Mandalay’s Golden Palace (Image courtesy of Oway Agency, Myanmar) By Catherine Clover – On a recent trip to Myanmar (Burma) I made a stop in the crossroads city of Mandalay. Linking the route from the south of the country in Yangon to the states of the north, in modern times […]
Architectural History
Gardens of Pompeii as Roman Legacy
By Cher Stone Beall – Gardens are a vital part of urban Pompeii as perhaps the best known Roman city. From a distance the location of some of the gardens in Pompeii must have revealed themselves with treetops rising above walls encircling them. The gardens of Pompeii were spread throughout […]
The Architecture of Mario Tamagno and the Neilson Hays Library in Bangkok
By Catherine Clover – By its definition, the Beaux Arts movement in architecture combined the classical proportions of the Greco–Roman period with the Neo-Classical decorative elements popularized in the Renaissance and Baroque periods. Of the many buildings that fall into this category of architecture, two prominent international opera houses come […]
Inca Metronomy: An Intersection of Cultural Elements
By Douglas McElwain – Inca measurements are systematic as they apply to architecture and quipu knot structures. This article suggests a relationship between three seemingly disparate elements of Inca culture; stone walls, distance units of measure, and quipu (surviving string knot artifacts). Walls The Inca of Peruvian South America lived […]
The Historic Temples of Bagan in Burma (Myanmar)
By Catherine Clover – From the air, the Irrawaddy River stretches like a golden snake across the landscape all the way to the horizon in the late daylight. My journey to Bagan started from Bangkok with a pre-dawn flight to Yangon. After a brief stop for breakfast at the historic […]
The House That Silk Built: Jim Thompson’s Residence on the Klong – A True Bangkok Gem
By Catherine Clover – Bangkok, Thailand, is a city with many interesting wats, or temples, palaces and occasionally a home of historical significance, many of which I see often and have visited as I’ve lived here in Bangkok for several years. The Jim Thompson house is a fine […]