A. Kachmar

Today, that charming old brick building on the corner might be a market where you can still grab a six-pack at a decent price; within mere months, it could be knocked down for a gleaming high-income condominium tower. The shift in a city’s character can seem to occur in the blink of an eye as the look and usage of its architecture changes. As gentrification rapidly alters the face of the city around him, Philadelphia artist Drew Leshko documents and preserves building facades as they presently stand in miniatures made of paper and wood.

Whatever your opinion may be about the onward march of modernization and urban progress, it’s hard to deny that too much ‘spiffing up’ without the careful preservation of historical details and the imprints of the people and cultures that have shaped them can make all cities look the same.

Though cleaner and safer, New York City has become virtually unrecognizable within just a couple decades, replacing all of the independent businesses that once lined its streets with chain stores and sleek signage. The same is happening in cities around the world, much to the chagrin of people who have a sentimental attachment to what those places used to be.

Leshko cycles around Philadelphia documenting interesting buildings to later recreate in his studio at a 1:12 scale. Details like bars on the windows, hand-painted banners, graffiti and uneven weathering are reproduced in three dimensions as a way of archiving their condition before they’re gone.

Though they may still be a reflection of what Philadelphia really looks like, it won’t be long before these sculptures are mere nostalgia. No matter where you live, taking a close look at them might just prompt you to appreciate the current state of your own city a little bit more.

---

Want More? Click for Great Related Content on WebUrbanist:

Brutal London: Paper Miniatures of Concrete Architecture

Rendered in minute detail right down to curtain colors, satellite dishes and graffiti, these paper miniatures mimic London’s iconic Brutalist buildings, ... Click Here to Read More »»

---

Paper Architecture: Intricate 3D Sculptures by Ingrid Siliakus

Amsterdam-based artist Ingrid Siliakus cuts and folds sheets of paper into dazzlingly detailed three-dimensional buildings and cities. Click Here to Read More »»

---

Philadelphia City Hall: Tallest Masonry Building in the World

Did you know that brick or stone-clad buildings you see today almost invariably hide a steel support structure that does the actual work? Click Here to Read More »»

---

Based on a fun demo used at science centers across the country, the Arc Light features a pair of glowing LED tubes that aren’t actually connected to the lamp in any way. Instead, tucked out of sight is a compact Tesla coil that wirelessly powers the bulbs whenever they’re close enough.

Read more...

As a professional organizer, I get asked for storage suggestions all the time. And one of the most frequent requests is how to "store" the TV—how to hide a huge flat-screen TV so it doesn't dominate the room when not in use. 

One way to do this is to hide the TV with art. Media Decor has sliding art lifts that move horizontally or vertically, without using any visible tracks. This design allows the end user to use mirrors as well as a wide range of art. It's one of the few designs that uses wrapped canvases, not just framed art. However, it will require significant available space above, below or alongside the TV.

TV CoverUps has a frame that swings outward. This means it doesn't take up much wall space, but having the frame shading the screen might not provide the optimal viewing experience. Also, depending on the placement, people might bump their heads on that frame.

VisionArt uses a motorized retracting canvas with a giclée print; the company says that the print can be rolled up and down an unlimited number of times with no damage. The purchasers can select from a gallery of artwork or provide their own (with proof of ownership) to be reproduced onto the canvas. This accommodates end users who just want to buy an off-the-shelf solution as well as those who want a very personalized product.

Tapestries, Ltd has an LCD cover which might be the easiest product to install, since it doesn't attach to the TV.  It uses a motorized rod and a remote control. 

While all of the prior art-focused designs involve moving the art while the TV stays stationary, Hidden Vision has TV mounts that move the TV around; end users see the art or the TV depending on the positioning. 

The flip-out mounts can extend the TV over a bed for viewing while lying down, which will delight some users and freak out others who don't like heavy things overhead, no matter how securely they are installed.

Flat-screen surrounds (or cabinets) are a low-tech way to hide the TV from view—a nice alternative for users who want to minimize the electronics in a bedroom but can't quite give up having a TV in there.  Cherry Tree Design makes a two-panel and a four-panel model; the four-panel bifold design will require less space on either side of the TV for the doors. There are versions using shoji facings, art glass, photography and fine art.

Cabinets with TV lifts are the other obvious way to hide a television. The quality of the lift mechanism is the most critical issue, but there are other design decisions, too. For example, these cabinets can come with a hinged lid, as this one from Activated Decor does, or they can have a floating lid that goes up and down along with the TV. 

This cabinet from Nexus 21, with its floating lid, has a 360-degree swivel mechanism—something you can't get with a hinged lid. If the cabinet will be used away from a wall, perhaps as a room divider, that swivel mechanism could be important.

Also, items can be positioned on top of a lift cabinet with a floating lid—but I probably wouldn't do that unless they were held in place with museum wax or something similar.

TV lifts can also be incorporated into other furniture, such as this TV bed, with its very slim footboard. This makes for a compact design, but it also reduces flexibility; what if the owners decide, in the future, that they don't want a TV in the bedroom?

Although some of these products are intriguing, it's good to remember that sometimes end users don't need a fancy design. The simplest and least expensive option for hiding the TV screen would be something like this quilted cover that Louise Hornor made for her personal use. Those who aren't as talented are mostly out of luck, though, as commercially available products of this sort are very limited. 

Kanye West is a phenomenally talented entertainer and loved by millions. Charles Manson is a failed wanna-be pop star and infamous murderer who we hope will remain locked up for the rest of his life. The two can't possibly be more different, other than sharing a propensity for spouting near-nonsensical egomaniacal quotes. Take a look at the examples below. Can you tell which quotes were uttered by Kanye and which ones came from Manson?

1. "Nothing in life is promised except death."
2. "No sense makes sense."
3. "I'm like a machine. I'm a robot. You cannot offend a robot."
4. "I can't judge any of you. I have no malice against you and no ribbons for you. But I think that it is high time that you all start looking at yourselves, and judging the lie that you live in."
5. "One day the light will shine through, and one day people will understand everything I ever did."
6. "Everything I’m not made my everything I am."
7. "The real strong have no need to prove it to the phonies."
8. "I am not a fan of books. I would never want a book's autograph. I am a proud nonreader of books."
9. “I don’t know what ‘my way’ is. Everybody keeps telling me I got all these things. I read the other day where I had magical powers. I told everybody in the chapel ‘Zap, zap, zap, zap!’ I said ‘Where’s my magical powers at?’ Well, you can’t believe what you read in the press. I ain’t got no magical powers or mystical trips or anything like that. It’s kind of silly.”
10. "I live and breathe every element in life."
11. “There’s all kinds of Jesus. There’s a black Jesus down in Florida, he’s having a good time. There’s a Mexican Jesus down in Mexico, I mean there’s all kinds of Jesus. There’s a Jewish Jesus."
12. “The media crucify me like they did Christ.”
13. "When someone comes up and says something like, 'I am a god,' everybody says 'Who does he think he is?' I just told you who I thought I was. A god. I just told you."

Answers – 1: Kanye, 2: Manson, 3: Kanye, 4: Manson, 5: Kanye, 6: Kanye, 7: Manson, 8: Kanye, 9: Manson, 10: Kanye, 11: Manson, 12: Kanye, 13: Kanye

Image of Kanye West: Everett Collection / Shutterstock.com

Photobomber scares the wits out of a TV reporter in downtown Los Angeles.

Sex sells Big Iron. Attractive women wearing as little clothing as the decency of the day allows--this tool has been a constant one in the history of advertising, although hemlines over those same years have been anything but constant.

The notion that sex sells tech was exploited to grotesque ends in the sixties and seventies. During these decades, workplace computers were large as the proverbial New York City apartment, and the people who operated those machines could afford to live in a New York city apartment, but this blog post is not about real estate and I digress.

We present to you here an assortment of scanned images from magazines and newspapers of those bygone decades, shared around the internet on various blogs over time. Oh, and we included some '80s babes too, because come on. Big computers and bad '80s babes.

It's tough to track down attribution or context for the originals, but I'll update the post as I can--and would welcome any tips in the BBS discussion. I also welcome photos of your mom. Or old snapshots of your grandma, or your aunt, or you, in a miniskirt, with a giant computer.

Enjoy ogling these broads' gams, and get a load of those ginormous mainframes.

Cats, ruining things since the beginning of time.

We've all had those days: no matter what happens, there's just nothing in the world that could make you care about what's happening around you. You've given up. It's over

Well, this owl is definitely having one of those days. Even while it's under attack by a group of annoying and pesky birds, it barely even flinches.

Don't worry bud, the weekend is on its way.

The results are as visually appealing as they are mathematically sound.

Procrastinators everywhere rejoiced when it was discovered that Windows 10 was bringing back everyone’s favorite time waster. But unlike the last time you played Microsoft Solitaire on your PC, this time you’ll have to pay a subscription fee just to get rid of the ads.

Read more...

We quickly fell in love with Schönstaub’s space and geometric rugs and were pleased to see they’ve expanded their collection to include printed beach towels. The Zurich, Switzerland based company has a way with prints, and the new towels fall right in line with their majestic, photorealistic, space-like images.

One of life's simple pleasures is watching your kitties get blissed out on catnip. Most store-bought catnip is ditchweed, though. If you really want your cat to pretend to love you, give her 100% organic Meowijuana Catnip Buds available on Amazon.

French graphic designer and illustrator PEZ has released part two of Distroy, an ongoing series of creepy graphite drawings portraying popular cartoon characters. The entire collection of sketches are available to view on Behance and Facebook. We previously wrote about part one of PEZ’s the series.

images via PEZ Artwork

via Escape Kit, Beautiful/Decay

Architect Joe Chikamori of 07BEACH Design recently redesigned his friend’s Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam home in only 49 days, putting in beautiful modern touches throughout the house. Also included in the redesign is a separate staircase specifically sized for the friend’s small dogs. Chikamori stated that he wanted the house to be comfortable and fun for the entire family.

(translated) The method to design for this house IS pretty simple. I thought of it as the most Important How the house SHOULD BE. A comfortable for life with your family. I imagined your daily Life through your personality which I got to know well. Hoping that the space will not only be comfortable, but your daily life will also be more fun than usual. Though the image I Have about you is just Words, it’s Deep affection for your Family. I designed so that your house CAN Represent your affection for your wife and Two Dogs, and I Designed it with the image That this house will be like a gift to your family.

photos by Decon Photo Studio

via Contemporist

Tabtags are a creative series of removable and reusable glowing stickers, made by a skilled group of Vienna, Austria-based designers, that use the illuminated Apple logo on a MacBook lid as a light source. Tabtags were funded through Kickstarter, thanks to all of their generous backers. The collection of stickers are available to purchase online from the Tabtag website.

images via tabtag

Thanks Shelby DeNike!

Three fantastic illustrations designed for the Museum of Architecture in Paris by Havas. In a parallel universe genius turmites with opposable thumbs have actually built these… I hope.

Credit & References:

Title : Wood / Stone / Brick
Client (Advertiser) : Architecture Museum Paris
Product : Architecture Museum Paris
Agency : Havas Worldwide Paris, France
Creative Director : Coffre Christophe
Art Director : Nicolas Harlamoff
Copywriter : Alain Picard
CGI: ILLUSION, Bangkok
Photographer : Surachai Puthikulangkura
Illustrator : Surachai Puthikulangkura / Supachai U-Rairat
Representative by La Manufacture Paris

gretlusky:

Follow your heart.

Puerto Rican artist Alexis Diaz (previously) brings textures and patterns reminiscent of traditional engraving techniques to his murals of phantasmagorical creatures using only a paintbrush. Twisting tentacles, strange fusions of anatomy, beings wrapped in plants, all rendered atop colorful gradients create an unmistakable style Diaz has become famous for. You can see much more of his work here. (via Cross Connect)

ashprincessmidna:

starlightgakuen:

Living the life.

Me

If you liked “Free Couch!!!”, you might also enjoy “Lock the Taskbar”.

via reddit

Over the weekend, my 12-year-old daughter and I used our Plugable USB Handheld Digital Microscope to get a close-up look some of the stuff around the house. It's an excellent microscope, especially considering the low price ($35). Another other great thing about a USB microscope is that you don't have to take turns looking at the specimen - everyone in the room can see it on the computer display at the same time. That makes it so much more fun. And you can easily take photos and movie to share with other people. The image above is a rubber clown nose.

I like this microscope so much that I talked to the folks at Plugable and asked them to become a sponsor of our Weekend of Wonder extravaganza (WoW) on September 18-20 in Southern California. The kindly agreed, and now everyone who attends is going to get one of these super cool scopes, courtesy of Plugable! We will have a gross-out contest at WoW with these scopes, so start thinking about the yuckiest thing we can look at.

Here are a few of the things we looked at:

Ball point pen (250X)

Ball point pen (50X)

Dirt

Sharpie marker

Sharpie dot on paper

Gluten-free bread

Comic book cover

iPhone display

Chewable vitamin

Jane's hair

White stuff on a tree leaf

Tiny scab on Jane's leg

Levi's denim jean fabric

Jane's heel

Register here to join us at Boing Boing's Weekend of Wonder.

If you think straining over Photoshop for hours on end sweating out the nuances of that latest rendering of a project is time-consuming, Paul Cadden voluntarily spends his time drawing photo-realistic versions of photographs with pencil. Only pencil. According to the artist's website, "Although the drawings and paintings I make are based upon photographs, videos stills etc., the idea is to go beyond the photograph. The photo is used to create a subtler and much more complex focus on the subject depicted. The virtual image becomes the living image, an intensification of the normal. These objects and scenes in my drawings are meticulously detailed to create the illusion of a new reality not seen in in the original photo." The results, which frequently incorporate cityscapes, are worth a look:

by Tom Fonder

Here’s how one of the best restaurants in the world, Eleven Madison Park, opens a bottle of wine when the wine is especially old and the cork is possibly all crumbly: they use burning hot metal tongs to heat up bottle so it can be ‘magically’ opened from the neck, avoiding the cork.

Read more...

Says Sploid, “This is so much cooler than seeing something poof and disappear away because we get to watch it slowly disintegrate into nothing.

“It’s like seeing decay of a hundred years over a few seconds. Each peeled back layer exposes something new in the engine only to get vaporized to give way to another part.”

[video link, thanks Jesus Diaz!]

Italian makeup artist Luca Luce paints incredible 3D illusions on his hands. See even more at his Instagram and Facebook page.

ThinkGeek has made a fantastic Executive Knight Pen Holder that is designed to make you feel like royalty. As author Edward Bulwer-Lytton mentioned in his 1839 play Richelieu; Or the Conspiracy, “the pen is mightier than the sword.” The honorable pen holder is currently available to purchase online.

The Executive Knight Pen Holder is a bowing knight, hands raised to hold your modern quill. Your pen is held aloft, so you never have to figure out which stack of TPS reports it’s buried under. The Executive Knight Pen Holder comes with a pen, but he’s just as happy to hold any other pen (pencil, letter opener, spork, etc.) you own. The Executive Knight Pen Holder will make sure your pen is always at the ready for whatever words need to flow from it.

images via ThinkGeek

John Lee Phillips, an artist living in Narberth (Arberth), Wales, has set out to illustrate every object in his late grandfather’s toolshed. Phillips has estimated that the shed holds over 100,000 tools and this wonderful project will take him approximately 4 or 5 years.

I am currently cataloguing the entire contents of my late grandfather’s tool shed. I estimate the project to take around 5 years and will involve me illustrating in excess of 100,000 items.

A video posted by @leejohnphillips on Mar 16, 2015 at 3:21pm PDT

images via John Lee Phillips

via DesignTaxi

urbran:

autisticstevonnie:

laughhard:

This is what defeat looks like.

this is like one of those renaissance paintings

bbseamonster:

bitterglitterqueer:

electricorchid:

Some succulents have translucent leaves to allow sunlight to penetrate deep inside their tissues.The glass-like Haworthia cooperi ‘Dodson’ has taken this phenomenon to the extreme.

!!!!!! bbseamonster bby-plant hybridic

woooooahhhh