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MVRDV completes transformation of communist-era Tirana Pyramid monument in Albania

2023-10-17T20:11:00-04:00

The transformation of an aging brutalist monument to communism into a new tech education center geared toward teenagers in the capital city of Albania has been officially inaugurated following a three-and-a-half-year revitalization effort led by MVRDV.

The project remade the 127,000-square-foot Pyramid of Tirana, first established as a museum dedicated to the legacy of dictator Enver Hoxha in 1988, into the centerpiece of a new cultural hub and park space located in the heart of the city.

Image: © Ossip van Duivenbode/MVRDV

Brightly-colored boxes are stacked within, around, and on top of the original structure, providing areas for education and events programming, while the addition of outdoor steps to its sloping beams creates intriguing new public space possibilities for visitors. Some see it as a testament to the country’s dogged ability to overcome the collective memory of the Hoxha regime. MVRDV hopes it will turn into a “carrier” for the cult...

WilkinsonEyre to design experiential $268 million London Tunnels makeover

2023-09-28T19:40:00-04:00

WilkinsonEyre has been announced as the architects of a new $268 million adaptive reuse plan that will overhaul a World War II era bomb shelter underneath High Holborn, London into a high-tech immersive tourist destination.

The plan was made possible after the government-run tunnels were made public for the first time in 70 years. Their clients, The London Tunnels Ltd., purchased the nearly mile-long tract with designs on transforming it into a digital experience-laden cavern with the potential for a bar space, restaurant, and exhibits for upwards of two million visitors per year.

The firm’s London Director, Paul Baker, said: “These secret spaces present the opportunity to tell extraordinary stories that helped shape the 20th century, alongside awe-inspiring digital immersive experiences.”

Image: DBOX courtesy of WilkinsonEyre

WilkinsonEyre’s makeover of the 7.6 meter (24.9 foot)-wide spaces will include installing curved screens, scent-emitting technology, a system of pinpoint audio...

Cold War-era spy photography finds second life as climate change record

2016-06-23T13:24:00-04:00

It was revealed earlier this month that declassified U.S. spy satellite photographs taken above the Antarctic have inadvertently also documented how that continent has been affected by climate change. In this case, deep in the archives of national intelligence agencies are satellite photos half a century old in which scientifically useful data has been hiding in plain sight. These now-outdated spy photographs have thus found an unexpected second life as important tools of planetary science...

For more on the often unexpected sources of climate data, check out these links:

Buckminster Fuller's FBI file revealed

2015-05-22T13:17:00-04:00

In response to a freedom of information request I filed with the FBI in June of 2014, the agency has finally released 44 heavily redacted pages. Why would the FBI have a file on Bucky Fuller? Well, for one thing, he was a counterculture icon with unconventional ideas about resource allocation, environmental conservation, and globalization. And as we know, the FBI has historically been rather uncomfortable with counterculture icons.

Frank Havermans + Rietveld Landscape Unveil "Secret Operation 610" Thinkspace

2013-09-24T14:19:00-04:00

When aircraft Shelter 610 opens its ruthless doors, a monstrous black behemoth slowly comes driving out. The object revives the mysterious atmosphere of the Cold War and its accompanying terrifying weaponry. At an almost excruciatingly slow pace, the artwork uses its caterpillar tracks to cross the seemingly infinite runway.

Lending a new meaning to "think tank", the formidable Secret Operation 610 is now slinking its way across Airbase Soesterberg in the Netherlands. Both art piece and educational practice, the structure is designed by Studio Frank Havermans and Reitveld Landscape for SKOR | Foundation for Art and Public Domain. While the aesthetic is inspired by a Cold War military atmosphere, its interior serves as a research space -- conducted while Secret Operation 610 crawls across the landscape.

The "mobile sculpture" will first be home to students from Delft University of Technology, studying carbon-free and silent flight technology, but will ultimately be open to researchers from any discipline.

Check out Secret Operations 610 in action in the video below.