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Trainspotting Hotel: Stacked Shipping Containers Overlook the Rail Tracks

16 May

[ By SA Rogers in Boutique & Art Hotels & Travel. ]

The phrase ‘Trainspotting Hotel’ probably doesn’t conjure visions of a cozy, comfortable and safe place to lay your head at night, but this hotel gets its nickname from its location overlooking rail tracks rather than anything relating to the heroin-charged cult classic film. Obviously, that’s a good thing for guests who want to enjoy a peaceful getaway on the Elbe River near the town of Litomerice, Czech Republic at this unusual pop-up structure by Artikul Architects.

The hotel is comprised of just three shipping containers, with one forty-foot crate stacked atop two twenty-foot crates in a perpendicular arrangement to create a covered space underneath. The two ground-floor containers house the bathrooms, storage and one of the guest rooms, while four more guest accommodations are set into the top layer.

The client commissioned Artikul to produce a modular design that can be easily taken apart and moved when desired, and would have a light footprint on the land. The hotel has its own built-in water reservoir for the showers and sinks, and utilizes waterless toilets, and the bedrooms are compact but warm and welcoming, fitted with bunk beds and lined with birch plywood.

Artikul is known for producing sustainable structures, so it’s no surprise that they did something creative using recycled and natural materials. Barely any modification to the containers was necessary, preserving the ability to load them onto a truck. The top container is sheathed in reclaimed wood and features a terrace and awning so guests can hang out in the open air and enjoy the views.

[ By SA Rogers in Boutique & Art Hotels & Travel. ]

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Architecture in Miniature: 13 Modern Dollhouse & Other Tiny Buildings

15 May

[ By SA Rogers in Art & Sculpture & Craft. ]

Fit for the most discerning fans of modern architecture, these dollhouses and other miniature architectural creations feature tiny moving parts, high-end designer furniture, swimming pools, built-in lighting and other fun details, rendered in astonishing realism. You’ll almost wish you could shrink yourself small enough to tour their often-fantastical layouts, which range from the luxurious to the gritty.

Flipped Structures & Tiny Towers by Takahiro Iwasaki

Japanese artist Takahiro Iwasaki makes mirrored wood architectural models and tiny towers made of toothbrush bristles, both in ongoing series inspired by the structures commonly found in Japan. The artist says ‘Reflection Model’ is meant to show that everything can become vastly different depending on your perspective.

Urban Utility Buildings by EVOL

Grimy rectilinear urban objects become weathered, aging apartment buildings in the hands of street artist EVOL, who uses cardboard, stencils and spray paint to transform them into micro cities.

Architectural Furniture by Ted Lott

Wooden stools and chairs act as the structural basis for tiny timber-frame buildings by artist Ted Lott. Using found furniture and pine, the artist re-contextualizes stick frame construction, adapting it to the curves of the base object in works that are remarkably skeletal.

Hyperrealistic Architectural Models by Joshua Smith

Every last detail on Joshua Smith’s incredible architectural models looks aged, weathered and utterly realistic, from peeling paint and stained awnings to graffiti and posters wheat pasted onto the walls. The artist finds real-life urban buildings to use as a starting point and crafts everything from trash bags in a dumpster to Chinese takeout on tiny rooftop dining tables, from the restaurant on the bottom floor.

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Architecture In Miniature 13 Modern Dollhouse Other Tiny Buildings

[ By SA Rogers in Art & Sculpture & Craft. ]

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Flat-Pack Life Support: NASA’s Inflatable Hydroponic Space Greenhouse

15 May

[ By WebUrbanist in Conceptual & Futuristic & Technology. ]

A key development in the quest to create sustainable ecosystems in space, this expandable greenhouse prototype aims to generate essential food and oxygen for long-term astronaut travel.

Recently, Peggy Whitson broke the record for longest stay in space (534 days) and astronauts have started growing their own vegetables on the International Space Station. This collapsible growing unit aims to take things to the next level, enabling longer-term settlements on places including the moon and Mars.

Developed by NASA and agricultural researchers at the University of Arizona, the test unit spans 7 by 18 feet. Its primary functions: convert carbon dioxide from crew, support plant photosynthesis. This bio-regenerative approach to life support is an essential system for recycling scarce resources off-planet.

It also takes its queues directly from our own world: “We’re mimicking what the plants would have if they were on Earth, and using of these processes for life support. The entire system of the lunar greenhouse does represent, in a small way, the biological systems that are here on earth.”

But a big trick to the design is simply its portability: materials take up space, so engineering minimal frameworks that will work when the system is expanded is critical to getting space greenhouses into (and out of) orbit in the first place.

Meanwhile, on the ISS, astronauts continue to grow (and consume) plants outside of Earth’s normal gravity, paving the way for a better understanding of how agriculture will really work off-planet in the future.

[ By WebUrbanist in Conceptual & Futuristic & Technology. ]

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Cookin’ With Gas: 12 Abandoned Food Trucks

15 May

[ By Steve in Culture & History & Travel. ]

Food trucks and snack vans are mobile kitchens that offer meals on wheels to busy folks on the go… until the day they break down and are left abandoned.

Food trucks are specialized vehicles that aren’t easily un-specialized – especially by owners who presumably have fallen on hard times. Sometimes the only thing to do is abandon the chewed-up hulk in a field somewhere. In the case of the former “Mr. Food Go Go!”, that field is situated in Ravenhall, just west of Melbourne, Australia, and it’s brought to us by Flickr user Ken O’Toole (KENO Photography).

Riddle Me This

In the Old West, cowboys saddled with a terminally ill or mortally wounded horse would “take it behind the barn and shoot it”. Times have changed but it seems were still shooting our meal tickets, for example this rough & ravaged former food truck parked permanently in driest West Texas. Flickr user food shark gets the “credit” for snapping the bullet-riddled step van above on April 18th of 2008 near Chinati Hot Springs.

Gratefully Dead

Tired old VW Microbuses are fetching big bucks on the collector car market these days but this particular trippy hippie transport looks to be far too er, wasted for that. At least it lived out its last days doing what most minibuses dream of: serving up natural non-poisonous vittles to a new generation of Deadheads. Flickr user travelr16 caught up with the busted bus on April 3rd, 2011 on the campus of abandoned St Mary’s College near Ellicott City, Maryland.

Sailing Into The Sunset

“Sales are slow,” states Flickr user Alan (sunset sailor) of the above land-locked former burgermobile. Judging from his user name, this would appear to be his very own retired rolling fast-food emporium. The truck looks to be in respectable shape, at least compared to some of our other examples, though it’s in danger of being swallowed whole by the steadily encroaching vegetation. Sean Spicer, are you in there?

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Cookin With Gas 12 Abandoned Food Trucks

[ By Steve in Culture & History & Travel. ]

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

14 May

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Spring on Speed: Time-Lapse Video Captures 3 Years of Blooming Flowers

13 May

[ By SA Rogers in Art & Photography & Video. ]

A single sweeping shot seems to capture an entire spring season of blooming flowers in this artfully directed time-lapse video, which took three years to record and complete. Filmmaker Jamie Scott captured almost all of the footage on a soundstage in the closet of his New York home, often against a black backdrop, placing the flowers in stark relief as they unfurl.

The sped-up result almost makes them look like sea creatures waving around under the sea, tentatively opening and then closing again as the camera passes over them. Scott started out filming the flowers from the front, but realized the effect was more dramatic if he shot them from above instead, shifting focus as he went.

In a behind-the-scenes interview with F-stoppers, Scott explains that he made the film in contrast to his previous time-lapse work entitled Fall. The difference between the two films isn’t just the season, but also the close-up shots, shallow depth of field, classical score and placing the camera on a slider.

[ By SA Rogers in Art & Photography & Video. ]

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MUJI Huts: $27,000 Japanese Timber Micro-Homes Finally for Sale this Fall

11 May

[ By WebUrbanist in Architecture & Houses & Residential. ]

Japanese makers of minimalist household goods and apparel at MUJI began designing and developing a series of small prefab homes a few years back, one of which is now slated to hit the market later this year.

At just under 100 square feet, the first model to hit the sales floor is a simple but elegant module wrapped in charred timber with floor-to-ceiling fenestration on one side. This traditional blackened-wood cladding technique helps finish the wood, protecting it from fire and decay.

Inside, bright wood paneling and solid walls on three sides make for a cozy interior and flexibility to situate the structure facing choice scenery. The smooth floor is designed to be easily cleaned for those trekking in and out. Outside, a small covered deck extends the space.

The relatively low cost (around $ 27K USD) includes both materials and labor (construction) costs. The structure is intended to serve any function needed, from weekend getaway or supplemental room to autonomous housing unit for fans of simple homes and small-space living.

“It’s not as dramatic as owning a house or a vacation home, but it’s not as basic as going on a trip,” explains MUJI. “Put it in the mountains, near the ocean, or in a garden, and it immediately blends in with the surroundings, inviting you to a whole new life.”

[ By WebUrbanist in Architecture & Houses & Residential. ]

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Moving Miniature: Tiny Landscape Made of Sugar, Spices, Salt & Sand

11 May

[ By SA Rogers in Art & Sculpture & Craft. ]

Nothing about the hazy sunlight, languid motion of a tire swing, branches blowing in the breeze or puffy white steam pouring out of a factory chimney gives you any idea that the scene you’re looking at fits on a tabletop. Not only is this landscape a miniature – it’s made out of ordinary household objects and materials. Artist Matthew Albanese uses salt, sugar, flour, sticks, moss and other easily procured items to craft stunningly realistic tableaus, but for the first time, he’s incorporated movement, sharing a video.

‘The North Jersey Din’ is a moving version of a tree that Albanese has frequently used in a series of images called ‘A Tree in My Backyard.’ The attention to detail that went into this work is pretty incredible. In order for the miniatures to look realistic in the final images, Albanese employs a mix of techniques perfecting the scale, depth of field, white balance and lighting.

“This video is my first attempt at creating a moving miniature. Everything is designed for movement. The tree itself is made from brass tubes soldered together with springs at every joint. The leaves were die punched and machine cut, each threaded one by one. This video was filmed with just an iphone set to slow motion at 240fps. The audio is a set of recordings I made in my backyard capturing the sounds of the typical North Jersey Din.”

On his YouTube channel, Albanese also shared a video that captures four months of work in 33 seconds. ‘Making of a Promised Land’ is a time lapse of stills documenting the construction of another diorama, giving us an idea of just how much work goes into creating a single one of these photos.

Some of the scenes use materials you’d never expect, like faux fur standing in for the fields and sifted tile grout for mountains in ‘After the Storm,’ above. Among the items used in ‘Wildfire’ were cooked sugar, Scotch-Brite pot scrubbers, yellow glitter, clear garbage bags and party bulbs. Click on individual works on his website to see more behind-the-scenes images.

[ By SA Rogers in Art & Sculpture & Craft. ]

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Conductive Design: 10 Objects Transformed Into Touch Pads & Circuits

11 May

[ By SA Rogers in Gadgets & Geekery & Technology. ]

Conductive paint, ink and thread can be drawn, woven or even tattooed into objects like denim jackets, carpeting and leather iPad cases to make them into electrical circuits, adding a new layer of functionality as well as cool-looking graphic patterns. Draw circuits in any shape, create smart objects that interact with apps, and answer your phone while biking by swiping your finger across your sleeve. These 10 projects – some of which are available commercially – show how far conductive designs have come in less than four years.

Conductive Wallpaper by UM Project

Instead of hiding wiring for lights away within walls, ‘Conduct’ by UM project and wallpaper company Flavor Paper lays it all out as part of the wall’s design using conductive inks to create decorative circuitry. The circuits control a lamp, fan, speaker, light box and hinged mirror, activated them when someone touches the copper dots, using their body to complete the electricity circuit.

Jacquard by Google: Conductive Levi’s Denim Jacket

Jacquard by Google teamed up with Levi’s to create a smart denim jacket made with woven conductive yarn, designed specifically for bike commuters. The aim is to seamlessly integrate technology into textiles, prioritizing the garment over the gadget and making it ultra-wearable. The threads connect to a smart tag on the sleeve that communicates with your mobile device, turning the jacket into a gesture-controlled canvas so you can get directions, adjust the volume on your music or answer a phone call using finger swipes on your sleeve. The Commuter will be available this fall for $ 350.

Circuit Scribe Conductive Ink Pen

The ’circuit scribe’ ballpoint pen allows you to draw circuits in any shape using a quick-dryings conducting ink, connecting them to a coin battery, paper clip and LED or more complex parts. While similar conductive pens have been offered before, this one differs by producing just the right amount of ink flow to achieve an ideal conductivity of 50-100 milliohms/square/mil. You can buy kits starting at just $ 10.

‘Electrick’ Conductive Paint Turns Anything Into a Touch Pad

This conductive paint from Future Interfaces Group (a research lab within the Human-Computer Interaction institute at Carnegie Mellon) turns virtually any surface into a touch pad when you add an electric current over the painted conductive surface using a pair of electrodes. When you touch the surface, the current is disrupted, and the ‘Electric’ program detects exactly where the object has been touched, showing it on a screen. The technology could potentially help engineers test prototypes of touch pad gadgets.

Conductive Knot Lamp by Celia Torvisco

Tie the threads dangling from this minimalist lamp together, and you’ll complete the circuit to turn it on. Designer Celia Torvisco, who’s also known for her conductive ceramic radio, envisions the flashlight for use while camping, riding a bike or reading a book.

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Conductive Design 10 Objects Transformed Into Touch Pads Circuits

[ By SA Rogers in Gadgets & Geekery & Technology. ]

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Holy Housing: Stained Glass Walls & Ceiling Fill Cabin with Color & Light

10 May

[ By WebUrbanist in Architecture & Houses & Residential. ]

The complete opposite of a minimalist Modernist glass-clad house, this rustic and homey backyard cabin exhibits hand-crafted details, rich dark wood and best of all: a gorgeous array of custom stained glass panels.

Built behind her home in Mohawk, New Jersey, this wonderful work of micro-architecture was constructed by glass artist and jewelry maker Neile Cooper as a private personal retreat.

Her Glass cabin is constructed from reused window frames and spare lumber, evidenced by all of the different shapes and sizes that add character and complexity to the structure. The gaps are filled in not with walls but rather with works of her own art, bringing the entire place to live with flowers, birds, stones, minerals and other natural subject materials.

While she is not in the business of building and selling small homes (alas), her jewelry work features similar themes as do many of her other stained glass creations.

Some of her unique wearable pieces use “real butterfly wings. The butterflies I use are farmed all over the world, and collected when naturally expired. They live out their short winged stage in a protected enclosure. Butterfly farming protects the natural habitat of the butterflies through conservation of the natural vegetation and leaves the wild butterfly population intact. I turn these fragile beauties into heirloom pieces, by pressing them in hand-cut glass and encasing them with a silver alloy. “

360Photography

Archive for the ‘Creativity’ Category

Trainspotting Hotel: Stacked Shipping Containers Overlook the Rail Tracks

Architecture in Miniature: 13 Modern Dollhouse & Other Tiny Buildings

Flipped Structures & Tiny Towers by Takahiro Iwasaki

Urban Utility Buildings by EVOL

Architectural Furniture by Ted Lott

Hyperrealistic Architectural Models by Joshua Smith

Next Page – Click Below to Read More:
Architecture In Miniature 13 Modern Dollhouse Other Tiny Buildings

Flat-Pack Life Support: NASA’s Inflatable Hydroponic Space Greenhouse

Cookin’ With Gas: 12 Abandoned Food Trucks

Riddle Me This

Gratefully Dead

Sailing Into The Sunset

Next Page – Click Below to Read More:
Cookin With Gas 12 Abandoned Food Trucks

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

Spring on Speed: Time-Lapse Video Captures 3 Years of Blooming Flowers

MUJI Huts: $27,000 Japanese Timber Micro-Homes Finally for Sale this Fall

Moving Miniature: Tiny Landscape Made of Sugar, Spices, Salt & Sand

Conductive Design: 10 Objects Transformed Into Touch Pads & Circuits

Conductive Wallpaper by UM Project

Jacquard by Google: Conductive Levi’s Denim Jacket

Circuit Scribe Conductive Ink Pen

‘Electrick’ Conductive Paint Turns Anything Into a Touch Pad

Conductive Knot Lamp by Celia Torvisco

Next Page – Click Below to Read More:
Conductive Design 10 Objects Transformed Into Touch Pads Circuits

Holy Housing: Stained Glass Walls & Ceiling Fill Cabin with Color & Light

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Archive for the ‘Creativity’ Category

Flipped Structures & Tiny Towers by Takahiro Iwasaki

Urban Utility Buildings by EVOL

Architectural Furniture by Ted Lott

Hyperrealistic Architectural Models by Joshua Smith

Next Page – Click Below to Read More: Architecture In Miniature 13 Modern Dollhouse Other Tiny Buildings

Riddle Me This

Gratefully Dead

Sailing Into The Sunset

Next Page – Click Below to Read More: Cookin With Gas 12 Abandoned Food Trucks

Conductive Wallpaper by UM Project

Jacquard by Google: Conductive Levi’s Denim Jacket

Circuit Scribe Conductive Ink Pen

‘Electrick’ Conductive Paint Turns Anything Into a Touch Pad

Conductive Knot Lamp by Celia Torvisco

Next Page – Click Below to Read More: Conductive Design 10 Objects Transformed Into Touch Pads Circuits

Next Page – Click Below to Read More:
Architecture In Miniature 13 Modern Dollhouse Other Tiny Buildings

Next Page – Click Below to Read More:
Cookin With Gas 12 Abandoned Food Trucks

Next Page – Click Below to Read More:
Conductive Design 10 Objects Transformed Into Touch Pads Circuits