It may be shocking that the Costa Concordia cruise ship that crashed and now floats alongside the island of Giglio is going to stay there. Forever. However, for architects, this floating mass (which can be seen from Google Maps!) offers a one-of-a-kind opportunity to create a hybrid land-water space for visitors and locals. An international competition asked design firms to activate the half-sunken ship and coastline as a new public space, and four lucky winners have been announced. From an underwater mall to a scientific geological raft, it’s a good thing this boat isn’t going anywhere, because these ideas are truly transformative. Read more!

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Against the backdrop of Ireland’s financial meltdown and amid struggles with his own unemployment, artist Frank Buckley constructed an apartment made entirely of decommissioned euro bills. The home, which was built in the lobby of an empty office building, itself a victim of the terminal construction boom, is lined with walls and floors of shredded bank notes worth 1.4 billion euros, to be exact. “I wanted to create something from nothing,” Buckley says, referring both to the illegitimacy of the bills and the illusory lines of credit which at the period’s peak issued loans to all manner of applicants, regardless of their financial state. This included Mr. Buckley, who received a 100% mortgage in the better years of the decade to purchase a 365,000 euro house despite having no stable income to speak of, reports The Huffington Post. Having relinquished the house to his ex-wife after their divorce, the artist began building his billion-euro home, which he says is so well-insulated that he does not even need blankets to warm him at night. Buckley is currently work to add a kitchen and living room to his humble abode.

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