L: USA Pavilion at EXPO Milano 2015 by James Biber Architects; R: Thames Baths visualization © Studio Octopi & Picture Plane
Melting Pot or Salad Bowl?: On the occasion of the opening of EXPO 2015 today, ArchDaily presents a brief History of World Expos. Milan-based Designboom is on the scene of the food-themed world expo, featuring a deliciously diverse smorgasbord of global design, from generous helpings of ecological experimentation to a dash of starchitecture for good measure. The world runs until October 31st this year.
Swimming Across the Atlantic: Perhaps inspired by Family and Playlab’s phenomenally successful Kickstarter campaign to construct the +POOL in New York City’s East River, Studio Octopi have launched their own crowdfunding campaign to get a similar swimming hole realized on the Thames. They hope to raise £125,000 for the public bath before May 22nd, and the pool could be ready to dive into as early as next year.
L: Kumbh Mela: Mapping the Ephemeral Mega City © Felipe Vera; R: Tesla Powerwall via Tesla Energy
Follow the Crowd: How do you design the largest temporary city in the world? Led by Rahul Mehrotra and Felipe Vera, a team from Harvard University explored this question in their extraordinarily detailed book Kumbh Mela: Mapping the Ephemeral Mega City, which analyses the challenges faced by organizers of the titular event, a peaceful gathering in Allahabad, India, that attracted 100 million visitors in 2013. Mehrotra and Vera share more on ArchDaily.
Power to the People: The internet is abuzz with the announcement of Elon Musk’s latest project:Powerwall, a compact, solar-fueled battery that could eventually take your home off the grid for good. “Our goal is to fundamentally change the way the world uses energy,” says the CEO of Tesla Motors.
L: Still from “Rain” with Marc Newson’s Lockheed Lounge via Chair Cards; R: Blooming Bamboo Home by H&P Architects
In Brief
Sitting on a Fortune: There are plenty of sexy designer sofas out there, but most won’t hurt your backside — wallet or bum — as much Marc Newson’s Lockheed Lounge: famously graced by Madonna, the aluminum chaise longue has just sold at auction for a world-record £2.4 million.
Flat-Pack Light for your next flight: Aerospace-inspired furniture is one thing, but Airbus systems designer Raphael Andre is investigating just the opposite: Inspired by IKEA’s signature flat-pack approach, he’s mocked-up an airline cockpit from timber and cardboard. What’s next, Swedish meatballs for the in-flight meal?
Learning the Hard Way: If you want an object lesson in UK planning process — and the implications of ignoring it — look no further than Kilburn in London, where a developer that demolished a historic pub without permission has been ordered to rebuild it “brick by brick.” Those involved will most certainly need a pint or three after that…
Green Machines: A century of super-sustainable projects have been announced winners of the Green Good Design Awards, including 25 architectural projects, such as the brilliant Blooming Bamboo Home by H&P Architects and a marvelously mobile dental clinic by Montalba Architects.
Eye Candy
Flythroughs of the Week: Plunge into the spectacular spiraling design of Perkins+Will’s Shanghai Natural History Museum, which opened earlier this month, in the video above. Halfway across the globe, Bloomberg offers a tour of Bjarke’s Courtscraper as it nears completion.
Non Sequitur
Unmanned Aerial Vandalism: In other drone news, prolific graffiti artist KATSU is taking his practice to the next level with what may well be the first instance of defacing a billboard via UAV.
Top Image: Thames Baths visualization © Studio Octopi & Picture Plane
