A good life at any age
19 November 2021 | Life-Style
A what? What’s a forest apartment? Inner City? How do you grow forests on a building? You mean climbing plants, not forests? The mind boggles and being a person always attracted to creative, boggling minds I had to check this one out.
I came across the Bosco Verticale (Vertical Forest) concept in the work of architects from the Boeri Studios. (Stefano Boeri, Gianandrea Barreca and Giovanni La Varra) They have built a pair of inner city apartment towers in Milan in an area being rehabilitated. The smallest tower has 18 floors, 76 metres tall and the largest 26 floors and 110 metres high.
The tower blocks were opened in 2014 and contain more than 900 trees, 500 shrubs and 1,500 perennial plants on the terraces of the two towers. The blocks are residential apartments and the development also houses an 11 story office block. Boeri says that the forest towers concept was inspired by a novel written by Italo Calvino about a forest dwelling man.
Why is this architecture so ground-breaking? Over the years our awareness of the role of plants in mitigating smog and producing oxygen has grown. We are seeing vertical gardens embraced in city apartments and the shrivelled cacti on a city balcony is hopefully, becoming a thing of the past! Atrium and vertical gardens can be incorporated and retrofitted into office design for many years now.
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Instagram ‘s a funny thing. As I scrolled and liked my way through the day’s posts I came across Retiring_Not_Shy and smiled. Clever. Funny. A woman who models my kind of clothes. Months pass and I post a shout-out for people to be interviewed for my book 50 Faces: 50…
16 August 2021 | 50 Faces 50 Lives
This week I met a remarkable man. Let me set the scene. It’s my first interview in over a year for my Ageing Well book. For the past year a Covid world made meeting people a risky business. So today I’m as excited as a kid at Christmas as I…
26 March 2021 | 50 Faces 50 Lives
I published this article after an interview with Petrus Spronk in November 2019..it seems like light years ago! It was one of the highlights of the research for my book and I’ll never forget encountering the creative mind in all its purity and the outstanding talent of this great artist….
19 February 2021 | 50 Faces 50 Lives
I do like a great photo! Cartier- Bresson, Richard Avedon, Ansel Adams, Dorothea Lange, Annie Liebowitz, Diane Arbus….wonderful! Art exhibitions have been severely affected by the restrictions of this Covid year but in the midst of the chaos, Ballarat Art Gallery in regional Victoria managed to open its doors to…
19 November 2021 | Arts
No Time to Die is the latest film in the James Bond franchise. This one featuring Daniel Craig. He’s been looking particularly smiley in media interviews for this film..charming rather than surly…it must be because after 15 years of making Bond Films he can finally wave goodbye to this role….
14 November 2021 | Arts
SBS television recently commissioned surveys to ask more than 2,000 Australians about their views on people with disabilities, older people and overweight people and in a series of three programs attitudes to each group are explored. Hidden cameras, interviews and research findings provide insight into Australian attitudes. Last night the…
26 August 2021 | Arts
A what? What’s a forest apartment? Inner City? How do you grow forests on a building? You mean climbing plants, not forests? The mind boggles and being a person always attracted to creative, boggling minds I had to check this one out. I came across the Bosco Verticale (Vertical Forest)…
19 November 2021 | Life-Style
It’s Sunday. Cold and windy with rain showers..early spring. I pick up the newspaper and a chocolate croissant and head home. Morning tea while I watch the daily press conference on TV from the Chief Health Officer, Brett Sutton (who incidentally has the best tatts. under that conservative public servant…
17 October 2021 | Life-Style
Qantas just sent me an email to say that if I can provide evidence of my double Covid vaccination they would give me 1,000 frequent flyer points! Yoo Hoo! Along with the 50 points I already have I cannot actually fly anywhere, but I’m on my way…soon! Oh and no…
26 August 2021 | Life-Style
Take a snapshot of life in the different states of Australia over the past 6 months and it feels like each state and territory is a different country. With borders, for the most part slammed shut, each state has their own narrative about how to survive the pandemic. New South…
13 October 2021 | Living Well
I don’t know about you, but some days I look in the mirror and say..who’s that old person? Then with dollops of creams, toners, serums and occasionally masterful make – up, the wrinkles, sun spots and lines seem less prominent and I can feel more ” like myself.” The end…
24 August 2021 | Living Well
I don’t know about you but I’m really weary. It’s somehow different to being tired. When I’m tired I just have a good night’s sleep and bounce back. I was having lunch with friends when Melbourne’s latest (5th) lock-down was announced. We all looked shocked and rushed off to cancel…
16 July 2021 | Living Well