Scottish artist David Mach is best known for his sculptural installations and surreal collages, but his largest work yet turns a heap of 36 red shipping containers into a new arts and event space in Edinburgh. Named Mach1, the unusual building is a collaboration with architecture studio Dixon Jones, and will add a new point of interest to an undeveloped corner of Edinburgh Park, a 43-acre business park masterplanned by American architect Richard Meier.

The shape of the new building takes inspiration from piles of rocks on the Fife coastline, the color of nearby Forth Bridge and the industrial heritage of the area. Once completed, Mach 1 will stand 15 meters (about 49 feet) high and stretch 50 meters (about 164 feet) at its longest point. Inside, visitors will find a coffee bar and double-height exhibition space used to showcase the Edinburgh Park masterplan through drawings, information boards and scale models.

The project’s developers and investors, Parabola, plan to use the space as a marketing office for the complex as well as a flexible event venue. Construction on Mach1 is set to begin early next year, while other new developments in the park, like a new public square, offices, shops, restaurants and sports and leisure facilities are in various stages of planning and construction.

““I was already working with Pangolin on a few ideas with shipping containers when this opportunity came up,” says Mach in an interview with Edinburgh News. “I seem to have become an accidental architect with this, which I’m sure architects will have something to say about. But it’s not a pretend thing – it’s a real piece of architecture.”

“Shipping containers are really interesting to me architecturally. They are really honest and are also really familiar to people. They also go all over the world. But this will be different to anything else that has been built of them before, which is what you really want as an artist.”

“We’re still working out whether every bit of it will be from real shipping containers, but it will have to look as if they are all real containers and it will be very strong. You should be able to drive a tank over it. I think people will look at it and think they have seen it before, like a king of Inca thing you’d find hacking your way through the jungle.”

The leap from sculpture to architecture might seem unexpected, but this isn’t the first time Mach has experimented with shipping containers. Previously, the artist has incorporated them into sculptures like Sydney’s “It Take Two” and “The Temple at Tyre.”

Without touching a single stone in the ruins of a 17th century farmhouse in Scotland, two architects managed to incorporate it exactly as it is into a modern, ultra-efficient, solar-powered family home. Lily Jencks Studio and Nathanael Dorent Architecture collaborated on a project that literally builds upon history, opting to adapt the ruins for a new usage in a way that highlights their history instead of trying to recreate what the farmhouse looked like once upon a time.

Located in the picturesque hills of rural Dumfries, looking out over a landscape of grassy emerald fields, the ruins might have seemed unusable to many who saw them. All that was left of the original structure was the suggestion of four walls, eroded down to waist-height in many areas. The farmhouse had been modified many times over the centuries, and for its newest incarnation, the architects chose to go bold with a surprising high-contrast design.

There are three layers of walls, they explain, starting with the original stone. Just inside them is a layer of black waterproofing EPDM rubber forming a pitched-roof envelope for the interiors. Then, there’s a curving interior ‘tube’ wall system defining the interior spaces in a way that feels soft and almost cave-like in nature.

“These three layers are not designed as independent parts, rather, they take on meaning as their relationship evolves through the building’s sections. They separate, come together and intertwine, creating a series of architectural singularities, including in some areas a particularly revealing simultaneous reading of these three layers.”

“At the windows and doors the tube funnels out towards the light, creating a ‘porched’ space within the thickness of the tube wall, and between the envelope and the tube, that can be used for furniture and storage.”

A series of architectural installations in Scotland contrast sharply with the centuries-old stone architecture and natural landscapes, featuring spiky white inflatables filling in aged cracks and gaps.

Titled XXX, these designs by Steven Messam add movement to Mellerstain’s House and the surrounding gardens — they are the first part of a series of contemporary exhibitions planned for the Borders Sculpture Park on this historic estate. The white inflatables refer abstractly to old marble sculptures that were originally to adorn the grounds.

“Pointed” emerges from an old gatehouse; “Scattered” is spread across the lake, comprised of floating bubbles; and “Towered” pokes out of an aged laundry column. Each one invites interaction and exploration of the site.

“In the use of historical buildings and the designed landscape, XXX draws on the architectural significance” of the estate, says Messam. “As interventions, the sculptures speak the language of scale – all three are bigger than a house. As studies in scale and form, these artworks have to be directly experienced in the environment to be fully appreciated, so i hope they will encourage even more people to visit this wonderful architectural gem in the Scottish borders.”

In the early 2000s, the city of Glasgow, Scotland, changed over to blue street lighting in an effort to improve the appearance of the city, but areas with the newly blue lights saw an unexpected and disproportionate decrease in crime.

No one could say for sure whether there was a causal correlation, but half a world away another city followed suit – Nara, Japan, experimentally began turning their street lamps blue. They also saw a decrease in crime.

In  the years that followed, similar deployments were tested, including the addition of over 150 blue lights to an expressway near Tokyo, aimed at reducing accidents.

The Keihin Electric Express Railway Co. even changed the color of eight lights on the ends of platforms at Gumyoji Station in Yokohama, Japan, to curb track-jumping suicides. A subsequent report showed that in the years following, the station saw no suicide attempts (after previously being the site of multiple suicides per year).

There are a number of theories about why the blue light could be causing a decrease in criminal behavior.

Some argue the association of blue with police presence, except: Japanese police use mostly red lights.

Another theory posits that blue light has a calming effect, feeling more pleasant than orange or red. Indeed, studies have shown that blue lights (associated with calm waters and open skies) can reduce stress responses in fish and be used to treat SAD (Seasonal Affective Disorder) in humans.

Of course, it is also possible that the new colored lights are simply different and unfamiliar enough to cause people to feel awkward engaging in illicit or dangerous behavior where they are present. And if that is the case, changing all the public lights in the world to blue might be at best temporary fix, working until people get used to the new blue lighting. Experts have warned not to read too much into the effect, regardless, since the causal mechanism or connection has not yet been definitively determined.

If you have ever wanted to fully experience life as a bookseller in a small town by the sea, this quirky combination home-and-bookstore holiday rental may be just be the page-turner you need.

Located in Wigmore, Scotland, The Open Book is an independent retailer that lets interested parties both rent the flat above the store and oversee its operations during their stay. Guests inclined toward working vacations get to double as volunteers, performing all the duties of the shop owners, including opening, closing, shelf restocking and display design.

It may not be a fun novelty for every type of traveler, but presents an opportunity well-suited for those of us who are bookworms, like to stay busy, learn new things and meet locals on getaways.

At less than $50 USD per night for up to two guests, the work effectively subsidizes the stay, not to mention giving a more complete experience of the place.

With small bookshops closing up around the country (and the world), the owners wanted to bring more attention to their store and ask their guests to blog about and share their time as a store manager. People are also asked to stay for a minimum of a week, giving them time to learn the ropes and greet a variety of store visitors, from locals to fellow travelers.