Amanda Ryan -
For the past two years, when residents of Sydney have gone down to the park, they have literally travelled “down”. Wonderfully making use of an old water reservoir, the Australian firms TZC Architects and JMD Designs constructed Paddington Reservoir Gardens to make good use of a cave-in. The reservoir was originally constructed in the 1870s […]
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“No man ever steps in the same river twice, for it’s not the same river and he’s not the same man.” -Heraclitus Hydroelectric power plants and the dams that accompany them often have a discordant relationship with the rivers they harness. Stark and brutalistic, they use the raw forces of concrete engineering and human ingenuity […]
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In dense metropolitan areas, traveling from building to building often involves lengthy rides down elevators, up elevators, and across traffic-laden city streets and sidewalks. The organizers for the Building to Building Pedestrian Bridge International Challenge in Montreal sought to inspire designers to originate ideas which would ease congestion, decrease travel times, and diversify the use […]
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Have you ever taken a break at work and just wanted to relax? I mean really kick back and enjoy a few moments of tranquility while the bustling city thrives around you? If so, then make sure to include Vienna in your next job search. The Austrian capital recently erected the Flederhaus, a five-story building […]
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Soothing and sometimes discordant sounds have recently floated along the Kattegat coast for the past month, a part of Aarhus, Denmark’s version of the Sculpture by the Sea exhibition. Throughout the most of June, this outdoor sculpture exhibit took place along an almost three mile seaside stretch of the Jutland peninsula. With over sixty-five pieces, […]
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Make sure to wear surgical gloves and a hospital mask if you ever have the fortune to visit a Pieke Bergmans display. Her works have an infection that runs rampant through the crystal she hand blows. The disease twists and mutilates water carafes, vases, and crystal light “bulbs” of her Design Virus collection into shapes […]
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The folks at oobject.com like to find unique designs that proliferate our world which often go unseen. Be it crashed satellites, crazy Thomas Edison inventions, or just fascinating viewpoints of familiar places, they find photos and videos of objects both past and present that have a peculiar and interesting quality. We enjoy perusing the thousands […]
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Apart from the works of Kahn and Hadid which celebrate the fluidity of concrete material, concrete ordinarily operates as a forgotten necessity. Sidewalks, bridges, and roadways depend on its durability and immense resistance to compression, but it usually receives little consideration for more artistic creations. Perhaps remembering the Brutalist movement, architects have almost abandoned concrete […]
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While in London last week, our Director Thomas Lawrence was entranced by this inventive community garden nestled next to the Charles Dickens Free House pub/restaurant. The Urban Physics Garden brings neighbors and researchers together to use this previously neglected space for growing medicinal plants alongside the herbs and spices that one finds in traditional gardens. […]
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Above: Boeing interior before re-design Air travelers might have noticed something different about a plane ride they recently took. The venerable 737, workhorse of many airlines, has been redesigned from nose to tail, including a fresh look inside the cabin. Gone are the boxy overheads and bright yellow incandescent lights. Boeing has replaced these when […]
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This festival makes me yearn for a trip to the east coast. Starting tonight, Bostonians will have the opportunity to celebrate MIT’s FAST Light (Festival of Art + Science + Technology). Described as an evening of “kinetic illumination”, over 20 interactive installations will line the Charles River in Cambridge. Not surprising for such an innovative […]
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While the exterior of building has been criticized with terms that approximate “foreign spaceship”, the interior of the Park Plaza Westminster Bridge Hotel in London employs deep textures and artistic expression. From carpet inscribed with poetry verses to high-end artwork, understated luxury abounds. But what really take center stage in this interior are the illuminated […]
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The Cienna Ultralounge in NYC- This project piqued our interest for several reasons – highly conceptual design, sophisticated use of colored LED lighting, and innovative materiality. Designer Antonio Di Oronzo of Bluarch envisioned the ceiling as a cocoon-like element with soft, tactile, silky forms. To create this aesthetic, nearly 90,000 illuminated acrylic strands are suspended […]
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