11.30.2007

the black hole



Coudal.com has been a great source of content for the blog
(museum of online museums, etc.) with all of their interesting
finds online. Coudal Partners has also begun to tackle film making.
While doing research for another film, they stumbled upon a very
interesting fellow in Los Alamos, NM and were so struck that they
decided to make a series about him. I actually met him and visited
his store this summer while on a trip visiting family in New Mexico.

Take a few minutes to watch these beautifully shot stories.


11.13.2007

something we'd like to not have happen...



The Tate Modern has a new installation in their Great
Turbine Hall by Doris Salcedo. The space was memorably
transformed a few years ago for
'Shibboleth'. A hairline crack turns into a chasm about 4
inches apart at it's greatest width and stretches 584 across
the entire length of the hall. A cast from a rock wall in the
artist's native Columbia to gives the floor it's texture.
It is said to symbolize the history of racism and the
inquality amoung countries.

funny face



Ok, yes it's a little silly but it's still fun.
Faces in Places site documents the faces
they find in everyday places.

11.06.2007

gtank



Please join us for gtank this week to hear an in depth review of
the Principal's meeting that Chicago hosted last month.

gtank is an informal, interdisciplinary design discussion. We meet
every other Wednesday at 5:30pm in DS3. Everyone is invited and
encouraged to participate.

11.01.2007

around the world around the world



A hotel that travels the world?? Hotel Everland is currently sitting atop
the Palais du Tokyo museum in Paris
(by the way, this museum is a must see for any trip to Paris).
Back to the hotel. It is a travelling art installation by two Swiss
artists that began in 2002. For that drop-dead view, you can
actually book the room for a night.

10.23.2007

seeing red...a lot of red


Over the weekend, a group of vandals claiming
to be neofuturists poured red dye into Trevi fountain.
As the fountain began to cycle the water through, it
soon spouted red water. They say the fountain is not
permanently damaged and that they marble statues
did not absorb any of the dye.
The vandals who took responsibility were
apparently protesting expenses incurred during
the Rome film festival - a nod to the red carpet.
They were insprired by the Futurist movement
of the early 20th century.
Makes for an interesting photo.

10.16.2007

lite brite



Artist Richard Box recently finshed an installation of
1000 fluorescent tubes lined up in rows that flicker
to light. They are powered by the electromagnetic fields
surrounding the power lines that run overhead.
Read more and see photos here. Via Coudal.

good for something


Inhabitat has a great post about a true Cradle to Cradle concept that
Heineken introduced in 1663. It's called the WOBO (world bottle) and
it is a beer bottle that can be used as a brick after the beer has
been drunk.
The idea was conceived by architect John Habraken after Alfred
Heineken came to him with a problem. He had recently been to the
caribbean and noticed that they had a lack of affordable building
materials and beaches littered with bottles. The bottles can be
layed horizontally and stacked in traditional brick and mortar
construction.

10.10.2007

coffee pusher






Jessica Statz sent a link to the Illy 'Push Button House' that was
part of this year's Venice Biennale. Illy sponsor's the event and has
presence there with illycaffe. Architect Adam Kalkin designed a
shipping container to transform into a fully functioning 'home cafe'
and did it completely out of recyclable materials. The industrial
container reveals and beautifly clean white and sparkling interior.
If you're lucky enough duck to be shopping in New York this holiday
season, the illycaffe will be temporarliy installed at Time Warner center.

These great tiles we saw a year or so ago at the Kvadrat showroom
in Denmark are now in prodcution. Designed by the super talented
duo of Ronan and Erwan Bouroullec, these flexible foam fabric tiles
can be connected together to create an infinate number of designs.
They can create and/or divide space, are a means to soundproof,
and are made from sustainble fabrics to boot. See Kvadrat for
more information and great design tools for using the product.