In English:
Its a bird, no its a plane, its the web dude! Its a bird, no its a plane, its the web dude! Its a bird, no its a plane, its the web dude! Its a bird, no its a plane, its the web dude! Its a bird, no its a plane, its the web dude! Its a bird, no its a plane, its the web dude! Its a bird, no its a plane, its the web dude! Its a bird, no its a plane, its the web dude! Its a bird, no its a plane, its the web dude! Its a bird, no its a plane, its the web dude! Its a bird, no its a plane, its the web dude! Its a bird, no its a plane, its the web dude! close
En fran�ais:
Son un oiseau, aucun son un avion, son le type d'encha�nement! En fran�ais: Son un oiseau, aucun son un avion, son le type d'encha�nement! Son un oiseau, aucun son un avion, son le type d'encha�nement! En fran�ais: Son un oiseau, aucun son un avion, son le type d'encha�nement! Son un oiseau, aucun son un avion, son le type d'encha�nement! En fran�ais: Son un oiseau, aucun son un avion, son le type d'encha�nement! Son un oiseau, aucun son un avion, son le type d'encha�nement! En fran�ais: Son un oiseau, aucun son un avion, son le type d'encha�nement! close
Deustch:
Its an IBRD, Nr. its hat ebnet its the dude Netz! Its an IBRD, Nr. its hat ebnet its the dude Netz! Its an IBRD, Nr. its hat ebnet its the dude Netz! Its an IBRD, Nr. its hat ebnet its the dude Netz! Its an IBRD, Nr. its hat ebnet its the dude Netz! Its an IBRD, Nr. its hat ebnet its the dude Netz! Its an IBRD, Nr. its hat ebnet its the dude Netz! Its an IBRD, Nr. its hat ebnet its the dude Netz! Its an IBRD, Nr. its hat ebnet its the dude Netz! Its an IBRD, Nr. its hat ebnet its the dude Netz! Its an IBRD, Nr. its hat ebnet its the dude Netz! Its an IBRD, Nr. its hat ebnet its the dude Netz! close
Andra Borlo channels an ethereal avant pop fueled by woodwind and strings &
THE YVES BÉHAR TOP 5
Born and raised in Lausanne, Switzerland, the son of a Turkish immigrant father and an East German mother, Yves Béhar is certainly no stranger to confluence. He came to the U.S. in 1990 to study at the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena. Eight years ago he founded the aptly named fuseproject, a multifaceted design enclave he helms out of San Francisco.
In the past decade, Béhar has become one of the most acclaimed and sought after names in contemporary design. He wields an award winning design proficiency that spans the gamut: furniture, fashion, graphics, packaging, environments and strategy... So we imagined he's put some thought into the art of living well—that's why we asked him to list 5 innovations he couldn't live without.
“Energy is the most pressing issue. If you have clean abundant energy, you can solve all today's problems: You can turn the Sahara into a garden, you can desalinate salt water, you can pump it wherever you want to have it. Cheap energy can develop the world. A barrel of oil -- one hundred and fifty-nine liters — contains the physical capacity of what twelve men would have to work for over a year. It's really the key to our time."
This is Basil Gelpke, and that’s the optimistic part. Here’s the flip side: Our global civilization is dependent on one particular energy source, and if we run out of it we’re in trouble. That time might be soon. It might be now.
In 1735, in the city of Konigsberg, Germany, the people faced a conundrum: a river ran through the city dividing it into four separate land masses. Seven bridges were built so that people could get from one point to another, but herein lay the puzzle; was it possible to get around the city without crossing one bridge twice? It was pondered, strategies devised— laymen, aristocrats, clergy and scholars were all stymied, all except one man, the Swiss mathematician, Leonhard Euler. Euler solved the problem mathematically by envisioning points in the land masses as vertices, the bridges as arcs, in short, converting a geographical problem into a geometric equation. This penchant for looking beyond facades and pinpointing the invisible and abstract forces at work is what makes Euler’s work still relevant today. Look around you, most of the technology you are using right now is thanks to some Euler calculation: water out of your shower, your cable TV reception…
Do you recall Pippi Longstocking, the fictional heroine of many beloved children’s books and films, who had the strength of ten men and crazy red antennae plaits for hair? Pippi lived with a horse and a monkey in a crazy offbeat house called Villa Villekula—or Villa Kunterbunt— if you grew up in Switzerland (in which case Pippi becomes Pippi Långstrumpf).
Radek Koblasa, who was born in Prague, but was secreted away by his parents at the tender age of 9 months into Switzerland as communist tanks rolled into the streets of the Czech capital in 1968, grew up in Basel and always dreamed of living in a Villa Kunterbunt of his own. Several years ago, he pooled together with a few close friends and they set about making it happen.
Zurich’s industrial zone, Zurich West is fast becoming Zurich’s cultural Mecca: artists, architects, club owners, designers, immigrants, students and whatever falls in between are lured to this seedier part of town by affordable rents, enormous loft spaces, club culture and a diversity boom interspersed with working class culture. Here, Radek and friends bought a six story house on an indistinct block of gray residential buildings, and set about transforming it into storybook proportions. The result is five floors of four distinct living spaces; dream reflections of their inhabitants. Put it all together and Pippi would be proud.
SHOPPING INCENTIVE:3 DECADES OF COMMISSIONED SHOPPING BAGS FROM FOGAL
For almost thirty years, Fogal, Switzerland's premier hosiery and lingerie luxury brand, has been in the habit of commissioning custom shopping bags from rising and established art world denizens, like Alan Jones of the UK, Tobias Gerber from Germany or Russian design star, Erté, making the bags themselves something of a collectors item.
From pastoral to the haute urbane; light and "frou frou" to dark roving wit— we've assembled a slideshow of the naughty and the nice for your viewing pleasure...
EVERY THING YOU EVER NEEDED TO KNOW ABOUT SWISS WINE (BUT DIDN'T KNOW TO ASK)
Ernst Meier: taking note...
True, it hasn't been breaking news lately, but Zurich based ad-guru and wine connoisseur, Ernst Meier, wants you to know that Swiss wine culture is alive and well.
"There has been a lot of progress in the last year in the wine culture, especially looking back to the indigenous grape varieties, which are the backbone of the quality labels in Switzerland." You might not know this, but there are about forty varieties of indigenous grapes in Switzerland, all with an affinity for the climate, soil and weather conditions, some of them excellent matches: "In the west and southwest you have Canton Vaud. This the second biggest growing area after the Valais. Both situated in the South West, they have one main grape variety, Chasselas, which produces the best wine on Lake Geneva. Dézaley is the best expression of this grape. Also, the rare and superb indigenous specialties found only in the Valais: Petite Arvine, Amigne, Humagne Blanche, Malvoisie (a Pinot gris), and Johannisberg (grape Sylvaner)." And that's just the tip of the berg (so to speak.)
In the technology world, the next generation or beta version of any product is hugely anticipated and hyped as "The Next Best Thing". In the cultural realm the “next generation” could mean a number of things: if you're a Star Trek aficionado it could involve Captain Piccard, and if you're from the "Old Country" it could signify a population bracket born in the New World—but with similar complications. Ex-Rasputina (a “well corseted cello group”) member, Serena Jost, a songwriter and multi-instrumentalist is one such individual. Ladies and Gentlemen for your consideration, the next generation…
All hail the Chef: Henry Haller outside his kitchen
Originally from Altdorf, Switzerland, Henry Haller first apprenticed at the famed Park Hotel in Davos, Switzerland in 1939. He spent a decade perfecting his craft in hotel and restaurant kitchens of Switzerland and then later Montreal. In 1953 he arrived in the United States and a few years later he was the Executive Chef at the Sheraton in New York, commanding a staff of fifty.
In 1966 The White House put out an open call for a Chef. Haller (indifferent to the excitement surrounding this) actually told his wife, 'Well, if they want me, they can call me." He actually did receive a call from Lady Bird Johnson, the nation's First Lady at the time. And he did get excited when he was invited to tour the White House and its kitchens. On January 20 1966, Haller officially became the Executive Chef of the White House. He served under five presidents in a period spanning twenty-two years. He retired under the Reagan administration and has lived since in Virginia with his wife Carole. We gave Mr. Haller a call to reminisce about his White House days...
A house: glass, concrete, steel: wheels crank open, flowing to the lake...
The staircase, a dragon /angles through the house /light, exit...
Tom Kundig's structures resemble haiku: brief in their economy, utilizing the minimum and most immediate of materials to invoke resonance; they have zen capabilities—they bend in the wind, glisten (and rust) in the rain, illuminate with the snow... Haiku emphasizes the place of man or culture in relation to nature: in Kundig's work, a natural syncopation occurs with the environment...
Dieter Meier (of Yello) with a Zai Ski of his own.
"Monks have been studying the meaning of life for 1300 years in Disentis. They aspire to the choreography of a higher stage. To reach that goal demands infinite care and dedication, but then comes the ineffable moment when eternity becomes one with our timeframe. Zen students practice with their bow until it shoots on its own. Similar to them are monks and ballerinas and sometimes a special kind of skier."
—The Abbot of Disentis Monastery
Disentis, a small village nestled in the Surselva mountain ranges of Switzerland, is home to a Benedictine monastery, the luxury ski brand, Zai, and its inventor Simon Jacomet. A great deal of philosophy goes into the manufacture of Zai, which means "tough" in Sursilvan—a Rhaeto-Romanish variant spoken in Disentis. Jacomet's Zen approach to design and engineering aims for unparalleled skiing experience: the unity of thought, mountain and man—in one unwavering agile line...
For our open contest "When I Think of Switzerland, I Think of..." the entries keep pouring in from children of all ages and diverse nationalitiies. Here's what we've got so far...
35 years ago, Erdmann Schmocker a Swiss-born architect living in the US did a bit of traveling through the States. Occasionally he’d come across towns named Bern or Lucerne. Being a native of Canton Bern in Switzerland, his curiosity got the better of him. He just had to know how many other Berns were out there.
It became his passion and three and half decades later, Erhard Schmocker’s passion has culminated in the Helvetica Map which lists over 4000 Swiss place names (and counting) in the US. The map is by no means completed. There is, as they say, much ground to be covered. Plus, as Mr. Schmocker puts it “I only can put so many names on the map …”. In the meantime, we caught up with Mr. Schmocker to tap into his exhaustive knowledge of Swiss Settlements in the US.
10 Copies of the Helvetica Americana Map to Give Away
Editor's note: We are extending this contest deadline to give more of you a chance to participate!
We're giving 10 copies of the 2nd edition of Erdmann Schmocker's Helvetica Americana Map to the 10 most engaging accounts of Swiss settlers in the U.S. The map (19 x 25, printed on cardboard stock and suitable for framing) is a byproduct of over thirty years of Mr. Schmocker's travels and research. It charts through its geography the immigration of over a quarter of a million Swiss to the United States. In the 19th century several predominantly Swiss settlements emerged such as Berne (Indiana), Highland (Illinois), New Glarus (Wisconsin), Gruetli (Tennessee) and Bernstadt (Kentucky). The Helvetica Americana map highlights such locations, as well as other that have no relation to Switzerland—except a passing resemblance to Lake Geneva (Indiana) or the Jura Mountains (Little Switzerland, North Carolina). Still, Schmocker argues, these faux nomenclatures still point out a degree of Swiss influence in the United States. This is a subject of debate.
At ten, Nina Egli decided she was going to become an actress, and then forgot about it. In the meantime she had circus aspirations—as a tightrope walker. She studied dance, developed her gift for painting... At twenty, she was randomly asked to be in a movie—playing a fire eating trapeze artist. Somehow all her forgotten childhood ambitions were fulfilled in one fell swoop. From the experience, she recouped the acting bug, discovered she was terrified of heights and moved to New York to pursue a thespian life...
There is an element of wish fulfillment in this tale that echoes throughout Toujours Toi, Egli's whimsically elegant line of jewelry:
"Anna Magnani, pirate ships, my old 70’s storybooks, ports from France to Mexico, shiny dance floors, freshly washed lace, my grandpa’s sneakers, Swan Lake, the Swiss Alps, Harold and Maude, dark forests, high tea, the daybreak in Barcelona...”
Marco Mahler is used to the cultural shifts and transitions relocation can bring. Born in Chicago to Swiss parents studying in the U.S, he moved back to Switzerland, where he grew up, at three and a half. At twenty, after knocking around various music scenes in Switzerland, he headed back over the pond to New York, to pursue a music career.
Eight years later, now part of a burgeoning music scene in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, Mahler was now married with a son of his own. The couple reconsidered their surroundings: the urban grit of New York didn't seem like such a mecca after all, not ideal to raise a kid. They packed up and set out for the Appalachian foothills.
This November, The Lucerne Festival presents At The Piano, featuring an international cross section of everyone's favorite stylists and grand masters: Alfred Berndel, Maurizio Pollini, Leif Ove Andsnes (with the Chamber Orchestra of Europe), Andreas Haefliger and the Labèque sisters. Also on hand are the specialists: András Schiff (Haydn); miniaturist Marino Formenti and the improvisations of Fazil Say.
It is a prestigious line-up; nonetheless the major star at the Lucerne Festival, as always, is the concert hall itself. The KKL (Kultur und Kongresszentrum Luzern), a 1,840-seat concert hall designed by Parisian architect Jean Nouvel, in collaboration with the late great acoustic designer Russell Johnson of New York, seemingly floats on Lake Lucerne. Nouvel's design comprises striking crisp lines, reflective facades: a spiky modern inflection to the city's old world charm.
Over the course of three years, Geneva based photographer, Christian Lutz travelled with members of the Swiss diplomatic corp in an official capacity. His own ambiguous relationship to power ("part attraction, part repulsion") reflected through the camera lens captured a dimension of diplomacy he calls "political theater". The result is PROTOKOLL, a handsome pictorial study of authority, power and hierarchal systems...
"Everyone got it? If you lose your piece of bread in the fondue, you pay a forfeit! The first time it's five of the best with a stick; the second time you get twenty lashes with a whip; the the third time you get thrown into the lake with weights tied to your feet!"
—Fondue scene from Asterix in Switzerland
Adrian Iten, food critic and owner of Adriano's Bar & Café, Bern photo credit: ssahn.com
Fondue is probably the national dish most associated with Switzerland and the easiest to provoke the ire of any Swiss gastronome— given the wrong context. We talked to our favorite culinary expert, Adrian Iten, about all things fondue—and in turn got a breakdown of Swiss culture via its most famous dish...
Genealogy
Community
Born and raised in Lausanne, Switzerland, the son of a Turkish immigrant father and an East German mother, Yves Béhar is certainly no stranger to confluence. He came to the U.S. in 1990 to study at the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena. Eight years ago he founded the aptly named fuseproject, a multifaceted design enclave he helms out of San Francisco. 
Do you recall Pippi Longstocking, the fictional heroine of many beloved children’s books and films, who had the strength of ten men and crazy red antennae plaits for hair? Pippi lived with a horse and a monkey in a crazy offbeat house called Villa Villekula—or Villa Kunterbunt— if you grew up in Switzerland (in which case Pippi becomes Pippi Långstrumpf). 
For almost thirty years, Fogal, Switzerland's premier hosiery and lingerie luxury brand, has been in the habit of commissioning custom shopping bags from rising and established art world denizens, like Alan Jones of the UK, Tobias Gerber from Germany or Russian design star, Erté, making the bags themselves something of a collectors item. 
Cabin standing on stilts, shuttered gliding rust steel, sliding reveals light... 
At ten, Nina Egli decided she was going to become an actress, and then forgot about it. In the meantime she had circus aspirations—as a tightrope walker. She studied dance, developed her gift for painting... At twenty, she was randomly asked to be in a movie—playing a fire eating trapeze artist. Somehow all her forgotten childhood ambitions were fulfilled in one fell swoop. From the experience, she recouped the acting bug, discovered she was terrified of heights and moved to New York to pursue a thespian life... 
Marco Mahler is used to the cultural shifts and transitions relocation can bring. Born in Chicago to Swiss parents studying in the U.S, he moved back to Switzerland, where he grew up, at three and a half. At twenty, after knocking around various music scenes in Switzerland, he headed back over the pond to New York, to pursue a music career. 
This November, The Lucerne Festival presents At The Piano, featuring an international cross section of everyone's favorite stylists and grand masters: Alfred Berndel, Maurizio Pollini, Leif Ove Andsnes (with the Chamber Orchestra of Europe), Andreas Haefliger and the Labèque sisters. Also on hand are the specialists: András Schiff (Haydn); miniaturist Marino Formenti and the improvisations of Fazil Say.
