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.
Cooper Union Showcases Student Innovation
Maxwell von Stein's Flywheel Bicycle (Courtesy Cooper Union)
It’s that time of year again: School is giving way to summer vacation, final reviews are winding down, and the life of the architecture student regains some semblance of normalcy. The Cooper Union celebrates this time of year with its traditional End of Year Show, highlighting the work of students in art, architecture, and engineering. Hundreds of projects are now on display at the school’s Foundation Building at 7 East 7th Street on Cooper Square.
The engineering show just wrapped up, but the architecture showcase runs through June 18 and the art school’s work will be on display through June 11. The exhibition is free and open Tuesday through Saturday from noon until 7:00 p.m.. Take a look at a few of the student projects after the jump.
Quick Clicks> Libeskind Collapse, Rahm′s DOT Pick, Gaudi Attacked, and Bamboo in Wyoming
A pool in Daniel Libeskind's Westside retail center collapsed (Mike Bischoff/Flickr)
Watch for Falling Libeskinds. The breaking news of the day from Building Design: Daniel Libeskind’s $555 million Westside retail center in Bern, Switzerland has collapsed for a second time in three years. An elevated swimming pool fell into the building injuring two people. An investigation is pending. In 2008, shortly after the building was completed, the roof of a fast food restaurant inside the center collapsed, injuring two children.
Transporting Chicago. Transportation Nation reports today that Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel has tapped Gabe Klein to head up the city’s DOT. Widely viewed as a pro-bike kind of guy in his former role as head of Washington D.C.’s DOT, Klein helped launch a bike-share program, expand bike lanes, and install electric car charging stations across the city. Could more alternative transportation be in store for the Windy City?
Gaudi Burns. An arsonist set fire to Antoni Gaudí’s Segrada Familia in Barcelona said the Guardian. The cathedral’s sacristy was destroyed and the crypt heavily damaged during the attack. Some 1,500 tourists were evacuated and four treated for smoke inhalation.
Wisconsin Bamboo. Sarah F. Cox talks with NYC-based architecture firm Lewis.Tsurumaki.Lewis for Curbed about a recently completed student center at the University of Wyoming which includes a stunningly intricate bamboo-lattice screen.
Prospect Park West Bike Lane Target of Lawsuit
Dedicated bike lane along Brooklyn's Prospect Park West (Courtesy Steven Vance)
That thin ribbon of green paint along Brooklyn’s Prospect Park West sure is a touchy subject for residents of the Park Slope neighborhood, and beyond–they’re even talking about it in London. Many love the new separated bike lane installed in June 2010–the “pro-laners”–but a vocal group packing some political power would rather see the lane removed–the “anti-laners.”
Taking Back the Streets x2
Before closing Broadway got her branded a car-hating communist, DOT commissioner Janette Sadik-Khan was already well on her way to transforming the city’s streets. One of the most memorable events–and a sign of things to come–was last year’s Summer Streets program, which, for three Saturdays last August, closed off a large swath of Manhattan from the Brooklyn Bridge to 72nd Street, with most of the course running up Park Avenue. (There was also a less publicized closure of Bedford Avenue in Williamsburg.) Never one to stand (or bike) still, Sadik-Khan and the mayor announced today the expansion of the program throughout the summer and across all five boroughs this year. Details after the jump, but first two quick thoughts: Brooklyn, with seven sites, is the obvious winner; and why no Park Avenue this year? Read More
Beautiful Day for a Bike Rack
A/N Associate Editor Aaron Seward and his lady friend Joan enjoy the sun on Grimshaw's fancy new loveseat/bike-rack/subway-grate combo.
Last September, the LMDC began installing these fancy Grimshaw-designed contraptions on West Broadway. Their main purpose is to keep storm water from running into subway grates, which is achieved simply enough by raising them 6 inches. To keep people from tripping on them, Grimshaw included a set of benchs and bike racks, so they would be more obvious to even the most hurried or oblivious of New York pedestrians.
According to the LMDC, the last of the 16 Grimshaw gizmos have now been installed, and just in time. While they were plenty quaint during the fall and winter, can you really beat a nice bike ride on a sunny April day? And don’t those two look so adorable. Finally, we think, it’s safe to say that Spring is here.
And the Real Winner Is…
The "Hoop," coming to a corner near you.
As we mentioned Tuesday, there was some confusion as to who had won the CityRacks Design Competition–held by the city’s Department of Transportation, the Cooper-Hewitt, and Transportation Alternatives–given that no official announcement had been made last week. Whether Bustler’s report impacted the decision or not may never be known, but it was the “Hoop” (above) and not, as predicted, the “Alien” (after the jump) that carried the day. Read More
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