Windstalk. Competition Entry. Masdar. U.A.E. Atelier DNA. 2010

Our project consists of 1203 stalks, 55 meters high, anchored on the ground with concrete bases that range between 10 to 20 meters in diameter. The stalks are made of carbon fiber reinforced resin poles, 30 cm in diameter at the base and 5 cm at the top. The top 50 cm of the poles are lit up by an LED lamp that glows and dims depending on how much the poles are swaying in the wind. When there is no wind–when the poles are still–the lights go dark.
Within each hollow pole is a stack of piezoelectric ceramic discs. Between the ceramic disks are electrodes. Every other electrode is connected to each other by a cable that reaches from top to bottom of each pole. One cable connects the even electrodes, and another cable connects the odd ones. When the wind sways the poles, the stack of piezoelectric disks is forced into compression, thus generating a current through the electrodes.

http://atelierdna.com/?p=144

Bad Ass: Vardzia

Vardzia is a ruined honeycomb of arched passageways and artificially enlarged caves on a steep mountainside in Georgia. It is on a "tentative list" for UNESCO World Heritage status.

From bldg blog.

Today: Picture books from 1810 to 1950

A total of six hundred and fifty Dutch picture books, dating to the period 1810–1950, are brought together in this collection, which runs the gamut from Robinson Crusoe to Tielse Flipje (a cartoon mascot on ‘De Betuwe’ jam pot labels) and from old nursery rhymes to fairy tales from the Brothers Grimm: there is something for everyone in the collection.

from the Memory of the Netherlands.

Architect | Artist: Margaret Bursa

featured in bldgblog

Design: Graphkin

How much do I love this graph paper napkin? So much so that I am reduced to asking myself rhetorical questions.

Not today but someday: My own flag

If I ever become (choose adjective: rich, famous, lucky, killer-skilled) enough to have my own (choose: country, island, street), my flag will look something like this one from the Benin Empire, a pre-colonial African state situated in modern Nigeria that lasted from 1440 until 1897.

Maybe by then they'll have animated fabric (Harry Potter style) and there will be slicing-head action!

via kottke.

Today: Werner Herzog's Rogue Film School

Werner Herzog is opening a film school. Lucky students will get to meet with him in a hotel room and...learn about life.

From their About the School page.

8. Related, but more practical subjects, will be the art of lockpicking. Traveling on foot. The exhilaration of being shot at unsuccessfully. The athletic side of filmmaking. The creation of your own shooting permits. The neutralization of bureaucracy. Guerrilla tactics. Self reliance.


9. Censorship will be enforced. There will be no talk of shamans, of yoga classes, nutritional values, herbal teas, discovering your Boundaries, and Inner Growth.

and
11. Follow your vision. Form secretive Rogue Cells everywhere. At the same time, be not afraid of solitude.

Design: Oogst Wonderland 1000 by Tjep

I love this.

from Dezeen.

Things that make me happy:

Karl Lagerfeld's Twitter feed.

Video: Pogo

profile at last.fm (non-English)

Artist: Amelia Bauer

I like this.

Waiting for Elmo

This would have been helpful senior year of high school, Mr. Hanlon's English Honors class. Maybe I wouldn't have gotten a 'D' on my paper about that stupid, stupid play. I actually could have written ten meaningful pages on this Sesame Street version of "Waiting for Godot."

Music: Flight of the Conchords "Carole Brown" (Choir of Ex-Girlfriends)

Today: I have the cape. I make the whoosh noises.

Music: Lykke Li covers Kings of Leon's "Knocked Up"

Exclusive Video of Lykke Li Covering Kings of Leon Live in KNRK studio from Dave Allen on Vimeo.

Today: Change

Third party content on the White House site is protected by a Creative Commons License. The government is finally catching up. High hopes for this term. It's the little things that show.

From the site:
Copyright Notice

Pursuant to federal law, government-produced materials appearing on this site are not copyright protected. The United States Government may receive and hold copyrights transferred to it by assignment, bequest, or otherwise.

Except where otherwise noted, third-party content on this site is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License. Visitors to this website agree to grant a non-exclusive, irrevocable, royalty-free license to the rest of the world for their submissions to Whitehouse.gov under the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.

Architecture: Sayama Flats by Schemata Architecture Office

Awesomeness