The Milllennials, the generation born from 1983 onwards, enjoyed a childhood free of bunkbeds or even shared bathrooms. Growing up in plush megahomes undoubtedly helped them become, in the words of one author, “self-centred, needy, and entitled with unrealistic work expectations.” Oddly, it also spawned a group of people patently unimpressed with backyards and breakfast nooks. — news.nationalpost.com
The $3.5 billion development covers 12,355 acres and was built to house about 500,000 people, and this is one of "several satellite cities being constructed by Chinese firms around Angola," writes Redvers. — businessinsider.com
...how would you like something that can never crash, is immune to weather, it goes 3 or 4 times faster than the bullet train... it goes an average speed of twice what an aircraft would do. You would go from downtown LA to downtown San Francisco in under 30 minutes. It would cost you much less than an air ticket than any other mode of transport. I think we could actually make it self-powering if you put solar panels on it, you generate more power than you would consume in the system. — theatlantic.com
Pegasus, the company behind the scheme, had originally intended to build the huge, 15-square mile replica town near to Hobbs in the southwestern U.S. state but has postponed building work after struggling to find enough land for the project.
The $1billion city (£643million) with no residents had been billed as a testing ground for researchers developing products ranging from self-flushing toilets, intelligent traffic systems and next-generation wireless networks.
— dailymail.co.uk
The 70-foot channel has for years operated as a flood-control channel, wildlife sanctuary and escape valve for treated waste water befouled with chemicals and trash. Now, the soft-bottom swath of weedy islands, dense brush and willows draped with fast-food wrappers, plastic bags and clothes is one of the newest summer attractions in town. — latimes.com
In some of the dirtiest places on Earth, author and environmentalist Andrew Blackwell found some beauty. His book, Visit Sunny Chernobyl, tours the deforestation of the Amazon, the oil sand mines in Canada and the world's most polluted city, located in China. — npr.org
Remember how four years ago French architecture collective EXYZT and filmmaker Sara Muzio created the acclaimed Southwark Lido, a temporary bath in the heart of London? Well, they're certainly back - this summer with...BEER! The reUNION Public House sets out to celebrate a "cornerstone of British life" and will be serving a selection of London's finest micro-brewed beers while hosting neighborhood feasts, live music, and film screenings. — bustler.net
According to the organizers, "The reUNION will go further in testing the economic sustainability of pop-ups, and their potential influence on permanent urban development." The reUNION is free and open to everyone. Check the event website for opening hours and directions. Click here to revisit the... View full entry
Ikea has opened a pop-up lounge at Paris's Roissy-Charles de Gaulle airport for passengers to relax in between flights during the busy summer travel season.
The lounge, situated in the airport's terminal 3, is open from July 13 to August 5, and includes various spaces laid out like bedrooms, a living room and a play area for children.
Covering a total of 220 square meters, the Ikea space is open to all passengers.
— nydailynews.com
As Britain's housing shortage deepens, we asked top architects for their solutions to the affordable living dilemma — guardian.co.uk
UK's The Guardian taps Charles Holland from FAT architects, Glenn Howells of Glenn Howells Architects, Sarah Wigglesworth of Sarah Wigglesworth Architects, Lynsey Hanley, author of Estates: An Intimate History (Granta), Kevin McCloud, designer, presenter of TV's Grand Designs, and Dickon... View full entry
The developer David W. Levinson could have set for himself the simple task of commissioning a better-designed tower for 425 Park Avenue than the one that’s been there since 1957.
But that would have been a very low bar.
He has engaged four of the world’s leading architects to compete for the job: Norman Foster of Foster & Partners, Zaha Hadid of Zaha Hadid Architects, Rem Koolhaas of OMA, and Richard Rogers of Rogers Stirk Harbour & Partners.
— cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com
Dear Mr. Ayyuce,
I have read your article regarding the destruction of the Lautner Concannon residence and would like to set the record straight. Prior to my purchase and demolition of the Concannon Residence, I had extensive discussions with John Lautner regarding his feelings about the home. He was 100% in favor of the demolition of the Concannon Residence...
— archinect.com
The venerable James Goldstein, collector of John Lautner treasures, past and present, responds to Orhan's feature article Lautner's Concannon Residence, from Dust to Dust. Jump down to the comments to read, along with Orhan's thoughtful reply back to him. View full entry
Ai Weiwei has never set foot inside the [Bird's Nest].
He told NPR that the stadium has become entirely divorced from ordinary people.
"We love this building, but we don't like the content they have put in, the kind of propaganda. They dissociated this building [from] citizens' celebration or happiness, [it's] not integrated with the city's life," Ai said. "So I told them I will never go to this building."
— npr.org
The attached photos were taken by me on a recent trip to Beijing. View full entry
Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, Deputy Mayor for Economic Development Robert K. Steel and Department of Housing Preservation and Development Commissioner Mathew M. Wambua today launched the adAPT NYC Competition, a pilot program to develop a new housing model for the City’s growing small-household population. adAPT NYC seeks to create additional choices within New York City’s housing market to accommodate the city’s changing demographics. — NYC.gov
The design competition involves a Request for Proposals for a rental building composed primarily, or completely, of micro-units -- apartments smaller than what is allowed under current regulations. New York City's housing codes have not kept up with its changing population, and currently do not... View full entry
all are really just a smoke screen for a much deeper set of political and even philosophical issues that will impact urban dwellers in the near future, especially as more than half’s the world’s population will soon be living in cities. That set of issues centers around the delicate dance between public and private ownership of space, both in the cloud and on the ground. — Future Perfect
Earlier this year Jan Chipchase, Executive Creative Director of Global Insights at frog – the global design and innovation company, wrote "The Networked Urban Environment" which explored a contemporary-future of cloud-urban infrastructures such as; “smart” car... View full entry
Revolutionary guards who are denied entry to an apartment have been known to scale a building’s walls with grappling hooks to dismantle receivers. It may seem like something out of a spy novel, but this cat-and-mouse game tells the deeper story of a complex exchange between the Islamic Republic and citizens of Tehran. In the absence of legitimate public space for discourse or demonstration, the satellite receiver opens a space for political dissent and cultural protest. — Places Journal
In contemporary Tehran, where the city's parks and plazas have been delegitimized by censorship and surveillance, the true public realm is inside the home. On Places, architect Rudabeh Pakravan examines the spatial politics of satellite television in Iran, with a close look at "the satellite man"... View full entry