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.
Electric Snow Bikes
These look like they may be too much fun. Curious to see how the batteries handle the cold (as they typ. don’t do so well in that dept.). Check out more at MoonBikes.
Inside Plantings
We started veg. and herb seedlings in our lg. south-facing window at the beginning of pandemic to get ready for summer plantings but have now decided to try it indoors for winter. I’ll update as the experiment continues.
Sneci, the teeny tiny Houseboat - Tamás Bene (architect)
This combines two of my favorite things. Check out more pictures and information here.
Ecological Urban Master Plan of Guangming District, Shenzhen (China) - SOM
I like the optimism of this kind of future. See more here.
John Lewis (February 21, 1940 – July 17, 2020)
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.
Lightness In Architecture - Masters in Advanced Studies/Digital Fabrication (ETH Zürich)
Twelve groups of students collaborated with researchers on robotic fabrication processes & 3D printing technologies. All topics show the ability to turn concepts into software and digital building processes with the power to transform the way we build. Check out projects here.
Boat Update
Applied a heavy coat of the 2 part urethane to the kayak frame and will plan to add a second coat to the lower half. Once frame is completely sealed, it’ll be time to add the skin (white 9oz. ballistic nylon) - see Spirit Line Kayaks for more info.
Juheko (Estonia)
Estonia craftspeople are making these lovely products. Not sure if these can be found in the US yet but they have a large assortment of lighting related goods. See more here.
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.
David Prowse a.k.a. Darth Vader (July 1, 1935 – Nov. 28, 2020)
Prowse was an English body builder and character actor in British TV and film. He was best known for physically portraying Darth Vader in the original Star Wars Trilogy and also as a manservant in Kubrick’s, A Clockwork Orange. It was not until he starred in a 2015 documentary entitled, I Am Your Father, would his identity/face be widely shared.
Peter Cushing, George Lucas, Carrie Fisher and David Prowse (during filming in 1976)
The Red Roof - TAA design (Vietnam)
Pavement
Got turned on to this band in the early 90’s and have been listening to them quite a bit over the pandemic. Here’s Harness Your Hopes by Pavement + our 16yr old has been learning this tune on ukulele.
Parametric Design
Parametric Design can be thought of like a spreadsheet, you supply the parameters and the computer kicks-out a summation. It’s a quick way to explore designs while adjusting the variables.
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.
Kylle Sebree - Furniture
Here’s another example of a thoughtful furniture maker creating mostly custom pieces - his blog is worth a look, as well.
Contribution from fellow designer Dan Sjogren at Sjotime Industries.
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