Koncerthuset K3NC2R7 HUS4T has now opened in Copenhagen and the Danes have done it again. Produced something that is beautiful, functional and of worldbeating quality. The Concert Hall is the final segment of the Danish Broadcasting Company's Town of Broadcast.
The main concert hall is a great steel core surrounded on the outside by glass and blue screens onto which images of performances are displayed.
The Japanese sound engineers built a 1:10 model of the hall, complete with model spectators to make sure every seat was acoustically serviced. Acoustic death spaces were also incorporated.
There are 4 concert halls to cater for all kinds of music from intimate jazz sessions to symphony orchestras.
On July 16th Lou Reed and Laurie Anderson will be performing an exclusive concert, and you can enjoy many other attractions such as the suprano Anna Netrebko, Lord of the Rings narrated by Christopher Lee and a full Symphonic Summer of events.
The architect matched the federal style applied to the structure with this beautiful detailed brickwork. Like elsewhere on the estate, the lanterns are intricate ironwork with delicate leaves and swirls. The french doors must be 8 1/2' tall; Love the transoms too!
Here is a detail of the cornice and one of the transom windows.
The interior has a 150 yr old fig tree (vine?) that encompasses the entire room, covering everything. You can see it here above the entrance to the space from the breezeway and how it wraps the entire space below.
So lush and green, the same hexagonal clay tiles are on the floor.
The lanterns are almost hidden behind all the plants. The way an orangery should be!
Each wall between french doors & transoms has a beautiful medallion or plaque. I love the way the fig tree has grown around them.
I realized it's been too long since my last china of the week post; Count this one as china of the month!
Facedown you get a better look at the odd petal shape of the plate. It's so useful having it here on the coffee table as another place to set a drink or snack without having to worry about staining a magazine or making a mess. Why didn't I think of this earlier?
This past weekend I visited Dumbarton Oaks, a house museum and gardens in Georgetown. While we were too late for the tour of the house (seriously, once a week a tour of only 15 people?? come on!) we were able to take advantage of the beautiful spring weather and explore the extensive gardens. 
Surrounded by beautiful bricks walls, the estate currently houses 10 acres (a huge piece of property for right in the city!).
The house was built in 1800 and was later remodeled in the Federal style seen today in 1923 by the last owners of the house, Robert and Mildred Bliss. They donated it to Harvard University who runs it as a museum, library and famous gardens. Seen above is the main entrance to the museum, which is connected to the house and contains Byzantine and pre-columbian artifacts as well as an extensive research library.
Here you can see the breezeway between the Orangery (which I will blog about later this week, a magnificent room!!) and the house.
This is the interior of the breezeway, a charming space with stucco (concrete?) walls, clay floors and amazing ironwork (like all over the estate). Everything seems to be original to the 1923 remodel which is fantastic: all the hardware, light fixtures, ironwork, etc. Just wait till you see the Orangery!
The rear of the house is probably my favorite view. It faces lawns which step down to Rock Creek Park. 
Since the gardens are so important, one feature I loved was that each doorway had a bootscrape. What a great detail!
The stonework around the estate is cohesive overall, but each portion still has its own character. It begins as very formal nearest the house, seen above, and becomes more natural the further from the house you walk.
You can see that spring has sprung -the trees are in bloom!
Even the cherry blooms! A whole section of the garden is devoted to them.
To the other side of the house on a lower terrace is a swimming pool with this loggia off it. See the same materials, hexagonal clay tile floors, stucco walls and groin vaults.
This loggia is reached by this unusual staircase which surrounds a fountain. Rather than pour, the water drips naturally - a very peaceful spot! 
This fountain (and after the stairs) make it a perfect spot to rest which is why the bench above is located at the base.
The estate is formed of numerous gardens or outdoor 'rooms' which are reached by stairs from one another all terracing down to a stream.
One of the common motif's throughout the garden is the sheath of wheat which is a symbol in the coat of arms of the Bliss family.
This unusual tree is in the center of another room. Notice the mangled limbs and visible roots! Creepy!!
I loved these little statues: the fruits are metal as are the turtles holding up the stone boat.
