Mountain Dwellings: Architectural Housing Development Innovation in Style

Plush residential housing come in huge numbers, you can spot and live in them everywhere. They are usually buildings that speak of nothing but houses boxed literally in concrete and glass. There is nothing new and original about this and this is the reason why any mediocre architectural firm can copy them. But the ones that give extensive grit and passion for superb, unique and innovative architectural design fit for suburban living, which is aimed for tranquil and comfortable living, is rare. And they are hard to replicate in terms of originality and creativity.

One of these rare housing development rendered in classy style is Mountain Dwelling. Completed in 2008, Mountain Dwellings was built on a 33,000 sq/m sprawling land in Orestad, Denmark. This housing development was the second of its generation of so-called VM Houses. Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG) was the architectural firm that worked with this project for Hopfner, a Danish oil company. Since its completion, the residential building was the focus of architectural-award-giving bodies and has actual won many awards for its innovative design.

The Inspiration to the Classy Architectural Innovation

What is unique and innovative in terms of architectural design with Mountain Dwellings is the inspiration for its design. The shape and thematic rendering on how this residential house should look were pulled from the idea of a Mt. Everest settled amidst an urban setting. Mountain Dwelling is one exquisite, classy 80 housing apartments built on top of each other in a terraced-manner from the 11^th floor to the ground floor.

The materials used for its north and west facades were perforated aluminum plates, materials that allow air to pass in and out to the parking area. The designed holes in the façade give an impression of the building as a replica of Mt. Everest. The effect of this design makes the holes in the aluminum plates black during the day, impressing a rough rasterized photo. But during the night, these holes will be of different colors according to the floor they are located (each floor has unique lighting colors as part of the design).

The Unique Parking Lot Design: Inner Essence of Mountain Dwellings

If there is something that Mountain Dwelling’s architectural design can boast of, it is its innovative rendition of how the parking lot will serve as part of the whole concept of the building. Mountain Dwelling can be considered 2/3 parking lots and 1/3 residential houses. One of the challenges faced by BIG when conceptualizing Mountain Dwelling was how to converge the parking lots and the residential houses in one novel approach.

The result is the reality of homeowner’s ability to park their cars just outside of their apartments. This gigantic parking lot, which can park as many as 480 cars, is complimented by sloping elevator built-in in the building’s inner walls. BIG also created and designed these parking lots with high ceilings to give a cathedral-looking atmosphere and veer away from the traditional impression that parking lots are spooky and gray space.

Roof Garden

Another innovative and classical yet modern in rendition in Mountain Dwellings is the roof garden built-in with each terraced apartments. The architectural firm BIG choose for this plan plants that can change character in accordance with the changing season. This, in a way, gives the 80 apartments a unique look but embracing nature’s climate cycle. Residents are also assured of complete maintenance of these roof gardens with a huge watering system.

To add value and utilize these roof gardens for an effective tranquil and refreshing atmosphere for the residents, the apartments and gardens are only separated by glass walls and sliding doors. This design makes for good sunlight and fresh air.

Discover the Pleasures of Burgundy

There are only two possibilities when visiting Burgundy.  You either discover Burgundy’s wine and gastronomical treasures or savour the majestic cultural heritage of the region through the medieval castles that speckle its flat pristine country side.  Either way, it is best to find holiday properties in Burgundy and from there enjoy the pleasures inherent in this exotic region.

Go for gourmet and wine tour on Route des Grands Crus for this will reveal Burgundy’s unique regional gustatory flavor. This trip boasts of an unadulterated view of the vast flat and sloping vineyards where you can feast on the famed Burgundian cuisine. During Autumn, you can enjoy Noyer-sur-Serein’s Truffle Market where you can get the rarest and some of the most expensive truffles ever to be dug up. Burgundy’s truffles are world-renowned for their characteristic to spice up any dish you can cook at home. The Chablis Wine Festival held annually every October should also be your priority when in the region.

Discover Burgundian religious heritage by visiting the abbey church of Pontigny in Auxerre or Notre-Dame Quincy abbey in the Tonnerois. These abbeys are just one of the best examples of Burgundy’s Cistercian Art. The Basilica of Vezelay near Avallon gives you a glimpse of the Romanesque architecture-inspired influence of the city. It is a good strategy to find Holiday rentals in Burgundy to get the most out of the region.  You can reach Burgundy through Dijon Burgundy Airport which is served by local flights to and from other French cities.

4 Ways to Fatten Up Your Affiliate Site

One of the ways to make money online is to build affiliate sites. This online scheme is the most used avenue to earn extra cash if not make it a full-time venture that can pay your bills and send you into a vacation once in a while. The structure of affiliate marketing is the simple use of your site to refer or promote products and services being sold by other online businesses.

Here are 4 tips on how to fatten up your affiliate site:

Choose a Particular Niche. Successful affiliate sites are usually expert promoters of a particular niche. Just two of most popular niches are weight loss and dating affiliate sites. Here, you make your affiliate marketing strategy concentrated on these topics alone. You are expected to focus on this subject as your site will look convoluted and in disarray if you insert promotional pitch for products not related to your topic.

Pick Products that are Being Bought Online. There are millions of physical and digital products you can pick from any affiliate network, but be wary that all of these do not have the potential to be sold on the Internet. Be intelligent to ask yourself whether a product you are planning to sell on your affiliate site has consumers who are willing to buy it online. The rule is if these items can be best bought through a brick and mortar store do not hesitate anymore to force to sell it online.

Create Unique, In-depth Review. The typical way to make online consumers buy through your affiliate site is by creating a review of a particular product. You can exploit this by providing excellent content, giving more in-depth information they cannot find anywhere else about the product.

Format Your Posts that Encourages Readers to Buy. This can be done by a call to action from your potential buyer. The most used strategy in this case is putting a Buy Button on your post.  

Remember these tips to a successful affiliate marketing promotion and you are sure to make easy money online.

Which is the Best Electric Shaver in the Industry: Philips SensoTouch 3D or Braun Series 7?

If you are on the look-out for the best electric shaver in town, only two competing brands can answer your question. These are Philips Norelco and Braun. Their best products that you can find in the market are Philips SensoTouch 3D and Braun Series 7 – 790cc Pulsonic Technology Shaver respectively. Now, to the question of which is better, probably it can be best answered by tracing back where in first place these brands two went head-to-head in terms of being the best electric shavers in the industry.

It has been quite a long time that there has been a debate over which shaving technology delivers the best close shave. These technologies are the rotating blade system and the tin foil shaving technology. This issue has been the content of many discussions, debates and almost tiffs among shaving products critics. Yet, the answer to the question is left hanging – as you can see, the question is really tough to give an answer. And in this respect, we can relate the issue as to which is better between Philips SensoTouch 3D and Braun Series 7.

These two, respectively, hold the image of what these two shaving technologies boast; Philips SensoTouch 3D for rotating blades, while Braun Series 7 for tin foil shaving system. These two brands of electric shaver basically revived the issue between rotating blades and tin foil shaving system. If you are going to search Google regarding the comparison between the two, articles and web content written about it are fueled with the undercurrent of mutual feud between the said body grooming products.

Philips SensoTouch 3D brags about its GyroFlex shaving system, where the rotating blades when pressed on your facial skin, has the ability to pivot around, tilt inward and flex outward. This shaving technology is even supplemented by Cut&Lift dual blade system and UlraTrack system that makes for an efficient neat, close shave. Add Jet Clean System, which allows for automatic cleaning and washing, you got already the perfect electric shaver.

But Braun Series 7, on the other hand, boast itself of its Pulsonic Technology. This technology makes for an optimal close shave what with the shaver micro vibrating 10,000 times every second to capture every shortest and stubborn hair in your face. This shaving technology is complimented by Patented ActiveLift and OptiFoil sytem. With this array of shaving technologies and innovations, you can never fail to have a smooth, close shave.

So which is better? Which electric shaver can be placed on the pedestal and say it is the leader of the pack – the best electric shaver in the industry. Philips SensoTouch 3D or Braun Series 7?

The answer to the question rests in your hands. Really. If you happen to buy any of these two brands, you already have the best electric shaver in the industry. 

Is HAFA Short Sale Program Right for You

The economic downturn that has affected the real estate market in the United States can no longer be described as gloomy. The word is not enough to describe the worst thing that has hit the housing industry in the country. Distressing can be the apt word for the long-running real estate economic meltdown that hit the states. In 2009 alone, a record high of 2.8 million homeowners had to face foreclosure. And in the following year, the statistics of an estimated 3.5 million homeowners facing foreclosure proved to be a tale-tale sign that the housing mess will remain for some time. Real estate experts even say that the downturn can last until 2012.

There are many options by which homeowners can avoid a foreclosure but one of the best options to choose now is the short sale. Traditional short sale transactions however, tend to be too slow for homeowners to avoid an impending foreclosure. And this is the reason why the Obama administration introduced the Home Affordable Foreclosure Alternatives. In the HAFA program, homeowners are supported to go with a short sale in order to avoid a foreclosure.

If you are one of those homeowners who are near or facing foreclosure on your home, you should first ask if the HAFA short sale program is right for you.  Here are the basics of the HAFA short sale program to help you discern if it can assist you in avoiding an impending foreclosure of your home.

What is the Goal of HAFA Short Sale Program

Since the real estate economic meltdown has struck the housing industry and is expected to be the prevailing atmosphere in the years to come, the HAFA short sale program is designed to help homeowners settle their mortgage debt and at the same time avoid foreclosure of their homes in the process.

Nowadays, it is not a rare case for the amount of the mortgage debt to be greater than the value of your home. And in this instance, the HAFA short sale can be helpful of erasing your mortgage debt without going through the process of foreclosure. Applying to get included in the HAFA program is the best option if the homeowner is also not eligible for any other home loan assistance programs such as a loan modification.

Eligibility for HAFA Program

In order to earn eligibility to the HAFA short sale program, there are five criteria that homeowners who are facing an inevitable foreclosure must meet.

These are:

1.       The house should be the principal personal residence of the homeowner. Exception to this rule is if the property has been vacant for a long time or has been rented out less than a year. The homeowner should also not have bought any property to be his principal residence during these times.

2.       The mortgage loan amount should not exceed $729,750 if it is 1 unit. For more than 1 unit, here is the amount bracketing for the amount of mortgage loan covered by HAFA.

·         $934,200 = 2 units

·         $1,129,250 = 3 units

·         $1,403,400 = 4 units

3.       The homeowner should show proof of hardship like loss of job, loss or decrease of income stream, unexpected increase in expenses due to emergency medical allocation or the likes, or an increase in mortgage loan payment

4.       The first mortgage should have originated before January 1, 2009

5.       If the mortgage loan payment is more than 31% of the borrower’s monthly income

It must be noted by the homeowner applying for eligibility to the HAFA short sale program to pass all these criteria. A negative answer to any of these criteria can mean failure to qualify to the program.

Eligibility Issue

So what should the homeowner do when he does not pass the criteria set by HAFA. The best strategy in this case is to find and hire a short sale agent. Actually, this option or strategy is what HAFA is recommending to all homeowners who failed to pass their screening process. Short sale agents are known to be an expert in terms of short selling a house. More than that, they know the intricacies of any US-government sponsored housing program that can best suit and meet the needs of homeowners.

What if You are Current with Your Mortgage Payments

Another issue that can affect your eligibility for HAFA is if you are current with your mortgage payments. How can you be eligible for HAFA when there is basically no hardship situation showing on your loan payments history? This can be resolved by calling up your lender or insuring company. You will need their approval in order to short sale your house using the HAFA short sale program.

According to real estate experts, the housing economic meltdown will continue for some time. And during this prevailing housing mess, homeowners who are having a hard time paying their mortgage loan will face foreclosure with great possibility. The trend now is to find a leeway that can solve a foreclosure. Homeowners are likely to search and find ways to prevent this since a foreclosure of their homes besides the obvious result of losing a home can give their credit record a major blemish for at least the next ten years.

Homeowners who cannot avoid a foreclosure of their home should be wise to opt for a permanent solution to their mortgage loan problems. And one of the best solutions that they can avail is the short sale. The only thing they have to do now is to find out whether they can qualify for the government-sponsored housing program or seek a qualified short sale agent that can help them face foreclosure.