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Art Made Flesh: 35 Sculptures Rendered in Human Skin & Hair

16 Jul

[ By Steph in Art & Sculpture & Craft. ]

flesh art tian

Do these fleshy works of art manipulating human body parts into unnatural shapes make you uncomfortable? That’s probably just what the artist was going for. It’s difficult for us, as humans, to look upon images of our own flesh with emotional detachment, seeing it as we would the meat of other animals, or even as an organic medium for art and architecture. Don’t worry – most of these are not made of actual humans, but rather silicone, polymer clay and wax. Read on for a tent modeled on human intestines, a pillow made of human skin and the world’s grossest pair of stiletto heels.

Jonathan Payne

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Jonathan Payne calls these deeply repulsive sculptures ‘FLESHLETTES,’ and that name says a lot. They’re basically lumps of human viscera, teeth, eyes and hair put together into little miniature packages. You probably never wanted to see a nipple with teeth, but here one is, nonetheless.

Andrea Hasler

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A tent made of flesh, a giant lump of what looks like human fat serenely overlooking a cliff, and a series of disgusting handbags are among the organic works of Swiss artist Andrea Hasler, who aims to humanize objects with ‘emotional surfaces.’ The tent was modeled upon human intestines and is made of polystyrene and wax as well as leather and real blood.

Felix Deac

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Romanian artist Felix Deac creates amorphous blobs of flesh replete with veins, moles, wrinkles and hair. While some might look like deformed human body parts, most are just abstract shapes reminiscent of nightmarish tumors that have taken on a life of their own.

Patricia Piccinini

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Patricia Piccinini’s work is so shockingly realistic, photographs of it are often passed around the internet as clickbait, with people wondering ‘what the heck am I looking at?’ The controversial Australian artist creates sculptures of fantastical creatures with extremely human-like skin and hair.

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Art Made Flesh 35 Sculptures Rendered In Human Skin Hair

[ By Steph in Art & Sculpture & Craft. ]

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Hearables: Sound-Controlling Earbuds Hack Everyday Acoustics

15 Jul

[ By WebUrbanist in Gadgets & Geekery & Technology. ]

here

With these earbuds, you can do anything from turning down the volume on crying babies, snoring spouses and passing sirens to tuning your own mix of bass, mids and trebles at a live concert in real time. If this description sounds like a bionic hearing device of the distant future, guess again: all of these benefits are being packed by Doppler Labs into a portable pair of well-funded wireless devices already in development.

custom audio filtering plugs

Starting with the simplest features of Here: users can turn up or down everyday sounds – basically a volume knob for ordinary acoustics all around. But it gets better: using machine learning and customizable inputs tied to your smart device, Here can also filter out specific soundwaves in real time, cancelling out unwanted sounds instead of replacing them with white noise or other filler.

sound design

Beyond this baseline feature set, however, things start to get really interesting, with audiophile-oriented features that let you add or subtract everything from treble and bass to reverbs and echoes, letting you personalize all kinds of soundscapes, from background music at bars and elevator Muzak at work to live concert performances. Users can employ presets or customize their experience on the fly then save favorite settings for later, and fans will undoubtedly begin remixing acoustics in unexpected situations, creating custom soundtracks out of walks through parks.

custom ear plug design

Like many wearables, these “hearables” are controllable from your favorite smart device and thus require little onboard processing power, resulting in more extended battery life – the buds are then recharged in a portable case. Doppler has already raised thousands via Kickstarter and millions more via tech and music company investors. Some of this money will be put toward hardware but much of which will be used to further refine their algorithms and give users ever-more-custom audio control over their everyday auditory experiences.

active listening

From their fundraising campaign: “Through two truly wireless, in-ear buds and a smartphone app, Here allows you to instantly control real world audio so you can hear what you want to hear – no matter the situation – and be fully immersed in your audio environment. Here does not stream or play recorded music. Instead, the Digital Signal Processor (DSP) inside Here acts as a studio in your ears by providing you with a volume knob, equalizer and effects to transform real world audio. Use this ‘remote control for your ears’ to have an optimal listening experience every time.”

[ By WebUrbanist in Gadgets & Geekery & Technology. ]

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Open Swim in MN: Nation’s First Naturally Filtered Public Pool

15 Jul

[ By WebUrbanist in Architecture & Public & Institutional. ]

first natural pool united states

After years of design and development, the first naturally filtered public swimming pool in the United States is set to open later this month in Minneapolis, the largest city in the Land of 10,000 Lakes. Located close to the Mississippi River in Webber Park, the project draws on European precedents but Minnesota law had to be changed to allow for this novel, chemical-free approach.

natural pool minneapolis park

A series of filtration strategies including appropriate plants, bacteria and microorganisms serve to keep the pool organically free of harmful bacteria and nutrient build-ups. Some city swimmers will still need to accustom themselves to the unusual look of the water, appearing more like that of a lake than a chemically-cleaned pool, but for most Minnesotans this should not prove too difficult.

natural self filtering pool

The main 500,000-gallon swimming area has space for up to 500 people in the water at once and a 13-foot deep end for diving, while an adjacent bioengineered pond helps to cycle and clean water from (then return it to) the human-occupied side. Over 2.5 miles of underground and underwater pipes push and pull water through this complex but effective system.

natural swimming pool

The project has not been without problems, including delays and additional costs, but as the first of its kind in the country there were bound to be some setbacks along the way. Migrating ducks and toads, for instance, attempted to settle the pool while it was under construction and had to be scared away and moved along, respectively. Poorly-chosen fill had to be replaced, weather pushed back elements of construction and various other surprises found on-site contributed to slower execution. Still, this ground-breaking approach represents a solid test case for other states interested in pursuing similarly sustainable organic pools as well as a legislative precedent for other areas with similar laws currently prohibiting naturally filtered designs (lead image via CBS MN).

[ By WebUrbanist in Architecture & Public & Institutional. ]

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Abandoned McBarge: Floating Fast Food Restaurant in Ruins

14 Jul

[ By Steph in Abandoned Places & Architecture. ]

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Built in 1986 in the hopes of enticing diners who were gravitating toward more high-end fare, this now-abandoned floating McDonalds might just be the saddest-looking fast food ruin around. Known as the ‘McBarge,’ it’s been anchored in Burrad Inlet near Vancouver, Canada since its debut and served its last Big Mac in 1991.

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The idea was to show off the future of technology and architecture while also attempting to regain some of the market share it lost during an ‘80s trend toward bistros and boutiques.

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How, exactly, McDonald’s aimed to do that with a clunky-looking barge serving the same old menu is unclear. The chain dropped $ 12 million on the floating fast food joint and four other locations built just for Expo ’86 in Vancouver, thinking they could simply move the barge elsewhere if it didn’t catch on.

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For whatever reason, it was never reopened, and hasn’t budged from its apparently permanent spot in the inlet. Owner Howard Meaking proposed renovating it into the showpiece of a new waterfront development along the Fraser River in 2009, but the city council still hasn’t approved the idea.

A group called ‘Vancouver’s Worst Ghost Hunters’ took a tour of the abandoned barge, using a legal loophole to get aboard and filming the experience. Check out the (surprisingly vermin-free) interior in the video (Images via Wikimedia Commons, Ashley Fisher/Flickr Creative Commons).

[ By Steph in Abandoned Places & Architecture. ]

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Architecturally Alive: 16 Transforming Kinetic Buildings

14 Jul

[ By Steph in Architecture & Cities & Urbanism. ]

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Will the cities of tomorrow be filled with intelligent kinetic architecture that moves and transforms of its own accord, as if it has a life of its own? The designers of these 16 structures seem to think so, whether they’re making use of ancient pulley-powered systems or engineering remarkably responsive auto-adaptations to change the look of a structure, shield it from the sun, or make it seem like a living creature in a bid to foster deeper connections between humans and architecture.

Adaptable Snow Cone Lifeguard Station

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Modeled on a pine cone, this lifeguard post by RAW Design, Ferris + Associates and Curio adapts to weather conditions on Toronto beaches. The white ‘petals’ can move to either offer shade during the hot summer months or to collect snow in the winter for extra insulation. The petals can also be retracted on one side and closed on the other to guard against heavy winds but still let sunshine in. It was fabricated in three weeks and then re-assembled on-site within 6 hours.

Penumbra Adaptive Window Shading System

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The Penumbra system by Tyler Short is “designed to offer a kinetic and mechanical solution to a problem that would otherwise be nearly impossible to solve with static architectural components: providing shading across a building facade for both low evening sun and high afternoon sun conditions.” The various kinetic elements of the shade system can shift in different ways to deflect light as needed.

Moving Parts by Olson Kundig Architects

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Architect: Tom Kundig

A home with a roof that opens vertically, an art gallery with a hoist-and-pulley facade and a ‘virtually indestructible’ cabin with operable steel panels are among the kinetic projects by Tom Kundig of the firm Olson Kundig. The architect says early exposure to mining, logging and farming industries led to a lifelong fascination with machinery, which he has integrated into all sorts of architectural projects. The idea is to move something large using very little energy, encouraging user participation in the transformation of the space in concert with geometry and physics.

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Architecture Thats Alive 16 Transforming Kinetic Buildings

[ By Steph in Architecture & Cities & Urbanism. ]

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Multimodal Micro-Homes: Tiny Dwellings Travel by Truck & Rail

13 Jul

[ By WebUrbanist in Architecture & Houses & Residential. ]

ship modular multimodal dwelling

Designed around an aging shipyard and its crosscrossing maze of leftover railroad tracks, these series of expandable little dwellings can be rearranged or even moved entirely on demand. Each unit is small enough to fit multiple on a standard cargo truck, then undergoes a simple expansion once deployed on rails to create more living space.

shipyard compact kitchen chair

shipyard portable micro homes

Polish architecture students Tomasz Zablotny and Pawla Maszota are following in the footsteps of other great designers and speculators. The idea of a city on rails has origins both in conceptual architecture as well as science fiction, with authors like China Mieville imagining an entire world made up of ever-moving trains (Railsea).

shipyard site plan

shipyard modular units

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Designed for a specific site in Gda?sk, Poland, the project could of course be expanded to other places, but begins with a real location that could use a productive urban intervention. The ease of mobility inherent in these units makes it possible to reconfigure them for events, creating clusters that in turn leave open spaces for gatherings, festivals or exhibitions.

shipyard plan section

shipyard expanding home

In the past two decades, the number of workers along the docks has dropped by 90%, from 20,000 to just 2,000, leaving plenty of space for such an influx of new inhabitation and activity.

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shipyard bathroom space

There are still some issues yet to be resolved, like indoor plumbing and electrical connections, but some of these (like showers) have already been considered, with auxiliary buildings to be created around this community. Should more permanent transformations ever be called for, the entire place essentially be packed up and moved along, traveling along the tracks or closed up and put back on trucks.

[ By WebUrbanist in Architecture & Houses & Residential. ]

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Worlds on End: Geometrically-Rotated Photos Twist Landscapes

13 Jul

[ By WebUrbanist in Art & Photography & Video. ]

reflected landscape

In a smooth and simple motion, a single section of each image in this series is utterly transformed, this piece rotated until it sits precisely upside down with respect to the original scene.

reflected urban setting context

While some feature more complex shapes, in general the process is extremely straightforward and geometry recognizable: squares or circles, centered horizontally (and sometimes vertically) in the frame, turned precisely 180 degrees.

reflected forest mountainside

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reflected cityscape at night

Victoria Siemer lives in New York City but graduated upstate – reflecting both country and cities, her modified pictures span both natural and urban landscapes but share common themes and methods. What began as a college thesis about fragmentation of self and emotions has morphed into a larger series of shots and prints.

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reflected forest walk

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reflected angular approach

While her surrealistic approach includes everything from universes in coffee cups to cliffs suspended in space, this particular group of works is compelling as much for its quiet directness as anything. Without a clear message or meaning, it is up to the viewer to interpret the results and put these fragmented images back together in their mind’s eye.

[ By WebUrbanist in Art & Photography & Video. ]

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Course Correction: Deserted Golf Greens into Solar Power Plants

12 Jul

[ By WebUrbanist in Abandoned Places & Architecture. ]

abandoned golf green solar

Derelict putting greens will be put to greener uses in Japan, where an abandoned golf course near Kyoto is being converted to the area’s largest solar energy-generating facility.

Solar power production represents an ideal type of landscape reuse in this context for many reasons: expansive areas with little shade and high sun exposure are perfect for laying out panels for maximum effect and efficiency. Developed by Kyocera, “the plant will generate an estimated 26,312 megawatt hours (MWh) per year — enough electricity to power approximately 8,100 typical local households.”

golf green conversion

Also under construction, a similar project in the Kagoshima Prefecture is being located on an area originally cleared for a golf course that was never finished and occupied. Critical to a country facing power issues in the wake of the Fukushima nuclear incident, these projects are also a sign of land use awareness and changing times. Just a few decades ago country club memberships sold for millions in Japan, but “overdevelopment of golf properties during the real-estate boom of the 1990’s and 2000’s has led to hundreds of idle courses today that are now under analysis for repurposing or redevelopment.”

green golfing

Of course, closed golf courses are also an international problem well beyond the Japanese archipelago, giving this solution potentially global applications as well, particularly in the United States. Together, these projects should help inspire other countries to turn some of the most environmentally unsound landscapes toward more productive and sustainable uses.

[ By WebUrbanist in Abandoned Places & Architecture. ]

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Architecture of Your Dreams: 11 More Surreal Fantasy Structures

10 Jul

[ By Steph in Architecture & Houses & Residential. ]

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While a spaceship-like pod balancing upon four impossibly tiny poles may not be the most realistic architectural concept ever proposed, some of these innovative fantasy structures from artist Dionisio Gonzalez make us wonder, ‘why not?’ Curving cast concrete forms interact with geometric volumes tilted at odd angles, and faceted glass and metal shapes hover off the ground in what look to be modular parametric designs. Other homes seem like contemporary buildings that have been taken apart like building blocks and put back together slightly off-kilter.

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Perhaps architects and engineers could confirm whether or not any of these surreal architectural visions could actually be built. Entitled ‘Trans-Actions,’ the new series consists of raised residences with complex shapes, some seeming to take a common motif from contemporary architecture and simply repeat it over and over again in slightly different ways. Many seem to balance precariously upon the earth, as if one strong wind could blow them right off their foundations.

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Each one is a bit past its prime, with surfaces that have gotten dirty or weathered over time. Half-dead vegetation clings to balconies as if nature is beginning to take back over, suggesting that what we are looking at is actually the remains of a structure no longer in use.

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Gonzalez previously released a series of post-apocalyptic shell-like structures envisioned for Dauphin Island, a locale off the coast of Alabama that keeps getting slammed by storms. Check out 35 more bizarre and intriguing examples of ‘impossible architecture.’

[ By Steph in Architecture & Houses & Residential. ]

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Fault Creep: Tectonic Motion is Slowly Tearing this Town in Two

10 Jul

[ By WebUrbanist in Destinations & Sights & Travel. ]

fault creep angled view

Located along a tectonic fault, the town of Hollister, California, acts like an earthquake in slow motion, its surfaces slipping past one another along a ragged line visible in everything from skewed traffic lines and split sidewalks to entirely torqued houses.

fault creep skewed house

As Geoff Manaugh neatly summarizes on BldgBlog, “Hollister is an inhabitable catalog of misalignment and disorientation, bulging, bending, and blistering as it splits right down the middle.” Thanks to inexorable forces of geology at work far below, “The entire west half of Hollister is moving north along the Calaveras Fault, leaving its eastern streets behind.”

fault creep sidewalk bulge

Instead of the sudden and devastating motion we normally associate with earthquakes, Hollister suffers the movements of rocks below at more geological than human speeds, its buildings and infrastructure ever-so-slowly twisted through the passage of time. At a rate of one inch per five years, the change is not noticeable on a daily basis, but dramatic over the decades.

fault creep curb alignment

There are elements of Alice’s Wonderland all over the urban landscape: “Curbs at nearly the exact same spot on opposite sides of the street are popped out of alignment. Houses too young to show this level of wear stand oddly warped, torqued out of synch with their own foundations, their once strong frames off-kilter. The double yellow lines guiding traffic down a busy street suddenly bulge northward—as if the printing crew came to work drunk that day—before snapping back to their proper place a few feet later.”

distorted bridge

Manaugh also traveled to a nearby bridge in Parkfield where a road bridge spans the San Andreas Fault, its distortions the ultimate manifestation of fault creep as each anchored side moves in the opposite direction. Built straight across, curves are already visible as one sights along the structure.

fault creep curved bridge

His photos here and elsewhere capture many of the region’s “minor landmarks for the seismic tourist,” which, “for all their near-invisibility, visiting can still provide a mind-altering experience.” All images by Geoff Manaugh.

360Photography

Archive for the ‘Creativity’ Category

Art Made Flesh: 35 Sculptures Rendered in Human Skin & Hair

Jonathan Payne

Andrea Hasler

Felix Deac

Patricia Piccinini

Next Page – Click Below to Read More:
Art Made Flesh 35 Sculptures Rendered In Human Skin Hair

Hearables: Sound-Controlling Earbuds Hack Everyday Acoustics

Open Swim in MN: Nation’s First Naturally Filtered Public Pool

Abandoned McBarge: Floating Fast Food Restaurant in Ruins

Architecturally Alive: 16 Transforming Kinetic Buildings

Adaptable Snow Cone Lifeguard Station

Penumbra Adaptive Window Shading System

Moving Parts by Olson Kundig Architects

Next Page – Click Below to Read More:
Architecture Thats Alive 16 Transforming Kinetic Buildings

Multimodal Micro-Homes: Tiny Dwellings Travel by Truck & Rail

Worlds on End: Geometrically-Rotated Photos Twist Landscapes

Course Correction: Deserted Golf Greens into Solar Power Plants

Architecture of Your Dreams: 11 More Surreal Fantasy Structures

Fault Creep: Tectonic Motion is Slowly Tearing this Town in Two

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Archive for the ‘Creativity’ Category

Jonathan Payne

Andrea Hasler

Felix Deac

Patricia Piccinini

Next Page – Click Below to Read More: Art Made Flesh 35 Sculptures Rendered In Human Skin Hair

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Body Art: Creations Made of Human Flesh, Blood & Bones

Shock Value: Slightly Disturbing Ultra-Realistic Sculptures

Sculptures Made of Straws by Sang Sik Hong

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Earin: World’s Smallest Wireless Earbuds Raise $ 1,500,000+

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Swim the Thames: Pair of Pools for London’s Polluted River

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Adaptable Snow Cone Lifeguard Station

Penumbra Adaptive Window Shading System

Moving Parts by Olson Kundig Architects

Next Page – Click Below to Read More: Architecture Thats Alive 16 Transforming Kinetic Buildings

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Moving Art: Unbelievable Kinetic Sculptures of Theo Jansen

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Kinetic Facade: Awesome Adaptive Window Shading System

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Snoozeboxes: Mobile Container Hotels Travel by Truck & Rail

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Imaginary Landscapes: 18 Digital Art Fantasy Worlds

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Literary Landscapes: Carved Books by Guy Laramee

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Street Smart: Solar Roadway Lights Up & Feeds Power Grid

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Gone Fission: 11 Unfinished Nuclear Power Plants

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Architectural Fiction: 35 Impossibly Surreal Structures

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Art Made Flesh 35 Sculptures Rendered In Human Skin Hair

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Architecture Thats Alive 16 Transforming Kinetic Buildings