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Posts Tagged ‘Urban’

Urban Spock: 20 Fascinating Leonard Nimoy Graffiti Tributes

29 Mar

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

graffiti Spock 0
Mr. Spock, played by the late Leonard Nimoy, was a logically legit pop culture icon. Just ask the many graffiti artists worldwide who have paid him tribute.

graffiti Spock 1

As a science fiction franchise Star Trek is almost a half-century old but elements of the “brand” have been seeping into pop culture for decades. It’s no surprise, therefore, that the appearance of Mr. Spock in street art and graffiti is nothing new though sightings have increased since Nimoy’s passing on February 27th of 2015. The very recent tribute above, credited to graffiti artist Gnasher and officially authorized, can be found on the wall of the Pottergate Underpass in Grapes Hill, Norwich, UK.

Horns of a Dilemma

graffiti Spock 17

We haven’t seen Mr. Spock looking so horny since he was seized with the Vulcan mating urge and attacked Captain Kirk… hey, it’s not what you think (not that there’s anything wrong with that). Flickr user rabauke77 captured this devilish stencil on a Berlin wall (not that one, another one) in September of 2006.

Logical in London

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graffiti Spock 2a

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We’re guessing this door in London’s inner city Shoreditch district neither goes “whooosh!” nor leads to the bridge… well, maybe London Bridge but we digress. The trio of images above were captured by three different photographers. Flickr users Martin K (mpk1313) and Chinaman (Deaf Rave) made the scene a mere four days apart in February of 2009 while Marc Davies (MrLomo) arrived about four months later… just in time to witness the storefront being whitewashed! Did Spock survive? We think so: dude’s packin’ a heater.

Keep Feeling Fasination

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London’s old East End seems to appreciate Spock a lot more than Vulcan did. Take the remarkable mural above, signed by artist Paul Donsmith and snapped by Flickr user Frank Long (FrankLong) on March 21st of 2015. We’ll cut Donsmith some slack on his “fasinating” typo – maybe Spock’s trademark expression was, like, trademarked or something.

Vulcan Vegan

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graffiti Spock 4b

We say Vulcan, you say Vegan, let’s call the whole thing off. This cool stencil of Spock flashing the V (interpret it how you will) sign appeared fairly fresh in August of 2009 when Flickr user José Lodewick spied it on a wall in Brussels, Belgium. By November of 2010, however, Spock’s visage was showing signs of age not to mention a nasty case of creeping moss. Guess the local plant life was feeling encouraged.

Phasers on Stunning

graffiti Spock 20

Beam me up, Scotty… or in this case Swissy, since the vibrant artwork above can be found in a certain Alpine nation famous for its holey cheese. Yeah, let’s all heave a sigh of relief that the Enterprise’s chief engineer was Scottish. In any case, there’s nothing cheesy about the technicolor Spockian homage above, captured by Flickr user Dominik (Sibilus_Basilea) in March of 2011.

Spock Is The Answer

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Street Art - Meatpacking District

New York City’s Meatpacking District just got more interesting… well, maybe not just – Flickr users shoehorn99 and cbrgss captured the above group paste-up in mid-2009. Here a bouffanted Mr. Spock finds himself in the company of Albert Einstein, Muhammad Ali, and a patient pooch. Odd, we don’t recall that particular episode but it would have been awesome!

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Urban Spock 20 Fascinating Leonard Nimoy Graffiti Tributes

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

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Figures & Ground: Crafty Wood Miniatures Create Urban Vignettes

25 Mar

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

urban rail skateboarder

Inspired by everything from personal experience to famous photography, this street artist crafts small wooden cutouts to frame scenes of action, adventure, romance and life.

urban character in grass

urban mother son waves

urban miniature fishing boat

Living in New Jersey and working both there and in New York, Joe Iurato illustrates his miniature creations with black-and-white details, setting them apart from the colorful cityscapes they occupy.

urban climber figure person

urban parkour jumping figure

While the specific sizes and subjects vary, a common thread is found in their site-specific nature and detailed drawings – each figure or set thereof participates directly in its surroundings.

urban small world child

urban street figure ground

“From break dancing to skateboarding to rock climbing to becoming a father, all of these things have helped define my character. For me, it’s just about revisiting those moments in a way that’s familiar. I’ve always appreciated seeing architecture and nature in a different light.”

urban pothole inspector

urban tree climbing boy

urban track train walkers

“As a skater, the tar banks behind a local supermarket, a flight of stairs, a parking block, a drainage ditch, a handrail, a wall – they all present possibilities for interaction and fun in ways they weren’t intended to be used.”

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Sustainable Food in the City: 10 Smart Urban Farm Designs

19 Mar

[ By Steph in Architecture & Cities & Urbanism. ]

urban farming korea 3

The world’s largest indoor farm has already proven just how amazingly successful food production can be outside of standard agricultural setups, and these 10 urban farm designs and concepts take the possibilities even further by taking advantage of disused spaces, reaching high into the sky and employing modular, portable, prefabricated configurations.

Jenga-Like Urban Farming Ecosystem by OVA Studio

urban farming jenga 1 urban farming hive inn 2

The Hive-Inn City Farm is a prefabricated, modular farming structure that could brig fresh, locally grown food to busy urban districts. The structure reclaims shipping containers and stacks them in a Jenga-like configuration, with each container dedicated to a specific function from growing a certain type of food to recycling waste. The design echoes that of OVA Studio’s original Hive Inn concept, which uses the containers as individual hotel rooms.

SPARK Senior Living Center and Vertical Farm Concept

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This concept by SPARK Architects solves two problems in one by combining housing for Singapore’s rapidly aging population with urban food production. The ‘home farm’ creates a lush, vibrant garden environment that’s pleasant to live in while also catering specifically to the needs of seniors and using a vertical system to grow edibles, offering part-time employment for residents in the gardens

Mini Harvesting Station for Forgotten City Spaces

urban farming harvesting station

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On a smaller scale, various spaces around the city that aren’t being put to good use could serve as temporary locations for miniature farms. The Harvesting Station by Conceptual Devices can grow up to 200 plants within 43 square feet, and is topped with a water harvesting tower that irrigates the plants automatically.

Vertical SkyFarm for Korea

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Downtown Seoul, South Korea could become a powerhouse food production center if concepts like Aprilli’s vertical farm are actually built, potentially sustaining a significant number of the city’s large population. The tree-shaped structure frees up space on the ground while raising ‘leaf’ platforms far above street level for access to sunlight, and serves as an iconic symbol of sustainability.

Geodesic Rooftop Greenhosue for Urban Farmers

urban farming geodesic 1

Another small-scale rooftop ming solution is the Globe (Hedron) by Conceptual Devices, a geodesic dome for flat urban rooftops that’s framed with bamboo and functions as an aquaponic system to produce both fish and vegetables. Each greenhouse can feed four families of four year-round.

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Sustainable Food In The City 10 Smart Urban Farm Designs

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Megablock Microclimate: Urban Treehouse Apartment Complex

13 Mar

[ By WebUrbanist in Architecture & Houses & Residential. ]

urban treehouse forest plants

Shrouded in 150 trees that absorb 200,000 liters of carbon dioxide per hour, this massive five-story, block-spanning residential building occupies its own protected inner-city ecosystem.

urban forest planters microclimate

urban treehouse steel beams

Located in Torino, Italy, 25 Verde was designed by Luciano Pia (images by Beppe Giardino) to serve both the residents of the complex as well as the surrounding urban environment. Its living facade forms light, sight and sound barrier on all sides but also regulates pollution and temperatures in and around the structure.

urban garden trellice supports

urban treehouse street view

treehouse complex

Rich foliage provides shade during the summer and lets more sunlight in during the winter. Situated on the ground and in planters above, each species was carefully selected for its growth needs, colors and other attributes relative to the project’s goals. At ground level, a raised-earth effect provides privacy for residents and a sense that the entire complex is growing right out of the soil.

urban forest facade design

urban green walkway area

urban treehouse courtyard area

Steel tree-shaped supports reinforce the appearance of an urban forest while a series of wooden platforms, trellises and towers make the entire complex feel all the more like a treehouse in the heart of the city. Paths and courtyards provide residents and visitors a great series of moments that combine elements of nature and urban design.

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Think Tank introduces new low-profile ‘Urban Approach’ bags for compact system cameras

13 Mar

Bag and accessory manufacturer Think Tank has announced that it will introduce a new range of shoulder bags and a backpack for compact system camera users in April this year. Dubbed the ‘Urban Approach’ range the bags are said to be ‘low profile’ to allow the photographer to carry equipment without standing out, and will be finished in low-contrast matte black. Click through for details

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
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10K Timelapse: 80-Megapixel Camera Captures Urban Rio in Motion

27 Feb

[ By WebUrbanist in Art & Photography & Video. ]

time lapse favela project

No monitor in the world can fully do justice to the amazing level of detail in this sequence, but be sure to go full screen when watching in this video, regardless, to get a taste of the possibilities. Aside from other urban subjects, the selection of a favela for one of these shots gave the photographer an opportunity to show off how a place so rich in variegated colors and textures could be displayed at various scales.

favela

Each 80-megapixel image (frames at 10328×7760 pixels) was shot by John Capra to illustrate the capabilities of the PhaseOne IQ180 camera. These series were shot while on an assignment in Brazil to do a series of 4K and 8K timelapses, but blow even those out of the water. In the video, Capra keeps zooming in to highlight just how much one can capture and see.

screenshot at fifty percent

“I wanted to show a couple things with this demo video,” says Capra.“First, the extreme resolution of this camera (and medium format in general). Second, the amazing amount of flexibility this resolution allows for in post production. You can literally get about 8-10 solid 1920×1080 shots out of a single shot. You can also get about 5-6 solid 4K shots out of a single shot.”

screenshot brazil favela zoom

screenshot at 100 percent

favela zoom final

“Each shot was very minimally processed and included curves, input sharpening, saturation adjustments. The h264 compression really kills alot of the fine detail. No noise reduction was done on any of the shots. I tried to keep the shots as close to raw as possible so you may see some dust spots, noise, and manual exposure changes I made while shooting. For a final video edit these adjustments would be smoothed out and fixed. Normally I run shots where I manually change exposure during the shot through LRTimelapse, but unfortunately the program can’t seem to handle such huge raw files. I also had to loop some shots in order to have enough runtime to do some zooms, so you may see a jump in the footage here and there.”

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Civic Camouflage: Hiding a Huge Urban Stadium in Plain Sight

13 Feb

[ By WebUrbanist in Architecture & Public & Institutional. ]

secret stadium hides urban

Sports stadiums can be contentious, particularly when located in the heart of a city, but this design works in various ways to reduce disruptions to urban fabric, slotting seamlessly into its surrounding context.

urban fabric stadium design

Designed by international architecture and engineering firm Arup, the AC Milan 48,000-seat soccer club stadium in Italy is wrapped in commercial (shops, bars, hotels and restaurants) programmatic elements that work with but also independently of sporting events. Additional public-purpose elements include rooftop decks, micro-parks and playground for children.

Reinforced with soundproofing and a plan to sink its base into the ground, adding these architectural buffers on all sides helps reduce noise pollution for blocks on all sides as well as providing street-level continuity for those walking and driving through the city. Mark Wilson compares it to a combination of historical fortifications and suburban shopping centers: “around the stadium’s heart, architects will build a castle-like perimeter of restaurants, a hotel, and a sports college. From the street, the stadium just looks like a block-wide mall.”

stadium interior space design

The stadium itself features a spectator-optimized design intended to provide the best view possible for all visitors as well as a removable roof to allow for play in various conditions.

stadium side view

There are many structures that arguably should stand out from their surroundings – civic buildings like city halls, for instance – but sports stadiums rarely look good in and of themselves, and far too frequently interrupt what is going on in the cities around them. Typically, “even the most beautifully designed stadiums are an eyesore. They’re sprawling moles protruding from the skin of an urban environment, distended to accommodate a wide footprint of seats low to the ground.”

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Recycled Skylines: 8 Green Urban Tower Typologies for 2050

28 Jan

[ By WebUrbanist in Conceptual & Futuristic & Technology. ]

panoramic green city view

Exploring eco-friendly strategies for cities, this series of conceptual ‘Smart Tower’ skyscrapers and mid-rise structures incorporates design elements to reduce pollution, create renewable energy and yet also integrate with existing built environments.

green path smart towers

Designed by Vincent Callebaut Architectures, each of these typologies is set in Paris – many draw on local elements in practice, but in theory all are conceived of as having broader potential applications in urban contexts around the world. The idea, in essence, is to work with what is already in place, tapping underutilized elements for structural support or to provide a basis for further development.

green addition rooftop architecture

The proposals, named and detailed below, vary in their realism but are intended to provoke discussion and brainstorm possibilities, helping planners consider new ways to adapt existing buildings and infrastructure for cleaner and greener use in the near future.

green mountain tower additions

Mountain Towers: supported by the unused chimneys of existing buildings below, these power-generating additions draw solar energy and use a reversible hydro-electrical pumped storage system to pull up and send down hot water.

green antismog bike path

Antismog Towers: set along disused rail lines, this piece of the project combines cycling paths and urban gardens with cyclonic towers to clean the air and wind turbines to generate electricity.

green photosynthesis towers

Photosynthesis Towers: incorporating green algae bioreactors into existing tall buildings (a particular extant set deemed visually unfit by city officials), this conversion project turns adjacent open space into a phyto-purification lagoon for graywater runoff but also transforms an eyesore into an eye-catching hybrid of landscape and architecture.

green future bridge architecture

green bridge from above

Bridge Towers: connecting across urban waterways, these river-spanning structures provide a combination of water power, bridge infrastructure and living space, organically morphing between energy-generating apparatus and livable buildings.

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Recycled Skylines 8 Green Urban Tower Typologies For 2050

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Art in Abandoned Places: 15 Unexpected Urban Installations

08 Jan

[ By Steph in Art & Installation & Sound. ]

abandoned art time lapse

Translucent jellyfish put on a serene display in the window of a derelict shop, ghostly images of long-dead patients seem to haunt a disused hospital and surreal oversized spider webs appear in the basement of an old factory in these 15 eerie installations bringing art and design to abandoned places.

Glowing Jellyfish Aquarium in an Abandoned Building

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A glowing blue tank full of eerily floating jellyfish is probably one of the last things you’d ever expect to see in an abandoned shop window. Artists Walter Hugo and Zoniel built this striking aquarium as part of the Liverpool Biennial, inserting it behind the shutter of the derelict building. The installation, entitled “The Physical Possibility of Inspiring Imagination in the Mind of Someone Living” was not promoted in any way so people could come across it on their own and experience the wonder of such a discovery.

Ghostly Portraits in Ellis Island’s Abandoned Immigrant Hospital

abandoned art ellis island

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The ghostly images of the very same nurses, doctors and patients who once roamed the halls of Ellis Island’s immigrant hospital remain in the building like a psychic imprint thanks to an installation by French street artist JR, who installed paste-ups of archival photographs. The hospital treated 1.2 million immigrant patients between 1901 and 1954, when it was abandoned, and has since been re-opened to the public. The exhibit is entitled ‘Unframed – Ellis Island’ and will remain in the building as it continues to decay (photographs by Allison Meier of Hyperallergic.)

Eerie Installations in Abandoned Churches by Herbert Baglione

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Painted shadows floating around in an abandoned mental hospital in Italy aren’t the only evocative and subtle works that Herbert Baglione has completed in derelict places. The Brazilian artist also brought his signature figures to a 16th century church in Celles-sur-Belle, France. Says Baglione, “The ‘reading’ of these places allows me to take the shadow to a unique path, which usually feeds and broadens the discussion because it brings light to the abandoned environment, and so I put the name of this series as ‘The path that the soul takes.’ The idea for the name came from a conversation I had with my brother ‘William Baglione’ about the places to do these installations. It is as if the soul is leaving an invisible trail on these places.”

Trampolines Suspended in an Abandoned Mine

abandoned art trampolines

abandoned art trampolines 2

An abandoned Welsh slate quarry twice the size of St. Paul’s Cathedral is now home to a rainbow-hued installation of nets as part of Bounce Below, the world’s largest underground trampoline. The new tourist attraction features three gigantic trampolines ascending to 180 feet above the floor of the cavern, with ten-foot net walls keeping anyone from bouncing right out.

Stop-Motion Time Lapse in an Abandoned House

abandoned art time lapse

Abandoned houses served as some of the unsettling locations that make up the backdrop for ‘Circle of an Abstract Ritual,‘ a stop-motion time-lapse by artist Jeff Frost. The film was created using time-lapse photography – no special effects or graphics were added.

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Art In Abandoned Places 15 Unexpected Urban Installations

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Vertical City Farming: Undulating Mixed-Use Urban Community

12 Dec

[ By WebUrbanist in Architecture & Houses & Residential. ]

urban farming city concept

Designed to provide a spaces for public gardening as well as senior living, this hybrid complex has a rich array of green roofs, terraces and facades allowing for locally-grown produce as well as civic interaction.

urban farm terrace plan

urban farm gardening community

Responding to the fact that by 2030 a full 20% of Singapore’s population will be retirement-aged, SPARK Architects sought to address high-density housing, sustainable architecture and urban agriculture in this complex.

urban farm design concept

urban farm walkway singapore

The layered concept involves ground-level farms and gardens open to the citizenry as well as individual, upper-level plots that retired persons can work at their leisure.

urban farming design section

urban farming aquaponics module

urban farming design diagram

Further, “the environmental sustainability and efficiency of ‘Home Farm’ [is] enhanced by proposed features such as the collection of rainwater, for use in aquaponic systems, and the use of plant waste for energy production.”

urban farm ground floor

urban farm undulating form

The curvilinear master plan provides maximum sun exposure and variegated views throughout the complex, encouraging residents to walk around to exercise, interact with neighbors and experience a diverse set of internal and city views.

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