Cardboard Bike!

All architects know we can do things with cardboard that most people can't even imagine, but this beats any model I've ever made! see grist.org for more info

Suburban Station - A Place of Residence

All photographs displayed in this post are the work of photographer, Shan Cerrone. To view the photoset in it's entirety   and other work produced by Cerrone feel free to check out his website here. 

Student Work: Cargo Hotel

"....As far back as he could remember, Joey never followed the crowd and always had his own agenda. Rather than participating in the usual school activities, he could typically be found exploring the local train yards. As time passed and Joey grew older he never lost his fascination with alternative life styles. The original passion slowly developed into an exploration of adaptive reuse.

Using recycled shipping containers and old industrial building supply as his main construction materials significantly reduced the start up money required for Joey to put his plan into action. At the same time, the visceral attitude expressed by such deteriorated supplies could potentially allow Joey to make two very bold statements. On the one hand, the containers could be completely remodeled and used to show what bright, luxurious spaces they could be transformed into. On the other hand, container cities could be built out of almost untouched containers, forcing passersby to experience and reflect upon a waste that they indirectly created. "

FAKE Architecture

Ai Weiwei: designer of the "Birds Nest" Stadium for the Beijing Olympics, creator of the Sunflower exhibit at the Tate, political and human rights actvist...

  

In the past few years Ai Weiwei's controversial artwork has earned him a huge following in the art world, while simultaneously undermining the many shortcomings of the Chinese government. Upset by the lack of truthful information provided by officials, Ai has decided to take matters into his own hands to do what he knows must be done. 

Ignoring warnings from friends, family, and other artists alike Ai Weiwei refuses to back down. Despite being detained by police, placed under house arrest, paying millions of dollars in fines, and having his studio demolished he truly believes that China can be slowly changed into a more democratic nation if people are willing to work together. Though Chinese firewalls and extremely stiff censorship laws constantly prevent Ai from getting his message across by himself, it cannot stop others from spreading the word for him.

Watching and reading various talks, lectures, videos, and articles about Ai Weiwei, this artist makes very clear the stance he takes in regards to modern technology. Simply put, "An individual can make an effort and an individual can make an impact..." (Weiwei). In order to do this Weiwei encourages people to seize the power of the internet. With the rapid advancements technology is making it is extremely easy to utilize websites, blogs, and social media sites to remain informed and find the truth. Not the truth in the words of government officials and mass media outlets, but a raw uncensored truth only possible when people communicate with one another. By spreading information online it is possible to leave behind the world where freedom of speech is not allowed and spread the truth as it should be told.

 

Ai Weiwei: Never Sorry OFFICIAL TRAILER from Ai Weiwei: Never Sorry on Vimeo.

Student work : Sustainable Excess

Sustainable architecture is often criticized as having been reduced to "greenwashing".

Pictured is "Antilla", excessively expensive and fundamentally capitalistic, the building justifies itself because of how "green" it is (read "Capitalism: A Ghost Story here). The fundamental motives behind many sustainable design strategies are their non-sustainable contemporaries: luxury, excess, privacy, and denial of mortality. The only difference is a few extra zeroes in the price and a friendly green appearance for the public. Here is one student's response to sustainability:

In defining radicals, punks, and anarchists as the main audience for this piece of sustainability, the project attempts to shed this notion of sustainable excess in favor of something not as pretty but perhaps more apt to shake the foundations of unsustainable design.

The anarchist hotel stretches toward the sun, a precise angle which keeps out the Sun's scorching summer rays while harvesting its fleeting winter warmth. The resemblance to an outstretched middle finger toward the capitalist center of the city may or may not be intentional.

The desired effect of the building promotes non-excessive communal living among urban radicals and flaunts it in the face of the city in a not so status-quo fashion, while shamelessly harvesting its neighbor's waste food and water.

Can the capitalist's definition of luxury exist in a sustainable world? It seems unlikely to this branded consumer. This project by an early architecture student tries to reimagine what luxury might look like - a simple reverence for the sun and the elements along with a deep sense of communal living. Would it actually work in present day Philadelphia? Hell no.

Who Needs a Car Anyways?

Commonly referred to as the number one bicycle-friendly city in the world, 36% of all Copenhagen citizens utilize bikes as their main mode of transportation. The bicycle boom originally began during WWII when the use of petroleum was severely restricted. At present, cyclists currently enjoy approximately 370km (roughly 230 miles) of bikeable roads, but there are concrete plans to dramatically increase the amount of bike only streets.

As of April this year, Copenhagen officials have been working hard to create a network of bicycle super-highways. This network of bikeways, or Supercykelstiers as they are called in Denmark, will consist of 500km of new bike only terrain. When finished the entire bicycle network in Copenhagen is planned to consist of nearly 540 miles of cycling friendly streets. That's 319 more miles than the current bike routes in Philadelphia!