Quick Clicks> Bordeaux Dynamo, Concrete Castle, and a Humble Abode
Stade Bordeaux Atlantique by Herzog & de Meuron (Courtesy Dezeen)
Bordeaux Dynamo. Herzog & de Meuron designed a new stadium, the Stade Bordeaux Atlantique for the UEFA Euro 2016 in France. According the the architects, the “diaphanous volume looks out onto the grand landscape, its transparency revealing all the energy and activities which will fill this new symbol of the city of Bordeaux’s dynamism.” Via Dezeen.
Big Bunker Castle. According to Curbed, Steven Huff, chairman of TF Concrete Forming Systems, is building a 72,000-square-foot personal concrete manse called Pensmore. Located on 500 acres in Missouri, the reinforced concrete chateau is built to resist the regions rough weather. “The whole house is in essence a storm shelter,” said the Pensmore web site.
Humble Abode. If 72,000 square feet is a little too big for your tastes, Treehugger found a slightly smaller abode proposed by TATA, the same company that launched the $2500 car in India. For 32,000 rupees, or about $720, you can have your own house, clocking in at just over 200 square feet. The company hopes the new dwellings, along with an ultra-affordable $7,800 apartment, will help ameliorate India’s growing housing problems in poor communities.
Quick Clicks> Brodsky’s Vienna, Seating San Fran, Wind in the West, & Explorers Underground
Alexander Brodsky at Az W (Courtesy Yuri Palmin)
Day becomes night. Alexander Brodsky: It still amazes me that I became an architect will be open at the Architekturzentrum Wien in Vienna, Austria through October 3. Described by the gallery as a “total installation,” Archidose also notes that during the exhibition “the day becomes night, the dimensions of space and time appear to slowly dissolve as one paces an archaeological chamber of wonders. Having returned to daylight, a selection of Brodsky’s completed projects provides insights into his architectural oeuvre.” (More images after the jump.)
Steel becomes ribbon. Streetsblog reports that San Francisco metaphorically cut the ribbon, unveiling a new public space on the two-block Powell Street Promenade. The Union Square shopping district is greatly improved by the eight six-foot wide Walter Hood-designed benches, constructed to resemble delicate ribbons.
Above the fray. The Westerholt E-66 Observation Wind Turbine stands out among the 40 turbines in the Holtriem Wind Park: it’s unique observation deck provides visitors with panoramic views of one Europe’s largest wind farms—for a price. Visitors must climb a 297-step spiral staircase to reach the viewing deck, according to Atlas Obscura.
Under the city. Produced by Silent UK, the documentary film Beneath the Surface trails urban explorers as they descend below the cities of London and Paris, says PSFK. The explorers climb through sewers, old subway lines, reminiscent of the NY Times five-day adventure last December under New York.
Quick Clicks> Music Under Foot, Village Underwater, Carmageddon On Bike, & Destruction Online
The Chimecco Bridge (via Gizmodo)
Chimes Bridged. It seems there’s something to making music while we walk. First a Swedish architect designed piano stairs and now an artist has created a musical bridge. Blending the sculptural, auditory, and kinetic, artist Mark Nixon designed a whimsical bridge that “sings.” Chimes hidden below the span are activated as visitors walk across, Gizmodo says. The musical creation was last displayed at Sculpture by the Sea, an exhibition in Aarhus, Denmark.
Village Uncovered. Villa Epecuen, a town located on Lake Epecuen, southwest of Buenos Aires, was flooded in 1985, but now after more than two decades, the water is receding. Photographs by The Atlantic uncover a strange, haunting landscape: aerial views expose the original street layout of the town, while others reveal original trees and cars visible amid the rubble.
Carmageddon Averted. For two days last weekend, the busiest stretch of highway in America—the 405 Freeway in LA—was shut down for construction. While many feared disastrous traffic jams bringing life in LA to a halt, it turns out that life went on without incident, according to the LA Times. During the traffic-non-event, JetBlue offered to fly residents between two of the city’s airports in Burbank and Long Beach, sparking a challenge from cyclists who said they could make the trip faster. As reported in Slate, it turns out the bikes were right, making the trip nearly an hour-and-a-half faster than by plane.
Destruction Archived. Information Aesthetics points us to the “Hiroshima Archive” which documents the extensive societal and structural devastation the atomic bomb caused 66 years ago. Using Google Earth’s virtual globe, the digital archive exhibits topographical maps, contemporary building models, photographs, and personal accounts from the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum, the Hiroshima Jogakuin Gaines Association, and the Hachioji Hibakusha (Atomic Bomb Survivors) Association.
Competition> Envision a Future for the Pruitt-Igoe Site
Pruitt-Igoe as planned. (all images courtesy Pruitt-Igoe Now)
Building on the renewed interest in the destruction of the Pruitt-Igoe public housing complex in St. Louis, a new competition looks to engage the history and inspire possible future uses for the 33 acre site. Nearly 40 years after the demolition–which Charles Jencks claimed signaled the death of Modern architecture itself–most of the site remains cleared, filled in with trees and grasses that have sprung up over time. Organized by the newly formed non-profit Pruitt-Igoe Now, the competition brief asks, “Can this site itself be liberated from a turbulent and mythologized past through re-imagination and community engagement?” Read More
Quick Clicks> Airy Museum, Printed Organs, Supermarket Scents, & Going Oil Free
Aerial view of the Teshima Art Museum, lower left. (ArchDaily)
Open to the Elements. A recent collaboration between architect Ryue Nishizawa and artist Rei Naito produced an elegantly curved open-air art museum. Located in Takamatsu, Japan, the Teshima Art Museum is built from concrete and gently mirrors the hilly topography it sits upon. More info at ArchDaily.
Printed Organs. Three-dimensional printing sure is popular. We recently spotlighted the use of printing technology to create chocolates and solar cells, and now, 3D printing is crossing into the realm of medicine. The Wall Street Journal highlights technology that may soon enable printing of self-derived organs—think kidneys. While medical researchers have successfully “grown” organs through 3D printing, they are only structural and not yet functional, but scientists believe a breakthrough is nigh.
Olfactory Aisles. In a strange effort to boost sales, Brooklyn supermarket chain, NetCost Market, is now infusing its store aisles with food scents, such as strawberry in the fruit section and smoky bacon in the meat section, according to PSFK. While scenting clothing stores and movie theaters has been commonplace for a little while now, NetCost’s “food perfume” is taking olfactory branding to the next level.
Transport without Oil. The upcoming issue of Colors, a magazine published by clothing retailer, United Colors of Benetton, will center on transportation in a future without oil. Opening up submissions to the public, the Benetton website Colors Lab invited web users to upload artwork, photography, designs, and stories, envisioning new possibilities for transportation.
Eureka! California Redevelopment Agencies Sue To Save Selves
- Eureka is right!
As we recently predicted, the California Redevelopment Association and the League of California Cities yesterday filed a lawsuit in the California Supreme Court over the recent passage of bills to eliminate, or at least “ransom” its more than 400 redevelopment agencies. AB 1X 26 eliminates redevelopment agencies while AB 1X 27 allows agencies to exist if they agree to pay their share of $1.7 billion this year and $400 million annually. Read More
Video> Bright Lights, Big Bus Terminal…Unveiled!
The Port Authority's MediaMesh billboard is up and running. (Courtesy GKD-USA)
As AN reported back in early May, the Port Authority Bus Terminal was set to get a Bright Light makeover. Well, the Authority flicked on the switch of its GKD MediaMesh display this month, and as an enticement to advertisers A2a MEDIA, an advertising agency specializing in digital displays, created a promotional video using some of their established clients’ advertising. It’s a snazzy little number that doesn’t necessarily interest us for its ad content, but rather for the intriguing alternating opacity and transparency of the screen. (There are some pretty cool moments in the video below where the giant Xs of the Port Authority facade shows through the lights.) While the advertising applications are obvious, there’s definitely some untapped potential for public art/architecture, as we saw at play in California State University’s Madden Library.
Quick Clicks> Ando’s Silence, Solar-Jet Printing, Attn:Birds, & Post Post
SILENCE BY TADAO ANDO (COURTESY DEZEEN)
Ando’s Silence. According to Dezeen, UK developer Grosvenor has partnered with the Westminster City Council on a project to open public space in Mayfair, London. The project aims to reduce unnecessary visual elements like signage and expand pedestrian areas. Architect Tadao Ando collaborated with firm Blair Associates to design Silence, an installation that intermittently produces fiber-optically illuminated vapor rising from the bases of trees.
Power Plant Printer. MIT News has revealed an exciting new technology: printable solar cells. According to MIT: “The basic process is essentially the same as the one used to make the silvery lining in your bag of potato chips: a vapor-deposition process that can be carried out inexpensively on a vast commercial scale.” So, not quite as easy as, say, printing out a power station on your inkjet, but still able to revolutionize the future of solar installations.
Building for Birds. The City of San Francisco is making an example of a new California Academy of Science building. It’s design for the birds. The San Francisco Chronicle notes the building’s innovative fabric screen deterring bird-on-building collisions could be applied to other structures in the city. “Bird-safe design” is a growing part of the conversation, but the question remains: will altering the transparency of urban glass structures detract from the design intent?
Déjà vu Design. Does that new building look strangely familiar? A new website called Post Post bills itself as the “comparative architecture index.” By juxtaposing projects of similar design languages or forms, the site hopes to “to illuminate the interwoven and complex relationships of congruous trajectories within contemporary architectural practice.” Have a look!
Quick Clicks> Stop Work, Stop Practice, Driving Down, & Parking Patterns
Manufacturers Trust Company (Courtesy Historic Districs Council)
Stop Work. After a late-breaking Supreme Court mandate, all renovations at the Manufacturers Trust landmark office building have been put on hold. The judge ruled in favor of preservationists who want to protect the structure as a “model of modernism,” according to the New York Times. It appears that demolition inside the structure has already taken place, marring the structure’s International Style. Renovation opponents want to see the building restored to its original condition.
Stop Work Again. Robert Scarano Jr. is officially banned from submitting construction plans in New York City. The Brooklyn-based architect had appealed an initial ban handed down in March of 2010, but the New York Supreme Court upheld the order. According to the court, the Department of Buildings “can no longer rely on him to submit honest paperwork.” As Crain’s reports, Scarano has made a practice of violating regulations and zoning laws, criticized primarily for his rampant overbuilding.
Shifting Gears. Research by Peter Newman and Jeff Kenworthy of the Curtin University Sustainability Policy Institute shows that car use in major U.S. cities has been slowing down. The researchers offer 6 reasons for the shift, all predicting change with respect to the way cities will be designed without the automobile in mind.
Parking Patterns. Architects Michielli + Wyetzner recently won the 2011 NYC Design Commission Awards for a renovation of the Municipal Parking Garage on Delancey and Essex. The rehabilitation, as ArchDaily reports, includes several improvements to accompany a fully patterned weaving cable facade. Composed of three layers, the facade allows for the structure to remain open while the patterning mimicks the “aerodynamic flow of moving cars.”
Stop, Collaborate & Lexington: Studio Gang Reveals New Plans for Stalled Kentucky Site
Studio Gang's design for a 30-story tower in Lexington, Kentucky (Courtesy Studio Gang)
Developer Dudley Webb of the Webb Companies didn’t make any friends when his company razed an entire block of Downtown Lexington, Kentucky for a massive mixed-use tower that ended up stalling in the recession. Now, though, after bringing on Chicago-based Studio Gang to help reimagine the project at the behest of Lexington Mayor Jim Gray and dean of the University of Kentucky College of Design Michael Speaks, the community is regaining excitement over new plans to revamp the CentrePointe site.
Quick Clicks> Empty Spaces, Town & Country, Big Box Redux, and Taxing Gas
Aerial view of Malmberget, Sweden (Polis, Tomma Rum)
Empty Spaces. Searching for a place to exhibit her work as an art student in 2003, an artist from the rural mining town Malmberget, Sweden, organized a program titled Tomma Rum (Empty Spaces) that converts empty lots into artist studios and gallery spaces. As described in an interview with Polis, the program has morphed into a traveling summer artist-in-residence, where global artists have displayed their pieces on fences to streets in various towns.
Town and Country. Is city life or country life better for your health? The Wall Street Journal reports on the ongoing debate between the quality of life in urban versus rural areas. Each have their benefits and drawbacks. Studies indicate that in urban areas, there are less obese children but also higher crime rates. In the country, there are larger numbers of fatal driving accidents but lower incidences of allergies.
Big Box Redux. In Seattle, empty malls are attracting new tenants. A fitness center owner is converting empty mall space into a new climbing gym, while grocery stores such as Whole Foods and Trader Joes, and sporting goods stores such as Sports Authority are taking over retail vacancies, The Seattle Times reports.
Taxing Gas. A study conducted by the multi-partisan Leadership Initiative on Transportation Solvency, part of the Carnegie Foundation for International Peace, may have found a better way to increase funds for transportation infrastructure through a more effective gas tax system. In their report, DC Streets Blog highlights, that taxing gas when the price lowers and a more efficient program with a focus on design with economic performance are key.
QUICK CLICKS> Bike Lite, Convenient Cities, London Smog, Choco-design
Bike Lights (Project Aura Blog, by Ethan Frier and Jonathan Ota)
Safer at night. Two design students at Carnegie Mellon University created a functional and graceful lighting system for bikers that enhances side visibility at night. The LED lights that line the wheel rims, are powered by pedaling and change colors depending on speed. Bloggers at Greater Greater Washington have posted a video of the lights in action.
Convenient Cities. What makes a city “convenient”? According to a study published by The Street, factors include walkability, public transportation, and amenity proximity. Their city ranking, using data from Walk Score, Zillow and APTA, put Boston, New York, Denver, Portland, and Chicago at the top.
Olympic Pollution. A documentary by filmmaker Faisal Abdu’Allah, Double Pendulum, examines the harmful effects of pollution on East London residents and athletes, The Guardian says. Abdu’Allah cautions that poor air quality in East London may threaten athletes’ performances in the London 2012 Olympic Games.
Designer Chocolates. PSFK reports that researchers in a joint program between the University of Exeter, the University of Brunel, and Delam, a software developer, have created a printer that turns 3D CAD designs into ready-made chocolates. An upcoming retail site will allow the public to upload original designs.
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