Nouvel’s “Green Blade” Takes Root

AIA West Virginia Honors Eight Special Projects
Members of AIA West Virginia gathered in Charleston, W. Va., on April 19 for the chapter’s annual gala and to honor the project teams that created eight special buildings located in eight different towns and cities across the Mountain State. Jury Members, who hailed from AIA Potomac Valley (Md.) Chapter were Chair Chris Morrison, AIA, Cunningham Quill Architects, Washington, D.C.; Melanie Hennigan, AIA, Grimm + Parker Architects, Bethesda, Md.; and Mike Poness, AIA, Walton, Madden, Cooper, Robinson, Poness Architects, Landover, Md.

A Capital-D Watch
Internationally renowned architect Jean-Michel Wilmotte of Paris has teamed up with the Jérôme de Witt, founder of the DeWitt watch company, to create the WX-1, a “watch concept” that celebrates the company’s fifth anniversary. With a case constructed of extremely high-grade, technologically savvy materials—includeing titanium and eloxed aluminium—the watch is composed of 370 parts. An electronically driven rechargeable tool specially developed for the watch serves to wind its five barrels in a few dozen seconds. For traditionalists, the WX-1 can also be manually wound using a second tool supplied with the watch. Want to know literally how the watch works? Slide back its hood (or “bonnet,” as they say) and reveal the entire mechanism—display and movement—beneath a transparent covering plate. Price tag? $365,000, but, hey, it comes with its own “desk stand that accentuates its multidimensional and multifunctional status.” For more information, visit the Dewitt Web site.