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.)

NICE CURVES

Woosh! 

(I love concave buildings in cities.)

Adamstuen, Oslo, Norway. August 2011.

NATURBETONG ("NATURAL CONCRETE")

Naturbetong - unequalled combination of industrial look and dust collecting since 1950!

Launched in 1950 by architect Erling Viksjø, but somehow still not very popular amongst most people, the technique of naturbetong has been used in several very important public buildings in Norway, including the government building, which was the main target and heavily damaged by the bomb in Oslo 22nd July 2011. Now we can never tear it down.

Picture from Jernbanetorget subway station, taken earlier tonight.

ADDING TO AN ADDITION

Works surprisingly well surprisingly often.

Building(s) with sod roofs at Maihaugen open air museum in Lillehammer, Norway.

THE GRUMPIEST ELF

V1

V2

V3

Taken in my parents' garden (designed by yours truly) with a self timer this afternoon.

WINDOW + KITCHEN + BALCONY

Kitchen + window + balcony = <3

Model: Erik Natvig

Photographer: Heidimarie Evensen

BEWARE OF BUILDING

Be sure to use architecture in the right way, or it might become dangerous.

(Is this blog getting a bit silly?)

STICKS AND STONES

Sticks and stones

May break my bones

But I'd rather you build houses out of them.

Chester Rows in Chester, Cheshire, England, with covered walkways and shops on two floors in townhouses for wealthy families.