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Playscapes

Playscapes

Dymaxion Sleeps When we posted this garden installation, called Dymaxion Sleeps by Jane Hutton and Adrian Blackwell, along with a few others from this year's International Garden Festival at Jardins de Métis/Reford Gardens, we only had that one illustration to use. The following day, thankfully, the duo sent us a few photos of their project as built. The name of the installation comes from Buckminister Fuller’s Dymaxion World Map, whose geometry is copied for the garden's horizontal surface. This surface is made of nylon netting by Creations Filion, specialists in circus and performance safety nets. It is taut when empty and becomes hammock-like when the kids wade in. It's probably one of the few gardens in the festival that's easily transferable to a modest backyard garden. Or above a patch of rainforest, first spiraling around thickly trunked trees and then jutting out like tendrils above the canopy. Sonic GardenPoule mouillée!

The New York Times Woods of Net / Tezuka Architects-ArchDaily During this last few months we have presented you several works by the japanese office Tezuka Architects. The houses have very strong concepts, tied to different ways of inhabiting these projects designed specifically for each client. Now we present you Woods of Net, a permanent pavilion for japanese net artist Toshiko Horiuchi Macadam, in collaboration with structural engineers TIS & PARTNERS. The pavilion is located at the Hakone Open-Air Museum, a unique open museum located in one of the most visited tourist spots in Japan. Woods of Net was added to the collection of art works as part of their 40th anniversary. After the break, the architects description of the pavilion with photos by Abel Erazo. This is a permanent pavilion for a net artist, Toshiko Horiuchi Macadam. The structure is entirely composed of timbers without any metal parts. 320 cubic meter of timber members are used and there is nothing same among all the 589 members.

Just This: "Zhaozhou's Dog" from the Wumenguan by Mark Bykoski The Chinese text is given in the top row. Below that is the modern Mandarin pronunciation spelled in the Pinyin system, and then the English meaning of each word. Zhaozhou's Dog As for Master Zhaozhou, because a monk asked, "Does even a dog have Buddha nature, or not?" Zhaozhou said, "It does not." "Zhaozhou's Dog" is the first koan in the Wumenguan (Japanese: Mumonkan; often translated as the Gateless Gate or Gateless Barrier; or to put it more architecturally, the Gateless Gatehouse), a collection of koans with commentaries written in China in the thirteenth century of the Common Era by Wumen Huikai (Japanese: Mumon Ekai). A rather literal translation of the koan is offered above, even though it may be awkward English, in order to point out a few features of the Chinese text not reflected in most translations. After the title, the koan begins with Zhaozhou Heshang (Japanese pronunciation: Joshu Osho), "Master Zhaozhou." You lose your body and lose your life.

Playtime For those inured to the paranoia of modern-day (American) parenting, this playground, designed by BASE for Belleville Park in Paris' 20th arrondissement, must seem utterly baffling. Where there should be springy rubber matting and wood chips, there's bare concrete. The timber pylons look to be no more than a forest of sharp edges and pointy corners awaiting an arm to fracture, a nose to bleed and a forehead to dent. Though not that steep, the climbing walls seem to be screaming to be equipped with ropes, harnesses and helmets. To our childless eyes, however, it looks like a proper playground, a neo-eugenics landscape in which society births strapping young citizens. Here, in simulated sieges of an abstract castle perched atop vertiginous cliff faces and fortified with obstructions, doughy, networked children are scarred into physical and mental fitness, into unlikely future burdens on the social health infrastructure of the country. Wetground

The Gateless Gate 無門關 The Gateless Gate The Gateless Gate or The Gateless Barrier (Chin. Wu-wen kuan; Jap. Mumonkan) The author is Chinese Ch'an master Wu-men Hui-hai (無門慧開 Mumon Ekai, 1183-1260). English Translation By late Zen master Katsuki Sekida (Two Zen Classics 26-137) Original Chinese Text The original Chinese text is taken from the following Japanese web site: The Chinese and Japanese texts in this web site are taken from the book titled Mumonkan, published in Japan by Iwanami Bunkõ. Chinese Characters Unfortunately a few Chinese characters were not given in this site. The Gateless Gate 無門關 Wu-wen kuan (Mumonkan) Mumon's Preface 佛語心爲宗、無門爲法門。 Buddhism makes mind its foundation and no-gate its gate. 既是無門、且作麼生透。 Now, how do you pass through this no-gate? 豈不見道、從門入者不是家珍、從縁得者始終成壞。 It is said that things coming in through the gate can never be your own treasures. 恁麼説話、大似無風起浪好肉抉瘡。 However, such a saying is already raising waves when there is no wind. 通曰無門關。 何故。

Cities for Children? Wandering around various cities in northern Spain, I have been struck by the widespread integration of playgrounds into attractive and central public spaces; for example, in Santander (above) or Bilbao (below, right beside the Guggenheim). These kinds of safe, accessible areas are usually marginal in comparison with spaces for cars, housing, and business – all obviously designed and planned by adults. The City of Children project – housed within the Institute of Cognitive Sciences and Technologies of the National Council of Research in Rome, with partners in cities across Italy, Spain, and Argentina – seeks to challenge and change this dynamic by engaging children in policy decisions. The project supports autonomy, participation, safety, and mobility for children in public space – from courtyards to sidewalks, public squares to parks. Credits: All images from Melissa Garcia Lamarca.

Skating Pier 62 and Corona Park Pier 62 | Photo by bradyfontenot.com | Click image to view more photos of Pier 62 and Corona Park. I recently spent time skating the Pier 62 and Corona Park skateparks, two new recreational areas opened by the Hudson River Park Trust (Pier 62, a 15,000 sq. ft “flow” course) and the New York Parks Department through its “Adopt-A-Park” program (Corona Park, a 16,000 sq. ft. “street” course). The timing couldn’t be more accommodating and it’s refreshing to see a city respond proactively to the ever-growing demand from the skateboard, inline, and BMX communities, especially in light of the recent loss of two sites that had became staples for the progression of these communities. As both a designer and a skater, I was eager to test the new parks for myself and share my thoughts on them as a follow-up to . Pier 62 | Photo by bradyfontenot.com. At the Pier 62 skatepark (BMX prohibited) there is hardly a thing to change. Corona Park | Photo by Buck Jackson.

RUS Lima. Basurama10 RUS. Lima Residuos Urbanos Sólidos en Perú. Enero - Febrero 2010. Contexto AutoPARQUE de Diversiones Fechas Colaboran Investiación previa Puedes ver la galería de fotos del proyecto. Contexto A lo largo del siglo XX el modelo urbano se ha caracterizado por una presencia progresiva y masiva del uso del automóvil. El proyecto RUS Lima está centrado en la recuperación de uno de los espacios más originales e insólitos de la ciudad: el tren eléctrico elevado, a su paso por el distrito de Surquillo. Existen muchas mitologías asociadas a esta infraestructura y a su construcción. A parte de la reflexión necesaria sobre el transporte público de una gran ciudad de 9 millones de habitantes, esta infraestructura es interesante por ser un espacio público en potencia -paseo público o parque lineal elevado-, negado a una ciudad donde caminar a ras de suelo supone ser atropellado, ensordecido o al menos contaminado por los carros que la tienen tomada. AutoParque de Diversiones público Fechas Colaboran

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