The world is on the threshold of what might be called “peak people.” The world’s supply of working-age people will soon be shrinking, causing a shift from surplus to scarcity. As with “peak oil” theories — which hold that declining petroleum supplies will trigger global economic instability — the claims of the doomsayers are too hyperbolic and hysterical. These are not existential threats but rather policy challenges. That said, they’re very big policy challenges. — dougsaunders.net
... with New York as her project's chosen location, Lau explored the spatial possibilities offered by informal street vending, eventually inverting, in her words, the concept of the floating market. Boat-like structures are, instead, routed through the sky via rails, lifts, and crossings bolted onto or otherwise suspended from the fronts of buildings. — bldgblog.blogspot.com
Although Migliorini, a physical education student, has claimed to media that she planned to donate as much as 90 percent of the auction price to charities that will build homes in the Brazilian state of Santa Catarina, even auction organizer Justin Sisely, who devised the plan for a proposed documentary, was skeptical. — huffingtonpost.com
One media zeitgeist meets another in a new video posted by artist Ai Weiwei showing himself dancing "Gangnam Style." Ai tweeted the video of himself on Wednesday dancing in the style of Korean pop star Psy's popular music video, which has become an international hit. — latimes.com
LA-based artist Julian Hoeber created his installation (for a gallery in West Chelsea) which make visitors deliberately uncomfortable by distorting their sense of balance. Without the use of strobe lights or fake skeletons, Demon Hill 2 can make visitors queasy. — thefoxisblack.com
A gangster lives a fast, dangerous life — especially Mexico's brutal narco-chieftains. Just look at their houses. With the prospect of death never far away and plenty of money to burn, it makes sense to spend lavishly on a mansion — especially a fortified one. The locals have a term for the style: narquitectura. — wired.com
We tend to think of architecture as solid, stable, enduring, something that at its best will outlast us and possibly say something about us to future generations. Demolition makes powerfully evident the vulnerability, the mortality, of all things standing. — Places Journal
"When does architecture, once started, stop?" asks Keith Eggener. "Does it end when human occupation or attention terminates, when function or fabric are removed?" What is the connection between civic buildings and collective memory? Just in time for the World Series, Eggener recounts the saga of... View full entry
The latest update brings 25 million new building footprints to Google Maps, making Google’s map offering even more detailed and comprehensive.
The new building footprints have been created by a computer, which processed actual aerial imagery and rendered the shapes of buildings in the maps.
Users can help out and fix inaccurate building footprints in Google Map Maker, as well as assign businesses to existing buildings or even draw the entire building footprints themselves.
— mashable.com
a Danish architect and part-time aviation journalist is mapping each claimed shoot-down of Assad’s jets and helicopters, resulting in the first running tabulation of the cost — at least in terms of machinery — of the escalating Syrian air war. Bjørn Holst Jespersen’s map, sponsored by journalist David Cenciotti’s blog The Aviationist, marks 19 possible “kills” by rebel forces, as reported in the press or seen in YouTube videos. — wired.com
It’s true that micro-units are not family-friendly, but it’s less true that a small apartment is inherently inhabitable. While the debate rages on about how much space is too little, there is little talk of how much is too much.
Different constituencies may have their reasons for opposing these tiny units, but however varied they may be, all seem to reflect a distinctly American perception of what qualifies as “enough” space.
— opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com
The narrowest building in Poland, and possibly the narrowest in Europe, is the brainchild of Israeli writer Edgar Keret. It was conceived as a memorial to his parents' family, who died in Warsaw during the World War II Holocaust.
The house was actually squeezed in-between two existing central Warsaw residential buildings on the edge of the former Warsaw Ghetto.
Polish architect Jakub Szczesny designed the weird construction, which is still a real house with all the necessary facilities.
— rt.com
Previously: Polish architect building world's narrowest house between Warsaw tower blocks View full entry
The winning design, easily the most ambitious of three finalists announced last month, calls for a repeating series of concrete arches that both refer to and exaggerate the Butler design as the bridge stretches from downtown Los Angeles on the west to Boyle Heights on the east, spanning the L.A. River and the 101 Freeway on its way. — latimes.com
Garage Center for Contemporary Culture will be unveiling its new, temporary pavilion designed by Shigeru Ban in Moscow’s Gorky Park tomorrow. The structure, located near the park's Pionersky Pond, uses locally produced paper tubes to create an oval wall that will be 7.5 meters high. The... View full entry
Madison Square Park Conservancy's Mad. Sq. Art announces a new, monumental sculpture by distinguished artist Leo Villareal. Largely inspired by the work of Buckminster Fuller, Villareal’s BUCKYBALL will apply concepts of geometry and mathematical relationships within a towering 30-foot... View full entry
Under Tomorrows Sky is a fictional, future city. For MU Foundation in Eindhoven Speculative architect Liam Young of the London based Tomorrows Thoughts Today has assembled a think tank of scientists, technologists, futurists, illustrators and science fiction authors to collectively develop this... View full entry