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Archive for the ‘Creativity’ Category

Stop Shops: Virtual Store Shelves in Subway & Bus Stations

20 Mar

[ By WebUrbanist in Conceptual & Futuristic & Technology. ]

virtual shopping

If you are going to have to wait for a ride anyway, why not do some shopping? No, not on your laptop or that tiny screen of your smartphone – right there on the wall, via virtual aisles on a life-scaled billboard full of products.

First in South Korea thanks to Tesco, and now popping up in Australia and other countries, it works something like this: a range of popular everyday products is displayed on the wall; scan the QR codes of the ones you want and your purchase will be added to a digital shopping cart.

virtual shopping south korea

In many cases, your purchases will arrive the next day – in some, they will be waiting for you when you get home, saving you that side trip to the corner store or local supermarket.

virtual shopping australia stations

If nothing else, this presents an interesting technology-bridging mechanism for those reluctant to shop online. They choose from real products, presented at actual size, in a potentially more familiar mode of browsing than via the internet.

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Waste Not: 1890s Urinal Turned into a Sandwich Shop

20 Mar

[ By Steph in Architecture & Offices & Commercial. ]

Attendant Urinal Restaurant 2

Sit at a counter embedded into a wall of urinals and enjoy a nice sandwich at Attendant, an eatery in London built in a former men’s bathroom. While it’s virtually unrecognizable after an extensive $ 150,000 renovation, it’s hard to imagine how the owners were able to look into the trash-strewn pit of a subterranean restroom and think about food.

Attendant Urinal Restaurant 5

Attendant Urinal Restaurant 3

The Attendant restroom had been abandoned for more than fifty years before its two-year transformation. It now serves sandwiches, soup, breakfast, cakes and espresso drinks, with many ingredients plucked from the New Covent Garden Marketplace just down the street.

Attendant Urinal Restaurant 1

Attendant Urinal Restaurant 6

Attendant Urinal Restaurant 4

Partners Peter Tomlinson and Ben Russell removed 12 layers of paint dating back over a century from the ornate wrought iron entrance and removed a wall that separated the urinals from the attendant’s space. The urinals were polished, a counter was added and a kitchen was built. Green seating matches the original Victorian floor tiles.

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Self Snuggling: 7 Super-Cozy Full Body-Wrapping Seats

19 Mar

[ By WebUrbanist in Design & Furniture & Decor. ]

snuggle seating

Forget your chair-and-blank combination – with these ultra-warm wonders of domestic design, curling up with a good book has never seemed more enticing.

built in sweater chair

Speaking of chairs and blankets, Aga Brzostek (well familiar with winter cold in Poland) starts off this series with her combined vision of both items in one. Sitters and sleepers alike can curl themselves up into a warm integrated sweater. It also  comes complete with a pocket for storing your favorite book or magazine.

sleeping bag chair hybrid

An even more relaxing experience beckons for those prone to falling asleep in their favorite chair. Les M presents a hybrid sleeping bag seat that zips up around you. Its white inside shows up bright when open, and exterior turns it dark when (en)closed.

nest rest hanging hut

When things warm up a bit, but sitting fully outside still is not an appealing option, consider the suspended Nest Rest. This wicker-woven retreat can be hung from trees or set on the ground – either way, it comes with a comfortable pad and can be stuffed with pillows for snuggling (oneself or otherwise).

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Self Snuggling 7 Super Cozy Full Body Wrapping Seats

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Algaculture: Symbiosis Suit Produces Food from Breath

19 Mar

[ By Steph in Conceptual & Futuristic & Technology. ]

Agaculture Symbiosis Suit 1

Inspired by ‘plantimals’, photosynthetic organisms like lichen, sea slugs and salamanders that welcome algae into their bodies in order to thrive, the Algaculture Symbiosis Suit aims to enhance humans with new, partially artificial bodily organs. The suit designs a new symbiotic relationship between us and algae, letting us become more plant-like by gaining food from light.

Exploring alternative ways in which we could sustain ourselves in the future, designers Michiko Nitta and Michael Burton propose suits made of plastic tubes that wrap and wind around the body, looking a bit like an artificial exoskeleton.

Agaculture Symbiosis Suit 2

Essentially, the algae inside the tubes is fed both by sunlight and by the carbon dioxide in the wearer’s breath, and is then consumed by the human wearing the suit. In this way, our own breath is helping to produce the nutrients that we take in. “As such, we will be symbionts (meaning that both entities entirely depend on each other for survival), entering into a mutually beneficial relationship with the algae,” say the designers.

Agaculture Symbiosis Suit 3

Algaculture Symbiosis Suit 4

One of the suits was used in The Algae Opera, another project by Nitta and Burton that used the extraordinarily large lung capacity of a professional opera singer to produce the highest quality algae-product possible, enriching its taste. “So in the age of biotechnology not only can the audience listen to her talent but they can also savor her unique blend of algae that are enriched by her song.”

Via CollabCubed

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Image Hacking: 40+ Glitch Art Photos, Paintings & Videos

18 Mar

[ By Steph in Art & Drawing & Digital. ]

Glitch Art main

Surreal, dreamlike and often haunting, databending creates digital or analog image errors for artistic effect. An art form in which corrupted files are either created or mimicked in photographs, paintings, sculptures, video or even audio, databending finds beauty in technology gone awry. Ranging from colorful pillows to uncanny oil paintings inspired by security footage, here are 40+ works by 12 notable glitch artists.

Security Footage Paintings by Regina Parra

Glitch Art Regina Perra 1

Glitch Art Regina Perra 3

Glitch Art Regina Perra 2

Low-resolution security footage is translated into hazy watercolor paintings in a collaboration between Kon Trubkovich and Regina Parra. With this series, Parra immortalizes moments on film which already have somewhat of an eerie feel, rendering them even more fascinating.

Glitch Videos by Rosa Menkman

Glitch Art Rosa Menkman

The Collapse of PAL from Rosa Menkman on Vimeo.

02: One Billion Steps aka The longer you sit on a bus, the smaller the world becomes from Rosa Menkman on Vimeo.

Dutch filmmaker and artist Rosa Menkman is an authority on the glitch art genre, producing events and written works as well as a ‘glitch manifesto’ and experimental work of her own. In fact, she completed her master thesis on digital glitch in 2009. “Glitches are the uncanny, brutal structures that come to the surface during a break of the flow within a technology; they are the primal data-screams of the machine,” Menkman told DINCA in a 2010 interview. “Glitch art is a practice that studies and researches the vernacular of file formats in exploitative manners to deconstruct and create new, brutalist (audio)visual works. However, glitch artists often go beyond this formal approach; they realize that the glitch does not exists without human perception and therefore have a more inclusive approach to digital material.”

Glitch Textiles by Philip Stearns

Glitch Art Textiles Stearns

Artist Philip Stearns describes his collection of woven and knit wall hangings and blankets “glitches in the cold, hard logic of digital circuits transformed into soft, warm textiles.” The designs were taken from short-circuited cameras and other ‘unorthodox’ digital techniques.

Distortion by Nicholas Ballesteros

Glitch Art Nicholas Ballesteros

“This technique of altering or appropriating images is not for a desired outcome other than showing the found material’s sheer ability to be bent,” says artist Nicholas Ballesteros of his ‘Distortion’ series. Ballesteros uses a scanner and found images to produce these effects.

Glitch Art Pillow Covers by Benjamin Berg

Glitch Art Pillow Covers Berg

Display colorful video glitches around your house with this series of throw pillows by artist Benjamin Berg. Also producing work under the alias stAllio, Berg discovered glitching by running the contents of his hard drive through music software. “Glitch art is a dance on the edge of a failing system,” he says.

Analog Glitches by Rob Sheridan

Glitch Art Rob Sheridan

Artist Rob Sheridan created a series of visuals for the band How to Destroy Angels’ Welcome Oblivion and An omen EP, saying “these images were created by disrupting signals through analog tape and display equipment, not with Photoshop effects.”

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High Seas Venture: SF Tech Incubator in International Waters

18 Mar

[ By WebUrbanist in Architecture & Offices & Commercial. ]

international floating seasteading incubator

Imagine heading out from San Francisco to a bustling technology hub closer than Silicon Valley … yet an entire country away. Set only a dozen miles from the coast, this incredible incubator is planned for international waters and could be the world’s most high-tech floating city.

international tech city hub

Blueseed is currently seeking investors to back this audacious play and let them set up shop a proverbial stone’s throw away from the heart of West Coast innovation. The company has founders familiar with the immigration issues of the United States – two are, respectively, from Serbia and Romania, and a third is the child of Cuban immigrants.

international venture funding model

Via ArcticStartup: “they plan to start accommodation prices off at around $ 1500 a month, and transportation will be provided to the mainland by a daily ferry. Internet connectivity will be provided via a point-to-point 40Gbps laser link with satellite link backup. They are also looking at additional backup solutions using submarine cable and potentially a series of WiMAX relay buoys. A visa is not required to earn a paycheck on Blueseed, and most residents will be able to travel back and forth to the mainland with a business/pleasure B1 Visa.”

international technology community platforms

Like other incubators, Blueseed plans to take a stake in startups that start on its shores (or rather: ships and floating platforms), something that startup schools like YCombinator and TechStars have found to be a successful business model in the past. Its fleet would include living and working vessels, daily ferries and potentially (eventually) desalination plants and other means of creating full self-sufficiency on the open seas. Who knows – perhaps it would even be mobile in the long run.

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Going Downhill Fast: 12 Abandoned Ski Resorts

17 Mar

[ By Steve in Abandoned Places & Architecture. ]

abandoned ski resorts
These dozen doomed ski resorts, like most seasonal winter businesses, can fall off the financial cliff by something as ironically simple as a lack of snow.

Rainbow Basin Ski Resort – Kirksville, MO, USA

abandoned Rainbow Basin Ski Resort Kirksville MO(images via: Don’t Look Now)

Northeastern Missouri might not be the ideal location to set up a ski resort but in 1982 the operators of Rainbow Basin went ahead anyway, and were relatively successful for a while. Just like a favorite downhill run, however, all good things come to an end and for Rainbow Basin, the end came in 1991 when a flood of red ink put a permanent damper on the popular winter recreation spot. “It all came down to weather,” stated former owner Jack Pickett. “It wouldn’t cooperate.”

abandoned ski resort kirksville MO(image via: Don’t Look Now)

Foreclosed upon in 1993, Rainbow Basin hasn’t been maintained, renovated, sold, salvaged or re-purposed in the intervening 20 years yet intrepid skiers still find their way onto the un-manicured slopes when weather permits. The chair lifts are inoperable, of course, so getting to the top of the runs has to be an adventure in itself.

Abandoned Ski Lodge – California

abandoned ski resort Hwy.88 California(images via: Panoramio/Wanderlust_biker)

Just off Highway 88 close by the Mormon Emigrant Trail lie the gently deteriorating remains of a formerly attractive ski lodge. Though the lodge is rather large and the operation must have been well-funded at its start, time and the weather will not be denied. At this point not even Mitt Romney could resurrect this little piece of Switzerland in the California mountains. To view more images of this abandoned ski resort, check out Wanderlust_biker‘s photo set at Panoramio.

Club Alpino Guadarrama – Nevacerrada, Spain

Club Alpino Guadarrama Spain abandoned ski resort(images via: Urban Exploration)

The Club Alpino Guadarrama opened in 1947 and was originally named Club Alpino Romate. Situated in the scenic Guadarrama mountains north of Madrid, it was one of Spain’s first alpine resorts and due to its easy access from the Spanish capitol, enjoyed years of popularity.

Club Alpino Guadarrama Spain abandoned ski resort(image via: Urban Exploration)

It’s not certain exactly when Club Alpino Guadarrama closed but it can’t be too long ago as it’s listed as a going concern on at least one travel website. As for the “easy access”, as always that’s a double-edged sword: convenience that once appealed to skiers and snowboarders now serves only looters, vandals and graffiti artists.

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Elemental Elegance: 14 Amazing Photographs of Elements

16 Mar

[ By Delana in Gadgets & Geekery & Technology. ]

elemental photography

We all learned about the periodic table of elements in high school, but for most of us that’s where our knowledge of the elements ends. Japanese chemist and photographer R. Tanaka is showing the world just how beautiful the elements are with his fascinating set of elemental photographs.

elemental scientific photography

photographs of elements

The extreme close-ups of the elements show a seldom-seen world full of incredible shapes and unexpected colors. The crystalline structure of certain elements resembles trees, leaves, and other parts of the natural world at large.

gorgeous elemental photography

scientific photographs of elements

Other elements resemble alien shapes or objects from a long-lost civilization. From sulfur to phosphorus to colorful bismuth, the elements are all amazingly detailed and surprisingly photogenic. These are the building blocks of our world, and they are far more complex and lovely than most of us realize.

scientific elemental photography

Taken together, the series seems like a catalog of the most beautiful parts of our natural world. The gorgeous organic shapes are like the most intricate sculptures ever, captured in photographs to showcase their most delicate and ethereal qualities.

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[ By Delana in Gadgets & Geekery & Technology. ]

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Tentsile: Extreme Travel Tree Tents Hang Like Hammocks

15 Mar

[ By WebUrbanist in Global & Travel & Places. ]

tentsile hanging hammock tent

Hikers and campers have long been used to hanging food packs out of reach of bears and scavengers, but these tensile treehouse shelters take things a few steps further, allowing you to loft your entire portable residence amid any forest.

tentsile three legged tent

No more worrying about the weather or extreme landscapes like muddy swamps and desert sands. “Due to the unique design, the tent provides a level trampoline style floor in any terrain or inclination. It’s elevated position does away with the need to clear the site of foliage and provides separation from flood, sand storms, earth tremors, cold and lumpy ground as well as offering increased protection from wildlife, including insects, snakes and other predators.”

tentsile deployment models options

In theory, you could suspend these off the sides of cliffs or hover them above lands and streams since (setup, entry and exit excepted) the ground conditions are irrelevant. Tentsile describes their product line as being “the world’s most versatile tents. Whether you are looking for an all terrain camping solution, a safari safe house, a mountain or beach retreat, or a portable treehouse that avoids all planning restrictions, with Tentsile the sky really is the only limit.”

tentsile night setup detail

The various models have side and bottom entries in various configurations, with sleeping sections along the spokes and a central communal area familiar from many typical tents. Like a three-legged stool, the frame is held in tension from three points and is thus essentially self-balancing within the right tolerances. “The structure comprises a collapsible frame of webbing straps with fire retardant, UV PU and water resistant polyester fabric infill panels.” 

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Not a Glitch: Cabinet Carved with Disorienting Design

15 Mar

[ By Steph in Design & Furniture & Decor. ]

Glitch Cabinet 1

No, there’s nothing wrong with your screen – this intricate wooden cabinet was actually carved to resemble an image error. The ‘Good Vibrations’ storage unit by designer Ferruccio Laviani combines traditional Oriental craftsmanship and design with the visual effects of a digital or analog glitch.

Glitch Cabinet 2

Designed for the 2013 Furniture Exhibition in collaboration with Italian furniture company Fratelli Boffi, the wooden cabinet features two distorted areas where conventional carvings seem to have been stretched.

Glitch Cabinet 3

Unfortunately, the only image of the cabinet made available to the public shows it from the front, so we can’t get a look at how the distortions appear from three-quarter and side angles.

Glitch Cabinet 5

Glitch art plays on the psychological effects that come with looking at these images, whether they were created accidentally or intentionally, inviting us to take a deeper look at technological mistakes. Also referred to as ‘databending’, glitch art can be strangely compelling.

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