The master plan for this south-facing woodland property celebrates dramatic topography, muscular canopy trees, remnant fieldstone walls, and native stone outcroppings. Sound vegetation management principles guide each phase of installation, and the true character of the woodland is revealed. Stone walls form terraces that traverse native topography, and a meticulously crafted stone staircase provides casual passage to a gently sloping lawn knoll carved from the existing hillside. Lush perennial borders and native plant stands create edges and thresholds, and a crisp palette of traditional and contemporary materials merge––building upon the surrounding topography and site geology.

Mark Tessier Landscape Architecture designed this textural, drought tolerant, warm modern garden to complement the mid-century design of the home. The use of various materials including gravel, reclaimed and ipe wood, and concrete mixed with a lush drought resistant planting palette offer a homeowners and visitors a multi sensory environment. Photos by Art Gray

http://nicecellingdesigns.blogspot.com The Copernican Revolution The Copernican revolution was one of the most important steps forward in the advancement of our knowledge of the universe. The notion that the Earth is not the center of the universe, but actually is a planet, like Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn, and therefore, moves through the heavens, was considered to be insane by most people. This theory contradicts what the bible says and what the church had taught since the days of the early church fathers. That the Earth is the center of the universe was considered to be so obvious that it would be insane to say it wasn't so. Obviously, the sun, moon, planets, and stars revolve around the Earth. A corollary to the Copernican theory is that day and night are caused by the fact that the Earth spins. Well this can't be so, people said. If the Earth was spinning around from west to east at the necessary speed, we would feel it. Not understanding inertia, people, even educated people made the argument that if the Eartmovie spinning and you jumped straight up, you would land somewhat west of the spot you jumped from. Copernicus was certainly not the first to suggest that the Earth revolves around the sun. The idea had been discussed in ancient Greece, most notably by Aristarchus. There had even been a few European men who had suggested a sun-centered universe a century or so before Copernicus. What distinguishes Copernicus's account is his detailed mathematical analyses of the consequences of the Earth's motion around the sun. It was in large part, because his tables of the planets' positions differed significantly from the tables produced by an Earth-centered system, thus enabling his theory to be checked in the long run, that his theory was eventually accepted. The errors that accumulated in his heliocentric (sun-centered) system were much smaller than the errors that accumulated in the geocentric (Earth-centered) system. Of all of the great ideas in history, this notion, set forth by Nicholas Copernicus, in his book, De Revolutionibus Orbium Caelestium in 1543, was probably the most important, for its consequences were so far reaching. It set off a huge wave of controversy. At first it was just a ripple. But this ripple soon grew into a huge tidal wave of opposition to this heretical idea. In order to appreciate why this idea was so vehemently opposed, one needs to understand the official cosmology of the church and its reasons for promoting this cosmology. This cosmology was largely derived from Dante's Divine Comedy, which itself was, ironically, derived partly from Muslim teachings. The fact that the Earth is a sphere is taken for granted in Dante's work. It had been know since the time of Aristotle that the Earth is a sphere. (Actually it is a slightly distorted sphere, being fatter at the equator, but that discovery had to wait until Dominco Cassini) Circa 500BCE Aristotle set forth a clear and cogent argument for the spherical shape of the Earth. He pointed out that when ships disappear over the horizon, the main body of the boat disappears from view first, then the bottom of the mast, then the top. Also, people on ships see the bottoms of mountains disappear before the tops, as they sail away from the shore. This is a better argument than seeing the mast of a ship disappear after the bottom is no longer visible because it is hard to believe that the small ships of that time would be anything more than a dot on the horizon to a viewer on land. And why should there be a horizon at all if the Earth is flat? Aristotle also pointed out that when one city views a solar or lunar eclipse as occurring , say, thirty degrees above the eastern horizon, another city, farther east, would report the same eclipse as occurring higher in the sky. Cities much further west would report no eclipse at all. He pointed out the absurdity of believing that there were two separate eclipses on the same day, each visible by one city and not the other. Even with an Earth-centered solar system, it was obvious that this could not be so. And he also pointed out, that travelers have long known that the North Star gets higher in the sky as one travels in a northerly direction. It was probably common knowledge before Aristotle that the Earth is a sphere. He was merely able to present the evidence more clearly and concisely than anyone else. Dante paints a vivid picture of the universe, with the Earth at its center, hell being located in the very center of the Earth, and heaven, above. There are nine concentric spheres of hell, the innermost, being the most corrupt and horrible of them all, and the very center of the universe. Above the Earth's surface, there are nice concentric spheres of heaven. Why nine? First there are seven concentric spheres, one for each naked eye planet and one each for the sun and moon. Beyond that, there is the sphere of the stars. A ninth sphere was added by the Muslims to account for the precession of the equinoxes. The hero in Dante's story descends progressively through all of the spheres of the Earth until he is in the very pits of hell. He comes out on the other side of the Earth, where purgatory is located, and then he ascends progressively through all of the heavenly spheres until he reaches the last one, the very throne of God. This picture of the universe has man in an intermediary position, above the abode of the damned, yet within sight of heaven. This picture, with the demons below, the worst demon of all, Satan, in the very center, and the angels above, being progressively more angelic as one ascends through the heavenly spheres, places mankind in a precarious position, tempted by evil from below, inspired by divinity from above. This view of the universe was so congruent with Christian doctrine that it would not easily yield to a new view of the universe no matter how much evidence there may be in support of a new view. Ever since its publication, the cosmology of Dante's book had been an important part of the theology of the Church, both Catholic and Protestant. With mankind's position, balanced precariously between heaven and hell, it painted a vivid picture and reinforced the basic belief system of the church. Morality, cosmology, and theology were completely intertwined. At first the opposition came only from Protestant circles. One of the first to speak out against this new heresy was Martin Luther. He called Copernicus a fool, pointing out, that the biblical story of Joshua clearly states that Joshua commanded the sun to stand still, not the Earth. Other Protestants soon joined in. Calvin cited the opening verse of psalm 93-"The Earth is stabilized that it cannot be moved." Church officials began to search the bible with a fine tooth comb, looking for passages that "prove" Copernicus is wrong. Eventually the Catholic Church joined in the battle, banning Copernicus's book in the year 1610. Copernicus's heliocentric theory was so violently opposed, not so much because it contradicted the bible, which it does, but because it made nonsense out of the official theology of Christianity. After all, the bible clearly describes the world as being flat, and its true shape had been known centuries before Hebrew scribes began to write the Jewish Bible, or Old Testament, as it is called by Christians. This should have been a cause for some caution in using the bible to "prove" that the Earth is the center of the universe. The church officials knew good and well that the bible was never meant to be taken literally, but were not averse to using literal interpretations when it proved useful their argument. Here are the main objections to the heliocentric theory, as pointed out by the pope himself. If Earth is just another planet, circling the sun with the other planets, how can the Earth be a place of iniquity and sin, with devils below and angels above? He said that Copernicus's theory makes a mockery of the ascension of Christ, because if the Earth is orbiting the sun, how could Christ have ascended up to heaven? If the stars are not the lights of heaven, but actually other suns, as the theory suggests, then God, in His infinite goodness, would have created inhabitants on them too. How could Christ have died for the sins of all of the inhabitants of these other planets? Many Copernicans believed that the universe was infinite. This was one of the worst heresies of all. If the universe is infinite, then where can the throne of God be located? No wonder the pope said that the Copernican heresy is the greatest threat there has ever been to Christianity and should be wiped out at all costs. In 1610 Galileo went public with his own support of the heliocentric theory. He had observed that Venus goes through phases like the moon, and that these phases are in synch with its position relative to the sun. He also observed that Jupiter has four moons orbiting it, which contradicts an important argument of the Church. The opponents of the heliocentric theory said that the moon can't be orbiting the Earth at the same time the Earth orbits the sun because God would not make things so complicated, and no one disagreed that the moon orbits the Earth. The phases of Venus had been correctly predicted by supporters of the heliocentric theory before Galileo had observed them. And the moons of Jupiter made it clear that objects can be orbiting another object, which itself is in orbit around the sun. Galileo was put on trial and put under house arrest to effectively shut him up. The church considered him a big threat to their power because he was very vocal about the heliocentric theory and in fact had uncovered good evidence in its favor. Almost four centuries later, the Catholic Church officially apologized for the imprisonment of Galileo. Eventually most Protestant sects were persuaded by the evidence. By the middle of the seventeenth century the accumulating evidence was too great to ignore. But the Catholic Church held its ban until 1822 on any books that espoused the heliocentric theory or treated the Earth's motion as a reality. One objection to the heliocentric theory had been the lack of any observed stellar parallax. If the Earth orbits the sun, then the stars should shift their positions as the Earth moves in its orbit. If accurate measurements of a star's position are made six months apart, then a noticeable shift in the star's position should be apparent. Despite many attempts to view stellar parallax, none was seen. This bolstered the Church's argument against the heliocentric theory. For no parallax to be observed, the stars must be incredibly far away, and most people were not willing to believe that God would waste so much space by putting the stars so far apart. Measuring stellar parallax became the holy grail of astronomy. Though there was enough evidence for the heliocentric theory by mid seventeenth century to convince all but the most die-hard fanatics, stellar parallax was not observed until 1838. In principle, if a star's position is carefully measured at six month intervals, then the diameter of the Earth's orbit becomes a baseline from which simple trigonometry will give the distance to the star. It turns out that the stars are much farther away and farther apart from each other than almost anyone in the sixteenth or seventeenth century was willing to believe. I believe that the true implications of heliocentricity have not been fully realized by most people, especially those who are prone to believing a literal interpretation of religious scripture. The number of stars in the known universe is beyond our ability to comprehend. The number of planets, of course, is unknown, but is almost certainly an incredibly huge number. The Earth is an insignificant speck in an unimaginably vast universe.

Designed using the ancient Chinese organizational principles of feng shui, this free-standing kitchen combines Zen-like calm with the convenience and performance of a professional kitchen. The concrete walls are painted in a color that’s light and soothing, while floors are bare and clean, save for cushioned mats placed in front of busy workspaces. The windows were acquired from a vacated building and adapted for residential use. In this large kitchen, designers concentrated a rangetop and two wall ovens into one cooking center. A warming shelf for plates is situated below the restaurant-style ventilation hood and above the rangetop for an added touch of convenience that enhances the cook’s serenity. The Asian minimalist aesthetic and commercial cooking equipment are given a warm feeling with the use of natural materials such as African zebrawood and live plants. This is a kitchen that truly reflects the spirit of yin and yang, in which harmony is achieved through opposing yet complementary forces.

Inspiration for a transitional painted straight wood railing staircase remodel in Barcelona with painted risers

GAO Zhiqiang: Exploring the infinite possibilities beyond boundaries - Space Emotion Design Series - Vniau Office The essence of space design is to pay attention to people’s emotional needs, especially in office designs. Vniau office is designed by GAO Zhiqiang, a space emotion designer. He created an extremely comfortable and inclusive office space by modern design tech-niques, combined with technology, history and humanities. / Explore / Infinite possibilities beyond boundaries A humanistic caring, warm and emotional design work, under the continuous changes of social forms, evolves into a space in accordance with the develop-ment of the current era, which is the most solid response from the designer to the space. This open space makes you feel like entering into a movie scene. Large areas of black and white contrast, and smooth lines create a powerful aura. However, soft lights bring back a romantic atmosphere. The space is highlighted by vir-tuality and reality. The development of modern technology diversified people’s cognition and iden-tification of space dimension. The designer tries to break the inherent bound-ary consciousness among technology, humanities and nature by comfortable and efficient spatial perception. Wandering between virtual and real, light and shadow, the space presents a fu-ture sense through symbols. It shows a bold, free, open, lush, and new office format. "Compared with technology, we pay more attention to people's emotions and feelings. We have always been advocating using the most common materials to create different spaces, and the key is depended on design." Said designer GAO Zhiqiang. Therefore, when it came to the selection of materials, pureness presents in-finity, simplicity creates richness. Bright green brings cheerfulness, and the exposed ceiling and cloud-like chandeliers create a natural and agile visual perception. The combination of dynamic and stillness embodies the concentra-tion of the designer. As the previous office was in Chinese style with redwood furniture, in order to have good effect of the overall space, the designer discussed with the own-er repeatedly, strive to change into a modern style, which matches more with their products, clients, competitors, brand culture and temperament of the of-fice, younger staff, etc., in the end, this design shows up. This is a ring-shaped office space with same walls and same core tubes, which make people easily disoriented. By the principle of 5 elements - metal, wood, water, fire and earth, the designer placed the reception and exhibition room in the middle, and painted in yellow, corresponding to central earth. According to this principle, the R & D department on the east side is decorat-ed in green, corresponding to wood, also, the market and finance department on the south side is orange, corresponding to fire. Service department on the west is white color representing metal, CEO and QC office on the north side is given black color, representing water. 5 directions are painted in 5 colors, which make people clearly distinguish departments and directions. The building wall of the void area has a huge sloped beam, which causes poor visual experience. To solve this problem, the designer creates a magnificent X-shaped style by making use of the original beam structure. Its perforated sides and the luminous aluminum plates are very sci-fi, showing a similar vision of X-Men headquarters. The interaction, communication and intersection among people are the key points of designing moving lines. Their optimization brings closer collaboration among departments,shorten the distance that people have to walk in the space, such as in conference rooms, negotiation rooms, recreation area, water bar, reception area. Reasonable moving lines make discussion and communication between people, de-partments, and customers more efficient. At the same time, different spaces create different atmospheres and emotions, relax, or serious, or leisurable, etc., so as to meet needs of different moments. In addition, the designer GAO Zhiqiang said, "We want to create a feeling of flowing clouds. Lights and curves create moving lines, and give a sense of freedom." To remove the shackles of traditional office designs, and give a space infi-nite vitality is not just a change in form, it is more about 'people' them-selves. Here, everyone has a very large degree of freedom, and they can feel the infinite possibilities of future. Initiative and creativity are stimulated at the same time. Once people create the environment, areas interact with each other, and the power of design emerges. Soft curve is a visual expression of tolerance and infinite possibilities. The spatial layout breaks isolation and shortens the distance of human hearts. High efficiency while no boundaries, and everywhere has space for independent thinking and solitude. The space respects each individual and can also unit as a whole. Gaudi, the most famous Spanish architect, once said that straight lines belong to human, and curves belong to the God. It is probably that the curves give birth to too many wonderful changes. In this space, the curves are formed smoothly, either on the ground or ceiling, or a room, a partition. "Spatial emotion design" advocates bringing human attributes to spatial func-tions. By designing and shaping the space, people are able to work in the best state of physiological and psychological emotions. Therefore, AFFD is trying their best to create comfortable working environments for employees, to ensure efficient work, as well as physical and mental health of staff.

Designed using the ancient Chinese organizational principles of feng shui, this free-standing kitchen combines Zen-like calm with the convenience and performance of a professional kitchen. The concrete walls are painted in a color that’s light and soothing, while floors are bare and clean, save for cushioned mats placed in front of busy workspaces. The windows were acquired from a vacated building and adapted for residential use. In this large kitchen, designers concentrated a rangetop and two wall ovens into one cooking center. A warming shelf for plates is situated below the restaurant-style ventilation hood and above the rangetop for an added touch of convenience that enhances the cook’s serenity. The Asian minimalist aesthetic and commercial cooking equipment are given a warm feeling with the use of natural materials such as African zebrawood and live plants. This is a kitchen that truly reflects the spirit of yin and yang, in which harmony is achieved through opposing yet complementary forces.

The finished garden, an abundance of plants compliment the design of this garden.
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