VULGARE

« Lithuanian Busstops » by Nicolas Grospierre

Found at vvork

Bamboo Scaffolding by lorna87

‘Walden. Or, Life in the woods’ is the name of a story from the American writer and philosopher Henry David Thoreau, written in the mid 19^th century, which describes his life and his relationship with nature. The concept of simple life influenced the garden-project from Nils Holger Moormann, which invites one to live outdoors.

Determined garden-owners are able to store various tools such as shovel, rake and wheelbarrow in this ‘wooden box’ of unusual proportions. Easy goers have to decide whether to take a seat at the table in the seating cabin, or climb a ladder to the upper level. There it’s possible to enjoy the view or to stretch out and guess cloud shapes or count stars under the sliding sun roof. The obligation of a campfire is created in a swinging fire cauldron, and  right beside it, the necessary space for firewood.
As a whole, ‘Walden’ offers lots of room for things we associate with ‘garden’ and ‘outdoors’ and honours them with a layout, in which they can be seen: birdhouse and bird seed, flower pot and water can, grill utensils and picnic table.

Designer: Nils Holger Moormann

Design Team: Peter Tonkin, Neil Mackenzie, Heidi Pronk, Kon Vourtzoumis, Richard Healey-Finlay; Landscape Architecture: Taylor Cullity Lethlean; Artist: Robert Owen

Driving away from the city, with the rusting Corten steel bridge arcing overhead. Photograph John Gollings

The project was designed to be experienced at a freeway speed of 110km per hour. It includes three series of sculptural sound walls, a pedestrian bridge and a set of design parameters for road bridges, crash barriers and retaining structures.

The main series of walls by Tonkin Zulaikha Greer total over 2 kilometres in length, and are made from facetted austenitic steel sheets modelled in simple concave and convex folds to produce a gently undulating wave of steel floating on a recessed dark concrete base.

The second sequence of blades, with “lace curtain” screen based on Robert Owen’s Cadence #1(a short span of time

A second series of walls by Taylor Cullity Lethlean, are translucent and transparent, preserving light and views from residential areas. These are edge-lit acrylic, sandblasted with a digital pattern and overlaid with coloured precast concrete blades. The third series, by Tonkin Zulaikha Greer, build on the existing landform with dramatic earth sculpting. The use of gabions and heavily planted earth berms achieve the required sound control.

The screen of etched perspex, with LED lights, which responds to the speed of passing cars. Photograph Peter Hyatt.

A major element of the work was a new pedestrian bridge, which was designed as a gateway to the distantcity of Melbourne, visible on the horizon. The bridge, a complex curve in plan and elevation, is a tubular steel truss faced with the same austenitic steel as the main sound walls, which at this point appear to leap over the road in a gesture of welcome or farewell.

Text: Tonkin Zulaikha Greer Architects

View to pedestrian bridge with Melbourne in the background.

http://spy.org.es/

SpY is an artist from Madrid. His first actions appeared in the middle eighties. Shortly after, already a national reference as a graffiti artist, he started to work with other forms of artistic communication in the street: large posters, modified billboards, interventions that were experimental in the first nineties.

His work consists in the playful reappropiation of urban elements, that he replicates or transforms and then installs in the street. All his production stems from the observation of the urban environmnet, a sense sharpened by years of experience as a graffiti artist. A careful attention for the context of each piece and a constructive and non-invasive attitude unmistakably characterize his actions.

With special thanks to Spy for use of his images. There are more cool shots on his website.

Le grand totem en façade est une réplique en béton et résine de l’Arbre cubiste des frères sculpteurs Joël et Jean Martel, fait en collaboration avec Robert Mallet Stevens pour l’exposition internationale de Paris en 1925, afin de démontrer la solidité du béton armé en architecture

http://www.alastairheseltine.com/index.htm

Psyho

( Source : Charles Goldman )