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Not in Kansas: Black House Lands in Front of Oz Museum

08 Mar

[ By Steph in Art & Installation & Sound. ]

Landed Installation Ian Strange 1

The childhood home of artist Ian Strange has literally landed right in front of the Art Gallery of South Australia as if it were picked up by a tornado and plunked there, Wizard of Oz style. The striking matte black structure is a detailed recreation of the 1920s suburban Australian home Strange grew up in, down to the scrolled ornamentation on the porch and a spigot clinging to one exterior wall.

Landed Installation Ian Strange 2

Installed for the 2014 Adelaide Biennial of Australian Art, the installation makes an intentional reference to Dorothy’s Kansas home and the jarring visual of it crashing in a place where it doesn’t belong.

Landed Installation Ian Strange 3

This visual is a nod to both the continued intrusion of Western pop culture into Australia, and the disconnected nature of suburbia, a recurring theme in Strange’s work.

Landed Installation Ian Strange 4

Strange previously explored the suburban house as a cultural icon in his series SUBURBAN, which involved drastically altering homes that were set for demolition and then burning the down, filming the entire process.

[ By Steph in Art & Installation & Sound. ]

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Pill Pack Printer: Personal Pharmacy Delivered to Your Door

07 Mar

[ By WebUrbanist in Design & Products & Packaging. ]

pill pack date stamp

Remembering to take your medicine can be hard if you have lots of pills to pop on a daily basis, but this one-stop, custom-printed packaging solution promises to help you get and stay on schedule once and for all.

pillpack product roll redesign

Another ingenious example of mass-customization, the PillPack system provides a rolled-up and ready-to-go answer to an everyday problem that many people face. Each box is tailored to the individual schedule and dosage of a particular person.

Aside from solving issues like reminders and refills, this chronologically-arranged roll design addresses an issue inherent in pill bottles themselves: the difficulty of seeing how many you have left and thus determining whether you have taken (or forgotten) today’s dose. Extending its goal of pill-taking simplicity, PillPack also offers vitamin pills and supplements alongside prescription meds.

pill pack pharmacy home

The system itself is not a new idea – retirement homes and other long-term-care facilities have been using similar patient-specific rolls to dispense drugs for some time. PillPack, however, brings that functionality to the masses, adding useful designer touches for customers and delivering it all right to the door of their own home.

pill pack shipping contents

The packs are semi-transparent so the consumer can see what they are taking before opening them. They are also stamped directly with dosing information and a list of the medications contained within. Each pack tears off easily from the roll, but retains its individually-stamped date – a useful featured in case you pull it off and set it down next to your nightstand to remember the next morning. The additional possibility are myriad – presumably having all of your vitamin, supplement and prescription pills in the same system could help people (and doctors) analyze interactions and avoid dangerous combinations as well.

[ By WebUrbanist in Design & Products & Packaging. ]

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Urban Islet: Nordic Nature Retreat Floats in London Canal

07 Mar

[ By WebUrbanist in Architecture & Public & Institutional. ]

wildlife wood finnish design

Referencing rocky Nordic island sanctuaries, this platform is designed to provide a place to relax and observe local wildlife in the heart of a bustling city. The prefabricated structure was lifted into the canal by crane and pushed into place by a tiny tugboat, all in a single day.

floating urban wildlife platform

Viewpoint was created for the London Wildlife Trust by Finnish architects of AOR. Of their inspiration: “For Finns, [small] islands are places of sanctuary, to relax the mind and get away from hectic city life. Viewpoint offers Londoners a chance to experience this escape on a secluded islet in the heart of the city.” It is to be a permanent fixture of Regent’s Canal, located in Camley Street Natural Park.

floating islet concept context

wildlife platform floating london

As the architects alluded to, this minimalist approach and triangular architecture are modeled on the vernacular of traditional temporary dwellings found further north. Such residential retreats are situated on small islands and used for hunting and fishing excursions. Typically, these humble abodes are made using natural at-hand materials including tree bark, branches, leaves and mosses.

floating islet facade elevation

floating islet kings cross

Unveiled by the The Finnish Institute in London and The Architecture Foundation, the finished design is definitively Finnish, created with acoustics, human scale and tactile experiences in mind, and factoring in how materials will weather over time. The result features modest volumes and a warm wooden frame rising up from concrete and clad in Corten steel. In turn, this made-to-age material palette will increasingly blend the structure in with its surroundings.

[ By WebUrbanist in Architecture & Public & Institutional. ]

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Invisible Borders: Mirrored Picket Fence Blurs the Lines

06 Mar

[ By Steph in Art & Installation & Sound. ]

Mirrored Fence Illusion 1

Mirrors typically represent a way of facing reality, but depending on where they’re placed, they can bend it to the point of surreality instead. Take, for example, this invisible fence, a striking illusion installed at the Storm King Arts Center by artist Alyson Shotz. Driving past it, you likely wouldn’t even notice it was there, though your eye might be caught by unusual glimmers – tricks of the light.

Mirrored Fence Illusion 2

Mirrored Fence Illusion 3

‘Mirror Fence’ is exactly as the title suggests; a reflective barrier in the shape of a picket fence that’s almost perfectly camouflaged in its environment. The illusion is so effective that you could probably walk right up to it, only realizing that the barrier exists when the reflection of your own legs comes into view.

Mirrored Picket Fence Illusion 4

Mirrored Picket Fence Illusion 5

Though her portfolio reflects a diverse range of shapes and media, Shotz unifies her work with a common aim to “give form to the invisible forces of nature.” Many focus on light itself, such as a sculptural examination of the dual nature of light (as it bears characteristics of both a particle and a wave) entitled Geometry of Light, and a digital animation called ‘Fluid State’ that captures an ocean of reflective spheres over a dawn-to-dusk cycle.

Mirror House Illusion

The installation calls to mind another recent project, ‘Lucid Stead’ by Phillip K Smith III, wherein an abandoned home in the desert was fitted with mirrors that make up doors, windows and long horizontal siding to create the illusion of ghostly floating wood.

[ By Steph in Art & Installation & Sound. ]

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Crowdsourced City: 14 Citizen-Directed Urban Projects

06 Mar

[ By Steph in Architecture & Cities & Urbanism. ]

Crowdsourced City Main

When urban planners and developers want to know what businesses local residents would like in their neighborhoods, where to put new bike lanes, or specific areas in need of revitalization, who better to turn to than the citizens themselves? Crowdsourcing urban planning puts the future of cities into the hands of the people in all sorts of unexpected ways, from custom-designing new downtown districts to identifying problem areas for cyclists and pedestrians.

SpaceHive: Crowdsourcing Civic Projects

Crowdsourced City SpaceHive

SpaceHive is a website that crowdfunds civic projects in England, with proposals ranging from neighborhood festivals to new performance spaces in disused urban areas. It’s similar to Kickstarter, but focusing exclusively on community improvement. One recent project, the Porty Light Box, renovates decommissioned red phone booths into light boxes that display local artwork and images.

Guerilla Bke Lanes

Crowdsourced City Bike Lanes

Where do cities need new bike lanes? Officials certainly get a clue when citizens take matters into their own hands and create their own guerilla bike lanes, as they have in cities like New York and Baltimore. A group of Manhattan cycling activists called Right of Way have taken matters into their own hands, spray-painting lines and bicyclist icons just as the real thing would look (except some of the icons have wings.) In several cities, including Seattle, those DIY efforts have become permanent.

Crowdsourced Commuter Buses

Crowdsourced City Buses

While the Rinspeed microMAX is just a concept, it’s a thoroughly intriguing one: a silent minibus that relies on data points like current traffic conditions, known choke points and other info to generate a straight shot from your pick-up location to your destination. A companion app for microMAX users would enable you to find a bus in your area with a free seat, find out how long it would take to get you to your desired stop, and call for it to pick you up. Being connected to the ‘cloud’ creates an efficient, flexible and convenient transport system without wait times, prior planning or detours.

Bristol Rising: Crowdsourced City Design for Connecticut

Crowdsourced Cities Bristol Rising

How could the city of Bristol, Connecticut improve and grow to best suit its residents’ needs? Officials have gone straight to the source with ‘Bristol Rising,‘ an interactive initiative to turn the city’s flagging downtown back into a thriving destination with “a vibrant, walkable, contiguous experience.” Residents are invited to upload their own ideas and join in on discussions at the website so developers can gauge exactly what the community wants.

Change By Us: Crowdsourcing NYC

Crowdsourced City NYC

A similar project asks New Yorkers, “How can we make our city a better place to live?” The community is invited to submit ideas at the Change by Us NYC website, where a network of city leaders reads and considers each proposal. Successful 2013 projects include a new community garden and greenhouse. Ideas include cleaning and repairing existing bike lanes, new pedestrian bridges, composting locations and discounted Citi Bike memberships for low-income residents.

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Crowdsourced City 14 Citizen Directed Urban Projects

[ By Steph in Architecture & Cities & Urbanism. ]

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Open-Source Street Store Offers Free Clothes for Homeless

05 Mar

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

pop up store hangars

Donated boxes of right-sized clothing can be a boon for those who cannot afford another choice, but this clever approach empowers people in need to choose their own apparel.

pop up sidewalk homeless

pop up shoppers

The Street Store assistants set out flat-pack cardboard hangars, signs and stands along sidewalks and fences, encouraging people to drop off clothing. Volunteers also help passerby in need package what what they find, and those with something to give find a place to put their donations.

pop up helper volunteer

Though the project was started in Cape Town, South Africa, as a collaboration between M&C Saatchi Abel and the Haven Night Shelter Welfare Organisation, it is offered as open-source to applicants from around the world who wish to use the files and create their own regional variant.

pop up shop volunteer

The open-air approach makes everything more accessible for both donating and recipient parties; it also renders indoor spaces and infrastructure redundant, enabling pop-ups to happen in various public spaces.

pop up cardboard elements

pop up street store

As for the first day’s effort in the project’s original city: “Over 1,000 homeless people visited our store that day. Each put together an outfit that they wanted. An outfit, that for many, was the first they had ever been able to choose for themselves.”

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

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5 Preservation Puzzles: Famous Architecture Facing Threats

05 Mar

[ By WebUrbanist in Architecture & Cities & Urbanism. ]

historic preservation architecture activism

This year alone we have learned that a Frank Lloyd Wright house must be moved 1,000 miles to protect it from floodwater, a Le Corbusier chapel has been vandalized and a seminal structure by Micheal Graves may be razed. In a remarkable turnaround, the MoMA has also recently decided to save the entire facade of the American Folk Art Museum, but by dismantling and storing it indefinitely. There is nothing like the threat of utter annihilation to make one wonder: how do we choose what building we preserve, restore and ultimately save? Here are five hot-button buildings generating serious buzz, raising questions both within and beyond the architectural design community.

Frank Lloyd Wright House to be Moved & Reconstructed

frank lloyd wright preservation

First to Frank Lloyd Wright, whose work invariably makes headlines whenever it is at risk of destruction. Thanks to the intervention of the Crystal Bridges Museum (images by Tarantino Studio) in Arkansas, the Bachman Wilson House will be transported from its original location in New Jersey to a site on their campus.

frank lloyd exterior context

Its owners, Lawrence and Sharon Tarantino, put it on the market hoping for just such a buyer and after spending years restoring the home themselves. This remarkable move will save the structure itself by carefully deconstructing it, transporting its parts then rebuilding piece by piece in a new place.

frank lloyd wright interior

However, the process is inevitably partial and one has to wonder: how will relocating it change the nature of a home designed around a specific site many states away? Is regional architecture truly as portable as this solution implies, and what does it lose forever when taken out of its context?

Le Corbusier Chapel Broken Into, Robbed & Vandalized

romchomp building facade exterior

An unusual work by one of the world’s most famous architects, the Chapel of Ronchamp by Le Corbusier was reported vandalized earlier. Amid other damage and theft, the destruction of stained glass window drawn (and reportedly signed) by Corbu himself was deemed a “priceless” loss, the colored glazing irreparable.

ronchomp broken vandalized window

The building is a destination for tens of thousands of annual tourists. Its sculptural form reflects the architect’s philosophy that while Modernism may be appropriate for most architecture, spiritual structures are an exception.

ronchomp corbu interior space

The shocking break-in leaves open questions: how does one replace an irreplaceable window – with a copy of the original, something commemorating its loss or a new work entirely? And how does one protect against future defacement, particularly in a structure so often open to the public?

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5 Preservation Puzzles Famous Architecture Facing Threats

[ By WebUrbanist in Architecture & Cities & Urbanism. ]

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Small World: Mini Wooden Cutouts Take Over the Streets

04 Mar

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

Small World Joe Iurato Main

Life is an adventure for tiny wooden figures navigating the urban world in this miniature art installation series by Joe Iurato. The New Jersey-based street artist creates small spray-painted wood cutouts that tell the story of his life, from skateboarding as a kid to becoming a father himself. The little people lounge on rusting metal gates, cling precariously to the edges of overpasses, lunge to reach crosswalk buttons and spray-paint their own works of art.

Small World Joe Iurato 1

Small World Joe Iurato 3

No bigger than fifteen inches in size, the figures are created using layers of hand-cut paper and spray paint to create texture and form in a modern adaptation of an old-fashioned printing process. The artist places them around the city and leaves them for others to notice or overlook, depending on how observant they may be when they pass.

Small World Joe Iurato 2

“My art is nothing more than the exploration and documentation of personal experiences,” says Iurato. “The pieces form an abstract of my life. They are the questions I have, the conclusions drawn, the love, disgust, joy and sadness contained. Essentially, I paint what I know, or what it is I want to know, playfully or painfully.”

Small World Joe Iurato 6

Small World Joe Iurato 7

“However big or small, the works are often created in public spaces and left to interact with the environment and community. Like life itself, the nature of public art is one of transience. Each piece mirrors the unpredictability of existence and hopes to establish an intimate connection with the viewer in the here-and-now.”

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

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Flexible Interiors: 13 Shape-Shifting Small Apartments

04 Mar

[ By Steph in Design & Fixtures & Interiors. ]

Transforming Interiors Main
Transforming furniture and living pod systems help make the most of a small space, but when entire rooms shape-shift in unexpected ways, the results can be astonishing. These compact apartment designs feature walls that slide and unfold, beds that descend from the ceiling, and interiors that can literally be turned upside down to change the function of built-in elements.

Yo! Home by Simon Woodroffe

Transforming Interiors Yo Home 1

Transforming Interiors Yo Home 2

An 80-square-meter space about the size of a one-bedroom apartment is transformed into a much larger-feeling home with 12 moving parts, including a bed platform that comes down from the ceiling just above the couches in the living room. By pulling something down, raising something from the floor or pressing a button to produce some other unexpected action, the small space expands to include a second bedroom, a full-sized kitchen, an office, a cinema, a dining room, a wine cellar and more.

Fluid Shapeshifting Berlin Apartments

Transforming Interiors Shapeshifting Berlin

Two apartments in Berlin feature exceptionally fluid layouts thanks to pivoting and sliding walls. Frankfurt architecture firm reinhartjung created all-white interiors that help the various elements seamlessly transform to define new spaces in various shapes.

LifeEdited Apartment Packed with Transforming Elements

Transforming Interiors LifeEdited

Transforming Interiors LifeEdited 2

The result of a design competition by Treehugger founder Grant Hill, who actually lives in the winning proposal, the Life Edited apartment is an experiment in compact living that aims to help you “design your life to include more money, health and happiness with less stuff, space and energy.” Virtually everything in this apartment slides, unfolds or transforms in some way to pack as much as possible into a tiny New York apartment. Within this cube, 8 functional spaces can be created, even accommodating large dinner parties.

Pop-Up Interactive Apartment

Transforming Interiors Pop Up Apartment

The Pop-Up Interactive Apartment features a series of polypropylene panels that slide, fold and transform in other ways to change the space for different functions. These flexible dividers enable the 538-square-foot space to be partitioned for dining, sleeping, working and playing.

24 Rooms in One Apartment

Transforming Interiors 21 Rooms in 1 -2

Transforming Interiors 21 Rooms in 1

How do you turn a 350-square-foot studio into a fully functional apartment with the luxuries of a larger space? A Hong Kong designer has experimented with the limits of small space living by squeezing 24 rooms into one tiny cube. A system of sliding walls reveal seemingly endless utilities.

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Flexible Interiors 13 Shape Shifting Small Apartments

[ By Steph in Design & Fixtures & Interiors. ]

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Extreme Exposures: Light Landscapes Take Hours to Shoot

03 Mar

[ By WebUrbanist in Art & Photography & Video. ]

light art figure ground

Most light photographers focus on making a shape in the foreground in a matter of seconds, then setting it against a dark static backdrop – this artist often animates every inch of the frame.

light art flowing energy

light art room interior

Finnish artist Janne Parviainen of Helsinki takes these all-encompassing, long-exposure shots over many minutes (even hours at times), each line representing mere seconds along the way.

light art crouching portrait

light drawing laying down

As surreal as they look, there is no post-production involved. Aside from props and plans, even their creator cannot really see what he is making them until they are completed.

light drawing water monster

Parviainen was an oil painter previously, but pivoted when an accidental long-duration photo of streetlights, clicked on a nighttime walk, triggered a fascination with lighting. Now using light as paint, he employs a new series palettes and brushes. Glowsticks, light strings, strobes and flashlights help him animate everything from human figures to abandoned cars.

light drawing figures circle

light drawing orange room

light art surreal scen

He begins tracing what is there and then adds his own haunting portraits and inventive twists to the scenes he sets. The results are so saturated with light that it is sometimes hard to tell what is really behind them and what he created from scratch along the way – what is foreground, background or sheer imagination.

360Photography

Archive for the ‘Creativity’ Category

Not in Kansas: Black House Lands in Front of Oz Museum

Pill Pack Printer: Personal Pharmacy Delivered to Your Door

Urban Islet: Nordic Nature Retreat Floats in London Canal

Invisible Borders: Mirrored Picket Fence Blurs the Lines