An altered AD photoshoot landed one wealthy Bay Area couple in hot water over potentially looted Cambodian relics

2022-08-16T16:23:00-04:00

The January 2021 issue of Architectural Digest featured a remodeled $42 million San Francisco residence described as a Spanish Renaissance Revival palacio. [...] ...shows ancient Khmer sculptures resting on the same pedestals. The Cambodian government says those stone relics, depicting the heads of gods and demons, match a set that was looted years ago from one of the nation’s sacred sites.

The tony $42 million Peter Marino-designed San Francisco manse was the subject of a multi-page spread in the January 2021 edition of the magazine. A spokesperson for Architectural Digest said that photoshopping was required by “unresolved publication rights around select artworks,” but an eagle-eyed attorney working for Cambodia’s Ministry of Culture and Fine Arts who originally spotted the empty plinths indicated their resemblance to a pair allegedly taken from one of the country's most sacred sites a few years ago.

“It’s easily one of the most important statues in the temple, and probably all of Koh Ker,” Bradley J. Gordon is reported to have told the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ). “By having this in their collection, the Lindemanns essentially had the Cambodian equivalent of a sarcophagus stolen from King Tut’s tomb sitting in their living room.”

...

Excavate the hidden architecture models inside these unique note pads

2018-01-16T13:32:00-05:00

The Omoshiro Block is a note pad that unveils itself as it gets used revealing an architecture miniature hidden inside. Using laser-cutting technology, what appears as a regular cube of paper note cards eventually turns into an intricate miniature model.

These unique note pads are designed by Japanese architecture model company Triad. The blocks feature various notable architectural sites of Japan such as Kyoto’s Kiyomizudera Temple, Tokyo’s Asakusa Temple and Tokyo Tower.

Triad's noteworthy miniatures aren't cheap and can be hard to aquire. Ranging from about 4000 yen to 10,000 yen they are currently only available at the Tokyu Hands Osaka location, however you can stay up to date by following the company's Instagram account.

Archinect - News

An altered AD photoshoot landed one wealthy Bay Area couple in hot water over potentially looted Cambodian relics

Excavate the hidden architecture models inside these unique note pads