Swiss curator Klaus Littmann and Enea Landscape Architecture hope to focus public attention on the crisis of deforestation with their public art installation, For Forest: The Unending Attraction of Nature.
The project has converted the Wörthersee stadium in Klagenfurt, Austria, into a temporary native European forest.
Some 300 trees, many of which are fully grown and some of which weigh nearly 13,227 pounds alone, occupy the stadium’s Astroturf and, together, form the country’s largest public art installation ever.
Tree species include silver birch, alder, aspen, white willow, field maple, and common oak, sourced from three nurseries in Italy, Germany and Belgium.
It took the team 22 days to ‘plant’ once the trees arrived in Austria.
The work is inspired by The Unending Attraction of Nature, a drawing by Austrian artist and architect Max Peintner. It shows a forest on display inside a stadium, in a dystopian future where nature grows only in designated spaces.
The installation opened on September 9 and will be on display till October 27, 2019. On closing it will be replanted on a public site nearby.
Alphabet and Ikea are Investing in Robotic Real Estate:
With $20 million of new funding from Sidewalk Labs and Ikea umbrella company Ingka Group, MIT robotics spin-off Ori plans to revolutionise architecture, writes Mark Wilson for Fast Company.
In 2014, an MIT project called CityHome proposed robotic infrastructure for apartments, with features like kitchens and beds sliding in and out to amplify tiny footprints – making them more flexible and efficient.
CityHome became Ori, now inking deals with Sidewalk Labs, Ingka Group and Geolo Capital – known for hospitality investments. The major new investors represent three major real estate sectors – city planning, retail, and hospitality.
Ori hopes to change the very nature of buildings with robotics, Wilson writes, and these relationships could inform the future of its products.
More than offering after-market robo-furnishings that are fitted to your apartment, Wilson says the company wants to become part of the design conversation from the very start, as architects and developers begin creating buildings. We could be looking at a future of integrated robotic design.
Street Furniture Australia’s entire product range and manufacturing operation has received carbon neutral certification through Climate Active™. Achieving carbon neutral certification marks a significant milestone in our operation and the culmination of a four year long process of detailed measurement and analysis. Climate Active™ is the only Australian government-backed carbon neutral certification programme for businesses to measure, reduce, and offsets their carbon emissions. It is one of the most rigorous carbon-neutral programs in the world. An approved Emissions Reduction Strategy (ERS) is central to achieving certification through Climate Active. Street Furniture Australia has elected to use SBTi validated science-based targets to ensure their ERS is meaningful and aligns with the 2015 Paris Agreement – to limit global temperature rises to 1.5℃ above pre-industrial levels. For those emissions that can’t be …
Linea Bin is the newest addition to Street Furniture Australia’s minimalist Linea range. Built from stainless steel for strength, durability and a refined aesthetic, it has been thoughtfully designed with input from landscape architects and waste managers to deliver hygiene, accessibility and sustainability in the public realm. Built to LastA robust stainless steel frame and panel system ensures Linea Bin performs in high-traffic environments. A full-height stainless steel 316 piano hinge and splash tray provide exceptional strength, hygiene and corrosion resistance, withstanding daily impacts from trolleys and cleaning equipment. “Durability was paramount,” says Pearson Bulmer, Senior Industrial Designer at Street Furniture Australia. “Every detail needed to perform in the public realm for years to come – but also be designed for disassembly so parts can be repaired, replaced or recycled …
With the look and feel of natural timber, backed by 12 months of performance testing for the public realm, engineered wood joins Street Furniture Australia’s selection of batten materials. Designers and place custodians can now choose from three batten options to achieve a timber look: natural Spotted Gum hardwood, low maintenance aluminium Wood Without Worry, and engineered wood known as Onewood HRT. See our Engineered Wood: Onewood HRT brochure or book a presentation. What is engineered wood?Onewood HRT (Homogeneous Reconstituted Timber) is a solid engineered timber, made from fast-growing FSC certified poplar and eucalyptus fibres that are compressed under heat and pressure with a resin binder. It is solid throughout with an organic grain and, like real hardwood, can be sanded to refresh. Street Furniture Australia partners with a Singapore-based …
Joy Through The Wall – Pink Seesaws Connect US-Mexico Communities: Architectural studio Rael San Fratello has installed three pink seesaws, or teetertotters, between the metal slats of the US-Mexico border wall, so people on either side can play together. Ronald Rael, who runs Rael San Fratello with architect Virginia San Fratello, posted images and videos of the installation on Instagram. The equipment was installed between El Paso in Texas and Ciudad Juárez in Mexico, in an opening event of “joy, excitement, and togetherness” says Rael. It has been one of the “most incredible experiences” of the duo’s careers, he writes in the post. “The wall became a literal fulcrum for US-Mexico relations and children and adults were connected in meaningful ways on both sides with the recognition that the actions …
Public punching bags placed around New York City: A US design studio, donttakethisthewrongway (dtttww), has installed bright yellow punching bags throughout New York City to help relieve tension and stress among residents. The bags were introduced in May at New York City Design Week in attempts to stop people from taking their frustrations out on each other. “The concept explores designing common spaces for the frustrations we all face. Frustrations that go beyond designed systems and happen, well, because we are human,” the design studio said. “The public punching bag offers an outlet for these emotions as a means to maybe develop a healthier way to address personal and collective issues in a public setting.” New Yorkers passing by tipped their hats to dtttww, welcoming the installation with fists and …
Norman Foster is 84 and he Instagrams better than you: Norman Foster only began to casually upload photos to Instagram in 2017. But don’t be fooled by his short tenure on the social media platform, writes ArchDaily. What makes his feed more charming, they say, than Bjarke Ingels’, more impressive that Richard Branson’s, is a mix of je ne sais quoi, athletic prowess, and a taste of ‘he’s just like us!’ Foster posts behind-the-scenes images that reflect a full life – of exercising, spending time with family and taking holidays – as well as working. If we are moving beyond the age of ‘cults of personality’ cultivated by the media, say ArchDaily, “it’s fascinating to see Norman Foster take full advantage of the one-to-one relationship between public figure and the …
