Architecture Wednesday: Alaska Buildings Warehouse Loft

On the top floor of the Alaska Buildings, a former industrial warehouse in Bermondsey, south-east London, you’ll find this lofty two-bedroom apartment that has been impeccably reimagined but retains its sense of history.

Set behind secure gates the Alaska Buildings make an arresting first impression as they are two former factories—one built in 1869, the other in 1932—that closed in the 1960s and then converted into apartments in the 1990s.

Entry is to the main lobby, with 24-hour concierge service and a large stone bar area for residents to gather for the annual summer, Halloween, and Christmas parties organized by management, Opposite the concierge desk is the post and parcel room, as well as a storage room for tenants.

This apartment is on the top floor, accessible via staircase. The apartment’s front door opens to a central hall. To the left is an impressive, open-plan reception room with kitchen, dining and sitting area. A soaring vaulted ceiling with exposed timbers lends an ecclesiastical quality, while steel framing reflects the building’s industrial origin. Two arched, south-easterly warehouse windows draw in abundant natural light and are complemented by additional skylights.

The kitchen runs along one side of the space, with black metal doors and reeded glass that echo the industrial theme and contrast well with the white countertops. A large central island provides space for casual dining though there is space for a proper dining area. Stairs ascend to a mezzanine where a custom-made bookcase conceals a large storage area accessed via a secret door. 

At the back of the apartment is the generous principal bedroom with an adjacent dressing area fitted with built-in cabinetry and a refined en suite bathroom finished with mosaic tiles and brass fittings with bathtub and shower. A second double bedroom lies just off the front door and has a concealed desk nook and a shared bathroom with walk-in shower.

The apartment includes a secure and allocated underground parking space and is available for £1,000,000 AKA $1.35 M USD.

As always click to emBIGGERate …

The Modern House

Meme Dump ... Happy Pride

There's Still Hope ...

I am still on a high from the joy, the intelligence, the decency, the love, the compassion, the friendships, the sheer beauty of the opening of the Obama Center.

It reminds me of how we used to be when we didn't have a president spout hate-filled rhetoric, or sell America to the highest bidder to line his own pockets, to start wars to deflect from his involvement in the Epstein scandal.

I want to go back to that other America when we could be proud of our leaders, perfect and imperfect.; where our leaders worked toward equality for all, not just their rich friends who bought votes.

I want to go back to leaders who spoke to all of us, no matter our skin color or gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, religion, non-religion; we were all part of the conversation.

I will hold onto this feeling until November when I cast my vote for change here in South Carolina and I will keep it close in 2028 when I vote for a new President and new Congress and new Senate.

Hope.

The Funny Papers

Gary Huck, Lalo Alcaraz, Trevor Irvin, Robert Unell, Rick McKee, Pedro X Molina, Max Espinoza, Nick Anderson, Ed Wexler, Jack Ohman, Macleod, Mike Stanfill, Michael de Adder, Marc Murphy, Scott Stantis,

Why Is It ...

… that I suddenly woke up one day to realize that I know more medications on The Pitt than I do musical guests on SNL.

… that I cannot stop myself when I speak. I was in court once and the judge told me I had to tell the truth, and then started to ask, “Do you swear …” and I replied, “Every day, motherfucker” and suddenly I was in a cell for something called 'contempt'.

… that people say skydiving is scary but I say “What about being at a friend of a friends house and you use the bathroom and the toilet won’t flush? Terrifying.

… that while seeing my therapist he suggested I stop doing weird things, so I told him I went to the park that day; he asked if I’d gotten anything out of it, and I opened my coat and said, “I got this duck.”

… that my friends don’t realize that when I say, “I might join you later,” I mean, “You have a better chance seeing Tupac riding a unicorn than you have of seeing me later.”

… that being an adult ruins weekends … on Friday I’m exhausted after work, and on Saturdays I want to chill but there are errands and chores to be done, while on Sundays I’m pissed off because it’s basically Monday again.

… that when a form asks who to call in case of an emergency I always write “Ambulance” because no one in my family is answering an unknown number.

… that when a friend asked if I wanted to go out on Friday I said I would but I already have my jammies on and everything, and then he said, “But it’s only Tuesday,” to which I replied, “I said what I said.”

… that while at a friends house I remarked that the candles smell like Fireball, and the hostess said, “For those of us who aren’t heavy drinkers, Bob, that scent is cinnamon.”

… that people realize that, while at times they can take me down, I will rise again, like a phoenix, that tripped over an extension cord, hurt my shoulder and then awkwardly stood up.

Happy Juneteenth Freedom Day ... But The March Goes On

This particular National holiday’s origin story began Galveston, Texas, which was at that time the western-most area of the country, when Union soldiers arrived to tell enslaved Black Americans of their Emancipation on June 19, 1865.

Now, those enslaved people had technically already been freed two-and-a-half years earlier when President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation, but slaveholders in Texas kept the information to themselves, extending the period of violent exploitation of enslaved African Americans.

But in 1865 the news spread: freedom, and the following year, in 1866, a celebration was had in Texas on that same date, June 19th … Juneteenth … to finally recognize freedom from slavery in the United States.

Of course, here we are in 2026, one-hundred-sixty years later, and we know Black Americans still aren’t entirely free; think of George Floyd and Trayvon Martin and Tamir Rice and Eric Garner and Breonna Taylor and Michael Brown and Freddie Gray and on and on we could go … think of the Supreme Court gutting the Voting Rights Act and the current regime ending DEI—Diversity, Equity and Inclusion—in government.

We still have much work to do to free all Americans, of every race and color and gender and sexual orientation.

We need to free People of Color from the abuses of police and the criminal justice system and some in our own government that work to deny them the right to vote.

We need to free Women from having the government control their bodies.

We need to free Educators to teach American history, all of it, even the ugliest parts; every step forward and every step back in American history.

We need to free Parents to be able to raise their own children as they see fit; to let their children read the books of their choosing; to let the parents make healthcare choices for their own children.

We need to free our Trans Brothers and Sisters to live their lives as they identify; to be fully themselves, to be respected by all of us.

We need to free the LGBTQ+ population from continued harassment and violence by rightwing agitators and politicians trying to turn the clock back to the closet.

We are, none of us, free, until we are all free, and there is still work to be done. 

Juneteenth was signed into law as a federal holiday by President Joe Biden on June 17, 2021.

In 2025, the current president, vowed to end diversity, equity and inclusion in government and there was confusion about whether Juneteenth would stay on the federal calendar. That all changed when the current president dropped Juneteenth and Martin Luther King Jr. Day from a list of days people can access national parks for free though he added his own birthday to the list.

So, celebrate Juneteenth, not matter what this regime says; recognize the meaning and the history, American history of this day.

Happy Juneteenth!