N°1 Q1 2019
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Find your greatness. Just do it.
One match wonder.
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Fashion is not a statement. It’s a decleration for war
EDITOR’S LETTER From Editorial Director & Artistic Director Georg Rachmann
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can still smell the petrol. Still see the wringing of my father’s hands as we loitered in the fuel station’s forecourt, our shoes squeaking on the slightly slick concrete as we paced back and forth; my 12-year-old self casting quick, furtive glances at the dealership across the road, my dad working up the courage to walk us through its doors. We had no right to be there, really. As two working class car nuts from the country visiting the big smoke of Sydney, the Porsche showroom in Willoughby, with its huge glass windows, shiny white floor and glittering metal (championed by a white over red 996 GT3), seemed to belong to another universe. Perhaps the dealer principal had a son of his own. Or maybe we just caught him on a good day. Whatever the reason, instead of rebuffing our uncertain approach, he welcomed us inside. I was even allowed to sit in the cars, including the GT3, and on the way out, we were given two thick, stiffly bound brochures (which I still have). It left an ineradicable mark. I’ve thought about that moment a lot this month, given this magazine’s hat tip to Porsche’s 70th anniversary. I’ve been trying to pinpoint the exact moment where my passion for Porsche began; to understand why, of all the brands out there, that’s the one that resonates most with me. It’s a selfish quest, I admit, but also one applicable to all of us. Be it Porsche, Ferrari, Holden, Ford, something Japanese, British, French, or a brand more obscure, every one of us has a marque that speaks to us more than others. The influence of our parents is hard to escape, of course, but in my case it doesn’t tell the whole story. Dad didn’t love Porsches, he was a Ford man, and while the dealer expe-
rience helped cement it, I’d been a Porsche fan long before that. Nailing down the precise moment has proven elusive, but I was able to glean some insights from Mark Webber and Walter Rohrl, both of whom contribute to our Porsche coverage on p70. Rohrl’s passion is infectious, his words coming in a rush and his voice rising as he hastens to explain what Porsche means to him (he currently owns 11). What struck a chord, however, is that both Rohrl and Webber singled out Porsche’s “subtlety” as a key attraction. Porsches are rarely as brash or as outlandish as their competitors and nowhere is this approach more visible than in the brand’s claimed performance statistics. Porsche’s head of motorsport Frank Walliser once told me that after collecting the times from a full day of straight-line testing, Porsche always adds a tenth or two to ensure the number is repeatable by average drivers in varying conditions. I like that. Stephen Corby wrote an excellent column for this magazine last year where he asked: “Is brand allegiance and tribalism in car culture dead?” He argued the apathy of many youngsters is proof that it is. It’s a scary thought, but the counterpoint is that it’s up to us to keep it alive. Our love of cars is what drives us. It’s what compels you to read this magazine, to be inexplicably passionate about collections of metal, plastic and glass. And if passing that onto the next generation requires a small moment of courage to walk into the showroom of a brand we can’t afford, we shouldn’t shy away.
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16. S is for sumptuary 25 33. Stylez 42. Tokyo 50. C el the world with a car 58. Yacht 66. Q3 72. Dune ba says about the driver 84. 94. Female E-Powe 116. Heli Skiing 124.
5. The nature of the beast Classic beats new 52. TravThe history of the J-Calss ash Dubai 80. What the car Streets through paradise er 106. Sustainability . Design at it’s purist
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T HIS TAK SE O US
S IS K EN R I S LY
S IS FOR
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unrivaled gets addition to it’s famaly; the new Mercedes
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s AMG S 65 Coupé
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Above: Center console of the AMG S65
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Above: The S65 Coupé infront of a sundwon at one of Danmark‘s dunes
1000 4,1s 463 P 0-100 km/h
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assionate in every sense: In the AMG S 65 Coupé, every square meter represents superior sportiness and captivates with sensual clarity. The front splitter, side skirts, and diffuser insert are not only optical highlights; they also perform quite clear performance tasks. And even the exterior is impressive, with details like the V12-specific design elements in high-gloss chrome at the front, side, and rear. The interior is also characterized by the utmost attention to detail and the highest quality of workmanship – right up to the absence of perforation, in order to ensure a perfect seam pattern. And in the AMG sports seats, you will enjoy the 1000 Nm of the AMG 6.0-liter V12 biturbo engine even on long trips. As a result, with an acceleration of 0 to 100 km/h in only 4.1 seconds, long distances
will not seem so long – rather, passionately different. Hallmark Mercedes elegance meets the sportiness of a Mercedes-AMG Performance vehicle. Distinctive accents merge with the dynamic lines to produce a two-door model that confirms its sportiness. Signature Coupe dynamics and characteristic lines define the side design. The performance requirements become apparent as soon as you catch a glimpse of the striking light-alloy wheels. The side skirts, featuring three-dimensional inlays in high-gloss chrome, bring the Coupe visually closer to the road and generate more tension in the flank. Supreme sportiness combined with the sensual clarity typical of Mercedes-Benz: the irresistible contours of the Mercedes-AMG S 65 Coupé are a captivating sight. The new powerful design with AMG-specific radiator grille and jet wing
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in the front apron as well as the distinctive rear apron with expressive V12-specific twin tailpipes underscores the exclusivity of the vehicle. The exclusive standards of this car are further emphasised by the lower air inlet grilles in high-gloss chrome in the front apron. The eye is drawn to the “V12 BITURBO” lettering on the wings and the high-sheen chrome inserts in the side skirts. The AMG high-performance composite brake system features brake calipers with a gray finish. Red calipers are optionally available. A ceramic high-performance composite brake system is available as an option. The design, which is more than 20 percent lighter, ensures lower unsprung masses, as well as enhanced driving dynamics, agility and ride comfort. The Mercedes-AMG S 65 Coupé features forged wheels in a multi-spoke design, size 8.5 x
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20 at the front and 9.5 x 20 at the rear, with 255/40 R 20 and 285/35 R 20 tires. The exclusive forged wheels of the V12 Coupé fascinate with their exceptional design which represents a contemporary interpretation of the classic sports car rims: each of the 16 spokes have a specific angle so that the light-catching contours radiate to the center of the wheel hub. The effect: the wheel gives the impression of being even bigger. The peerless visual superiority of the ceramic, polished, high-sheen AMG forged wheels is the result of an elaborate finishing process: initial polishing is followed by manual grinding of the light-alloy wheels. Two polishing stages using different grinding pellets ensure the desired deep sheen. Having been cleaned, the wheels undergo final treatment, including sealing with clear varnish. The forged wheels come standard with a high-quality, screw-on, fully integrated wheel bolt cover in forged aluminum. Its shape is reminiscent of a center lock as seen in motorsport. The AMG lettering is incorporated into the rim as a design element. Five further forged wheels in the same format are also optionally available; including a design variant with a matt black finish and high-sheen rim flange. Large air intakes in the front apron in jet-wing design emphasize the vehicle’s impression of width. The striking AMG Panamericana grille immediately catches the eye – a racing feature that optimizes the aerodynamics and the supply of cooling air. The emotional, AMG-typical V12 sound of the AMG sports exhaust system is particularly powerful when accelerating and during double declutching. At constant speed, the noise level is more reserved. 2 chrome-plated twin tailpipe trim elements create a visually striking highlight. Exclusivity and luxury, combined with emphatically sporty design features; the interior of the Mercedes-AMG S 65 Coupe is a fascinating world of exceptional ambiance, luxurious materials, and exquisite quality. The standard upholstery in exclusive nappa leather in the diamond-shaped design specific to AMG is characteristic of this. Another unique selling point for the Mercedes-AMG S 65 are the headliner and the sun visors, which are likewise covered in nappa leather. The AMG Performance steering wheel in nappa leather is especially sporty with easy grip, providing genuine racing flair. Touch Control buttons allow intuitive control of most functions. Above: The iconic Panamericana grill with large air intakes.
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Right top: Beautifully design interior of the S65 Coupé
Right bottom: 22’’ alloy wheels underline the pure luxury of the car
Above: The S65 CoupĂŠ in profile
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Inside
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TISSOT The new perpetual oyster with date and small second
SPEED KILLS EVERY SINGLE TIME Rubrik Name
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Sharks die whe stop swimming Photo: Andrew Luck Text: Julio Jones
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en they g.
Inside McLaren Automotive is built on pioneering technology, fearless engineering, beautiful yet purposeful design, and a relentless spirit. We expect a great deal from our vehicles, so we ask a lot of ourselves and our drivers. Our mantra: Prepare. Commit. Belong. Are you ready?
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The nature of the beast
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Left: The Mclaren logo flaunts on top of the P1 hood
ruce McLaren started his racing career as a teenager in an ingeniously modified Austin Ulster that his father gave him. A prodigiously talented engineer and racer, he developed his own Formula 1™ car in May 1966. It debuted at Monaco and qualified in 10th place with Bruce at the wheel. In the British Grand Prix two months later, McLaren Racing scored its first point in a Formula 1™ Grand Prix when Bruce finished sixth. The foundations of our world beating racing team and world leading technology company were laid that day. Tragically, Bruce died while testing the McLaren M8D at Goodwood in 1970. His death was a devastating blow, but we did not flounder. In memory of Bruce, racing legend Denny Hulme won nine out of 10 Can-Am races in the M8D in 1970. Wins in the Indy 500 followed for McLaren in 1972, 1974 and 1976. Under the control of Teddy Mayer, we took the Formula 1™ constructor’s championships in 1974, and driver’s titles with Emerson Fittipaldi and, even more memorably, James Hunt. When Ron Dennis took over in 1981, the team was set on its current path: focused, disciplined, confident, inspirational and inspired. Since then, the records have tumbled and the names involved in our story have taken their place in the pantheon of motorsport greats: Niki Lauda, Alain Prost, Ayrton Senna, Mika Hakkinen, Kimi Raikkonen, Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button. As aesthetically pure as it was fast, the all-conquering MP4/4 won 15 of the 16 Grands Prix in
Inside Brands
1988 with Senna and Prost at the wheel. It’s a record that stands to this day as one of sport’s – all sports – most seismic achievements. A decade later, the MP4-13 delivered driver’s and constructor’s titles in the Formula 1™ world championship. And in 2008, long-time McLaren prodigy Lewis Hamilton took the MP4-23 – arguably the most aerodynamically advanced racing car ever – to overall victory in the driver’s championship in only his second season. Drawing on 50 years of racing success, McLaren has created some of the most iconic and exhilarating road cars the world has ever seen. During the epochal 1988 season, Team Principal Ron Dennis and Technical Director Gordon Murray began pondering the ultimate road car, a McLaren road car. In 1993 the seminal McLaren F1 was launched. Two years later, the F1 GTR dominated the podium at Le Mans, turning the greatest supercar of its generation into the most successful British race car of modern times. Bruce McLaren’s earliest competitive driving experience came at the wheel of a modified 1929 Austin Ulster. Bought in bits by his father who had planned to restore and sell it, 13-year-old Bruce convinced him they could turn it into a race car. Involved in every stage of the Ulster’s restoration, the experience proved vital for the future race car designer. Two years later, in his race-prepared Ulster, 15-year-old Bruce set the fastest time in the 750cc class at the Muriwai Beach hill climb. Having left New Zealand for England, Bruce’s Austin Ulster was housed in a small museum
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until 1989, when it was found and bought by the McLaren Group. Maintained in original condition, the little legend now takes pride of place alongside its faster and more illustrious successors on the boulevard at the MTC. Beautiful to look at and exhilaratingly quick, the record slaying McLaren F1 changed super car history. A technological masterpiece, it was the world’s first carbon fibre road car, the world’s fastest production car and is still the fastest naturally aspirated road car ever built. Chief designer Gordon Murray and his handpicked team deliberated every millimetre of the F1’s design to create the world’s most thrilling car. Light, strong, safe and aerodynamically sublime, the legendary F1’s engineering was so far ahead of its time that its engineering highlights still feature on today’s McLarens. McLaren was born and raised on the track, so it was inevitable that we would create a race-ready version of the F1. Modified slightly from the road car, the F1 GTR was entered in Le Mans in June 1995, and achieved a feat no other debutant manufacturer has ever managed. As well as winning, McLaren dominated the podium and occupied four of the top five places. In just 24 magical hours, the greatest supercar of its generation had become the most successful British race car of modern times. The 12C was the first McLaren designed and built production car since the legendary F1. A pure McLaren, its innovative design and Formula 1™-sourced technologies made it one of the most versatile and potent
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supercars on the road. Refined in the city and unmatched on the track, the 12C was built around a superlight carbon MonoCell and pioneered McLaren systems such as Brake Steer, Proactive Chassis Control and active aerodynamic technologies. It also featured a bespoke, McLaren designed engine and stunning dihedral doors. Intelligent, adaptive and astoundingly quick, the McLaren P1™ is the ultimate expression of our aerodynamic expertise. Sculpted by the wind and engineered to perfection, it’s the most adaptive, responsive and stimulating road car the world has ever seen. Using world-class Formula 1™ technology, the McLaren P1™ changes its form to optimise its function. The result is a peerless driving experience that is so responsive the car feels like it’s alive. The McLaren Senna is the personification of McLaren’s DNA at its most extreme, creating the purest connection between car and driver. It is the most track-focused road car we have ever built, and it will set the fastest lap times of any McLaren to date. Inspired by one of McLaren’s greatest racing drivers, the McLaren Senna is utterly dedicated to allowing the driver to be the best they can possibly be.
Right: Backlight of the Mclaren P1
Bottom: Interior of the Mclaren P1 made of nappa
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I’m not a sadist, I just like to beat people.
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STYLEZ The Autumn/Winter 2018 collection of Helmut Lang
HELMUT LOGO TALL TEE $150.00
Following an initial reveal editorial with rising artist Sheck Wes, Helmut Lang is focusing on the upcoming Fall/Winter 2018 collection.
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Photo: Eddie Jackson Stylist: Richard Sherman
STYLE KEEPS SHIFTIN’ Up-and-coming rapper Sheck Wes does not lack ambition, at all. The burgeoning musician is not only looking to run hip-hop, but he also wants to model, play in the NBA, and land a Nobel Prize. For his latest feat, Wes stars in a seasonal campaign for Helmut Lang‘s Fall 2018 men’s collection.
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The iconic brand relaunched earlier this year and the latest seasonal range features a distinct selection of elements taken from Helmut Lang’s archives.
WOOL CARDIGAN STITCH POLO SWEATER $345.00
Looking back at the label’s past designs, the FW18 collection sports utilitarian and minimalist aesthetics inspired by the designer’s obsession with the military.
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SILK ORGANZA BAND ZIP PUFFER JACKET $1,095.00
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CONTRAST TRACK ZIP JACKET $395.00
Standout items include tonal fishtail parkas, a fur-lined panel neck bomber, sheer logo emblazoned button-ups and thick ribbed tank tops.
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DARTED LEG JOGGER $295.00
Check out Helmut Lang’s Fall/Winter 2018 collection above and look for the range to be released at select retailers in the near future.
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Sheck Wes Donning styles from the forthcoming range, Sheck was then photographed by his friend Cian Moore. Was can be seen in various jackets and pants, as well as a branded tank top.
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TOKYO Text and photo: Deshan Watson
It had topped our wish list for years, but we were always put off by the expense. We kept saving it for “a time when we had money”. So, when we were invited to a wedding in Seoul, and found out it’d only cost £80 to add a stop in Japan, we decided the time was finally right. We had a limited amount of time and money, so we wanted to try and fit in as much as possible into the ten days in Japan. This meant there were moments where it felt rushed compared to what we’re used to, but looking back, I wouldn’t change it as those moments of busyness were worth it for the things we saw. We also managed to fit in many moments of calm, which helped to balance the fast-paced travel. Of course, it would have been nice to stretch the trip and spend a few days in each place to soak everything in some more, but for the time and money we had, our Japan itinerary worked really well. A 10-day Japan itinerary – including things to do, accommodation, and vegetarian-friendly restaurants. Creating your perfect Japan itinerary Depending on your priorities, you might like to skip some things and add extra time to some of the others, but if you’re looking for a good introduction to Japan then I recommend our trip wholeheartedly. We’ve also written a storybook version of the itinerary with lots of photos to inspire you. And have a look at our travel resources page for lots more money- and time-saving tips. Is Japan as expensive as people say? Regarding price, Japan wasn’t as expensive as we had imagined. It’s very pricy in comparison to south-east Asia, but the costs were comparable to Lon-
Left: Dizzy Tokyo in the morning
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Left Top: Evan Engram at night with his AMG C63
Left Bottom: the Chui-Feng coast in front of the Skyline of Tokyo
Bottom: The Gin-Zuh complex in the region of Tokyo
don. For example, you could get a coffee for about £2.50, and an average dinner at a mid-range restaurant cost around £30 for two people without alcohol. At lunchtime, we spent as little as £6 each for a curry. Our accommodation cost from £60-£150 per night for two people, sometimes including breakfast and dinner. This was on a moderate budget where we sometimes splashed out but other times stayed in a hostel or AirBnB (by the way, if you sign up with this link you’ll get £25 off your first booking). We never went full luxury as the prices were sky-high. Details of all the places we stayed are included in the Japan itinerary below. You can also use this discount code to get £20 off your first booking with Booking. com. How is Japan for vegetarians? One of the most common questions we get is: Is Japan good for vegetarians?, and the answer is kind of. We ate really well in Japan, and with a bit of effort were able to find great Japanese vegetarian options, but there were also times when we struggled. Those times were the evenings when we decided to simply walk around a city and choose somewhere without any research. Unfortunately, I don’t like nori, which means our options were limited even further. On one of those nights, we ended up eating pizza and the other night, we finally found an okonomayaki only to find that the chef had covered it in fish flakes (this was despite us seeing him start to do this and reminding him we didn’t eat fish. He was adamant that fish flakes didn’t count!). I would recommend doing a little bit of research before you set out each day so you know where to find the good veggie food. All of the restaurants recommended in this itinerary are vegetarian-friendly. We’ve added transport and accommodation info to each section of the itinerary. The days overlap for each place as we often spent the morning in one place before travelling on to the next. One top tip if you’re traveling long distances is to get a Japan Rail (JR) Pass. You have to order this before you enter Japan (there is no leeway on this) – they send you a ticket called an ‘exchange order’, which you then exchange for the pass once you’re in Japan. To work out if getting a pass is worth it, you can estimate out how many train journeys you’ll be taking and add up the prices using Hyperdia, which is a really useful Japanese website detailing all the transport timetables. We only saved about £40 by getting a rail pass, but some people save a lot more when they cover longer distances than we did. Another benefit of having a rail pass is that you don’t have to buy tickets for each individual train – you simply show your pass at the gate. It’s important to note that the pass isn’t accepted on every single train in Japan – for example we couldn’t use it for
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the Hakone loop or for some of the private local train lines within Kyoto. There’s an option on Hyperdia where you can search for trains that are only included with the JR Pass. The passes are available for 7, 14 or 21 days and you can get an ordinary pass or a green pass, which allows first-class travel. We went for the ordinary one, which cost ¥38,880 (£230) for seven days. We now know you can get a pass for less money by booking through this website; for example our pass costs around £201 with them. Also remember to accurately time the day you activate your JR Pass so that you can make the most of it. Because we had a 10-day trip and only a 7-day pass, we activated it on day 4. This worked well as our first three days were in Tokyo where we could buy a subway ticket instead. Tokyo is one of the most fascinating cities we’ve ever been to and the kind of place you could spend a lifetime getting to know. We had three nights there so tried to pack in as many Tokyo experiences as possible into that time. We stayed in Shibuya, which was an ideal place from which to explore the city. It’s one of Tokyo’s most iconic areas of the city and is filled with bars, malls, restaurants, karaoke bars,
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and a hell of a lot of neon. It’s also home to the world’s busiest intersection, which tells you a bit about how buzzing Shibuya can be. We also explored Akihabara, which is the centre of the city’s otaku culture and home to lots of amusement arcades and cheap tech shops. This is also where you go if you want to experience a maid café, which we decided was a step too odd for us and likely to enrage my feminist instincts. Other areas we explored were the shopping district of Ginza (where we bought A LOT of stationery in Itoya); Jimbocho, which is home to streets of bookstores; the beautiful YoYogi Park in Harajuku; Shinjuku, the crazy entertainment district where we went to the Robot Café (which did enrage said feminist instincts); Golden Gai, which is an area with rows of tiny little bars, perfect for an evening drink; and Ebisu, an upmarket hipster area with lots of lovely boutiques and restaurants. We tried to go to the Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden, which looked beautiful but was closed when we went there on a Monday. We also went to an owl café, which I’ll write more about in a separate post – I’m still not sure if it’s a good idea ethically and need to investigate
more. We stayed in an AirBnB apartment in Shibuya. The exact one we stayed in is no longer available, but there are plenty more like it – tiny but clean apartments, less than 5-minutes from Shibuya station. Ours cost ¥8,600 (£51) per night, and included a mobile wi-fi device, which was very useful (this seems quite standard in Japanese AirBnBs). Remember to sign up to AirBnB with this link to get £25 off your first booking. Food and drink in Tokyo. We ate really well in Tokyo and it was easy as vegetarians. One top tip if you’re looking for a budget eat is to look for one of the many curry shops, which nearly always have a vegetarian option. We tried one in Shinjuku and another in Jimbocho (Bondi) – both were delicious. Other highlights were a tofu restaurant in Shibuya called Tofu Ryori Sorano (where they made fresh tofu at your table), a soba restaurant in Ebisu; traditional vegetarian temple cuisine at Komaki Shokudo, a little restaurant in a Whole Foods style market called Chabara. We also spent one evening in an izakaya, which is a traditional Japanese bar serving tapas-style dishes – there are tons of these in Shibuya.
Left Top: Evan Engram at night with his AMG C63
Left Bottom: the Chui-Feng coast in front of the Skyline of Tokyo
I’ve also heard good things about: Bon, a veggie restaurant, specialising in fucha ryori, a version of shojin ryori (veggie buddhist cuisine); T’s Tantan, a vegan ramen restaurant in Tokyo station; veggie restaurant Milk Land near Shinjuku Station; tempura at Tsunahachi; and okonomiyaki at Zen. For drinks, one evening we went to the Mandarin Oriental. It’s pricey but worth if for the incredible view across the city. And we also did karaoke in Shibuya, which was surprisingly brilliant (you pay per hour for a booth and the menu is in English as well as Japanese). A top coffee recommendation is Café de l’Ambre in Ginza, which is a charming traditional coffee shop with the tiniest milk jug you ever did see! Getting to and around Tokyo. We bought a prepaid IC card to get around Tokyo – these are available in the subway stations and you simply add credit like you do with an Oyster card in London. There are two types, Pasmo or Sucia, and we used the Suica one. They are valid on both the subway and JR lines. However, if you’re travelling a lot in one day, it might be cheaper to get a one-day pass, which start at about ¥600. The problem with these is that they’re only valid on certain lines. There’s a lot of useful info about this in this post. We didn’t use our JR pass because we activated it on day 4 when we started taking longer train journeys. Our prime motivation for going to Hakone was to catch a glimpse of Mount Fuji – a definite Japan highlight. It was a gamble as the mountain spends a lot of time hidden behind clouds, but we were willing to risk it, plus we also liked the idea of spending some time in Japan’s countryside. It was definitely worth it as we did get to see Mount Fuji, which was a truly spectacular sight.
Right top: The Mercedes emblem on top of the hood
Right bottomp: The back of the C-Class enlightend by Tokyyo neaon lights Left: Evan Engram infront of a Tokyo sport’s court
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Text and photo: Andrew Peterson
The classic beats the new
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inally the new ‘entry level’ Lamborghini was presented to the public, the long awaited Lamborghini Gallardo was introduced during the 2003 edition of the Geneva Auto Show, drawing a lot of attention and reactions ... both good and bad. The styling of this new Lamborghini model was very refreshing, somewhat angular and odd shaped in some places, but very different from anything Automobili Lamborghini SpA ever offered in the past, Fabrizio Giugiaro (ItalDesign/Giugiaro) sketched the original design down but Luc Donckerwolcke at the new Lamborghini Centro Stile did the final touches. By using a rather long wheelbase and short overhang to both the front and rear, the initial impression of the Gallardo was rather muscular and dynamic, while retaining a ‘compact’ look.The ‘forward leaning’ side view mirrors tend to create an impression of motion, even at a standstill, when looking at the Gallardo from the side, while the taillights, which take the design of the upper air intakes and pull it towards the rear, were mounted on the outskirts of an adjustable rear wing. According to some sources, the design of the new Gallardo was actually inspired by modern fighter jets. The front of the Gallardo remained rather similar to the Murcielago, the ‘big brother’ to this new model, with the same basic shape of the air intakes in the massive bumper/spoiler combination leading towards two water radiators and an oil cooler. The headlights were razor-sharp looking, and when seen from the side, the most eye-catching items would be the air intakes and the special way the exterior mirrors were mounted. The Gallardo features large side intakes that start on the doors and cut deeply into the bodywork to
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allow fresh air into the engine compartment, additional intakes mounted on the wide shoulders should help to keep the V10 engine cool enough, by the way, this engine can be mounted underneath an optional, transparent cover, so the people looking at your brand new Lamborghini can also admire the new work of art that’s used to push this car to a top speed of 309 Km/h. The aluminum cylinder heads and block of this new engine were built at the Cosworth Technology factory (also owned by Audi AG), after which they are shipped to Györ in Hongary to be finished, much like other engines from the Audi range, this mighty engine was actually based on the Audi 4.2 V8 engine, sharing the 90 degree V-angle and bore centers, however the Lamborghini unit has a four valves per cylinder configuration instead of the ‘Audi trademark’ five valves and naturally two more cylinders. Apparently Audi AG has decided to use the same engine in their new Audi super car, the Nuvolari, with a twin turbo configuration they expect to create about 600 Bhp at only 6100 rpm. Using a dry sump lubrication system, the engine could be mounted very low into the chassis, the actual center of gravity of the Gallardo is situated at only 46 cm from the ground, with four valves per cylinder, dual-length intake manifolds, variable control for both intake and exhaust valves, this new engine pumped out 500 Bhp at 7800 rpm, with a torque value of 510 Nm at 4500 rpm, 80 percent of which was already available at only 1500 rpm, driving sensations guaranteed ...
Right: Lamborghini Gallardo SE
Travel t world
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Photo: Bill Belicheck Text: Amari Cooper
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aking your dream of driving around the world definitely isn’t easy – but you’re wrong if you think it’s impossible. A lot of people give up on the idea when they imagine how expensive and bureaucratic it must be. But you’d be pleasantly surprised to know that driving around the world is actually simpler and a whole lot more affordable than you think – especially if you live in your car.Below we’ve written a list of our secrets on how we, a 20-something unemployed couple, manage to afford our travels around the world over three years. One of the biggest costs you’ll incur on an overland trip is when you buy your vehicle. So many spend 5 digit figures acquiring fancy off-road cars and then realise they don’t have any money left to go travelling with. We’ve met people traveling the world in everything from a Mazda 3 to a 1920’s vintage car and everything in between. As long as the car
From left to right: Boreptatur senimus amuscit estibus ium quisi sitati sit autas estianis est, velluptatum saped modi nonest .
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is reliable and comfortable, you don’t need to spend any more than $10,000 on your vehicle. We actually decided to use a van we’d bought 3 years before our trip for US $4,000. She’s super comfortable as a home and hasn’t failed us once – even when we take her on some pretty wild 4×4 tracks. We spent 2 years building and preparing our car because we knew we’d be living in it for 3 years. But we’ve met overlanders travelling happily with the bare basics and realised that a set up doesn’t need to be fancy or expensive… it just needs to work for you and be relatively comfortable! Overall we spent around US $3,000 on the full set up. If we’d paid someone else to build it for us this price would have easily doubled. Our van isn’t the most fuel economic car – she does about 12.5L per 100 kms or 19 miles per gallon. Any other smaller or more modern car is capable of halving that figure – which is also something to consider when buying your car, seeing as you’ll be driving way more than you’ve ever done before. Driving at 80 km/h rather than 90 km/h saves us 20% on our fuel bill. But not having a super efficient car doesn’t mean you can’t save on fuel. By driving slower and keeping your car well serviced you can save up to 40% of your total fuel con-
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sumption! We dropped our cruising speed from 90 to 80 km/h (55 to 49 mph) after a year on the road and it took a good 20% off our usual fuel bill. Also being smart about where you buy your fuel and using apps like gassbuddy (USA) or Fuel Map (Ausatralia) can save you double figures each time you fill up. This will make the world of a difference to your budget in the long run! Cooking in your car is one of the best ways you can save money and keep healthy. A lot of people think we survive off canned food and simple staples but we actually believe we eat better now than we ever did at home. Here are some of the ways we save money and eat well: Buy long-lasting staples like rice, pasta, cous-cous and spices in bulk and store them for the long run. Do weekly shops for fresher items always looking for specials. Transform super cheap cuts of meat into juicy pulled pork or tender beef curry using a 12-volt slow cooker. Buy items that suit an overland lifestyle
eg. long-lasting, compact tortillas instead of bread Only buy long-lasting and heat resistant fruit and vegetables to reduce waste. Without doubt accommodation is the largest travel expense for any lengthy trip. Let’s say you pay a very conservative $30 a night to stay in a motel for example – after a year of travelling you’ll have spent close to $11,000. Thats almost half of our entire expenditure on our trip to date (1 year). So if you’ve got your own vehicle you can kill two birds with one stone and sleep in it. By sleeping in Walmart carparks, wild camping or staying with family, friends or even complete strangers we’ve been able to keep our accommodation expenses for our entire travels to $733 over a year! Without the possibility of sleeping in our van we would simply not be able to afford our travels. Now that you’ve reduced the cost of accommodation and food by sleeping and eating in the car – your biggest cost during the trip will most likely be fuel. And the best way to save money on fuel is to simply drive less or not at all. If you’ve found a cheap or free spot to camp, then staying 1 day or an entire week will cost you almost
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the same thing. So why not stay a while? The tourist industry has got its grips into a lot of cool places – adding entrance fees or requiring you to hire transportation to see the most popular spots. However, not all the amazing things to do and see on a trip cost money. We find that by talking to locals and getting an insider’s opinion on the best thing to see in the area make our experience in places a lot cheaper and usually more authentic. For example we had a blast swimming with manatees for free in Florida, hiring our own scooter to explore Vietnam and trying out a heap of snow sports in Canada. Search for discounted or free tickets Sometimes you just can’t miss doing the touristy thing. When you’re in Peru you can’t miss Machu Picchu, or when you’re in Florida with the family you have to check out Disney World. By using websites like Groupon and LivingSocial, buying monthly or annual passes for National Parks and going to TimeShare presentations to get discounted tickets for theme parks and tourist attraction you’ll be able to save a lot of money! You can also use your unique trip or talents as a way to get free tickets in return for photos, videos or reviews of the attraction/event. You’ll be surprised how many places will let you in for free or give you a discount just because you’re travelling in a unique way. is the people you meet along the way and the experiences you have with them. We’ve met so many wonderful people and made friends with complete strangers that we stay in contact with. In turn they’ve housed us, fed us and helped us out to ship or service the van. Everything is easier and more enjoyable with friends! Grant, a friend made over Instagram, helped us to to fix our breaks while we were in Florida. Friends can also put you in contact with others along your route – and a friendly face means so much after being isolated in a van for months. We take souvenirs of our trip with us to give to those who help out and enjoy cooking good meals for them in return for their help. It’s a win-win situation for everyone. Sell or give away everything you don’t need Things give our lives comfort – but they also restrict us. Thats why we decided to sell everything we didn’t need before departing on our adventure.
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THE HISTORY OF THE J-CLASS YACHT
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he history of the J Class is directly intertwined with the America’s Cup. With the exception of Velsheda, all the original Js were built for the purpose of America’s Cup racing. From 1929 to 1937, 20 J Class yachts were designed. Ten of these were built, and six raced in the America’s Cup finals. UK challenges came from Sir Thomas Lipton’s Shamrock V and from Sir Thomas Sopwith’s two Endeavours. These were all against the New York Yacht Club’s Harold Vanderbilt, who remained unbeaten in the three defending yachts he commissioned: Enterprise, Rainbow, and Ranger.
Only three original J Class yachts survived – Endeavour, Shamrock V and Velsheda – yet interest in the class has arguably never been as strong as it is today. Seven J Class are currently sailing, these original yachts plus four modern builds: Ranger, Rainbow, Lionheart and Hanuman. Another, J8, is due launches May 2015 and a further two are in build. J’s roots remain intertwined with the class’s history, as lines can only be taken from original designs. This ensures that, to a reasonable extent, the beauty of a J stands intact. Modern designs take those original lines (or what’s left of an existing shell), add the most modern materials,
Above: A j-class yacht under the nightsky of the dubaian coast
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manufacturing techniques, systems, deck gear and a crew of elite sailors to produce the most absorbing racing sight on the water, just as it was in the 1930s. That they are so close on the water today, with places often divided by seconds on real time despite racing over hours, is a credit to the strict J Class rule now governing the class. When the New York Yacht Club agreed to race against Lipton in J Class yachts in 1930, it heralded the beginning of the Bermudan rig as we know it, and an incredible thirst for innovation in yachting, which is only equalled perhaps in the current day of flying machines. Parallels can also be drawn with the campaigns of then and now. Like the America’s Cup teams now, the Js were crewed by some of the best professionals available, each with a dedicated role on board – and they still are. Many of the deck gear inventions on the original Js are still used on yachts today, including deck winches, rod rigging, halyards running up hollow aluminium masts, and removable forestays to fly a large genoa. Indeed the J Class yachts of the 1930s represent some of the biggest technical steps in the history of the Cup. Even though their reign only lasted eight years, the class became famous for adopting new materials and techniques to push the boundaries of yacht design, construction and fit out. From electronic wind instruments and electronic strain gauges to and double-clewed jibs, to bronze hulls that needed no painting and decks designed to reduce windage, the quest to gain an edge through better technology was gathering
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pace rapidly. In general, however, today’s America’s Cup class yachts could not be more different. The Js’ original measurement was to the Universal Rule, which created hulls between 76–87ft LWL, 120ft140ft LOA, and displacements between 130–170 tonnes. The AC48 class is nearly two thirds shorter, yet twice the beam, and nearly 1/30th the weight. For those who think the current budgets of US$100million are excessive, history shows little has really changed. Harold Vanderbilt’s J Rainbow, which beat Endeavour, was said to have cost $400,000 in 1934 – around $24 million in today’s money. But for all the synergy there is one key difference between the Js and their modern contemporaries. In sailing to the Bermuda event in 2017 on their own bottoms, the Js will re-enact one of the original requirements of the America’s Cup.
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The JS1: Svea The J-Class fleet gathering in Bermuda in 2017 will be joined by Svea J-S1 the latest J-Class. The original lines for this Super-J were by Swede Tore Holm in 1937 but the yacht was never built. Holm’s drawings were eventually discovered by yachting historian John Lammerts van Beuren and now, this remarkable yacht, the longest modern J-Class at 143ft (43.6m), is taking shape at the Vitters
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Text: Lamar Jackson Photo: Marcus Mariota
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There are times when Audi, to great fanfare, brings out an all-new car and you look at it or even drive it and go “new, huh, really?” This is not one of those times. The second generation Q3’s body is bigger by 10cm, better-proportioned and a lot roomier than before. It had to grow really, just to open up a gap between it and the Q2, which arrived late in the old Q3’s life and rendered it largely redundant. Besides, since the first Q3 launched, the whole ‘compact premium crossover class’ has become very much a thing, and has coalesced around a fairly fixed size band and mechanical layout. See the BMW X1, Volvo XC40, Jaguar E-Pace. Incoming, and funnelled into the same template, are the Lexus UX and second generations of the Range Rover Evoque and Mercedes GLA. Hardly any of those existed when the first Q3 was born. For the new Q3, another variation of Audi’s scary-goth LED eye make-up sits outboard of a socking great eight-sided grille frame and more angular front ‘intakes’ (most are actually blanks). The body’s metalwork is fashioned into a set of sharp creases, amped up further by a dose of Ur-Quattro in the front and rear wings. It’s German, so of course the base wheels, in this case 18s, look weedy and you’ll want to step up an inch. Inside, the infotainment moves to a touchscreen. No more dials for the driver: every model has the ‘Virtual Cockpit’ TFT screen. Under the body, another sea-change. To absolutely nobody’s surprise, it now uses the VW Group’s MQB platform. It’s the same wheelbase as the VW Tiguan. Top Gear asked the project chief if there were any fundamental chassis differences between the two. He was candid. “None. Well… the wheels.” That said, the Audi feels surprisingly more nimble than the VW, on account of its dif-
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ferent set-up: springs, dampers, bushes and so on. And also because you sit 4cm lower in the Audi. It launches with more petrol engines than diesel. In fact just one diesel, the familiar 2.0 TDI with 150bhp. The petrols are the 1.5-litre 150bhp and a 2.0 with power of 190 or 230bhp. All the 2.0-litre ones have quattro. But many Q3s will be used entirely for gentle suburban bimbling, as opposed to actual sport-utiliting (look, it’s a word ’cos we say it’s a word). So, for obvious reasons the base petrol engine comes with front-drive. They use Audi’s new engine-output badges. So the lower-power engines are called 35 TDI and 35 TFSI, and the 190bhp petrol is 40 TFSI, and the 230bhp petrol is 45 TFSI. Audi provided us with a page-long document laying out this new scheme. But nowhere did it say how they came up with those numbers, or more saliently, why. The 150bhp petrol deactivates two cylinders for saving fuel when you’re not trying too hard. This is a nice engine in a VW Golf or elsewhere, but here it struggles. Outright performance calls for patience, taking 9.2secs to get to 62mph from zero, but you can forgive that because it’s a small engine in a bulky car. More seriously annoying is that it’s sullen rather than playful. It’s laggy below 3,000rpm and gritty-sounding above, so whatever gear you choose, you wish you were in another. The new seven-speed DCT doesn’t help, failing to change smoothly. It’s got a petrol particulate filter and meets the latest exhaust standards, and it’s also been set up for WLTP fuel measurements. The engineers were overwhelmed by all these new requirements and had to let the actual driving quality slip down the priority list. The 230bhp 2.0 petrol is similarly out of sorts, if less so. It makes the 0-62mph sprint in
a brisk 6.3secs. But you’d never guess it’s fundamentally a Golf GTI engine. Meanwhile the 2.0 TDI quattro with a manual is quite a nice example of the genre – good at lugging, and not especially rattly. The gearstick moves around slickly, the clutch is smooth and the whole rig is well-mannered even in stop-start traffic. In corners, the front-drive Q3 TFSI rolls little and operates with a nice accuracy. It’s fleet of foot. It melds this with a ride that, though taut, isn’t harsh or crashy, and copes well with broken town roads. What it does not do is interact; no balancing on the throttle, no steering feel. More fun can be had in the 2.0 Quattro, with stronger engine reactions to amusingly strain the tyres, either under power or when you lift off. Among the many mode
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settings, the torque proportion to the rear wheels becomes more significant in the ‘dynamic’ mode. Adaptive damping is optional, or standard on the top trim. It can subtly sharpen up the cornering without despoiling the ride, but it’s not transformative. It’s all screens now. Not even the base version clings to hardware dials. All models have Audi’s Virtual Cockpit TFT screen ahead of the driver. Occasionally it’s useful to fill most of this screen with a map, but that does leave you with a nano-sized speedo. A head-up display would compensate as on other Audis, but it’s absent here, even as an option. The central screen looks superb. Its got finer resolution than an electron microscope, and is neatly integrated into the dash rather than perched on top. That leaves the air vents sitting high so they’ll actually aim at your face. All the Q3s settle decently into a cruise, because that’s what German cars do – demolish the autobahn, even if not doing absurdly big speed. The optional driver-assist steering loses the lane markings more often than some others though, so please don’t rely on it while you open your sandwiches. There’s also an off-road mode, which gives you hill-descent control. Crossovers this size are pretty much default family cars these days, and even the premium ones can’t just airily swerve the banal question of practicality. Sure enough the Q3 does fine on room and versatility.And it’s well-equipped, and even reasonably generous in its pricing. You don’t expect that in an Audi. It’s competitive in its chassis. Perhaps more agile than most rivals. But still a little unengaging to steer, which is situation normal for an Audi. Rivals, bar the Jagaur E-Pace, have the same trouble. Still, you can usually trust Audi to do a superb infotainment interface, unimpeachable cabin quality, and refined powertrains. To a greater or lesser extent the Q3 has fumbled all those three.
Previous Page: The Q3 is a rel offroad beast but also a decent city cruiser at once Left: All in all the Q3 gets astonishing test results and absolutly overtopped our expectaitions
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DUNE BASH DUBAI unrivaled magazine
How stuff works. Dune bashing involves guiding your off-roading vehicle over sand dunes. In technique, it’s like a combination of driving in mud and driving over hills. Jim Cane explains to you how ot works and how to get the most fun out of it.
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Text: Drew Brees Photo: Sterling Shepard
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t’s become a national sport for tourists visiting Dubai – a drive out to the sand dunes where caravans of 4×4 vehicles circle the tops of shifting sand dunes, charging up one side and sliding silently and softly down the other. It’s like skiing through drifts and mounds of powdered snow, without the cold and without having to worry about where your feet are planted. Just leave it all to the experienced drivers who know how to judge the slope of a sand dune to get you the best drift and slide. As you ricochet from dune to dune, some passengers may experience motion sickness from the slides and shifts but for those who want to feel they are treading on slightly dangerous ground, dune bashing is as fun, and as safe, as it comes for thrill-seekers in Dubai. Our guided Collette tour encompassed about 140 people, so to get that many people out into the desert meant lining up 35 vehicles. All the dune bashing companies in the area pooled their vehicles to accommodate our group. Sorting that many people into vehicles at the front of the hotel was a chore in itself but all our guides jumped in to get us corralled into SUVs and on our way out of Dubai, headed for the desert. A half hour ride brought us to a place where we left the tarmac of the highway to follow a beaten track into the sandy terrain. Within minutes we were swallowed up by the dunes with no sign of civilization or landmarks – just a stream of cars moving further into the unknown depths of the desert. Suddenly we came upon a camp of Bedouins and camels. In the middle of what felt like nowhere was a herd of mangy camels, young and old, in a rickety corral surrounded by shabby tents. As we were entertained by the livestock and the Bedouin herders, our drivers let some air out of the vehicle tires, giving the treads more surface for traction in the sand. After the short stop we headed back to our vehicles (try to find yours among 35, all painted white!) Once sorted again into our right vehicles and seats, we set out to do some serious bashing. Within moments the first thrill was upon us as we zoomed Above: Jim Cane walking through the dunes
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“Just push the gas as hard as you can.�
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straight up the side of a steep dune, turned slightly and slid down the other side. Over and over, this pattern of partly summiting a dune and sliding our way down the other side was repeated – the occupants of the car daring the driver to go a little higher each time. While it felt like we were near tipping or out of control, the vehicles were immensely stable. The drivers knew the limits of the SUVs and so after a few dunes we just relaxed and went with the flow – accelerate up, turn and slide down. The smiles on the faces of the people in our vehicle told the whole story – we were beaming from ear to ear. After what seemed like too short a time, our caravan of dune bashing SUVs came to
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a stop, giving us a chance to dash off into the dunes ourselves, to bare our feet and wade through acres of sand. What an exhilarating feeling to find oneself in the middle of nowhere – just hills of sand as far as we could see. Some raced to the summit of the nearest dune to try to get a view. As the sun dipped toward the west horizon our drivers began the departure from the dunes. They used the batteries of our SUVs to run small air compressors, filling the tires back up in preparation for highway driving. A short drive on a well packed track led us back to the highway and the end to our dune bashing adventure. While you can drive your own vehicle into the desert, I don’t recommend it. We saw several vehicles stuck, or on the verge of toppling over due to the inexperience of the drivers. Dune bashing isn’t dangerous if you know what you’re doing but you can quickly find yourself in an awkward position with no one around to assist. It can be a long, hot wait until someone comes to your rescue. Avail your-
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Left: Jim Cane on his Quad and on his way down a dune.
self of the services of someone who knows what they are doing and enjoy your dune bashing experience to the fullest. Dune bashing involves guiding your off-roading vehicle over sand dunes. In technique, it’s like a combination of driving in mud and driving over hills. It’s a popular tourist activity in parts of Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, where sand dunes are plentiful and organized dune bashing excursions are available, but is illegal in many places where off-roading has been deemed a threat to the dunes. When scaling sand dunes, like any hills, knowing your off-roading angles is important. If you don’t know your approach angle, you might wind up bumper-first in the sand. If you don’t know your break-over angle, you may become stuck at the top of the dune. Momentum also figures prominently in dune bashing. Like any hill, you have to gain enough momentum to reach the top without stopping. If you do start to slow, you’ll have to either back down the dune or make a wide arc to turn around. Turning around on any hill is extremely dangerous because you’re at greater risk of rolling your car over and ending up upside down. Cars are designed so that they are less at risk of rolling over if they are pointing directly uphill or downhill. When they sit sideways or at an angle, they’re more likely to tip. Wider tires work best for dune bashing. Think about how a snowshoe works: The wide shoe disperses your weight across a larger surface area, making it easier for you to stay on the surface and not sink too far into it. The same principle is true for tires -- the wider the tire, the less you will sink into whatever you’re driving through. Dune buggies, special recreational vehicles designed to drive on sand, tend to have wider tires for this purpose. In addition, reducing your tire pressure can help to give your tires a wider surface area. You also might encounter hills when you’re green laning. Read on to learn why green laning is a popular pastime for even the non-hard-core off-roaders.
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Above: The crescent over the dunes of Atacama desert as the sun falls.
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Text: Kirk Cousins Photo: Steffan Diggs
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What the car says about the driver ...and the other way around.
ANDREW MILLER THE PREJUDICE OF THE VIPER DRIVER
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ou can drape your jumper over you shoulders rather than wear it, and pop the collar on your polo shirt up, but even that can’t shout ‘WANKER’ as loudly as prancing around the streets in a bright-orange Lamborghini. Similarly, you can acquire a passion for comfy clothing, generously cut from fabrics not found in nature, and it still won’t tell the world you’re getting old as effortlessly as slapping down your hard-earned for a Toyota Camry, or a Lexus. There’s no question that, particularly as we get older and more wealthy, we tend to buy cars for emotional reasons - to make a statement - far more than prosaic ones. And, indeed, that there are some entire brands that no one would ever buy for practical reasons - they exist only to make their buyers feel better about themselves. The fact is, car cliches are cliches for a reason - they’ve been proven to be true so many times they’re like gospel. So if you don’t know what you’re telling the world with your choice of car, here’s a handy guide. Mazda MX-5, Mercedes-Benz SL, Mini Convertible, Porsche Boxster. Now, be honest, did you really buy a convertible because you love the feeling of the sun on your skin, and the wind in your hair? Or was it because you like the look of it, and the looks on other people’s faces when they look at you in it? Buying a convertible is impractical and illogical, even if you choose one with a folding hard-top roof. Basically, you’re buying a lesser version of what could have been a better car, particularly in the case of the Porsche Boxster, which feels pantaloons (wobbly around the nether regions, in particular) when driven next to its hard-topped sibling; the Cayman. Cutting the roof off a car means you have to make it heavier, and
more cumbersome, to keep it structurally sound. And speaking of sound, yes, a Ferrari Spider is always going to sound better than the coupe, but it will never be as good to drive. Mazda’s MX-5 may be the exception, because it was built from the get-go to be a roadster, and is a wonderful machine, but seriously, no one has ever bought one of those shoe-sized sports cars for practical reasons. You barely have room to exhale, let alone carry friends or luggage, and carrying either blunts your performance anyway. So the ability to get wet when it rains isn’t the selling point; it’s all about image, pure and simple. And the people who buy them are often simply raging against the dying of the light - mid-life-crisis sufferers and empty-nesters who say they’re finally buying the car they always wanted when they were young. Only they didn’t, really, because back then they would have taken a proper sports car, with a roof. Anything and everything by Audi, BMW, and Mercedes-Benz. Perhaps the best case study here is the Audi A3. Anyone with access to Google can work out that this car is a Volkswagen Golf in a pretty dress. Sure, there are mechanical differences, and the interior looks and feels ever-so-slightly nicer, but honestly, if those people bought a Golf instead, what would they have lost, other than the imprecisely priced badge cache of the four rings? It’s true, of course, that German cars are great (and yes, VW is German, too, but not in the same premium fashion; it’s a bit too common), but particularly in the modern world, you have to ponder how much extra people are paying for the famed marques over.
Right: Andrew Miller infront of his Dodge Viper SRT
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The streets through paradise Text: Drew Brees Photo: Sterling Shepard
SCENIC ROADS AROUND THE GLOBE
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Above: I-20 to Edinburgh, Scottland at the famous Mount. Wellington.
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Above: Yosemite Nationalpark seen from the I-65 to LA
SNOWDONIA WALES
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hen I first began writing about cars, going on a road trip meant high adventure off the beaten track, going it alone, triumph over adversity, unexpected new friendships – and a world of discovery. Today, with the rise of convenient self-drive packages that take care of car hire, route planning, even your stop-offs, meals and photo opportunities along the route, the magic has faded a little. But it doesn’t have to be that way. You can still enjoy the romance of being able to stick a pin in a dog-eared road atlas, throwing caution to the wind and a suitcase into the boot and simply to hit the road For this kind of DIY, spontaneous road trip; all you need is a little imagination, some planning and a spirit of adventure. Within days – even on a budget – the thrill of the open
road can be yours. But where to start? For many, Britain – boasting dramatic destinations such as wild Snowdonia, the craggy Peak District, the rolling Yorkshire Dales, rugged Cornwall and the towering Scottish Highlands – is the perfect launch pad. Its predictable driving conditions, spectacular variety of scenery and accommodation for all budgets further strengthen its suitability as a place to cut your road-trip teeth. The rolling landscape of the Highlands For the more adventurous – or those seduced by sunnier climes – France is the next rung up the DIY road trip ladder. Take a ferry or zip through the Channel Tunnel and within an hour or so some of Europe’s finest, often car-free, roads are at your disposal. From Calais, the entire continent is on your doorstep. Here we showcase the world’s most exhilarating road trips, starting in
Britain, moving on to France, Austria, and then some more challenging long-haul options to put you firmly back in the roadtrip driving seat. Head through charming Porthmadog and Tremadog, then Rhyd. Join the A487 by the Oakeley Arms and left on to the A496 to Ffestiniog. The landscape becomes increasingly rugged and isolated as you climb from the village, but softens towards Betws-y-coed. Park alongside the winding A4086 to admire towering 3,560ft Snowdon in the distance, from next to the waters of Llynnau Mymbyr and from the Llanberis Pass; the views are heart-stopping. Pause to climb Snowdon itself, on foot or by tourist train, before a 20-minute drive whisks you to muscle-bound Caernarfon Castle standing defiantly at the mouth of the river Seiont.
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SCENIC ROADS IN THE US You don’t know big and diverse till you’ve tried to drive across America. Ohio, merely our 34th-largest state, could swallow Ireland and still have room for dessert. Georgia alone has five distinct regions Tetrised between the Blue Ridge Mountains and the Atlantic Ocean, and it only takes six hours to drive from top to bottom. Texas, that whole other country, is almost 12 hours wide if you’re zipping from Texarkana to El Paso. Which, as an American who appreciates weird and wonderful places, you totally should one day. There is a beauty in changing things, which makes long road trips through molding vistas so enchanting (just ask the people who drive for a living). Hairpin curves on Colorado’s Pike’s Peak highway are brushstrokes of asphalt against mountain slopes and pine tree needle beds. Nevada’s Valley of the Fire is a red sedimentary world of special effects. Keep driving west and you’ll extend the day with a sunset bleeding through the sequoias of Muir Woods or staining the surf orange on Venice Beach. You don’t even need to park to admire the Pacific Coast in Oregon -- someone has already blazed that trail for you. Just get out and enjoy that ride, and the other most scenic drives out there in every one of these sprawling, beautiful states of yours. US 78 takes you through Alabama’s portion of the Appalachian Mountains, then transitions into the Talladega National Forest, all on a two-lane strip of tarmac that ebbs and flows with the terrain. It’s not the road or even the legendary Alaskan backdrop that puts Haines Highway at the top, because natural beauty is one thing Alaska has in abundance. Instead, the wildlife-watching opportunities along Haines are the differentiator. Also called Valley of the Eagles, it’s home to the largest gathering of bald eagles in the world. Of course, you can never go wrong with Route 66, and Arizona is home to some of Route 66’s most iconic spots. Just outside of Sedona, however, is the Red Rock Scenic Byway, which boasts everything from breathtakingly beautiful
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rock formations to old Native American cliff dwellings. The Talimena Scenic Drive is only about 54 miles on its own, but almost the entirety of that 50-mile stretch has brilliantly colored vistas and winding roads that are so fun people drive hundreds of miles just to enjoy them. The PCH is both one of the most famous and one the most picturesque roads in America, and with a seemingly endless array of corners, it’s almost a shame if you’re driving it with a destination in mind instead of just soaking in the journey. Colorado’s not exactly lacking for scenic drives, but the twisty stretch of tarmac on Pikes Peak is among the most storied in the entire US. Climbing up towards the clouds should be on anyone’s bucket list. Mile after mile of road goes by with not much more than a few feet separating you from densely wooded hills, and every so often, you’ll pass through a quaint little town that looks exactly how a quaint little New England town should. Delaware’s not exactly a large state, but there’s enormous wealth along this 12.3-mile stretch of Highway 52: plenty of beautiful hills, classic bridges, museums, and more exorbitantly nice estates than any one road should have. The open blue sea stretching out on all sides might get a little repetitive when you’re looking out the window, but it’s easy to appreciate the novelty of driving one of the longest bridges in the world.
Right: Hillside Drive between Montana and Nashville Left: Interstate 85 to colorade springs.
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Above: “Scenic Hights” in the heart of Iceland
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Above: Hu-Chi-Min road, Vietnam
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STUNING ALPINE Driving from A to B on this road would never be a monotonous affair. The Grossglockner High Alpine Road in Austria is possibly the most attractive road in Europe, running across the mountains from Bruck in the state of Salzburg to Heiligenblut in Carinthia via Fuscher Törl. Nature photographer Mikołaj Gospodarek has been travelling to the road every year since 2008 to take pictures of it in the different seasons. The Grossglockner High Alpine Road in Austria is possibly the most attractive road in Europe. The Grossglockner High Alpine Road in Austria is possibly the most attractive road in Europe It runs across the mountains from Bruck in the state of Salzburg with Heiligenblut in Carinthia via Fuscher Törl. It runs across the mountains from Bruck in the state of Salzburg with Heiligenblut in Carinthia via Fuscher Törl Nature photographer Mikołaj Gospodarek has been travelling to the road ever year since 2008 to take pictures of it in the different seasons Nature photographer Mikołaj Gospodarek has been travelling to the road ever year since 2008 to take pictures of it in the different seasons Gospodarek has built up an incredible series of images showing various points along the route, which is peppered with mountain tops, glacier lakes and remote roadside huts, which he shared with Bored Panda. The road is a big tourist attraction thanks to its beautiful vistas and thousands of visitors pay the toll to drive along it from May to October. The road is peppered with mountain tops, glacier lakes, wild flowers and remote roadside huts The road is peppered with mountain tops, glacier lakes, wild flowers and remote roadside huts The Grossglockner High Alpine Road is a big tourist attraction thanks to its beautiful vista The Grossglockner High Alpine Road is a big tourist attraction thanks to its beautiful vistas Thousands of visitors pay the toll to drive along the road when it is open from May to October. Named after Austria’s highest mountain, the road was first mooted by a team of Austrian engineers and their ambitions plans. Above: Gospordarek road, Switzerland
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ELECTRIC RACE DRIVING AT IT’S FINEST Text: Quentin Nelson Photo: Leonard Fournette
An interview with the first women to win a formula e grand prix and the future perspective of the electric drive as gas replacement.
Female E-Power A small interview
A proclaimed adrenaline junkie, Shea Holbrook began racing cars as a teenager. Born and raised in Florida, Shea’s racing career is a family business with her mom and dad supporting her every step of the way under their team, Shea Racing. In 2014, Shea was a recipient of the WSF Women in the Winner’s Circle Project Podium, a grant that serves female race car drivers from all forms of racing, including go kart, quarter midget, drag racing, sports car racing, oval track racing, etc. with financial support. Shea lives by the quote “Fear is a state of mind; will is an action taken.” As a fierce competitor on the track, she genuinely shows that where there’s a will there’s a way. Shea recently took a detour from the asphalt to the Bonneville Salt Flats as a pace driver to help set a land speed bicycle record; WSF caught up with Shea to talk about her experience in Bonneville and why she so openly advocates for the WSF and its mission. How did you get into race car driving? I did not have the traditional story of getting into motorsports. I actually grew up a nationally ranked competitive water skier. The first 16 years of my life that is all I did. I lived, breathed, ate and slept waterskiing. One year at Nationals on my third jump I was cutting a lot harder than normal and I was very late coming into the ramp. I turned and hit the ramp and I had a really horrific accident and messed up my back. My dad is an ex-Navy pilot and around that same time he was reconnected with one of his Navy buddies who is an amateur race car driver. We went to Daytona and I did a NASCAR experience. It’s called the Richard Petty Experience and I got to ride in that as a passenger and that was when I was like “holy cr*p, this is really cool.” I had never experienced anything like that before and I’ve always had a need for speed. I was really impressed with the driver’s intuitiveness. That’s how I got involved. It piqued my interest.
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Before you knew it my dad and I are whispering in a corner about how this would be a lot of fun and we could race cars and it’d be like waterskiing except racing cars now. Not thinking we would do this professionally but really a hobby just for fun. My dad bought himself a car and we were kind of tinkering around with that. He got his racing license before I did. Then one day another car shows up at the house. These were very beginner cars, nothing special about them other than the fact that they are race-equipped and safety-equipped. He told me that it was mine and that’s how I got my start in motorsports.
Actually it’s kind of funny. I didn’t know anything about this until a friend of mine texted me saying I just met this individual who’s working with this woman who wants to set this land speed record on a bicycle, are you interested? Denise and John Howard, her coach and the 1985 World Record holder, met way back bicycling on the beach somewhere. She was 14 and he was an Olympian at the time and he noticed she was drafting him and he saw something in her. He took her under his wing and she went on to become a downhill mountain Above: Shaea in her Jaguar formula e car
You recently were in Utah and drove the pace car that helped Denise Mueller set a women’s world record for fastest speed on a paced bicycle. How did you become a part of this endeavor?
Left: Shae in her race suit in front of the Saftey Car
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bike champion. Then years and years pass and she becomes a mother and she totally gets out of cycling. Then she decides to come back and she dominates again. One day, John asked Denise if she’d ever considered breaking his land speed record and says he thinks she could do it. So, that’s how it started. Denise decided she wanted a female pacing driver and apparently my name came up on several occasions as they began to look for their driver. We eventually got connected and one day she called me. We just immediately connected the moment we spoke. It was like we had known each other for years and she asked me to be her pace driver. That’s how I got involved! What did you find to be the biggest difference between driving the pace car and driving your race car when you compete? There were a lot of differences. I knew getting into this that this was going to be un-
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like anything I had ever driven in the past. It was a Range Rover Sports SVR. The car was slightly modified for our purposes: exhaust pipes usually go out the back but that would have been right in her face so the exhaust pipe went out the side; the rev limiter was taken out and moved higher up so the car could obtain a higher rate of speed; the car was completely gutted so it was race car equipped to have a roll cage and a fire system; all the things necessary to make it a racing car, but really it’s still an SUV out in the Bonneville Salt Flats. One of the biggest challenges really wasn’t the car, but that I’m an asphalt driver and we were driving on the Salt Flats, which can change by the minute. Factoring that in and preparing for that was a lot. I had to track a lot of different things from within the car, such as where Denise was, how fast did I need to be pulling her at certain points, what mile marker are we at and so much more. I was scanning six different instruments con-
stantly to check everything. This was much more mentally draining and that’s what was primarily different from the world I’m used to of auto racing versus this kind of racing for a bicyclist’s land speed record. How did you feel when you realized Denise had set that world record? Without a doubt in my mind I knew that we were going to do something exceptional. I knew that we were going to reach a number that was going to be impressive. The first run was the best run and it went textbook perfect. We went 147mph flat and it was unbelievable. The emotions were really high and it felt very rewarding but then we just had low after low after low. That same first day we had three aborted runs and on one I lost her at 135mph, which was terrifying because you’re flirting with a lot of risk. Then the second day the vehicle broke and the third day we had three terrible runs
and then finally we had the hardest mental and physical run that we had had and we went 147.7mph. We looked at each other with just complete relief and it was very emotional for us because we were ‘we got it back.’ It was very rewarding because we worked so hard. It hit me before it hit her of what we had accomplished. The first run we did so well I was screaming. Also, I’m going to go ahead and say this, there is no reason why Guinness would not give us this record but it’s not official yet. The paperwork is still being filed. When it’s final we will let everyone know. You have been traveling quite a bit lately, where has been your favorite place to visit these past few weeks? Of course, Bonneville. My schedule is so crazy. I’ve been to a lot of different places in the last several weeks but Bonneville was one of those places that was very capti-
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Left: Shae at the E-Prix of Abu Dhabi
vating and unique to me. You’re driving in the middle of nowhere Utah and all of the sudden the environment and everything just starts to change color and now everything is white and it looks like snow. It’s like you are on a different planet. It’s just a very odd place visually. For me, Bonneville is a place where you step foot on the salt and recognize there’s just so much history here. Being that I’m a motorsport junkie, the people that raced cars 75 years ago, and those types of cars, and the history that goes along with that is all so interesting.
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Sustainability A small story about BMW
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he much-anticipated BMW i8 is a technological quantum leap forward in terms of design, engineering, and performance. But above all, it’s a car to get people excited about cars again. Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the new ambassador of car culture. Consider your senses adequately assaulted. Every single unorthodox, styled-by-science panel of the car is made to captivate, and begs the question of how a production car could come so close to its concept, meet strict safety specs and still be relatively livable in the real world. The i8’s masculine features are made by its sharp angles and menacing front gaze, fueled by its bright daytime running LED bars, which are the only indication the car is actually on from its exterior. In addition to these aggressive features, the entire body exudes an unmistakable femininity, with its swooping curves, flowing roofline, and air-sculpted rear quarter panel. It’s divisive, in your face, and unapologetically themed. It’s the TMZ of sports cars. Another notable aspect to consider about this unusual German motor, other than its outlandish shape, is its size. It’s taller than a “regular” supercar by a fair margin, and allows for plenty of headroom. It’s a car made for a range of people, not just a pre-determined bunch of average-sized oil barons. BMW actually wants you to buy this car and use it in comfort. Fancy that. Getting into the car’s equally crazy interior is an event. You don’t just step into it, you open the giant McLaren-style doors and throw yourself in, hoping you don’t smash your temple on dry carbon or nick something too expensive. The layout is intuitive, driver-centered, and ultimately very simple, with lots of cues that let you know that you’re not in any ordinary BMW. The air conditioning vents float. They float. The only real gripe to have with the car is of the material quality used in the interior. It feels a tiny bit on the cheap side, with untextured flat plastic being the most abundant element in the cabin. It’s fine on a car that’s $50,000, but not one with a gasp-inducing $136,000 starting MSRP. Also, the seat
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belts are a shade of blue that would likely entice the precocious owner of a 1992 Civic CX browsing eBay for a cheap way to spice up his interior, not necessarily the best thing to include on a supercar. But both of these are minor gripes, as it doesn’t detract from the car’s driving dynamics in the least. Low-speed maneuvering and parking this car is supremely easy, as the car has cameras everywhere and gives you a top, down 360 degree view of the surrounding area. It also has a camera firing straight out of the back of the car, with guiding markers to let you know of any cats you might involuntarily flatten. A quick note—if you curb the wheels on this car, you should probably just take the bus from now on. “Yes, yes, but what is it like when you floor it?!” you yell to yourself, while remembering that you didn’t take your meds this morning. Here’s a how fast this car is: at full throttle, you will forget what you’re thinking about. It’s so blindingly quick that for uninitiated passengers, it literally pulls the thoughts from your head. I’ve been in fast cars before. I’ve piloted modified 600-horsepower all-wheel-drive monsters that were more turbo than engine. I’ve had a V12 twin turbo Mercedes, and my Lexus is a ton of fun with a boot full of power at the ready. This car is on another wavelength. It is the car of tomorrow. There is no other vehicle that feels like this when you accelerate at speed, damn the relatively low sub-400 horsepower on-paper figure. Upon flooring the i8’s aluminum go-fast pedal, the 1.5-liter, 3 cylinder turbocharged engine dramatically bursts into life and the electric motors at the wheels convert the broken white lines separating traffic lanes into solid ones. The rate of speed and the sheer uninterrupted torque that this thing puts out from start, and keeps delivering with a sort of controlled madness is why no other car with similar power can come close to this driving experience.
The engine shifts with ferocity and an audible burble between gears, but since the drivetrain’s electric motors fill in the gaps of power with chunky and instant torque, you don’t feel any loss of momentum at all. It’s more akin to something in the aerospace industry than anything with four wheels and gears. It gives you the distinct impression that if this car was given a long enough runway, it would hit 1,000 miles per hour. From a standstill, that feeling is amplified tenfold. Launching this car feels like you’re in a goddamn centrifuge. All of your more important and/or interesting organs want to come out of the back of the seat. Nothing else matters other than the road ahead of you. You get a slight hit of dopamine as your body goes into “shit may have hit the fan” mode, and the only thing you can pass for a spoken word response when this happens is “oh,” which is the
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Above: Backlight of the new i8 roadstar
BMW i8 with lowered suspension
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sound your brain makes when it no longer has control over your speech patterns. The i8 corners flat, and it’s a little more stiff than what would be considered comfortable, but minor inconveniences are immediately forgiven because you feel fucking alive in this tiny carbon cocoon. Everyone, and I mean everyone with a pulse needs to engage with this masterful machine at least once in their lives. No, it isn’t the same as your buddy’s Lancer Evo 8 with an FP Green turbo. Yes, it is better.
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Next gen sports car The BMW i8 a glimpse into the future that not only we all deserve, but one that everyone wants. It’s a departure from the compromises of old, and introduces them to the what’s possible when you throw convention out the window and start from scratch.
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Text: Quentin Nelson Photo: Leonard Fournette
COR “Design is a communication task: Given this premise we are continuing to develop COR as a premium brand, above all in order to make its inner values come alive,” says Berthold Strüve, explaining the marketing programme of the seating furniture manufacturer. The brand presence was designed to be clear, unambiguous and simple, as well as being emotionally charged from the very beginning. This was depicted by the first eye-catching figurative mark with the brand name (Latin for heart) and the three water lilies taken from the crest of the co-founder Fürst zu Bentheim-Tecklenburg. To mark the 50th anniversary (2004), the heart was adopted as a symbol of vitality and home with the claim “Home is where the heart is”. “This message still applies,” says Berthold Strüve, “wherever we are, people should feel at home. Our product culture is intended to promote living culture.” Brand communication will continue to evoke emotions, convey enthusiasm and at the same time unambiguously indicate that COR design is associated with aestheticism, very high comfort and clear benefits. The heart of the company is the manufactory in which, without exception, all the products are created as the work piece of many contributors: “We continue to focus on manual production and consciously communicate this. Besides the unmistakable brand identity, our continuous proof of identity is of great importance,” says Berthold Strüve. COR created and followed this tradition long before the emergence of today’s manufactory renaissance. “What is now regarded as a hallmark of luxury – manufacturing by hand – is for us a basic prerequisite in order to produce outstanding design in consummate form and quality.” This profile has been honed over recent years. The way in which COR has become synonymous with contemporary seating culture is also reflected in the development of the logo design: The “seating furniture factory” of the 1950s with models such
as CORANT (claim: Elegant and charming) became “COR seating comfort” in the 1960s and 1970s.As market penetration grew in the following decades, so did the universal claim: COR for sitting. At the turn of the millennium, an innovative corporate design was created with its own “code”. Its puristically designed icons communicate the overall portfolio with the product groups upholstered furniture, easy chairs, tables & chairs, divan beds & sofa beds. “Our furniture and its inner values can best be experienced at the point of sale, and naturally better still if you live with it,” Berthold Strüve affirms. To achieve this goal, the manufacturer builds communicative bridges: with advertising in print and online media, catalogues, its own lifestyle magazine CORcooning, outstanding trade fair presentations, themed exhibitions in specialist stores, readings in showrooms or events for architects or contract furnishers.High-quality publications, for which the manufacturer receives awards as regularly as for the design of its furniture, are very important. The book “Home is where the heart is”, which was published in 2004 to mark the 50th anniversary, became a milestone. For the COR idea the company consciously created not a chronicle, but an emotional illustrated book containing various authors’ contributions to show all the facets of the company as well as the people behind it. Elaborately produced, lovingly designed brochures such as the “Leather Manual” (2009) and “Inner Values” (2012) convey the desire for design and seating comfort, coupled with the processing of excellent materials. As in the previous years, the latest issue of CORcooning contains the winning text in the competition COR PRIZE Living and Design, with which outstanding journalistic works have been honoured over a period of ten years. Since the beginnings of the brand and its accompanying presentation, one thing has remained unchanged: The product is the hero, the design furni-
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ture and its unmistakable values are the centre of the presentation. One of the most important goals is still to motivate partners in the trade to create imaginative exhibitions in order to make the products come alive. They are supported by the manufacturer at all levels, currently with a travelling exhibition and accompanying advertising on the topic CONSETA – NEW SINCE 1964. This road show demonstrates the sustained fascination with the seating furniture manufactory and its classic potential – with no end in sight. In today’s contract sector, the seating furniture manufacturer COR is regarded as an experienced specialist for the furnishing of high-quality properties and projects. As in the home sector, its furni-
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ture, which is mostly manufactured manually, also impresses in the contract sector with its purist design and high quality. Its market share is growing not least because the manufacturer implements project-related requirements very flexibly and swiftly. The variously configurable contract furniture ranges Affair and Scope developed in 2010 and 2011 respectively are regarded as milestones. Developed continuously, the element furniture ranges are to be found in commercial properties worldwide, including Google, Motorola, PricewaterhouseCoopers and SAP. In autumn 2017, six innovative individual pieces of furniture were developed by a creative pool of international designers - COR LAB - to combine
homely comfort with professional functionality, “the living and working� worlds. The perfect interaction of Level and Bridge (table and bench), Floater and Drop (sofa and stool/pouf), the room divider system Chart and the peripheral furniture Bond with the successful Affair and Scope programmes will be presented at Orgatec 2018. In addition to willingness to innovate and flexibility in the product area, the services for planning are also state-of-the-art: With the Revit data format, for example, drafts and alterations to furniture can be visualised and updated in real time. As in previous years, contract business also increased last year, and currently accounts for around a quarter of total sales. New market shares are being tapped domestically in Germany, as well as in exports. In the Asia-Pacific region (excluding Japan), the office furniture manufacturer Wilkhahn and COR have been cooperating since March 2018. Wilkhahn has been successfully positioned there for some time and is represented with six sales locations in the cities of Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Hong Kong, Shanghai and Singapore. The portfolios of the two brands complement one another, with each manufacturer contributing its own specific strengths: Wilkhahn specialises in swivel chairs and conference areas, COR in furnishing reception and central zone areas. Since COR has been active in America with its own contract specialists, the order situation has grown continuously and has already risen by 50 percent in the current fiscal year. In cooperation with the interior designers/architects of Gensler (New York), the Bank of New York has just been furnished, and the cooperation with the architecture and planning company HOK led to an order for the cosmetics group Shiseido with headquarters in New York City. PricewaterhouseCoopers has renewed its successful collaboration with COR with a major contract for its Experience Center, planned by Vocon (Cleveland and New York).
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he COR manufactory, which has just received “Blue Angel” eco-label certification, is ending the financial year 2017 with an increase in sales of around 11 percent, with the overall net result amounting to around 39 million euros. Due to a successful model policy, new product developments and consistent model updates, incoming orders in all product segments – sofas, easy chairs and chairs – have increased. The seating furniture manufacturer owes its success to a competitive, consistently innovative and evolving collection as well as a 11 percent increase in sales, of which the contract furniture business accounts for 17 percent: “2017 was a fruitful year for all business units and led to an overall result of around 39 million euros in sales,” reports managing partner Leo Lübke. (The overall net result in the previous year was 34,9 million euros.) Contrary to frequent negative reports elsewhere, the premium manufacturer has not registered a decline in the specialist home furnishing trade. A consistent model policy has brought even the longseller Conseta a further 10 percent in growth. More recently added sofa models such as Mell Lounge (2015) and Trio (2016) are developing extremely positively and lie second and fourth respectively in the customer ranking. Cordia Lounge, which is rated the most comfortable easy chair in the premium segment by retailers, has become the third-best-selling piece of furniture since its market launch. With Jalis, another product segment has been expanded. The chair occupies 5th place in the best-seller list and also provided a high level of seating comfort at the G20 summit in the summer. The highest demands on the design and quality of the largely manually produced furniture are implemented in each individual piece; an achievement that was certified with the “Blue Angel” eco-label in November 2017 following to a strict test procedure. All upholstered furniture produced as part of the standard collection is
certified – for its entire lifecycle from production to disposal. “This is thanks to the exemplary performance of all the employees,” says Leo Lübke. Since its foundation in 1954, the owner-managed medium-sized company has focused on its commitment to and further development of its employees, starting with closely supervised training in commercial and industrial occupations. At this year’s DIHK (Association of German Chambers of Commerce and Industry) award ceremony, two of COR’s former trainees were honoured as Germany’s best upholsterer and upholstery and decorative seamstress. The title “Germany’s best upholsterer” was awarded five years ago to a female COR employee who still works at the company today. At federal state level, the company’s young home-grown talent is frequently awarded prizes at the IHK examinations. The increasingly strong positioning in the contract business is based on a model policy that transfers homeliness and comfort to the working world. With the COR LAB collection developed in the autumn, new models from an interdisciplinary designer pool have been created for this purpose. On the one hand, the result enriches COR’s portfolio for the Living area, with which almost all of the new developments are compatible. Above all, however, it is used by contract designers and architects to outfit offices and real estate with furniture that conveys a sense of privacy and whose design can be completely individualised in the manufactory. The ability to de-
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velop customised solutions in the shortest possible time is a strong competitive factor. Mint Architecture developed the “Office of the Future” for the Swiss Bank Cler, winning the German Design Award 2018 for its modern interior design which focuses on personal consulting and dispenses with conventional bank zones. COR’s contribution to “transparency and openness in new dimensions” consists of furnishing with Jalis chairs, Pilotis tables and Trio sofas, the last of which were completely modified for final sampling in just five days. The basic module was given special dimensions and firmer upholstery, the seat depths and widths became narrower, the seat heights were increased and the upholstery fabrics were tailored in accordance with fire protection regulations. “As a small, sophisticated niche supplier, we do not compete with the industrial players,” says Lübke, “but rather conquer our own particular clientele.” In 2017 this was achieved in international markets, especially in Switzerland and the USA, the strongest export country: “The economic consequences of the change in government do not affect us, in fact we are doing better now.” Among the innovations appearing at the imm Interna-
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tional Furniture Fair in Cologne from 15 to 21 January 2018 is the sofa Moss, another individualist that is produced according to the principles of the lean factory. Its almost archaic design and the use of extremely high-quality materials including spacious down cushions dispense with compliant mainstream. It stands for freshness, closeness and substance – which is how the manufacturer describes its corporate values. Among the 220 employees, the new design is already regarded as the softest and most comfortable sofa in the market. In order to pass the “acid test” in the presence of dealers and end customers, it is fitted out sustainably – right up to the solid beech wood frame.
Right: Sofa moss in satin matt anthracite Below: Cordia lounge chair with extendable backrest
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HELI Extreme sport all the way through Text: Andy Dalton Photo: Payton Manning
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SKIING
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THE WOMAN BEHIND THE DROP How does it feel to bring a helicopter to a total standstill so a skier can jump onto a narrow spine in Alaska? An exclusive interview with the pilot behind that incredible scene in Same Difference. When you watch the award-winning ski movie Same Difference on Red Bull TV you’ll see, around the 52-minute mark, Fabian Lentsch in a neat AK drop-off that looks like business as usual, except that he seems perhaps a little more excited than usual once he’s safely on the ridge. Check the behind-the-scenes edit in the player above though and you’ll hear the pilot say, “Not sure if we have enough rotor clearance. Yeah, we’re not going to have enough room, sorry...” Not sure if we have enough rotor clearance. Yeah, we’re not going to have enough room, sorry... Mary Wilcock, helicopter pilot Translation: If the pilot flies the helicopter into a position where she can safely drop the skier off, the rotors will hit the mountain and they’ll go down in flames. But then she hesitates, “Actually, give me a sec...” and tilts the whole helicopter, bringing it to a perfect standstill to let Lentsch get out. Meet Mary Wilcock, helicopter pilot at Coastal Helicopters, Alaska. Helicopter pi-
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lot Mary Wilcock from Coastal Helicopters in Juneau, Alaska, during the filming of the Same Difference ski movie. Mary Wilcock prepare for lift-off. Was that helicopter drop featured in Same Difference pretty hardcore? I wouldn’t say it was hardcore – it’s always a challenge to do any of those drop-offs where you’re operating in such close proximity to terrain, with someone getting out and changing the balance of the helicopter. It requires a lot of concentration, but I also love a challenge. Can you explain the challenges and variables during mountain drop-offs on a peak, a ridge or a spine? Many things can change, or cause a drop-off to go less than smoothly. Everybody, including guide and athlete, has to be on the same page regarding the safety of the area and the plan. The winds can be very gusty in the mountains, which limits a lot of the tighter drop-off areas. You have to compensate for the athlete getting out and any movements of the helicopter as a result. Often because everything is covered in snow, you have to work to make sure you have a good reference, so you don’t get a white-out sensation. How do you learn to pull off those drops? Any specific train-
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ing, or just accumulation of experience? I work for Coastal Helicopters and we do a bit of training directly related to the challenges of heli-skiing. We practice the drop offs where you don’t have enough room to get both skids on the ground. We practice scenarios and discuss what has worked for other pilots and what hasn’t, what they wouldn’t do again and what they learned. I have also worked in the mountains of south-east Alaska for six years and I’m always accumulating experiences. What were the hardest flying moments or biggest moments in your career? Any stories to tell? In my first heli-ski season, we were doing work on a project, filming for a 3D theme park ride. The ride had to feel as realistic and in-the-moment as possible. It took two helis, two guides, three skiers and a whole host of cinematographers, producers and managers to create. We created some of the most dramatic Alaskan footage that I’d ever been a part of and the challenge of the technical flying and the coordination of such a big project was a great experience. What’s scarier to you: your drop-offs, or the lines these skiers ski? The lines the skiers have to ski, by far! Often, when a skier or
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boarder asks if a drop point is good, I’ll tell them, “It’s up to you, I’m not the one who has to get out.” Do you ski or snowboard yourself? Yes, I started as a skier when I was three and switched to boarding when I was 11. Bene Mayr, Fabian Lentsch and Sven Kueenle enjoying heliskiing in Alaska. What other responsibilities do you have as a heli pilot during a shooting? Reconnaissance tips? Rescue? Others? All of the above. The guide and I talk about safe areas, evaluating cornices and other avalanche potentials. We determine exit routes and landing zones. I work with the skiers so I know their lines and with the photographers to make sure they can get the shot they want. At the same time, I try to keep track of where all our other groups are to be able to respond to any potential rescue situations. How long have you been flying? I started flying 10 years ago and started working in south-east Alaska six years ago. What inspired you to become a helicopter pilot? One of the first jobs I had out of high school was working for a heli-tourism company in my home town. I took every opportunity to go on ride-alongs and fell in love with the idea of flying. What
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Left: The snoy mountains of Alaska
Below: Jason doing a Taipan 180°
does a normal training programme and career path look like? You generally start with a year of ground and flight training, and then spend maybe two years as an instructor to build up hours and experience. More often than not, the next job is flying tours or agriculture work. From there, it’s about figuring out the type of flying you enjoy and finding a place you want to do it. Sven Kueenle freeriding down majestic spines in Alaska. What’s it like being a female pilot? It’s like being a pilot. I love what I do, I love being in the field and I’m fortunate to work with the people that I do. It’s amazing that, even in this day and age, I’m often the first female pilot in some of the areas that I work and I can’t wait to see more women out here doing it. Is being a woman an advantage or a disadvantage? Well it’s a lot harder to find a private place to go pee as a woman. Other than that, no particular advantage or disadvantage. Do you have any role models? Anyone who inspired you – flying or in life in general? When I first started working as ground staff at a heli company, there were several female pilots who were amazingly generous with advice and who really showed me that it was possible. I’ve also been watching ski movies since I was very young and been inspired by both the athletes and the pilots. Anyone you want to thank? I’d love to say thanks to Tim Tom, my heliski guide for the last three seasons, for having my back and knowing more than I do. Thank you to everyone at Alaska Heliskiing and to the Legs of Steel crew for having fun in the mountains with me. And mostly, thanks to my family for being behind me every step of the way and giving me the courage to do this in the first place. The Red Bull Cold Rush is a freestyle meets freeride event, this year held in the Rocky Mountains resort of Silverton. Dane Tudor took this year’s men’s title, and the women’s went to Rachel Burks. During the three-day event, all the athletes battled for the title of best all-round skier in this peer judged competition. Unlike other freeride big mountain events, three disciplines are ran over the three days to attain the best all-round skier: slopestyle, cliff, and big mountain. Slopestyle is incorporated into the big lines with manmade jumps built to specification. These are not any old booters though; a lot of thought went into keeping them in the style of Silverton and it’s mining history. The first jib in one of the lines consists of 24-foot-long railroad tracks built from beetle kill timber. To construct these, and other similar jumps, crews of workers had to wrestle 800-pound log cabin walls into a long line from a heli. In this environment the helicopters play a vital role, not only for the transportation of the skiers, as we do here in northern BC, but for helping to build the course.
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DESIGN at it’s purist Text and photo: Evan Engram
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n a may morning that was somewhere between rainy and sunny, in a Tokyo neighborhood that was somewhere between Shibuya and Shinjuku, I arrived at a nondescript brown-tiled building to visit Makoto Tanijiri and Ai Yoshida, the 44-year-old principals of Suppose Design Office, a Japanese architecture firm known for its raw, unfinished aesthetic — bookcases made from shipping pallets, houses with gaping holes instead of windows — that has been frequently praised and often copied in recent years. Suppose, which has more than 35 employees between this office and another in Hiroshima, and which is responsible for some of the most idiosyncratic contemporary homes and offices throughout Japan, moved into this partly below-ground space in late 2016. In a departure from convention, they built a workspace entirely open to the public: If someone could bring her laptop to a coffee shop and call it her office, couldn’t an office do the reverse, inviting people in from the street for an obsessively crafted cup of cold brew? Suppose even branded its own bags of arabica beans for this exercise, lining them up beside a library of design books, which customers can browse while drinking espresso near high windows that look onto the sidewalk. In the back of the 2,058-square-foot room, beyond a steel coffee bar, a dozen architects meet in small groups or draft plans on computers in rows on long tables, performing their jobs in plain view of a largely disinterested audience. Sitting in the cafe can be an odd and exhilarating experience, like sneaking backstage in the tense moments before a play begins. But after a few sips, you ease into it, enjoying the quiet bustle; you become part of a human machine that toggles between labor and leisure. Architecture, after all, dictates behavior: Public or private, indoor or outdoor, extravagant or humble, old or new, fake or real — these are a few of the obvious binaries by which we assess the spaces we inhabit. They are also the edges against which most architects hone their signature styles. But since their firm was founded 18 years ago, Tanijiri and Yoshida have instead devoted themselves to the liminal place where these elements break down; their designs (from a suburban
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house in Higashi with a dirt floor to a Tokyo cafe that transforms into a hostel) unite concepts that seem opposed. They aren’t interested in referencing the codes of Japan’s architecture establishment — nor in iterating upon their own past successes, as many distinguished firms do — but rather in envisioning new spaces that rest somewhere between the disquieting and the thrilling. This ethos is perhaps best captured in Tanijiri’s own apartment, designed in 2015. (As might be expected from a pair that specializes in indistinct boundaries, the two were once romantic partners as well, though this was never Yoshida’s residence.) On the fifth floor of a mid-1970s building in Hiroshima — now a bicycling haven on the southern shore of Japan, where they both grew up — Tanijiri wanted to find “completeness in incompletion.” Rather than build a home, he unbuilt one, dismantling nearly all the existing walls, exposing rusty pipes and cement foundations. He then subtly demarcated the 1,270-square-foot space, employing casement doors and windows, shelving and entryway arches — all in steel. The furniture is little more than a huge cushion covered in patchwork indigo denim atop matching steel floors and a few wooden dining chairs. As with most contemporary Japanese architecture, simplicity does not necessarily mean ease or lack of complexity: Tanijiri’s home requires constant upkeep. Like a good Japanese knife, all of the steel demands incessant cleaning and polishing or it will rust before acquiring its desired blue-gray patina over the next few years. The metal’s transformation, though beautiful, is actually a form of controlled decay; the process speaks to Suppose’s obsession with permeable materials, such as concrete and unfinished wood, which require constant maintenance, and then, despite care, still diminish over time. But perhaps the most compelling aspect of the disassembled apartment is the one that escaped destruction: Located near a window at the back corner of the living area is a traditional Japanese-style room that came with the place, with tatami-mat floors and shoji-screen walls. Without this flourish, the home might feel like the industrial lofts that have overtaken New York, London and other Western capitals. But by integrating the local vernacular, the project helps demonstrate why dozens of corporations have hired Suppose to bring their Western sensibilities east: In 2015, for the 40th anniversary of the French fashion brand Agnès B., Suppose skinned the company’s Ginza flagship store in pine plywood, which will wear over time to mirror the nat-
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ural textures of the line’s custom fabrics; when Airbnb opened its Tokyo office in 2016, the architects created internal parks dappled with delicate Amazon olive trees. The concrete exterior of a house near Hiroshima, perched on a hill above rail tracks, is stained a rusty hue that may redden over time. Its spare interior, spanning three levels, is meant to improve the acoustics of the owners’ piano. With these projects — as well as with the 100 or so residences they’ve built all over Japan — Suppose has defined itself less by a particular aesthetic or specific materials than by its working methods. Unlike larger firms, where employees tend to specialize in one aspect of the process — say, drafting blueprints or sourcing fixtures — Suppose’s designers form small teams that collaborate on every detail from start to finish. The lack of formal division reflects the firm’s origins: Tanijiri and Yoshida met during a two-year program at Hiroshima’s Anabuki Design College — neither studied architecture, nor did they train within their country’s traditional kohai-senpai (master-student) system. They simply taught themselves, building by building. When young architects
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consider working at Suppose, they quickly learn it’s somewhere between a job and a lifestyle: The staff shares a daily lunch of fish and rice together, and there are showers and futons for employees who pull all-nighters. In hiring, the partners prioritize efficiency over creativity, perhaps a radical notion: Tanijiri and Yoshida don’t necessarily think they can teach people to be good designers, but they can train them to listen and interpret clients’ sometimes inchoate dreams (a tree planted in an entryway floor, a completely transparent private residence) and to respond to strange spatial constraints (a house balanced over a cliffside reservoir). A look from across the New York Times at the forces that shape the dress codes we share, with Vanessa Friedman as your personal shopper. This being Japan, that last part is critical. In the countryside, much of the terrain is hilly; within the cities, the destruction wrought by World War II and the rezoning brought by the 1980s economic bubble have resulted in development sites that are narrow, perilously close to streets or shorelines, abandoned or otherwise left in disarray by storms or residents who couldn’t afford to
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maintain them. Instead of concealing these blemishes, Suppose highlights them. Forty minutes east of Hiroshima, a couple asked for a house in 2004 where they could relax and play their grand piano, even though their tiny plot hugged a constantly rattling rail line. Rather than hide the sights and sounds of passing trains, the architects designed a giant glass wall that put them on display (along with the mountainous island Miyajima across the nearby sea). The window is mounted seamlessly into a cantilevered, 968-square-foot concrete box, which is folded in an origami-inspired style that allows its three rooms to zigzag upward. The exterior is stained a rusty hue; over the decades, as the whooshing trains kick up reddish metallic dust, it will further burnish the building. Tanijiri preserved a traditional Japanese room inside his Hiroshima apartment. The window-side steel console of his own design is topped with
glassware he made by splitting wine bottles. Tanijiri preserved a traditional Japanese room inside his Hiroshima apartment. The window-side steel console of his own design is topped with glassware he made by splitting wine bottles. Back at the Tokyo office, we sat at a table that bridged the cafe and the workspace. “Do you know engawa?” Yoshida asked me. In Japanese, the character for en translates to “edge,” the one for gawa to “side.” The term has evolved to represent the verandas outside a Buddhist temple or a traditional house. Protected from rain by a sloping roof, divided from the interior by shoji screens and intended as an exterior hallway or a quiet place to meditate upon a rock garden, the engawa is both part of the structure and excluded from it. Although the Suppose architects rarely design such terraces — they have little interest in preserving or even invoking the country’s historical nuances — they are
Left: Imperial Building, Florida
Above: Venner of the Shellhouse in Stockholm
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nonetheless devoted to the engawa as an ideological cornerstone of their practice. Initially, it was hard for me to understand what they meant; we could only communicate with the help of translators, hovering between two languages, so Tanijiri grabbed a pen and began drawing. With a few crude lines, he sketched a stick figure standing inside a child’s version of a house — square walls, triangle roof — with a branchy, leafless tree out in the yard. He then drew the same house a second time, but this time he extended the roof until it encompassed the tree, bringing the outside in, or the inside out, neither and both at the same time. He had more or less depicted Anjo House, an 1,818-square-foot home for a family of five that Suppose finished in 2015 in the foggy Aichi prefecture, near the Pacific coastline.
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Quote It is not the beauty of a building you should look at; its the construction of the foundation that will stand the test of time.
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