"Day by day we pass by vacant lots downtown ... Neighbourhoods that, although having a huge potential, have more and more unused spaces ... Sometimes, the tourists are the ones who open our eyes by mentioning or questioning whether this situation is normal. On other occasions, we pay attention to it for a moment only because the secondary problems that those spaces imply affect us directly. But in most of the cases, they are only a part of our way."

Habit Makes Us Blind is a series of colorful images by Spanish studio Espai MGR that seeks to draw attention to the problem of wasted space in urban environments (specifically, in the city of Valencia) -- by building conceptual LEGO structures in them. [via]
posted by bayani on May 9, 2011 - 8 comments

The Buckminster Fuller dome of the former Dutch aerospace museum is for sale. In 1971 it was the largest in the world and housed most of the aircraft on display. The dome has a height of 23 meters and a 2700 m2 floorspace. It is currently dismantled and stored in 27 seafreight containers. At the site (in Dutch) there's a wonderful set of photos on the construction in 1971 and dismantling in 2004.
posted by knutmo on Nov 5, 2010 - 15 comments

So you want to build your own Eiffel Tower. Then you'll need 7,300 tons of iron, 2.5 million rivets, and some blueprints. (You may also need a copyright lawyer.)
posted by Joe Beese on Dec 29, 2009 - 10 comments

Self-healing bio-concrete.
posted by lazaruslong on Nov 20, 2009 - 30 comments

When he says "home theater" he means home theater. If you're going to ignore TV Turnoff Week, you may as well do it in style.
posted by LeeJay on Apr 25, 2005 - 39 comments

Now that's more like it. Finally a design for rebuilding the WTC that captures the appropriate spirit. Far better than the other designs I've seen. No doubt some will think it too much, though. What's your opinion?
posted by rushmc on Jun 24, 2002 - 84 comments

Why is American architecture so bad? "American architecture is, as a rule, conventional, bland, and dull. This is true almost across the board: from public buildings sponsored by federal or state governments to commercial buildings; from privately sponsored civic institutions, such as museums and concert halls, to local community centers and religious sanctuaries; from public-housing projects to private housing."
posted by rushmc on Dec 24, 2001 - 37 comments

The construction of Memphis area Apple Store held-up by sign ordinance prohibiting the display of food products on signage. Sweet Gods of Commerce: What would Orange Julius do?! [via MacNN]
posted by nathan_teske on Aug 4, 2001 - 8 comments