Polemic

It seems like a very long time since I've seen an architectural project with any degree of political content or a committed polemical position. Via BldgBlog comes information about a project by Viktor Ramos of Rice University consisting of a provocative architectural solution to the Palestinian-Israel impasse - a bypass.

His scheme proposes a series of spaces which weave under- and overground to form what he terms 'The Continuous Enclave'. The scheme reminds me of Lebbeus Woods' work from the 80's, but with a technocratic machine aesthetic in place of the steampunk feel of Woods. Great to see architecture used in this way again.

More hi-res images are available on Ramos' flickerset.

Rubbing

Rub-down Letraset people are now in the 'vintage' section of eBay, and I remember just how precious each person was on that thin sheet of plastic.

Taking a biro and laying the sheet over the drawing, we would rub over the image, then tentatively lift the sheet hoping that we did not amputate, de-hat or otherwise emasculate the individual concerned. By the time we were porting the last person into drafting immortality, we had a shrivelled and curled mess, from which it was frankly unlikely the character would transfer unscathed.

Happy days.

Cards II

The business card is to graphic design what the chair is to the product designer, or the house extension is to the architect: a testbed for new ideas. This site neatly condenses innovations as they arise and publishes them in a simple unfussy manner. Worth a detour if you are considering ways to catch someone's eye within the restriction of an 85x55mm rectangle.

Optimism

From an abandoned property in Wood Street, Liverpool, a strangely satisfying graph, complete with X- and Y-axis subdivisions.

The person who was given the job of boarding up the windows it seems couldn't be bothered to cut the timbers to the right length, especially as they were so close to being right. The job they are doing is simple - to make bill-posting too awkward to be worthwhile. Graffiti is erased in white to the extent of the highest batten.

Anyhow, the good news is that the graph appears to be based on an optimistic dataset, despite economic, empirical and visual evidence to the contrary. I guess that's Liverpool.

Fun

The usual misgivings about whether kitsch is an acceptable way for a seaside town to ply its trade on a trip to Southport today. In half-term week, it was bustling and lively, despite a February chill. The Ocean Terminal development seems to be a sad case of regeneration opportunism - a retail park flown in from somewhere, with wavy canopies applied to make the dull portal sheds appear 'contextual'.

However the fine Victorian iron canopies and the boulevard of Lord Street provide a memorable backbone for the town, and the recent public realm works show a commendable commitment to quality. With geography also in its favour when compared to Morecambe or Fleetwood, it is one of those seaside towns which with a fair wind (and on a clear day) we should see making a full recovery. I'll be back.

Conveyor

"A film is never really any good unless the camera is an eye in the head of a poet." (Orson Welles)

I liked the everyday simplicity of this video - a couple of bored diners send their camera round a sushi carousel with a wistful song laid over the top.

Craft

Apparently, the key to knitting is knotting. Alternatively, it is finding the holes and tying wool around them.

This is a transformational process of taking beautiful 2d textural planes, folding and stitching them around a 3d form (me, if I'm lucky), using only 1d dyed filament. Magical.