2011
"Ferropolis, "the city of iron" is an open museum of old huge industrial machines in Gräfenhainichen, a city near Dessau, Germany. It's an open air museum which contains machines from the mid-twentieth century. They can measure to 30 meters high, 120 meters long and weigh up to 1980 tons. Moreover, the area is used for several events like opera or music festival like the Melt! festival or the "Ferropolis in Flammen"." - Wikipedia
Another video of the flying fabrication system developed by Gramazio and Kohler and Raffaello D'Andrea at ETH, with a further information available from the ETH website.
Some more interesting stuff coming out of Raffaello D'Andrea ETH research group
"20 Hz observes a geo-magnetic storm occurring in the Earth's upper atmosphere. Working with data collected from the CARISMA radio array and interpreted as audio, we hear tweeting and rumbles caused by incoming solar wind, captured at the frequency of 20 Hertz. Generated directly by the sound, tangible and sculptural forms emerge suggestive of scientific visualisations. As different frequencies interact both visually and aurally, complex patterns emerge to create interference phenomena that probe the limits of our perception."
20 Hz from Semiconductor on Vimeo.
This is a film where the camera is constantly in motion, with sweeping balletic long takes, crane and hand held shots, tracking shots, including some over and down the side of buildings, through cane fields, into swimming pools, around packed night clubs, even hovering and moving along high over a street in the middle of a packed funeral procession - all without the usual cutting. I estimate the average length of a take in this film at about 2 - 3 minutes, a figure rare and astonishing these days, even with the benefit of steadicams - but jaw dropping given the still-unwieldy equipment they were surely using in 1964. In particular one or two large scale sequences must have taken days, if not weeks, to prepare, and presumably needed government marshaling to choreograph. (Ironically, whether or not the film makers intended it, the liberated camera work on display here reflects the notion of revolutionary freedom far more than the actual story vignettes.)
The film itself is shot in high contrast gleaming black and white, favouring wide angle lenses, and with a constant deep focus that reminded me of Greg Toland's work for Welles or some of James Wong Howes' work. Kalatozov's use of a handful of character 'types' throughout recalls Eisenstein's (and in fact there is a faint reference to his the Odessa Steps sequence in 'Battleship Potemkin' at one point when the revolutionary rioters march down some steps), but the effect here is far more sensual and lyrical. (Among the professional actors, Sergio Corrieri also appears in the better-known Memories of Underdevelopment). The film's 'artiness' is undeniably a distraction from the message of struggle, and to the original viewers the beautiful images must have been a long way from reality in the New Cuba.
(karagarga)
Max de Esteban take's apart obsolete products photographs them and reconstructs them digitally with the photos
(Notcot.org)
An insight in to Douglas Trumbull's mind, inventions and techniques
IMDB writes:
Everyone knows this was Natalie Wood's last film, and that some of her scenes were filmed after her death with a stand-in you only see from behind. Director Dondald Trumball, best known for his special effects work in Blade Runner, Close Enounters, a Star Trek, chose this time to build his story on plot and character development, a good choice given the enormous talent he had to work with.
Trumball's battle with studio execs to finish the film after Wood's death, rather than claim the insurance proceeds and call the film off, ended his career in Hollywood, but assured that this gem would not be lost. It is somewhat ironic that Natalie's swan song should be a sci-fi movie, since she was hardly known for work in the genre, but she brings a grace and charm, as well as depth and beauty, to the genre that is usually lacking.
Most sci-fi films based on technology don't age well, and there are times where this is no exception. The idea of recording on tape, let alone making tape loops, must seem like wax cylinder recordings to today's MP3 generation. The tapes themselves were props borrowed from a film being shot nearby, and that film was itself a dismal failure. But the concept is timeless, and so well done that, all in all, the film still works as well as it did in 1983.
Two Nuns Bike by Ron Arad from Dezeen on Vimeo.
"The Eternal Frame is an examination of the role that the media plays in the creation of (post) modern historical myths. For T.R. Uthco and Ant Farm, the iconic event that signified the ultimate collusion of historical spectacle and media image was the assassination of President Kennedy in 1963. The work begins with an excerpt from the only filmed record of Kennedy's assassination: Super-8 footage shot by Abraham Zapruder, a bystander on the parade route."
also other really interesting film by same group + Alva Altos Doc is worth watching
http://www.tarynsimon.com/works_innocents.php
The Innocents documents the stories of individuals who served time in prison for violent crimes they did not commit. At issue is the question of photography's function as a credible eyewitness and arbiter of justice.
"German designer Markus Kayser has built a 3D-printing machine that uses sunlight and sand to make glass objects in the desert"
An excessive use of the laser cutter but incredible:
http://www.fastcodesign.com/1663306/the-worlds-most-complex-architecture-cardboard-columns-with-16-million-facets#1
Some essential viewing on BBC's iplayer, relating to sculpture.
romancing the stone: the golden ages of british sculpture
Thanks Eman!
For me, architecture gets really exciting when people start borrowing technologies from other disciplines, and incorporate them into projects. This japanese company has milled an aluminium motorbike helmet from a solid block of aluminium on their dynamic 5 axis machine- pretty sweet motion, and hopefully a flavour of things to come in the B... a lot of ally swarf left over though..
Posted on
February 18, 2011
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New journal edited by Shaun Murray - may already be available at the AA bookshop.
video from related conference here (inc. liquid factory...)
"Design Ecologies foregrounds the inextricable connection between human communication and ecological accountability in architectural design. This burgeoning field has the potential to become a far-reaching discipline, bonding a community that crosses over into and out of architecture, environment, interaction, urbanism, and performing arts and communication.
Through original design exploration ranging in scale, the journal will proffer a critical vision towards the built environment, and promote ecological transitions within local and global contexts. It will challenge the everyday emerging practices of architectural design by offering a transdisciplinary framework for design production."
here - thankyou alex
Forthcoming conference on Adaptive Architecture at the Building Centre, 3rd-5th March 2011. Featuring Chuck Hoberman keynote speech, plus much more. Coincides with their Living Form exhibition which sounds pretty essential.
theransomprocess - Jose
projektion - Thias
variabledimensions - Emma
madhavkidao - Madhav
makedrawsleep - David
peakerpeaker - Peaker
michelleflam - Michelle
deepwrecks - Biggie
tmhrvy - Tom
jefffab5 - Jeff
danielgoodacre - Dan G
tekton2000 - Thomas
heathermacey - Heather