Steven M. Johnson (b. 1938) is a former urban planner and future trends analyst from California, who defines himself in terms of Chinese astrology as a tiger "with a tendency to rush forward, defend the weak, and be foolishly brave." Since the early 1970s, he has been creating scores of alternative products and systems—on paper—that he hopes will benefit "or at least amuse" his fellow consumer-citizens. — theatlantic.com
We don’t even see his feet. He is embedded in the rock like something not yet fully born, suited and stern, rising from its roughly chiseled surface. His face is uncompromising, determined, his eyes fixed in the distance, not far from where Jefferson stands across the water. But kitsch here strains at the limits of resemblance: Is this the Dr. King of the “I Have a Dream” speech? Or the writer of the 1964 Nobel Peace Prize acceptance speech? — nytimes.com
Once the definitive bicycle city, Beijing is responding to growing congestion and ongoing smog by setting a new target: for 23% of commuters to pedal to work by 2015. To achieve this target, new infrastructure for cyclists is to be wheeled in, with improved bicycle lanes, more parking facilities and a rental scheme to put a further 50,000 bikes on the roads by 2015. — sustainablecitiescollective.com
Curved buildings with mushroom roofs! Giant 3D printers spewing out ships! Swarms of high-tech workers making electric cars!
It’s all part of “Super Dock,” a futuristic science park designed by radical eco-architect Mitchell Joachim.
“There are no walls,” he said. “We’re merging architecture and land into the water. The entire area becomes a ballast for Brooklyn, so it can absorb water, clean it and filter it back into New York.”
— brooklyndaily.com
If you would like to support Ball-Nogues' latest architectural installation, Yucca Crater, a public artwork and engineered oasis for the High Desert Test Sites series (previously on Archinect), you still have the opportunity for another 2 days, and currently all pledges are being matched by the... View full entry
“If this project is viable, why hasn’t it been done over the years?” asks Deborah Howlett, the president of the New Jersey Policy Perspective. “Why does it take $350 million from the people of New Jersey?” She finds it particularly galling that the financing for the almost $4 billion megamall was arranged in a year when Christie slashed 5 percent of the school system’s annual funds. — New York Magazine
In New Jersey's Meadowlands a mall currently under construction will be one of the biggest feats of construction in history. Being developed by Triple Five, the Alberta-based developer, the mall will be the world’s largest commercial space with at least six zeros attached to all... View full entry
According to those people in the mystical know – how you sign your signature actually does mean something and does provide some insight into the mind behind the name. — lifeofanarchitect.com
The ubiquity of digital spectacles and curiosities today is one reason performance art has had its thunder stolen. — nytimes.com
Yesterday I checked out the exhibition "Otherworldly: Optical Delusions and Small Realities" at the Museum of Arts and Design. Below are some highlights from this highly recommended show. — archidose.blogspot.com
This was the city of the 20th Century, but surely nobody, neither utopians or dystopians, imagined that it would look like this. It was nobody's dream and at least in theory, nobody's nightmare. How did we get here? — BBC
In his colorful article, Owen Hatherley, architecture critic and occasional Archinect editor, confronts the ugliness and its legacy 20th century post modern style buildings left the cities with. View full entry
Do you remember when you took driving lessons and the teacher said to be particularly careful about your speed when you're exiting a highway, because you've adjusted to its high speeds? Same thing here, the other way around. And the lazy pace of a summer of glorious unemployment surely also helps, but a walk to the gym, to the river, or to see friends a few blocks away is enough for me at the moment. — Harvard GSD (Lian)
In case you had missed LA's Little Tokyo Design Week back in July, here is the winner of the design week's grand prize, the Golden Astro Boy Award, in detail: ARTCUBE, an interactive installation by Los Angeles-based designer Brandon Shigeta: ARTCUBE contains a novel interactive sculpture... View full entry
It's fun to design – even when you have to work for free ! In fact, a freebie “conceptual design” is what two Harvard-educated women produced for Barbie’s new home in a competition to build a dream home for the Mattel doll, sponsored by the American Institute of Architects. — Globe & Mail
Related: Winner of the AIA Architect Barbie Dream House Design Competition View full entry
Boston-based firm PRAUD has shared with us their entry to the Busan Opera House competition. The international ideas competition invited visions for a massive cultural center, comprising a 2,000-seat opera house and a 1,300-seat multi-purpose theater, that acts as a landmark building for this booming South Korean city and puts Busan on the map of international tourism. — bustler.net
University of Kentucky College of Design Assistant Professor Kyle Miller led an eight-week design program in Amsterdam for twelve undergraduate students. The students participated in two courses: a six-credit design studio and a three-credit seminar that comprised a series of intensive design workshops.
The primary objective of the design studio was to prototype design and program solutions for large, recently abandoned buildings in Amsterdam.
— uky.edu