Category: architecture

architecture · community

PHOTOS: Bouncy, Zig-Zagging Squibb Park Bridge is NYC’s Funnest Pedestrian Bridge | Inhabitat New York City

Beth Kelley

The city can feel like a maze sometimes; in this case it really is.

Whether or not you agree that funnest is actually a word, you have to admit that this new bouncy, zig-zagging pedestrian bridge in Brooklyn is pretty darn cool. Designed by Ted Zoli and constructed by HNTB, Squibb Park Bridge provides a much-needed link over the BQE to connect Brooklyn Heights to Brooklyn Bridge Park. Reactions to the slightly unstable sensation felt when crossing the bridge seem to be mixed, but locals are certainly appreciating the newfound ease with which they can get to the waterfront.

check out the full gallery via PHOTOS: Bouncy, Zig-Zagging Squibb Park Bridge is NYC’s Funnest Pedestrian Bridge | Inhabitat New York City.

It’s like a grown-up sized version of those bridges they put on playground structures! Neato!

Related articles
architecture · community · creativity

Best Tech-Focused Graffiti According To The Creators Project

Beth Kelley1 Comment

Banksy is a graffiti artist who often makes commentary about creating better, healthier, more friendly environments.

In light of Banksy’s return to New York in three years, The Creators Project collected “some of our favorite tech-focused graffiti artists in recent memory. Even if these artists don’t use the same stencil and paint style (read: analog) as him, we’re sure these artists cite Banksy as a top influence.”

more via In Light Of Banksy’s New York Return, Here Is The Best Tech-Focused Graffiti | The Creators Project.

Related articles
anthropology · architecture · creativity · culture

8 New Jobs People Will Have In 2025

Beth Kelley1 Comment

Have you ever wondered what job you’ll have in 10 years? This trend-spotting firm came up with some ideas for what new jobs could exist by then.

New technology will eradicate some jobs, change others, and create whole new categories of employment. Innovation causes a churn in the job market, and this time around the churn is particularly large–from cheap sensors (creating “an Internet of things“) to 3-D printing (enabling more distributed manufacturing).

Sparks & Honey, a New York trend-spotting firm, has a wall in its office where staff can post imaginative next-generation jobs. Below are eight of them, with narration from CEO Terry Young (who previously appeared here talking about health care).

1. Digital Death Manager

2. Un-schooling Counselor

3. Armchair Explorer (this already exists, btw).

see all 8 via 8 New Jobs People Will Have In 2025 | Co.Exist | ideas + impact.

First, this list is a great example of why creativity and playfulness are so important to cultivate – it’ll help you adapt to the future.

But several of these jobs also require being able to think creatively and outside the box, being adaptable and adjusting to new problems like “I haven’t been in school in 10 years but want to go back), and thinking abstractly. All of which are cultivated and grown through play!

Related articles
architecture · creativity · Nature

DIY Vertical Gardening

Beth Kelley1 Comment

Make your space a little greener, using recycled materials.

Unknown's avatarTHE DIRT

garden
Who knew? You can turn those leftover soda bottles into a vertical garden with some supplies and a bit of crafting skills. This is Do-It-Yourself (DIY) vertical gardening.

This concept come to us from Brazilian design firm Rosenbaum, as part of their partnership with TV producer Luciano Huck. According to This Is Colossal, this is part of a series where “teams went through dozens of Brazilian homes” in an attempt to execute “dramatic makeovers of interior and exterior spaces.”

garden2
This urban garden, which was featured in their 48th home in the series, was such a hit that Rosenbaum released these instructions so anyone create their own. The instructions are in Portuguese, so here is a version translated into English:

Materials

•    2-liter plastic bottle, empty and clean
•    Scissors
•    Clothesline rope, twine, or wire
•    Washers (two per bottle if rope or wire is chosen)
•    Dirt
•  …

View original post 154 more words

architecture · community · creativity · culture · design · environment

Designers Stretch Out Imaginations on Park Benches – NYTimes.com

Beth Kelley

Several great scientists, philosophers, and kids alike know the power of a good park bench. Thankfully park designers are learning that too:

That most prosaic of public furnishings, the New York City park bench, has morphed into a blank canvas on which designers, landscape architects and artists have unleashed their fantasies.

Architects and park officials say the trend has gained momentum as the city has reclaimed its waterfront and turned forgotten public nooks into plazas.

park furniture has the power to stop people in their tracks and have them take a seat. Abigail Hansen, a 24-year-old graduate student who lives on the Upper West Side, set out recently to walk along the Hudson River all the way to Chelsea. But she was sidetracked when she happened upon a group of curvaceous chaise longues made from molded fiberglass in Riverside Park South at West 62nd Street near the river. “When I saw these I decided to stop,” said Ms. Hansen, who was flipping through an Italian fashion magazine. “The surface is nice and smooth and the material doesn’t get too hot.”

via Designers Stretch Out Imaginations on Park Benches – NYTimes.com.

What parks do you visit that have amazing benches? Tell us in the comments below.

Related articles
anthropology · architecture · behavior · community · creativity · design · work

Workstations Designed For Collaboration, Modeled On Friendly Neighborhoods | Co.Design: business + innovation + design

Beth Kelley

This article brings up an interesting idea of a “forced” playful space. You can certainly encourage creativity and playfulness, but forcing the issue can backfire in a bad way.

“We have recently seen many offices that try to evoke a kind of forced playfulness,” says Sam Hecht, founder of London-based Industrial Facility. “Slides, chill-out zones, ping-pong, or a kind of home-like interior. We were very suspicious of this.”

For his own take on the flexible office system, Hecht and his partner, Kim Colin, adopted a more nuanced approach to getting employees to think fondly of their office–and not view them as places of mandatory drudgery. Locale, for Herman Miller, uses modular pieces that easily adjust in place and height to create what Hecht calls neighborhoods.

more via 1 | Workstations Designed For Collaboration, Modeled On Friendly Neighborhoods | Co.Design: business + innovation + design.

I definitely agree that everyone has to buy in or the “playful” environment doesn’t truly exist. A space designated for “play” just becomes a dead zone at work if nobody wants to hang out there, or knows they’ll be scolded by fellow workers for disrupting work, or viewed as “lazy.”

I’m curious to hear more of why the Locale design would make people feel more neighborly. Thoughts? Ideas? Leave them in the comments below.

Related articles
architecture · creativity · design · environment · health · work

LEED Gold Firm With a Picnic Green | Inc.com

Beth Kelley

Bringing the great outdoors indoors for mental destressing, and maybe a little fun.

HOK’s London branch features a central patch of grass. But despite all the greenery, perhaps the greenest feature was its construction method and materials.

more via LEED Gold Firm With a Picnic Green | Inc.com.

architecture · community · creativity · design · environment · play

Dalston House: where every visitor becomes Spider-Man – video | Art and design | guardian.co.uk

Beth Kelley

A Victorian terrace has popped up in east London that lets you swing from its ledges, run up its walls and generally defy gravity. Architecture critic Oliver Wainwright hangs loose at Dalston House, the novelty installation by Argentinian artist Leandro Erlich.

The artist talks about “enjoyable discovery” and playing with spaces that you might not otherwise think of.

I love how it is an interactive piece of art that only exists when people play with it.

more at Dalston House: where every visitor becomes Spider-Man – video | Art and design | guardian.co.uk.

Related articles
architecture · community · creativity · culture · design

Teatro del Mare celebrates public space, community

Beth Kelley1 Comment

A fun way to encourage public participation in space and creativity.

In order to celebrate its 10 years of activity, the artistic centre Lungomare in Bolzano Italy has recruited the ConstructLab/exyzt team composed by Alexander Römer, Gonzague Lacombe, Patrick Hubmann and Mattia Paco Rizzi. The result is the creation of Teatro del Mare, a wooden temporary structure, both a contemporary stage and street furniture, hosting a series of events, meetings and screenings until the end of June.

LIEU d’ÊTRE by the French Compagnie Acte is more than a performance. The project is an urban collective experience involving, both in the creation and the production of the event, professionals as well as inhabitants of a block of flats or of a whole neighbourhood. It uses the tool of dance to explore the pattern of the city.

more via In public space we trust.

Related articles
anthropology · architecture · design · happiness · health · play

superkilen urban park by BIG architects, topotek1 + superflex

Beth Kelley

Happy Friday! I hope you have plans to go out and play. I totally want to play here!

Superkilen

the “black square” at night

‘superkilen‘ is a kilometer long park situated through the nørrebro area just north of copenhagen’s city centre, considered one of the most ethnically diverse and socially challenged neighborhoods in the danish capital as it is home to more than 60 nationalities. the large-scale project comes as a result of an invited competition initiated by the city of copenhagen and the realdania foundation as a means of creating an urban space with a strong identity on a local and global scale.

more via superkilen urban park by BIG architects, topotek1 + superflex.

Related articles