Throwback: Slovak national theatre

When it gets a bit chilly, I still find it very nice to wear something that exposes a little bit of skin, especially on the legs. So right now, I´m using my very last chances to do so, just to remind myself of how nice the summer was. There´s no signs of autumn here in Stockholm yet, trees are still going strong with green-ness, only, it does get a bitt chillier early in the mornings or later in the evenings.
This post is a tribute to summer (and Ann-Sofie BACK´s collection for that summer). Pictures are analog, by my dear friend Katarina Kri, we took them in July outside one of Bratislava´s pearls, the national theatre, a post-modern monster, which was deemed never to be finished by the skeptics. Well, it did take 20 years for it to be completed and operational, however this was right on time when the metropolitan-styled contemporary residential blocks and shopping/business quarter called Eurovea was finished. I recommend going there for an evening walk and a nice dinner in one of the restaurants on the waterfront, enjoying the view of the Danube, when you end up in Bratislava.

Coordinates: 48 8' 25.14444'' N, 17 7' 15.0258'' E

 

Wearing: Ann-Sofie BACK suiting wool safety pin dress, trousers, blazer, leather skirt, mama Vinter :) cotton top, Louboutin patent Pigalle

Telefonplans Funkionalismen

 
Functionalism, in architecture, refers to the tendency to accustom the shape of a building primarily to its function. In my Masters thesis, where I studied the parallels between fashion and architecture, a garment design, yealding foremostly towards its functionality was one of the three pillars of timelessness in fashion that I established.
   The form of an object should follow its function and it should be a bare expression of its inward function; the function or purpose of an object should dictate its shape. One of my favourite fashion/architecture theoreticians, Mark Wigley adds to this: “[…] clothing […] must resist the pull of fashion. It may be a style, but that style emerges spontaneously from a rigorous concern with function” (p.166 in White Walls, Designer Dresses. The Fashioning of Modern Architecture).
   I myself, when making decisions regarding choosing clothing, always look on the functionality first. On what occasions and on what frequency, in what contexts will I be able to wear that specific garment. 
   Funcionality in garments however, as I believe, is both a subjective and an objective merit, which means that it is up to the wearer to develop it and sustain it preferably for the duration of their whole lifetime.
   But back to Telefonplan´s functionalism.
   Telefonplan, as the name sugessts, was built as as factory, creating Ericsson phones. It was built between 1938 and 1940 by architect Ture Wennerholm. The production in Telefonplan was stopped in the beginning of 2000s, when the art and design university Konstfack moved here, along with Försäkringskassan´s (national insurance company) headquarters. From then on, the area started attracting some independent design and architecture studios, so I believe that in a couple of years, perhaps a decade, the area will be strongly gentrified and will become one of the most attractive places to live in Stockholm.

Coordinates: 59° 17′ 59″ N, 17° 59′ 39″ E

Wearing:  Back leather skirt with huge safety pin, Acne cotton mesh top, Volcom swimmies top

Söders höjder

Södermalm, the island that lies southwards from central Stockholm seems endlessly inspiring.  I thought that I have walked all the streets of it, as it is rather small, but no. 

I came across this beautiful modernist building by Robert Berghagen the other day, completely randomly. It is now a gymnasium with possibly the best view in Stockholm.

Södermalm, ostrov ležiaci na juh od centra Stockholmu sa mi zdá nekonečným. Keď si myslim, že som uz všetky ulice videla (lebo Söder je relativne malý), objavi sa predomnou úplne nový pohľad. 

Túto modernistickú nádheru postavil v štyridsiatych rokoch architekt Robert Berghagen. Dnes v nej sídli gymnázium s pravdepodobne najlepším výhľadom v meste.

Wearing: BACK kiss all over shirt and pants, Other stories leather mules

Coordinates: 59.316890, 18.082217

Kvarnholmen

 
Kvarnholmen is impressive when driving on a boat alongside it, as its huge brick blocks stand against the water. The area is somewhere in the middle of a renovational process at the moment, there will be a rather posh residential area here. Once here, you can take a boat (that´s part of your SL blue card) and drive to Nybroplan or to a couple more stations around the peninsula.
Today was the day when I would still wear my coat BUT finally not be cold anymore. The centre suddenly felt like Stockholm had 10 times more inhabitants, the sun makes wonders and takes everyone out in the street. Vivat springtime! :)

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Kvarnholmen ma lákal vždy, keď som okolo neho prechádzala na lodičke, na okraji tohto poloostrova sa týčia majestátne tehlové budovy. V súčasnosti sa tu stavia, z tejto časti bude čoskoro veľmi lukratívna rezidenčná štvrť. Dostanete sa sem napríklad z Nybroplanu (kúsok ok Kungsträdgården) loďkou s modrou kartičkou SL.
Dnes bol ten deň, kedy sa teplota vyšplhala po snáď piatich mesiacoch nad 10 stupňov, takže stále máte na sebe kabát, ale už v ňom nieje zima, na to som čakala! :) Nech žije jar!

Wearing 

BACK cotton poplin shirt with large safetypin, leather bag, jeans and wool coat & Acne leather shoes.

Helsinki

Viking line sometimes throws in offers for free cruises to various locations, including Helsinki, Tallinn or even St. Petersburg. So, why not take a 40 hours-long round trip? Especially if the terminal is literally five minutes outside your house.
These cruises are known for wild parties and lots of duty-free promille, but for me, it was a sociological research, really. A combination of wedding-like bands and Fins in all age categories singing karaoke until early morning, all swinging together. And even three day after departing the board, you feel like the ground underneath you is moving. Fantastic! :D

The stay in Helsinki, in this case, was 6 hours, which is enough time to see Alvar Aaltos house ad studio, hang around the finnish coast in the beautiful area of Munkkiniemi and seeing the highlights you prefer. The city´s architecture is completely different to that of Stockholm. Very modern and somewhat rather spatious. I will let the pictures do rest of the talking, as they have a lot to say :)

Aalto´s house/studio coordinates: 60.196894, 24.876375

Aalto´s studio coordinates: 60.198299, 24.870159


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Niekedy sa stane, že Viking line ponúka výlety loďou gratis (predpokladám že preto, aby naplnili kapacitu lode), napríklad do Helsinki (naozaj neviem posúdiť, či je ok ten názov skloňovať), Talinu alebo dokonca St. Petersburgu. Tak prečo sa nevybrať na 40-hodinový výlet tam a spať? Najmä, ak máte terminál doslova päť minút od domu.
Tieto výlety loďou sú preslávené šialenými žúrmi a množstvom duty-free promile. Ja som to brala ako sociologický prieskum, alebo ako rada hovorím, Antropoo (to je niečo ako Zoo ale s ľuďmi haha). Na palube hrala typicky svadobná kapela a rozjarení Fíni všetkých vekových kategórií spievali karaoke skladieb od lokálnej Mázikovej. Závrate na všetkych úroviach, najmä ale z vĺn na otvorenom mori.

Takýto výlet loďou poskytuje 6 hodín na prehliadku mesta, čo stačí na to, aby ste si pozreli dom a štúdio Alvara Aalta, pomotali sa po pobreží v krásnej štvrti Munkkiniemi a pozreli si dalšie destinácie podľa vkusu a preferencií. Architektov a ich fanúšikov bude baviť celé mesto, moderné a zvláštnym spôsobom priestranné. Dorozprávať nechám fotky, ktoré som nemala to srdce viac triediť.

Dom Alvara Aalta, súradnice: 60.198299, 24.870159
Štúdio Alvara Aalta, súradnice: 60.196894, 24.876375

Studio Aalto´s main atelier

Exterior wall of the main atelier

Iconic lamps & lamp probes

Model of Essen (DE) concert hall, finished after Aalto´s death.

Aalto´s fan leg stool

Outwards-tilted display wall provides daylight from above.

Aalto´s signature designs. It´s not only Alvar himself, who did the product ý furniture displayed, but also the two of his wives; Aino & Elissa.

Aalto´s house. This is the part, where he had his studio before the exponetial growth in request for his work outgrew the space and his studio moved to larger premises.

Finlandia hall, congress & concert centre designed by Aalto and finished 1971.

Look at the lightning and the soft round lines, significant elements present in all his designs.

R2D2´s kin

Helsinki train station.

Temppeliaukio Church

Wearing me&m fur vest, BACK wool coat, wool pants and leather shopper bag.