External Brain

A interesting place, although it’s slightly annoying that there are aren’t more interior shots of Millway Tower, which you’ll find in Stow on the Wold, Gloucestershire.

There aren’t a lot of details to work with either, when it comes to this 14th century sawmill conversion, but enough to give you an idea. The structure actually dates back to 1307, when it was owned by the Monks of Maugersbury, but has more recently been converted and extended into something both unique and habitable for a family.

Like I said, a shame there isn’t more to see inside, but there’s enough to whet the appetite. No price, that’s on application — which perhaps indicates that this countryside retreat isn’t on the cheap side — via WowHaus

As wind and water weather the surface of a site, rocky outcrops are often left behind, pushing upward to form rigid peaks. Instead of blasting away this natural feature, one home embraces the existing stone in stunning ways.

Designed by Gibson Architects at an altitude of 8500 feet in the Rocky Mountains, this house turns difficult granite boulders into building assets, showing off this inherent geology in organic ways. Marble-clad elements like pillars and fireplaces rise up from the rugged ground, tying it vertically into the structure’s aesthetic, while horizontal white and wood elements provide contrast to these dark natural features — via Dornob

Battersby Howat Architects have designed a house in Whistler, BC, Canada — via CONTEMPORIST

The Hamilton Khaki X-Patrol does look very much like a cockpit instrument panel and its ability to convert distances in miles (nautical or statute) and kilometres, heights or altitudes in feet or metres, volumes in gallons and litres, as well as weights in pounds and kilograms simply by using a turning bezel should be enough to delight any ardent number cruncher.

Conversions are simple to make, through unscrewing the easy-to-grip crown at 9 o’clock and positioning an arrow for the first unit of measurement on the outer bezel scale. The appropriate equivalent is then visible on the inner scale. Once the reading is completed, the crown can be pushed back into place and re-screwed to secure it until required again. Three round chronograph discs, gravitating to the left-hand side of the dial keep track of hours, minutes and seconds, operated via push buttons at two o’clock and four o’clock — via Watchuseek

J MAYER H Architects, known for focusing on works that demonstrate the intersection of architecture, communication and new technology, shared with us their House of Justice project. Their building serves as a two storey civic centre for the people in the area, a village with a strong cultural heritage in the Caucasus Mountains — via ArchDaily

This is a grade II-listed Charles Evelyn Simmons-designed six-bedroom art deco house in Downage, London NW4 — and it’s up for sale now.

According to the agent’s details (which aren’t exactly in depth), the property was designed by Charles Evelyn Simmons and subsequently built over 1934 and 1935, the exterior still screaming the art deco era (you can see a better image of that exterior here). This is some house, that’s for sure.

That’s a lot of house, but sadly, for a lot of money. In this case, you’ll be looking at something around £1,300,000 if you want to own this place — via WowHaus

In a village on Teshima, an island lying in the Seto Inland Sea, a vacant house set among the old houses of the village, was converted by architect Koichi Futatsumata from CASE-REAL into a dormitory for seasonal restaurant workers.

Depopulation in the isolated village has left many houses vacant.

The idea was to make the most of a vacant house, as an example of a way to cope with depopulation, a problem for Japan, by making a dormitory for restaurant workers — via Home Design Find

The best retro throwbacks marry classic looks with modern performance, and this is a perfect example. It was built by Greg Hageman of Doc’s Chops, who also built one of the most popular machines we’ve ever featured—the 1982 Yamaha XV750 created for Cafe Racer TV — via Bike EXIF

Chopard introduced an experimental high frequency timepiece at Baselworld this year — the LUC 8HF. The new timepiece was developed in Chopard’s manufacture in Fleurier, Switzerland and as its name suggests it runs at a frequency of 8Hz. While not the fastest mechanical watch movement on the market, it still is quite fast. A typical self-winding movement runs at (4Hz/28,800 vph), or half of what the L.U.C 01.06-L runs at (8Hz/57,600 vph). For comparison, even the famous high frequency Zenith El Primero movement runs slower at (5Hz/36,000 vph) — via Professional Watches

The Timex T2M454 Perpetual Calendar is a very solid and understated watch. The stainless steel case measures in a 41mm in diameter, while remaining a relatively slender 11mm thick. The matched stainless bracelet measures in at 21mm, and looks to be proportionately correct with the rest of the watch — via Wrist Watch Review

Shiro Nakajima, the CEO of leading Japanese custom workshop Ritmo Sereno, is a keen vintage racer. He’s been campaigning his Moto Guzzi Ambassador for a couple of years now, and felt it was time for a refresh. In its original incarnation—which we revealed just over two years ago—the Guzzi looked more like a road machine than a racer. Nakajima has now stripped the last vestiges of excess from his bike, and it’s looking better than ever — via Bike EXIF