Silk Road cities Fascinating India Incredible UNESCO World Heritage sites and why you should visit them IN ASSOCIATION WITH THE LISTED PROPERTY OWNERS’ CLUB ISSUE 1 AUTUMN 2019 £5 OR FREE TO MEMBERS
Port Lockroy and Antarctica Oscar Niemeyer and Brasília Baroque to Brutalism
Discover the world’s most fascinating architectural and cultural destinations.
Architectural Traveller is a magazine produced in association with The Listed Property Owners’ Club.
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Discover the world’s most fascinating architectural and cultural destinations Welcome to the first edition of Architectural Traveller, a magazine dedicated entirely to the world’s most extraordinary architectural, cultural and natural destinations, produced in association with The Listed Property Owners’ Club. My great passions in life are conservation, architecture and travel. Bringing these elements together in a new magazine has been a long-term project and one packed with possibilities and interest. As someone who has travelled to more than 100 countries over the years, I am always fascinated by what connects architecture and restoration projects worldwide – be it English Regency or bold modernism, Bath or Brasília – as well as our common efforts to preserve precious natural environments. The astonishing places in this issue of Architectural Traveller embrace remote temples, desert ruins, wild landscapes and modern cities rich in cultural history. Each tells of human creativity, ingenuity and a respect for unique natural habitats. Wherever your travels have taken you thus far, we invite you to explore some of the planet’s far-flung architectural, cultural and landscape destinations as well as some familiar treasures. If there are any parts of the world or subjects that you would like us to cover, please do get in touch as your feedback is very important to us. I hope you enjoy the magazine.
Martin Anslow Editor-in-Chief ArchitecturalTraveller@lpoc.co.uk
Architectural Traveller is a magazine produced in association with The Listed Property Owners’ Club. ArchitecturalTraveller@lpoc.co.uk
www.lpoc.co.uk
05 Contents 06 World Heritage and Travel News 10 Oscar Niemeyer and Brasília 14 Baroque to Brutalism in Brazil 18 15 UNESCO sites to visit 23 While you’re there – diving in West Papua 30 The Imperial, New Delhi 32 India’s heritage hotels 34 Geoffrey Bawa 40 Chicago architecture 46 The Abassi Hotel, Isfahan
48 Travel and architecture book reviews 50 Amsterdam architecture old and new 54 Port Lockroy, Antarctica 57 Architectural Traveller Journeys – Bengal, conservation skills 61 Architectural Traveller Journeys – Iran 66 Architectural Traveller Journeys – Delhi to Udaipur 72 Architectural Traveller Journeys – Uzbekistan 78 Travel essentials
10
Oscar Niemeyer’s sinuous designs for Brasília put the new Brazilian capital on the architectural map
40
Chicago’s towering architecture scene is more vibrant and accessible than ever
50
Amsterdam walking tours contrast Golden Age townhouses with the city’s striking new future-proof architecture
61
Explore the fabled cities of Persepolis, Isfahan and Shiraz on a guided Architectural Traveller Journey to Iran
34
Sri Lankan architect Geoffrey Bawa’s Tropical Modernism, which revolutionised resort architecture
23
The crystal waters of West Papua – a diver’s dream destination
CLASSICAL EDUCATION
MILANESE MASTERWORK
Bath is the UK’s only city to be listed in its entirety as a UNESCO site. Regency terraces, Roman baths and cobbled squares all vie for attention, so a good starting point would be the Museum of Bath Architecture, which puts the city’s gems in context, helping visitors to ‘read’ the Palladian details and classical references as they explore. The Bath Preservation Trust, which runs the museum, offers an excellent 48-hour combination ticket, allowing entry to its four sites: the museum itself, No 1 Royal Crescent, Beckford’s Tower and the Herschel Museum of Astronomy, neatly encompassing the realms of fashion, science, music and learning that animated this great Georgian melting pot. www.museumofarchitecture.org.uk
2019 marks the 500th anniversary of Leonardo da Vinci’s death, so expect a year-long celebration of the Renaissance polymath. One of his most famous works, the Last Supper in the Dominican convent of Santa Maria delle Grazie in Milan, is also one of the hardest to visit, being such a fragile and much restored fresco. Leonardo chose to paint it a secco, that is, directly onto the wall rather than using the traditional fresco technique. This means that only 25 visitors can be admitted at a time to maintain an even, ambient temperature. Book in advance with a combined visit to, say, the Brera Picture Gallery or an architecture walking tour to ensure you see this masterwork alongside Milan’s cultural treasures. www.milan-museum.com
STARK REMINDER The indomitable traveller, writer and adventurer Freya Stark spent a lifetime exploring her beloved Arabia. Usually travelling with little money and only a local guide for support, her treks took her through remote regions as well as to legendary cities such as Isfahan. The Valleys of the Assassins and Other Persian Travels, published by The Modern Library, recounts her travels in 1934 between Iraq and present-day Iran, including vivid encounters with the hashish-eating terrorists known as the Lords of Alamut. Her knowledge of Arab culture and language and her interest in the people she met shines through her writing.
DARWIN’S DELIGHT “The archipelago is a little world within itself,” wrote Charles Darwin when he visited the Galapagos Islands two centuries ago. Thanks to careful conservation and UNESCO protection, little has changed. Giant tortoises, hammerhead sharks and frigate birds still attract naturalists from around the world. To capture the spirit of Darwin’s early voyage, although with significantly comfier accommodation and delicious food, book a passage on the Mary Anne tall ship with Andando Tours. Run by Galapagos native Fiddi Angermeyer, Andando Tours takes small numbers of guests on each trip and is a contributor to the WildAid wildlife conservation charity. www.andandotours.com
BRIDGE PARTNER During the 1990s, Mostar was in the news for all the wrong reasons, a casualty as so many other towns and their people of the Bosnian war. When the town’s historic bridge was bombed, it destroyed one of Bosnia Herzegovina’s most celebrated landmarks. The 16th century, Ottoman built bridge had given the town its name, being guarded in medieval times by men called mostari. Following the war, the bridge was faithfully reconstructed using the original stone, earning it UNESCO World Heritage status. Crossing from side to side, visitors today are treated to Ottoman, Austro-Hungarian and modernist architecture as well as the bazaar in the Old Town. The 17th -century Muslibegovic House is part museum part hotel and an ideal base for a stay. www.muslibegovichouse.com Architectural Traveller | Page 6
WHERE THE WILD THINGS ARE Bird watchers, hikers and divers are visiting the largely unexplored Papua New Guinea in ever greater numbers, relishing the unspoiled natural environment and its rare fauna and exotic flora. There are some 178,000 square miles of the island, whose rainforests are still home to tribes as yet unreached by the outside world. Until the 1970s, anthropologists were still finding evidence of head-hunting and cannibalism on the island. Today’s traveller-friendly Port Moresby is the largest city and a good base to absorb the cultural richness of Papua New Guinea, with festivals, arts and crafts – not to mention some 820 indigenous languages to choose from – giving an insight into the island’s vibrant life.
WORLD HERITAGE AND TRAVEL NEWS SAVE THE DATES FOR THE LISTED PROPERTY SHOWS Bristol, The Passenger Shed 21st September 2019 Edinburgh, Assembly Rooms 26th October 2019 London, Olympia 8th and 9th February 2020
Are you one of the 1.5 million listed building owners? If you are maintaining, renovating or conserving your listed home – or even looking to buy one – The Listed Property Shows are not to be missed! The Listed Property Shows, organised by The Listed Property Owners’ Club, bring together the biggest collection of specialist conservation suppliers and experts under one roof. Whether you need advice on damp, energy efficiency, planning, law, house history or you simply need a conservation architect or contractor for a restoration project, they’ll all be there.
There will also be a team of independent conservation officers on hand to offer free, impartial advice on any plans you may be considering. Tickets cost £10 in advance or £15 on the door. Alternatively, you can purchase two show tickets plus one year’s membership to The Listed Property Owners’ Club for just £48. To book tickets or upgrade to membership visit www.lpoc.co.uk or call 01795 844939
TIME TRAVEL Japan’s earliest ryokans date back to the 8th century and were built as accommodation for nomadic samurai. Today, these family-run inns provide authentic places to stay, varying from the ascetic to the quietly luxurious. Beniya Mukay, www.relaischateaux.com, near the spa town of Yamashiro, is a tranquil base – with yoga sessions and a beautiful courtyard garden – from which to explore Kenroku-en, considered one of the three great traditional Japanese gardens. The historic city of Kanazawa offers dramatic contrasts, from its well preserved, 16thcentury Kanazawa castle to the futuristic 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art. Trek further into the Japanese Alps and you find the UNESCO World Heritage villages of Shirakawago and Gokayama, with their steeply pitched ‘praying hands’ roofs. TIME TRAVEL Staying in a landmark property is a luxurious way to combine culture and fine cuisine in the capital with a host of London hotels now housed in handsomely refurbished buildings. If velvet, mirrored glass cocktail cabinets and chaise longues are your style, try The Ned, www.thened.com, designed by Edwin ‘Ned’ Lutyens in 1924. Once the Midland Bank HQ, the urbane interiors retain the building’s grandeur and cosmopolitan elegance. Or you could join the Bloomsbury Set at the Kimpton Fitzroy overlooking Russell Square. The ornate 19thcentury building takes up a whole block and still boasts marble-clad walls, mosaic floors, art-filled rooms and leather club chairs in the suitably bohemian lounge. www.kimptonfitzroylondon.co.uk. Architectural Traveller | Page 7
FIRE AND ICE
COLD COMFORT
If the water bubbling hot around you is an unearthly blue and the sand on the beach is black, if rare moss is growing on volcanic rock and you can see glaciers in the distance, you must be in Iceland. A vast 24,000 hectares of the country forms the UNESCO-protected Thingvellir National Park. This unspoiled landscape was the setting for ancient Althing open-air assemblies, which formed the basis of government for the pioneering Viking community that lived here from around 930AD. The park is flanked on three sides by mountains and contains fissures and cliffs, lakes and rivers and, like a sleeping dragon, an active volcano. It is a dramatic and pristine natural habit that still bears the 10thcentury marks of human habitation.
It is 60 years since the death of Apsley CherryGarrard, gentleman explorer and author of the classic frostbitten memoir The Worst Journey in the World. It recounts his part in Robert Scott’s Terra Nova expedition of 1910–1913 to Antarctica, which Cherry-Garrard had joined aged 24 as assistant zoologist. Cherry- Garrard and his colleagues Bill Wilson and Henry Bowers risked everything over a brutal 35-day trek through blizzards to collect three emperor penguin eggs in an effort to prove the evolutionary connection between reptiles and birds. CherryGarrard recalls how his teeth chattered so violently they shattered in his head. His tale is one of bravery and ultimately tragedy amid a raw natural environment that few people ever experience first hand.
FEZ UP! The imposing blue-tiled Bab Bou Jeloud gate stands at the entrance to the 8th-century medina of Fez, a city quarter rich in buildings dating back to Fez’s heyday as Morocco’s cultural capital. Ambitious government plans to restore the medina were drawn up in 1989, since when thousands of buildings have been saved from collapse and 27 monuments have been fully restored with World Bank funding. The al-Qarawiyyin Library, considered the oldest in the world and home to a Kufic, 9th-century Qur’an, has been saved from the severe damp that threatened it. The medina project has also rejuvenated local crafts, music and cuisine. Plan-it-Morocco can arrange guided tours, including day trips to the Roman site of Volubilis. www.plan-it-morocco.com
ON THE TILES What strikes any visitor to Lisbon, aside from the number of ornate, regal and imposing buildings it boasts, is that feeling that almost every inch of the city has been decorated. Portuguese tiles, or azulejos, had been used since the 13th century, but in the 16th and 17th centuries, their popularity and sophistication reached new heights. Elaborate blue and white historical tableaux covered cloisters and corridors, such as those at the Monastery of São Vicente de Fora. In the past 200 years, simpler, more geometric tiles have spread over house fronts and stations. Combine a visit to Lisbon with a ceramics course at Sedimento Ceramics Studios, www.sedimento.pt, and learn the techniques and styles of traditional and contemporary azulejos Architectural Traveller | Page 8
AMAZON DELIVERY Time was that exploring the Amazon basin by boat meant a lot of paddling. With the launch in summer 2019 of La Jangada, a 24-cabin catamaran, cruising the rainforest-fringed Amazon is going to be lot less arduous. Each luxury cabin has a balcony – all the better for admiring the myriad bird and wildlife from. Sailing from Manaus in Brazil, passengers on the 12- and 13-day itineraries are taken far into the basin reaching the Peruvian/Colombian border. During the trip, there are opportunities to go piranhafishing and cayman-spotting and to learn about the medicinal plants of the rainforest. There are also visits to indigenous villages along the route. www.rainforestcruises.com ON THE ROCKS
INNER PEACE
Visitors to Matera in 2019 will find the southernItalian hilltop city in festive spirit, having been named this year’s European Capital of Culture. Piazzas, galleries and churches will be host to a vibrant array of events, installations and activities. Cultural programme aside, the city has long drawn visitors to its World-Heritage-listed prehistoric sassi, tightly clustered houses and frescoed churches that appear to have evolved from the rock the city is perched on. The largely 18th-century Hotel Sassi, www.hotelsassi.it, incorporates a renovated cave dwelling, while the five-star Palazzo Gattini, www.palazzogattini.it, has views of the sassi district.
Gangtey Lodge, a Bhutanese farmhouse sympathetically converted using local wood, stone and fabrics into a 12-suite hotel, offers a supremely restful base for a visit to Bhutan’s unspoiled Gangtey Valley. Conceived by the husband-and-wife team behind Balloons over Bagan in Myanmar, Gangtey Lodge brings its guests into close contact with the Bhutanese people, their temples and culture. Archery, meditation classes, visits to morning and evening prayers, hiking, mountain biking and visits to prayer flag hoisting ceremonies are among the sensitively planned activities that allow guests to absorb the serene, forested, mountainous landscape and the pace of life of the people who live in it. Tasteful, luxurious rooms with wood-burning stoves and delicious meals await guests back at the lodge. www.gangteylodge.com
GEORGIA ON MY MIND For a country not much larger than Ireland, Georgia, tucked between Russia, Azerbaijan and Armenia, contains enough geographical drama to keep any curious hiker or mountaineer happy for weeks. The Caucasus Mountains contain peaks higher than the Alps, but their snowy passes melt away towards the Black Sea coast and its sub-tropical forests, whereas parts of south-eastern Georgia are semi-desert. The capital Tbilisi is a good place to start. It was once a Silk Road hub, hence its eclectic mixture of mosques, synagogues, Armenian churches, Persian-style sulphur baths and a Zoroastrian fire temple. Beyond Tbilisi are sites including the Gergeti Trinity Church standing proudly below Mount Kazbegi. Being the world’s oldest wine-producing nation, a visit to Georgia also ensures a selection of fine wines at the end of a day’s exploring.
OSCAR NIEMEYER AND BRASÍLIA
“ I am not attracted to straight angles, or to the straight line, hard and inflexible, created by man. I am attracted to free-flowing, sensual curves,” wrote Oscar Niemeyer in his 1998 memoir The Curves of Time. This attraction to serpentine, sweeping, technically demanding forms underpinned each of the dramatic buildings he completed during his lengthy career and that were key to his being awarded the Pritzker Prize and RIBA Gold Medal. His most celebrated achievement is the collection of futuristic buildings he designed for Brazil’s new capital Brasília, the first city less than 100 years old to receive UNESCO World Heritage status. Rio de Janeiro had been the capital of Brazil until President Juscelino Kubitschek declared his intention to build an entirely new capital city called Brasília. He wanted to make a clear break with Rio’s Baroque buildings and ad-hoc street plan, a legacy of Brazil’s colonial past, and replace them with a new, progressive architectural language that would speak to the future prosperity of the country. Niemeyer’s architecture had the energy and ambition that Kubitschek was looking for. “As an architect,” said Niemeyer, “my concern in Brasília was to find a structural solution that would characterise the city’s architecture. So I did my very best in the structures, trying to make them different, with their columns so narrow that the palaces would seem to barely touch the ground.” Kubitschek had known Niemeyer, a lifelong communist, for some time and was aware of his work with Le Corbusier on the Brazilian pavilion for the New York World’s Fair in 1938–39. Niemeyer’s mentor and collaborator on the pavilion had been Lúcio Costa, a leading Brazilian modernist architect and urban planner. To make his ideal of a new capital a reality, Kubitschek appointed Costa as master planner to draw up the overall concept and Niemeyer as director of works, giving him creative control over the key government buildings. The hugely ambitious plan was to be built over just three years from 1957. It employed some 60,000 workers who raised a bold new city from an empty plateau. Brasília was inaugurated on 21 April 1960, although building work continued for years on specific buildings. Historically, urban planning has involved the destruction of existing streets and houses, witness Haussmann’s demolition of entire quartiers of Medieval streets in Paris to make way for his Second Architectural Traveller | Page 10
Empire boulevards. Brasília, however, was a blank canvas upon which Costa envisaged wide open spaces with apartments and government buildings connected by an efficient road network. Seen from the air, the layout resembles an aeroplane, a nod to the mechanised, internationally connected world Brazil was entering. The fuselage would be where the bureaucrats worked and the wings where they would live. While Costa considered how the new city would function, Niemeyer focussed on designing a string of buildings that collectively would earn Brasília its UNESCO listing. The inspiration for his gracefully curving concrete arcs was deeply rooted in his homeland. “The curve I find in the mountains of my country, in the sinuousness of its rivers, in the waves of the ocean and in the body of the beloved woman.” The first of Niemeyer’s buildings to be completed was the presidential residence, the Palacio da Alvorada, meaning palace of dawn. Completed in 1958, the 7,000 sq metre building is a simple, two-storey rectangle with open-plan interiors illuminated by floor-to-ceiling glazing. The white roof projects over the façade to World Architectural Heritage Traveller | Page 11
Previous page, the Metropolitan Cathedral. This page, the National Museum of Brazil. Inset, the glittering interior of the Palacio da Alvorada.
meet a shaded colonnade fronted by slender spikes of concrete that sweep upwards, barely appearing to touch the roofline. At ground level, these sculptural shapes hardly seem rooted at all - in Niemeyer’s words, “like feathers touching the ground”. “The curve I find in the mountains of my country, in the sinuousness of its rivers, in the waves of the ocean and in the body of the beloved woman.” Niemeyer used the same design of a colonnade surrounding a building for shade and shadow effect on his Itamaraty Palace, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which is edged by wide reflecting pools. Speaking of the narrow columns running around the building he said,“ I set them apart from the façade, creating an empty space through which, as I bent over my work table, I could see myself walking, imagining their forms and the different resulting points of view they would provoke.” Underground parking for ministry staff avoided the need for car parks at ground level that would have marred the impact of Niemeyer’s buildings and the sense of space around them. The National Congress, which shows the clearest influence to Le Corbusier in his Brasília designs, sits prominently on the Monumental Axis, clearly viewed along the central grassed avenue. The roofline meets the raised avenues that flank it at each side, with the main building stretched between them. A cupola marks the Senate Chamber inside, while a shallow upturned dish marks the Chamber of Deputies. Niemeyer had intended the roof to act as a public plaza, bringing the people close to the seat of government, but today security concerns have placed it out of bounds. The two central towers appear to be uncharacteristically regular rectangles, but Niemeyer resisted anything so cuboid, making them five-sided with subtly angled façades.
Architectural Traveller | Page 12
The most visited building in the capital is not a government department, however, but the cathedral, built between 1958 and 1970. Its ‘crown of thorns’ cupola is a striking expression of Niemeyer’s use of poured concrete to create elegantly curved silhouettes. The spaces between the thorns are filled with coloured glass, making the interior as striking as the exterior. Costa and Niemeyer turned to painter and landscape designer Roberto Burle Marx to create gardens for the open spaces in Brasília that would complement the modernist buildings and utopian ideals behind the city. Using his own vibrant gouache plans for the Ministry of Army as his template, Burle Marx designed a garden made up of a pattern of arabesques filled with crushed stone and low-growing plants. Burle Marx, chiming with Niemeyer’s socialist beliefs, felt that well designed public spaces provided “dignity for the masses”. While the architectural achievement of Brazil’s new capital is obvious, history has not perhaps been as kind to the overall ambition of Brasília. Its system of work and housing zones and its reliance on road connections never allowed for the blending of people, offices and shops that gives life to a city. Niemeyer himself had happy memories of labourers and engineers living side by side during the frenetic construction period. “On the inauguration day, with the President of the Republic, the generals in their full dress uniforms, the high-society ladies in their finest jewellery, everything changed. The magic was shattered in a single blow.” Niemeyer retreated to live and work in Paris in self-imposed exile. Yet the city he envisioned with Lúcio Costa and Roberto Burle Marx has been celebrated both by UNESCO and by visitors as one of the world’s most outstanding expressions of the modernist movement, an enduring influence far beyond its original remit.
One of Niemeyer’s iconic buildings, the Niterói Contemporary Art Museum.
GUIDE TO HAVE... Maria Ines Joo Maria, who worked with both Niemeyer and Costa on the design of Brasília, is an informed and inspiring guide to the city.
The staircase of the Itamaraty Palace, Brazil’s foreign ministry.
T: 0055 61 8518 8714 World Heritage Traveller | Page 13 Architectural
BAROQUE
Arguably, the built environment in Brazil begins its story some 60,000 years ago with the cave sites and rock paintings now preserved in the Parque Nacionale da Serva da Capivara. It comes bang up to date with Brazilian architects Aleph Zero and Rosenbaum who won the 2018 RIBA International Prize for their Children Village on the edge of the Amazon rainforest. In between, Brazil offers baroque grandeur, pastel-painted rococo and some of the finest mid-century modernism in world architecture. Leading Brazilian architects including Ruy Ohtake (Hotel Unique, São Paulo), and Paulo Mendes da Rocha (the Brazilian Sculpture Museum, São Paulo), as well as the late Affonso Eduardo Reidy (Rio de Janeiro’s Museum of Modern Art) and Lina Bo Bardi (São Paulo Museum of Art), have helped make Brazil a dynamic destination for anyone interested in seeing how a modernist wave, amplified by the vision of Oscar Niemeyer, threw off the traditions of European colonialism. Not that there aren’t also architectural delights to be found from the 17th and 18th centuries, when the Portuguese influence brought baroque and ornate rococo flourishes to the brightly painted facades of Brazil’s emerging cities. Architectural Traveller | Page 14
There are gems to discover, for example the church of São Francisco de Assis in Ouro Preto by Antonio Aleijadinho, considered the most important Brazilian architect of the colonial age. On the coast near the modern sprawl of Recife is the brightly coloured old town of Olinda, whose candy-coloured houses contrast with the grandeur of the monasteries, churches and convents built by the Portuguese who founded the city in 1535. Salvador, especially its old quarter known as Pelourinho, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, remains the best place to see colonial baroque and rococo architecture. Salvador was the colonial capital of Brazil until 1763, which has left a legacy of fine private residences, churches and old official buildings. The pale lilac Igreja de Nossa Senhora do Rosário dos Pretos, known as The Slave Church, stands on a steep cobbled street in the heart of Pelourinho. With its two elaborate bell towers crowning a facade that combines rococo plasterwork with carved baroque stonework and pilasters, the church unites not only European architectural fashions of the day, but Afro-Brazilian culture as well.
TO BRUTALISM THE ARCHITECTURE OF BRAZIL
A brotherhood of Africans brought to Brazil as slaves received funds and permission to begin building the church in 1704 as a place in which they could worship freely. Construction took decades and the flamboyant towers and facade weren’t added until 1780. Anyone planning to explore the Amazon might well stop off at Manaus on the banks of the Rio Negro. Dominating a central plaza is the improba ble Amazon Theatre, inaugurated in 1897 as an opera house built to rival those of Belle Epoque Paris, a monumental flight of design fancy that combines Renaissance, art nouveau and classical references. It was built with the soaring profits from Manaus’s rubber plantations, but fell into disrepair until it was rediscovered in the early 1980s by director Werner Herzog who was filming Fitzcarraldo. Since 1997, the theatre has been fully reopened with a regular concert programme.
A visit to São Paulo offers a chance to see the Teatro Municipal, based in large part on the Palais Garnier in Paris and completed in 1911. It was a collaboration between Brazilian engineer and architect Ramos de Azevedo and Italian architects Claudio Rossi and Domiziano Rossi and combines neo-classical and baroque references to grandiose effect. Yet its debt to European architecture was soon at odds with the ambitions of Brazil’s artists and thinkers. Ironically perhaps, in 1922 the theatre hosted the Modern Art Week, which sealed the fate of colonialist art and, subsequently, architecture, by bringing together artists, poets, dramatists and musicians who would become the founder members of Brazil’s modernist movement. Around the city, buildings from the 1950s onwards by architects including Vilanova Artigas, Rino Levi, Hans Broos and Oswaldo Bratke show an energetic city embracing a brutalist, minimal and dynamic architectural future.
Architectural Traveller | Page 15
PLACES TO STAY WHILE YOU’RE THERE… SALVADOR: COLONIAL CHIC
MANAUS
In the heart of Pelourinho, Salvador’s patchwork of brightly coloured baroque buildings and cobbled streets, is Villa Bahia, two interconnected colonial mansions with light, airy rooms and suites, painted shutters, courtyards filled with tropical plants and a roof terrace.
The Anavilhanas Jungle Lodge is located 180 km northwest of Manaus, on the right margin of the Rio Negro. Located across from the world’s largest river archipelago, the hotel is the perfect place to explore the wonders of the Amazon basin.
www.lavillabahia.com
www.anavilhanaslodge.com
IGUASSU FALLS Belmond Hotel das Cataratas gem beside Brazil’s Iguassu Falls. From the butterflies floating by the turquoise pool to the thundering waters of the falls every detail will take your breath away. This is the only hotel inside Brazil’s Iguassu National Park. Restored to its original 1950s charm, the hotel’s hacienda-style exterior is matched by its warm, inviting interior design. www.belmond.com Architectural Traveller | Page 16
FOOD ON THE GO Brazilian street food tends to be as hot, spicy and multi-cultural as the street scenes you find it in, blending African, Portuguese, Brazilian and Middle Eastern influences. Here is a quick guide to lunch on the move: Pão de queijno – these chewy little cheese buns, made from casava flour and soft cheese, are a national staple. Churrasco – barbecued meat, especially picanha (sirloin steak), is traditionally seasoned with rock salt and served with farofa and tomato salsa. Coxinha – deep-fried chicken croquettes are more-ish, crispy mouthfuls, as are pastel de queijo, filled with chicken or beef and cheese. Kibbeh – Lebanese-style patties of minced beef and bulgar wheat. Bolinhos de bacalhau – fried salt-cod bites, a gift from the Portuguese. Acarajé – a West-African import particularly found in Salvador, these black-eyed bean fritters are filled with prawns and spices. Feijoada – the national dish and another Portuguese legacy, this stew of pork, beef and offal with black beans is usually served with rice and stir-fried kale.
Architectural Traveller | Page 17
15
OF THE MOST INCREDIBLE UNESCO WORLD HERITAGE SITES AND WHY YOU SHOULD VISIT THEM There are more than 1,000 UNESCO World Heritage-listed sites, which makes for a substantial bucket list by anyone’s standards. Our choice of 15 extraordinary destinations takes you around the world, from Chile to Canada, Iran to Indonesia.
1. PERSEPOLIS, Iran Around 518BC, Darius the Great laid the foundations of the magnificent city of Persepolis, outside present-day Shiraz. Over 150 years, under Xerxes I and Artaxerxes, a sprawling palace complex emerged of vast stone statues, slender columns, sculptures of double-headed bulls and intricate carvings. Sculpted friezes along the majestic staircase leading to the Apadana Palace are full of incredible humanising detail, the men’s curled beards and the long eyelashes of the camels. Clues to life under Cyrus the Great, who ruled over the Achaemenid Empire, were found inscribed on stone and clay tablets found in the Treasury. Women of the time received equal pay as well as maternity leave and paid workers were used to build Persepolis, rather than slaves. Travel on to the city of Isfahan and the Abbasi Hotel; see page 46. See page 61 for our tour to Iran. 2. ANGKOR WAT, Cambodia There is something filmic about the presence of the ancient temple of Angkor Wat, surrounded by vast trees and calmly peopled by monks. It is the most splendid of the temples within the Angkor Archaeological Park, which stretches 400 square kilometres and contains the remains of Khmer capitals that flourished from the 9th to the 14th centuries. Angkor Wat is the earthly representation of Mount Meru, home of the ancient Hindu gods and is still in use today. Its detailed bas reliefs tell of history and myth, while the temple is also home to 3,000 exquisitely carved apsaras, or heavenly nymphs. The canals, reservoirs, temples with, in places, long tree roots fingering through the carved facades, and the lush landscape conspire to create a site of magic and deep spirituality. Architectural Traveller | Page 18
Angkor Wat, Cambodia
Ksar of Aït-Ben-Haddou, Morocco
3. KSAR of AÏT-BEN-HADDOU, Morocco The Ksar of Aït-Ben-Haddou may look strangely familiar even if you haven’t visited the fortified village in the High Atlas mountains. It has featured as a dramatic setting in Laurence of Arabia, Gladiator and, more recently, Game of Thrones. A ksar is a group of earthen buildings surrounded by high, defensive walls with, in the case of Aït-Ben-Haddou, a baffle gate and angle towers. It is a wonderfully intact example of this kind of Moroccan town from the preSaharan, 17th century era in which buildings huddle together, perfectly adapted to the climate and bringing the different strands of the community into close harmony. The houses, some as grand as small castles with towers and embellished upper storeys, some more humble, cluster around a public square and mosque, a caravanserai and two cemeteries, one Muslim, one Jewish. World Heritage Traveller | Page 19
Taj Mahal, India
www.tutc.com
4. TAJ MAHAL, India White marble glowing in the sunset, the perfect harmony of domes and arches, light and shadow – the Taj Mahal in Agra is rightly considered to be the high point of Muslim architecture in India. Built by Emperor Shah Jahan in memory of his favourite wife, Mumtaz Mahal, the 17thcentury domed mausoleum is the focal point of a magical site, balanced with formal gardens, a stately reflecting pool and four minarets at each corner of the mausoleum. Painters, stone masons, calligraphers and carvers were brought from across the globe to work on the Taj Mahal, embellishing it with gemstones inside and fine carving outside. Despite the crowds, visitors arriving midafternoon can find a spot from which to watch the sun set over this most iconic monument. See page 66 for our Delhi to Udaipur tour.
WHILE YOU’RE THERE… Bird and Wildlife enthusiasts will love Jaagir Lodge, Dudhwa The Terai is a land of marshy jungle between the Himalayas and the great plains of India, home to the forest reserves of Dudhwa, Katarniaghat, Kishanpur and Pilibhit. Each reserve offers an incredible diversity of rare bird and wildlife. The elegant 1940s Jaagir Lodge, Dudhwa, is a luxurious base, offering beautifully decorated rooms in the main lodge and thatched villas, pictured below. The Lodge arranges game drives, trips to a tiger reserve, nature trails and bird-watching safaris as well as visits to local villages. www.tutc.com
One of the luxurious thatched villas at Jaagir Lodge
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Bukhara, Uzbekistan
The Duomo, Italy
5. BUKHARA, Uzbekistan Bukhara has been inhabited for more than 2,000 years and remains the most complete medieval city in central Asia. A prominent stop on the Silk Route, the grandeur of its mosques and madrassas is the legacy of its position as a major medieval centre for Islamic theology and culture. The historic centre boasts architecture on a bold scale, often decorated with intricate tile work, although the elegant Ismail Samanai mausoleum, considered the best example of 10th-century Muslim architecture in the world, is impressive for its restrained elegance. Turquoise domed minarets and mosques dot the skyline. The Kalon Minaret, built in 1127, stands 47 metres high, ringed by bands of intricate brick patterns. Genghis Khan was so impressed by it that he ordered his men to spare it while he had the rest of the city sacked. Visit page 72 for our Uzbekistan tour. 6. SANTA MARIA DEL FIORE, Italy The vast dome of Santa Maria del Fiore in Florence, known to locals as Il Duomo, dwarfs the streets around it, defining the skyline of a city already packed with architectural treasures dating from the 14th to the 17th centuries. Designed by Filippo Brunelleschi in the early 15th century, Santa Maria del Fiore is both dramatic in scale and dazzling in detail. The red-tiled roof of the dome is a perfect contrast to the patterned pink, green and white marble façade. Brunelleschi designed the dome as an innovative double-layered construction, a chevron-brick layer providing strength and support and an inner layer providing a ‘canvas’ for Giorgio Vasari and Federico Zuccari’s flamboyant frescoes. The highest point of the dome, just below the lantern, is open to visitors and offers some of the most spectacular views over Florence.
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Borobudur Temple, Indonesia
7. BOROBUDUR TEMPLE, Indonesia The magnificent Borobudur, in central Java, is one of the greatest Buddhist monuments in the world, a majestic, towering site that rises from dense forests to dominate the landscape. The complex, dating back to the 8th and 9th centuries, comprises a pyramidal base supporting five square terraces topped by three circular platforms around which are 72 stupas, each guarding a serene statue of the Buddha. The edifice is crowned with a monumental stupa. The temple itself operates as a giant mandala. As visitors weave their way up through the many levels of the structure, the realistic and highly animated relief sculptures take the visitor on the journey of the Buddhist path of enlightenment. The most breathtaking views from the summit of Borobudur are at sunrise, as the mists clear from the Kedu Valley below and the view clears towards the Mount Merapi volcano.
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Raja Ampat
WHILE YOU’RE THERE… Divers must visit Raja Ampat in West Papua Located within the Indonesian archipelago off the northwest tip of Bird’s Head Peninsula in West Papua (Irian Jaya) and comprising hundreds of jungle-covered islands, the area is known for its beaches and coral reefs rich with marine life. Raja Ampat, translated directly as ‘four kings’ was named for the four main islands in the area – Weigeo, Batanta, Salawati and Misool. Diving in Raja Ampat will take your breath away with the marine life thriving from the sea floor to the surface and the colourful reef teeming with activity. There are sites that are so pristine and packed with growth that a photographer is hard-pressed to find a spot to place a steadying finger. Exotic sea life and macro critters will overwhelm any macro photography enthusiast. The only problem with diving here is that you’ll be so spoiled by the near-perfect conditions that you may never want to leave or dive anywhere else again. Luxury live-aboard diving with Dive Gaia offers charters out of Sorong that enable you to explore this area extensively, while pampering yourself with hospitality and comfort. A shorter Raja Ampat dive itinerary is also offered in the Ambon (Ceram) to Sorong (West Papua) trip. www.divegaia.com
Dive Gaia, Liveaboard
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8. MACHU PICCHU, Peru
Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park, Vietnam
The sanctuary of Machu Picchu is protected by UNESCO not just for the citadel itself, but for its spectacular natural setting, where the peaks and valleys of the Peruvian Andes shelve down to meet the Amazon Basin. The central citadel is the most important urban legacy of the Inca empire, built around 1450 and abandoned in 1572 when the Spanish invaded. It wasn’t until 1911 that American explorer Hiram Bingham rediscovered the enormous walls and terraces that outline what was a complex and sophisticated city. The terrain around the site is often harsh, with steep climbs, but following the Inca pilgrimage trail to reach it puts Machu Picchu and its importance in its natural context. The full extent of the religious, astronomical and agricultural significance of the site still eludes archaeologists today, which only adds to the allure of this staggering human achievement and its connection with the awesome landscape around it. 9. PHONG NHA-KE BANG NATIONAL PARK, Vietnam Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park covers a vast swathe, 126,000 hectares, of dense tropical jungle and limestone plateau in Central Vietnam. The area is protected for what lies above ground, including many endemic species, as well as the vast subterranean network of caves. The site has been nicknamed the cave kingdom due to its 100km or so of limestone karst caves and connecting rivers, some barely explored. Some of these caves are the largest ever discovered. Hang Son Doong is considered the world’s largest cave and it is said that more people have scaled the summit of Everest than have seen inside its furthest chambers. The majority of Phong Nha-Ke Bang remains unexplored, protected by impenetrable forests as well as unexploded ordnance from the Vietnam war, leading speleologists to speculate that there may be even larger caves waiting to be discovered. 10. OLD CITY OF SANA’A, Yemen Sana’a is an ancient city of ‘skyscrapers’, the burnt brick towers that jostle across the skyline. It has been inhabited for more than 2,500 years and bears the traces of successive rulers and faiths. The city was a centre for the promotion of Islam in the 7th and 8th centuries and the old town’s crowded streets are still home to 103 mosques. The Great Mosque of Sana’a was the first built outside Mecca and Medina. The 6,000 or so tall and beautifully embellished houses in the old city are built of rammed earth and decorated with white gypsum and fired brick patterns. There are winding lanes to explore, markets, caravanserais and gardens. The war in Yemen means it is still an unsafe destination; the hope is that one day it will open up again so that more people can experience one of the most fascinating ancient cities in the world. Architectural Traveller | Page 24
Old City of Sana’a, Yemen
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11. RAPA NUI NATIONAL PARK, Chile Rapa Nui, the indigenous name of Easter Island, is peopled by some 900 figures who bear witness to the Polynesian society that founded a colony on the island and prospered, uninfluenced by the wider world, from the 10th to the 16th centuries. The figures, moai, are spiritual beings, which the Polynesian settlers believed would be charged by the spiritual essence, called mana, once they were finished. Some moai are completed sculptures, others were abandoned as works in progress or lie askance still waiting to be placed in the holes dug for them at their final destinations, called ahu. The most famous group of figures, Ahu Tongariki, or The Fifteen, stand sentinel, silent yet filled with distant meaning. Rapa Nui remains the most remote inhabited island on the planet. No one knows exactly why it was first colonised or the full significance of the moai, yet this spiritual and artistic flourishing remains a unique human achievement. Rapa Nui National Park, Chile
Explora Rapa Nui, and below
PLACE TO STAY WHILE YOU’RE THERE… Explora Rapa Nui The hotel’s architecture combines the island’s particular geography and local culture. It was built in 2007 and it has a LEED certification for environmentally friendly construction and efficient energy use. Located 8 km from Hanga Roa, in a privileged location from which to explore Easter Island, Explora Rapa Nui is surrounded by trees, prairies and views towards the Pacific Ocean. All the hotel’s itineraries include accommodation, transfers to and from the airport, meals and drinks, and a selection of more than 30 exploration routes designed by the outdoor team. Hikes, bicycle outings, snorkelling and diving activities are the perfect choice to get to know Rapa Nui’s history, culture and landscapes, visiting both the most iconic and off the beaten track sites. www.explora.com/easter-island-chile
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WHILE YOU’RE THERE… DISCOVER PATAGONIA The Explora Patagonia hotel’s architecture has received numerous awards, including first prize in the Tourism Services category in the X Bienal de Arquitectura in Santiago, Chile. Anchored like a ship by Lake Pehoé, at the heart of Torres del Paine National Park, Explora Patagonia has a privileged location from which to explore the park. Programmes include a menu of more than 40 adventures designed by the hotel’s outdoor team. Treks and horseback rides take visitors to mountains, turquoise lakes, glaciers, lenga tree forests, prairies and rivers, in addition to the most iconic stretches of the trekking circuit known as ‘W’. www.explora.com/patagonia-hotel
Explora Patagonia
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Sigiriya, Sri Lanka
12. SIGIRIYA, Sri Lanka Towering above formal landscape gardens, reflecting pools, galleries and grand staircases that form, the remains of the ancient capital city of Sigiriya is the vast spectacle of the Lion’s Rock. Only two huge clawed stone feet can be seen today, but when complete, visitors entered through the beast’s jaws, a piece of architectural theatre worthy of the scale and drama of the site. The granite Lion’s Rock, some 180 metres high, can be scaled via steep steps that weave up the rock face. The reward waiting at the summit are the ruins of the royal complex built by King Kassapa in the 5th century. The treasures of the site are its exquisitely painted frescoes, as well as some 7th and 8th century graffiti left by monks at the time. The frescoes once circled the rock in a vivid frieze, depicting beautiful young women who, it is speculated, could have been modelled on the King’s hareem. 13. ÉVORA, Portugal UNESCO classes the entire old town of Évora as a museum city, so rich is it in fine architecture, which dates back to its Roman occupation. The Temple of Diana is regarded as one of the best preserved Roman ruins on the Iberian peninsula. The city reached a high point of wealth and influence when it became home to the kings of Portugal in the 15th-century and royal palaces and convents were built on a grand scale. Perhaps what gives Évora its real charm and character, however, are the less grand domestic houses built from the 16th to 18th centuries, which cluster along narrow streets. Their whitewashed walls are decorated with bright azulejos and wrought-iron balconies and the roofs are tiled or are built as terraces. At every turn, there is a monument, church or cobbled street that brings to life the story of what was once Portugal’s second city. Architectural Traveller | Page 28
PLACE TO STAY WHILE YOU’RE THERE… São Lourenço do Barrocal is a small luxury hotel in the heart of a beautifully restored working farm village in the Alentejo. Rooms and cottages are simply furnished, and olive oil and wine comes from the estate, which stretches out around the farm. Tranquil and elegant – www.barrocal.pt
Évora, Portugal
Lunenburg, Canada
14. LUNENBURG, Canada Brightly painted clapboard houses and a still bustling harbour front are part of the charm of the picturesque Old Town Lunenburg, in Nova Scotia. Since it was established in 1753, the town has preserved its houses and civic buildings, as well as maintaining the fishing and shipbuilding livelihoods that it was founded on. Lunenburg is the finest example of a British colonial town laid out to a formal grid plan of streets and public squares according to plans brought over by the settlers. Clapboard houses are painted in vibrant colours, making the town a photographer’s dream. Among the immaculately preserved buildings are some boasting a ‘Lunenburg bump’, a five-sided dormer. A replica of the celebrated racing schooner the Bluenose, an image of which appears on Canadian dimes, and the Fisheries Museum of the Atlantic, tell of the pride the community still has in its fishing and nautical heritage. 15. BRIMSTONE HILL, St Kitts High above the north-western coast of St Kitts, the Caribbean’s largest island, stands the imposing Brimstone Hill fortress, protected by UNESCO as a national park. Its walls offer a panoramic view of forested peaks and the coasts of St Kitt’s neighbouring French, English and Dutch islands. Brimstone is one of the earliest examples of a polygonal system of fortress design and was completed towards the end of the 1700s. The British designed the fortress to defend the coastline and offer a safe haven for the island’s population. It is a remarkable piece of British military engineering and a testament to the skills of the African slaves who were used to build it. The impressive site, which straddles two volcanic peaks, was abandoned in the mid-19th century, having witnessed battles, skirmishes with the French (a canon was installed in 1690 to drive them off) and ultimately surrender. Architectural Traveller | Page 29
THE IMPERIAL NEW DELHI H E R I TAG E H OT E L S On February 10th, 1931, New Delhi was officially declared open for business. Two weeks of celebrations followed, heralding a new era with government and the civil service now housed in Lutyens-designed ‘Delhi Order’ buildings. One plot of land, however, had been left vacant, anticipating the need for a luxury hotel in keeping with the capital’s new international status. The Imperial New Delhi, which opened in 1936 amid elegant grounds, is a five-star luxury hotel that, thanks to a sympathetic renovation in the 1980s, retains the glamour and elegance of its late Edwardian heyday. The chance to build the hotel came about as a result of the 1911 Delhi Durbar. The durbar, a spectacular piece of imperial choreography with parades of bejewelled maharajas, dignitaries and troops paying their respects to King George and Queen Mary, attracted some 200,000 visitors to a site outside Delhi. As the durbar drew to an end, the King announced the replacement of Calcutta with a new capital to be built there in Delhi, setting in motion an urban planning project of monumental scale and ambition. Edwin Lutyens was the chief architect and planner of the vastly ambitious new city, which took 20 years to complete. Among the grand avenues Lutyens planned was Queensway, now called Janpath. His colleague, architect DJ Blomfield, was commissioned to design the world class hotel fit for a new capital that would occupy the plot on Janpath. In The Imperial, which opened in 1936, Blomfield introduced a touch of Victorian nostalgia in the pair of bronze lions at the entrance portico. The broad, wood-panelled, marble-floored corridors, atrium tea court and ballroom (which still has a sprung floor) are in grand Edwardian colonial style. Pulling the design together is Blomfield’s classical, minimal take on Art Deco – gleaming white exterior walls with tall, flattened columns, slender recessed windows and, inside, delicate wrought-iron balconies. The landscaping, with a parade of king palms approaching the entrance, echoes the geometry of the hotel. At a time when political tensions were running high – British rule in India would end only 16 years after the hotel opened – The Imperial provided a private and relaxed venue for leaders including Mahatma Gandhi, Muhammad Ali Jinnah, Lord Mountbatten and Pandit Nehru, who maintained a suite at the hotel, in order to meet and debate the future of India and Pakistan with his peers. High society rubbed shoulders with politicians and industrialists in the glittering bar and restaurant where today, film stars, presidents and singers number among the guests.
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The current owners, grandsons of Sardar Bahadur Ranjit Singh who built the hotel, have restored the Imperial’s reputation after a low point in the 1970s when it had fallen into decline. Walls are now decorated with 5,000 works of art from the Singh’s collection, paintings mainly by late 17th and 18th century artists working in India including William Hodges, James Ferguson and Charles D’Oyly. The antique furniture and sculpture complete a picture of refined luxury that would have been instantly recognisable to the first guests to walk through the cool, classical foyer of The Imperial New Delhi. www.theimperialindia.com
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Cruise along the Ganges with Assam Bengal Navigation
Go glamping in Ladakh at Chamba Camp, Thiksey.
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INDIA
Even devotees of the country who travel there regularly will often admit to a love-hate relationship with India. It’s a continent (well technically a sub-continent) with north and south having little in common. Vast in area, intriguing in its very complexity, it offers so much as it assails the senses with its sights, sounds, smells and tastes. It always offers more to see, to explore and to learn about. And it’s never boring. If you haven’t yet visited then you should. Scattered across the country are a wealth of Heritage properties. These are not classified as listed buildings, as would be the case in the UK, but are buildings with a history, a provenance. Many are palaces, dating from the days of the British Raj and before, which have been converted into comfortable places to stay, with your hosts often descendants of the local Rajahs, or princes, who formerly ruled here. Staying in a Heritage property offers today’s luxury housed amidst yesterday’s heritage. Let’s take just four examples of Heritage hotels property and what they offer as bases from which to explore India. The glorious Rajbari Bawali mansion in Kolkata (formerly Calcutta) was built around 250 years ago, but was in sad disrepair after years of decline when it was rediscovered in 2008. The miraculous restoration of its its classical columns, shuttered windows and marble-floored interiors involved skilled craftsmen from India who relearnt brick-making and restored pools and pavilions. Four-poster beds in the rooms and wide, lantern-lit terraces evoke the mansion’s heyday. www.therajbari.com Also in West Bengal, the Bari Kothi in Murshidabad is a boutique heritage hotel that offers a vibrant and engaging cultural programme, with visits to temples and palaces, Ganges boat trips, traditional dance and textile weaving. The fine 18th-century mansion itself contains delights such as hand-painted windows, classical columns, elaborately tiled floors and delicious vegetarian Sheherwali cuisine. www.barikothi.com A long way east of Delhi lies the ancient city of Varanasi, lying alongside the Holy River Ganges. A good base from which to start exploring the east of India, Varanasi is a lengthy train ride
Complex, frustrating, exciting, testing, exhilarating, shocking. or a comfortable flight from Delhi. On the banks of the Ganges, next to the main ghat lies the 280-year-old Brijrama Palace and fort, which is now converted into a Heritage hotel. Transfers from the airport involve a boat as access to the property is by river. Interestingly, the hotel boasts India’s oldest elevator. There are just 30 rooms, all with Ganges views. Ironically, the smallest room in the hotel is the most sought after, since, being in a turret, it has a 360 view; it is much in demand. www.brijrama.com - subject to same check as above To explore the majestic Ganges itself, take a river cruise with Assam Bengal Navigation. Their discreetly luxurious boats take you to fascinating villages, towns and temples. www.assambengalnavigation.com Heading west from Delhi will take you to Rajasthan, one of India’s most colourful states. Here, not far from the major city of Jodphur lies the village of Narla, midway between Jodphur and Udaipur. Located here is a charming old palace Rawla Narlai, now converted into a luxury property from where guests can take excursions to see leopard, go bird watching or visit local villages by Jeep. The hotel owner also owns several vintage cars in which guests can go for a spin if the fancy takes them – a neat twist. The place also has conference facilities for a small, bijou gathering. Just four examples of the many hundreds of Heritage properties in India that can form a base from which to explore so many aspects of the country, from browsing the rich archaeological sites and temples to looking for tigers in the jungles of the many wildlife reserves scattered across the regions. Time spent exploring India can lead you from a love of listed, or Heritage, properties to a love of this complex and intriguing country. And why not try glamping, with The Ultimate Travelling Camp? Watch polo or raft down the Indus from your base at The Chamba Camp, Thiksey, pictured left, in wildly beautiful Ladakh. For adventures with luxury under canvas, visit www.tutc.com Article written by Derek Moore and Martin Anslow of D and M Travel Design.
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BAWA HOUSE Tropical modernism is something of an oxymoron: lush, organic forms colliding with the rigour of minimal geometry. It was the genius of Geoffrey Manning Bawa to unite these contradictory aesthetics in the houses and hotels that he designed in his native Sri Lanka, buildings that went on to influence contemporary architecture across tropical Asia. Broad, shade-giving roofs, cool central courtyards, dark wood against white walls and terraces and verandas open to the breeze are all characteristics that spring to mind when picturing the kind of sophisticated Asian architecture used for eco-lodges, boutique hotels and private retreats. Yet this now ubiquitous architectural language and choice of materials was a novelty when Bawa, who died in 2003, began work with the firm of Edwards Reid and Begg in Colombo in 1957. Bawa had come to architecture late in his career. The son of Anglo-Sri Lankan parents, he had studied at Cambridge before qualifying as a lawyer in London. In 1948, he returned to Sri Lanka where he bought an abandoned rubber plantation near Bentota called Lunuganga. The Lunuganga estate, which remained his lifelong home, sparked his interest in gardening and garden design, which led to his absorption in architecture. Bawa returned to London and from 1954 to 1957 studied at the Architectural Association, graduating at the grand age of 38. While at the AA, he was influenced by the ideas of Architectural Traveller | Page 34
Maxwell Fry and Jane Drew, whose work in West Africa showed how architecture could follow modernist principles yet remain sympathetic to its location. When Bawa designed the ASH de Silva House in 1959, one of relatively few of his designs to have survived intact, he made a feature of the long, sweeping roof line, which offers protection from sun and rain. Inside, the simple white walls chimed more with his modernist leanings. Yet where modernism would have demanded large, glazed windows, Bawa left the interior walls open to the courtyard to allow the flow of light and breeze. The same principles applied to the Ena de Silva House, 1960, in the Colombo suburb of Cinnamon Gardens where pavilions and verandas set around a central, open-plan courtyard were contained within a perimeter wall. With the use of natural materials such as granite paving, satin-wood columns and timberlatticed windows, the feeling of being inside and out at the same time pervaded the design and clearly referenced traditional Sri Lankan manor houses. As Colombo grew and prospered, so the fashion for English-style bungalows set in ample gardens became impractical. Smaller plot sizes required houses that made more efficient use of the land and were more inward-looking for privacy, in contrast to the outward-facing bungalow pattern. Bawa designed around internal courtyards, using wooden window trellises for ventilation
as well as privacy. Building with local materials kept costs down and ensured that his houses were sun, rain and termite-proof. Hotel commissions raised Bawa’s profile internationally as he rejected the idea of designing to a brand’s specification, instead using Sri Lankan architectural styles as his starting point, again using local materials and applying a modernist’s clarity to the overall project. The Bentota Beach Hotel, 1969, marked the starting point. Over the course of his career, Bawa produced designs for 35 hotels and resorts, of which 13 were for Sri Lanka. Among those that were built, the Kandalama Hotel, Dambulla (now the Heritance Kandalama, pictured above), 1991, is a fine example of Bawa’s ability to blend his buildings with their landscape setting. Rejecting the client’s original site, Bawa insisted on moving the hotel 15km to a rocky outcrop where he designed the two wings of the hotel to wrap themselves around the rock, linking them with a corridor built into the stone. Today the tropical vegetation, planted on the roof and creeping up the facade, gives the impression the hotel has grown into the site rather than being constructed there. Official recognition for his work came with the commission to design the new Sri Lankan parliament complex in 1982 at Kotte, which resulted in a series of hip-roofed pavilions allowing for multiple, airy meeting spaces, and was followed by buildings for the Ruhuna University campus in 1980.
When Bawa finally retired from Edwards Reid and Begg in his seventies, it was not to settle down and garden at his beloved Lunuganga estate, but to set up his own practice, which he ran with a small team from 1990 to 1997. This period saw a flourishing of productivity and creativity, with projects such as the Kandalama Hotel, the Lighthouse Hotel, Galle and the Blue Water Hotel in Wadduwa.What he missed, however, was the immediacy of working for private clients. One of his final projects, the Jayawardene House, Mirissa, of 1997, brings together his ability to distil local architectural principles into a minimal construction that blurs landscape and interior. The vertical silhouettes of coconut palms all but mask the long, low roof of this serene retreat. Despite his international reputation, Bawa’s work is often forgotten or overlooked in his native country. The Ena de Silva house was demolished in 2011 to make way for a hospital car park while other built projects have been badly modified over the years. However, those sympathetically preserved buildings show Bawa’s ability to embrace both twentieth century modernism and the traditional building of his country in his distinctive Tropical Modernism, a style that has transformed architectural language far beyond Sri Lanka.
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LIVE-IN ARCHITECTURE Two of Bawa’s best preserved hotels make perfect bases from which start a tour of the island. The Heritance Kandalama, www.heritancehotels.com/kandalama/ The Blue Water Hotel & Spa, www.bluewatersrilanka.com
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VISIT THE LUNUGANGA ESTATE When he died in 2003, Geoffrey Bawa left the Lunuganga Estate to the Lunuganga Trust, which maintains the gardens and opens them to the public. For more details, visit www.geoffreybawa.com The Lunuganga Trust also runs the garden cottages as a country house hotel, offering five suites furnished as they were in Bawa’s lifetime with antique and modern furniture. For reservations, email reservation@lunuganga.com The Trust also manages the Colombo Residence on 33rd Lane that Bawa converted from a row of small properties that he bought and developed from 1958 onwards. The Colombo Residence now comprises two bedrooms, a loggia and roof terrace and is available to rent. When unoccupied, it is also open to visitors by appointment. Email admin@gbtrust.net
Anantara Kalutara Resort
PLACE TO STAY WHILE YOU’RE THERE... Among the latest of Geoffrey Bawa’s designs to be realised is Anantara Kalutara, whose construction was halted in the 1990s due to civil war and again in 2004 due to a tsunami. At last finished in late 2016 under the guidance of Bawa’s protégé Channa Daswatte, the 141-room property features a soaring main building with open airways that maximize the sea breeze. www.anantara.com
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Scubaspa
Anantara Peace Haven Resort
WHILE YOU’RE IN SRI-LANKA, WHY NOT LEARN TO SURF OR IF YOU LIKE DIVING TRY... Architectural Traveller | Page 38
SURF SRI LANKA
DIVE MALDIVES
Peace Haven conjures up relaxation, spa treatments, cooling drinks and sunset yoga. Yet the five-star Anantara Peace Haven Tangalle Resort on Sri Lanka’s south coast is also a surf destination, where beginners and intermediates can chase rippable left pointbreaks, peaky beachbreaks and heart-pumping drops on its secluded, uncrowded beaches.
Having conquered the waves, anyone curious to explore the myriad sea life below them could venture a little further and join a Scubaspa yacht in the Maldives. Four- and seven-day cruise itineraries on Scubaspa Yin and Scubaspa Yang, each hosting up to 40 guests, drop guests at local villages, deserted islands and stretches of white sandbanks for picnics and snorkelling in the crystal-clear ocean.
Tropicsurf, based at the five-star Anantara, offers tuition under the patient and professional guidance of Steve Taylor and his team, with a maximum of four students per lesson. Taylor, who has worked at eight Tropicsurf schools, combines an infectious enthusiasm for his sport with inspiring surf and travel suggestions. At the end of a day of pop-ups, the resort offers pristine villas with private pools, 42 acres of peaceful grounds in a coconut plantation and a spa to ease tired muscles. www.anantara.com
Each luxuriously designed yacht is accompanied by a fully kitted dive boat, the only boats to hold Padi 5 Star Dive Resort Status. Award-winning Scubaspa, which offers onboard spa treatments, gourmet restaurants and yoga classes, is a three-time winner of the South Asian Travel Award and actively supports the Maldives Whale Shark Research Programme. www.scubaspa.com
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THE RISE AND RISE OF CHICAGO ARCHITECTURE Since it was founded in 1830 by 200 or so pioneering souls, Chicago has shown an unstinting appetite for expansion, innovation and the grand gesture, be it in commerce or culture. By 1880 the population had rocketed to more than half a million and would more than double again in the next 10 years. Only the great fire of 1871, which burnt a four-mile-wide swathe through the city and the Wall Street Crash of 1929 slowed the energetic progress that found its most tangible expression in its varied and ground-breaking architecture. With so much of its downtown area destroyed in 1871, Chicago is not a city to visit for ancient history, more for its original solutions to rebuilding. With money to spend from banking and manufacturing, handsome office blocks, civic buildings and grandiose churches emerged that blended European Beaux-Arts, Renaissance, Gothic Revival and Baroque influences with Chicago swagger. What set the city apart from the 1880s was the pioneering use of steel-framed structures, which were strong, relatively lightweight and could accommodate plate glass, a new material in the 1890s. The first so-called skyscraper – a mere 10 floors – was the steelframed Home Insurance Building by Chicago School architect William Le Baron Jenney. Chicago showed no sentimentality for this architectural first, however – the building was torn down to be replaced in 1931 with the soaring Art Deco Field Building. Innovative leaps in construction engineering opened up new design possibilities for leading architects such as Louis Sullivan. His Sullivan Center, formerly Carson, Pirie, Scott & Co, used a tiled facade, deep-set windows and plate glass and steel construction to maintain a lightness across the vast expanse of the store. The intricate iron decorations around the corner doors, however, are a direct link to a more romantic tradition.
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Not everyone in Chicago was looking skywards, however. In Oak Park, a village near Chicago’s West Side, Frank Lloyd Wright was developing his Prairie Style, using long, low horizontals, shallow, hipped roofs with deep overhangs, windows blocked together in rows and open-plan living areas. The Robie House of 1908–10, one of many private homes Wright designed in Oak Park, is a perfect example of this style, combining slim Roman bricks that emphasise the horizontal design with custommade interiors by the architect. The next great phase of Chicago architecture was characterised by the influence of modernism and the work of Mies van der Rohe in particular. His designs for the Illinois Institute of Technology, an ambitious 20-year project begun in 1938, is one of the most comprehensive examples of his work. A hymn to minimal Modernism, his Farnsworth House, 1945-51, requires a 55-mile pilgrimage outside Chicago, worth it, however to visit the much copied one-room, glass-walled weekend retreat. The other great influence came about with the work of structural engineer Fazlur Khan. His new system of framed steel tubes allowed for taller, more slender skyscrapers to be built. Khan worked with Bruce Graham, also of Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, on the Willis Tower (formerly the Sears Tower), which on its completion in 1973 was the tallest building in the world. It remains one of Chicago’s landmark skyline buildings. The architectural landscape of Chicago continues to surprise with buildings such as Studio Gang Architects’ Aqua Tower, shown right, and its organic, rippling facade of white waves. Chicago is embracing its worldwide reputation for striking architecture with the return this year of the autumn Chicago Architecture Biennial, a programme of exhibitions, events and installations that considers the positive, creative role of architecture globally. In October, Chicago Open House, one of the largest open house weekends in the world, invites visitors to explore the gamut of architectural styles Chicago has to offer. The Frank Lloyd Wright Trust arranges tours of individual Wright properties, including Wright’s own home and studio and the Unity Temple, as well as walking tours encompassing the numerous homes he designed around Oak Park. www.flwright.org The Chicago Architecture Biennial, September 19th 2019 to January 1st 2020. www.chicagoarchitecturebiennial.org Open House Chicago, organised in collaboration with the Chicago Architecture Center, 19th–20th October. Last year, 280 sites across 31 neighbourhoods opened their doors. www.openhousechicago.org A visit to the Chicago Architecture Center on East Wacker Drive is an excellent way to gain an overview of Chicago’s architectural scene and plan your visit. The centre holds regular exhibitions and organises city walking tours. www.architecture.org
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PLACE TO STAY WHILE YOU’RE THERE… SOHO HOUSE CHICAGO Soho House Chicago is located in the Allis Building, a historic five-storey industrial warehouse in Chicago’s West Loop, making it an exciting combination of hip hotel and industrial chic. The building was commissioned in 1907 by Charles Allis, an influential industrialist, art collector and philanthropist from Milwaukee, as the headquarters of the Chicago Belting Company. Close to the city’s Union Stock Yards, which supplied the raw animal hides for its products, the Allis Building is one of the city’s best examples of concrete industrial loft design. The Allis’ architect was Lawrence G. Hallberg, a Swedish émigré and pioneer in factory design. He combined large factory floor spaces with decorative touches: terrazzo tiling, an embellished elevator cab, a wrought iron double staircase, and a neo-classical portico at the front entrance inscribed with the building’s name.
From its Chicago headquarters, the Chicago Belting Company quickly became one of the most successful industrial leather producers in the country. When the leather industry declined in the 1930s and 1940s, the company adapted to produce rubber products for the automobile and aerospace industries. In 2010, Charlan Hamill, the great-great-great-grand-niece of Charlie Allis, sold the dwindling business. In 2012, the Soho House refurbishment began. The water tower on the roof, deemed structurally unsound, was removed plank-by-plank, and repurposed as a lobby mural and the marble mosaic at the entrance has been recreated, spelling out ‘Allis Building’ as it had done for 100 years. In this carefully updated industrial building, guests, as well as Soho House members can enjoy loft living with added bars, restaurants, a Cowshed spa and a fabulous rooftop pool. www.sohohousechicago.com
COMING IN THE NEXT ISSUE
BUDDHIST ARCHITECTURE OF JAVA
EUROPEAN ARCHITECTURE
LE CORBUSIER
MYANMAR – FROM ANCIENT TO MODERN
BAUHAUS INDIA ETHIOPIA ASMARA
Discover the world’s most fascinating architectural and cultural destinations World Heritage Architectural Traveller Traveller | Page | Page 44 44
ST PETERSBURG RICHARD NEUTRA FRANK LLOYD WRIGHT 1700/1800 BUILDING TECHNIQUES
Architectural Traveller is a magazine produced in Association with The Listed Property Owners’ Club. ArchitecturalTraveller@lpoc.co.uk
www.lpoc.co.uk
BACK TO NATURE At the end of the 19th century, American architecture still tended to reference Neo-Classical, Baroque and Renaissance styles from Europe. A small group of architects, the most prominent of whom was Frank Lloyd Wright, was determined to find a non-derivative architectural language inspired instead by the wide open expanses of the American Midwest – Prairie Style. Along with Wright, architects including Robert Spencer, Myron Hunt, Walter Burley Griffin and his wife Marion Mahony Griffin, the first licensed female architect in the USA, shared a loft studio in Chicago from which they developed Prairie Style. Their use of low, long, horizontals and shallow, hipped or flat roofs, broad overhangs, cantilevered levels and linear strings of windows was in deliberate contrast to the taller-is-better architecture dominating Chicago at the time. Prairie Style buildings referenced the natural landscapes that inspired them. They were, as Wright put it, “married to the ground”. A connection with European ideas did still exist, specifically with the Arts & Crafts movement and its faith in simplicity and
finely crafted detail. The writings of Ralph Waldo Emerson also influenced the young architects, who believed that better designed homes led to better quality lives. The Oak Park district of Chicago has the highest concentration of Prairie Style homes in America, yet the high point of Prairie Style is found in Mill Run in rural Pennsylvania. Fallingwater, 1936–39, designed by Wright for the Kaufmann family as a weekend home, takes the connection with the land to heart, with cantilivered concrete terraces stretching out above a crashing waterfall that runs underneath the house. The asymmetrical interior layout pivots around the hearth, which is built around a protruding rock from the waterfall. Low ceilings and deliberately dark corridors lead the eye out to the woodland beyond, keeping the connection between nature and architecture ever-present. Fallingwater, Pennsylvania, is a National Historic Monument and is open to the public. www.fallingwater.org Architectural Traveller | Page 45
ABBASI HOTEL, ISFAHAN H E R I TAG E H OT E L S Victorian engravings of the Abbasi Hotel in Isfahan show a bustling caravanserai set within four walls, a water trough at the centre of the courtyard. While their camels drink, traders chat and swap tales, their wares piled around them, during a stop on the arduous trek along the Silk Road. Today, the courtyard is a serene retreat in the centre of the historic city. A traditional Persian garden, it has a tree-lined channel, now camel-free, pools and fountains and carefully tended gardens of roses and quince trees, making it the perfect spot for coffee or a bowl of the hotel’s famed ash-re-reshteh soup. The hotel dates back some 300 years, making it the oldest in Iran. It was built under the rule of the Safavid Shah Husayn and is as much a museum to the decorative opulence of that period as it is a commercial hotel. During the Seljuq and Safavid dynasties, Isfahan was the capital city. Shah Abbas I in the 17th century further ensured the city’s prosperity and influence by redirecting the Silk Road so that it passed through Isfahan. The oldest section of the hotel houses the Safavid Suite, an extraordinary jewel box of a room painted from floor to ceiling in reds, greens and gold. The sculptural ‘stalactites’, called muqaruas, of the ceiling alcoves are patterned, like the walls, with decorative flourishes, plants and flowers.
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The same delicate paintings line the hallways, with trees in blossom and birds in flight caught in perfect miniature. Every inch of the hotel is embellished with either inlaid wood, mirrored tiles, coloured glass or hand-painted friezes and decorative motifs. The best view of the hotel complex and the city stretching out around it is from the rooftop restaurant. The turquoise dome and minarets of the neighbouring Chaharbagh theological school are floodlit dramatically after dark, when the lanterns around the garden also twinkle below. In the early 1900s, the hotel was converted for use as a military complex and could have ceased to function as a hotel altogether. It was saved in the 1950s by the efforts of a French archaeologist, André Godard, who was working in Iran at the time. His campaign to save the hotel resulted in its careful restoration and reopening. As a haven from which to explore the UNESCO treasures in Isfahan the Abbasi Hotel could not be bettered. As yet unchanged by the need for spas, gyms and a sushi restaurant, the hotel instead boasts a kaleidoscope of decoration and a fascinating history linking guests to the early travellers on the Silk Road. www.abbasihotel.ir
THE ARTS AND CRAFTS OF ISFAHAN Established in 2004, the UNESCO Creative Cities Network (UCCN) aims to connect cities where creativity is both a key factor in their urban development and a means of keeping alive centuries-old handicrafts. Isfahan has long been considered the most important Iranian hub for crafts such as metal and woodwork, weaving, ceramics, textiles and carpets as well as highly complex inlay work. The Naqsh-e Jahan square or Meidan Eman, itself a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is home to the majority of the 9,000 or so craft and folk art workshops, with others found in homes and small industrial units around the city. As long ago as 1930, the then Persian government recognised the need to protect and promote its traditional crafts. It opened the Honarestan school of arts and crafts and, by the 1950s, had doubled the number of artisans working in Isfahan. When it came to restoring the Abbasi Hotel, instead of using the master craftsmen who would have been employed to restore a mosque, many of the team of painters and craftsmen had trained in the Honarestan. They used new decorative techniques such as geometric mirror mosaic, stucco and stained glass, giving the hotel a makeover that, while rooted in tradition, was seen as innovative at the time.
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BOOK
Travel and architecture make a perfect pairing in our book selection this issue. A beautifully illustrated life of Frank Lloyd Wright puts the complex architect of Fallingwater (see page 45) into context as do handsome profiles of Norman Foster and Geoffrey Bawa (see page 35). The founder of the blog A Daily Dose of Architecture, John Hill, guides you through his top 100 buildings of the last century and there are revelations in Asmara: Africa’s Secret Modernist city – Italian modernism in Eritrea.
Norman Foster: Works 6 Prestel By David Jenkins Price: £99.00 Norman Foster is one of the most innovative and forward thinking architects at work today. This volume features more than 1,000 plans, sketches, and photographs of some of Foster’s most renowned projects, including London’s new Wembley Stadium, Germany’s Dresden Station, and Beijing’s new international airport. These and other important structures, along with lighting systems, furniture collections, and memorials, reveal the enormous range of Foster + Partners’ work.
Asmara: Africa’s Secret Modernist City Merrell By Edward Denison Price: £24.95 (paperback) Asmara, the capital of the small East African country of Eritrea, bordering the Red Sea, is one of the most important and exciting architectural ‘discoveries’ of recent years. Built almost entirely in the 1930s by the Italians, who transformed it into a hotbed of radical architectural innovation, Asmara has one of the highest concentrations of Modernist architecture anywhere in the world. This superb building-by-building survey, illustrated with previously unpublished archival material and specially commissioned photography, chronicles the colonial past and remarkable survival of a city that has evocatively been described as the ‘Miami of Africa’.
This is Frank Lloyd Wright Laurence King
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By Ian Volner
Eyewitness Travel: India
Price: £9.95
Price:19.99
Frank Lloyd Wright wasn’t just an architect. He was a prophet, a poseur, a beloved teacher, a failed businessman. During his long, eventful life he experienced both incredible misfortune and great success. This Is Frank Lloyd Wright brings his projects and persona into vivid focus. Beautiful specially commissioned illustrations documenting the important events in his life sit alongside photographs of Wright’s most iconic buildings.
The ideal travel companion, full of insider advice on what to see and do, plus detailed itineraries and comprehensive maps for exploring this culturally vibrant and diverse country. Savour superb views of the Taj Mahal, learn all about South Indian culture in Chennai or explore Hindu and Buddhist cave temples on Elephanta Island: everything you need to know is clearly laid out within colour-coded chapters. Discover the best of India with this indispensable travel guide.
REVIEW Geoffrey Bawa: The Complete Works
Architecture and Ritual
How to Read Towns and Cities:
Thames and Hudson
Bloomsbury
Bloomsbury
By David Robson
By Peter Blundell Jones
By Jonathan Glancey
Price: £19.45
Price: £21.50 (paperback)
Price: £10.99
Sri Lankan architect Geoffrey Bawa and the buildings he created have become legendary in the region and influential around the world. The summation of his oeuvre is symbolised by his own two residences - a house in Colombo and a residential complex in Lunuganga - whose evolution eloquently reflect Bawa’s career and personality. This ambitious publication is a comprehensive documentation and appreciation of Geoffrey Bawa and his work and includes a rich portfolio of his most important works, including some rarely published projects.
This book explores how the varied rituals of everyday life are framed and defined in space by the buildings which we inhabit. Peter Blundell Jones investigates these connections between the social and the spatial, providing critical insights into the capacity for architecture to structure human ritual, from the grand and formal to the mundane. Case studies range from the Nuremberg Rally to the Centre Pompidou, and from the Palace of Westminster to Dogon dwellings in Africa and a Modernist hospital.
A pocket-sized primer to understanding the forces that have shaped the world’s cities this book takes a practical, highly visual approach - showing us how to read the stories embedded in the fabric of the neighbourhoods, towns, and cities in which we live today. A must-read for anyone interested in history, cities, and travel, this fascinating book turns the reader into urban detective to see how our towns and cities grew the way they are.
BAWA Staircases Talisman By David Robson Price: £19.45 Aimed at architecture students and professionals Bawa Staircases offers the reader a primer of how staircases are often the most dynamic and theatrical spatial elements of a building or landscape. It is a compelling addition to the literature on Sri Lanka’s preeminent architect, Geoffrey Bawa and showcases his numerous and varied architectural and landscape designs for residential, public works, gardens and hotel architecture, with particular reference to the staircases he created.
100 Years, 100 Buildings Pretzel By John Hill Price: £24.99 The founder of the blog A Daily Dose of Architecture, John Hill, is obsessed with his subject and determined to expose his fellow citizens to the glorious structures that shape our environment. In this beautifully designed compendium Hill presents his selection of the most significant building to be built each year from 1916 to 2015. Each two-page spread includes one or two large color photos and text that explains the importance of each structure. An introductory essay and a timeline that highlights important architectural events round out this engrossing survey that demonstrates the underlying themes and developments in the world of architecture today.
The Vanishing Stepwells of India Merrell By Victoria Lautmann Price: £38.95 Some of the most stunning architectural structures in India are to be found below ground: these are its stepwells, ancient water stores. Victoria Lautman reflects on the reasons they became derelict and considers how the appreciation of stepwells is changing with the work of organisations and individuals who aim to protect and restore them. The main part of the book is arranged in a broadly chronological order, with up to six pages devoted to each of 80 or so stepwells, each unique in design and engineering. The name, location (including GPS coordinates) and approximate date of each well accompany colour photographs and a concise commentary by Lautman on the history and architecture of the well and her experience of visiting it. Architectural Traveller | Page 49
A TALE OF TWO ARCHITECTURES
Tall, narrow, handsomely austere houses overlooking quiet canals are most people’s image of Amsterdam’s architecture, yet the city is also home to highly original and varied buildings at the cutting edge of modern, sustainable architecture. A weekend visit can take you from the Golden Age of the 17th century to future-proof creations such as the city’s new waterfront and IJburg residential district. Its compact centre makes Amsterdam a perfect walking city – or boating if you catch one of the many canal tours on offer – and the elegant Pulitzer hotel, an easy stroll from Dam Square, the Stedelijk Museum, Rijksmuseum and Anne Frank’s house, is the ideal location from which to explore. The Pulitzer is the product of a 30-year restoration programme that has united 25 buildings into a single hotel, while preserving the individual facade of each. In 1960, Peter Pulitzer, son of Architectural Traveller | Page 50
Pulitzer Prize founder Joseph, bought 12 properties – somewhat dilapidated warehouses along Prinzengracht and once elegant townhouses on Keizergracht – and converted them into a hotel. Over the next 30 years, he acquired a further 13 buildings, which he joined to create a private courtyard garden at the heart of the hotel. The property now houses a variety of rooms and suites that mix the elegance of the original buildings with classic, contemporary and sometimes quirky interiors. Also on Keizergracht is the Museum van Loon, an excellent starting point for a tour of Golden Age Amsterdam. Built in 1672, the first resident of the house, which has remained largely intact over the centuries, was the painter Ferdinand Bol, a student of Rembrandt. Two centuries later, in 1884, the house was purchased by descendants of Willem van Loon, who in
1602 had co-founded the Dutch East-India Company and thus the family’s fortunes. The portraits and fine furnishings reflect the stature of a family at the height of their influence in Amsterdam. From old Amsterdam, a walking or cycling tour of the city’s modern architecture with Architecture Tours takes visitors to the eastern docklands waterfront developments, as well as IJberg, a new residential area built on man-made lakes. Tours are hosted by qualified architects as well as urban planners. Key buildings on the Amsterdam Tour (tours also run in Rotterdam, Utrecht and The Hague) include the EYE Film Institute by Delugan Meisll and the IJdock by Bjarne Mastenbroek, the Parkrand Building and WoZOCOS by MVRDV and influential buildings from the expressionist Amsterdam School such as De Klerck’s 1919 Het Schip apartments.
With its connections in the architectural profession, Architecture Tours can tailor more in-depth tours if a group has particular interests or areas of research such as housing, urban regeneration, city planning or sustainable architecture.
WHILE YOU’RE THERE... Stay at - Pulitzer Amsterdam www.pulitzeramsterdam.com Visit - Museum van Loon, open daily, www.museumvanloon.nl Explore with - Architecture Tours www.architecturetours.nl
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SHIP-TO-SHORE CULTURAL AND ARCHITECTURE CRUISE
A long weekend might be just enough to see the sites of central Amsterdam, but why stop your culture trip there? North Sea to the Black Sea with Scenic Luxury Cruises and Tours takes Amsterdam as its starting point for a 23-day cruise that winds its way along the Rhine and Danube in five-star luxury. Floor-to-ceiling windows encasing the café, bar lounge and restaurant of each Scenic Space-Ship offer uninterrupted views of some of central Europe’s most striking cities and dramatic landscapes. The itinerary highlights cities such as Würzburg, with its flamboyant Rococo and Baroque architecture, World Heritage Site Bamberg, Vienna, Budapest, Byzantine Veliko Tarnovo in Bulgaria and the Iron Gates natural gorge. Optional Enrich Experiences include private concerts, meals with locals in Croatia and vineyard tours and tastings. The downloadable Tailormade app includes a GPS function that allows guests to create their own cycle tour or explore a site independently. Guests can also ask their personal butler for alternative tour suggestions. The next all-inclusive North Sea to the Black Sea tour is scheduled for April 2020. Details and itinerary from www.scenic.com.au
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Luxurious river cruise, www.scenic.com.au
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PORT LOCKROY, ANTARCTICA Secret World War II operations HQ, whalers’ haven and snow-bound post office – Port Lockroy, on Gaudier Island in the Antarctic Peninsula, is a fascinating mixture of history and modern conservation, with an average population of four humans and 2,000 Gentoo penguins.
Aside from war duties, the team based here undertook geological and topographical surveys, biological research and glaciological studies. After the Second World War it was operated by the Falkland Islands Dependencies Survey (FIDS), the predecessor of today’s British Antarctic Survey.
Heritage takes many forms and in the case of the remote outpost that is Port Lockroy, the programme of restoration and ongoing conservation is one that relatively few people will have heard of, let alone visited. That, however, is precisely why the UK Antarctic Heritage Trust (UKAHT) now manages the site, promoting what it refers to as its ‘existence value.’
Following years of neglect, a conservation survey in 1994 recognised Port Lockroy’s significance and it was designated as Historic Site and Monument Number 61 under the Antarctic Treaty. In 1996, UKAHT helped the British Antarctic Survey to restore the base to its present working condition.
The charity, a member of the Heritage Alliance, protects Port Lockroy for its contribution to ‘the intangible values of the vast continent as well as the tangible remains of human endeavour.’ Those remains now comprise a museum and the most southerly operational post office on the planet, open for business from November to February. A recent advertisement seeking new staff read: ‘Can you carry a big heavy box over slippery rocks and slushy snow whilst dodging penguins?’ which aptly sums up the challenges of postal duty in this part of the world.
EXPEDITION CRUISE WITH...
The four resident post office staff are responsible for monitoring the health and numbers of the Gentoo penguins who nest near the huts. They also conserve the artefacts that were left on site by former inhabitants. The team franks the postcards of around 18,000 cruise-ship visitors who visit the base annually, although, as the sign next to the red letter box warns: ‘Please be aware these may take several weeks to arrive at their destination.’ Close by is the Port Lockroy museum, Bransfield House, which has been restored to reflect life in the hut for its first residents with wooden cot beds, shelves stocked with tinned food and a stove to cook by. The house is named after Edward Bransfield who was the first person to chart an area of the Antarctic mainland in 1819. When Bransfield House was built in 1944, it was better known as Base A, the hub of top secret Operation Tabarin. Named rather incongruously after a Parisian nightclub, Tabarin had a twofold objective: firstly, to assert Britain’s presence in the Antarctic and helping to bolster its territorial claims to the Falkland Islands; secondly to gather meteorological data to assist allied ships sailing in the South Atlantic.
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For more information about UKAHT and its work, visit www.ukhat.org Antarctica is to be experienced, not just to be seen, and we believe the only way to do this is on board a small ship in order to maximise the time spent ashore. Expedition cruise companies with small ships operating in Antarctica include: www.noble-caledonia.co.uk www.silversea.com
Silversea Explorer
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ARCHITECTURAL
JOURNEYS A selection of exclusive trips created by leading specialist tour operators especially for The Listed Property Owners’ Club.
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LEARN TRADITIONAL BUILDING SKILLS IN WEST BENGAL, INDIA With the Listed Property Owners’ Club October 2020
•H omestay in an unspoiled mountain village • L earn traditional building skills from sourcing materials to construction •G ain hands-on building experience •E njoy spectacular mountain scenery, great for walking
Making connections between building and restoration techniques around the world can be one of the most rewarding aspects of travelling. Remote Karmi Farm, in the foothills of the Himalayas, is a corner of rural Darjeeling where life has changed very little over the centuries. Agriculture and building techniques here have close parallels with those seen in Britain in the 1700s and 1800s, making it a fascinating place to learn authentic timber frame construction and wattle and daub infill. Working alongside local builders offers a unique opportunity to learn these traditional building skills. Our six-day course (within the 10-day itinerary), will give participants practical experience that could translate to their own building projects. The course is suitable for all levels of experience in conservation from homeowners to professional conservationists. The traditional wood-framed Karmi Farm guesthouse, owned by Andrew Pulger-Frame, will be our base. It lies a two-hour drive from Darjeeling, on the border of West Sikkim, Nepal and Bhutan. Situated at the heart of the community, Karmi Farm offers a wonderful home-stay environment set amid stunning mountain scenery. This comfortable and welcoming guesthouse, which serves delicious organic vegetarian food, is a great place to unwind at the end of a busy day. Andrew is of Scottish and Sikkim descent and Karmi Farm is run with both these influences in mind making the stay here worthwhile as a stand-alone. Andrew will be helping to run the course as well as acting as interpreter for the local craftsmen and women. Leading the conservation tour will be Paul Goodyer, the founder of Nomad Travel Stores and Nomad Travel Clinics. In 2000, he also co-founded the Karmi Farm Clinic with Andrew. Paul is currently restoring his own Grade-II timber-framed building in Huntingdon and researching conservation and traditional building techniques as he does so.
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ARCHITECTURAL
JOURNEYS
TOUR COST
TOUR DATES
£1,100 per person
October 2020
(excluding flights) ITINERARY Day 1: Flight from Heathrow to Delhi (not included) Day 2: Overnight in Delhi Day 3: Flight to Bagdogra, transfer to Karmi Farm Day 4: Karmi Farm, course begins – sourcing materials Day 5: Karmi Farm, – foundations Day 6: Karmi Farm, – timber frame construction Day 7: Karmi Farm, – wattle and daub Day 8: Free day – relaxing, excursions Day 9: Flight to Delhi via Bagdogra Day 10: Flight from Delhi to Heathrow (not included) CONTACT For more details please contact ArchitecturalTraveller@lpoc.co.uk
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Day 1: Depart Heathrow for Delhi Day 2: Arrive Delhi, where we will overnight at a hotel near the airport to prepare for the internal flight to Bagdogra and the transfer to Karmi the next day. Day 3: Internal flight to Bagdogra airport. Transfer by Jeep Taxi for the five-hour drive to Karmi Farm. We will break the journey with a stop to sample the local Momo delicacy, a fragrant pot of tea at Kurseong. We will arrive at Karmi around 7.30 pm where a hot meal, hot shower and refreshments will be waiting. The evening will conclude with an informal meet-and-greet. Day 4: Breakfast followed by a briefing from Karmi owner Andrew Pulger-Frame and Paul on the course. After a tea break, we will explore the local area to find where the materials are sourced and collected from. This will include selecting trees to be felled, choosing rock for the foundations, the right earth for daub, bamboo and straw for wattle. After lunch, we will begin the practical experience under the supervision of the local craftsmen. We will break into small groups and rotate through different tasks: pit-sawing a tree, collecting stones for the foundations, collecting and sorting earth, sand, straw and bamboo. The course day will end at around 4pm when we will share some drinks and time with the craftsmen. Day 5: This is a practical day where in small groups we will rotate between laying foundations, cleaning and squaring timber, preparing and splitting bamboo and preparing the daub. Day 6: Today will be devoted to erecting the timber frame. There will also be an opportunity to visit and watch the local blacksmith at work as well as local builders lathing and preparing building materials. On the walk around the local area you will be able to visit the homesteads that have been made using traditional methods and witness the slow transition to more modern materials such as corrugated roofing, rebar and concrete. Day 7: Having worked on the framing and making of panels for infilling the previous day, today will be devoted to wattle and daub technique and putting on the finishing coat, which in this area is cow dung. As well as fixing in the wattle we will be preparing, mixing and applying the daub using traditional methods. Day 8: A free day, the chance to relax and reflect on the course and enjoy the peaceful surroundings. Excursions can be arranged, for example day trip to Darjeeling or a hill walk which, weather permitting, offers stunning views. Guests can also visit the Karmi Farm Clinic, which was set up by Andrew and Paul to support the local community. Day 9: Depart Karmi and return via Bagdogra to Delhi. Day 10: Depart Delhi for the return flight to Heathrow.
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IRAN SPRING 2020
From the Thu 02 – Sun 12 April 2020 (11 days) With the Listed Property Owners’ Club Home to one of the oldest civilisations on Earth, Iran can boast a cultural legacy of unparalleled scope. The lands of Cyrus the Great and the powerful Achaemenids, the Persia of antiquity once held sway over all the known world, from North Africa to the lands west of the Indus. This short but insightful trip takes us on a journey through the heartland of these empires and ‘behind the veil’ of this much misunderstood country. Beginning in the ancient capital of Shiraz, we will explore the ancient cities of Persepolis and Pasgardae, before moving on to the town of Yazd, with its wellpreserved traditional houses and Zoroastrian burial towers. We then travel through the desert to the beautiful 16th century Safavid capital of Isfahan. Home not only to some of the region’s finest Islamic architecture and the world’s second largest square, the Mayden-e Imam, this is also a great place to wander through the narrow corridors of the extensive souks with their handicrafts and carpets. We will also explore something of the traditional character of the country, with a visit to the merchants houses of Kashan, before finishing in Tehran, a city steeped in the traditions of the old and new Persia, and home to historic mosques, churches and Zoroastrian fire temples. Day 1: Tour starts in Shiraz: Accommodation for this night is included due to the arrival times of our suggested flights, in the early hours of Day 2. Kharim Khan Hotel or similar (no meals) Day 2: Shiraz: Our late morning walking tour includes a visit to the imposing Arg-e Karim Khan Fortress, with its 14-metre high circular towers which dominate the city centre. There will also be time to explore the bazaar and some of Shiraz’s famous gardens and teahouses before soaking up the atmosphere at the tomb of the great Persian poet Hafez. Kharim Khan Hotel or similar (B,L,D) Day 3: Shiraz – Persepolis - Shiraz: Today we have the whole day to enjoy what must surely be a highlight of Iran, if not of the entire Middle East: Darius the Great’s fabulous Persepolis. We will also visit the magnificent Achaemenid tombs at Nagsh e Rostam, cut high into cliffs above the ground and facing respectfully towards Persepolis. After ample time exploring the site we will make our way back to Shiraz where there’ll be time to discover this beautiful city at your leisure. Kharim Khan Hotel or similar (B,L,D) Day 4: Shiraz – Pasargadae - Yazd: Leaving Shiraz today, we head for Pasargadae with its six-tiered tomb of Cyrus the Great, founder of the great Persian Empire. Later we’ll continue to Yazd in time to watch an eerie sunset from the Towers of Silence, the unique Zoroastrian burial towers. Moshir Garden Hotel or similar (B,L,D)
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ARCHITECTURAL
JOURNEYS
Holy shrine of Shah Cheragh
TOUR COST
TOUR DATES
Land only - £2645 per person
Thu 02 – Sun 12 April 2020 (11 days)
Single Supplement - £495 per person ITINERARY Day 1: Tour starts in Shiraz
Day 7: Isfahan
Day 2: Shiraz
Day 8: Isfahan
Day 3: Shiraz – Persepolis - Shiraz
Day 9: Isfahan – Kashan - Tehran
Day 4: Shiraz – Pasargadae - Yazd
Day 10: Tehran
Day 5: Yazd
Day 11: Tour ends in Tehran
Day 6: Yazd - Isfahan WHAT IS INCLUDED • Full services of a Wild Frontiers Tour Leader with local guides and drivers •M eal plan as detailed in the itinerary (B=Breakfast, L=Lunch, D=Dinner) with the majority of meals being taken in local restaurants where viable • All transport as outlined in the itinerary • 10 nights’ accommodation in 3* & 4* hotels • All entrance fees, sightseeing, excursions and activities as per itinerary •A carbon-offsetting contribution to Carbon Clear (if booking international flights through WF office) WHAT IS NOT INCLUDED • Visas (if applicable) • Local airport taxes • T ips (always optional, but some guidance will be given in the pre-departure information pack you’ll receive after booking) • Beverages & any costs of a personal nature • International flights to/from the start/finish of the trip • Airport transfers (unless booking suggested flights through WF office) GETTING THERE For this trip our suggested flights from the UK (subject to change) are: 02 APR TK1980 LHR-IST 11:30/17:15 02 APR TK0884 IST-SYZ 20:45/02:05+1 12 APR TK0871 IKA-IST 14:20/17:20 12 APR TK1987 IST-LHR 20:15/22:25 CONTACT www.wildfrontierstravel.com/at-iran info@wildfrontiers.co.uk +44 (0) 20 8741 7390
Architectural Traveller | Page 61
•D iscover over seven magnificent UNESCO World Heritage Sites •E njoy tea in some of Iran’s celebrated teahouses and gardens and enjoy the warm hospitality of the locals • Visit the ancient site of Persepolis •A dmire the astounding architecture of Isfahan and wander the old city streets of Yazd •C atch a glimpse of the stunning imperial crown jewels
Architectural Traveller | Page 62
Jameh (Friday) mosque
Architectural Traveller | Page 63
Persepolis
Day 5: Yazd: Our first port of call is the Bagh-e-Doulat Abad Gardens, which were once a residence of the former ruler Karim Khan Zand. They consist of small pavilions set in peaceful gardens and the tallest Badgir (wind tower) in town. Then on to visit the magnificent Jameh (Friday) Mosque and the informative Water Museum. We then have time to wander the winding old city streets and bazaar. In the evening we will try and visit a Zurkhaneh (House of Strength), which mixes Sufism, nationalism, music and sport into this ancient spectacular. Moshir Garden Hotel or similar (B,L,D) Day 6: Yazd - Isfahan: We depart for the old Persian capital of Isfahan today, stopping at a number of fascinating archaeological sites along the way, including Meybod and Na’in, both home to some interesting mosques and cavaranserais, reaching Isfahan late afternoon. Once known as “half the world” Isfahan is a truly fascinating city and it will be our base for the next three nights. Upon arrival we will check into our hotel, relax and take a leisurely walk to orientate ourselves with this most memorable of cities. Abbasi Hotel* or similar (B,L,D) *We always try for the Abbasi Hotel in Isfahan but due to its popularity, we cannot always guarantee success. When it is not available, we will stay in an alternative 4* hotel. Day 7: Isfahan: Our sightseeing today will include visits to the Chehel Sotun Palace and Museum, and the magnificent Nasqh Jahan Square. Here we will explore some of the world’s most beautiful mosques, the Imam (Shah) Mosque and the Sheikh Lotfollah Mosque. We will also visit the magnificent six-storey Ali Qapu Palace, built in the 16th century to serve as a gateway to the royal palaces that are situated in the parklands beyond. Abbasi Hotel or similar (B,L,D)
Architectural Traveller | Page 64
Day 8: Isfahan: Another day to explore this fascinating city. Visit the Jameh Mosque, the Armenian Quarter and the many bridges that cross the Zayandeh River. There will be plenty of time to explore and shop in the famous bazaar, or just to chill out and people watch. Abbasi Hotel or similar (B,L,D) Day 9: Isfahan – Kashan - Tehran: We depart Isfahan this morning to make our way to Iran’s cosmopolitan capital, Tehran. En route we’ll stop in Kashan where we visit the Royal Gardens of Fin and the Agha Bozorg Mosque, which was built in the 18th century. The mosque is famous for its imposing dome and large sunken Madrassah, and the large wooden door that guards the entrance is said to have as many studs as there are verses of the Quran. We will also have a chance to visit one of the restored merchant houses for which Kashan is famed. Continuing on to Tehran, we should arrive late this afternoon. Aramis Hotel or similar (B,L,D) Day 10: Tehran: A full day’s sightseeing tour of the Iranian capital includes a visit to its Archaeological Museum and a chance to explore the sumptuous Golestan Palace, the oldest of Tehran’s historic monuments. A World Heritage Site, this stunning complex of palaces and manicured gardens encompasses more than two centuries of Qajar rule. You will also get a chance to see Iran’s imperial crown jewels today, one of the largest collection in the world. Housed in the vaults of Iran’s Central Bank, this magnificent display includes several elaborate crowns and a vast quantity of precious gems. Other interesting sites are the National Museum, Abgineh Museum, and Saadabad Palace. Aramis Hotel or similar (B,L,D) Day 11: Tour ends in Tehran Tour ends in Tehran: Enjoy a morning at leisure to do some last minute shopping or further exploring. The tour ends late this morning, and those on the suggested group flights will be transferred to the airport.
Chehel Sotoun Palace
Sheikh Lotfollah mosque in Nasqh e Jahan Square
Royal Gardens of Fin
Karim Khani Nook of Golestan
Architectural Traveller | Page 65
DELHI TO UDAIPUR From the Sat 08 – Fri 21 February 2020 (14 days) With the Listed Property Owners’ Club Home to some of India’s greatest monuments, Rajasthan has with good reason been dubbed the “Land of Kings”. One of the country’s most colourful and diverse regions, the old heartland of the Rajput princes is liberally sprinkled with some of India’s most spectacular cultural and architectural gems. From Delhi we will make our way south to Udaipur, taking in some of the most famous highlights this part of India is so well known for, including 5 UNESCO World Heritage Sites and staying in ancient forts, regal abodes, restored havelis and Rajput palaces. The tour takes us from Delhi and on to the sumptuous Mughal grandeur of Agra, where we will visit the iconic Taj Mahal, impressive Agra Fort and the setting of Fatehpur Sikri. We journey to the rural town of Ramathra and stay in its opposing fort, with outstanding views of the surrounding countryside, before travelling to the stunning “Pink City” of Jaipur for more stunning forts and palaces. Journeying on to Pushkar and Jodphur, the setting for the magnificent Meherangarh Fort, we then travel by train through the picturesque Khamli Ghats to Deogarh, a journey made famous by Rudyard Kipling. There will be opportunities to enjoy bullock cart rides and jeep safaris, before completing the journey to Udaipur by way of the fortress of Kumbhalgarh and the breathtaking Jain temple at Ranakpur.
Architectural Traveller | Page 66
ARCHITECTURAL
JOURNEYS
TOUR COST
TOUR DATES
Land Only - £3,295 per person
Sat 08 – Fri 21 February 2020 (14 days)
Single Supplement - £875 per person ITINERARY Day 01: Tour starts in Delhi
Day 08: Pushkar – Jodhpur
Day 02: Delhi
Day 09: Jodhpur
Day 03: Delhi – Agra
Day 10: Jodphur- Khamli Ghat - Deogarh
Day 04: A gra – Fatehpur Sikri - Ramathra
Day 11: Deogarh
Day 05: Ramathra – Jaipur
Day 12: D eogarh - Kumbhalgarh Ranakpur - Udaipur
Day 06: Jaipur
Day 13: Udaipur
Day 07: Jaipur – Pushkar
Day 14: Tour finishes in Udaipur
WHAT IS INCLUDED • Full services of a Wild Frontiers Tour Leader with local guides and drivers •M eal plan as detailed in the itinerary (B=Breakfast, L=Lunch, D=Dinner) with the majority of meals being taken in local restaurants where viable • All transport as outlined in the itinerary •1 3 nights’ accommodation in a combination of 5* hotels, heritage hotels and merchant houses • All entrance fees, sightseeing, excursions and activities as per itinerary • Specialist heritage walks led by an expert local guide •A carbon-offsetting contribution to Carbon Clear (if booking international flights through WF office) WHAT IS NOT INCLUDED • Visas (if applicable) • Local airport taxes • T ips (always optional, but some guidance will be given in the pre-departure information pack you’ll receive after booking) • Beverages & any costs of a personal nature • International flights to/from the start/finish of the trip • Airport transfers (unless booking suggested flights through WF office) GETTING THERE For this trip our suggested flights from the UK (subject to change) are: 07FEB BA0257 LHR-DEL 18:50/08:50+1 21FEB AI0644 UDR-BOM 16:20/17:50 22FEB BA0138 BOM-LHR 02:15/06:55 CONTACT www.wildfrontierstravel.com/at-india1 info@wildfrontiers.co.uk +44 (0) 20 8741 7390
Architectural Traveller | Page 67
Architectural Traveller | Page 68
• Step back in time on special heritage walks through Old Delhi, Agra, Jaipur and Jodhpur • Visit the iconic Taj Mahal, Agra Fort and the abandoned city of Fathepur Sikri • Travel by local train through the Khamli Ghats to Deogarh, a wonderful journey made famous by Rudyard Kipling’s classic tale • Discover architectural gems in the heart of the Aravalli Mountains at Ranakpur, Kumbhalgarh and Udaipur – India’s stunning City of Lakes • Admire five spectacular and contrasting UNESCO World Heritage Sites
Day 1: Tour starts in Delhi: The tour starts around midday in Delhi. After lunch we will begin with a special heritage walk of the Old Town, which will also include a wonderful journey through the backstreets by rickshaw. The Claridges or similar (L,D) Day 2: Delhi: Today we will explore New Delhi – visiting Rajpath and India Gate as well as Humayun’s Tomb, one of the best-preserved Mughal monuments, commissioned by Humayun’s son Akbar and designed by the Persian architect Mirak Mirza Ghiya. We will also take some time to visit the Craft Museum, the largest in the country and home to some of India’s more traditional arts and crafts, from centuries ago up until modern day. This evening we will head to Connaught Place for dinner. The Claridges or similar (B,L,D) Day 3: Delhi – Agra: Departing early this morning we will drive south to Agra. After checking into our hotel and having lunch, we’ll visit the mighty Agra Fort, a vast riverside complex comprised of exquisite palaces and mosques. The fort was built by the Mughal emperor Akbar, and this fortified citadel which overlooks the banks of the Yamuna River, served as the headquarters of the Mughal Empire when Agra was its capital. Following this we will be treated to another fascinating experience as we are taken on the Mughal Heritage Walk through the farming community of Kachhpura, visiting some interesting sites in the company of one of the local specialist guides who will offer a unique insight into this local community and culture. Dinner tonight will be at our hotel. Trident or similar (B,L,D) Day 4: Agra – Fatehpur Sikri - Ramathra: Early this morning we will visit the iconic Taj Mahal for sunrise. This is an extraordinary time of day to visit, as the soft sunlight hits the exquisite marble relief work and semi-precious stones, resulting in a stunning blend of light and colour. The Taj Mahal is considered one of the greatest achievements of Indo-Islamic architecture, and no matter how many times you have seen images of this spectacular edifice nothing can prepare you for its sheer magnificence. Following breakfast at the hotel, we will depart Agra and visit the magnificent fortified ghost city of Fatehpur Sikri. Built by the great Mughal Akbar, and abandoned in 1585 due to water shortages, the well-preserved remains are fascinating. Afterwards we’ll board a train at Bharatpur towards Gangapur city (journey approx. 1 ½ hours), where we will be picked up and taken to this amazing rural part of Rajasthan. On arrival at Ramathra Fort we will be welcomed by our hosts, the old ruling royal family. Ramathra Fort or similar (B,L,D) Day 5: Ramathra – Jaipur: After breakfast we drive towards Jaipur. Arriving in the ‘pink city’ in the afternoon, we will enjoy a guided visit of the Palace of Winds and the UNESCO Jantar Mantar, also known as the Observatory, along with the local bazaars. From its creation in 1727 the royal families and nobles of the city patronised the craftsman and artisans of the city and the traditions continue to this day, making Jaipur the crafts capital of India. Here we are able to observe the artisans at work and perhaps visit a private haveli beautifully decorated with paintings, rich tapestries, carpets and other artefacts. End the afternoon with a special heritage walk of the old city. Alsisar Haveli or similar (B,L,D) Architectural Traveller | Page 69
World Heritage Traveller | Page 70
Jagdish temple
Day 6: Jaipur: This morning we will head out to visit the great palace at Amber, the Rajput masterpiece perched on a hillside overlooking the city. Returning to Jaipur we will then stop by the fascinating and beautifully ornate City Palace Museum, built by the founder and namesake of the modern city Jai Singh II. The rest of the afternoon will then be free to explore at leisure. Dinner this evening will be at your own expense
Day 10: Jodphur- Khamli Ghat- Deogarh: Morning pick up from our hotel and driven to Marwar Junction where we will enjoy the regional two hour train journey through the Khamli Ghats and on to the Aravalli plateau to Deogarh. The journey was made famous by Rudyard Kipling’s classic tale, The Man Who Would be King. At the end of this spectacular journey we will be transferred to our hotel in Deogarh.
Alsisar Haveli or similar (B,L)
Deogarh Mahal or similar (B,L,D)
Day 7: Jaipur – Pushkar: After breakfast we’ll drive west to Pushkar, the charming and peaceful Hindu pilgrimage centre and home to the only temple in India dedicated to the god of creation, Lord Brahma. Here we will take a walk through the bazaar and if we are lucky receive a blessing by the lake.
Day 11: Deogarh: Day at leisure to arrange our own excursions through the hotel, or simply relax and enjoy the hotel and its facilities. Excursions offered include camel and bullock cart rides, bird watching, trekking, jeep safaris, village walks and horse riding, amongst other things. (B)
Pushkar Palace or similar (B,L,D)
Deogarh Mahal or similar (B,L,D)
Day 8: Pushkar – Jodhpur: Today we head to the ‘Blue City’ of Jodhpur, home to the magnificent Meherangarh Fort and once one of the wealthiest cities in Rajasthan. The powerful capital of Marwar (‘land of death’), Jodhpur was founded in 1459 by Rao Jodhaji, the chieftain of the Rathore Rajputs. Rising up from the arid landscapes that lie along the eastern edge of the Thar Desert, the city’s distinctive blue hue comes from the colourwashed buildings of its old town, which was once the preserve of the high cast Brahmins. In India, blue is a colour commonly associated with power and royalty and it is believed that the city’s more important citizens at the time painted their homes blue to align themselves with the region’s ruling classes. Arriving in Jodhpur this afternoon we should have time to enjoy something of the city’s colourful bazaar and rambling backstreets before dinner.
Day 12: Deogarh- Kumbhalgarh- Ranakpur- Udaipur: This morning we will be picked up from our hotel and transferred to Udaipur. This journey will take most of the day as en route we will be taken to visit the stunning fifteenth century Kumbhalgarh Fort in the Aravalli Mountains. We will then continue to the journey to visit Ranakpur, home to a beautiful fifteenth century Jain temple made up of 29 halls and 1,444 intricately carved pillars. The last leg of the journey will end in Udaipur at our hotel. This evening we’ll enjoy a cultural dance performance at Baogore ki haveli before having dinner at a good local restaurant.
Pal Haveli or similar (B,L,D) Day 9: Jodhpur: This morning we visit Jodhpur’s famous citadel. Dominating the city from the top of a dramatic rocky escarpment, Meherangarh Fort is one of the largest in India and it occupies a stunning location some 120 metres above the city below. Accessed by no fewer than five gates, its towering walls protect a dazzling array of palaces, gardens, courtyards and temples. Within the walls themselves we can find the Moti Mahal (Pearl Palace) and the sumptuous Sheeshe Mahal (Hall of Mirrors). We will then end the day with a captivating heritage walk of the old city, led by our specialist guide. Pal Haveli or similar (B,L,D)
Architectural Traveller | Page 70
Udai Kothi or similar (B,L,D) Day 13: Udaipur: This morning we’ll take a guided tour of some of the key sites in Udaipur such as the City Palace, the Jagdish temple and the beautiful gardens at Saheliyon-ki-Bari. To allow for greater flexibility lunch will be at your own expense today, and this afternoon will be free to wander through the alleys and narrow streets, to take a cooking lesson or a miniature painting class. We’ll meet later in the day to take a sunset boat ride on Lake Pichola, before heading out for a farewell dinner at a local restaurant. Udai Kothi or similar (B,L,D) Day 14: Tour finishes in Udaipur: The tour ends after breakfast in Udaipur.
Taj Mahal
The iconic Taj Mahal at sunrise – an extraordinary time of day to visit as the marble takes on gold and pink hues, making a wonderful and atmospheric time to see this stunning mausoleum
Amber Palace
Architectural Traveller | Page 71
ARCHITECTURAL
JOURNEYS
TOUR COST
TOUR DATES
Land Only - £2050 per person
Sat 02 - Tues 12 May 2020 (11 days)
Single Supplement - £280 per person ITINERARY Day 1: Tour starts in Tashkent:
Day 7: Bukhara – Khiva
Day 2: Tashkent – Samarkand
Day 8: Khiva
Day 3: Samarkand
Day 9: Khiva – Ayaz Kala – Khiva
Day 4: Samarkand – Bukhara
Day 10: Khiva – Urgench - Tashkent
Day 5: Bukhara
Day 11: Tour ends in Tashkent
Day 6: Bukhara WHAT IS INCLUDED • Full services of a Wild Frontiers Tour Leader with local guides and drivers •M eal plan as detailed in the itinerary (B=Breakfast, L=Lunch, D=Dinner) with the majority of meals being taken in local restaurants where viable • All transport as outlined in the itinerary • 10 nights’ accommodation typically in 3* & 4* hotels • All entrance fees, sightseeing, excursions and activities as per itinerary •A carbon-offsetting contribution to Carbon Clear (if booking international flights through WF office) WHAT IS NOT INCLUDED • Visas (if applicable) • Local airport taxes • T ips (always optional, but some guidance will be given in the pre-departure information pack you’ll receive after booking) • Beverages & any costs of a personal nature • International flights to/from the start/finish of the trip • Airport transfers (unless booking suggested flights through WF office) GETTING THERE For this trip our suggested flights from the UK (subject to change) are: 01 MAY HY202 LHR-TAS 18:00/05:50+1 12 MAY HY201 TAS-LHR 13:45/16:25 CONTACT www.wildfrontierstravel.com/at-uzbekistan info@wildfrontiers.co.uk +44 (0) 20 8741 7390
Architectural Traveller | Page 72
Western gate (Ata Darvoza) to the ancient town of Itchan Kala
UZBEKISTAN SPRING 2020 From the Sat 02 May - Tues 12 May 2020 (11 days) With the Listed Property Owners’ Club Once a part of the Samanid and Timurid Empires, Uzbekistan is one of Central Asia’s most compelling republics. Lying at the cultural and geographic crossroads of the region, it was one of the Silk Road’s most important links, resulting in cities and monuments that can boast some of the finest mosques and mausoleums anywhere in the world. This adventure will take in the iconic Silk Road cities of Khiva, Bukhara and Samarkand, as well as the desert castles of Ayaz Kala, to witness their outstanding history and architecture. This stunning adventure begins in the capital of Tashkent, where we’ll have time to explore some of the highlights of the Uzbek capital before we take a train on to Samarkand, the great city of Tamerlane himself. See the symbol of oriental architecture, Registan Square, with its three majestic madrassahs, and other monuments listed by UNESCO. Next, we explore the Silk Road treasures of Bukhara, considered to be the most complete medieval city in Central Asia, before following the Silk Road west to discover the architectural gems of Khiva. From here we will leave civilisation behind as we set out in search of the desert castles of Ayaz Kala, an archaeological treasure trove of three mud fortresses that overlook the surrounding plains for the Kyzylkum Desert, a fascinating and spectacular contrast to Uzbekistan’s other Silk Road treasures. Architectural Traveller | Page 73
Kalyan Minaret and Mosque, Bukhara
Architectural Traveller | Page 74
• T ravel along a key section of the Silk Road, an ancient network of trade routes •D iscover three unique UNESCO World Heritage Sites spanning thousands of years of history •A dmire the majestic madrassahs of Samarkand’s Registan Square •W ander through the monuments and madrassahs of Bukhara •E xplore Tashkent and the historic heart of ancient Khiva •V isit old caravanserais and ancient desert castles
Day 1: Tour starts in Tashkent The tour starts late morning in Tashkent, Uzbekistan’s vibrant capital which sat at the heart of the old Central Asian trading routes, gaining prominence under the Mongols and the Shabanids, before finally being absorbed by the expansionist policies of the Russian empire during the 19th century. Flattened by a devastating earthquake in the mid1960s, the city was reinvented by the Kremlin to represent the very epitome of the socialist ideal. This afternoon provides with an opportunity to discover a little more of the Uzbek capital, with a tour of some of its highlights. including the Khast Imam Complex, the stunning edifice of the Alisher Navoi Opera and Ballet Theatre, the Chorsu Handicraft Bazaar, a vast open-air market that sits in the heart of the old part of the city, as well as the Museum of Applied Arts. City Palace Hotel or similar (L,D) Day 2: Tashkent – Samarkand: Early morning we catch the highspeed train which travels through four provinces to Samarkand, one of the oldest continually inhabited cities in Central Asia. Once we have checked in to our hotel, we spend the afternoon exploring this amazing city. Once one of the greatest cities on earth, Samarkand is a name that resonates with the commerce and colour of the old Silk Road. We’ll spend this afternoon paying a visit to Registan Square, the ancient heart of the city, as well as the Sherdor, Tillya Kari and Ulugbek Madrasahs. We then continue on to visit the Gur Emir Mausoleum, the final resting place of Tamerlane, the founder of the Timurid Empire. Malika Prime or similar (B,L,D)
Architectural Traveller | Page 75
Day 3: Samarkand: We’ll enjoy a full day wandering through this incredible city. We’ll take in the Shah-i Zinda Necropolis and the 15th century Bibi-Khanym Mosque, once considered one of the most magnificent mosques in the Islamic world. After a chance to explore the Ulugbek Observatory and the bustling Siyob Bazaar, this afternoon is then free to continue discovering the city at our leisure. Malika Prime or similar (B,L,D) Day 4: Samarkand – Bukhara: After a leisurely morning, we drive (4hrs+) along the “Royal Road” to Bukhara, stopping along the way to visit one of the Great Silk Road’s old caravanserais. Bukhara’s historic centre has been described by UNESCO as the most complete example of a medieval city in Central Asia, more than 2,000 years old and home to some 140 architectural monuments. Sasha & Sons or similar (B,L,D) Day 5: Bukhara: This morning we visit the famous Arc – or town citadel – in front of which the British officers Connelly and Stoddard lost their heads in what was one of the most infamous events of the Great Game. We’ll also visit the Kolan Minaret – or Tower of Death, from which Amir Nasirulla Khan threw his enemies – as well as the rest of the beautiful old town. The rest of the day is free to explore Bukhara at our leisure, with opportunities to wander through the bazaar and maybe do a little souvenir shopping, before enjoying dinner at your own expense. Considered to be Central Asia’s holiest city, Bukhara is liberally sprinkled with an architectural legacy that spans a thousand years of history. A centre of trade, culture and scholarship for centuries, under the Samanids the city became a major intellectual centre of the Islamic world. Today we’ll take in some of its highlights, with visits planned to the imposing Ark of Bukhara, the Kunya Ark Complex and the Samanids Mausoleum, the Friday Mosque and Lab-i Hauz, home to the 16th century Kukeldash Madrasah, the largest in the city. Other sites include Chashmai-Ayub Mausoleum, Miri-Arab Madrassah, Chor-Minor Madrassah, Modarikhan Madrassah, Ulughbek Madrassah, Magoki-Attori Mosque, BoloKhauz Mosque and Monumental Shopping Arcades. Sasha & Sons or similar (B,L) Day 6: Bukhara: This morning we will visit the old Summer Residence of the last emir - Sitorai Mokhi Hosa, before enjoying an afternoon at leisure. Sasha & Sons or similar (B,L,D)
Day 7: Bukhara – Khiva: Today we’ll take our last major drive of the trip across the desert towards Khiva (8hrs). Please note the rail network is being developed between the two cities but there is no news as of yet regarding when this will be completed. En route we’ll cross the famous Amu-Darya River (Oxus) before checking in to our hotel in the heart of this UNESCO protected old town. This evening there will be time to take a first wander around the quiet streets of this wonderfully preserved Silk Road city. Orient Star Khiva or similar (B,L,D) Day 8: Khiva: Considered a pearl of eastern architecture, Khiva is one of the oldest cities of ancient Khorezm. Legend has it that is was founded by Shem, the son of Noah, and archaeological records can trace its origins back to the 4th or 5th century BC. We will spend today exploring its madrasahs and museums, wandering the narrow streets of the Ichan Kala (inner city) and enjoying the atmosphere and sights of a city that can boast some 50 historic monuments. Sites of interest include – Kunya Ark fortress, Kurinish Khana (17c), Mohammed Amin Khan(19c) Madrassah, Islam Khodja Minaret, Palvan-Kari complex, Mohammed Rakhimkhan (19 c), Jami Mosque(18c), Pakhlavan Mahmoud Mausoleum, Tash Hauli («stone yard») Palace, Alla-Kulikhan (18c), Arab Mohammed Khan (18 c) Madrassah. Orient Star Khiva or similar (B,L,D) Day 9: Khiva – Ayaz Kala – Khiva: Today we will head out in to the desert to visit the desert castles, Toprak Kala and Ayaz Kala, dating from 2300BC and in various states of ruin. A small amount of uphill scrambling is necessary to get up to the castles, but once there we can admire the mud brick structures and the views out across the desert. Enjoy lunch at a nearby yurt camp which lies at the foot of Ayaz Kala, one of the most impressive of the desert castles, before heading back to Khiva for the evening. Orient Star Khiva or similar (B,L,D) Day 10: Khiva – Urgench - Tashkent: The morning will be free to explore Khiva independently, with its bewildering choice of mosques and palaces at every turn. We plan to take an afternoon flight from nearby Urgench back to the capital in time for dinner this evening. City Palace Hotel or similar (B,L,D) Day 11: Tour ends in Tashkent: The morning is free to wander this lovely city, with tree lined avenues and open parks, at leisure and the tour ends after a final lunch together. (B,L)
Samarkand
Architectural Traveller | Page 76
Tilya Kori Mosque
Metro Station, Central Tashkent
Architectural Traveller | Page 77
PACK YOUR BAGS Wayfinder Backpack 30L
Keeping all your valuables and travel essentials in one secure, lightweight and practical bag is the ideal for any traveller heading off for the weekend or trekking for the month. Wayfinder’s 30 litre backpack is durable, secure and packs in plenty of pockets and organisational features such as hidden tech pockets for phones, a cable organiser and fleece-lined pockets to protect your sunglasses. Its waterresistant PVP coating is made from recycled plastics. Wayfinder Backpack 30L, £80.00 The ORV Trunk 30 is built with adventure in mind, a smartlooking, multi-functional piece of luggage with lockable zips, chunky treaded wheels and tough Bi-Tech™ Armor weatherproof material. It has a 98-litre capacity and contains an expandable seam-taped wet/dry compartment as well as an Equipment Keeper™ that holds extra kit tightly on top of the bag. Multiple handles allow you to carry the bag as is most practical. ORV Trunk 30, £340.00, www.rohan.co.uk
Architectural Traveller | Page 78
ORV Trunk 30
TAKE THE SHOT For those impossible to reach shots, no amount of arm stretching or long-lensing is going to work. The DJI Mavic Air Drone is a high-performance, portable, foldable drone with 8GB of storage. It can capture crystal-clear shots over a 21-minute flight time and is idea for tracking subjects in motion. The Mavic Air shoots video at 4k 30 fps, so nothing is missed. It also supports a 1080p 120 fps slow-motion video ad 32 MP Sphere Panoramas that stitch together 25 photos in 8 seconds. All this in a drone that folds to the size of a smartphone.
DJI Mavic AirDrone
The remarkable pocket-size Sony RX100 VI. Cyber Shot camera is packed with enough professional-level technology to cover any photo opportunity on your travels – portraits, action shots or high-quality films. It has a high-resolution Zeiss lens, a wide 24-200mm square zoom range and lightning autofocus. The RX 100 VI. will shoot 4k films and its rapid continuous shooting facility, at 24 fps, comes with AF/AE tracking. Sony RX100 VI. Cyber Shot, £1,150.00, www.sony.co.uk
DJI Mavic Air Drone in Arctic White, £709.00, www.johnlewis.com
Sony RX100 VI. Cyber Shot
Architectural Traveller | Page 79
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