MAGICAL CONCRETE CAVE

I found this strange place in Stavanger not too long ago. Lying just up the hill from the train station, it's a sort of underground crossroads and not exactly a classical beauty. However, with the daylight flowing in from a circular hole in the ceiling, dark corners, strange yellow-greenish lamps and the sound of running water from the fountain and the underground brook, it has a very special atmosphere, and is definitely worth checking if you're in the neighbourhood.

THE HEADMISTRESS' SONG

Young Dreams from Young Dreams on Vimeo.

This weekend, I attended a seminar arranged by my alma mater, Bergen School of Architecture. The topic was the architect education of the future, and loads of interesting questions were raised. One of the moments I'll remember the best, however, was the opening, where our headmistress (principal/rector/leader whatever you prefer) Marianne Skjulhaug played this very cool and aesthetically pleasing music video from the band called Young Dreams.

The video was taped in a house called Planetveien 12, built by the great Norwegian architect Arne Korsmo for himself and his wife, the artist Grete Prytz Kittelsen. Architect  Ragnhild Jordtveit Kristiansen, who writes the blog "Mine venners hjem" says in her blog post about the house that "Planetveien is a dream of glass, concrete and teak, with specially designed and built-in furniture and surprising and original solutions". Read the blog post and watch the video (in full screen).

MRS. JACOBS AND THE CAT IN THE WINDOW

“There must be eyes on the street, eyes belonging to those we might call the natural proprietors of the street. The buildings on a street equipped to handle strangers and to insure the safety of both residents and strangers, must be oriented to the street.  They cannot turn their backs or blank sides on it and leave it blind.  The sidewalk must have users on it fairly continuously, both to add to the number of effective eyes on the street and to induce a sufficient number of people in buildings along the street to watch the sidewalks.“

- Jane Jacobs in one of the most important books about city planning, 'The Death and Life of Great American Cities'

Does this work with cats as well?

ORGANISED COMPLEXITY

Just admit it, it's sort of sexy.

ANOTHER SPACE

Roof view of King's College Chapel, Cambridge. Beautiful, isn't it?

THE ANT, THE ROCK AND THE KING

While I was sitting and reading the newspaper at sunset today, I befriended an ant. The ant lived in a rock in the middle of the city. Do you see the ant? (Click on the picture to see a bigger version.)

There are a few steps in the rock. The ant is very small, but he's still able to climb them; maybe because he has six legs.

The rock stands here, in the middle of a big pile of gravel. I wonder how the ant got there in the first place, and if he ever will leave it. Amazing, really; it seems life is everywhere. On the top of the rock is a king and his horse, but they're both made of bronze, so I don't think they bother the ant very much.

A MYSTERY

What

is

D.F.U.?

A WARNING

A warning: Great architecture does not guarantee feeling great.

NEW PARK AT TULLINLOKKA

In the middle of Oslo there's a parking space called Tullinløkka. (An interesting and elaborate article about Tullinløkka, unfortunately in Norwegian, can be found here.) A former playground for children and other sports enthusiasts, bicycle riding ground, gatherings pace for demonstrations, the city council has been trying to get something built there for more than a hundred years, but to no success. However, after what seems like a hundred competitions, suggesting among others museums with green spaces on their roofs, classicistic buildings with columns and multi-storey car parks, someone has suddenly made a decision to build a "temporary" park at Tullinløkka. There are also rumours that a 22nd July memorial will be placed in time. The picture shows small parts of the National Gallery to the left, the Historical Museum to the right and the main building of the University of Oslo in the middle.  As of now, I'm following the building of the park from my living room window, and will probably be updating with more pictures after a while.

PS. The temporary petrol station at Tullinløkka stayed there for 56 years.

NATURE BY NUMBERS

Nature by Numbers from Cristóbal Vila on Vimeo.

A lovely and interesting little film. The science of it is real, says my physicist friend. (Watch it in full screen mode.)