A Bookstore Made In Heaven

In Maastricht, a municipality located in the southernmost of the province Limburg, Netherlands. It is one of the oldest cities in the country and city filled with events & festivals throughout the year.

A church with no congregation? See what the locals did with an 800 year old Dominican church. After many many months of hardwork, the magnificent building has now a new purpose. The most beautiful bookstore of all time. A bookstore holding a wide selection of books in English which makes it different from the other bookstores around. It is said that it holds the largest stock of books in English in Maastricht. Selexyz Dominicanen's the name. ( Can't seem to find out what it means exactly ._.) But the name Selexyz indicates that the new bookstore also belongs to the same chain as Selexyz Donner in Rotterdam and Selexyz Broese in Utrecht, according to Crossroads Magazine.

Because the structure could not be altered in any way and with limited floor space, they built a double story metal structure inside the church.

- Evan -

It was always going to be a challenging task for Amsterdam based architects Merkx + Girod who designed the space, to stay true to the original character and charm of the church, whilst also achieving a desirable amount of commercial space (there was only an available floor area of 750 m2, with a proposed retail space of 1200 m2). Taking advantage of the massive ceiling, both have been achieved through the construction of a multi-storey steel structure which houses the majority of the books. This is one giant bookshelf, with stairs and elevators taking shoppers and visitors alike, up to the heavens (mind the pun), to roof of the church.

To maintain a sense of symmetrical balance in the space, lower tables of best sellers and latest releases have been added to either side, and of course a small cafe at the back for readers to relax and enjoy a hot drink. Overall a great example of how with clever thinking, spatial solutions can both achieve a suitable retail presence, whilst still respecting and remaining true to the original structure.

Architectural details and description by

Brendan Mc Knight for thecoolhunter.net

General Concepts Of Art PART 1

For the purposes of art history, "form" referes to the shape of the object of art, in the made object, form is the shape that the expression of content takes. To create forms and make a work of art, an artist must shape materials with selected tools. Each of the many materials, tools, and processes that an artist use has its own potentialities and limitations. It is part of all artists' creative activity to select the tools most suitable to their purpose. The technical processes that the artist emply, as well as the distinctive, personal ways in which they handle them, we call their technique. If the material that artist use is the substance of their art, then their technique is their individual manner of giving that substance form.

Appreciation Of Abstract Art

Title : In Search For Existence (2006)

Ever wondered how something that represents nothing in particular be so eye-catching to look at? Many have said, "Abstract art is easy to paint and draw...why anyone would pay that significant amount of money for a painting that doesn't even relate to anything?" Then I guess chances are you do not appreciate what Abstract Art really is. When one is looking at abstract art, he or she is actually looking at the most freely formed type of artwork an artist can create.

One would think that when looking at art that is non-representational, it would be less interesting to view as he or she does not know what the artist is truly trying to depict in his or her artwork. This is where the beauty of abstract art comes about. This type of art is meant to grab your attention and pull an emotional response right from within you. Once you see that part of the painting...the part that keeps you drawn in, keep your mind thinking, it is then when you know you are analyzing something special...something called Abstract Art.

So what grabs one’s attention when looking at a particular piece of art? Well let us think...what gets your attention in any circumstance? Why is a stop sign always in bright red? Yes, just abstract art, in most circumstances, is filled with colors of all sorts that are meant to turn our heads. This characteristic, along with others such as the paintings texture and other elements, are what make this form of art one of the most popular styles collected today. The creativity involved with these pieces of art bring upon a new imagination that some viewers didn't know existed within them.

This art is from the heart and soul, instead of what you see is what you get. With that being said, you can now see that this type of art is more than just a thoughtless mess put on a canvas or piece of paper.

Finally, it should be remembered that, on the one hand, what is seen on the canvas may not at all reflect what was on the artist’s mind when putting the paintbrush on it; on the other, it may reflect more than what was desired by the artist.