Walmart, the leviathan of the U.S. retail economy, has had a tough year. So tough that the company’s new CEO is prescribing a surprising strategy to slow decaying sales: Build smaller stores. And, in at least one case, put housing on top of them.
"Lebbeus Woods, Architect" opens at New York’s Drawing Center later today, kicking off with a public reception at 6pm. Woods was widely celebrated as a fearless designer and incredible draftsman, an architect whose prolific and conceptually relentless work explored unstable and even dangerous conditions, such as war zones, tectonic faults, and geopolitical borders. Woods passed away during Hurricane Sandy; "Lebbeus Woods, Architect" looks back at a lifetime of incredible work. [Drawing Center]
In the future, houses will be 3D-printed using recycled construction waste and tailings… oops, by “the future” we meant China! A Shanghai-based construction company took a mere 24 hours to slap together 10 3D-printed houses and while the homes aren’t exactly mansions, they’re the ultimate cheap digs.
Let’s take rooftop farming to a whole new level—a microscopic level. Unveiled at Expo Milan this week, the Urban Algae Canopy is a living, breathing alternative to our inert roofs and facades. Could algae be the next hip trend in urban agriculture?
The world is running out of space. Truth be told, the world is running out of a lot of things, but some very simple tweaks to our lifestyle could make the space issue less of an problem. That’s why students at the Savannah College of Art and Design built the SCADpad. It’s tiny. It’s cheap. And it’s actually kind of cool-looking.
New York Times architecture critic Michael Kimmelman is on a roll lately in his quest to hold architects accountable
This building vaguely shaped like a jack is actually a proposed transportation hub and residential complex for the New York borough of Queens. Perched above the 7 subway line, the spiky structure would combine a spiraling internal concourse with conveniently shaded yet sunlit apartments. [designboom]
How paying people to be parents has created a baby boom in Finland. Decoding the maybe-too-flashy urban renewal of once-dangerous Medellín, Colombia. And why a long-standing rivalry between Boston and New York led to the first American subways. Here are today’s Urban Reads.
This was the view that some lucky campers woke up to this past weekend at Coachella, the music and art festival that continues next weekend in Indio, California. Over 100 teepees were hand-painted by local artists and rented as luxury accommodations starting at $2200. [Coachella]
Parking garages are ugly by their very nature: They’re metal cages that take up valuable space in our cities to house our automobiles for a few high-priced hours. But not all garages have to be ugly. In fact, three of the most beautiful are located within a few blocks of each other, in the city of Santa Monica, California.
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