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Posts tagged with shantytowns

January 8, 2009 | New & Cool Architecture | by Francis Andrews Highly recommended by the LAEM team. |

US architect Teddy Cruz has long focused on what architecture can learn from informal settlements. His latest project aims to build residential areas in various parts of the US that mimic the Shantytowns of Tijuana, Mexico. He’s already pitched proposals for a site in the Hudson Valley, New York, and has now shifted focus to San Ysidro, a small community just north of the US-Mexico border. Homes will be packed together, and any leftover space to be taken up by taco stands, market stalls and meeting places.

 

One thing we’ve lost in this MP3 culture is awesome album art. A few people on Flickr have started a group where people pose with their favorite record sleeves and the results are pretty amusing.


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In a world filled with conceptual environmental architect, Lost in Paris, designed by R&Sie Architects for a so-called ‘urban witch’, is the definition of innovation and resourcefulness. The 1400 square foot home is engulfed by 1200 ferns and 300 glass-blown pods. A potion of rainwater and plant nutrients are fed to the pods, which in turn feed the ferns, drop by drop, during the year. And because the home is entirely covered with the plants, it is protected from outside weather and the interior temperature is regulated without use of traditional methods.

If you’ve ever wanted to work your alter ego’s dark side without looking like a total emo, now’s your chance. New kid on the block Ben Pollitt is shaking things up with his label Friedrich Gray. And the best part about it? Pollitt’s androgynous range has a little something something for everyone. Read more


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Ah, the joys of spending a seven-hour flight three rows up from a chronic snorer with a bad case of indigestion. It was like an episode of Grange Hill was unfolding before my very ears as the upper tier of a shiny new Qantas 747 was subjected to a series of unfavourably boisterous noises emanating from his general direction. Read more

Print Liberation is an exceptional Philadelphia-based creative visual agency whose website showcases a variety of deisgn styles, each immaculately executed. Read more

Having originally sprung from the Shaky Isles (otherwise known as New Zealand), I can appreciate the humour in the New Zealand cartoon series, Bro Town, the first homegrown animated series to screen during local prime time. It’s simply brilliant, a real play on the ‘thuck’ accent and small town ways of our Kiwi brethren.

At a gig last year Foals were forced to abandon their last song halfway through because the stage was stormed by too many crazed fans. The reason behind the hype they’re creating, both on stage and in the normally merciless media, isn’t immediately clear upon first listen: the sound is less than friendly on the ears, and they don’t employ the same catchy hooks and melodic chorus patterns that shoot your average band to fame in their early years. Read more

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Celebrity PunchOut

Our celebrity-saturated culture makes many of us irrationally hateful of the faces we see on our TV screens and magazine pages. Good thing there’s Celebrity PunchOut to let off some of that steam.

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Scanners’ new single Salvation

I love this track by London based rock group, Scanners, which is off their latest album, Submarine. Having toured with acts such as The Horrors, The Wedding Present, The Charlatans, Electric Six, and Juliette & The Licks, Scanners could well blow up in 2010. Figuratively speaking, not literally. No, that wouldn’t be fun.

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Man-Tsun’s painterly images

Hong Kong-based illustrator Man-Tsun draws dark and beautiful painterly images that look like they are straight off a high-end Japanese animated film. Read more

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Sparrow Vs Sparrow

Trip out with Sparrow Vs Sparrow’s retro illustrations, I love their aesthetic, color use and sense of humor. Read more

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Creative advertising packaging

Despite the intentions of many, it’s not so often that advertising — as an industry — truly thinks outside the box. Yet, when executed well, clever eye-catching advertising actually works. It does. As these examples will attest to. Read more


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Thanks to Sony Australia, four Lost At E Minor readers will win personal audio prizes, including the new 8GB Walkman S series video MP3 player and the MDRXB500 Extra Bass headphones. Read more

Milk and honey, an indubitable pair. In this necklace by Stephanie Simek, a golden honeycomb beeswax pendant is encased in plastic and hangs from an oxidized sterling silver chain. The links are interwoven with a milk protein-based fiber. We have it for sale in our online store. Read more

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