How Smart Phones Are Turning Our Public Places Into Private Ones

by vytasvulgaris

“The whole idea of public/private as binary is becoming much more complex”;  “Instead of thinking about public and private, we have to think about the private sphere becoming more dominant in public. For the smart-phone users, they’re totally, constantly engaged with the private sphere, and it’s reducing the basic roles of public space.” ( Tali Hatuka)

Article by Emily Badger

http://www.theatlanticcities.com/technology/2012/05/how-smart-phones-are-turning-our-public-places-private-ones/2017/

Photo by Melvin Sokolsky http://story-in-the-city.blogspot.com/2010/03/melvin-sokolsky-in-all-his-glory.html

Brussels Express

by vytasvulgaris

 

A fresh 19 min documentary by Sander Vandenbroucke about why traffic in Brussels is a tragedy, about  success of pioneer bike messengers and about insights and tips from the major of Copenhagen.

http://www.brusselsexpressfilm.be/

The beauty of the worst neighbourhoods

by vytasvulgaris

This picture by Laura Lapinskiene was taken this spring in one of the “officially worst” neighbourhoods of the Netherlands (http://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/De 40 wijken van Vogelaar).

With this i find inspiration to suggest the topic “the beauty of the worst neighbourhoods” not only as an anti-stigmatization campaign, but as a way to think about the spatial quality of the streets we live in or we (don’t) pass by. Where is the relation between the quality of space and social ‘data’ around them? And other way around: how do we (or our politicians) use social statistics to judge urban space and life quality? So i invite to observe and register by texts and snapshots the beauty of life in the worst neighbourhoods of our cities.

Hidden roofs of Paris

by justina

Have you ever tried to look up while walking in the city streets? Sometimes it is worth doing it.  These dozens of chimneys I accidently noticed looking up in Paris

Flemish metropolitan dream

by justina

 

Last few months, at POSAD I have been working on the animation Flemish Metropolitan Dream, which is now being presented in The International Architecture Biennale Rotterdam (IABR). The movie tells a story about challenges and opportunities that Flanders region is facing accomodating 300 000 new houses.

See the animation and visit the fifth IABR about Making City

Images from space track relentless spread of humanity

by Domantas Stukas

Interactive NASA satellite imagery comparing city changes in the last two decades.

 

Source:

http://edition.cnn.com/SPECIALS/world/road-to-rio/satellite-photos-urban-sprawl/index.html

If you want to have a hole to another universe…

by krissykrisspy

… click here and see how creative your wall can be.

Surrealistic photography by Rob Carter

by justina

New York City-based artist Rob Carter uses photography, stop-motion animation, and time-lapse video to spotlight buildings and their shifting political and historical significance. Architectural themes and histories are invented or modified using physically cut-up and digitally manipulated photographic images of buildings, towns and landscapes. The interaction of plant life with these photo-structures represents the irrepressible strength of nature that our buildings attempt to shield us from, as well as the temporality and fluidity of the environs we inhabit. (Text from Rob Certer website)

Paper animated metropolis

by justina

 
Made entirely from images printed on paper, this amazing animation by Rob Carter represents growth and transformation of the Charlotte city in the United States.

Video is very inspiring! Already while watching your hands start searching for paper and scissors to cut your own metropolis. Read more about the animation Metropolis on the Vimeo website.

Visit website of Rob Carter to see more animations and the photography (these crazy pictures deserve a separate post on the blog).

Europetown

by fangruben

For a quite some time now, Chinese immigrants have setteld in many cities across Europe and America which has lead to the emergence of Chinatowns in almost every major city. Now that China has been introduced to the free market and is rapidly developping a nouveau riche, quite the opposite is taking place: whole districts are being build in  ”neoclassicist” European style for the wealthy to dwell in. Buildings have been modelled after English, Swedish, Dutch, Spanish, Italian and German building style.

Pablo Conejo captured this bizarre trend in Shanghai – which is not the only place were this is happening. These photo’s were taken in the Meilanhu district of Shanghai. Although the buildings are beautiful, it reminds me more of a deserted ghost town…

Photo’s by Pablo Conejo