Not sure what to say about it, it’s great and ridiculous.
[via FFFFOUND!]
Umbrellas in a Tree
Flooded McDonald’s
I’m not sure if I just flat-out like the thought of massive corporations drowning on their own power, or I like water flooding small spaces. Either way, this project by Superflex provides us with both: the vision of an empire being metaphorically drowned and a lifelike commercial space being literally filled with water.
“Flooded McDonald’s is a film work by Superflex in which a convincing life-size replica of the interior of a McDonald’s burger bar, without any customers or staff present, gradually floods with water. Furniture is lifted up by the water, trays of food and drinks start to float around, electrics short circuit and eventually the space becomes completely submerged.”
One Day Sculpture
Journée des barricades by Heather and Ivan Morison was installed as part of the ongoing One Day Sculpture exhibition in New Zealand. The barricade, consisting of car wrecks, discarded furniture, and other urban detritus, was installed for 24 hours back in December on a central street in Wellington.
The work is part of the Morison’s ongoing investigation of future catastrophies (and their social implications).
The One Day Sculpture project looks like it’s going to be a really interesting project, featuring 20 newly commissioned projects by its close. I’m just wondering if these sculptures / performances lasting for one day is just a function of the logistical nature of having public work in a major city centre or is an actual solid conceptual base for the entire exhibition.
Save A City
At Windsor’s riverfront, SAVE A CITY, installed this afternoon. We opted out of using monofilament to hang the blocks of ice because there was a nice snowbank already there, and probably the last thing the Detroit River needs is more garbage in it. I’ll post some photos of the process of making these soon (definitely before the weather gets too warm).
28 Millimetres: Women
This is a huge project. JR, an “undercover photographer,” recently completed this large-scale photo installation on the rooftops of Kibera, Kenya. The photos on the roofs are of Kenyan women and are printed on water-resistant materials, thereby providing the homes with some protection in the heavy rain seasons, while the hillside also features faces that are split, but completed when the train passes through Kibera twice a day.
The scale of this project is incredible, but I really like that the photos also protect the homes beneath them.
[via Wooster Collective]
Office Hours
It’s that time of the week, Broken City Lab office hours on Tuesday, February 3rd, at 7pm, LeBel, room 125. Feel free to drop by to contribute, engage, ask questions, and fix this city. We’ll be finishing up some projects and start planning our next event.
Linoleum Asphalt Mosaics
This project demonstrates an interesting way to use free samples of linoleum tiles for street mosaics. These tiles originated in the 70s in Philadelphia and are also called Toynbee Tiles. Construction seems fairly simple, though a bit time consuming, but could be a great addition to any sidewalk. The video is about 6 minutes and worth watching.
Moss Carpet – La Chanh Nguyen
In the summer of 2008, Broken City Lab’s early days, we discussed using moss for a small number of projects. While the current weather is not permissive of working outdoors with plants, I wouldn’t mind giving moss another chance come spring. La Chanh Nguyen is way ahead of us, creating moss carpets for use indoors! They never need to be washed and are resistant to mould.
“Created by Switzerland-based industrial designer La Chanh Nguyen, the small indoor greenspace features three types of live green mosses – ball moss, island moss and forest moss – that grow in individual “cells” of plastazote, a decay-free foam. This lovely little bathmat can even thrive under the dubious care of the green-thumb challenged: mosses flourish in damp, humid places, making bathrooms ideal homes for these comfy carpets.”
Detroit Housing Crisis – $1 Homes
This came up in the Border Culture class today and I had to post it.
$1 homes in Detroit.
But it would be wrong
While it would be highly illegal, potentially unethical, and generally a very bad idea to hijack one of those blinking road signs, either as part of a thoughtful and considered public intervention or simply in the name of free-spirited high jinks (pictured), illustrated instructions for doing precisely that are available for perusal by the curious. [via the heretofore useless-to-me car blog, Jalopnik]