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Looping Bicycle Bridge Lets Cyclists Ride Right Over a School Roof

06 Apr

[ By SA Rogers in Architecture & Cities & Urbanism. ]

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Many a cyclist has fantasized about being able to bike right over the chaos of a city, avoiding traffic, intersections and trouble areas so they can just enjoy the ride. A Dutch architecture firm has made this fantasy into a reality with a continuous bike bridge that crosses the Amsterdam-Rhine Canal in Utrecht and then loops right over an adjacent university building’s roof. Officially open this week, ‘Dafne Schippers Bicycle Bridge’ by NEXT Architecture reclaims urban space for people who aren’t driving vehicles.

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It’s unusual to see a bridge so seamlessly integrated into adjacent infrastructure on land in a way that’s interactive with the public, while also performing an important service. Measuring 360 feet long, the bicycle bridge connects the old Oog in Al section of Utrecht with new district Leidsche Rijn.

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Open to both cyclists and pedestrians, it lifts up off the ground in Victor Hugo Park, reaches a pinnacle of nearly 115 feet above the surface of the water, and continues onto the roof of a local Montessori school.The bridge then loops around a public garden before once again reaching ground level.

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Commissioned by the city of Utrecht, the structure will save more than 7,000 cyclists time on their route each day. The architects wanted the bridge to connect the bicycle route, park and school in a single fluid movement, creating a cohesive landscape. With the bicycle bridge on the south side, space for a recreational area is created on the north side, oriented toward a park.

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It would be cool to see architects take inspiration from NEXT’s creation to the next level, building something even more complex that’s lifted above the busy streets of an urban center.

[ By SA Rogers in Architecture & Cities & Urbanism. ]

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Learning Zeppelin: Wooden Airship Docked on Museum Roof as a Reading Room

01 Apr

[ By SA Rogers in Architecture & Public & Institutional. ]

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A wooden airship has seemingly crash-landed onto the roof of the DOX Centre for Contemporary Art in Prague, wedged between two white museum buildings for dramatic effect to serve as a new space for literature and reading. Conceived by Leos Valka, director of DOX, and completed by Hut Architektury, the Gulliver Airship measures nearly 138 feet long and features a basketweave-like construction open to the air, protected from the rain by a transparent roof.

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Taking inspiration from the zeppelins of the early 20th century, the airship aims to reflect the optimism, technological advancements and futurism of the era, inciting a sense of wonder when you gaze up at it from the ground level. Valka says he dreamed of “an absurdly fascinating organic shape” that would have a parasitic appearance, alien to the concrete and glass of the museum itself.

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The ‘ship’ is accessible from the museum’s roof, and takes advantage of plentiful natural light for a pleasant reading environment. Adding such an unconventional structure is in line with the museum’s hope to encourage innovative thinking and take risks.

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The DOX facility is a reclaimed factory, its renovation nominated for the prestigious Mies van der Role Award, and its purpose is “to create a space for research, presentation and debate on important social issues, where arts in dialogue with other disciplines encourage a critical view of the so-called reality of today’s world.”

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“The shape of the zeppelin is symbolic,” reads a statement on the DOX website. “The early zeppelins represented the optimistic ideals of a new era of unprecedented technological advancements. With their remarkable monumentality and hypnotic dignity that would continue to fascinate generations to come long after they had vanished from the skies, they have always embodied the eternal human desire to fly, and have represented a certain utopian ideal.”

[ By SA Rogers in Architecture & Public & Institutional. ]

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Midwest Photo camera store thieves reportedly cut hole in roof to steal gear

23 Mar

Midwest Photo, a retail store in Columbus, Ohio, has been the subject of a reported theft that the company president Moishe Appelbaum describes as ‘Mission Impossible style.’ On Wednesday, March 15th, an unknown thief or multiple thieves broke a hole through the store’s roof and used that hole to gain access to a pipe, which was then used by the thieves to slide down into the shop.

Once inside, the thieves stole a cache of items from Midwest Photo’s storage area, including cases, cameras, and lenses. A surveillance camera was able to capture at least part of this theft, though the store says it has now rolled out additional security crews. Speaking to local news affiliate FOX 28 Columbus, Appelbaum said, ‘[It was a] really professional crew that knew what they were doing.’

Appelbaum goes on to state that this may be the work of a professional burglary ring that is targeting camera shops across the Midwest and possibly the nation. ‘This is the third camera store burglary overnight we’ve seen in the Midwest in the past week-and-a-half,’ he said. ‘This is a crew I believe is making their way across the country.’ The company is encouraging anyone with info to contact Midwest Photo or the Columbus police department.

As DPReview previously reported, California lens company Veydra suffered a similar theft a couple days prior to Midwest Photo’s burglary. In that case, thieves broke into Veydra’s California headquarters on Sunday, March 12, and made off with more than 200 lenses. Whether the two incidents are related is unknown. At this time, it doesn’t appear the stolen items in either case have been recovered.

Via: FOX 28

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

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Camouflaged Solar Panels: Tesla Roof Tiles Power Home Batteries & Electric Cars

21 Nov

[ By WebUrbanist in Gadgets & Geekery & Technology. ]

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Elon Musk is attacking the question of energy storage and consumption at home, first with electric cars, then with home batteries and now the final piece of the puzzle: solar panels people will actually want to show off.

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Developed in collaboration with 3D, their semi-translucent Solar Roof tiles cost less than ordinary roofs, insulate better and best of all they generate energy to charge your electric batteries (Powerwall) and automobiles (Model X). This is effectively the final missing piece from the ultimate sustainable-power smart house.

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The three-layered design features a normal solar panel at the bottom with a film on top that renders it invisible from below but operational under the sun’s rays coming from above. At the top is a tempered glass that is shatter-resistant, making it more durable than conventional clay (with a lifespan well beyond the typical 20-year roof).

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Aside from these benefits, perhaps the single biggest selling point is the array of material styles: Textured Glass, Slate Glass, Tuscan Glass and Smooth Glass. It may sound superficial but looks matter — neighbors complain and residents shy away from too-overt solar tech attached to their house.

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And people trust Tesla to do more than make better technology: they expect a high level of visual design as part of the package. Also, since they are all coming from the same collection of companies, one can expect superior installation and integration options tying Tesla cars, Powerwalls and Solar Tiles together. Between the tech and its brand backing, this development promises to boost solar adoption to new heights.

[ By WebUrbanist in Gadgets & Geekery & Technology. ]

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Silicon Greenery: World’s Largest Green Roof to Span City Blocks

16 Sep

[ By WebUrbanist in Architecture & Cities & Urbanism. ]

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Aiming to turn Cupertino into the green center of Silicon Valley, this expansive green roof design rolls over 30 acres of central urban real estate, capping a massive mixed-use redevelopment project. The resulting street-crossing expanse is set to include miles of walking trails, vineyards, orchards, playgrounds and an amphitheater.

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Developers from Sand Hill Property Company assembled the constituent real estate, including a partially abandoned Vallco Shopping Malls, from separate owners.

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Their proposal to create nearly 1,000 apartments and over a million square feet of office space was developed in part by architect Rafael Viñoly with the assistance of OLIN Landscape Architects.

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In the buildings below, a cinema, gym, shopping center and ice rink are slated for construction, revitalizing the downtown area and integrating with outdoor elements above.

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“The Hills at Vallco features an unprecedented 30-acre community park and nature preserve, which will not only be the largest community park in Cupertino, but also the largest green roof in the world” according to the developers behind the scheme.

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The plan has been pitched to the city as a way to secure its position as a hub for technology and innovation in California. The project is currently entering a public review phase. Critics note that feasibility may be an issue, citing the architect’s record with a London skyscraper known for blowing over pedestrians and lighting cars on fire.

[ By WebUrbanist in Architecture & Cities & Urbanism. ]

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Celebrity Interview – Roof Topping: Standing on the Edge with Tom Ryaboi

19 Jul

As a photographer and aspiring writer, I’ve asked myself a few times before, “What subject or person in photography hasn’t been done to death, and is worthy of an article I’d actually read myself?” The answer, I found, is a formula. Take a young, talented photographer. Give him an idea, unlike any other you’ve encountered in the field. Make him Continue Reading

The post Celebrity Interview – Roof Topping: Standing on the Edge with Tom Ryaboi appeared first on Photodoto.

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