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Flying People Zoom Through the Sky in Manhattan

Steph — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 18:00:07 +0000

If you saw human figures zooming through the sky – just flying on their own, with no parachutes or jet packs apparent – what would go through your mind? Would you think you were losing it? Believe that superheroes really do exist? Fear that it was part of some kind of bizarre terrorist attack, give the location near the Statue of Liberty in New York City?

The Manhattanites who witnessed the display of flying people might have thought any one of those things. Or, they might have realized that the figures aren’t real, and that they must be part of some kind of art project.

In fact, they’re human-shaped RC planes, and the stunt is a viral marketing effort for the upcoming superhero movie, ‘Chronicle.’ Marketing or not, the video is incredible, and it would have been amazing to see it in person.

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City-Shaped Design: 13 Urban-Inspired Objects

Steph — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 18:00:02 +0000

Despite the crowded sidewalks, the cacophony of traffic and the sky-high cost of living, there’s no denying the romanticism and sheer energy of big cities like New York, Paris, London and Tokyo. And within those cities, even in the most run-down back alleys, there’s a certain gritty beauty. See the qualities and aesthetics that inspire fierce loyalty in urbanites brought to everyday objects in these 13 cool city-shaped and urban-inspired designs.

City Water: Bottles with Neighborhood Maps

(images via: samal design)

Product designer Dzmitry Samal came up with the concept for ‘City Water’, a water bottle printed with a map of the city from which the water was sourced. Considering that many bottled water companies aren’t exactly forthcoming about their sources – even using terminology that calls springs to mind, despite the fact that the water came from municipal sources – a bottle like this would provide a refreshing splash of honesty.

Urban Metrobowls: Street-Shaped Metal Serving Bowls

(images via: roije)

Organic yet structured, city grids can be quite visually interesting, so it’s nice to see them put proudly on display. Designer Frederik Joije creates free-form serving bowls shaped like the relatively rounded city of Amsterdam, and also the elongated fish-like Manhattan island.

Cut-Out Maps by Karen O’Leary

(images via: studio kmo)

Artist Karen O’Leary painstakingly cuts amazingly detailed maps of New York, Paris and London into delicate paper webs. O’Leary removes all land and water so that only the streets are left. “These maps reveal the density and delicacy of a modern city with a single element and infinite subtleties.”

Urban Drift Desk Organizer

(images via: mocoloco)

This desk organizer by Rob Southcott is shaped like a miniature skyline, an ideal addition to the desk of a proud urbanite. “This small anonymous city skyline is a useful space to store a variety of day to day objects. Placing items in amongst the cites skyscrapers helps you organize and store your belongings.”

Cats Attack! Scratching Post

(images via: think geek)

Any cat can become the star of your own little B-movie with the geektastic Cats Attack! scratching post, shaped like three urban towers in a cityscape. ThinkGeek even has quite an amazing little story to go with the product. “The year was 1954, and the top three concerns in the United States were as follows: Atom bombs destroying our cities, communists turning our citizenry into mindless zombies, and atomic zombie cats destroying our cities. Though you may not find records of it in the local newspapers (it was classified, hello?), cats were herded into great camps for study, just in case one or more of them mutated into horrifying beasts.”

“These cats, embittered by their experiences, never forgot the mistreatment they received. So now, they watch. Always vigilant. They wait for their opportunity to attack. They wait and train. They skulk and sneak, climb and leap, slash bite and scratch. Often, they practice their scratching with any available vertical surface – usually your furniture. This practice often destroys the things you love. Cats don’t care. It’s all part of their master plan.”

Power Strip with a Mini City

(images via: spoon-tamago)

This is one power strip that you’d want to display, not hide away. Topped with a miniature Japanese street, complete with a delicate little tree, the power strip was created for the 2010 graduate show at the Kyoto University of Art and Design.

Robber Baron Clock by Studio Job

(images via: moss gallery)

Referring to the bankers and industrialists who played big roles in the industrial revolution at the end of the 19th century, the ‘Robber Baron’ series by Studio Job includes this awesome clock, a model of a mansion ‘supported by gilded oil barrels’.

Historic City View Handkerchiefs by MUJI

(images via: muji.us)

Wear your love for the world’s greatest cities around your neck or in your pocket. Japan’s MUJI design offers handkerchiefs printed with historic maps of Tokyo, New York and Paris from the 19th century.

City-Shaped Ring Designs by Phillipe Tournaire

(images via: phillipe tournaire)

Wear your love for architecture on your finger with platinum or gold diamond rings shaped like buildings. Parisian jeweler Philippe Tournaire recreates structures from around the world including his home city, Moscow, New York and more, and has even made replicas of entire city blocks.

Metropolis: Household Objects Shaped Like Skyscrapers

(images via: design milk)

Design firm Lladro offers a series of functional objects including mirrors, boxes, vases and lamps all in the shape of buildings inspired by Moorish, Art Deco and other styles of architecture.

Children’s House-Shaped Blocks

(images via: gretel home)

These simple stacking blocks from Japan’s Landscape Products are so much cooler and more elegant than plastic building blocks, and they’ll tempt parents into playing, too.

City Landscape Pen Stands by Muji

(images via: muji.us)

This cute wooden cityscape functions as both eye-catching decor and a pen-and-stationery stand. MUJI offers the choice of three iconic cities: Tokyo, Paris and New York.

Miniature Cities Within Cities by EVOL

(images via: evoltaste)

Berlin-based street artist EVOL transforms electric boxes, planters and other mundane objects seen around cities worldwide into fascinating miniature metropolises of their own. Appearing in the most unexpected places, EVOL’s tiny buildings even have tiny little curtains in the windows, and in some cases, miniature graffiti on the walls.

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Billboard House: Reclaiming Sky-High Commercial Space

Steph — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 18:00:13 +0000

Some billboards are just begging to be subverted, while others take us by surprise with their creativity and ingenuity. But whether you hate these humongous advertising platforms or think they’re an important part of modern society, billboards probably aren’t going away anytime soon. That’s why design team Apostrophy’s has attempted to make them more multi-purpose with the intriguing Billboard House.

Currently on display in Bangkok, Thailand for the Baan Iae Suan Fair, ‘Billboard House’ preserves the current advertising function of billboards, but adds an extra element: an elevated private domicile. Apostrophy’s explains that all three parties would benefit from this arrangement: the advertisers and billboard agencies who still get what they need out of the billboard, and the owner/dweller, who gets an extra income from the advertising rent.

The multi-story home is surprisingly spacious, and the views certainly can’t be beat. Rather than a conventional billboard post, the home sits on a trailer base that enables it to be moved when necessary. Solar cells on the roof provide energy, and the rails offer space to grow hydroponic plants.

While not everyone would be crazy about having their home plastered with ads (especially if those ads were offensive or objectionable), such an arrangement democratizes the space that is currently given over to advertisig in cramped urban locations, making smart use of it. That is, as long as these homes are replacing existing billboards and not just adding even more visual clutter.

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Abandoned Hollywood Theater Hidden Above NY Shop

Steph — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 18:00:09 +0000

As a bodega in New York’s East Village closes and questions arise about the historical building’s fate, a photographer has captured a hidden gem located on the floor above the shop: an abandoned theater, which was in operation between 1926 and 1959. The photos, by Kevin Shea Adams, show what has become of Avenue A Theater above East Village Farm.

The exterior, which is a blank wall of windowless brick, gives little clues as to what may be inside, but neighborhood residents who remembered the old theater longed to get a glimpse of what might remain.

Adams’ photos reveal that the theater has been in use as a functional store room for the bodega. Ornate details like ceiling tins and relief carvings contrast with pallets covered in cardboard boxes. Without attention and restoration, the theater has inevitably fallen into disrepair. Sadly, as the bodega closes, the owners of the building reportedly plan to demolish the whole structure to make way for new development.

Another person who got to see the inside told EV Grieve, “I’m not sure the building is worth saving—the cool parts of it seem really run down and unusable—but the ornate period works need to be preserved as best as they can. I would love to have a theater there, but I suspect it’s headed for new housing.”

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RedBall Project Takes Interactive Urban Art on Tour

Steph — Fri, 30 Dec 2011 18:00:38 +0000

Jarringly out-of-place in Abu Dhabi’s Emirates Palace and the St. Peter Mancroft Church in Norwich, England, a massive inflatable red ball perches on balconies, squeezes through doorways and hovers above the streets. The RedBall Project by Kurt Perschke has taken the sphere to public places around the world, providing a fun interactive experience.

(top image via: personnel people; above images via: leo reynolds, imaginethis55)

Coming upon the ball squeezed into an alleyway in the town of Norwich or lodged between buildings above a bridge in Chicago, you can’t help but feel a childlike sense of delight. In addition to the cities named, the RedBall project has traveled to Taipei, Grand Rapids, Toronto, Portland, Sydney, Barcelona and St. Louis as well as Scottsdale, Arizona.

(images via: rob andrews, grdadof3)

“Through the RedBall Project I utilize my opportunity as an artist to be a catalyst for new encounters within the everyday. Through the magnetic, playful, and charismatic nature of the RedBall the work is able to access the imagination embedded in all of us. On the surface, the experience seems to be about the ball itself as an object, but the true power of the project is what it can create for those who experience it. It opens a doorway to imagine what if?”

(images via: leo reynolds, harry harris)

“As RedBall travels around the world people approach me on the street with excited suggestions about where to put it in their city. In that moment the person is not a spectator but a participant in the act of imagination.”

(images via: kenneth spencer, redball project)

See more photos at RedBallProject.com or at the RedBall Flickr pool.