Smokers gonna smoke, even if the decades-old War Against Cigarettes has exiled the persecuted puffers to outdoor shelters where no one wants to linger.

Forever A Logan

Someone oughta point out how disturbingly inappropriate it is to display a “SKYJACK” company logo at Boston’s Logan Airport… just don’t mention it when you’re lined up at Security. That said, this rather passive-aggressively designed “Designated Smoking Area” ironically demands users be considerate with their refuse, while the design reflects a bare minimum of consideration for smokers’ comfort and privacy. Flickr member Wil C. Fry snapped the bare-bones smoking shelter in late June of 2014.

Green Deal

Contrast Logan Airport’s glorified bus stop with the much more welcoming set-up above. You’d thing they WANT smokers to stick around… and you would be correct, because the Smoking Area above is an extension of a British pub. Comfort is a relative thing, however, and one wonders how these open-air nicotine nooks will fare over the average inclement English winter… and spring, summer and fall. Flickr member Gordon Joly took the photo above outside a pub in Westferry, London, in July of 2007.

Unfiltered

This abandoned, overgrown and partially-collapsed smoking shelter in Sunnyside, NY appears to have been erected on a roadside – if that’s indeed the end of a yellow guard rail we spy just outside the entrance. We’re not sure why anyone would use this shelter other than to take cover from a sudden storm, which may partly explain why it’s in such a neglected state… of repair, not of the Union. Flickr member Jason Eppink stopped by for a snapshot in June of 2013.

On Location

The long-running (since December of 1960) British TV soap Coronation Street has long-featured scenes shot in the smoking shelter above, proving that even the venerable Rovers Return Inn’s gotta follow the law of the land. When Flickr member Mikey visited the “Corrie” set in Manchester in late August of 2014, he made a point of sneaking ’round the back of the pub to check out – and likely test out – this most famous of smoking shelters.

Inhales In Wales

Smoking may be tightly regulated nowadays but smoking shelter design remains remarkably rule-free. Thus, for every miserable minimalist lean-to there’ll be a sumptuously furnished sanctuary like the hexagonal hut above. Flickr member Permacultural photographed this ornate refuge in March of 2012 while visiting the Artist’s Valley in Furnace, Wales. No doubt one might be tempted to take up smoking just to enjoy the rustic roost’s cloying creature comforts!

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Cough Inns 10 Smoking Shelters That Really Kick Butts

The abandoned Cresson Tuberculosis Sanatorium once housed TB patients seeking relief and recuperation amidst Pennsylvania’s rugged Allegheny Mountains.

Sanatoriums (not to be confused with sanitariums, San Antonio or Santeria) were the “in” thing back in the dark days before antibiotics. These collegial care homes away from home offered tuberculosis sufferers fresh air, bright sunlight and balanced nutrition – beneficial even if one wasn’t inflicted by “consumption”. Often located in mountainous or desert settings, sanatoriums also served to segregate the infected away from the uninfected… a time-honored practice applied to lepers and the mentally ill. Dude, harsh – welcome to the good old days!

In For The Long Hall

The so-called “sanatorium movement” originated in mid-nineteenth century Europe with Switzerland being a popular site due to its abundance of brisk Alpine air. As not everyone could afford treatment overseas, Americans looked to their own backyards to approximate the Swiss sanatorium experience. The year 1885 saw the first American sanatorium open in the New York Adirondacks town of Saranac. By 1900 there were 34 American sanatoriums and by 1925 that number had skyrocketed to 536.

A Cool Reception

The Cresson Tuberculosis Sanatorium opened in the midst of this clinical building boom.”The San”, as staff nicknamed it, was situated in Cambrian County, Pennsylvania, on land generously donated by wealthy steel tycoon and noted philanthropist Andrew Carnegie.

A Clean Sweep

The town of Cresson sits roughly 2,000 feet above sea level in the Allegheny Mountains of western Pennsylvania. Though only 80-odd miles east of Pittsburgh, Cresson’s relative isolation contributed to the four years required to build the sanatorium, which finally opened in 1916.

That Sinking Feeling

Tuberculosis – known as “The White Death” – was once one of the leading causes of mortality in the United States. In 1882 the disease’s cause (infection by the bacterium Mycobacterium tuberculosis) was discovered but it wasn’t until 1921 that an effective vaccine was developed. Meanwhile, sanatoriums thrived though many of their patients did not, living out the balance of their shortened lives in the palliative care of dedicated staff.

Switches Brew

The Cresson Tuberculosis Sanatorium had a good run as such institutions go, closing in 1964. That may seem surprisingly recent but CTS wasn’t the last holdout, not by a long shot: the A. G. Holley State Hospital (opened in 1950 as the Southeast Florida Tuberculosis Hospital) closed on July 2nd of 2012 and was demolished in November of 2014.

Steps To Recovery?

Circumstances conspired to shield the Cresson Tuberculosis Sanatorium from the wrecking ball. After its official closure in 1964, the sanatorium was repurposed as the Lawrence Frick State Hospital (a government-run mental health hospital) and carried on as such until 1984. Subsequently, and following some security modifications, the facility re-opened in 1987 as a prison (State Correctional Institution – Cresson) that closed in 2013.

Caught Red Handled

The current state of the former Cresson Tuberculosis Sanatorium ranges from mildly deteriorated to post-apocalyptic, depending on which areas were most recently used. Flickr member Thomas (Thomas James Caldwell) visited the facility in April of 2018 and although we’ve only posted his haunting images of the sanatorium’s interior, other areas of the complex can be viewed at his photostream. Hopefully Caldwell wore a face mask – although TB bacteria can survive in a dry state for mere weeks, dust from flaking lead-based paint is forever.

Historically, zoos have been both productive and problematic for the animals they house, in some cases advocating for and publicizing real issues faced by species but also criticized for locking them up in inadequate captive conditions.

Designers from dozens of countries submitted fresh ideas to the Coexist: Rethinking Zoos architecture competition, pitching non-intrusive paths, virtual exhibits and, above all, keeping the health and wellbeing of animals in mind as well as scientific learning and public education.

The winning proposal integrates its zoo into the fabric of the surrounding city rather than isolating it as a standalone institution. Instead of fencing animals in a park, it stretches out to form more natural and organic environments. It also rethinkings the kinds of interfaces and edge conditions that can and should exist between humans and various species.

In various entries, the basic relationship of observer and observed is challenged, giving visitors different windows into the lives of animals while also seeking to provide inhabitants with better places to live, play and interact. 

These strategies also recall an inverted zoo design proposed by BIG in which animals surround humans (rather than the other way around). And while there may not be a one-size-fits all solution to the problems posed by zoos, at least some designers are beginning to rethink the question of the role and function from the ground up.

Life’s stressful enough without our stress relief balls freaking us out yet the more we squeeze these creepy stress aids, the more anxious we get.

Caomaru means “round face” in Japanese, and these pliable polyurethane resin stress relief balls come in four different molded expressions. If you’ve ever wanted to go full Kids In The Hall’s “Head Crusher” (or “Face Pincher” if you prefer) with an actual crushable/pinchable head/face, Caomaru is the stress relief ball for you!

Caomaru comes in a variety of pastel hues including black and beige (for you equal-opportunity haters), and they clean up easily with a little soap and water. You’ll never scrub the stains off your soul, however.

The Terrible Horriball

They say conquering anxiety is all about facing one’s fears… said whomever thought up the Horriball. “When your victim gives this seemingly innocent stress ball a squeeze,” according to The Greenhead, “clear bubbles filled with flies, rats, worms, or cockroaches covered in a bloody-looking liquid pop out of the holes!” Yeah, we’ll just keep our anxiety and leave now, mmkay?

Weakened At Bernie’s

Aww, isn’t that cute, DC Universe character Harley Quinn has a cuddly taxidermied and possibly zombified beaver named Bernie who speaks only to her… don’t you want one too? You might change your mind after getting up close & personal with the sticky icky Bernie “action figure”, part of the Designer Series from DC Collectibles.

This Bernie figure doesn’t talk but he does have one distinct talent, if you can call it that: when squeezed, a bloated bubble of guts bulges out from his mangled midriff. Relax your now-trembling fingers and the freaky fistula retreats back inside Bernie’s belly. Rinse, repeat, see a psychologist.

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Squeeze Play 9 Weird Bizarre Stress Relief Balls

Tech Tats use conductive inks to create a circuit board right on your skin, providing a passive and unobtrusive alternative to standard wearables. Smartwatches and fitness trackers tend to stand out (worn on wrists or around necks) and need to be taken off and put back on daily, whereas these tats (while temporary) can be applied indefinitely.

The wearable can be used to monitor body temperature, blood pressure, stress levels and heart rate, then transmit data wirelessly to a mobile app or computer.

Lying effectively flat against the surface of your skin, these complete circuits are easy to conceal or reveal depending on whether or not you want to show off your ink.

The DIY-friendly design uses LED lights, a microcontroller and conductive ink – for now, the result is intentionally temporary, but permanently-inked versions could work as well.

The applications are numerous, starting with medical but expanding to financial as well as other identification-oriented use cases. A wearable wallet could be tied to your banking information, for example, or you could apply a Tech Tat to your child during an outing to a busy place, providing an easy way to track them in case you get separated. Chaotic Moon is currently developing both the wearable circuitry tech as well as related applications.