Archive for August, 2009
Open House Helsinki 2009
It’s that time of year again. Open house helsinki 2009 with a few very notable buildings which are rarely open to the public like the German Embassy by Juha Leiviskä. Its part of Helsinki design week 4th to 13th September, which again shows why finnish design punches above it’s weight.
The Self Sufficient City Competition
The IAAC has a competition that’s free to enter to envisage the future city. If you are interested you can find out more about the competition and register at advancedarchitecturecontest.org. Entries must be submitted by 29th September so you don’t have too much time. The contest is open to architects, planners, designers and artists who [...]
World Design Capitol 2012
There are two cities shortlisted for World Design Capitol 2012, Eindhoven and Helsinki. If the websites are anything to go by it’s a shoe in for the fins. I don’t know what the prize is but I’m sure we can win!
Geo Finland
Yesterday Google updated their 3d buildings layer in google earth so that now downtown Helsinki is modelled. It all looks really good, but clearly some of the modelling was automated as there are plenty of building facades that are just the vegetation in front of the building. This should be cleared up in time though. [...]
Optical Illusion at Finlandia Hall
There is an optical illusion that the National Museum tower is built into Finlandia Hall when looking at it from a cafe across the bay. It seems Alvar Aalto most likely put it there deliberately.
Conditions Magazine
A new Scandinavian focussed magazine has just published it’s first issue. Conditions Magazine dedicated to Architecture and Urbanism, independent and based in Norway, mainly covering Scandinavia but with reference to the international scene, in other words right up my street. I’ve just ordered my copy.
Pagoda Engineering
Of the hundreds of pagoda’s in Japan only two in the last 1400 years are known to have fallen down in one of the most earthquake prone areas of the world. The Toji pagoda in Kyoto is 55m tall and it was only in 1968 that one office block was erected in Japan that was [...]
Finnish Stonehenge
New research has thrown light on a group of megalithic structures in the North of Finland suggesting they may be laid out according to astrological ideas.
Parkour for Bikes
A must see video of Danny MacAskill doing parkour for bikes. Seeing as the video is taken in Edinburgh in places I know so well only makes it more incredible to me.