BITS & PIECES

Architecture Film, The baby falling down the Odessa Steps.
The scene is well-known: the sequence of the baby falling down the Odessa Steps in Sergei Eisenstein’s movie The Battleship Potyomkin (1925) is one of the most influential films in movie history (many films pay homage to the scene like Brian De Palma’s The Untouchables). [...] Read
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The Basement Maze of Leavenworth, Kansas
It was reported last week that an "underground city" had been discovered beneath the streets of Leavenworth, Kansas. [...] Read
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Buildings That Can Breathe
A green designer says we need to save energy by making our architecture more efficient. [...] Read
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OMA / CCTV TV STATION AND HEADQUARTERS
Building CCTV TV Station and Headquartes Arquitects OMA...[...] Watch
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Bin Laden brother unveils £100bn plan for world's longest bridge

It sounds like a joke. The brother of the world's most famous terrorist wants to build the world's longest suspension bridge, linking two continents across the world's most dangerous waters. As if that's not enough, he also plans to build two new cities – one at each end. [...] Read
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Giant city tower would 'dwarf' the Four Courts
A major row is looming after plans were submitted for a gargantuan tower that would dwarf the historic Four Courts. The capital's former motor taxation office is to be replaced by an 11-storey office tower that will rise up behind the Four Courts buildings. [...] Read
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306090 call for submissions
The 13th volume of 306090 investigates the contradictory yet potentially productive tension between our drive to develop and our growing knowledge and emerging concern that such unregulated growth [...] read
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Cityspeed by Michael Young
Industrial designer Michael Young has designed Cityspeed, an urban bike for Taiwanese bicycle manufacturer Giant. [...] Read
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Wright’s Palmer House Put on the Market
The Frank Lloyd Wright-designed Palmer House in Ann Arbor, Michigan, acclaimed by historians as one of the architect’s best residential projects, has been put up for sale by the family of the original owners. The asking price is $1.5 million. [...] Read
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Can anybody beat Beijing? Is the US ready to compete for the 2016 Olympic Games?
Ambition? Vision? Economics? Arrogance? The amalgamated power of the society behind it? If you think it's all of the above, [...] Read
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Parks department chooses Bike Republic for Yeon-designed waterfront building
Cycling It's now official: the city's Parks department has selected Bike Republic as the new occupant of the waterfront Portland Visitors Information Center building designed by the great John Yeon. [...] Read
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Dockside Green: The World’s First LEED Platinum Community
Situated in Victoria, British Columbia, Dockside Green is a burgeoning community that has set its sights on becoming the first LEED Platinum community in the world. Its initial phase of development was recently completed, earning it an incredible 63 out of 70 points and qualifying it for LEED Platinum for New Construction. [...] Read
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Chocolate Factory on West Broadway Revealed Unwrapped!
Who knew that they used to make Tootsie Rolls down in Soho? The now-empty building at 325 West Broadway where the tasty treats were produced is about to become a bunch of sweet new condos. [...] Read
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The World's Most Expensive House Sold To Russian Billionaire
A month ago we heard rumors that Russian billionaire Roman Abarmovich had bought the world's most expensive house on the French Riviera. Turns out that the rumor was true but the buyer was false. [...] Read
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Church of God, Inflationist
Inflatable infrastructure for churchgoers has arrived on the sandy beaches of Sardinia, as a bouncy chapel has been installed for Christians on holiday. "Using compressed air it takes only five minutes to inflate," the Times reports, and it "comes complete with an altar, an apse and a confessional." [...] Read
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Weighing the two finalists for Yeon-designed former McCall's site
By the end of this month, the city Parks Bureau will make its recommendation to Commissioner Dan Saltzman on which of two finalists should be selected for redevelopment of the circa-1948 John Yeon-designed Portland Visitors Information Center (more recently McCall's restaurant). [...] Read
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Developments and Trends — Supporting Dynamic Social Security
In the light of our current PerfectCity poll it is time to focus on another factor. When we are talking about “Social security” we mean protection against socially recognized conditions, including poverty, old age, disability, unemployment and others – including public insurances, pensions and child allowances. [...] Read
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