Archive for the ‘architecture’ Category
Abandoned Yugoslav Monuments
May 23rd, 2011
A few decades ago, the Yugoslav government commissioned a series of huge sculpture/monuments to be built at a few historic locations. They’ve since been abandoned, so the Balkans are now scattered with what look like the relics of an ancient and completely alien civilization.
Also, on a personal note, I’m spending the summer in Boulder, CO, interning with the lovely people at Foraker Labs! So, you know, FYI. You should probably visit — Boulder is just incredibly awesome and I have a remarkably comfortable floor moderately comfortable futon.
L’elephant triomphal
September 14th, 2010
History has forgotten French architect Charles Ribart, and with good reason. Here’s his wikipedia article, essentially in full:
In 1758, he planned an addition to the Champs-Élysées in Paris, to be constructed where the Arc de Triomphe now stands. It consisted of three levels, to be built in the shape of an elephant, with entry via a spiral staircase in the underbelly. The building was to have a form of air conditioning, and furniture that folded into the walls. A drainage system was to be incorporated into the elephant’s trunk. The French Government, however, was not amused and turned him down.
Little of his work now survives.
animals, architecture, cranks, history, ill-conceived plans, old dead white guys | No Comments »
Lego Fallingwater
August 28th, 2010
Apparently Lego is now selling a model of Frank Lloyd Wright’s Fallingwater. They’re making a few other architectural models, like the Guggenheim and the White House, though they’re much simpler.
I’d love to see them try to model something by Frank Gehry, but I won’t hold my breath.
Handmade Islands
January 29th, 2010
In a bay off the coast of Montenegro there’s a church on an island. The island was built by hand.
The idea that devotional rock-throwing has become an art of creating new terrain, generation after generation, rock after rock, pebble after pebble, is stunning to me. Perhaps in a thousand years, a whole archipelago of churches will exist there, standing atop a waterlogged maze of old pleasure boats and fishing ships, the mainland hills and valleys nearby denuded of loose stones altogether. Inadvertently, then, this is as much a museum of local geology—a catalog of rocks—as it is a churchyard.
Rocio Romero
January 13th, 2010
Rocio Romero makes these great modular home kits. Clean lines, huge open spaces, energy-efficient, and apparently very inexpensive for DIY’ers.
One day, one day.
Jenga Apartments
September 6th, 2009
Some really great apartments are about to be built in Singapore. Do want.
The Igloo Cabin
July 30th, 2009
The Australian company Icewall One builds, among other things, an igloo cabin. This may replace (or at least supplement) my previous dream of building a house entirely out of shipping containers.
Treehouses at Longwood
July 23rd, 2009
The ever-pleasant Longwood Gardens in SE Pennsylvania hosts a few treehouses, so while I was visiting a couple weeks ago I snapped some photos. I’m always planning the perfect treehouse, so I was both impressed by the craftsmanship that went into these and disappointed that they’re all actually supported by steel columns, which is clearly cheating.