Paris mayor Anne Hidalgo announces studio PCA-Stream’s accepted proposal for transforming this historic avenue. The PCA plan will split the avenue's 1.2 mile eight-lane highway into bike lanes/walk-ways, as well as, introduce pockets of greenery (over the next 10 years) - with a goal of improving air quality and making it a more sustainable and desirable public space. More here and worth watching the impressive animated fly-by at the bottom of this link on PCA’s site.
Proposed High Line Extension (NYC) - Diller Scofidio + Renfro
I’ve loved this project since first hearing about it in the early 2000s.
Completed in 2009, the 1.5 mile elevated park was created on a former railroad spur along the west side of Manhattan and designed as a "living system” - part landscape architecture, part urban design.
The newly announced proposed extension will connect the High Line to the new Penn Station expansion allowing pedestrians to walk from the parkway to the station concourse without crossing busy roads.
City as Graphic
The complexity of cities can be overwhelming and fascinating. Surprisingly, only 3% of the US is considered urban landscape.
Den Outdoors
Assorted plans and kits for small modern structures with basic materials and clean lines. More here.
STACEY ABRAMS
Georgia’s senate shift to blue yesterday is in large part due to Abrams decade-plus commitment to building a Democratic political infrastructure in her state - first with her New Georgia Project and then with Fair Fight - voting rights organizations created to combat voter suppression and make it easier for especially the disenfranchised to get to the poll or mail-in their votes.
She is a powerful force and no doubt a great threat to the mob of pawns at the nations capitol yesterday (Jan. 6, 2021) and their cowardly representatives.
IVO OLIVEIRA RODRIGUES (product designer)
I love that SOMEBODY is collecting all these vintage products and making art based on it. See more from Ivo here.
Unique Mount EMEI - Land Of Dramas / WG Studio + BIAD-BOA Studio
These dream-scapes and structures were created by the Chinese director Wang Chaoge. Check out more about this project here.
Happy New Year
HAPPY HOLIDAYS
Hindu Temple Complex (India) - Sameep Padora & Associates
The stepped temples are made from local black limestone slabs to create a modern take on the traditional forms. These slabs are planted with greenery on the lower levels to buffer the interiors from the heat. To create the water feature, the architectures diverted waste water from a nearby quarry to a low-lying retention basin that was planted with vegetation to naturally clean the water.
Church of Saint George
Lalibela is an Ethiopian town famous for its rock-cut monolithic churches. St. George is believed to have been hewn from the existing lava rock in late 12th or early 13th century AD. More here.
Thanks again Dan Sjogren for putting this on my radar.
Sneci, the teeny tiny Houseboat - Tamás Bene (architect)
This combines two of my favorite things. Check out more pictures and information here.
Lim'uhphile Co-op (South Africa) / Collectif Saga (architects)
The resourcefulness of this project is lovely to see. The architects at Collectif saga (France) teamed up with this existing Co-op to masterplan a site they had already been farming. The structures are mostly made of industrial bi-products or scraps and organized to create gathering spaces, training areas and greenhouses to start crops. See more here.
Vaccine - FDA Emergency Approval (Pfizer & BioNTech)
Curious to see how fairly this vaccine rolls out. Here’s an interesting article from NYMag that lays out possible challenges.
Geminid Meteor Shower (Dec. 2020)
This shower is supposed to peak around Dec. 13-14 but dozens of shooting stars should be visible before and afterwards. The rock comet called 3200 Phaethon is the parent body of this shower.
Wood Stove
The bigfish shop just got a little cozier for winter. Four weeks after ordering, the Alpine from CO Cylinder Stoves arrived and got piped into an existing double-walled vent pipe in corner + opted for the side-arm water tank with valve so tea/hot chocolate can be offered to visitors. The wood storage unit for shop scraps is sided with cement board to protect frig., and don’t worry, bikes will only hang there when stove is not firing.
Copenhagen Loop B.I.G. (Bjarke Ingles Group)
Charged with rethinking urban sprawl and an outdated infrastructure in/around the city of Copenhagen, B.I.G. proposes a 50yr plan (LOOP) that links energy exchange, waste/recycling, water treatment, EV charging, and most interestingly, a public transportation line that is also building, park, commerce hubs and health care campus.
Mary Ellen Mark - Photographer (Mar. 20, 1940 - May 25, 2015)
Mark was best known for her fearless photographs of groups on the fringe of society. Her husband spent the last 4 years distilling her nearly 2 million images down to a retrospective book of 515 plates. Lovely NPR story here.
Mary Ellen Mark by the water, near Belfast, Northern Ireland, 1972.
Diamond the Halloween Mermaid, South Bronx H.E.L.P. Shelter, New York, USA. 1993
CARDS AGAINST HUMANITY
Cards Against Humanity’s 2020 response to Black Friday (below) says much about this impressive company.
