Trashing Batteries for Brighter Sidewalks

 

We all know alkaline batteries are really bad for the environment if you don’t dispose of them properly. The right thing to do is send them to special recycling centers but hundreds of tons end up in landfills where their toxic innards seep into the earth. Perhaps a good solution is the Energy Seed, an LED lamp post powered by trashed alkaline batteries.

The idea is to encourage people to throw their batteries away into the Energy Seed. There’s a slot for nearly every size battery. The unit combines any left over juice from all the batteries to power a super efficient LED ring.

Of course once the bins are full, we’re left with the same original problem. Somebody has to collect all those spent batteries and recycle them.

Designer: Sungwoo Park & Sunhee Kim

 

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seARCH: synagogue LJG

dutch practice seARCH has created ‘synagogue LJG’, a synagogue for the progressive jewish congregation in amsterdam.
riddled with symbolism of the jewish faith, the neutral rectilinear volume generates a simplistic outwards aesthetic which
conceals the building’s complex narrative and inverted sense of spatiality. drawing from both traditional and modern concepts,
the building seeks to create an environment that abstractly emulates the ideals and beliefs at the center of judaism.

MORE INFO AT designboom

zaha hadid: chanel mobile art pavilion paris

zaha hadid’s mobile art pavilion has found its permanent home outside of the institute du monde arabe in paris
after a world tour – inclusive of new york, tokyo and hong kong – that began in 2008. donated to the institute by chanel,
the unit will aid in the development of broader cultural programs at the center and will host exhibitions that showcase
the talent of designers, artists and architects from arab countries.

conceived through a system of natural organization, the structure is shaped by both functional and conceptual considerations.
fluid geometries and organic lines compose a continuum of fluent and dynamic spaces, where oppositions between light and dark,
interior and exterior and natural and artificial are manufactured. undulating surfaces and flowing volumes converge,
constantly redefining the quality and experience of each exhibition space, while guiding movement throughout.

More Info here!

Time Lapse – The city limits

habits make us blind

spanish architecture studio espai MGR‘s ‘habits make us blind’ is a photographic series of work which addresses
the vacant lots in downtown valencia, which they pass everyday.

architects’ own words:
‘…like an invisible metastasis generated in the heart of the city and extending to all its arteries. neighborhoods that,
although having huge potential, lay unused, not promoting a good means of sustainable development.
we recognize this as a typical theme in the central neighborhoods in valencia. sometimes, the tourists are the city’s
inhabitants pay attention to the issue at hand for a moment because secondary problems stemming from those spaces
implied affect us directly. however, in most cases, they are only a part of daily way of life. this photographic body of work
aims to call people’s attention to these neglected spaces. it demands the recreational use of these vacant lots as seen through
the eyes of a child, by filling them with impossible constructions, surrealistic installations in line with the problem. (…)’

More Info here!!

juliana santacruz herrera: decorative potholes

artist juliana santacruz herrera has transformed the streets of paris through her visual intervention
using braided strips of colourful fabric. seeing the many cracks and potholes of the city as
the ‘canvas’ of her project, the site-specific pieces are a playful addition to the grey urban setting.

long lengths of dyed fabrics are braided and then coiled into the shallow breaks in the street.
often made up of a combination of bright colours, the resulting effect creates a graphic and
visually-arresting contrast to the city’s palette.

So, my fellow readers, what do you think about this some sort of «disposable art»? Do yo know other artists that use the city as a canvas for their art? Don’t forget to share experiences!

More info here