Iris Jiang
Translated Geometries vol.2. Research Team: Efilena Baseta – Ece Tankal – Ramin Shambayati What our architecture may lack in a set style and goals is compensated in its ability to harness flows of energy and information in its various transitions. By treating our architecture as a homogenous system we give it the potential for infinite personalization based on control over specific spatial parameters. These parameters will define processes and reasons for change in architecture rather than finite and ultimately outdated states. A thorough understanding of smart materials and properties suitable for an adaptable architecture is therefore essential in gaining an understanding of their countless possibilities and limitations. In our studio project we have been working with Shape Memory Polymer (SMP) in order to apply it to a responsive architectural prototype. As our concept was based around the motif of architecture in transition, are using a material that can change phase from an external and controlled stimuli.
Material-system-diagrams12334-01.jpg (JPEG Image, 2480 × 1754 pixels) - Scaled (41%) Electric City 2012: graphic highlights from LSE's conference on the urban age | News. Electric City, the 2012 edition of LSE Cities' conference series, takes place today and tomorrow at the London School of Economics and Deutsche Bank's Alfred Herrhausen Society. This year's event is focusing on the different ways in which urban societies across the globe are being influenced by technological and environmental change.
You can watch a live video feed from the conference here. The conference publication includes a wealth of detailed graphics covering topics including transport, energy consumption, pollution and urban planning, as well as a visualisation-rich case study on London. Below is a selection of the maps and charts on show, along with a summary of some of the most interesting patterns that emerge: Proximity to public transport Hong Kong's residents are the best-connected, with over 40% living within a 500m radius of a rapid transit station. Stockholm scores second highest in both categories, while New York and London are third for residents and commuters respectively. Transformable Street Furniture For The Homeless. Street furniture is mostly used during the day and not used during the night, except by some homeless, who spend the night on the public benches in parks and on squares.
RainCity Housing, a non-profit that provides specialized housing for people living with mental illness and addiction, has launched multi-functional street furniture that can be used as seating during the day and ‘comfortable’ sleeping places for the homeless at night time. The hospitable campaign for Vancouver’s homeless is developed in collaboration with Spring Advertising, and will be running for one month. The aim of RainCity Housing is to draw attention for the miserable conditions that the homeless in Vancouver have to sleep in, but also the lack of hospitality and compassion of society towards the homeless. Since many mental institutions have closed down in Vancouver more homeless are forced to live on the streets, and you can’t expect them to disappear, argues one of the initiators.
High line for london : me & sam. High line for london | london parks library London benefits from over 1000 green spaces, from the Royal Parks to smaller greens and fields throughout the capital. These form a valuable resource for residents and visitors, offering respite from the city. The London Parks Library seeks to establish a relationship between these green spaces through the movement of people and books. Without a physical connection each park stands apart from the network of green spaces in the city. However, many people visit more than one park on a regular basis; the movement of people and the way they traverse the city from park to park creates an invisible, but strong network. There are few greater pleasures than spending a sunny afternoon in a local park with a good book. The London Parks Library capitalises on this by placing book exchanges in public parks throughout the city.
The premise is simple; you bring your old books and swap them for something new to flick through in the park or take away and read. ALGG_Governance.pdf. Central London.pdf. GCSE Bitesize: Problems of urbanisation in the CBD - traffic congestion. London | Encountering Urbanization. This week’s City Beautiful starts from a post on BLDG Blog about a forthcoming book, Short Stories: London in Two-and-a-Half Dimensions. Authors CJ Lim and Ed Liu create a new genre of “architectural fiction” where fantastical environments built in paper are inspired by actual sites in London meshed with stories ranging from the Three Little Pigs to Alice in Wonderland. This and the other works below tell stories of what is most durable – our built environment – using fragile, ephemeral paper. As a medium, 3D paper collage lends itself nicely not just to telling kid’s stories of the pop-up book variety, but the intricacies of cities, tales of how they change over time and even what they could be with a little imagination.
Hong Kong Kit Lau, an animator by trade and dubbed Hong Kong’s “first pop-up book artist“, combines personal narrative, architectural history, and rapid urban growth in his 2009 book Hong Kong Pop Up. A few pages from Hong Kong Pop Up: Charlotte London ~Amy. SuckerPUNCH.
Visualising London Transport | The Mapping London Blog. SELF Assemble.