Lixus, Morocco

Digital technology begins here, with the mosaics (in this case, Neptune) of the ancient world. Long before there were computers, people learned to use small pieces of stone or tile as 'picture elements' to create still lifes, geometric designs, landscapes, and portraits for their homes and temples. What do we call picture elements today? Pixels. [1989]

Lixus, Morocco

Located a bit upstream from Morocco's Atlantic coast, Lixis is beyond the Pillars of Hercules but not beyond the reach of Mediterranean civilizations. It was founded by the Phoenicians and eventually passed to Rome. Its accessibility, flat and well-watered terrain, defensibility, and productivity made the region a breadbasket of the Roman Empire. [1989]

Veliko Tarnovo, Bulgaria

In Veliko Tornovo, Geodesia meets Orthodoxia in Sveta Gora. Veliko Tornovo: Bulgaria's old capital city. Geodesia: the land of Buckminster Fuller. Orthodoxia: the land of Bulgarian Orthodox architecture. Sveta Gora: the place of the trist between art gallery and geodesic dome. [2014]

Mumbai, India

There is no one else around, so where did all that litter come from? Wait until the heat of the day passes, then Juhu Beach will pulse with activity. Recreational space by night, scavenger space by day. [2011]

Cohimar, Cuba

The Cojimar Fortress was built in 1649 to guard the back door to Havana. Hardly useful today for defensive purposes, it sits idle, just waiting for the time when tourist markets bid it back into use. Stay in school kid: you could be the founding director of the Castillito Museum when the day comes. [2014]

Berlin, Germany

It stood for 28 years, and then it fell: 25 years ago today. In the annals of democracy, we put the events of November 9, 1989,on a pedestal, but we still build walls. In fact, democracies are as infatuated with wall building as authoritarian regimes. The fragments here were on display at Potsdamer Platz. [1994]

Istanbul, Turkey

Low rise, high rise.
Istanbul: a surprise?
Density, immensity,
A city of intensity.
Foreground, background,
In between, look what we've found.
Mosque, mescit, minaret:
Expectations more than met.
[2014]