Detroitblog is a great companion to the classic fabulous ruins of Detroit site.
The Pearlroth house of Westhampton Beach. Beautiful fifties architecture saved from demolition.
Frederic Chaubin’s photographs of strange scifi-like architecture in the former Soviet Union.
A film about the last days of the government’s utopian “administrative city” in Brussels will be [showing soon][1] at the Arenberg cinema.
[1]: http://www.arenberg.be/dev/newfilm.php?film=23 (Histoire(s) d'une utopie a vendre [site language: French])
Say it with a building.
Las Vegas, city of lights denial.
A new skyscraper to be built in Paris will have a windfarm at the top while a nightclub in Rotterdam will generate electricity from dancers’ movements.
WWI plane on top of a New York building.
Not something you see every day: Custom Verner Panton S-Chairs in a church.
Over-design is creating public spaces that people don’t want to use
A Belgian social housing block is being turned into lofts.
The Nakagin capsule tower in Tokyo is to [be demolished][1]. That’s a serious loss for architectural history.
[1]: http://www.treehugger.com/files/2007/05/icon_of_modern.php (Icon of Modern Prefab to be Demolished (TreeHugger) [site language: English])
Someone bring these guys to Brussels.
Contradiction in terms: a sustainable solar-powered parking structure
Watching a London tower block get dismantled from the bottom up.
Interesting-looking London-based exhibition concerning the modernist architectural heritage of the Eritrean capital, Asmara.
[Urban abandonments][1] – deserted wonders of the modern world
[1]: http://weburbanist.com/2007/08/30/urban-abandonments-part-two-7-more-deserted-wonders-of-the-modern-world/ (Urban Abandonments (Part Two): 7 More Deserted Wonders of the Modern World [site language: English])
Faces in places.
Shrewd JG Ballard analysis of the Bilbao Guggenheim.
The interface at Paris:Invisible City takes a bit of getting used to but it's worth exploring.
The social function of NIMBYism.
The social function of NIMBYism.
The blinkenlights crew have setup a new project in Toronto: Stereoscope. Using the dual city hall buildings as displays. Even rickrolling got its spot.
The blinkenlights crew have setup a new project in Toronto: Stereoscope. Using the dual city hall buildings as displays. Even rickrolling got its spot.
Vegetal City, an exhibition by architect Luc Schuiten. (Brother of that other Schuiten)
Vegetal City, an exhibition by architect Luc Schuiten. (Brother of that other Schuiten)
Partisan Memorials in former Yugoslavia. Impressive modernist architecture.
Partisan Memorials in former Yugoslavia. Impressive modernist architecture.
Chinese secretly copy Austrian UNESCO town
Lovely interior. Makes you want to curl up with a book.
I’d love one. Probably way over my budget though.
So much more fun than today’s generic big box stores.
Interesting take on the influence of previous pandemics over architecture and how the current coronavirus may do the same.
Another interesting take on changes to architecture and urban living post-coronavirus.
Fascinating look at the remnants of California’s hippie communes and the few hardcore idealists, now in their 70s or 80s, still living the dream.
I thought I'd mentioned spite buildings here before, but it doesn't look like it. This is an article showing several examples of these buildings built to annoy others, usually by blocking views.
On the pointlessness of ego-based architecture:
Was anyone actually impressed by this building as a feat of engineering when it went up in 2009? Obviously not — by this point, it is well understood that anything in architecture is possible if you have enough money, and the Burj Khalifa cost over $1.5 billion dollars.
I knew they trucked tons of sewage out of that building due to the lack of infrastructure. I didn't know that close to a third of it was basically hollow:
The city of Dubai did not green light a building that extends a half-mile into the air because of a pressing need for residences in downtown Dubai. To the contrary, the top 800 feet (244 meters) of the building, or 29% of the structure’s total height, is devoted to non-usable floors.
Concrete is the second-most consumed substance in the world and causes much environmental damage. Despite this, it's needed for essential infrastructure and, paradoxically, will be needed even more to protect against climate change.
Alongside all of this, it has a lifespan of about 100 years, which means much of our infrastructure is hitting that age limit and starting to rot.
This is a fascinating article on our addiction to concrete and the harms that come with it.
