Creativity « 360Photography

RSS

Archive for the ‘Creativity’ Category

Fairytale Retreats: 15 Magical BlueForest Tree Houses

30 Jul

[ By Steph in Architecture & Houses & Residential. ]

Blueforest Treehouses Main

Daydream about an ideal fairytale retreat in the forest, and what you envision will likely look a lot like these 14 amazing arboreal creations. There’s simply no other word for them but ‘magical,’ and UK-based builder Blueforest has that style down pat with conical towers, Gothic windows, quirky cedar shingles and swaying rope bridges.

Living the Highlife Tree House

Blueforest Highlife Treehouse

Two separate retreats, one for kids and one for adults, are lofted high into the sky and connected by a canopy walkway at the ‘Living the Highlife’ treehouse. The adult section features a castle-style conical thatched roof, while the kids’ has three medieval towers, one of which contains a games room accessed by secret trap door.

Willow Nook Tree House

How much relaxation can you even handle? The Willow Nook Tree House is not only a tranquil getaway set among flowering greenery, it’s got a wood stove, a cedar hot tub on its deck, and a beautiful handmade swing.

Alice in Wonderland Tree House

Inspired by the off-kilter architecture seen in the classic story Alice in Wonderland, this treehouse in Spain includes “handmade wonky windows,” a copper turret and cedar lining that was cut to look like melting chocolate. The air-conditioned interior room has a TV and storage for toys.

Alton Towers

Looking like something out of a fantasy movie, the Alton Towers Treehouse village is a series of 5 luxury treehouses for the Alton Towers Resort, the UK’s leading theme park. Each sleeps up to 8 people and contains its own open-plan living space and en-suite bathrooms.

Quiet Tree House

Don’t be fooled by the rustic feel of the Quiet Treehouse, which Blueforest calls “an entirely new concept in arboreal living.” While it’s made to resemble a tree, it comes complete with next-generation sound engineering to be equally at home in a natural woodland environment or modern urban setting, and it’s sound-proofed. It’s also full of the latest ‘quiet’ gadgets from companies like Bose, Smeg, Samsung and Dyson.

Next Page – Click Below to Read More:
Fairytale Retreats 15 Magical Blueforest Tree Houses

[ By Steph in Architecture & Houses & Residential. ]

[ WebUrbanist | Archives | Galleries | Privacy | TOS ]

WebUrbanist

Comments Off

Posted in Creativity

Rich Door, Poor Door: Segregated Entrances Spark Controversy

30 Jul

[ By WebUrbanist in Architecture & Houses & Residential. ]

rich door front entrance

Mayor Bill de Blasio and the Department of Housing Preservation and Development has come under attack by critics for approving building plans in NYC that include separate entrances for affordable-housing tenants and luxury-condo owners. The debate raises other questions about the urban poor and the mixing of classes in this city and beyond.

rich door entrance scandal

40 Riverside Boulevard, an Upper West Side project of the Extell Development Company, is the property at the heart of this particular controversy. Its 55 street-facing units for low-income residents have helped permit its developers to create many of the other 219 additional units to be sold at market rates and take advantage of associated tax breaks. The aggregate effect of the benefits? An estimated $ 100 million in added floor space value for this 33-story tower.

rich door extel example

The now-approved plans call for a back-alley entryway for second-class residents and a more prominent front entrance for its full-priced buyers. Detractors say the separation of entryways defeats the intention of the program, effectively segregating low-income from regular housing. Arguments on the flip side suggest that the city should focus its efforts developing less-valuable land elsewhere for subsidized housing projects.

rich door lobby entrance

The Inclusionary Housing Program to which Extell applied is meant to encourage integrated complexes and, in exchange, allow developers to build larger structures on coveted urban sites. At issue is the notion that this development may follow the letter but not the spirit of the system, which, in theory, should be arbitrated by the HPD, but in practice has become part of a larger public discourse.

rich poor divide interior

The heated and ongoing debate has caused Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer to promise a rejection of any future plans that similarly separate out entrances. Whether that will truly help solve the island’s long-term affordable-neighborhoods issue, though, remains to be seen.

[ By WebUrbanist in Architecture & Houses & Residential. ]

[ WebUrbanist | Archives | Galleries | Privacy | TOS ]

WebUrbanist

Comments Off

Posted in Creativity

5,000 Residents Being Evicted from World’s Tallest Vertical Slum

29 Jul

[ By WebUrbanist in Architecture & Cities & Urbanism. ]

tower david shelf wall

A forced relocation is underway as thousands of squatters are moved by authorities out of their homes and the city of Caracas, some of whom have called the infamous half-finished Tower of David home for as long as seven years.

tower of david view above

Rumors began a few weeks back as Chinese bankers expressed interest in purchasing the unfinished structure in Venezuela, with the intention of turning it back toward the (official and licensed) commercial and office uses for which it was originally intended. Currently, however, over 1,000 families live and work in the first few dozen floors of this 44-story skyscraper.

tower of david ground floor

With surprising speed over the past week, the government has already shifted over 100 of these to a settlement outside of town (three floors a time) and is set to displace everyone living in the building, primarily to Valles del Tuy in the state of Miranda.

tower david tall pic

The tower was originally abandoned mid-construction in 1990 and eventually taken over by informal inhabitants who created not just homes but stores, offices, gyms, groceries, tailors, factories, churches tattoo parlors and even internet cafes within its walls.

tower of david room tv

Without an elevator (and with missing windows on the top levels), its most prized spaces for occupants have been on the lower floors, with scooter taxis that ferry people up ramps to some levels adjacent to the parking structure. Like Kowloon Walled City, the place has its own rules and informal systems of bringing in and sharing resources, including limited water and power.

tower of david exterior view

The Urban Think Tank, which spent years studying the building (and writing Torre David: Informal Vertical Communities), has weighed in on the significance of the building and its occupants as well as its sudden shift in direction: “What we found was neither a den of criminality nor a romantic utopia. Torre David is a building that has the complexity of a city. It merges formal structure and informal adaptation to provide urgently needed solutions, and shows us how bottom-up resourcefulness has the ability to address prevailing urban scarcities.”

More from UTT: “When dealing with informal settlements, infusions of money for major public works and other approaches that involve large-scale rapid change – such as the razing of slums and relocation of poor populations – have generally failed in the complex setting of the city. The commercial housing market simply does not supply enough homes. There are too few units of social housing, and the majority of these are far beyond the reach of low-income families.”

“The dire asymmetries of capital in the global south do little to help; yet various forms of structural neglect have not always diminished great entrepreneurial vigor. Shunned by governments and the formal private sector, city dwellers, like those in Torre David, have devised and employed tactics to improvise shelter and housing.” Images via The Atlantic and Torre David: Informal Vertical Communities.

[ By WebUrbanist in Architecture & Cities & Urbanism. ]

[ WebUrbanist | Archives | Galleries | Privacy | TOS ]

WebUrbanist

Comments Off

Posted in Creativity

Rotating Rooms: Push a Button, Change Your House Layout

29 Jul

[ By Steph in Architecture & Houses & Residential. ]

Maybe in the summer, you’d prefer cooler, shadier lodgings, and in the winter, you wish you could extend your living space out into the sun. The lucky people who live in the three-story Sharifi-Ha house in Tehran, by design firm nextoffice, can transform the layout of their house in various cool ways with the simple push of a button.

Three mobile wooden volumes containing different living spaces – a guest room, home office and dining room – can be aligned flush against the fixed part of the home, rotated so the glassed-in ends face a variety of angles, and extended in or out telescopically.

When the movable rooms are facing straight out, they open up terraces on each level, bringing more daylight into the rooms that are deeper within the home.

When the occupants want more privacy and a sense of coziness, the home closes up, essentially going into either extroverted or introverted mode along with the humans who live there.

[ By Steph in Architecture & Houses & Residential. ]

[ WebUrbanist | Archives | Galleries | Privacy | TOS ]

WebUrbanist

Comments Off

Posted in Creativity

Drones for Life: 13 Fun & Positive Flying Robot Functions

28 Jul

[ By Steph in Gadgets & Geekery & Technology. ]

Drone defibrillator 1

Instead of raining death and destruction, these 13 drones deliver defibrillators and piping hot pizza, save drowning victims, mix the perfect cocktails, clean ocean pollution and even take your selfies for you. The creators of these flying robots focus on how they can be used for the greater good, rather than remaining associated with war. After all, it’s hard to argue against the statement that a giant burrito is better than a bomb.

Yura Bartender Drone

Drone Bartender 1

Your own personal robotic bartender will make you any drink, from tea just the way you like it to the perfect margarita, and then deliver it to you. The flying droid, by Kyiv National University of Construction and Architecture student Herman Haydin, can be activated with voice commands or via a smartphone or computer, and is equipped with navigation, WiFI and sensory body screens. It’ll even determine just how many calories should be in your drink to meet your needs.

Dominos’ Pizza-Delivering DomiCopter

Your pizza could get to you a lot fresher and hotter if the driver didn’t have to worry about traffic. Enter ‘DomiCopter,’ a Dominos drone that can deliver pies in heatwave bags over long distances without having to refuel. The company is currently testing the prototype at its headquarters.

KATSU Drone Paintings

Multi-media artist KATSU presented a series of abstract paintings created by drones at New York’s The Hole Gallery in April 2014. “The artworks in this exhibition are a completely new type of painting that has never been made before. As drone aircraft (drones) have become more affordable to consumers, KATSU has been working to develop a way to make them paint. Originally developing technology so drones could be programmed to write illegal graffiti, KATSU created the hardware and software to have a drone carry a spray paint can and a mechanism to press the can to emit spray. These pasts months he has experimented with the weight of the paint, the straw for the sprayer, the sensor for the can activation, the flight of the drone and different paint and surfaces to achieve the artworks he sought.”

Personal Assistant Drone on Demand

Drone Personal Assistant 1

Need a personal assistant to go to the post office, watch out for your safety in a questionable area, or scout out a parking spot? The Gofor concept envisions thousands of drones hovering around in the sky, just waiting to be summoned down to perform various tasks. While the technology to make this happen isn’t quite in place yet, graphic artist Alex Cornell makes a convincing case for the service.

‘Dronies’: Have Drones Take Your Selfies

Drone Selfies

Is a selfie still a selfie if it’s taken by a drone? An entire Vimeo channel exists solely for the ‘Dronies’ phenomenon of people using little flying robots to snap self-portraits. They’ve been taken everywhere from suburban parks to the Roman Colosseum, capturing the subject’s environment for a whole new dimension to what’s typically a pretty limited photograph. Anybody could stick a GoPro or similar camera onto a flying robot to try it out for themselves.

Next Page – Click Below to Read More:
Drones For Life 13 Fun Life Saving Flying Functions

[ By Steph in Gadgets & Geekery & Technology. ]

[ WebUrbanist | Archives | Galleries | Privacy | TOS ]

WebUrbanist

Comments Off

Posted in Creativity

Crash Course: 24 Elements of Design Animated in 48 Seconds

28 Jul

[ By WebUrbanist in Design & Graphics & Branding. ]

animation design elements video

Arguing that design is more art than science, this stunning short video provides a rapid-fire visual tour of principles all aspiring designers should keep in mind.

Matt Greenwood ties each example into the next, speeding through basics like lines and planes before covering balance, scale, texture, symmetry, then contrasting rules with randomness and much more.

animated example of designers

It might not teach you to be a designer in less than a minute, but it does provide a dazzling introduction to basic concepts, showing and not just telling with useful and compelling (if quick) examples.

animated principles of design

About the creator: Matt is a “freelance art director & motion designer based in Toronto with over 10 years professional experience. Working with After Effects, Photoshop, illustrator and Cinema 4D, [he] create[s] styleframes, storyboards, hand drawn illustration, 3D animation, matte painting and compositing for both broadcast and film work.”

animation example design principles

If you are into speed-learning new things (and have a few more minutes to spare), you may also want to check out this 15-minute Animated History of Western Architecture as well as this short 100-second animation of 26 famous buildings.

[ By WebUrbanist in Design & Graphics & Branding. ]

[ WebUrbanist | Archives | Galleries | Privacy | TOS ]

WebUrbanist

Comments Off

Posted in Creativity

Just Add Monsters: Chris McMahon’s Modified Thrift Store Art

27 Jul

[ By Steve in Art & Drawing & Digital. ]

Chris McMahaon Empty Swing monster thrift store painting
Artist Chris McMahon looks at cheap thrift store landscape paintings and sees something missing. Then he paints in the hidden monsters for all to enjoy.

Chris McMahon Empty Swing monster thrift store painting original

Artist Chris McMahon first began buying thrift store landscape paintings for economic reasons: often costing a mere dollar apiece, the paintings were far cheaper than new, unused canvases and McMahon saved plenty by covering the dime-a-dozen scenes with gesso and starting anew. That all changed one day when McMahon bought a landscape scene that caught his attention – not for what it showed but for what appeared to be missing. Check out the original “The Empty Swing” painting above and you’ll probably agree, though McMahon’s “completion” of the scene might not sit well with overly imaginative squeamish types.

The Mountain Monster

Chris McMahon Mountain Monster painting

“I’ve always liked giant monsters,” admits McMahon at his website, Involuntary Collaborations, “from rubber-suit Godzilla to Cloverfield.” We think The Mountain Monster, above, is a worthy addition to the pantheon. Stalking ominously through a backlit landscape of stunted conifers and fetid mist, the crazed creature appears to fit the scene perfectly. One wonder if the original artist would agree should they be presented with McMahon’s respectful augmentation.

The Swamp Monster

Swamp Monster thrift shop painting Chris McMahon

Somehow the swamp monster in the eponymously titled painting above, McMahon’s third such dip in the Involuntary Collaboration pool, doesn’t seem all that monstrous given he (or she) is giving the viewer a friendly wave. Even so, the scene is disconcerting to say the least. “This is the first one that I added my signature below the original artist’s,” states McMahon. “I feel better if the original artist has signed his or her landscape – that way it doesn’t look (as much) like I’m taking credit for another person’s work.”

Next Page – Click Below to Read More:
Just Add Monsters Chris Mcmahons Modified Thrift Store Art

[ By Steve in Art & Drawing & Digital. ]

[ WebUrbanist | Archives | Galleries | Privacy | TOS ]

WebUrbanist

Comments Off

Posted in Creativity

Photocatalytic Concrete: Air-Cleaning Building Absorbs Smog

27 Jul

[ By WebUrbanist in Architecture & Public & Institutional. ]

smog canopy forest inspired

Featuring 100,000 square feet of smog-filtering surface area, this structural facade will break down harmful oxides in sunlight to improve air quality all around it.

smog absorbing building design

The building, designed by Italian firm Nemesi & Partners, is being created for an exposition in Milan themed around planet-friendly sustainable designs.

smog sucking facade exterior

The amorphous and organic form is both a reference to trees and other types of air-purifying plants but also a way to provide a maximum amount of exposed surface.

smog building interior shadows

Like a forest, this facade will cast complex shadows and provide shade in and around the building. Its form references both nature and man-made land art.

smog converting architectural facade

Rooftop solar panels tucked out of view will add a further but less-visible green dimension, generating electricity for the building below.

[ By WebUrbanist in Architecture & Public & Institutional. ]

[ WebUrbanist | Archives | Galleries | Privacy | TOS ]

WebUrbanist

Comments Off

Posted in Creativity

Illusions in Iran: Surreal 3D Murals Transform Urban Tehran

25 Jul

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

Iran Street Art Illusions 1

The blank concrete facades of urban Tehran offer an irresistible canvas for playful large-scale murals that seem to bend reality in unexpected ways. A city of 12 million people that has been politically and economically isolated by Western powers for decades, Iran’s capital isn’t exactly known for a sense of warmth and fun. But artist Mehdi Ghandyanloo is helping to change that, with the blessing of Tehran officials.

Iran Street Art Illusions 2

Street Art Illusions Iran 3

Optical illusions make it look as if bicyclists are riding up the sides of buildings, children climbing sixth-story window frames, monstrous goldfish emerging from underwater structures in oversized aquariums. Some buildings appear to be folded like accordions, others playing host to all sorts of gravity-defying activities.

Street Art Illusions Iran 4

Many of the murals have a decidedly Dali-esque feel. In ‘Life Cycle,’ ladders float within ocular cut-outs connecting one level of an open elliptical space to the other, while men walk along the ceiling against a bright blue sky.

Street Art Illusions Iran 5

“The city is an architectural mishmash with buildings often having only one facade and the other three just left blank and grey. This doesn’t make for a beautiful city but it is a great environment for mural work. I think the municipality really felt the need to bring some cohesion or at least colour to the often confused and smog-smeared architectural face of the city.”

Street Art Illusions Iran 6

Detailed views of dozens of these murals can be seen on the artist’s Behance page.

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

[ WebUrbanist | Archives | Galleries | Privacy | TOS ]

WebUrbanist

Comments Off

Posted in Creativity

Bench to Bedroom: Urban Furniture Turned Homeless Shelters

25 Jul

[ By Steph in Design & Guerilla Ads & Marketing. ]

raincity housing project shelter

Whereas London and Montreal have installed spikes on the sidewalks to keep homeless people from getting too comfortable, Vancouver offers a kind welcome with benches that transform into mini-shelters. A nonprofit called RainCity Housing teamed up with Spring Advertising to create the modified public benches in order to provide a covered place to sleep while simultaneously raising awareness.

Bench Homeless Shelter 1

RainCity provides specialized housing and support services for the homeless in Vancouver. This two-part project highlights the importance of RainCity’s work without a hint of the exploitation that’s often seen in homeless awareness campaigns, avoiding stereotypical images of derelict people and focusing on a solution instead.

Bus Bench Homeless Shelter 3

Bus Bench Homeless Shelter 4

The first bench, which reads ‘FIND SHELTER HERE,’ has a built-in roof that can easily be folded up when needed. The second features the message ‘This is a bench’ during the day. At night, glow-in-the-dark ink highlights the text ‘This is a bedroom.’

bench bedroom homeless shelter

The Vancouver campaign is one of many thoughtful projects that meet at the intersection of activism and urban design. An open-source street store that’s easy to set up in any city offers free clothes for the homeless, and 14 thought-provoking ideas seek new ways to manage the issue of homelessness whether by meeting the immediate needs of people who live on the streets or providing more long-term transitional living spaces.

360Photography

Archive for the ‘Creativity’ Category

Fairytale Retreats: 15 Magical BlueForest Tree Houses

Living the Highlife Tree House

Willow Nook Tree House

Alice in Wonderland Tree House

Alton Towers

Quiet Tree House

Next Page – Click Below to Read More:
Fairytale Retreats 15 Magical Blueforest Tree Houses

Rich Door, Poor Door: Segregated Entrances Spark Controversy

5,000 Residents Being Evicted from World’s Tallest Vertical Slum

Rotating Rooms: Push a Button, Change Your House Layout

Drones for Life: 13 Fun & Positive Flying Robot Functions

Yura Bartender Drone

Dominos’ Pizza-Delivering DomiCopter

KATSU Drone Paintings

Personal Assistant Drone on Demand

‘Dronies’: Have Drones Take Your Selfies

Next Page – Click Below to Read More:
Drones For Life 13 Fun Life Saving Flying Functions

Crash Course: 24 Elements of Design Animated in 48 Seconds

Just Add Monsters: Chris McMahon’s Modified Thrift Store Art

The Mountain Monster

The Swamp Monster

Next Page – Click Below to Read More:
Just Add Monsters Chris Mcmahons Modified Thrift Store Art

Photocatalytic Concrete: Air-Cleaning Building Absorbs Smog

Illusions in Iran: Surreal 3D Murals Transform Urban Tehran

Bench to Bedroom: Urban Furniture Turned Homeless Shelters

Pages

Archives

Categories

Archive for the ‘Creativity’ Category

Living the Highlife Tree House

Willow Nook Tree House

Alice in Wonderland Tree House

Alton Towers

Quiet Tree House

Next Page – Click Below to Read More: Fairytale Retreats 15 Magical Blueforest Tree Houses

Want More? Click for Great Related Content on WebUrbanist:

Look Up! 15 (More) Amazing Tree Houses from Around the World

18 Award-Winning Tree Houses, Hotels & Schools

Sky High, But Grounded: 16 Incredible Tree Houses

Want More? Click for Great Related Content on WebUrbanist:

Under 400 SF: New Modular Micro-Apartments for NYC

Pop-Up Apartments: Post-Disaster Housing Prototype for NYC

Tree-Inspired Tower: Condo Balconies Unfurl Like Leaves

Want More? Click for Great Related Content on WebUrbanist:

Skyscraper Squatters: Lessons from Ad Hoc Vertical Slums

Dark Tower: Decay Inside Africa’s Tallest Apartment Complex

Skyscraper Slums: Insider Tour of World’s Tallest Tent City

Want More? Click for Great Related Content on WebUrbanist:

Slices of Home: Modular Mobile House-Shaped Micro-Rooms

Elastic Living: Sliding Shelves Hide Modular Rooms

Lollipop House: Striped and Candy-Bright in South Korea

Yura Bartender Drone

Dominos’ Pizza-Delivering DomiCopter

KATSU Drone Paintings

Personal Assistant Drone on Demand

‘Dronies’: Have Drones Take Your Selfies

Next Page – Click Below to Read More: Drones For Life 13 Fun Life Saving Flying Functions

Want More? Click for Great Related Content on WebUrbanist:

Top Choppers: 15 High-Flying Helicopter Designs & Drones

Flying Robots: 6 Stunning Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Projects

Real-Life Skynet? Modern Android & Robot (R)Evolutions

Want More? Click for Great Related Content on WebUrbanist:

Down to the Letters: Amusing Animated Helvetica Alphabet

Animated History of Western Architecture in Just 15 Minutes

Figure & Ground: Surreal Animated Walking City Shifts Shape

The Mountain Monster

The Swamp Monster

Next Page – Click Below to Read More: Just Add Monsters Chris Mcmahons Modified Thrift Store Art

Want More? Click for Great Related Content on WebUrbanist:

Vintage Vandals: 6 Artists Monsterize Thrift-Store Paintings

Don Kenn: Sticking It To The Art World with Inky Monsters

Notes from Chris: Hilarious Experimental Urban Signage Art

Want More? Click for Great Related Content on WebUrbanist:

Algae-Fueled Building: World’s First Bio-Adaptive Facade

Building Eraser: Smart Robot Scans & Deconstructs Concrete

Fossilized Retreat: Log Cabin Remnants Recast in Concrete

Want More? Click for Great Related Content on WebUrbanist:

Fake Facades: Transformative Murals Make Cities Vibrant

Marvelous Muralist Makes Giant-Sized Street Art Illusions

Urban Landscapes Transformed: 23 Stunning Urban Murals

Want More? Click for Great Related Content on WebUrbanist:

Homeless Shelters: Creative & Convertible Urban Furniture

Homeless Hotel: Radical Urban Retreat has No Rooms, Ever

Parasite Tent Pods: Vertical Urban Wall Homes for Homeless

Next Page – Click Below to Read More:
Fairytale Retreats 15 Magical Blueforest Tree Houses

Next Page – Click Below to Read More:
Drones For Life 13 Fun Life Saving Flying Functions

Next Page – Click Below to Read More:
Just Add Monsters Chris Mcmahons Modified Thrift Store Art