The tenements and impressive civic and business buildings used the local slate and stone to build the city in the 19th and early 20th centuries.
There I found Mr. Zumthor's most famous building, a spa called Therme Vals (www.therme-vals.ch), which is a series of hot and cold pools in boldly geometric rooms seemingly carved from thick layers of local slate.
This influenced his choice of local slate for the construction.
Nestled at the foot of Mount Etna, Catania is Sicily's second city, but aside from an elegant piazza and duomo made from local slate-grey volcanic rock, it does not score highly on the Italian-city beauty scale.
The local party slate he heads, the Nazareth Democratic Front, a coalition of the Communist Party and other groups, has been running the city since 1975.
In the Democratic pocket of Long Beach, supporters of the local Republican slate tried to capitalize on his popularity by putting his picture and name on their advertisements and leaflets.
Proving that family friendly needn't mean functional and uninspiring, the 10 self-catering rooms, studios and apartments at this hilltop retreat have been crafted from local materials – slate, terracotta, bamboo and the adobe-like taipa – to create a stylish and contemporary place to stay.
Because Aquino's anointed successor, Interior Secretary Mar Roxas, has fared poorly in surveys leading up to the synchronized national and local elections slated for May 2016, Aquino and the ruling Liberal Party are worried about continuity, and need to play upon their considerable successes.
They created it in 2008 by renovating an old bungalow, using local materials like slate, sandstone and pyinkado wood, which is resistant to termites, a persistent problem in Myanmar.
Inside, the extensive use of local materials, notably slate, provides indigenous character.
About 30 beer-makers and local restaurants are slated to participate in the autumn celebration, bringing together L.A.-area and Southern California craft brewers, as well as one of the world's oldest continuously operating breweries in Germany.
