Parking Day

"PARK(ing) Day is an annual, worldwide event where artists, activists, and citizens independently (but simultaneously) turn metered parking spots into “PARK(ing)” spaces: temporary public parks and other spaces for people to enjoy. PARK(ing) Day is a non-commercial project, intended to promote creativity, civic engagement, critical thinking, unscripted social interactions, generosity and play."

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image taken from here

Pech Kucha NYC-“Dimensions of Urban Design”

"As a preamble to New York City's first Urban Design week, the Institute for Urban Design and Pecha Kucha New York would like to invite you to “Dimensions of Urban Design”. Each speaker will describe one of the projects of the moment that will shape tomorrow through 20 slides at 20 seconds a slide. The Department of City Planning's Chief Urban Designer Alex Washburn will present a 6 minute and 40 second overview of the history of New York's City's urban design trends leading up to this moment. The program will begin at 6:30 pm on Monday September 12, 2011 at Le Poisson Rouge."
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No Longer Empty

No Longer Empty

"No Longer Empty embraces a fresh perspective on creating, presenting and experiencing art.


No Longer Empty works with internationally recognized curators to feature established artists alongside lesser known or new artists, using limited resources without sacrificing quality.  The synthesis of area and site research drives each curatorial theme and the selection of artists.  The curatorial premise and the physical realities of the location provide artists with an alternative to today’ s art world status quo allowing them to expand their practice through site commissioned work.

No Longer Empty presents art in environments that are free and accessible to all.  Our multi-locational exhibitions engage directly with each community drawing on the resources and connections of community groups to provide meaningful programming.  Utilizing vacated spaces in the urban context, we act as a catalyst for revitalization and economic opportunity for local business through the increased flow of visitors that these exhibitions attract. 
At the heart of the experience is community engagement and benefit. Our presence in each neighborhood is focused on encouraging local participation and attracting new visitors to the neighborhood.  We nourish and build relationships with the people that come to our exhibitions, the community around our activities and the artist community we form around us.  

No Longer Empty redefines public art through temporary site -specific exhibitions that draw together the vitality of the contemporary art world and the values of building community.

Each exhibition site becomes a cultural/educational hub where a community of artists, educators, scholars and the public come together to create and experience art, free of market imperative and institutional constraints.

We offer a public service that involves, includes and inspires."

bldgblog combines forces with columbia's studio x which is a global network of active spaces around the world that house lectures, shows, discussions, and more. I need to go to these. more

Convert your front lawn into a garden with Fritz Haeg's Edible Estates. more

Terreform One. architectural design firm based out of brooklyn. more

Drain pipes repurposed into hotel rooms. slum architecture. more

Citizens Contribute

"WITNESS uses video to open the eyes of the world to human rights violations. WITNESS empowers people to transform personal stories of abuse into powerful tools for justice, promoting public engagement and policy change.

WITNESS envisions a just and equitable world where all individuals and communities are able to defend and uphold their human rights."

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Architecture for Humanity utilizes the ability of architects to solve real problems, by spreading architectural designs around the globe through Open Architecture Network, an open-source community of architects and designers working to confront real problems all over the world.

Marjetica Potre

Xapuri: Rural School

Building materials, energy and communication infrastructure, 2006
How to Live Together, 27th São Paulo Biennial, São Paulo, Brazil

This is a case study of a primary school that has been built in a remote area of the Amazonian forest in the Brazilian state of Acre. The construction of such schools represents a collaboration between local communities and the government. Typically, a school is equipped with extensive solar paneling and a satellite dish, in other words, a source of energy and the means for communication with the world.

from here

The Cook, the Farmer, His Wife and Their Neighbour

Building materials, energy infrastructure, vegetable garden, 2009
Stedelijk Goes West, Nieuw West, Amsterdam
Project by Marjetica Potrc and Wilde Westen (Lucia Babina, Reinder Bakker, Hester van Dijk, Sylvain Hartenberg, Merijn Oudenampsen, Eva Pfannes, Henriette Waal)
Supported by the Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam; Far West, Amsterdam; The Netherlands Architectural Fund, Rotterdam

The project is a community garden and community kitchen in the Nieuw West district of Amsterdam. A previously unused site at Lodewijk van Deysselstraat 61 becomes a community kitchen. The vegetable garden is located behind the kitchen in a former fenced-off 'look-only garden' (kijkgroen). The garden and the kitchen create bonds within the neighbourhood and become a catalyst for transforming not only the public space but also the community itself. The project is an example of 'redirective practice', with people from various disciplines and backgrounds working together to find new ways to build a shared community. The project is a case study for redesigning the modernist neighbourhood from below and redefining rural and urban coexistence. More information can be found on the project's blog.

from here

Truck Stop

Alberto Tadiello's E13 000625, 2010. This is a sound canon that hits the viewer with audio. more at bldgblog



Zimoun : Compilation Video V2.8 | Sound Sculptures & Installations from ZIMOUN VIDEO ARCHIVE on Vimeo.

Artist Zimoun, via bldgblog


I don't know how I missed the Watts Towers, an impressive architectural/sculptural undertaking by an outsider artist, but my dad just told me about them today, so check them out here. be sure to watch the movie here.


Royji Ikeda's show at the Park Armory, the Transfinite, was out of this world. read more at hyperallergic.
This was the best show I have seen all year.

Rirkrit Tiravanija: The Land

The Land: 
"The land project was initiated by Rirkrit and Kamin Letchaiprasert as a self-sustaining environment emerging from the artistic community. The land is located in the northern part of Thailand, near the village of Sanpathong, 20 km southwest from the provincial city of Chiang Mai. It is intended to be cultivated as an open space or community free from ownership, with elements favoring discussions and experimentation in the fields of culture. The land is open to the day-to-day activities of local living (i.e. the growing of rice) and to the neighboring community. On the social field of the land, artistic practices are discussed and tested. This project, a hybrid of innovation and traditionalism, contrasts contemporary materials and technologies with 
ancient forms of agriculture."


I have grown to appreciate Rirkrit Tiravanija more and more, this project sounds like it has much of the draw of a commune, with none of the hippy architecture and cooking. 

Text taken from here.
more at the Land's incomprehensible website here.

Learn more about animal architecture at BLDGBLOG, be sure to look at the TN Plus zoo, comprised of a different island for each continent.

Bernard Buhler Architects in Bordeaux, France. thanks Bldgblog



Petah Coyne: Everything That Rises Must Converge, at Mass MoCA

through April 3, 2011. more

thanks sarah

The Pruitt-Igoe Myth

The Pruitt-Igoe Myth: an Urban History – Film Trailer from the Pruitt-Igoe Myth on Vimeo.

The Pruitt-Igoe Myth. Not the end of Modernism?
Looks interesting. More at Hyperallergic.

Richard Chai and Snarkitecture. A retail installation in Chelsea under the highline. more

Broken Angel is... an impressive structure just blocks from my home in Brooklyn. more here and here (the owner's son's flickr)

Seed Cathedral. Awesome in the true sense of the word. here

not only does artist Blake Fall-Conroy have a bad ass name, his work follows suit. Like the Minimum wage machine here

This is everything I want my shopping experience to turn into. and it just never does. here