BOOKGIVE

Emily (my wife) has been volunteering at this great Non-Profit organization created by our friends Nicole & Ryan Sullivan and run by Melissa Monforti, that gets the right books in the right hands. Today they will be giving away books for the holiday season, with free wrapping (while supplies last). BookGive is in an old service station on the corner of 48th & Lowell Blvd. Read more here.

Update: BookGive gave away 2000 books in 2hrs. (that’s 16 books every minute) - now that’s the holiday spirit!

Graphic Art (Prague)

“We created the logo of Kunsthalle Praha, this new art institution at Klárov, five years before its opening, and the Kunst font became the basis and an integral part of the future visual style of the orientation system and exhibitions. This font, designed by Mark Pistora, is based on a sketch by German typographer Jan Tschichold from 1930, the same time when the building of the former Zenger Transformer Substation was built.”

-Studio Najbrt

I love how backwards and cyclical this whole project seems - it’s a bit punk rock. Check out more by these impressive designers here.

Power of the Dog (Film) by Jane Campion

Masterful filmmaking here by Jane Campion - it’s almost a western thriller. Shot in a New Zealand that is convincingly a century old Montana and based on the 1967 novel by Thomas Savage (which I have not read, yet).

When you see it, LMK your thoughts, but no spoilers please, for those who still have it in their cue.

Outdoor Classroom by Al Borde Arquitectos (Ecuador)

The most interesting thing about this raised platform structure is the canvas canopy with a sprayed-on high-strength cementitious mortar that will help endure inclement weather and sun exposure. Through a lifecycle analysis, it was determined that the cementitious covering provides a 68% reduction in a roof's carbon footprint, compared to a concrete tile roof. Read more.

Namasté Solar

We just signed up with this Denver/Boulder outfit to move forward with photovoltaics (PV). So far the team has been exceptional to work with and I’ll plan to do some updates along the way. Reach out (to me) if you have any questions that may not be clear from their website.

S. Australian Health & Medical Research Institute (SAHMRI) by Woods Bagot

“Inspired by a pinecone, the skin simulates a living organism with sunshades that adapt and respond to the sun’s orientation to mitigate daylight, heat load, glare and wind noise, while enhancing views and natural lighting and reducing energy use. This external treatment was selected early on to optimize the building’s conflicting requirements of large spans, curved envelope and the stringent vibration conditions needed for sensitive laboratory equipment. This project also includes collection & recycling of water, reduction in energy loads and intelligent mechanical systems that draw air in from the cooler lower levels. “

When a laboratory can turn out like this, you know there were focused progressive people involved and committed all along the way. Read more.

Fallen Sky by Sarah Sze at the Storm King Art Center (NY)

This lovely site specific sculpture was shared with me over the weekend by the even lovelier Virginia Rogers. There’s something surprisingly simple and simultaneously complex about this piece. Look forward to seeing it the next time I’m close to the Hudson Valley. Read more and/or listen to artist talk about this work here.

Ai Weiwei - Activist and Artist (b. Aug. 28, 1957)

After Ai Weiwei’s father's poetry in the late 50’s distressed the Chinese government, he and his family were sent to a labor camp when Ai was one - where they would spend the next 16 years surviving brutal conditions. Only after Mao's death in 1976, would his family returned to Beijing where he helped form his first arts collective.

Between 1981-1993, Ai studied English and Art in the US. When he returned to China, he was an outspoken critic of the corrupt government. His work often incorporates themes of global refugee crisis, government surveillance, political prisoners and freedom of speech. His ideas and actions have led him to be arrested and harshly detained multiple times by the Chinese authorities.

When asked if he is ever scared for his life (for his actions), he responded, he is more scared of doing nothing.

See an elegant interview he gives here with Trevor Noah.

14,000 salvaged Refugee life vests wrap the columns of Berlin’s Konzerthaus (Concert House)