May 1, 2013
In her “Private Bunker Series,” photographer Carsten Güth depicts suburban abodes that look completely shut off from the outside world. Though not specifically built to seal interior spaces from impending doom (see: our best places in which to ride out the apocalypse), the houses in Güth’s photos appear to have no windows or doors, creating a haunting, surreal effect.
It’s difficult to put a finger on what emotions these photographs elicit, but something about their isolation and seclusion feels nightmare-ish and claustrophobic, but still eerily beautiful. Why these homes were designed to be so inaccessible is unclear, but Güth channeled this confusion into a creepy mystification. Click through to see more.
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April 25, 2013
You’ve all seen the History Channel’s addictive series “Life After People,” right? You know, the show where the directors imagine what would happen to our cities if humans suddenly disappear. Well, for those of you who haven’t, it looks something like theater set designer Johanna Mårtensson’s award-winning project—which constructs an entire cityscape out of bread! Click through for more!
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December 21, 2012
all images © AFP/Getty
Well, the world didn’t end today… at least not yet. However, if a last-minute apocalypse heads our way, one man has himself covered. Liu Qiyuan of Qiantun, China has spent his life savings building a number of End of the World pods that are supposed to withstand any storm. He compares his circular design, built with a super-strong fiberglass casing, to a ping-pong ball, saying “It’s skin may be thin, but it can withstand a lot of pressure.” The pods are outfitted to keep their inhabitants alive for up to two months on rations and oxygen tanks, while seat belts are provided for the undoubtedly bumping ride through the end of the world. Read more!
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December 20, 2012
You may have noticed that the world is ending. As of now, we’ve all got less than 7 hours left on the clock. We’re not sure if our readers in Asia will get this transmission (you guys, eh, there?), but we hope so. But yeah, according to reputable sources and ancient prophecies, the world will cease to exist at the end of today.
Now, time is a-wasting, so we ask you, what will you do with the last several hours you’ve got left? Quit your job? Fill up on glorious amounts of empty calories? Finally call your mom back? Then again, there’s also the possibility, however unlikely, that life will continue past midnight, in which case you might not want to find yourself holed up in a bunker without escape, littered with plastic wrappers of long-vanquished Twinkies, and your dying iPhone programmed only with songs from an “End of the World” mixtape. OR without having not entered the A+ Awards.
That’s right, tomorrow is the last day to enter the Architizer A+ Awards. We suggest you take the opportunity today to do so, lest you miss out on winning! First thing’s first, check out our guide to A+, the best architecture awards ever. Next, head over to the awards site, where you’ll find out more about the 50 categories and 200 jurors, as well as information on how to submit your projects for consideration. Last thing: ENTER. Got it? Don’t freak out. It’s going to be alright. Be safe and try not to do anything you’ll regret in the morning.
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October 29, 2012
All photos: MTA Flickr
The acqua alta cometh! After several days of hype, Hurricane Sandy is finally expected to swing by New York this afternoon (yikes). How did New Yorkers spend their weekend? By ransacking every food grocery in town, leaving only forlorn loaves of wonderbread and jaundiced rotisserie chickens in their wake. They were in a rush, of course, because they had to make it back home before the MTA shut down all subways and buses yesterday evening at 7 PM. Not long after doing so, MTA employees, obviously proud of their work, snapped these photos of entirely empty transit terminals, in which it seems that even the rats–our greatest commuting companions–are missing. Click through for all the photos.
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January 10, 2012
With only 346 days left on the Mayan calendar, you’re probably looking for a cozy spot to ride out the “end days.” Boy, does Sotheby’s have a deal for you!
The auction house recently made news with an unusual listing for a luxury home built over a 1960s missile silo. The 185-foot-deep silo was abandoned after the end of the Cuban missile crisis, as were 12 such models built in the region. Discovered by pilot Bill Francisco and his cousin in the early 90s, the subterranean silo was transformed over a number of years into a livable space, complete with a simulated daylight system and marble bathroom. After completing the underground renovation, the duo built a 3-bedroom home and airplane runway over the silo’s entrance. Continue reading.
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October 10, 2011
The Millennium Seed Bank, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, photo credit: Dornith Doherty
Wired has recently released Dornith Doherty’s documentary photographs of international seedbanks, including the Millennium Seed Bank in the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew and the Svalbard “Doomsday” Seed Vault, located on a Norwegian island just 800 miles from the North Pole. Equipped with digital x-ray machines and engineered to withstand temperature fluctuations, rising sea levels and even terrorist attacks, these seed-storing vaults embody the hope, fear and anxiety surrounding efforts to preserve the world’s crop diversity. More photos after the jump.
Tunnel of the Svalbard Global Seed Vault, photo credit: Dornith Doherty
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October 7, 2011
While activists have been struggling to save the bunkers lining the French coastline and preserve the great concrete-and-steel predecessors of Brutalist architecture, the pornographic filmmakers of Pink Visual are planning to build a bunker in anticipation for the predicted apocalypse in 2012, and they have recently released the plan. The bunker will be equipped with fully stocked bars, an operational microbrewery, and a sophisticated production studio that may double as an underground strip club. And let’s not forget the topless dance stages with load-bearing stripper poles! Yes, they are serious.
[via Buzzfeed]
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September 22, 2011
For years now, Andrew Moore has been creating photographic portraits of iconic places, including Cuba, Abu Dhabi, and even a survey of Robert Moses’ landmarks. His most recent body of work, a series called Detroit Disassembled, is now on view at the Queens Art Museum. Printed on the scale of epic seventeenth-century history paintings, Moore’s photographs are sublime, heartrending images of the Motor City’s former glory. Click to see more photos.
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April 26, 2011
A sarcophagus covering the damaged fourth reactor at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant.
One month and a half after the 9.0 earthquake that left Japan’s Fukushima nuclear power plant in dire straits, Building Design Online reports that the Ukraine has secured $785 million in pledges from world governments towards the construction of a vast steel shell to seal the Chernobyl nuclear reactor. The concrete “sarcophagus” constructed in 1986 to encase the stricken reactor has developed cracks and requires further containment.
Today is also the 25th anniversary of the incident at Chernobyl, to this date the worst nuclear meltdown in history.
The piece quotes two architects who are skewering the bunker as an architect-less shell; the structure, which will be large enough to house St. Paul’s Cathedral, “lacks a certain architectural flair.”
What else? Keep reading after the jump!
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