Nu Renaissance Man

Nu /nuː/ - prefix modern, or new: used especially with styles of music to show that they exist in a different form from the past Renaissance man- noun a man of any period who has a broad range of intellectual interests. An outstandingly versatile, well-rounded person. The expression alludes to such Renaissance figures as Paul Robeson, Leonardo da Vinci, Imhotep, who performed brilliantly in many different fields. Nu Renaissance Man - Deep Thinker, Spiritual, Soldier, Architect, Photographer, Environmentalist, Artist, Athlete, Style, Lover of Jazz, Rap, Classical,Soul, Salsa, West Coast Swing- I'd never place myself on the level of a Paul Robeson, Imhotep or Leonardo Da Vinci, however; I'm certainly striving to be a man of EXCELLENCE, maximizing my genetic potential. This blog represents One Man's Pursuit of EXCELLENCE demonstrated through His Varied & Diverse Interest(s), Inspirations & Aesthetics...

[gentlemenstie]

[menlovefashiontoo-blog]

Quality Men’s Bracelets

[opticallyaddicted]

Capacitor by John Grade

Capacitor by American artist John Grade, moves and illuminates with weather data. Is a kinetic sculptural installation influenced by organic and geometric forms found in nature.   Watch the video… american artist john grade‘s ‘capacitor’ is a kinetic sculptural installation that moves in response to weather data collected from the roof of its home at john michael kohler arts center, wisconsin. the artwork — whose coil configuration is influenced by organic and geometric forms found in nature — physically behaves according to accumulated statistics from a mechanized controller, amassing both current outdoor conditions and weather patterns from the past one hundred years. sending the information about change in wind intensity and temperature directly to the sculpture, the interactive art piece moves and changes in luminosity. ‘the whole of the sculpture will appear to be very slowly breathing’, describes john grade. one hundred separate structural components, which make up ‘capacitor’, change in light level, illuminating and dimming when there is a fluctuation in temperature. shifts in the wind are marked by motion as the massive spiral compresses and releases. Via Designboom

[slapdashing]

Photo typophile

[decoarchitecture]

Rex Cole Showroom, Brooklyn, NY Photo by Samuel H. Gottscho, 1931 Image via Museum of the City of New York (Prints Available)

Appliance showroom apparently located on the edge of a gulch. (66 4th Ave.,  Brooklyn, doesn’t look like at all now on Google Street View, so either massive change or address is wrong.)

[decoarchitecture]

Seattle, Washington Photo by Caleb Racicot

Deco doorway; happy to see the original doors have survived.

[decoarchitecture]

Dallas Power & Light Building, Dallas, Texas Photos by Caleb Racicot

Thrumming with power.

[decoarchitecture]

Crewe Baths, Crewe, England, U.K. via Crewe Chronicle

Public bathhouse in Crewe, opened 1937. The local council is building a new swimming pool and gym and is looking to sell this site while pushing retention of the historic locally listed Deco exterior.

From the article:

Cheshire East Council is to seek a developer to revitalise the Crewe swimming pool site as part of its ambitious plans to regenerate Crewe.

And the council’s preference is for proposals that would retain the current building’s classic Art Deco façade.

The swimming pool will be relocated to the new purpose-built lifestyle centre in Crewe town centre in spring 2016. This leaves the current 1.154-acre public swimming pool and gymnasium site surplus to requirements and a drain on taxpayers to maintain. The council has therefore decided to sell the site…

…The council is seeking to maintain the historic architecture of the town where possible and will therefore be encouraging proposals that retain the existing Locally Listed building or its landmark 1930s façade.The council will actively seek proposals from interested parties who can meet this aspiration while also providing a viable use to compliment the immediate area, current planning policy and needs of the local community.

Photo of the baths from an earlier Chronicle article:

[decoarchitecture]

Register Cover by The Door Store

While looking at the store’s doorknobs I came across more Deco hardware, like this salvaged register cover. Let’s see what else I turn up.

[decoarchitecture]

E… Eugene

Schaeffer Building, Eugene, Oregon by Christophe Szpajdel

Elaborate Deco facade in Oregon. Check out more pictures of this building here.

[recursiveair]

Model Tobacco Building by Taber Andrew Bain on Flickr.

[decoarchitecture]

Rather stunning building in Richmond, VA. -Wendy

[fuuuckthisblog]

[decoarchitecture]

What looks like a pic from Pedestrian Day, part of the Grand Opening events at the Golden Gate Bridge, San Francisco, CA. -Wendy

[decoarchitecture]

P… Portsmouth

Quay House (Wightlink House), Portsmouth, England Photo by army.arch

This building has the same green-blue window frames as the Hoover Building.

From Flickr:

The Wightlink House was the headquarters and port master for the Isle of Wight ferry. It was utilized as the Embarkation Area Headquarters for the Portsmouth sector to coordinate the loading of WWII troops onto the ships at the four Portsmouth embarkation sites. It has been adaptively reused into apartments. This is not a Listed Building for some reason.

[decoarchitecture]

S… South Africa

Durban, South Africa Photo by Sandra Cohen-Rose and Colin Rose

Lovely facade in Durban. For more S.A. Deco, see the Roses’ Flickr set (355 pictures).

[decoarchitecture]

S… Seattle

Seattle Tower, Seattle, Washington Illustration by Gerard Michel

I was looking for a photo for Seattle and instead found this wonderful illustration. Wow! And look at all this artist’s other architectural work!

Info on Seattle Tower from Wikipedia:

The Seattle Tower, originally known as the Northern Life Tower, is a 27-story skyscraper in downtown Seattle, Washington. The building is located on 1218 Third Avenue and is known as Seattle’s first art-deco tower. Its distinctive, ziggurat exterior is clad in 33 shades of brick designed to effect a gradient which lightens from the bottom to the top of the building. This is said to have been inspired by local rock formations.

[decoarchitecture]

T… Tallahassee

Leon County Armory, Tallahassee, Florida Photo by John Meckley

Former armory, converted for use as a senior center.

[decoarchitecture]

T… Thunder Bay

St. Patrick High School, Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada Photo by djhsilver

1930s high school in Thunder Bay.

[decoarchitecture]

W… Washington (DC)

Washington, District of Columbia Photo by Wendy Darling

For DC, went with one of the photos I took myself last time I was there. There’s a huge amount of Deco in the nation’s capital, and not only in the form of federal buildings. 

For all my DC pictures, with lots of Deco, link to my Flickr set here.