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Posts Tagged ‘Poland’

Night Riding: Glowing Blue Bike Trail in Poland Powered by Solar Energy

14 Oct

[ By WebUrbanist in Architecture & Cities & Urbanism. ]

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Charged during the day and lighting up at night, this beautiful bicycle trail outside the town of Lidzbark Warmiski is designed to improve safety for riders out after dark.

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Luminescent phosphor can hold emit light of various colors, but blue was selected to match the surrounding landscape and conjure associations with the sky (the source of the path’s power). Once deployed, the passive system recharges itself, obviating the need for connectivity or continual maintenance.

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Though the technologies behind the effects differ, the path in Poland was inspired in part by the Starry Night bike path created in the Netherlands by Studio Roosegaarde. Both are proofs of concept, tests meant in part to demonstrate the potential and durability of this trail-blazing lighting strategy.

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Other illumination options were considered, but this glow-in-the-dark approach was deemed both appealing and cost-effective by the Board of Regional Roads. Adjacent pedestrian paths are also bracketed by glowing blue lines and denoted for persons on foot with likewise-illuminated path signage underfoot.

Starry Night: Glow-in-the-Dark Bike Path Inspired by Van Gogh

Opening last night in Nuenen, Holland, this illuminated cycling surface is free to the public, storing sunlight during the day to create stellar patterns to guide riders after dark. First of …

Trail Blazing: ‘Freezeway’ Path for Ice Skaters Opens in Canada

The new Freezeway pilot project now live in Edmonton aims to draw residents out of hibernation, encouraging them to skate along an iced trail system slated to double as a seven-mile commuting …

Commuter Freezeways: Bike Paths as Winter Ice Skating Corridors

Proposed by a landscape architect from Edmonton, Alberta, this 7-mile urban project may not be as far fetched as it first sounds – in many regards it is simply a linear extension of an ice …

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Guerrilla Lace: Prettied-Up Urban Surfaces in Poland

31 Jul

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

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Urban sidewalks, sewer grates and dingy underpasses aren’t exactly the most likely places to find beautiful large-scale ornamental lace, but for artist NeSpoon Polska, that’s exactly where it belongs. The Polish artist creates both spray-painted street art and crocheted installations for interactive displays in all sorts of public spaces, from street lamps to abandoned houses.

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Calling it ‘illegal city decor’ and ‘public jewelry,’ Polska wanders around Warsaw, swiftly painting parking meters, utility boxes, blank signs and other blank (and often ugly) urban surfaces. Some, like a giant mural taking up almost the entire side of a three-story building, are created with permission.

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“Jewelry makes people look pretty, my public jewelry has the same goal, make public places look better. I would like people who discover, here and there, my small applications, to smile and just simply feel better,” says the artist.

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Semi-Subversive: 3 Unusually Legal Urban Street Art Projects

Here are some engaging types and works of visual and performance art that have prompted critical thought or stirred up controversy, all without getting the …
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[ By Steph in Art & Street Art & Graffiti. ]

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4-Foot-Wide Home in Poland is Now Thinnest in the World

27 Jan

[ By WebUrbanist in Architecture & Houses & Residential. ]

Nestled in the interstitial space between two existing structures and raised up one story from the street sits an improbable structure, proposed then built as an artist-in-residence live/work dwelling of incredible audacity and engineered ingenuity.

We have seen skinny houses and other buildings in places like Japan before, but no single-unit residence that matches this narrow wonder where even the bed is barely wide enough to sleep one.

Transparency, translucency and a tall angled roofs are essential to making the interior feel larger than it is. A bedroom, lounge, bathroom and office are all included at various levels, giving it a sense of separation despite all spaces running (by necessity) along the same plane.

Exposed cross-beams give each wall a sense of depth, and direct the eye up, down and out, enhancing the illusion of openness. And the inspiration for this art-centric abode designed by Bartek Warzecha for the Polish Modern Art Foundation? An extreme short story writer named Etgar Keret.

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Slim Living: World’s Thinnest House is Just Four Feet Wide

The world’s smallest house is a four-foot-wide guest residence for artists, crammed between two more conventional buildings in Warsaw, Poland.
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Open Wide: 10 Jaw-Dropping Dental Office Concepts

Can’t handle the tooth? These 10 jaw-droppingly innovative dental office design concepts help put patients at ease when it’s time for the big freeze.
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