Transformation Issue 1
We like
Studio Swine’s new public seating for St James’, London
Airbnb’s new HQ in Dublin
The artist JR’s portrait mosaic in the Paris Pantheon. Check out his Instagram, @jr, for more amazing work
These tessellated organic origami sculptures by artist Goran Konjevod
The painted houses of the Ndebele in South Africa
Designer Tom Raffield’s hand-built house
This Urban Skyfarm proposal by Aprilli – offering Seoul food security for the future
This impactful image by Johnny Miller, highlighting the urban legacy of apartheid. The rest can be found at unequalscenes.com
City of Mériens by Jacques Rougerie a sustainable, manta ray-shaped floating city that can house 7,000 people and produces zero waste
The Land of GiantsTM – a proposal by Choi+Shine to transform mundane electrical pylons into statues on the Icelandic landscape
Peter Barber’s Holmes Road Studios, which shelter 59 homeless people in London’s Camden borough
Stefan Sagmeister’s article on why we’ll regret the principle of ‘Form follows function’. Easily found online
Artist Charles Young’s paper city. Watch the structures animate at www.paperholm.com
A colour xpectrum stairwell in Lima, painted by ‘Xomatok’
Artist Vasco Mourao’s illustrations of ‘Infinite’ Skyscrapers’ on circular pieces of plywood
These vertigo-inducing room illusions by Peter Kogler
These brainy inventors from James Cook University, whose new sustainable concrete swaps traditional steel mesh reinforcing for recycled plastic, saving 90% on CO2 emissions and fossil fuel usage: concrete is second only to water as the material most commonly used by humankind, with 24 billion tonnes poured globally every year
This timeless piece of business advice.
The architect Frank Gehry's Louis Vuitton museum in Paris
New planning rules forcing developers to seek prior approval on noise impacts before they can change use from office to residential. In London, 35% of grassroots music venues have closed in the past eight years, and recent Change of Use policies have upped the pressure, making venues prone to noise complaints from new residents moving into an area.
This spellbinding public art in the Swiss Alps, which shows how places can be reimagined. Felice Varini, 'Cercle et suite d'éclats' Exposition sur le village, Vercorin, 2009 (Photo courtesy of varini.org)
Creative bravado...
Paris’ 'Reinventer' regeneration competition, inviting radical proposals for 23 publicly-owned sites across the French capital. London could learn a thing or two… www.reinventer.paris
An LED-lit urban farm, hidden 33 metres below Clapham in London, that requires no sunlight for crop-growing. Something for landlords and developers to think about.
Honda’s vision.
This piece of wisdom, from film-maker Werner Herzog.
The book that Facebook gives to all its staff: “If we don’t invent the thing that kills Facebook, someone else will”
The book that Facebook gives to all its staff: “If we don’t invent the thing that kills Facebook, someone else will”
