City from scratch

What if you were able to build a city from scratch with current technologies, new ideas and a fresh way of organizing space, transportation and information? The South Korean city of Songdo is slowly emerging from virgin land to do just that.

 

Along with the new buildings is an infrastructure that completely rethinks city systems and how we relate to the urban environment. Pneumatic trash chutes, underground parking, planned for walking and biking, integral grey water irrigation, communications and sensors gathering information everywhere. Songdo will be a highly connected living city that will benefit from a few decades of sustainable thinking that has never had the chance to be installed as basic services integrated into the fabric of the city from day one. More than exciting, this will be a living laboratory for how these types of systems perform, and it will go a long way towards convincing other cities to adopt these new technologies. Assuming, of course, that everything works as advertised...

 

Olympic building

A really unique pavilion from Coca-Cola and the team Asif Khan & Pernilla Ohrstedt called Beatbox. Sounds of the Olympic environment were used to create an anthem and are embedded in the architecture itself to be played by visitors as they move through the space. Nice combination of environment and building through an interactive sensory experience.

Urban flow info system

Urbanflow mockup of information integrated into the urban landscape.

Space 847

Does the screw really need to be in that exact spot?

From the Domain shopping center, Austin, TX

Interface Fail

This is a parking garage kiosk that clearly has issues. The interface needs multiple handwritten helpers to guide the user. The large number of interventions has begun to create its own difficulties by confusing the operator with too many extra clarifying messages.

Signs of a Different Kind

Bear as sign, Amersham, UK


Vernacular signage. Amersham, UK


Italian restaurant. Battersea, UK

Crispy Duck Dinner. Amersham, UK

I don't have anything in particular to say about these images. I just found them interesting in the way the various owners have found to communicate what they are 'selling'.
Posted by Teal

No Parking, Please

A nice way of asking. Amersham, UK

I know it is cliche as someone interested in typography to go around and take photos of 'no parking' signs. But, hey, ho. I just couldn't resist adding these signs to the collection.

Most 'no parking' signs attempt to warn us off from parking somewhere, but the owner of this one found in Amersham, UK, took a different tactic. As my mother used to say "it never hurts to say please."

I just had to include this second image of a  'no parking' sign as a lesson to those of us who thrive on experimental typography and letterspacing. Yeah, I know....get a life!

If you want to see some really humorous 'no parking' signs, then take a look at this site.

The art of letterspacing. Amersham, UK.


Posted by Teal