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Posts Tagged ‘Metro’

Amsterdam Airbnb in a Metro Station Mocks Misleading & Harmful Hotels

25 May

[ By SA Rogers in Boutique & Art Hotels & Travel. ]

Anyplace can be an Airbnb – including vans, sheds, housing that should rightfully be for rent to the city’s residents, and cozy rooms ‘by the metro’ that turn out to actually be in the metro station. In fact, the latter example is on display in the metro station Wibautstraat in Amsterdam’s city center right now, walled off with glass to put guests on full display of commuters in a commentary on how misleading and harmful listings on the travel accommodations website can be.

Created by Dutch artist Boudewijn Rückert, the installation could be read in a variety of ways without context. If you didn’t know the artist’s intentions, you might think this was an advertisement, or an unconventional room made available by Airbnb as a promotional stunt. But lean in and take a close look at the placard accompanying the exhibition.

The text reads, “This unique location is an ideal base for your Amsterdam exploring. Spacious room with artificial lighting. It is really cosy and comfortable. Very close to the city center, ideal for conference goers. Very safe environment. Open and big windows. Public transport is very nearby.”

As Rücker notes on his website, roughly 15,000 homes are currently offered “as a permanent holiday” in the city, excluding them from housing and contributing to gentrification. Plus, the way these accommodations are typically styled makes them exceedingly generic in the sterile Silicon Valley aesthetic increasingly referred to as ‘Airspace.’

The artist outfitted the room in furniture and decor you could find in any city around the world thanks to Ikea, along with “a butt-ugly vase with plastic flowers,” with nothing but a photo of an Amsterdam ferry on the wall to hint at the room’s geographic location.

While he’s aware that the installation is bound to press the buttons of Airbnb fans and perhaps the company itself, he hopes it will stimulate conversation around how renting out all these rooms is affecting the lives of people who live in the host cities – a controversy that’s definitely not limited to the city of Amsterdam.

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Hotel rooms in Manhattan cost hundreds and even a cheap hostel-style hotel with partition walls in the Bowery runs nearly $ 100 per night, but starting around $ 20 you can stay on the streets in …

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[ By SA Rogers in Boutique & Art Hotels & Travel. ]

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Metro Koi: Thousands of Fish Occupy Abandoned Bangkok Mall

02 Jul

[ By WebUrbanist in Travel & Urban Exploration. ]

fish mall floor views

Built, closed, partially demolished, boarded up and ultimately deserted, the New World Mall in the capital city of Thailand has become home a strange and unexpected attraction.

fish mall vertical shot

Abandoned nearly two decades ago after violating building codes, the roof of the structure collapsed in a subsequent fire, leading the building to be partially filled with rainwater.

metro colorful wild fish

metro koi closeup picture

Standing pools throughout the place gave rise to a serious mosquito infestation, which the locals sought to combat by introducing fish that, in turn, bred, spread and inhabited the ruins.

fish mall front facade

fish mall outside vendors entrance

Since then, the mall has turned into a kind of alternative tourist destination where visitors flock to feed the fish, now occupying over 5,000 square feet of space originally intended for retail. Vendors have even sprung up in the area to sell scraps of food – throwing anything else into the standing water is strictly forbidden. More images of the building and its context can be found here.

fish mall escalator level

fish mall closeup columns

fish mall occupation habitat

RenegadeTravels explains how to get to this centrally-located abandonment: “The mall is only around 5 minutes’ walk from Khao San Road. Walk to the end of Khao San Road where the small glass police station is and turn right onto Chakrabongse Road. Then walk straight ahead until you come to the junction with Phra Sumen Road. This intersection is known as Bang Lam Pu Junction. You will see the main entrance to New World Mall here, but you can’t get in from the front.”

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[ By WebUrbanist in Travel & Urban Exploration. ]

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Deserted Parisian Metro Stops as Underground Pools & More

16 Feb

[ By WebUrbanist in Architecture & Cities & Urbanism. ]

paris converted subway pool

The myriad abandoned subway stations of Paris are full of hidden potential – and one current candidate for mayor is working with architects to show the city just how much these semi-secret and long-neglected subterranean spaces can hold.

arc park

paris abandoned dance club

Nathalie Kosciusko-Morizet, together with designers Manal Rachdi and Nicolas Laisné, pictures fresh uses ranging from restaurants, theaters and night clubs to green parks and swimming pools.

paris converted metro restaurant

Given their positions around the city, it only makes sense to reactivate these ready-made voids: after all, metro stops are planned around hubs of activity and along lines of transportation.

paris underground performance space

Imagine for a moment the acoustics of a auditorium in such a setting, or the echoes of splashing water, all aside from the immersion in historical structures below the city.

paris vintage underground station

Many of these stations have been deserted and boarded up for decades – some for nearly a century, and others (attached to since-abandoned lines) were never opened to the public in the first place. Over time, some have been used to shoot commercials or scenes from films, and others have had wartime uses as shelters or for stockpiles.

paris historical metro photo

There are eight stops in total that have been deemed suitable for revival, including Champ de Mars, Arsenal, Porte Molitor, Haxo, Croix Rouge, Porte des Lilas, Saint Martin et Martin Nadaudso. More on the mayoral candidate’s proposal can be found here, via Messy Nessy.

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Ride on King County Metro New Flyer Bus

28 Dec

This is one of the 6800 series brand new ones. This from from getting off the Freeway at Interurban to almost Southcenter Mall. Due to the 150 in front being late (it was 1 min ahead of us), i had this bus to myself from Seattle to Southcenter.

 
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King County Metro Route 10

26 Dec

Metro’s route 10/12 combined service connects the First Hill and Capitol Hill areas of the city with the Central Business District by way of Pike Place Market, Westlake Center and the Pike/Pine St corridor and the West Edge neighbourhood. Quiet, zero-emission Gillig Phantom electric trolleybusses (ETBs) are operated exclusively on this route, except for some off-peak periods when the occasional diesel Gillig is used. This is one of the most heavily-patronised routes in Seattle proper. Here, I am riding from 1st & Madison to about 3rd & Pike. As the trolley turns on to Pike, the famous Pike Place Market is seen through the back window.

 
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Seattle King County Metro 2003 New Flyer D40LF #3622

21 Oct

Welcome aboard KC Metro New Flyer #3622 operating on Route 16 from Downtown Seattle to Northgate Transit Center. 3622 is one of 100 New Flyer purchased by KC Metro and the first 40 foot low floors in the system.
Video Rating: 5 / 5

 
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