LARX.architecture in St. Moritz Switzerland - Visual Diary

Visual Diary

This journal is a collection of ideas, case studies and thoughts: a visual diary. All photos by LARX.

Yakisugi

April 2024 - Japanese traditional wood preservation techniques, notably Yakisugi or Shou Sugi Ban, involve charring the surface of wood to create a protective layer and enhance durability. This process yields a rich, dark color and unique texture, accentuating the wood's natural beauty. These photos pay homage to its timeless allure.

Details from Teshima, Kagawa, and Kurashiki, Okayama, Japan.

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Year of the Dragon

March 2024 - Rural areas of China - in these landscape photographs the dynamics and tension of the valleys, natural forms, surfaces and textures inspire us with their playfulness and power simultaneously.

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Metropolitan Perspectives

February 2024 - The geometric elegance of New York's exterior impressions and proportional compositions.

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Sculpted by time

January 2024 - From towers offering panoramic views of the Ionian sea and sky to labyrinthine interiors of stone and arches, Castello Maniace in Syracuse, the fortress of Ortygia Island invites us to traverse the corridors of time.

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Engadin Uninterrupted vol. 3

December 2023 - Winter atmospheres in Engadine on negative scans of 4x5 " sheet film and 8x10" gelatine silver prints: Buaira 1'918m, Piz Buin 3'312m, Plan Grand 1'802m, Ago di Sciora 3'205m.

'Every experience is a form of exploration.' Ansel Adams

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Bold statement

November 2023 - An iconic, modern presence at a unique location amidst the timeless existence of the elements of nature.

Niterói Contemporary Art Museum by Oscar Niemeyer, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (1996).

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Serene structures

October 2023 - The beauty of the supports for tree branches in traditional Japanese gardens.

Some photographs from the Ritsurin Garden in Takamatsu.

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Miami Art Deco

September 2023 - 'Too much is never enough.' 'If you create the stage setting and it is grand, everyone who enters will play their part.' Morris Lapidus

Details of Avalon Hotel (Albert Anis, 1941), Colony Hotel (Henry Hohauser, 1935), Starlite Hotel (Gilbert M. Fein, 1952) and Hotel Victor (L. Murray Dixon, 1937) in Miami Beach.

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Mediterranean panorama

August 2023 - Villas on the island of Capri, integrated into the coastal cliffs overlooking the sea - creating a harmonious blend between human-made structures and the surrounding landscape.

Villa Malaparte, Villa Monacone in Capri and Villa San Michele in Anacapri.

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Engadin Uninterrupted vol. 2

July 2023 - Summer atmospheres in Engadine on negative scans of self-developed 4x5" sheet film: Piz Murters 3'012 m, Piz Plavna Dadaint 3'167 m, Val Roseg 2'019 m, Ova da Trupchun, Piz Fier 3'058 m, Aua da Murtaröl.

'It is all very beautiful and magical here - a quality which cannot be described. You have to live it and breathe it, let the sun bake into you.' Ansel Adams

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Earth and Sky

June 2023 - Inspiring tension between the dynamic, solid architectural volumes and the open empty space, facing to the ocean and to the sky.

Salk Institute by Louis Kahn in San Diego CA

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Abandoned wells

May 2023 - 'The well bottom is like the bottom of the sea. Things down here stay very still, keeping their original forms, as if under tremendous pressure, unchanged from day to day.' Haruki Murakami

A visual exploration of abandoned wells in Italy.

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Tropical balance

April 2023 - 'I want to get to Key West and away from it all.' Ernest Hemingway

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Lonely Stations

March 2023 - The elevated railway Green Line of Chicago offers a unique blend of industrial and residential architecture. The unbroken linear expanse of industry juxtaposes with the human-scale proportions of the surrounding homes, creating a symbiotic spatial quality that is truly special.

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Lighthouses

February 2023 - Amidst the admiration of the tall, cylindrical structures of the lighthouses paired with their special locations of the high, rocky coastlines, we turn our attention to their symbolic significance. The bright beam of light radiating from the top of the lighthouse and being noticed from miles away is a sign of guidance, safety and stability. Their constant presence in the landscape, standing tall and firm represent hope and endurance and stand for solitude and peacefulness.

Collection of Lighthouses: Neist Point Lighthouse, Isle of Skye, Scotland; Faro de San Agustin, Asturias, Spain; Faro de Cabo Ortegal, Galicia, Spain; Torre de Hercules, Galicia, Spain; Lighthouse of Porto Maurizio, Imperia, Italy; Lighthouse of Punta Palascia, Lecce, Italy; Old Point Loma Lighthouse, San Diego, USA; and Kilauea Lighthouse, Kauai, Hawaii, USA.

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Soft light

January 2023 - As we seek calm light, we find it in the atmosphere of traditional Japanese architecture. Panels of Shoji paper and fine timber frames diffuse the light, while creating a soft and glowing effect in the space - these translucent membranes are delicate and ephemeral, and their subtle beauty is an integral part of the design.

Some details from the Tenryu-ji and Nanzen-ji Temples in Kyoto.

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Engadin Uninterrupted

December 2022 - The process of slowing down gives unexpected delight. Using a large format camera with 4x5” sheet film transforms the whole procedure of photography into another level which results in seeing in a completely different way.

This note is a homage for the method itself. It is about our relationship to nature, through light and time. Unique atmospheres in Engadin on self-processed 8x10” silver gelatine work prints: Piz Cornet, Val Verda, Grevasalvas, Piz Madlain.

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Longitudinal rhythm

November 2022 - With the outstanding spaces of the renaissance architecture of Vicenza and Mantova we allow our imagination to draw away as a visual meditation. Walking through these spaces guided by the rhythm of architectural elements on the sides results in a distinguished and uplifting feeling. Steadiness and solidness forms vitality and dynamism. Basilica Palladiana in Vicenza, Cattedrale di San Pietro and Palazzo Ducale in Mantova.

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Noguchi Museum, New York

October 2022 - 'The essence of sculpture is for me the perception of space, the continuum of our existence.' 'Everything is sculpture. Any material, any idea without hindrance born into space, I consider sculpture.' Isamu Noguchi

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High Altitudes

September 2022 - 3700 m above sea level and higher. In these photographs of the high altitude areas of Bolivia and Chile we are fascinated by the quality of the colors, the lightness of the air, the openness and limitlessness of the space.

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Spaces of Val Bregaglia

August 2022 - 'All the art of the past rises up before me, the art of all ages and all civilizations, everything becomes simultaneous, as if space had replaced time. Memories of works of art blend with affective memories, with my work, with my whole life.' Alberto Giacometti

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Faraglioni

July 2022 - Stella, Mezzo and Scopolo off the Island of Capri. The sea and the sky, the sea and the rocks, the sky and the rocks - all in the special quality of that mediterranean light and the abstractness of form, surface, edge.

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Urban Patterns

June 2022 - Regardless how beautifully homogeneous a cityscape is, we focus on details, we search for characteristics, uniqueness. How far is the distance from the whole where we still catch the smaller contrasts, the effects of light and shadow? How deep can we focus? Some framed cut outs of the city of La Paz, Naples, Matera, New York and Tokyo.

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