The idea of the Future Cemetery is to create a place for people to connect with death. What that actually means and looks like is still in development, Troyer says, but in the first stage of the project they did everything from projections to audio installations. Now, they’re working on developing augmented reality experiences in cemeteries—elements that are only visible with certain devices and if you know they’re there. The idea is to allow people to add to their own cemetery experience... — theatlantic.com
Qatari authorities have confirmed they are holding two British researchers who are investigating the 2022 World Cup facilities, which is linked with a scandal over poor working conditions and dozens of deaths of foreign workers.
...
"All of the actions that have been taken against the two Britons are consistent with principles of human rights enshrined in the constitution," read the statement released by the Qatari QNA news agency on Sunday.
— RT
The silence from Zaha is deafening. View full entry
When Ground Zero was finally cleared after the fall of the twin towers, New Yorkers trusted that thoughtful, ambitious urban design could make the city whole again. Why have they been so badly let down? — theguardian.com
In what is being described as "a strategic alliance to collaborate to transform the construction industry" software company Trimble has acquired Gehry Technologies. The alliance will offer other architects and designers use of the technology to collaborate on projects more efficiently.Press... View full entry
Our world "classic" will not be destroyed by barbarians. He is destroyed by us every day, eroded, imploded, sabotaged. And the aesthetic result is something that is far short of what art history calls "picturesque" . — ZUM
Powerfully penned by Guilherme Wisnik. Original text is in Portuguese. The ruins of CongonhasWilliam WisnikIn the foreground of the ground, an uneven and cracked asphalt, taken by waste accumulated adrift, as boxes, bags, newspaper sheets, clothes and debris of fallen walls destroyed themselves... View full entry
... post-conflict response often disregards the potential of shared spaces to foster reconciliation, the importance of urban plans in managing turbulent population dynamics, and the need for a public realm that enables normal life to continue. "The absence of any architect or planner or designer in the negotiating room is something that has to change,"... — foreignpolicy.com
Residents of Beijing can use one of the city’s 34 newly installed recycling machines to trade empty bottles for phone card rebates or free public transit passes.
Those who choose the phone card rebate just need to type in their phone numbers or scan their cards and the rebate will be automatically applied.
The value of the rebate will correspond to the value of the type of bottle that was recycled.
— pangeatoday.com
Read the original Chinese language report here. View full entry
“This is a mistake,” said David Rothman, 55, who moved to Crested Butte 20 years ago, of the decision to let Anheuser-Busch take over the town to film a beer commercial. “Frankly, it’s vulgar and it’s cheap.”
On Friday, the company will fly in 1,000 young adults for a weekend of spring-break-style revelry, a stunt designed to publicize Bud Light. [...]
“This town is already built for this exact type of event,” said Nick Kelly, a spokesman for Anheuser-Busch.
— nytimes.com
A couple remarkable gems from the story:Party participants were selected from a pool of more than 150,000 people who submitted videos to Anheuser-Busch demonstrating that they were “up for whatever.”A bridge welcoming visitors to “Whatever, U.S.A.” went up over Elk Avenue, right next to... View full entry
Architecture theorist Jacob Dreyer explains how the Stalinist model of urbanism – a centrally planned component within a national economic unity – is thriving in modern China — theguardian.com
The National Council of Architectural Registration Boards (NCARB) convened its new Future Title Task Force, which is comprised of interns and architects from across the country, to discuss the profession’s title debate. The task force is charged with discussing the terminology used for those who are candidates for licensure and those who are architects. — NCARB
The word "intern" contains a minefield of professional connotations. The job-title is often associated with a position that is unpaid, undervalued, or disposable, flying in the face of employment laws and professional ethics. And in some ways, it's no different in the architecture industry: it's... View full entry
Work remains halted at the site of the modular residential tower next to the Barclays Center arena in Brooklyn. The building is part of the 22-acre, mixed-use development formerly known as Atlantic Yards and now branded Pacific Park. [...]
The dispute ... centers on the design and construction of the pre-fabricated units that make up the modular tower. The 34-story residential high-rise was supposed to be completed in July 2014. So far only 10 of the proposed 34 stories are finished
— wnyc.org
The International Architecture Biennale of Rotterdam has announced the appointment of Maarten Hajer as Chief Curator of IABR–2016–. The theme of the seventh edition of the IABR will be “The Next Economy” and it will open in May 2016. — IABR
One of the most prolific and progressive architecture and urban design biennales in existence, IABR announced yet another building block for a better world, better discourse and more meaningful step towards the future of our cities, resources and the environments that are in development. Titled... View full entry
Melbourne is now a more expensive place to live than New York. The increasing cost of living, and in particular, the cost of housing risks seriously undermining the city’s liveability.
Plan Melbourne, the new metropolitan strategy for the city, recognises that housing affordability is one of the pressing issues facing Melburnians. The strategy offers a set of concepts aimed at shaping the city’s future and – the government hopes – addressing housing affordability and choice.
— thisbigcity.net
Related: Melbourne named world’s most liveable city for fourth consecutive year View full entry
We cannot rely on visionaries and authoritarians to generate more, and better, housing. They might deliver, with enormous risk and perseverance, through personal connections and their willingness to invest their own equity or to defer their developers’ fee, as BHC has done. But visionaries and authoritarians are few and far between. Rather, we need to formalize ways of rethinking and requantifying net-to-gross, studio-to-three-bedrooms, block-and-plank formulas. — urbanomnibus.net
Friday, August 29:MIT's MindRider helmet draws mental maps as you bike: The prototype is currently being used to create a mental-map and guidebook for NYC, and an upcoming Kickstarter campaign will attempt to fund the project for commercial sale.In Beirut, a grassroots push for more grass... View full entry
