How could I not love something that combines anatomy and the deep sea? Spheres of Brain Coral can be found in all the world’s oceans, complete with their winding channeled grooves that resemble our gray matter.
Isn’t that wonderful? Now I’m wondering whether other marine entities evoke human anatomy…
I thought a post involving some guerilla knitting would be a nice complement to Outrageous Architecture Week.
I have never set eyes on such a complex “graffiti” project. I won’t even hazard a guess at how much collective time the gas station covering must have taken.
If only an unruly band of stealth knitters would come and deface my property so magnificently!
In addition, guerilla knitting appears to be a feat of agility and acrobatics! One group, Knitta Please, made a short film about their work. There’s something marvelously surreal about seeing these lovely ladies speak about their gangster-like activities.
This post is dedicated to buildings designed to look like everyday objects.
Teapot Gas Station, Zilla Washington:
The teapot was built as a reminder of the Teapot Dome Scandal, which rocked the presidency of Warren G. Harding and sent Interior Secretary Albert Fall to prison for his role in leasing government oil reserves.
Kansas City Library, Missouri:
If there’s one thing I like better than books, it’s thousands of books encased in giant books.
The Basket Building, Ohio:
I adore the thought of humans running around in this building like hordes of invasive picnic basket ants.
The Atomium, Brussels, Belgium:
Built as a monument to the atomic age for the 1958 Brussels World Fair, the nine steel spheres connect in the shape of an iron crystal unit cell magnified 165 billion times.
Explore the building and exhibits on the flickr site.
Wiki entry
Mammy’s Cupboard, Natchez, Mississippi:
Mammy’s Cupboard opened in 1940 Mississippi, and has endured cycles of decay and reconstruction. Each restoration became increasingly politically correct (mid-20th century Mississippi was not exactly known for racial tolerance and diversity).
And of course, I must include the Big Duck in Flanders, Long Island (right in my county), which will soon undergo its annual holiday “lighting:”
In 1931, Riverhead duck farmer Martin Maurer built this 20-ft. tall, 30-ft long structure. He used tail lights from a Model T Ford for the eyes, which glowed red at night (which I imagine must have had a sinister air). Maurer sold ducks and eggs from the shop in its belly. Now it serves as a souvenir shop.
Lucy the Elephant, Magrate City, New Jersey:
You’d look as stunned and uncomfortable as Lucy here if millions of people had toured your innards since 1881. This poor girl has been used as a real estate office, as a summer home, even briefly as a tavern, until unruly drunks nearly burned her down.
Deck the halls with loaves of poultry!
All the turducken buzz this year inspired me to make:
*THE ORIGINAL TURDUCKEN ORNAMENT*
(It really loses something in the photo, sadly)
The moment anything hits the internet, profitable imitations start to surface. I may be opening a gigantic Pandora’s Box of turducken crafts (a comical idea, for sure). For once I’m staking claim. All too often, someone emails me with an etsy link saying “Didn’t you make this last year?”
If you want to order one, handmade with love and painted stuffing, contact me and ye shall receive…at least until my fingers cramp up from the sewing. ($15 US)
That title is perhaps an understatement when referring to this Russian home, one of the most elaborately decorated buildings I’ve come across.
The details are astounding.
If anyone has seen this before, or can tell me more about the origins, I’d love to know!
Lithuanian surrealist painter Vladimir Golub has a penchant for painting ladies with cumbersome objects atop their heads.
I love the nonchalance of the women supporting these cranial worlds…
He also creates structures that border on abstract…that draw in the eye and challenge the brain to make sense of the image.
And of course, the occasional Bosch-style giant fish transportation system:
I had quite a nice time browsing his site.
The blog Gender Alalyzer is “70% sure” that SheWalksSoftly.com is written by a man. Kudos to them for not letting the site title act as a dead giveaway.
I’m intrigued by their mysterious decision process.
Although I’m quite the dainty little creme puff on the surface, I do not fit the majority of female stereoptypes in our culture. I adore fattening food, ignore fashion trends, am incredibly low maintenance, and would much rather read a textbook than a Cosmo. Yet in many ways, I’m exceedingly feminine and I embrace/display that side of myself wholeheartedly.
Have they detected the multifaceted nature of my personality…or would frequent use of the phrase “fat thighs” deem me a “woman?”
I wish there was more information about whether the analyzer relies on keywords, writing style or other variables. I’m incredibly curious as to whether their process is one of staggering complexity…or insulting simplicity.
Has anyone tried the analyzer?
The line between madman and genius can be quite thin. On which side of that line Reversible Destiny Lofts fall, well…I’ll let you be the judge. There is an entire (extensively complicated) architectural philosophy from which these designs sprung forth.
The website is filled with dizzying quotes, such as:
The dispersing and juxtaposing and culling of landing sites in respect to an architectural surround; a super-convening of many convenings; messenger-like — in rapport with all there is; that which revs as momentum — revved and revving; an amassing of the provisional; a ubiquitous piecing together. All that emanates from a person as she projects and reads an architectural surround forms an architectural body that moves with her, changing form depending on the position she assumes.
Perhaps there is a translation issue.
The lofts are based on the principle of Biotopology. Essentially, the theory advocates an environment that continually stimulates and challenges the senses, and implies that forcing occupants to be slightly off balance and bombarded with sensory overload keeps them “sharp.”
Personally, I have to disagree with this philosophy based on the well-documented phenomenon of neuroplasticity. Unless the environment itself continues to change, the human brain will inevitably “re-wire” itself so the surroundings are no longer challenging and overstimulating. In short: we get used to it. The brain is miraculously adaptable.
I admire the design work and effort that went into this project, though I could never live in one of the units without feeling as if I were trapped in a McDonald’s Play Place.
More pictures and text at the website.
I would love to get lost in this installation by creative lighting designer Bruce Munro at The Eden Project.
Thousands of fiber optic cables support acrylic orbs, illuminating the landscape like a field of bioluminescent vegitation.
Bird’s eye view:
I want to wander in this alien world…
Poland is home to some wonderful architectural anomalies. Among them:
The Upside Down House (Syzmbark)
Daniel Czapiewski, Polish businessman and philanthropist, built this house as an artistic statement about the Communist era and current state of the world. Many tourists who visit complain of mild seasickness and dizziness after just a few minutes of being in the structure.
Quite a work of art, indeed. Not many designers are able to disturb one’s perceptual field enough to induce sickness. In this case, it’s brilliantly intentional.
The Crooked House (Sobot)
Despite its hallucinatory appearance, the building functions as part of a regular shopping center.
SheWalksSoftly 
