wish i hadn't missed it, then.

i think projects like that are really smart: to scab something useful onto an existing structure. best to design it for disasembly, i suppose.

woah.

RIO DE JANEIRO, March 28 (Reuters) - The government of Rio de Janeiro is building concrete walls to prevent sprawling slums from spreading farther into the picturesque hills of this world-famous tourist destination, an official said on Saturday.

Construction has begun in two favelas, or shantytowns, in the southern districts of Rio de Janeiro, a government spokeswoman told Reuters. One of the two is Morro Dona Marta, which police occupied in November to control crime and violence caused mostly by rival drug gangs.

Officials say the wall is to protect the remaining native forest but critics fear the move could be seen as discriminatory and become a blemish symbolizing Brazil's deep divisions between rich and poor.

"There is no discrimination. On the contrary, we are building houses for them elsewhere and improving their lives," Tania Lazzoli, spokeswoman for the secretary of public works at the state government, told Reuters.

By year-end the Rio de Janeiro state government wants to build almost 7 miles (11 km) of walls to contain 19 communities. It will spend 40 million reais ($17.6 million) and have to relocate 550 houses, Lazzoli said.

"The objective is to contain the spread of the communities and protect the forest," Lazzoli said. "There are many houses in high risk areas."

During the rainy season many shacks and primitive houses built in ravines or on hills are washed away by flash floods or mudslides.

Thousands of favelas sprung up throughout Rio de Janeiro and other major cities in recent decades, as millions of impoverished immigrants came from the countryside in search of jobs.

On Saturday the front page of the leading daily O Globo featured a picture of a gray wall beside a forest in Morro Dona Marta. Construction workers in blue overalls were seen with shovels and push carts. Middle-class apartment buildings are seen in the background.

Known for the stunning views of its rugged coastline, with golden beaches and lush mountains, Rio de Janeiro attracts millions of tourists each year -- many for its world-famed Carnival celebrations.

Violence between gangs and with police periodically erupts beyond the favelas, forcing stores and roads in entire neighborhoods to shut down. Occasionally juvenile gangs ransack tourists on the beach in posh districts such as Ipanema or Leblon.

Linkage

this:

at first glance, i hate hate hated it. second glance, too... but it's growing on me. i think it's the green that bothers me the most. that, and the idea that someone's going to want to furnish the place.... that's going to be a trick.










lots more pics, including the piss-yellow kitchen at Design Boom

Wimbledon's new Centre Court Roof

this place tickles me, if for no other reason than it's not another fucking square box. the trend towards new houses looking like repurposed shipping containers is not a fave of mine.





this is a typical Pacific Northwest freeform house. the twist is, this one was designed this way, rather than the house's form being dictated by found building materials.

The Wilkison House

Prada Transformer, Position 1: Fashion Exhibition

Rem Koolhaas’ latest project -The Prada Transformer- is not just a building, but also a statement on today´s state of architecture. Dubbed the anti-blob, this “object” rejects all common blobby shapes we have seen lately. Simple geometrical shapes (a circle, a cross, a rectangle and an hexagon) enclose a space that depending on its rotation results on different spaces suitable for fashion exhibitions, cinema, art exhibitions and other special events. Each face is the platform on which these activities take place, while also being served by the other faces enclosing the space.

Giddy up

sometimes, all a building needs is a coat of paint ... or 10.

Miller Brewing Company offices + "artists" = (imo, kitsch)





more pics at Signs Pro.

^nice

Tokamashi, Japan
Architect: R&Sie(n)… Paris
Creative team: François Roche, Stéphanie Lavaux, Jean Navarro, Pascal Bertholio

Key dimensions: 300 m2
Client: City of Tokamashi, Art Front Gallery

Cost: 0,7 million USD
Text:
Creation of an outdoor exhibition space inside a car park

Program: 20 parking places, 300 m2 exhibition room, public facilities
Scenario:
1) Asphalt Drop on the site
2) Twisting the black surface of the car park to integrate indoor/outdoor rooms (cellar and facilities)

3) Visitors are tempted to drive or walk up the slope as a way to handle their own disequilibrium.

via inhabitat

sears tower has unveiled glass balconies on their 103rd story

good thing it's easy to wipe glass clean is what i say

Now this I would like as my home office:

tokyo national art center

reminds me somewhat of the scandanavian embassy in berlin - different material but definitely reminiscent

maybe less shiny plastic and a bit more wood!?

it looks like a zoo exhibit to me. ... in spain.

.................

who needs erector sets or legos when you have a key to the office supplies cupboard?





i read that it moves and shifts in the slightest breath of air.

...straight through, and out the front. crashing to a fiery heap of crushed metal at the bottom of the creek. hang on, that was ferris bueller's day off.

erm...

public urinal.



...concept? let's hope so.

^^wtf?

Oooooooooh