some amazing views from some of the best cities and destinations accross the globe — time for a vacation! m.
Mountain climbers are the men and women who wish to ascend to the kingdom of heaven from Earth. They are admirable people who are capable of photographing some of the most incredible vistas on the planet; but not everyone aspires to scale the highest peaks. Some of us would much rather push an elevator button and chat up whoever might be joining us for the ride to the top. Skyscrapers are our mountains, and we think the view from the penthouse is as good as it gets; plus there’s room service up there, which is more than Everest can claim.
monumental in scale, discipline, material and theme, some of the most renowned, international creatives exhibited their new and most famous works around the globe this year. whether set within gallery institutions or as part of the public landscape, the exhibitions have immersed audiences in an impactful and significant experiential context. from kanye west’s ‘famous’ nude celebrities to maurizio cattelan’s return to the art world, take a look below at 10 of designboom’s most popular art exhibitions of 2016.
wonderfully creative hillside house south of seoul. m.
this reinforced concrete house lays embedded into a grassy slope amid the undisturbed mountains and rice fields just an hour east of seoul, south korea. designed by BCHO architects, ‘tilt roof house’ derives from the concept of ‘chi’, a traditional asian term meaning the universal energy that permeates and exists through everything.
by taking advantage of the steep slope around the site, the house blended with the topography and minimized the need for excavation. in turn, this element allowed the space on top to be utilized as a terrace featuring three square boxes carved out: two that are recessed and one for the courtyard below. this characteristic sees the tilted roof following the slope of the hill and down towards the ground plane.
creative video and hardware kit that can be used by anyone. more after the jump. m.
The Rhythm Scope is a video synthesizer that generates visual patterns in response to beats. It is designed to work with rhythmic sounds (short quick hits, arpeggios, etc.), providing an easy way to get visuals synchronized to music and sound! The Rhythm Scope features 16 selectable patterns, including strobe effects, flashing squares, rotating blocks, and random pixels. It also features a Randomizer mode. You can set the Randomizer to automatically change modes every 1–16 beats. Starting at 0:10, you can see the 16 patterns displayed in a grid and responding to the same beat. Starting at 0:43, a Rhythm Scope has been set to switch to a random pattern every eight beats. The sound input is a Pocket Piano arpeggio. To operate: Connect it to a television, projector or video rig and connect a sound source to the ¼” audio jack. The Rhythm Scope detects the level of the audio input and when that level reaches a certain threshold, it triggers a change in the pattern. Select one of the 16 patterns and, using the gain knob, adjust the sensitivity to the audio input. Use the Rhythm Scope with a projector for live performance, TV in your living room, or as part of a larger video mix!
having seen his retrospective years ago, i can not recommend it more. please take advantage of this special moment in time. m.
Robert Rauschenberg (1925–2008) is America’s Leonardo — ceaselessly inventive, a mind in perpetual revolution. That is the revelation of this exhilarating show. If all you knew of him was the famous goat girdled in a tyre, or the collages of JFK raising a warning finger, then think again. Rauschenberg changed artists’ ideas of what painting, sculpture and even drawing might be. He turns out to be the fons et origo of 60 years and more of art, Warhol to Hirst.
Robert Rauschenberg is at Tate Modern, London until 2 April
Canadian designer Anne Sophie Goneau has transformed part of an old building into a minimalist workspace for a tech company, featuring a restrained palette of materials and colours.
The space was created for Dynamo, a digital design studio founded in 1999. The office is located in Mile-Ex, a scruffy area in Montreal that has become a creative hub in recent years.
powerful song and a sharp minimalist video to back it up. kudos! m.
[Verse 1] I was born in a thunderstorm I grew up overnight I played alone I played on my own I survived Hey I wanted everything I never had Like the love that comes with light I wore envy and I hated that But I survived
[Pre-Chorus] I had a one-way ticket to a place where all the demons go Where the wind don’t change And nothing in the ground can ever grow No hope, just lies And you’re taught to cry into your pillow But I survived
[Chorus] I’m still breathing, I’m still breathing I’m still breathing, I’m still breathing I’m alive I’m alive I’m alive I’m alive
[Verse 2] I found solace in the strangest place Way in the back of my mind I saw my life in a stranger’s face And it was mine
[Pre-Chorus] I had a one-way ticket to a place where all the demons go Where the wind don’t change And nothing in the ground can ever grow No hope, just lies And you’re taught to cry into your pillow But I survived
[Chorus] I’m still breathing, I’m still breathing I’m still breathing, I’m still breathing I’m alive I’m alive I’m alive I’m alive
[Post-Chorus] You took it all, but I’m still breathing You took it all, but I’m still breathing You took it all, but I’m still breathing You took it all, but I’m still breathing You took it all, but I’m still breathing You took it all, but I’m still breathing You took it all, but I’m still breathing You took it all, but I’m still breathing
[Bridge] I have made every single mistake That you could ever possibly make I took and I took and I took what you gave But you never noticed that I was in pain I knew what I wanted; I went in and got it Did all the things that you said that I wouldn’t I told you that I would never be forgotten And all in spite of you
[Chorus] And I’m still breathing, I’m still breathing I’m still breathing, I’m still breathing I’m alive (You took it all, but I’m still breathing) (You took it all, but I’m still breathing) I’m alive (You took it all, but I’m still breathing) (You took it all, but I’m still breathing) I’m alive (You took it all, but I’m still breathing) (You took it all, but I’m still breathing) I’m alive
way cool retro-eco renovation + modification. i want one! m.
brett belen has been building solar electric vehicles for years: he first built a 72 volt ‘EZ-GO’ golf cart; and a 1973 harbilt english postal van. these vehicles were real workhorses that could be refuelled by simply parking them in the sun. for his most recent project, he chose volkswagen bus for it’s cabin volume plus the surface area of its roof. he imagined a large photovoltaic array that could tilt for maximum solar exposure. he soon realized that the large space beneath the panels could also offer some more elbow room in the vehicle.
the roof consists of 4, 305 watt LG panels, with the 1, 220 watt array pivots in the front of the van. the space above can be accessed from beneath through the van’s ‘moon roof’. actuators (one on each side) tilt the array up to a maximum of about 40°, adjustable for maximizing output. he can have the camper top open as the sun sets, getting kids ready for bed. with an 180° spin of the vehicle, he can position the array to catch the morning sun. at full tilt it has 40 degrees of an angle allowing it face the sun directly for far over six hours. moving the van ensures that it can always has optimum exposure. he used 4 x drok DC-DC converters to boost each panels voltage from 40 V to 55 V. these converters are wired in series for around 220 V. the array can theoretically put out 8 amps total at 150 volts into the battery.
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