Architectural Record: Hinkle Shack

"A ladder unhitches from the southwest side of the building and swings down to the ground, providing access to the entry door. Inside, oil lamps provide light and a woodstove heats the space. Lifting a small trap door in the floor reveals the lid of a water tank beneath the platform. A gravitational system delivers water from the tank to a faucet in the miniscule “kitchen.” A hand-powered bilge pump, designed for removing water from the bottom of a boat’s hull, draws water from below the platform to a smaller tank suspended from the ceiling, so it can fall into the shack’s descending plumbing. The pump can also be hooked up to a water-storage compartment on the woodstove, sending hot water to the faucet."

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Coudal: Seed Conference Recap

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Park In Your Apartment: 200 11th Street, NYC

Sony Bravia Bunnies: Stollen?

Months ago, Hunter Slaton sent me a link to the Sony Bravia Bouncy Balls commercial, wherein 250,000 superballs (almost all of the bouncy balls available in the country at the time) are rolled down a steep San Francisco hill. It's really quite amazing.

Now, Sony has released another ad, this time featuring Play-Doh bunnies taking over New York. Although you can't really tell, the commercial also features a little bit of plagiarism. Yikes.

Design Observer: What Everyone Wants

"Perhaps design is the field of mindless prettiness. But hasn't it always been so? After all, most of us entered the profession not because we've determined after long thought that it represented a more effective way of influencing the course of world events than, say, law or medicine. Instead, somewhere along the way, we discovered we liked making things look good, and that we were better at it than other people."

"interestingly, almost every designer I've ever met has been serenely confident in his or her ability to make things look good, thank you very much. No, what designers wanted then and want now, more than anything else, is respect. Respect from clients. Respect from the general public. We want to be seen as more than mere stylists, we want to set the agenda, to be involved earlier in the strategic process, to be granted a place at the table. In short, just like the Chaste Clarissa, we want to be taken seriously."

You're So Intelligent...

Nathan Sawaya - The Art of Brick

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I don't think there was another solo activity I did when I was little that was as enriching and well-spent as when I was constructing Legos. Playing in the back yard, riding my bike, sitting in front of the television - for shows or video games. All of these activities seem inferior when I think of the calm I used to feel when I played with Legos. In fact, there are times when I think I might be better off now if I just had a carrying case of Legos to fool around with.

Paper Cuts: Peter Callesen

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