Archiculture

Source: Empty Kingdom

Some amazing images from concept artist, Bastien Grivet.

source: Pruned

The Second Sun was selected as the winner of the Chicago’s Mind the Gap competition.  The competition asked designers to come up with a temporary use for the Chicago Spire, a Caltrava designed skyscraper that was excavated but never built.  The design calls for an oversized hot air balloon that would playfully rise and fall in the Chicago Skyline.  The hot air balloon is somehow attached to a swimming pool that would be lifted into the air with the balloon.  I’m not really sure, see for yourself.

and if you find it, its yours.  And if you don’t believe that, believe this; it’s hosted by a bunch of muppet’s.  For more information go to welostourgold.com, the clues begin on August 1 2010.

source: Gothamist

source: BAM

I think this is the second year of cinemaFEST which is going on now through June 20 at BAM in Brooklyn.  I did not make it last year and just now caught wind of this years lineup.  Not sure if we will make it, but give us some feedback if you do attend.

via: BLDGBLOG

“Sukkah City: New York City” will re-imagine this ancient phenomenon, develop new methods of material practice and parametric design, and propose radical possibilities for traditional design constraints in a contemporary urban site. Twelve finalists will be selected by a panel of celebrated architects, designers, and critics to be constructed in a visionary village in Union Square Park from September 19-21, 2010.

Sounds like a great design competition. Hopefully the built products are worth the energy and wait because I’ll be sure to test them out this September.

Find out more about the project and register here.

via: 48 Hour Magazine

The first edition’s theme has just been announced. “Hustle” is being made right now! You have until tomorrow 4pm PDT to submit. Please see details below and check out their site for more info on submitting.

“Welcome to 48 Hour Magazine, a raucous experiment in using new tools to erase media’s old limits. As the name suggests, we’re going to write, photograph, illustrate, design, edit, and ship a magazine in two days.

Here’s how it works: Issue Zero begins May 7th. We’ll unveil a theme and you’ll have 24 hours to produce and submit your work. We’ll take the next 24 to snip, mash and gild it. The end results will be a shiny website and a beautiful glossy paper magazine, delivered right to your old-fashioned mailbox. We promise it will be insane. Better yet, it might even work.

Writers and artists from some of your favorite publications like Rolling Stone, Wired, Dwell, Gizmodo, GOOD, Lapham’s Quarterly, HiLoBrow, Fray, Paleofuture, and The Rumpus have already signed up. Mainly because we promise that this thing will be fun. No long commitments. No pitches. No grinding editing process. You make good stuff fast; we publish it with other good stuff.”

Thanks for the tip Project H.

source: mhh484

source: NYTimes

The New York Times released an article on the fatal stabbings that occurred at the Christopher Street Station last Sunday in New York City.  The article reveals that roughly half of the 4,313 MTA security cameras are actually functional.  I found this to be an interesting stat coming from a city that was victim to one of the most shocking terrorist attacks in the world, not to mention a subway system so in dept that it has cut the majority of it’s physical booth operators.

Game City by Brian Libby of Architects Newspaper

As we prepare for the opening ceremony this Friday (7:30PM EST) of the Winter Olympics in Vancouver, here is a quick comparison by Architects Newspaper and New York Times between how these two cities have built for their lasting legacy. Having spent some time in Vancouver, I am extremely excited to see that city on the global stage it is about to be placed. Having seen some of these project for the Olympics start construction and conversing with locals in the midst of the building boom, I have heard some of the extensive positive and negative discussion points about the use of resources and long lasting impact the games will have on the region. I think these two articles brilliantly outline the two ends of the spectrum for how a community should treat the lasting urban investment of an olympic games. It is after all one of the few moments in regional, urban planning and design that you have a “real” deadline.

After Summer Olympics, Empty Shells in Beijing by Michael Wines of NYtimes

source: ArchitectsNewspaper

The American Institute of Architects has voted to pass their contractual agreement with Architectural Record over to Hanley Wood.  The magazine will still operate under McGraw-Hill for the remainder of the year.  Many speculate whether or not the magazine will benefit from detaching itself from the AIA.