Flavorwire’s List of “Architectural Projects That Seemed Like a Great Idea at the Time”

Sometimes while researching a blog post you’ll find another site has already beat you to it. In this case, while gathering information on the most offensive architectural projects on hold due to the economic recession I came across Flavorwire’s list of  “Architectural Projects That Seemed Like a Great Idea at the Time.” Their list conveys many of my ideas in much simpler terms, so I’ve decided to abandon my effort and simply pass along the information from Flavorwire.

Included in the list are six projects, like the under water hotel known as Hydropolis (pictured above) in Dubai, that are so absurd in scope and cost you’ll wonder how anyone, even an international banker, could be convinced to build them.

Read the full list here

posted by: Brent Carter

Dan Phillips’ Recycled Homes

Meet Dan Phillips of Huntsville, TX, changing the world one house at a time. His local building initiative Phoenix Commotion works with low income individuals to build their own homes using 80-85% recycled materials. Read the Phoenix Commotion mission statement below and watch the video to see some of Phillips’ unique and low-cost homes.

Mission Statement:
“The Phoenix Commotion is a local building initiative created to prove that constructing homes with recycled and salvaged materials has viable place in the building industry. This operation uses only apprentice labor and teaches marketable skills to anyone with a work ethic who is willing to swing a hammer. By keeping labor costs low and using donated or found materials, the homes created are truly affordable. No two are alike due to the myriad of materials used, so there is an artistic element that makes Phoenix Commotion homes truly unique. We target single parents, artists, and families with low incomes. We require the homeowner to be involved with the planning and construction of their own home. The result is a person who is empowered, not only by the use of knowledge and building skills, but by the opportunity to become part of a community as a vested participant.” (Continue reading here)

posted by: Tricia Rock

Fill:Refill Reception

The fifth year architectural design studio of the University of Kansas in conjunction with El Dorado Inc. presents “Fill:Refill,” an exhibition of 50 projects for Jarboe Pool. The reception/exhibition is Wednesday, May13th at Pachamama’s in Lawrence, KS beginning at 7:30 pm. Stop by to see the end product of a semester’s worth of hard work by these emerging architects and soon to be graduates, including The Rathaus’ own s.a.johnson.

Learn more about Fill:Refill here.

posted by: Brent Carter

“Aberrant Agriculture” by Scott Johnson

For our sixth and final installment of architectural projects dedicated to vertical farming, renewable energies, and the construction of a better, greener 21st century, s.a.johnson discusses Aberrant Agriculture by University of Kansas Masters of Architecture student Scott Johnson, also known to the Rathaus as s.a.johnson.

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Dickson Despommier

For our fifth installment of six architectural projects dedicated to vertical farming, renewable energies, and the construction of a better, greener 21st century, s.a.johnson discusses the work of microbiologist and esteemed professor of environmental health at Columbia University Dickson Despommier.

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