Design renderings of the proposed replacement for the Frederick Douglass Memorial Bridge in Washington, DC.
10 Most Incredible Abandoned Mental Asylums
Perhaps it’s the hollow yet the forbidding facades. Probably it’s the neglected and decaying interiors, riddled with gusty corridors and the relics of their former purpose. More likely still there’s something in the fear and stigma attached to mental disorder itself. Abandoned buildings of all descriptions seem haunted by the ghosts of their past – but when the ghosts are the souls of those declared clinically insane and sectioned, the place is likely to hold more bad memories than most; bad memories but also great character, rare solace, and irresistible magnetism for urban explorers.
A beautiful collection of photos of abandoned and decaying British asylums. How creepy is that dental chair? Great stuff.
Big Dig House
The structural system for the Big Dig House was built from concrete and steel salvaged from Boston’s Big Dig project.
Planning the reassembly of the materials in as if it were a pre-fab system, subtle spatial arrangements are created. These materials however are capable of carrying much higher loads than standard structure, easily allowing the integration of large scale roof gardens. Most importantly, the project demonstrates an untapped potential for the public realm: with strategic front-end planning, much needed community programs including schools, libraries, and housing could be constructed whenever infrastructure is deconstructed, saving valuable resources, embodied energy, and taxpayer dollars.
Beautiful.
(via contemporist)
The Burj Khalifa, World’s Tallest Building
Designed by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill in Chicago, the Burj Khalifa rises 2,717 feet above the desert in Dubai. Originally named the Burj Dubai, it opened on Monday with a new name, a month after Dubai narrowly avoided bankruptcy by receiving a bailout from Abu Dhabi to help cover its debts.
But in deciding to change the tower’s name from Burj Dubai to Burj Khalifa, in honor of the president of Abu Dhabi, Sheik Khalifa bin Zayed al-Nahyan, Dubai revealed a rare streak of humility consistent with its diminished economic condition. Once the most proudly autonomous of Arab Emirates, Dubai has found that its financial troubles have made it more dependent on Abu Dhabi and more likely to be drawn closer into the federation.
“Dubai not only has the world’s tallest building, but has also made what looks like the most expensive naming rights deal in history,” said Jim Krane, the author of “City of Gold: Dubai and the Dream of Capitalism.” “Renaming the Burj Dubai after Sheik Khalifa of Abu Dhabi — if not an explicit quid pro quo — is a down payment on Dubai’s gratitude for its neighbor’s $10 billion bailout last month.”
Bridge House
Bridge House in Adelaide, Australia, designed by Architect Max Pritchard, spans a creek and provides “the experience of living amongst the trees in an almost untouched beautiful setting”.
Wall of Knowledge
Concept for the Stockholm Public Library International Architectural Competition.