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Archive for the ‘Creativity’ Category

Beyond Basic Bikes: 12 Twists on Classic Cycle Designs

06 Aug

[ By Steph in Design & Products & Packaging. ]

Bike Innovations Commuter

Plug-and-play accessories, bendable frames, built-in tents and totally unexpected redesigns transform the classic century-old bicycle design for the modern era. These 12 clever and sometimes weird cycling innovations range from simple flat-pack construction that can be assembled with a single allen wrench to bikes that incorporate a range of the latest gadgetry.

EVO: Commuter Bike with Clip-On Components

Billed ‘the ultimate urban utility bike,’ the EVO by HUGE Design features quick-connect mounts on both the front and back for attaching a range of accessories including child seats and a variety of racks. Inspired by San Francisco’s famous towers and bridges, the symmetrical frame was designed to support cargo loads on both ends.

nCycle Electric Bike with Integrated Lock

Bicycle Innovations nCycle 1

Bicycle Innovations nCycle 2

Bicycle Innovations nCycle 3

The designer of the nCycle questions whether it makes sense to simply add electrical components to a design that’s over a century old, choosing instead to completely re-invent the bike for this new purpose. Gone are the ‘odd mix of tubes and wires,’ replaced by a pair of side panels that conceal a battery, storage compartment and optional folding mechanism. It’s got a built-in lock, lights and a sound system, and a holographic display on the handlebars linked to a smartphone.

FLIZ Velocipede Requires You to Run

This isn’t exactly the sort of bike you can ride around on – the FLIZ is basically a means to propel yourself faster than you could ever run otherwise. The rider clips into a 5-point harness and gets a running start, the belt replacing the saddle.

Space Roam Fixed Gear Bike

Bicycle Innovations Space Roam 2

This fixed-gear bike design is anything but the same old conventional style, with an ultra-streamlined design inspired by liquid metal. It’s made of super lightweight materials to make it an extra-zippy ride.

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Beyond Basic Bikes 12 Twists On Classic Cycle Designs

[ By Steph in Design & Products & Packaging. ]

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Inst-Int 2014: 3 Must-See Installation Artists & Designers

05 Aug

[ By WebUrbanist in Art & Installation & Sound. ]

janet echelman floating cord

Featuring an all-star lineup of renowned interaction designers and installation artists, the second-annual INST-INT is a Minneapolis gathering focused the art of interactivity for objects, environments and experiences. From the creators of the Eyeo Festival, this September event will bring together presenters and guests from around the world to talk about amazing projects. As an official media partner of INST-INT 2014, WebUrbanist is pleased to provide an introduction to a small sample of its outstanding participants below.

janet echelman vertical installation

Janet Echelman builds incredible public works that respond to forces of nature, including light, wind and water. Working in open urban spaces, her iconic net sculptures represent “a sophisticated mixture of ancient craft and modern technology [that have] led to collaborations with aeronautical and mechanical engineers, architects, lighting designers, landscape architects, and fabricators.”

janet echelman work montage

Affixed to local architecture, some of her dynamic pieces involve audience participation, with observers choreographing real-time light shows to dance on her suspended pieces. The scale of these creations is hard to fathom – Skies Painted with Unnumbered Sparks in Vancouver, for instance, consists of “a complex matrix of 860,000 hand and machine-made knots and 145 miles of braided fiber weighing nearly 3,500 pounds span 745 feet.”

mit tangible media group

Daniel Leithinger works with the Tangible Media Group at the MIT Media Lab, with work on tangible interfaces and interactive shape displays previously featured on WebUrbanist.

mit tangible media example

Turning gestures into physical responses, these experimental interface prototypes imply rich possibilities for remote interactions of all kinds, both practical and artistic in nature, enabling actions-at-a-distance in ways that were previously impossible or cost-prohibitive.

soso limited art installation

So-So Limited boasts a diverse portfolio of “interactive installations, applications, and live performances. These projects incorporate elements of dynamic typography, video manipulation, computer vision, sensor technologies and sound design.”

so so limited data chandelier

At INST-INT this year, the So-So team are inviting participants to join them “for an off-screen behind-the-scenes look at the asks, solves, and learnings of the interactive installation business. We’ll lift the hood on some of our recent projects [and] talk about lo-res data viz, interfacing with architecture and architects, the realities of making things for people that aren’t you, and the pains and pleasures of working with non-traditional display technologies.”

inst int about montage

To learn more or buy tickets, visit INST-INT.com – beyond the array of talks and workshops, there will also be show-and-tell sessions as well as launch and closing parties. Artists and creatives attending include: Dan Goods, Daniel Leithinger, Janet Echelman, Jen Lewin, Joel Gethen Lewis, Joshua Noble, Kate Hollenbach, Klaus Obermaier, Kyle McDonald, Micah Elizabeth Scott, Minimaforms, So-So Limited and Sputniko!. Meanwhile, to get a sense of last year’s event, visit this Vimeo channel.

inst int montage image

From the organizers of INST-INT: “This September in Minneapolis, INST-INT presents 3 days of lectures and workshops with renowned creators of interactive art and media rich experiences. Centered at the Walker Art Center, the international roster of speakers and guests will explore the intersection of art, technology and interaction. If you’re interested in installation art, interactive art, or responsive environments don’t miss INST-INT and the opportunity to learn from and connect with some of the most fascinating people in the field today.”

[ By WebUrbanist in Art & Installation & Sound. ]

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Floating on Dry Land: 17 Derelict Houseboats Find New Home

05 Aug

[ By WebUrbanist in Architecture & Public & Institutional. ]

ceuvel project lifting place

Located in the north of Amsterdam, the recently-opened De Ceuval (conceptualized by Space&Matter) is a radical redevelopment project featuring homes, offices, restaurants and gardens, all accessed via elevated winding platforms that connect renovated houseboats.

houseboat space matter diagram

houseboats on dry land

A former shipping wharf, this brownfield site is being transformed from a polluted wasteland into a temporary ten-year creative haven, all designed to revitalize and rehabilitate the land it occupies and leave it cleaner at the end of its lease.

houseboat winding wood pathways

houseboat brick wall exterior

The complex is made up of an array of formerly-floating homes that are no longer seaworthy but can still be fixed up and find a second life on land. As PopUpCity reports, “The imaginatively retro-fitted houseboats that make up the creative quarter are all placed around a winding bamboo walkway and the surrounding landscape consists of plants that clean the soil.”

houseboat brownfield site renovation

houseboat axon diagram

An incredible array of sustainable strategies are being employed in the development, both for the benefit of the site and to educate the public, showing off “new technologies that can transform how we produce and consume resources and public services in cities. Throughout the site, solar technologies will convert energy from the sun into heat and electricity. Green roofs and water collection systems are designed to collect, purify, and store rainwater for when it’s needed. Sanitation systems will extract energy, nutrients, and water from the waste produced for on-site food production. A network of sensors provide information on performance and user behavior.”

houseboat renovated interior design

houseboat gathering people party

One of the central features of the program is the Ceuvel Café, designed as a gathering and eating space for tenants and visitors alike, featuring “lectures, workshops and tastings. In the future, it will also be possible to buy locally produced vegetables [and attend] guided tours and events. Ceuvel Café will also act as a stage for artists, musicians, theat[rical performers] and filmmakers.”

houseboat finished pedestrian diagram

aerial view micro town

The entire complex is meant to serve not only the designer and architects who occupy it, but the environment around it, using green tactics of all kinds including “high-tech systems like sensors, monitoring devices, solar panels, and high-efficiency electric boilers. Low-tech systems also play an important role, including biological waste processing, water filtration, smart insulation methods, vegetation, and solar tubes that provide more natural light to indoor spaces.”

[ By WebUrbanist in Architecture & Public & Institutional. ]

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Trained Eye: Rail Art Plays Visual Tricks with Tracks & Ties

04 Aug

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

train art rail music

This artist colors outside the lines (or off the rails, if you will) with his clever train-centric creations, dashing onto the tracks to complete pieces that play with the site-specific transit infrastructure in public places.

train painting hand shake

train graffiti scary jump

Portuguese artist Artur Bordalo (AKA Bordalo II) works in and around the train lines, using what is there as props and backdrops for his colorful compositions, turning them into musical lines, extended arms or text underlines.

train on off art

bordalo train tick tac toe

train outside the lines

Many of these are necessarily quickly-executed pieces, placed as they are around active train tracks, while others use abandoned railways and include three-dimensional objects in the mix.

bardalo wall apple mixed

bardalo installation art

bardalo mixed media art

We would be remiss not to mention his other works of urban installation art, often vibrant and including mixed-media elements drawn together, collaged and montaged from their environments (often including garbage and even its receptacles).

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

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Meltdown: 10 Semi-Sweet Abandoned Chocolate Factories

03 Aug

[ By Steve in Abandoned Places & Architecture. ]

Abandoned Hershey Chocolate Factory smokestacks cocoa bushes
Chocolate factories were once fragrant masters of their delicious domains but many have fallen victim to high costs, cocoa shortages and changing market tastes.

abandoned Hershey chocolate factory Pennsylvania smokestacks

abandoned Hershey chocolate factory Pennsylvania demolition

Hershey, Pennsylvania, is known as “The Sweetest Place on Earth” though residents can’t be blamed for feeling a bit bitter: the historic Hershey Chocolate Factory closed in 2010 after operating for 105 years. Much of the former factory on East Chocolate Avenue was demolished over the past two years though Hershey is legally bound to preserve the iconic twin smokestacks and “cocoa bushes” regardless of future developments.

Home Sweet Home

Sebastian Liste Urban Quilombo abandoned chocolate factory Brazil

In 2009 photographer Sebastian Liste embarked upon Urban Quilombo, a photo-documentary odyssey that opened a window into the lives of dozens of families who occupied Galpao da Araujo Barreto, an abandoned chocolate factory in Salvador de Bahia, Brazil. Creating a community to shield themselves from the violent crime surrounding them, residents of the old chocolate factory managed to scratch out an existence suffused by sorrow shot through with flashes of joy.

Sebastian Liste Urban Quilombo abandoned chocolate factory Brazil

In March of 2011, Brazilian government authorities evicted the families from the factory as part of their effort to “cleanse” cities scheduled to host events of the 2014 FIFA World Cup and the 2016 Summer Olympic Games. The families who formerly occupied the abandoned chocolate factory were resettled in a new neighborhood, “Jardim das Margaridas”, where Liste continue to document their lives.

Bristol Brush-Off

abandoned Elizabeth Shaw chocolate factory Bristol UK

Elizabeth Shaw has really let herself go. The Elizabeth Shaw chocolate factory in Bristol, UK, opened in 1881 and closed in late 2006 ostensibly due to its machinery needing a massive updating the company simply could not afford. It would seem the entire complex – both manufacturing and administrative – was abandoned with very little salvaging of anything valuable. Kudos to urban explorer Nero21 for risking life and limb to snap a few photos of the factory interior, where trays of moldy chocolate fill the stagnant air with a pungent aroma of sadness and decay.

Cadburied

Adelaide Australia abandoned Cadbury chocolate factory

This former Cadbury chocolate factory in Adelaide, Australia seems to have been abandoned for quite some time. How can you tell? Well, signage faded by the fierce and unrelenting Outback sun offers one clue while the stowed 1959 Ford delivery (or “despatch”) wagon parked inside offers another. Full props to Weekend Notes for the evocative images above.

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Meltdown 10 Semi Sweet Abandoned Chocolate Factories

[ By Steve in Abandoned Places & Architecture. ]

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Speedy Prefab: How a 9-Story Apartment Was Built in 5 Days

03 Aug

[ By WebUrbanist in Architecture & Houses & Residential. ]

prefab building hoist unit

We see conceptual modular designs of this kind all of the time, but rarely such exquisite real-world proof of how fast construction can be in the age of prefabrication.

prefab building lift process

prefab building crane decks

The recently-completed One9 building in Melbourne, Australia, using the Hickory Group’s Unitized Building system to install 34 units in less than 1 week around a prefab-paneled concrete core.

prefab building 5 days

prefab building construction photo

Created by architect Nonda Katsalidis, this approach allows each one-or-two-bedroom dwelling to be built almost entirely offsite then stacked like a puzzle piece onto the site, completed with decks and fenestration in place.

prefab structure unit interior

Utility connections are also built in, making it easy to hook up electrical and plumbing systems. In theory, the process can be used to build up to 70-story structures.

The building boasts a number of sustainable materials and strategies, making its speed of construction all the more impressive. Per JetsonGreen, “The units in the building are all fitted with double glazed windows that offer superior thermal protection and acoustic performance. The building is also equipped with a grey water recycling system. There is also a rainwater harvesting system in place.

prefab finished apartment building

As for green energy, “Rooftop mounted solar panels provide enough energy to heat the water used up by the residents, while the building is also equipped with a H.W.S system that provides highly efficient water circulation. Energy efficient lighting is installed throughout the building, to conserve energy expenditure. The One9 building also has a 6 Star energy rating.”

[ By WebUrbanist in Architecture & Houses & Residential. ]

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Ecological Life Support: Recycle a Bottle, Feed a Stray Dog

02 Aug

[ By Steph in Gadgets & Geekery & Technology. ]

Dispose of your empty plastic bottle in this little sidewalk kiosk, and it’ll dispense enough food to feed a stray cat or dog. Aiming to help both the environment and homeless animals, the vending machine by Turkish company Pugedon operates at no cost to the city since the value of the plastic pays for the food.

Referred to by the company as ‘ecological life support,’ the vending machine is an answer to a pressing problem in Istanbul: around 150,000 stray cats and dogs. Anyone passing by with a little bottled water can also choose to empty the rest of their water into the machine for the animals.

These animals generally rely on the kindness of local residents to survive, and while some love having them around, others believe they’re dangerous and a source of disease. The locals who host Facebook campaigns to gather supplies to care for the animals are countered by attempts to poison them.

While this vending machine isn’t an answer to the problem of homeless animals, it does offer an interesting compromise to care for them without putting a burden on Istanbul residents or the city.

[ By Steph in Gadgets & Geekery & Technology. ]

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Urban Observatory: TED Co-Founder’s New Civic Data Platform

01 Aug

[ By WebUrbanist in Gaming & Computing & Technology. ]

urban observatory splash page

This new project brings a whole world’s worth of metropolitan data to your fingertips via both an online application and an upcoming installation at the Smithsonian Museum, courtesy of TED founder Richard Saul Wurman. A rich virtual resource, it represents the work of over 15,000 contributing cartographers and designers from 200 countries.

urban observatory monitor picture

Collecting and data big and small, static and live, the multi-media Urban Observatory allows (and encourages) comprehensible and comprehensive visual comparisons between cities on various fascinating fronts.

urban observatory touch screens

While it continues to solicit data sets to expand its offerings, already people can look into housing and population density of young and old urban residents, transit patterns for cars, trains and planes, open spaces and much more.

urban observatory chart detail

Want to learn about how traffic patterns differ between a spread-out city like Los Angeles versus central London, or see how home prices differ between New York and Tokyo in an intuitively interactive way? Now you can do all of these in one place and using a straightforward and user-friendly interface. From its creators: “The Urban Observatory is an interactive exhibit that gives you the chance to compare and contrast data from cities around the world–all from one location. It aims to make the world’s data both understandable and useful. Brought to life by Richard Saul Wurman, Radical Media, and Esri, it is the first exhibit of its kind.”

urban observatory demonstration installation

The spatial installation component is coming to the Smithsonian Institute in Washington, DC, in 2015. More from VentureBeat: “It was a massive undertaking. Cartographers and computer scientists used big data sets, helped by 3D graphics and Landsat, NASA’s satellite program that captures incredibly detailed images of the earth’s surface, to look back at the last 40 years of city development. It provided scientists insight into how the planet is developing – and how to help save it.”

[ By WebUrbanist in Gaming & Computing & Technology. ]

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Cargo Canvases: 6 Street Artists Paint 22 Stacked Containers

31 Jul

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

cargo container greek gods

Towers constructed from shipping container modules formed the blank basis behind this series of incredible giant-sized, site-specific artworks using spray paint and pole brushes.

cargo shipping container art

For the North West Walls Street Art Festival in Belgium, curated by Arne Quinze, each contributor was encouraged to compose something on one side of each of three unique and random-seeming stacks.

cargo art under construction

cargo container stacked progress

cargo container art details

cargo shipping art finished

Famous graffiti artists Pichi & Avo added an array of Greek gods to their chosen canvas, framing the brilliantly-rendered figures in contemporary style, using warm-colored graffiti to create a stark contrast around them.

cargo container finished zoo

cargo container upper view

A play on the artist’s name and implicit commentary on creatures in captive zoo conditions, Roa’s Ark features a series of caged and chained animals each contained in one of the cargo units, the effectively black-and-white composition intentionally devoid of bright colors.

cargo container death mask

cargo container lift crane

cargo art strange face

Other contributors included Jen Zie and Martin Ron, adding further colorful and abstract creations to the mix. Together, the finished works represent a wonderful array of approaches, some playing on history, references and culture and others on visual effects, depth and perception.

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

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Guerrilla Lace: Prettied-Up Urban Surfaces in Poland

31 Jul

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

Urban Lace 1

Urban sidewalks, sewer grates and dingy underpasses aren’t exactly the most likely places to find beautiful large-scale ornamental lace, but for artist NeSpoon Polska, that’s exactly where it belongs. The Polish artist creates both spray-painted street art and crocheted installations for interactive displays in all sorts of public spaces, from street lamps to abandoned houses.

Urban Lace 3

Urban Lace 7

Urban Lace 2

Urban Lace 4

Urban Lace 6

Calling it ‘illegal city decor’ and ‘public jewelry,’ Polska wanders around Warsaw, swiftly painting parking meters, utility boxes, blank signs and other blank (and often ugly) urban surfaces. Some, like a giant mural taking up almost the entire side of a three-story building, are created with permission.

Urban Lace 8

Urban Lace 9

Urban Lace 5

Urban Lace 10

“Jewelry makes people look pretty, my public jewelry has the same goal, make public places look better. I would like people who discover, here and there, my small applications, to smile and just simply feel better,” says the artist.

360Photography

Archive for the ‘Creativity’ Category

Beyond Basic Bikes: 12 Twists on Classic Cycle Designs

EVO: Commuter Bike with Clip-On Components

nCycle Electric Bike with Integrated Lock

FLIZ Velocipede Requires You to Run

Space Roam Fixed Gear Bike

Next Page – Click Below to Read More:
Beyond Basic Bikes 12 Twists On Classic Cycle Designs

Inst-Int 2014: 3 Must-See Installation Artists & Designers

Floating on Dry Land: 17 Derelict Houseboats Find New Home

Trained Eye: Rail Art Plays Visual Tricks with Tracks & Ties

Meltdown: 10 Semi-Sweet Abandoned Chocolate Factories

Home Sweet Home

Bristol Brush-Off

Cadburied

Next Page – Click Below to Read More:
Meltdown 10 Semi Sweet Abandoned Chocolate Factories

Speedy Prefab: How a 9-Story Apartment Was Built in 5 Days

Ecological Life Support: Recycle a Bottle, Feed a Stray Dog

Urban Observatory: TED Co-Founder’s New Civic Data Platform

Cargo Canvases: 6 Street Artists Paint 22 Stacked Containers

Guerrilla Lace: Prettied-Up Urban Surfaces in Poland

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Archive for the ‘Creativity’ Category

EVO: Commuter Bike with Clip-On Components

nCycle Electric Bike with Integrated Lock

FLIZ Velocipede Requires You to Run

Space Roam Fixed Gear Bike

Next Page – Click Below to Read More: Beyond Basic Bikes 12 Twists On Classic Cycle Designs

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Bizarre Bicycle! Fliz Fits Like a Harness to Help You Run

Micro-Cycle: Hubless Bike Folds Down & Fits into Backpack

City Cycle: Curved Urban Tread Wraps ‘Round Bike Tire

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The Art of Architecture: 10 Incredible Installation Projects

Interactive Light Art Installation Operated by Smart Phones

Virtual Light: Facade Installation Casts Fake Illumination

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17 Extreme Real Houseboats & House Boat Design Ideas

Coming Next Year: World’s First Floating Apartment Complex

Marine Extreme: 15 Houseboats & House Boat Designs

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Tramboarding: Hacked Wooden Pallet Slides Down Rail Tracks

Electrifying Art: Sculptures Made of Wire and Cable Ties

Frame-Busting Art: 2D Graffiti Figures Break Free from Walls

Home Sweet Home

Bristol Brush-Off

Cadburied

Next Page – Click Below to Read More: Meltdown 10 Semi Sweet Abandoned Chocolate Factories

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Deserted Industry: 7 Abandoned Factories, Mills and Mines

Soviet Yum-Yum: Russia’s Red October Chocolate Factory

You’re Fired: 9 Smokin’ Hot Abandoned Match Factories

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Coming Next Year: World’s First Floating Apartment Complex

Architectural Love Story: 10 Real Castles Built for Love

Zaha Hadid’s Apartment Block Overlooking NYC High Line

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Human Interest: Homeless Dogs Given Hope-Filled Balloons

No Life Support: 10 Abandoned Ambulance & EMS Stations

Rein-Vend: 7 Converted, New & Reverse Vending Machines

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Urban Jungle Street View: 3D Hack Uses Hidden Depth Data

Ditch Your Car: Get From A to B Using Real-Time Transit Data

Virtual & Reality: 15 New York City Data Visualizations

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Kiev Street Artists Paint Interesting Fairy Tales

Indoor Skydiving Inside Concrete Silos & Cargo Containers

Blanking Banksy: Artists & City Paint Over Pricey NYC Graffiti

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Surprise! 20 Subversive Works of Urban Guerrilla Street Art

Wild Creatures in Urban Mexico: New Street Art by ROA

Semi-Subversive: 3 Unusually Legal Urban Street Art Projects

Next Page – Click Below to Read More:
Beyond Basic Bikes 12 Twists On Classic Cycle Designs

Next Page – Click Below to Read More:
Meltdown 10 Semi Sweet Abandoned Chocolate Factories