http://www.urbanobservatory.org/
Related: T1 MétropolisationA New Tool for Comparing Cities For the last fifty years Richard Wurman – architect, graphic designer and founder of the TED Conferences – has been dedicated to creating a platform that compares cities. In Wurman’s early studies, he quickly learned that comparing global cities was no easy task. Cities use very different languages to describe their assets, from planning principles to land use types to social statistics. “They don’t collect their information the same way. They don’t describe themselves with the same legend,” he tells Nate Berg of Next City. Thanks to sophisticated mapping tools, delving into the statistical data of numerous cities has become far more manageable than in 1962, when Wurman produced his first comparative analysis using clay models of 50 different cities.
Architecture Wallpaper* newsletter Register for our bi-weekly bulletin of the stuff that refines you By submitting your details, you'll also receive emails from Time Inc. UK, publisher of Wallpaper* and other iconic brands about its goods and services, and those of its carefully selected third parties. Please tick here if you'd prefer not to hear about: Elon Musk to Unveil Ultra High-Speed Hyperloop Train Plans by August 12 Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla Motors and SpaceX just announced plans to unveil the high-speed Hyperloop transportation system under an open source license by August 12th, 2013. The futuristic transportation design will reportedly be a cross between a Concorde, a rail gun and air hockey table – and it could transport passengers from Los Angeles to San Francisco in 30 minutes flat. The Hyperloop is conceived as a tunnel-based tube system with weather-proof, crash-proof, solar-powered rail-less vehicles that would be twice as fast as planes. The system could work both above and below ground level. Musk announced the project in July 2012 and estimated that the cost of the San Francisco-Los Angeles Hyperloop would be about $6 billion, one tenth of the price proposed for building a conventional high speed rail between those cities.
30 Rooftop Garden Design Ideas Adding Freshness to Your Urban Home Not too long ago, we featured a post on Freshome entitled 38 Garden Design Ideas Turning Your Home Into a Peaceful Refuge, which turned out to be quite popular. Nourishing your love for gardening may prove difficult to do in an environment that lacks…a backyard. But we are here to offer alternative solutions to your home design issues. This post is a reminder of that unoccupied space above your building that could be converted into a beautiful urban oasis. As you probably imagine, building your own rooftop garden is not as easy as planting shrubs in the ground, but with research, good planning and determination, such a project could substantially upgrade your lifestyle. If you are ready to embark on this dazzling adventure, the photos below should inspire you in deciding on the overall design of the new garden.
Shark Wheel - the SQUARE skateboarding wheel that shreds! by SharkWheel.com and SharkWheelSkate.com It's a wheel that comes from a cube. Remarkably, it's a perfect cube AND a perfect circle AND a perfect snakelike sine wave! After the Kickstarter ends please visit SharkWheel.com and SharkWheelSkate.com More videos, images, product, and cool features will be found on our websites. Enter your email on the site to receive updates and discount codes. 20 Of The World’s Best Restaurant And Bar Interior Designs A good interior design can do as much for a cafe, restaurant or bar as good food, drinks and service can. We made this list of establishments to show you some of the best bar, cafe and restaurant designs in the world, and most of them have even won awards for their interiors. Creating an amazing bar design is anything but simple. There are thousands of factors to juggle – What will your restaurant, bar or cafe’s style be like? How can you make the interior as beautiful and decorative as possible without disrupting the staff’s workflow? Will safety regulations even allow your grand designs to take form?
The Wheel of the Future is Here and It's Shaped Like a Cube It only took a few thousand years, but someone has finally reinvented the wheel—and it actually works better than the original. Skateboarder David Patrick’s crazy SharkWheel was discovered by chance while he was creating a cube out of six soft pieces of piping. Patrick dropped the cube by accident, and to his amazement, the piece started rolling and it didn’t stop. You’d think that a cube-shaped wheel would be completely counterproductive, but Patrick’s angular SharkWheel has proved to be smoother and faster than a conventional skateboard wheel.
Glass Rivers And Lakes Flow Across Beautiful Tables By Furniture Maker Greg Klassen Talented Washington-based artist and furniture-maker Greg Klassen’s beautiful river- and lake-like desks and tables straddle the line between furniture and art. Due to his relationship with a local sawmill, Klassen has access to pieces of raw wood, which means that he can make use of its natural forms and beautiful imperfections for his creative furniture. These organic forms lend natural power to the “rivers” and “lakes” on his tables, which are completed with custom-cut panes of glass and look much like features on a topographical map. Klassen, who has a degree in theology, writes, “I try to marry the natural beauty of the wood with the skilled craftsmanship of the maker. When the two come together, a piece can really sing!” More info: Website | Facebook | Shop (h/t: colossal)
In-between Spaces by Office Jarrik Ouburg et al Thirty-five white perforated sheets gently sway in the wind in an alleyway between two Amsterdam canal houses. A white wooden door – also perforated – allows access into the alley. Narrow typography on the wall beside the door gives the name of the installation: Tussen-ruimte (In-between Space) #1. Tussen-ruimte is a collaborative installation project by Office Jarrik Ouburg, Non-fiction and TAAK, in partnership with Castrum Peregrini. ‘Amsterdam celebrates the 400th birthday of its canal belt this year,’ says architect Jarrik Ouburg, who initiated the project together with multidisciplinary firm Non-Fiction. ‘Since 2010 the canals of Amsterdam have been classified a Unesco World Heritage Site, which means that the conservation area is more heavily protected against changes than ever before.