The Unisphere!

I finally made the trek out to Flushing Meadows Corona Park, the site of the 20th Century World's Fair, where I saw The Unisphere, and some other strange alien buildings.  The theme of the fair, back in 1964, was"Peach Through Understanding" and dedicated to "Man's Achievement on a Shrinking Globe in an Expanding Universe."  

 

Seeing the colossal spherical structure and connecting with the theme of the fair was rejuvenating and gave me the inspiration I was looking for last week.

Beach Architecture

As the weather turns cold here in New York, I like to look back at my favorite impromptu beach structures to remind me that it will be hot again soon.

Old, Hidden, Crumbling

Midwest Landscape

I went to visit my folks in Ohio.  I always get a window seat so I can observe the drastic change in landscape from New York to Ohio.  The big open flat plains of the Midwest are so peaceful and quiet, especially on a misty rainy day like this one, and a welcome respite from New York City.

Landscapes of Extraction

I finally went to go see this show, Landscapes of Extraction, on view at Cooper Union, at the Arthur A. Houghton Jr. Gallery, an exhibit of photography by J Henry Fair of the devastation wreaked on our planet by the fossil fuels industry. Its only on view for another week, but you must go see it while you have the chance.  The photos are powerful, and we need to spread the word about what is happening to our planet!

The show was put together by the Cooper Union Institute for Sustainable Design, of whom my former professor Kevin Bone (and New York waterway expert) is the director, and the Irwin S. Chanin School of Architecture. 

Columbus Circle Self Portrait

  

I look pretty angry in this photo, but I think its just because the sun was in my eyes. 

Shanghai, 1990 vs. 2010

 

 photo via the daily what

Harlem River Urban Agrarian Center

Usually by this point in the semester I have posted a lot more about the progression of my project.  For some reason this semester I'm going to keep you hanging till the end, and then bombard you with all of the amazingness that the final project is.

As you already know from a previous post, about the basic program of the project, and you have already seen some of my conceptual investigations here, I now present you with some beautiful photos of the actual site, located in University Heights, The Bronx, near Fordham University, right on the Harlem River.

I love this one with the old tires submerged in the water.

On The Road To Murchison

There are a few things you need on a good road trip:

Bananas of course.

Some quality reading, such as the Red Pepper.

A really good trusty hat.

And of course, other friendly travelers.

Don't forget to eat some meat-on-a-stick on the way.

Big Bird

Finally, I finished this painting! More here.

Its acrylic on clay board, each piece is 5"x7".

Rooftop Beach

One of the nice things about summer in New York is that you can usually find a nice flat roof with a great view to substitute as a private beach when you can't make it out to a real one... This happens to be the roof of my building, which as you can see, has a really nice view of the Williamsburg Bridge to the left (and if you look really closely you can see the Manhattan and Brooklyn bridges AND the Statue of Liberty in the distance) and of Manhattan to the right.

Park in the Air!

Ever since I saw the model of this at the MOMA New York over a year (or two?) ago, I have been waiting and waiting and reading updates and emails and waiting some more for the opening of The High Line. In case you don't already know, The High Line is a park that is being built on top of the already existing unused elevated train tracks along the west side of mid-Manhattan, and part of it is scheduled to open this summer. The Sundance Channel's website is now featuring a series of digital shorts about this park in the air, featuring everyone from architects, to journalists, to celebrities that have been involved over the last few years. Above is one of them, click here to see the rest.

Cube House

This is an idea for a house I'd like to design and build one day. The pool, on the roof of the first floor, is completely transparent, creating a skylight, and also allows you to see the people swimming above your head from the room below.

(Please excuse the horrible state of the materials and grass and everything...I made this when I was just learning the software - 3d Studio Max - and how to apply materials and lighting.)