leonardcohenforum.com

Put me down for a contribution.

If you want to contribute, please send your pledge by email or PM now to me using the buttons on the right
For more, read viewtopic.php?f=3&t=35227

My wife Noirin Buckley and I would be more than happy to donate €50 each to this excellent project as suggested by St Teresa 1. We are on Hydra at present and will visit the site of the bench later today. We reckon it should be easy enough to locate from the photos on the forum. Well done to all concerned and we think the project is feasible and should certainly go ahead. Leonard deserves no less!

I spoke with Lakis this morning and queried the price. He said it breaks down as 3000 euros for the stone (it is expensive on this island), 1000 euros for the civil engineer who has already made three trips to the island, 23% VAT (tax) ... the rest is labour.

I like the design. But I suppose the arms could go if we are unable to raise the full amount. They weren't in the original concept (but are good).

Important: insist that the wood be top quality hardwood. As Lakis pointed out, Swedish pine is useless in this island's extremely harsh winters. The damp rots wood rapidly here.

hydriot wrote:I spoke with Lakis this morning and queried the price. He said it breaks down as 3000 euros for the stone (it is expensive on this island), 1000 euros for the civil engineer who has already made three trips to the island, 23% VAT (tax) ... the rest is labour.

I like the design. But I suppose the arms could go if we are unable to raise the full amount. They weren't in the original concept (but are good).

Important: insist that the wood be top quality hardwood. As Lakis pointed out, Swedish pine is useless in this island's extremely harsh winters. The damp rots wood rapidly here.

This sounds reasonable. Also Lakis has explained to us via mail the procedure of how the stones have to be bought from private owners on the island.

When I met with the architect in June he already told me, that the back has to be made of special hard wood to survive the the damp.

Obviously this is included in the estimated costs.

I have received similar information from my sources. Below are some details regarding the stones. The total also includes paperwork for the permissions and any costs the authorities charge.

The whole amount of stones we will use belongs to other people and we have to buy them, piece by piece. The color of the stone should be exactly the same with the stones of the road. The local workers give the stones the preferable shape and, as you can easily understand, there will be a big amount of waste. The stones have to be carried with mules at the place.

Pledge made, email sent.
Harald

Let me recommend the wood product Kebony.
Enviromentally friendly hardwood.

Read about it here:
http://www.kebony.com/en/
http://www.ecobuildingpulse.com/green-p ... ne=general
https://za.news.yahoo.com/video/green-w ... 02645.html

The stones have to be carried with mules at the place.

[/quote]

Oh those poor mules!

More than happy to contribute. Let's keep in touch.

hydriot wrote:I like the design. But I suppose the arms could go if we are unable to raise the full amount. They weren't in the original concept (but are good).

That is exactly what I wrote along with my pledge.
In my opinion, the arms make the bench less suitable for solitary contemplation, which in my understanding was the original idea. With them, the bench looks more suitable for a group gathering, and I'm not sure that is the right goal here.
Taking off the arms could also mean less stones will be needed, which could also reduce costs and make the project more feasible.

I will contribute one way or another, but it could be a good idea to check out this option.

I am still a little bothered by those stairs.
When I look at pictures of the current situation the stairs are rather run-down and when I look at the drawings from the architect they look totally renovated.
From previous comments I understand that the stairs aren't really important to reach the bench, therefore it isn't necessary to add a handrail. My question is: why do we need to renovate those stairs at all? When I look at the drawings it seems to me that renovating those stairs is almost half of the project and half of the budget. For what? I understand that it completes the picture: a beautiful bench on a perfect location and beautiful renovated stairs. But it is just a coincidence that the perfect location includes a run-down stair. Is it our task to fix those stairs? Our plan was to make a bench for the 80th birthday of Leonard Cohen. Now the costs will go up because of stairs that doesn't seem to be very important to reach the bench after all. Why not leave the stairs the way they are now. Keep the surroundings of the bench as they are, the trees, the stairs, everything. We wanted a bench, that's all.

But I really like the bench
Inge

Proud to participate, sent the e-mail.

Szilvia xxx

A pleasure to contribute, email sent.

Very happy to contribute. Email sent. The design of the bench will age well! Just like Leonard!