Category: architecture

  • Vida Rica @ The Mandarin-Oriental, Macau

    We had drinks at Vida Rica while watching the Chinese New Year fireworks.  This bar is right next to the Louis Vuitton Maison VIP salon we visited earlier during the day (see earlier post here.) One side of the bar has triple height floor-to-ceiling glass windows facing the waterfront – essentially front row seats we…

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  • Berlin: Dinner atop the German parliament building

    We had a private group dinner at a dining room/restaurant (“Dachgarten”) on the roof of the Deutschen Bundestag (German parliament building, formerly known as the Reichstag).  The location is truly unique; while the food is carefully prepared, it was not that special. The original Reichstag building was built in 1890s, disused just before World War…

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  • Berlin: Axica by Frank Gehry

    Back to pictures of my Berlin trip. For two days, we had meetings in a fantastic conference center designed by Frank Gehry.  Axica, is located inside a squarish building which houses the offices of DZ Bank.  The bank is located next to the US embassy and the Brandenburg gate (Brandenburger Tor) in Pariser Platz.  To…

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  • Berlin: 5 nights of opulent minimalism

    Grand Hyatt, like all chain hotels, look alike – the one in Berlin is an exception.  It was one of the 19 buildings built in the no-man’s land near the Wall (Postdamer Platz), by José Rafael Moneo.  The interiors was described by Wallpaper as “opulent minimalism” – I am not sure what it means or…

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  • Berlin cityscape

    My employer organized a week-long conference in Berlin.  It was a chance for members of the group from around the world to meet each other and us in the operating center.  Of course, there were training sessions every day but they did provide entertainment and dinners at spectacular locations.  Three of the locations were even…

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  • Museum Brandhorst in Munich

    The last museum that I “visited” in the Kunstareal was Museum Brandhorst which features 20th and 21st century art.  Unlike the Der Moderne which was mostly monochromatic concrete and glass, the building is colorful.  The facade of the building by Sauerbruch Hutton looks like an abstract painting, as if it is an advertisement of what…

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