Thursday, June 17. 2010
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by Karen Cilento
The national cultural event, Imaginez Maintenant, features work of young multidisciplinary designers (all under the age of 30) in nine French cities. Finding inspiration in Gilles Clément’s description of “wandering plants phenomenon,” Nicolas Dorval-Bory and Raphaël Bétillon’s selected project creates an experimental journey, inviting visitors to explore an unlikely landscape. Open from July 1st through the 4th, the project consists of an artificial cloud, a long greenhouse and thousand of seedlings which will rest on the banks of the Garonne, next to the Hospital of La Grave.
The journey through this new landscape begins at the greenhouse, a 50m long space which includes a sampling of seedlings from the 5 continents ” as a reference to the wandering plants and to the curing function of the hospital.”
Garden
In this bright tunnel, visitors choose one of the 2000 plants to take with them on their journey. With seeds in hand, visitors penetrate a thick cloud formed from a dense mist from the spraying of the Garonne river through 1000 nozzles (installed by French company Dutrie, one the offices who carried out DS + R’s Blur Building). The cloud provides an eerie, distorting surrounding that will change colors in the night as it blankets the river.
Night View Rose Cloud
The 100 m long cloud experience allows the visitor to become a part of an abstract, disconcerting humid environment and upon reaching the end, a luscious garden beckons the visitior to plant his selected seedling.
The installation deals with ideas such as invisible landscapes and climatic distortion, combining them into a sensory experience that will surely captivate visitors.
Project name: AYSAGES EN EXIL
City, Country: Toulouse, France
Team: Nicolas Dorval-Bory, Raphaël Bétillon, Paula Gonzalez Balcarce
Status of project: Selected project, under construction, opening 1st of july 2010
Personal comment:
"Paysages en Exils", nice title for an interesting project. It reminds me so much of a project we did last year (unpublished on our website yet, unfortunately --but will soon be...--) that was named "Les Jours Migrants (Boréals/Australs)". The same sort of idea. Unrealised as usual... Or the project we are currently working on for the Frioul Islands in Marseille, "Fenêtre Arctique" (Arctic Opening) --even if this last one is only based on lighting, due to budget restrictions... (but should be realised therefore!)--.
It really triggers this idea of distortions, or spatial interferences that we try to develop in our own work for some time (RealRoom(s), Tower of Atmospheric Relations).
Of course, it also reminds us a bit of Blur, Diller & Scofidio iconic project in Yverdon. But it's quite different though.
Tuesday, June 15. 2010
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Clean, Limitless ... and Fun
The recent news that a Swiss professor has developed a low-cost solar power cell using materials as common and inexpensive as dye squeezed from berries has a lot of people, once again, dreaming of a day when humans will put their big brains to work toward something genuinely useful -- like finding ways to generate cheap, clean, limitless energy using the heat and light from our very own sun. In the meantime, it's worth recalling that high-tech (and relatively low-tech) gadgets for capturing and using solar energy are nothing new, and many of the ideas being batted around today are similar to equally ingenious notions floated and tinkered with for decades.
Pictured: In 1958, the great American architect and designer Charles Eames holds a small "solar engine" -- dubbed his Do Nothing Machine -- that generates power to run the small, whirling universe of brightly colored toys surrounding him.
Personal comment:
Charles (& Ray) Eames, them, again... True visioners and experimenters.
Wednesday, June 09. 2010
Via TreeHugger
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Susana Camara Leret
Treehugger has noted before how one can generate electricity from algae; Now Designboom shows a lamp designed by Mike Thompson that uses the principle. Place the lamp outside and the algae generates electricity during photosynthesis; it gets stored in a battery and released when needed.
The designer writes at his website:
Latro (latin for thief) incorporates the natural energy potential of algae and the functionality of a hanging lamp into its design. Synthesising both nature and technology in one form, Latro is a living, breathing product. Algae are incredibly easy to cultivate, requiring only sunlight, carbon dioxide (CO2) and water, offering a remarkably simple way of producing energy. Breathing into the handle of the lamp provides the algae with CO2, whilst the side spout allows the addition of water and release of oxygen. Placing the lamp outside in the daylight, the algae use sunlight to synthesize foods from CO2 and water. A light sensor monitors the light intensity, only permitting the leeching of electrons when the lux level passes the threshold - avoiding algae malnourishment. Energy is subsequently stored in a battery ready to be called upon during hours of darkness. Owners of Latro are required to treat the algae like a pet - feeding and caring for the algae rewarding them with light.
Monday, June 07. 2010
Via Information aethetics
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When you ignore some of the UI elements, the sometimes prolonged waiting time, and the occasional crashes, Bing Destination Maps [bing.com] seems quite interesting as a new way of rendering geographical maps in a more visually simplified, understandable and accessible way. In other words, imagine one can now create a sort of information-optimized summary maps, similar to those you would quickly draw yourself on the back of napkin.
Users are able to specify a specific location, set the area of interest by dragging the sides of the on-map square, and provide the map with a title. The 'cool' feature allows the selection of a visual map style such as 'Sketchy', 'European', 'American' or 'Treasure' (think about the favorite activity of pirates).
If you have no time to wait for rendering process, have a look at some example maps below.
Personal comment:
This is a quite funny feature that MS has implemented on Bing. But further than this, I would be interested to know the algorithm behind it, as a sketch (or napkin) map is closer to a mind map, where only the strong or easy to remember elements remain.
Wednesday, June 02. 2010
Via Pruned
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by Alexander Trevi
(Analog Media Lab, Chair I: Rococo Armchair Retrofit, 2010. Photo by Analog Media Lab.)
Chair I: Rococo Armchair Retrofit and Chair II: Ghost Chair Retrofit belong to a series of projects by Analog Media Lab exploring interfaces between insect and human communities. These works focus on domestic insects that have not been domesticated — meaning, they are generally considered invasive, unproductive or otherwise problematic (e.g., ants, termites, moths).
(Analog Media Lab, Chair I: Rococo Armchair Retrofit, 2010. Photo by Analog Media Lab.)
Connected by flexible tubing to ports in a perimeter wall, the interior volumes of Chair I and Chair II are literally part of the outdoors, making them inhabitable by insects. Active nesting and reproductive behaviors are made visible within the context of the domestic interior.
(Analog Media Lab, Chair II: Ghost Chair Retrofit, 2010. Photo by Analog Media Lab.)
Analog Media Lab is a collaborative practice founded by David L. Hays, Kevin Stewart and Shuangshuang Wu.
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