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Dirty Car & Truck Art: Moscow Street Artist Adds Critters to Filthy Vehicles

14 May

[ By WebUrbanist in Art & Street Art & Graffiti. ]

Massive deep sea monsters, jungle predators and swamp creatures lurk in the grimey shadows on the backs of trucks, thanks to interventions by illustrator Nikita Golubev. Most of the featured critters are of the potentially creepy variety, including a deep-sea angler fish, octopus, shark, alligator, lion, owl and orangutan.

Based in Russia, the artist works on cars sometimes as well, but finds the broad doors and long sides on larger vehicles particularly inviting as blank canvasses for light-on-dark works of art.

As a subtractive strategy, there is less risk associated with these impermanent pieces as well — at worst, some truck driver may be less than amused to find their dirty vehicle highlighted in such a way.

Reverse graffiti is nothing new, but most artists who work in that vein operate at smaller scales, cleaning up sections of door and rear windows rather than tall trucks. Naturally, these pieces are all temporary, destined to come off in the wash or rinse out in the rain (but live on in photographs).

[ By WebUrbanist in Art & Street Art & Graffiti. ]

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Future-Proof Parking Garages: Autonomous Vehicles Drive Reusable Designs

03 May

[ By WebUrbanist in Architecture & Cities & Urbanism. ]

As driverless vehicles hit the streets and shared car usage grows, forward-thinking architects, developers and urban planners are working on adaptable designs to future-proof parking garage structures and give them second lives.

Big firms like Gensler see the writing on the wall, predicting car usage will peak by the end of the decade and ride-sharing may dominate by 2025. The effect of this on cities and real estate will be massive, freeing up home garages, street parking and dedicated parking structures — nation-wide there are over 500,000 parking spots and spaces inside buildings and outdoors covering an estimated 3,500+ square miles.

Gensler’s The Mod concept plays to new possibilities in light of their predictions, featuring garage floor heights that will work for new uses. Its modular sections can be easily moved or removed to let in light and facilitate circulation. Built-in utility hookups also help make conversion easier. The firm has also designed a building in Ohio with three parking levels made to be changed into offices over time with easily-added facades and details similar to ones found on other floors (below).

Another such project — a 1,000-car garage for building residents in the Arts District of Los Angeles by Avalon Bay — is to be completed in four years, a long time in this age of fast-evolving technology. Accordingly, their plans include tricks to make converting this area back to other residential uses easy and efficient. This includes flat floors (rather than inclined ones found in many garages) so they can be turned effectively into usable spaces, like shops or community areas.

Converting garages will be a huge project of the coming decades, but so will rethinking the way new architecture is designed in the age of autonomous vehicles. Without people at the wheel, cars can park themselves in smaller spaces. Loading/unloading zones will be reduced and the way people enter buildings (from the street rather than a garage) could change dramatically as well.

Then, of course, there are streets — with less street-side parking, space is opened up for things like parklets, walking and biking paths (not to mention all of the changes to how roads will work). Accordingly, many designers, developers and planners are wisely anticipating these changes — still, their ultimate effect on the built environment remains to be seen as the future continues to take shape.

[ By WebUrbanist in Architecture & Cities & Urbanism. ]

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LEGO at Large: Modern Block Vehicles Hit the Historic Streets of Rome

11 Nov

[ By WebUrbanist in Art & Photography & Video. ]

block-car

A sports car parked in a residential alley, train emerging from a tunnel and helicopter landing next to the Colosseum are all believable sights in Italy’s capital … except in this case they are constructed from LEGO.

lego-train-tracks-tunnel

lego-landing-helicopter

Italian photographer Domenico Franco imagines these block-built vehicles at human scale in his series LEGO Outside LEGOLAND, masterfully faked scenes of photo-realistic quality.

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In his series, normal conveyances are swapped with LEGO creations that stand out as simplified block forms against the rich historical fabric of Rome.

lego-parked-speeder

lego-construction-vehicle

While some are clearly toys writ large, others are more convincing: a passing glance at a tractor trailer doing road work might not immediately belie its fictional origins.

lego-car-tight

Landmark buildings and aged cobblestone roads come alive thanks to the contrast created by intervening toys. Ordinary gray-blue weather and aged architecture seems even more real than in a normal photograph.

lego-ambulance-parked

“The aim is to transform ordinary contexts in extraordinary ones,” says the artist, “thus compelling the toys to get out of the idyllic and politically correct landscapes belonging to their perfect and idealistic cities, with the result of instilling in them those vices, virtues and desires typical of human beings.”

[ By WebUrbanist in Art & Photography & Video. ]

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Racing for Survival: 13 Extreme Vehicles for the End of the World

03 Nov

[ By SA Rogers in Technology & Vehicles & Mods. ]

survival-vehicles-kiravan-1

If you’ve ever watched The Walking Dead and thought to yourself, “in a zombie apocalypse, I would just find the nearest armored diesel-powered vehicle and pack it full of survival gear,” here’s an array of potential choices to stoke your fantasies. Some are available to the deep-pocketed public and some are technically for military use only, some fully-equipped RVs and others basically just for roaring through utter chaos and making it out alive.

Hudson Armored Personnel Carrier – With a Turret

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You’d be extremely lucky to come across one of these, post-apocalypse, if it happened to be abandoned or not in use. The Hudson Armored Personnel Carrier (APC) by INKAS was designed specifically for SWAT transport and it has a freaking turret. Other notable features include two escape hatches, gunports all around the perimeter and the platform of a ’79 Land Cruiser to make replacement parts and maintenance easy. It’s a lot more fun to imagine roaring around in this thing to escape zombie swarms than it is to envision the sort of real-world situations in which it’s actually used (and that goes for most of the rest of these, too.)

Applied Minds KiraVan

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A lifelong adventurer built one of the world’s most insane vehicles in honor of his four-year-old daughter, envisioning an off-road expedition truck that could take her anywhere on earth without limitation while maintaining the highest levels of luxury. The result is the ‘KiraVan,’ which can travel up to 2,000 miles without resupply, climb 45-degree slopes and push through small bodies of water, not to mention its kevlar-reinforced tires, diesel-powered motorcycle ‘dinghy’ and a massive trailer housing the kid’s own ‘penthouse’ loft.

Mercedes-Benz Zetros 2733 6×6

Mercedes-Benz Zetros

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Built as a luxury RV for rich hunters, the Mercedes-Benz Zetros 6×6 is not your grandfather’s vacation vehicle. It can go off-road, a virtual mobile fortress with ATV storage and extra-tough tires. Inside, there’s a bathroom with marble flooring and underfloor heating, a bedroom, a fully-equipped kitchen, a built-in SAT receiver powered by a diesel generator and a gun safe.

INKAS Huron APC

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An earlier, larger version of the INKAS Hudson, the Huron APC looks like a Hummer on steroids and features “revolutionary lightweight armor” that makes it faster and easier to maneuver than similarly-sized armored vehicles. It can carry up to 16 passengers, and its engine bay is protected by the same armor that’s capable of shielding its crew from AK-47 fire. With a price tag of over half a million dollars, not even the richest civilians can buy it – it’s intended for police and military missions only.

Next Page – Click Below to Read More:
Racing For Survival 13 Extreme Vehicles For The End Of The World

[ By SA Rogers in Technology & Vehicles & Mods. ]

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Spherical Tires: Magnetic Levitation for Driverless Vehicles

19 Mar

[ By WebUrbanist in Technology & Vehicles & Mods. ]

magnetic levitation sphere tires

The Eagle 360, a new tire design concept from Goodyear, is a rounded sphere held in place by magnetic fields and designed for a smoother ride in your future driver-free car.

The biggest advantage, of course, is omnidirectional steering capabilities, since the wheels have no orientation, unlike their forward-or-backward circular predecessors.

goodyear tire concept

An organically-patterned, 3D-printed tread is designed to adapt like a sponge to different road conditions, while built-in sensor relay surface measurements to the onboard computer. Faster response times and immediate reaction capabilities in multiple directions all work toward improving passenger safety and comfort.

goodyear tire diagram future

“By steadily reducing the driver interaction and intervention in self-driving vehicles, tires will play an even more important role as the primary link to the road,” said Goodyear’s senior vice president Joseph Zekoski.

goodyear maglev tires

“Goodyear’s concept tires play a dual role in that future both as creative platforms to push the boundaries of conventional thinking and test beds for next-generation technologies.”

[ By WebUrbanist in Technology & Vehicles & Mods. ]

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Car-Free Paris: French Capital Bans Motor Vehicles for 1 Day

31 Aug

[ By WebUrbanist in Culture & History & Travel. ]

car free paris

For a single day next month, locals and visitors will be able to experience Paris without motorized traffic, giving the city over to pedestrians and bikers. Free of traffic congestion, noise pollution and vehicle emissions, the Day Without Cars will transform the physical and auditory landscape, enabling views and revealing ambient sounds ordinarily drowned out by the urban cacophony on September 27th.

car free parks pedestrians

Timed to coincide with a United Nations climate conference and European Mobility Week, the move is partially a display of possibilities for car-free cities as well as a statement about the environment. The 1st through 7th, 10th and 11th arrondissements (city sections) will all participate; monuments and gathering spaces such as the Champs Élysées, the Bastille, and the Eiffel Tower are included as well.

car free city

Other metropolitan areas around the world including Montreal, Bogota, Mexico City and Ho Chi Minh City are following France’s lead and instituting similar vehicular restrictions to various degrees. In such cities, photographers will be able to stand in the streets, capturing unique shots of urban architecture and infrastructure without the risk of being run over. Facing increased traffic, cities like London and Los Angeles are already considering ways in which to permanently reduce congestion and give over areas to mass transit, cyclists and pedestrians.

desert city from scratch

Some cities have longer-term visions for a car-free future as well. In China, plans and budgets have been established for a car-free city built from scratch. In Abu Dhabi, a car-free, self-sufficient city is also in the works, though some question its feasibility. Meanwhile, Hamburg has firmly committed to a 20-year plan to eliminate cars, keeping routes for public transportation and emergency vehicles but otherwise handing city streets over to paths and trails for walkers and bikers.

[ By WebUrbanist in Culture & History & Travel. ]

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Robot City: Entire Fake Town Built to Test Driverless Vehicles

23 Jul

[ By WebUrbanist in Technology & Vehicles & Mods. ]

7/15/15 2015 UM Aerials -July MCity, North Campus, Munger Grad Residency,Campus construction.

Opening this week, Mcity is a completely artificial village for self-driving cars, bringing the future of automobiles back to Michigan, the historical home of Motor City. Taking lessons from military testing facilities like Gravesend in England or Yodaville in the US, the complex is made to simulate a wide variety of conditions.

fake town driverless cars

Featuring 32 acres of roads, intersections, sidewalks, streetlights, signals and building facades, Mcity is part of a statewide effort to advance connected technologies and test autonomous vehicles. More than a simulated combination of urban and suburban environments in their ideal forms, these experimental grounds also incorporate stress-testing defects like graffiti and faded lane markings as well as different street terrains, tunnels, roundabouts and multi-lane freeways on a combination of pavement, cobblestones, gravel, grass and dirt.

fake city autonomous vehicles

Given that all crashes to date involving autonomous cars have been caused by human error, it is critical not only to test the vehicles themselves but also the people they will interact with on the road. In addition to its proximity to Detroit, a key benefit of the Ann Arbor area is the varied weather in the area, with everything from hot humid midsummer days to serious rain, snow and hail in the winter. The test area can be reconfigured on demand to simulate complex intersections, blind corners and other real-world challenges.

fake city university michigan

The project represents a $ 10,000,000 private/public partnership between the University of Michigan, local governments and various industries, including but also beyond regional and international automotive powerhouses (Ford, GM, Honda, Nissan, Toyota but also State Farm, Verizon, and Xerox).

7/15/15 Aerials of UM Campus and Ann Arbor.

“We believe that this transformation to connected and automated mobility will be a game changer for safety, for efficiency, for energy, and for accessibility,” said Peter Sweatman, director of the U-M Mobility Transformation Center. “Our cities will be much better to live in, our suburbs will be much better to live in. These technologies truly open the door to 21st century mobility.”

“In addition to Mcity, MTC has three on-roadway connected and automated vehicle deployments underway. With the help of the Michigan Economic Development Corporation, MTC is building on a nearly 3,000-vehicle connected technology project launched three years ago by the U-M Transportation Research Institute to create a major deployment of 9,000 connected vehicles operating across the greater Ann Arbor area. MTC is also partnering with industry and the Michigan Department of Transportation to put 20,000 connected vehicles on the road in Southeast Michigan. The third piece of the plan calls for deploying a 2,000-vehicle mobility service of connected and automated vehicles in Ann Arbor.”

[ By WebUrbanist in Technology & Vehicles & Mods. ]

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Snow Calligraphy: Reverse Graffiti Artist Tags Parked Vehicles

02 Mar

[ By WebUrbanist in Art & Street Art & Graffiti. ]

snow calligrapher signature work

For years, this graffiti calligrapher has made his mark around New York City, but some of his best work is reserved for special (and somewhat unpredictable) occasions, relying on seasonal snowfall.

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Known for his interior and exterior calligraphic murals as well as his signature snow pieces, Faust notes that virtually “everyone has an affinity for writing in the snow as a child. When most people grow up they lose the urge. I guess I just haven’t been able to shake it.”

snow car front artwork

As with other forms of reverse graffiti, his snowy script is ultimately temporary and removes material that would be wiped and swiped away by brushes or wipers, thus leaving no lasting impact or damage.

snowgraffiti car windshield

snow front of car

Some of his messages speak to the season (of snows and ice) while others are simply signatures left on the hood, trunk, windshield or window of a car as a simple surprise to brighten the dark winter days of passers by.

[ By WebUrbanist in Art & Street Art & Graffiti. ]

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Set Sail on Rail: Quirky Vehicles Explore Abandoned Tracks

26 Oct

[ By Steph in Technology & Vehicles & Mods. ]

abandoned railroad vehicles 1

Before the abandoned railroad tracks of Paris officially disappear – which is bound to happen, as cities realize the potential for reclamation as High Line-style parks – some intrepid locals are taking the opportunity to explore. “Train Project” by French design studio HeHe is a series of fun, quirky handmade vehicles that traverse the city on a line that most local residents never get to experience firsthand.

abandoned railroad vehicles 3

The autonomous vehicles include ‘Metronome’ and ‘M-Blem,’ two transparent, cylindrical solar-powered electric vehicles, and the sailboat-inspired ‘Radeau de Sauvetage.’ HeHe also developed additional vehicles made for train tracks in other cities, like an individual transport system to transfer objects from one place to another in Slovakia, and a one-person platform making use of the urban tracks in Istanbul.

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HeHe calls The Train Project “an ongoing body of speculative investigation into the language and aesthetics of transport culture,” proposing personal rail travel as “a temporary, imaginative solution to question our industrialized conscience in relation to locomotion.”

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The collective invited members of the public to travel on the vehicles, “journeying through space and time to experience the past and future of local transportation networks.” The idea is to take a picturesque trip through areas of the city that can’t be seen from the roads, reclaiming spaces that have been left to deteriorate until they’re inevitably integrated back into the functional urban landscape.

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A similar project (above) explored sections of the 5,500-plus miles of abandoned railroad tracks in Mexico with the retro-futuristic SEFT-1, modeled after a midcentury vision of a spaceship.

[ By Steph in Technology & Vehicles & Mods. ]

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23, June 2014 – Landscape Aerial Photography Using Unmanned Aerial Vehicles

24 Jun

Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) have been making a lot of headlines lately within the photography community. These remotely controlled aircraft have enabled photographers a new way to gain new perspectives on a scene. They have also caused a lot of controversy in regards to safety and privacy. Stephen Wheatcraft’s article Landscape Aerial Photography Using Unmanned Aerial Vehicles introduces you to this new method of making images.

Last week Kevin Raber and Chris Sanderson spent the week on the road working on a new video tutorial with William Neill in Yosemite and Mono Lake areas. More on this new video in the near future.

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The Luminous Landscape – What’s New

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Posts Tagged ‘Vehicles’

Dirty Car & Truck Art: Moscow Street Artist Adds Critters to Filthy Vehicles

Future-Proof Parking Garages: Autonomous Vehicles Drive Reusable Designs

LEGO at Large: Modern Block Vehicles Hit the Historic Streets of Rome