegant. Perfect for sipping by the fireplace after xmas dinner. :) [via Designboom]

Architects in Film

Sooner or later someone was going to come up with this list, especially since Architects have been popularized in the mainstream through Hollywood etc. Celebrities such as Hayden Christensen and Brad Pitt have expressed their interest in architecture. Even President Obama once aspired to be an architect. On film, the architect as character dates well back to The Fountainhead and has picked up in frequency on the big screen in recent years. I have seen a few such attempts at listing architects on screen but none as comprehensive and that via Mirage Studio 7 & Arch Daily) However, their list is missing a few films which Couper//Coller has revised below:

Gary Cooper in “Fountainhead” (1949):

Henry Fonda in “12 Angry Men” (1957):

Kirk Douglas as Larry Coe - “Strangers When We Meet” (1960):

Albert Finney as Mark Wallace - “Two For The Road” (1967):

Paul Newman in “The Towering Inferno” (1974):

Charles Bronson in “Death Wish” (1974):

Brian Dennehy as Stourley Kracklite - The Belly of an Architect” (1987):

Tom Selleck in “Three Men and a Baby” (1987):

Wesley Snipes in “Jungle Fever” (1991):

Steve Martin in “House Sitter” (1992):

Woody Harrelson in “Indecent Proposal” (1993):

Tom Hanks in “Sleepless in Seattle” (1993):

Jeff Bridges as Max Klein - “Fearless” (1993):

Richard Gere as Vincent Eastman - “Intersection” (1994):

Matthew Broderick in “The Cable Guy” (1996):

Michelle Pfeiffer in “One Fine Day” (1996):

Ewan McGragor as Meneer Chrome in "The Serpent's Kiss" (1997):

Jason Alexander as George Costanza (wannabe architect) in "Seinfeld" (1989-1998):

Matthew Perry and Oliver Platt in "Three to Tango" (1999):

Frank Gehry (voice) in “The Simpsons” (2005):

Kevin Kline as George Monroe - “Life As A House” (2001):

Helmut Bakaitis as The Architect - “The Matrix Reloaded” (2003):

Liam Neeson in “Love Actually” (2003):

Ashton Kutcher (Student) in “Butterfly Effect” (2004):

Michael Keaton in “White Noise” (2005):

Jude Law (Landscape Architect) in “Breaking and Entering” (2006):

Adam Sandler in “Click” (2006):

Luke Wilson in “My Super Ex-Girlfriend” (2006):

Matt Dillon in “You, Me and Dupree” (2006) and “There’s Something About Mary” (1998):

Zach Braff in “The Last Kiss” (2006):

Virginia Madsen in “Firewall” (2006):

Keanu Reeves in “The Lake House” (2006):

Joseph Gordon-Levitt in “500 Days of Summer” (2009):