Favorite Doses of 2010

Here is my top ten from the 55 projects I featured in 2010 on my weekly and daily pages, in roughly chronological order. See also my ten favorite books of 2010.

Over and Out

[Video: A kind of deltaic 3D printer, printing variable landscapes into existence, from Riparian Rap].

I thought I'd end the year with this quick video of some riverine landscape modeling exercises built through the constant back and forth washes and cross-flows of a self-resurfacing deltaic 3D-printer—and then I'll see you in 2011.

(Video spotted via @clasticdetritus).

Favorite Books of 2010

Here is the top ten books from the 68 books I reviewed in 2010 on my weekly and daily pages, in chronological order. (Note, the books weren't necessarily released in 2010.) Click images for reviews. In a day or two I'll post my ten favorite doses featured on these two sites in the same year.

White House: China Room

The China room on the ground floor is now also referred to as the Dining Room. Architects McKim, Meade & White had designated the room a cloak room in the 1902 renovation, but in 1917, Mrs. Woodrow Wilson requisitioned the room to display the growing collection of presidential china. The room has a red color scheme based on the elegant 1924 portrait of Mrs. Calvin Coolidge, Grace. The shelves that display the china are red velvet, the curtains are red silk taffeta and the room is finished off with an early 20th-century Indo-Ispahan rug. The room has more of the salvaged wood paneling, which was again, painted under the Boudin redecoration. I love the regency style chandelier!

Before paneling, the room had smaller built-in cupboards which you can see below in 1948. I guess thats fitting as there was less china at the time! The cupboards were created more shallow however, after the paneling, and a few of the larger items could not be included. I call that a major oops!

This image below shows the Boudin Kennedy-era redecoration. The paneling was glazed grey with white details.

As the collection continues to grow, parts of it are housed in the corridor in pieces of furniture.

I loved the china of President Harrison, with the edge band of navy blue with raised gilt stalks of corn!

Included in the same case was President's Harrison elegant cut crystal.

Today's archidose #462

春日井市 プロソリサーチセンター, GC Prostho Research Center, Japan, originally uploaded by Ken Lee 2010.

GC Prostho Museum Research Center in Aichi, Japan by Kengo Kuma, 2010. Plenty more photos of the building can be found in Ken Lee 2010's flickr set.

To contribute your Flickr images for consideration, just:

:: Join and add photos to the archidose pool, and/or
:: Tag your photos archidose

Architect's Brother

Stunning work by artists Robert and Shana ParkeHarrison worth checking out (link via the always great Landezine).   Not a whole lot of descriptions around to place these - so just soak them in - more at the artists website.  Happy New Year!

:: images via Landezine

White House: Vermeil room & library

When visiting the White House, unless you are on official state business, you will enter from the ground floor (yes, I've shown these posts in reverse order of my visit!). Located on this floor are a number of functioning spaces so much of it is closed to the public. However, one can catch glimpses of the Library, seen above.

Before the 1902 renovation of the white house, this was the official laundry room of the building until becoming the servant's locker room. In 1935 it was turned into a library. The space is used for small meetings as well as press conferences and houses over 2700 books on American life which are added to by each president. The current furnishings are from New York, circa 1810. The walls are painted paneling from timbers which, before the Truman renovation of the White House, were the structure of the building (replaced by steel). This paneling is seen in a number of rooms on the ground floor.The paneling remained unpainted until the Boudin redecoration of the White House, seen above in 1963. I love that blue painted ceiling!

The walls of the Vermeil Room above (so called after the collection of Vermeil displayed here, donated by Margaret Thompson Biddle in 1956) are currently the same green painted paneling as in the library but here house portraits of First Ladies. The room functions as a ladies sitting room and is where the First Lady often receives her official guests. After the 1902 renovation, architect McKim created this room as a ladies lounge as it was adjacent to the ladies restroom and it has retained that purpose. Above you can see the unpainted paneling in 1960.The walls were painted blue by Boudin's redecoration with a grained finish. Originally, these ground floor rooms were staff quarters and the vermeil room was, fittingly, the silver polishing room!

The carpet in the room is beautiful, an 1860 Turkish Hereke. Only a few rooms left to go -join me tomorrow to see the ground floor dining room!

Merry Christmas!

To those of you who celebrate, Merry Christmas! I hope you are all enjoying my White House tour, I know I am. Thank you so much for your informative comments. I have to admit I sadly know very little about this important building's history and am enjoying the lesson!

White House; State Dining Room

The State Dining Room owes its existence to the work done by McKim, Meade and White in 1902. Prior to this time, the room was half the size. When the main staircase was moved to its present location, the dining room was able to be doubled in size and now can seat up to a presidential 140 guests.

Oddly enough, this room from the 1902 renovation is the most original to the house since the woodwork survived the 1950 gut remodel mostly intact.However, it did need to be patched and so the woodwork was painted a mint green. Below you can see the room with its original unpainted wood finish from 1904.
As with the East Room, Boudin created a more elegant room by painting the walls in ivory. He also had the original silver plated chandelier and sconces gilded. The sconces were moved from their original location, mounted on the pilasters, to the walls in between; a much more appropriate location (what was McKim thinking?).

The current draperies date from the Clinton administration, as chosen by their designer Kaki Hockersmith. The fabric is colonial revival and the walls were painted a warmer stone color, while the ceiling was painted a complex white to more closely match the McKim unpainted plaster finish.One poor decision I think was that the gilded chandeliers were given a shiny finish, which to me makes them appear like brass. I think I would prefer the original silverplate, don't you?

Here is a detail shot of the fine wood paneling by McKim.

The console tables with eagle bases had been painted and gilded during Boudin's renovation of the room (ivory, to blend in with the walls), but the Clinton's had them returned to their original mahogany finish.

Above the fireplace is the Lincoln portrait by George Healy which Boudin had restored and it has remained since. Join me next week as I continue the tour!