Friday, February 28, 2014

Detroit - Dilapidated Skyline Put to Use.




Detroit



The film starts off with a fresh look at Poor Boyz’s athletes and how they spend their summer months. big skylines of Detroit. The third and fourth segment focus’s exclusively on extremely fresh and original urban skiing in the heart of abandoned Detroit. Fostvedt explodes onto the scene, with Detroit local Guilty Simpson’s rap beats leading the charge in what presents itself as a reclamation of Detroit’s prestige and potential. Fostvedt and co. shred in abandon churches, warehouses , apartment buildings, schools etc, even running into a potentially fatal situation when a blacked out Escalade with ski-masked gang members arrives to chase the camera crew off their turf. The segment shifts to more suburban Detroit and includes some mid-winter water skiing that doesn’t fall short on the entertainment spectrum. But the “Boyz” being as bad ass as they are do eventually head back to the gang-infested abandoned area of Detroit for one last hurrah, and needless to say it makes this film. Massive step-up gaps on warehouse roofs, building kickers out of cinder-blocks in a junkyard, and even using half-demolitioned houses for wall-rides. Such innovation is barely precedented by JP Auclair’s famous urban segment shot in Trail, BC in “All.I.Can“. “Tracing Skylines” Detroit segment will forever be known as one of, if not thee best Poor Boyz segment of all-time.




For more information see Links below:
http://unofficialnetworks.com/ski-movie-review-poor-boyz-productions-tracing-skylines-spoiler-alert-125197/
http://www.poorboyz.com/












Modern Architeture

Modern Lakeside Living In Switzerland



Lake Lugano House, Switzerland by JM Architecture

This stunning house, perched on the hillside above Lake Lugano in Switzerland, certainly takes advantage of the views of the lake and the idyllic, historic village of Brusino Arsizio with a population just under 500.

The residence and office, designed by Milan-based architect Jacopo Mascheroni of JM Architecture for a financial consultant and her family, consists of two sections: a rounded glass pavilion and a reinforced concrete structure that is partially inserted into the mountain.

The glass pavilion overlooks two very defined areas: the first, toward the mountain, is a very private zone resulted in the area between the property line and the building setback line according to the local building code. The second is a garden overlooking the lake. In the same way, the bedrooms face a garden enclosed by the building and the perimeter wall.

A 3,700 square-foot glass house forms the most visible part of the residence and resembles a viewing pavilion of a major sightseeing attraction. It is an open-concept living space, with a white-walled central section that contains the kitchen, bathroom, stairway, storage and mechanical room.

The underground level houses the entry hall, three bedrooms, two baths, an office, laundry, staircase, and playroom. The bedrooms open to an inner courtyard garden.

Radiant heating, use of natural light, geothermal heat pumps and a rainwater collection system are the main environmentally friendly features of the structure.











For more information see link below:
http://spfaust.wordpress.com/2011/11/page/2/



Thursday, February 20, 2014

Your Auditory Environment of the Week

99% Invisible
A Tiny Radio Show About Design

Today's Y.E.O.W. is more about your ears than your eyes. 99% Invisible is one of my favorite podcasts and I'd like to share it with you this morning. There are just over one hundred episodes on a multitude of design ideas, not just buildings but anything that is designed... aka everything is fair game.  I've compiled some of my favorite episodes which are not strictly architectural for your listening pleasure: the No Armed Bandit, Future Screens (and the effect science fiction has on them) and Razzle Dazzle (saved my favorite for last on this list).

There are also amazing episodes about buildings and cities, from the mundane to the amazing.  I'll throw out just a few of my favorites:


At the City Scale: Reversal of Fortune 

The story of the city of Chicago and everything its people have accomplished in order to thrive.

No big deal, that's a city block they're casually raising into the air.

At the Building Scale: Higher and Higher

A chronicle of the Chrysler Building's epic battle against the Manhattan Company Building for dominance over the New York skyline.

Do you have any idea how that spire was built?

And finally at ground level: Revolving Doors

A short history of the revolving door and a few attempts at getting them into use today.

Maybe we can start printing these as a public service.


The best part about the show is that it's 100% free!  You can download episodes to your smartphone, via the podcast app (for Apple at least, I have no idea how Androids work) or listen online at the links I've posted.

Enjoy!

Friday, February 14, 2014

Know your Olympic Stadiums of Sochi

The Stadiums of Sochi

Fisht Olympic Stadium / Populous. Image © 2014 XXII Winter Olympic Games
The 2014 Winter Olympics has commenced in  within the shell of Populous’ Fabergé egg-inspired stadium. Built solely to host the opening and closing ceremonies, the Fisht Olympic Stadium’s translucent polycarbonate roof bears a slight resemblance to the nearby, snow-capped peaks of the Caucasus Mountains. Once the Games are complete, the stadium’s 40,000-seat capacity will be expanded to accommodate the 2018 FIFA World Cup, before retiring as a scaled-down, 25,000-seat home venue for the local football team. 
Populous’ stadium is just one of eleven purpose-built venues within the “Coastal Cluster” Olympic park. Check out a few others that caught our eye, after the break…
Bolshoy Ice Dome / SIC mostovik
Bolshoy Ice Dome / SIC mostovik. Image © 2014 XXII Winter Olympic Games
The Bolshoy Dome, a 12,000-seat venue also inspired by the Russian’s iconic Fabergé egg, was built to host the ice hockey events. After the Games, the dome will serve as an “ultra-modern, world-class multi-purpose sports and entertainment center.”
Iceberg Skating Palace / GUP MNIIP mosproject-4
Iceberg Skating Palace / GUP MNIIP mosproject-4. Image © 2014 XXII Winter Olympic Games
The Iceberg Skating Palace is a movable, multi-purpose arena built for the 12,000 spectators hoping to catch a glimpse of the Game’s figure skating and short track speed skating events. Once it has fulfilled its purpose at Olympic Park, the “palace” will be dismantled and moved to serve as a skating center in another Russian city.
Shayba Arena / Stahlbau Pichle
Shayba Arena / Stahlbau Pichle. Image © 2014 XXII Winter Olympic Games
This 7,000-seat, mobile arena named “Shayba,” the Russian term for “puck,” will be used by the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) to host, alongside the neighboring Bolshoy Ice Dome, the ice hockey and Paralympic ice sledge hockey competitions. Once the games conclude, the arena will also be transported to a separate Russian city for use. 
Adler Arena Skating Center / StoryInternational
Adler Arena Skating Center / Cannon Design. Image © 2014 XXII Winter Olympic Games
The oval-shaped Adler Arena is designed for a capacity of 8,000 speed skating spectators. After its use in the 2014 Winter Olympics, it will be transformed into an exhibition center. 

This information was used from this site:http://www.archdaily.com/474804/the-stadiums-of-sochi/