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Posts Tagged ‘Open’

Creative Camping: 16 Out-There Open Air Accommodations

30 Jul

[ By Steph in Destinations & Sights & Travel. ]

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Dangle thousands of feet above the bottom of a canyon, take in the Pacific Ocean from a human nest, view the Northern Lights from a transparent igloo or spend the night in a giant purple sperm. These incredibly creative (and sometimes terrifying) campers, tents and other open-air accommodations are far from your typical hotel experience.

Urban Campsite: 6 Whimsical Capsules

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The ‘Urban Campsite’ in Amsterdam is an ‘art-sleep experience’ inviting guests to stay in 14 sculptural mobile camping pods on the beach, ranging from a sailboat-like modern white loft with spherical portholes to a lounge and sleep space built under a trampoline. The pods are all clustered together on the sand plains of Ijburg beside a communal kitchen and ‘tribal toilet tower.’ Some of the creations are more solid and permanent than others, like the wooden icosahedron structure by Boomhuttenfest or the bizarre bottle-shaped ‘Val Ross’ by MUD projects. A shrink-wrap house with a pallet stoop explores the value of waste materials, while the ‘Bedbug’ sits on adjustable legs to adapt to various urban camping environments. The pods can be booked on Air BNB.

Hanging Tree Beds in Bavaria

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campers hanging cliff

The Waldseilgarten resort in the mountains of Pfronten, Germany requires you to be just a wee bit adventurous with a series of tent platforms perched on cliffs or dangling from trees. All guests receive rope climbing training before spending the night, especially since you’ll have to do some climbing in the dark if you have to go to the bathroom in the middle of the night. The tree platforms offer relatively easy access to the ground, but the cliff platforms can be up to 6,562 feet above the valley floor.

Transparent Igloo for Viewing the Northern Lights

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Maintain an uninterrupted view of the Northern Lights from the transparent ceiling of your igloo in Finland. The Kakslauttanen Hotel & Igloo Village boasts 40 igloos for two, each temperature-controlled and equipped with its own sauna. The complex is located near the Urho Kekkonen National Park, which has some of the Arctic Circle’s most impressive views of the Aurora Borealis.

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Creative Camping 16 Out There Open Air Accommodations

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[ By Steph in Destinations & Sights & Travel. ]

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Z Camera launches Micro Four Thirds E1 camera with 4K video and open platform

21 Jul

Z Camera, a China-based photography startup, has introduced a connected Micro Four Thirds camera called the E1. Shaped like GoPro’s HERO action cameras, the E1 carries a 16MP Four Thirds sensor and can record video at 4K 4096×2160 resolution. It provides Wi-Fi connectivity and an open platform for developers. Read more

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
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Open Swim in MN: Nation’s First Naturally Filtered Public Pool

15 Jul

[ By WebUrbanist in Architecture & Public & Institutional. ]

first natural pool united states

After years of design and development, the first naturally filtered public swimming pool in the United States is set to open later this month in Minneapolis, the largest city in the Land of 10,000 Lakes. Located close to the Mississippi River in Webber Park, the project draws on European precedents but Minnesota law had to be changed to allow for this novel, chemical-free approach.

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A series of filtration strategies including appropriate plants, bacteria and microorganisms serve to keep the pool organically free of harmful bacteria and nutrient build-ups.  Some city swimmers will still need to accustom themselves to the unusual look of the water, appearing more like that of a lake than a chemically-cleaned pool, but for most Minnesotans this should not prove too difficult.

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The main 500,000-gallon swimming area has space for up to 500 people in the water at once and a 13-foot deep end for diving, while an adjacent bioengineered pond helps to cycle and clean water from (then return it to) the human-occupied side. Over 2.5 miles of underground and underwater pipes push and pull water through this complex but effective system.

natural swimming pool

The project has not been without problems, including delays and additional costs, but as the first of its kind in the country there were bound to be some setbacks along the way. Migrating ducks and toads, for instance, attempted to settle the pool while it was under construction and had to be scared away and moved along, respectively. Poorly-chosen fill had to be replaced, weather pushed back elements of construction and various other surprises found on-site contributed to slower execution. Still, this ground-breaking approach represents a solid test case for other states interested in pursuing similarly sustainable organic pools as well as a legislative precedent for other areas with similar laws currently prohibiting naturally filtered designs (lead image via CBS MN).

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Mark Alor Powell – Open at Noon

01 Jun

Mark Alor Powell, Open at Noon

Nach dem schon wirklich seltsamen „Songbook“ von Alec Soth wurde ich auf ein weiteres Buch aufmerksam, das das Prädikat „merkwürdig“ verdient: „Open at Noon“ von Mark Alor Powell. Dieses Buch möchte ich Euch heute vorstellen.
kwerfeldein – Fotografie Magazin | Fotocommunity

 
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Epson International Pano Awards open for panoramic photographers

30 Apr

Entries are now being accepted for the Epson International Pano Awards competition that celebrates and rewards outstanding panoramic photography. In its sixth year, the contest which is sponsored by Epson Australia, has a prize fund of $ 50,000, including a single prize of $ 5,000 for the Jeff Mitchum Fine Art category. Read more

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
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PlantLab: Urban Farms 40 Times More Productive than Open Fields

03 Apr

[ By WebUrbanist in Architecture & Cities & Urbanism. ]

indoor farm vertical design

A Dutch firm on the cutting edge of indoor agriculture estimates that producing food for the entire world could take place in a space far smaller than the area occupied by Holland, using just 10% of the water needed by traditional farms. The proposal is not without precedent – Japan already has one prototype urban farm that is 100 times more productive than farmers’ fields.

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Noting that the vast majority of people will live in cities in the coming decades, PlantLab suggests a solution that involves using existing basements and purpose-built structures for our future food production. This means less energy, space, time and water than conventional methods.

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Urban farming in controlled environments lets growers take full advantage of variables like custom lighting, using far-red LED lamps that reduce moisture requirements for plants. Naturally, interior spaces are also free from the uncontrolled variables of weather and pests as well, increasingly reliability.

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Automatic systems can optimize yields based on crop types, making indoor farms more effective than greenhouses and far more productive than fields. The ever-increasing efficiency and lowering costs of LEDs mean this method will only become more viable over time.

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Monterey Bay Aquarium uses GoPro to create new open source research camera

27 Jan

The Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute has created an open source camera system for use underwater to aid in research projects. The rig is composed of a GoPro camera and other easily sourced components, and is cheaper than commercially available oceanographic camera systems. Learn more

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
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Open Source Homes: 6 Free Plans Put High-End Design in Reach

21 Jan

[ By WebUrbanist in Architecture & Houses & Residential. ]

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Rendering luxury-class house designs accessible to the public is just part of the beauty of Paperhouses, an endeavor to raise the quality of free house plans and and explore the potentials for architecture to be as open as technology can be. As with Wikihouse, anyone is welcome to download and begin construction on any of the uploaded homes without paying an architect fee.

open source houseboat system

The latest submission to Paperhouses is a houseboat by Carl Turner Architects composed of prefab parts and design to move freely in narrow urban waterways and allow for expansion in ever-more-crowded European capitals.

open source modular house

As with other homes in the database, this one is intended to be flexible, able to be adapted to different conditions and clients. While intended to float, the modular construction allows the design to be built on land with equal ease while an adjustable pallet of colors and materials allow it to be individualized by each builder or owner.

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Our Private Sky by Florian Busch Architects is part of the same initiative but approaches modularity through the idea of privacy and views. The primary focus of the structure is upward, while variable windows can be added, moved or removed depending upon its context.

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The Module House by Tatiana Bilbao is based on series of same-sized blocks that can be arranged and oriented depending on the layout of a site and desired directions relative to the sun, featuring concrete walls and cantilevers to balance daylight and shade.

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Open Source Homes 6 Free Plans Put High End Design In Reach

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Weird and wonderful: International science photography competition open for entries

06 Dec

Organizers of a worldwide competition for scientific photography are calling for entries for the International Images for Science competition. Photographers are encouraged to submit visually exciting and revealing pictures of objects and concepts relating to all areas of science. The competition, which is run by the Royal Photographic Society (RPS), is free to enter, and this year will be accepting work from members and non-members alike for the first time. Read more

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
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Olympus shows ‘Open Platform’ Micro Four Thirds camera module

16 Sep

Olympus is using Photokina to show a prototype ‘Open Platform’ camera module. Developed with the MIT Media Lab, the module is a Micro Four Thirds compatible unit that can be controlled from a smart device. Like Sony’s QX series, the Olympus has its own shutter button but it also offers a hotshoe an is built around a more open software platform to allow developers to create apps to control it.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
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