An Extraordinary Window on the World
Where would you be if your were at a world-class university that boasts among its alumni 23 Heads of State, including 8 U.S. Presidents; a Japanese Crown Princess; 2 U.S. Chief Justices; 7 world Prime Ministers; 49 Nobel Prize laureates; 23 Pulitzer Prize winners; a UN Secretary General; and 22 billionaires? You would unmistakably be […]
Happy Birthday Coat Hanger
It’s not easy to build a bridge and I can assure you as an engineer, that it’s not easy to build the Harbour Bridge – a Through-Type Arch Bridge of significant proportions. This is the defining monument for Sydney. One that we have come to affectionately refer to as “The Coat Hanger”. And we have […]
Today’s Gordian Knot
Stendhal, the famed 19th Century French Realist once observed that “only great minds can afford a simple style”. Today in Sydney real estate, it is perhaps fairer to say that even “great minds cannot afford any style”. The fact is, there are now some 26 suburbs in Sydney, where houses have an average price of $2 […]
It has to be Bigger in Texas
Do you agree that ‘‘everything is bigger in Texas’’? Based on my latest first-hand observations, I would say that is quite true. From the State Parliament building’s Lady Liberty, which is the tallest in the country, to their steaks, the size of their statues and the gargantuan proportions of the new Dallas Fort Worth airport, […]
Art Imitating Life or Life Imitating Art?
So, there I was at the Renzo Piano inspired Chicago Art Gallery, face to face with some of the most expensive and splendiferous art in the world. I stood admiring a marvellous depiction of The Bay of Marseille by my favourite artist: Paul Cezanne and wondered about what it was about the setting that made […]
The Nightmare of Red Tape
Contrary to conventional wisdom, red tape was developed in Europe to speed things up rather than slow things down. The term is widely believed to have originated during the Spanish administration of Charles V, King of Spain and Holy Roman Emperor, in the early 16th century. Charles V is said to have first used “red […]