4 X 4 HOUSE BY TADAO ANDO Jean-Marie Martin describes the 4 x 4 House by Japanese architect Tadao Ando, and Ando himself offers thoughts on the challenges of contemporary architecture. —Editor Upon reviewing the techniques that Tadao Ando employed to design the 4 x 4 house, the most striking aspect in its appearance is the configuration of the four floors that form the structure. — Published 2011.0608
	HIGH DESERT MODERN The Atacama Desert, in northern Chile, is one of the driest deserts on earth. It is a startlingly brutal place where boiling geysers burst through mountain plains caked in salt, and jagged red rocks give way to massive sand dunes and desolate open salt flats. Extreme temperatures jolt your body and dry up your eyes and skin while dust fills your clothes. — Published 2001.1003
	ADOBE THAT SURVIVES EARTHQUAKES When an earthquake measuring 8.1 on the Richter Scale rocked the Andean region for over a minute in June, 2001, the southern Peruvian mountain town of Moquegua was literally shaken to pieces. But amid the rubble, three traditional adobe houses were left intact. — Published 2001.0808
	MACHU PICCHU STILL ROCK-SOLID Machu Picchu, the gem of Peru's Inca heritage, a huge sacred city nestling between two mountain peaks 8400 feet (2,550 meters) up in the Andes, has taken its knocks in recent years. Enthusiastic Peruvian archeologists have tampered with some of the five centuries-old temples in the name of "restoration" and a 1,000-pound (450-kilogram) crane was dropped on a sacred sundial during the filming of a beer commercial, causing some damage. — Published 2001.0711
	KILLER MONUMENTS OF VALPARAISO Halfway down its long, jagged Pacific coast, Chile's second city has seen better days. A century ago, Valparaiso was the country's main port, but it has since been abandoned by the wealthy classes and the industrialists and is rough, rusty, and grimy. The city's hodgepodge of Victorian follies, French neoclassical palaces, and modest wooden chalets clinging precariously to the hillsides is literally falling apart. — Published 2001.0516

Sophie Arie