In the Boston Globe, Bob Campbell comments on Barack Obama’s proposed public works program: “The audacity of hope for better public works.”
In his radio announcement, Obama mentioned roads and bridges, sewer systems, schools, mass transit, electrical grids, dams and other public utilities, windmills and solar panels, and expanded access to the Internet.
Nothing in there specifically about architecture.
Matt Chaban writes about the one bright spot in the design economy in the Architect’s Newspaper.
From the New York Times. I’ve seen dozens of student projects propose photovoltaics for big box roofs over the years. Why did it take so long for these stores?
Graphic from the New York Times
Democratic Ecology wind turbine, Philippe Starck
By now, this personal wind turbine by Philippe Starck has shown up everywhere: the New York Times, Apartment Therapy, Inhabitat…. But it is still a cool and ballsy proposition—to have a personal windmill that could provide 30-60% of the energy for your home.
Filed under: Design
Like Steampunk, but slightly less bizarre. Some thoughts from Daniel Neville.
Filed under: Design
Looks fit for the Wicked Witch of the West. Courtesy of The Guardian.
Shoes designed by Zaha Hadid, Melissa brand.
Via ArtInfo:
NEW YORK—MoMA announced that Juliet Kinchin has joined the department of architecture and design as curator. Kinchin has held curatorial positions in decorative arts at Glasgow Museums and Art Galleries and at London’s Victoria & Albert Museum. She has also held faculty positions in the history of art and design at the Glasgow School of Art, the University of Glasgow, and the Bard Graduate Center for Study in the Decorative Arts.
Filed under: Design
Bloomberg News reports that Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie’s baby may well have been named after designer Archibald Knox.
Knox, an Arts & Crafts designer who created silver pieces for Liberty, has been a favorite of Brad Pitt’s since the early 1990s, when he was filming Interview with a Vampire in London.
Now, this is the sign of a true design geek.
River Gym, Mitchell Joachim
Are you ever at the gym, running on the treadmill, cycling furiously, or huffing away on the elliptical machine, and wonder, why am I expending this energy indoors?
Well, Mitch Joachim has, and he has proposed a floating River Gym to be powered by, you guessed it, the mad exercisers inside.
Bears a formal relationship to Zaha’s Chanel project, you might say.
What else will these crazy kids come up with next?
