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May 2, 2008

Urban square spon-taneous: Mass-created fountain

In this ongoing series of spontaneous creative happenings that are attracted to the public stage that is the urban square, 1500 students gathered in Place Ladeuzeplein, Leuven, Belgium to create their own instantaneous Bellagio Fountain... out of the infamous Coke and mentos, thus breaking the world record for... most mento-coke fountains at once.

Ok, it's not the kind of thing that jives with the Story of Stuff, but whoever has a problem with it should take it up with the Committee for the Termination of National Apathy.

Check out the fizz-filled video here. Note that the beauty of the surrounding square plays no small part in adding to the grandeur of the relatively trivial but eternally memorable event.

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May 1, 2008

Urban square spontaneous: Roman pillow fight

What's the so called Committee for the Termination of National Apathy to do to achieve its mission of relieving anxiety and stress? A national pillow fight of course!

Some 300 people celebrated the third annual Roman Pillow Fight on Sunday, April 27, 2008 in Piazza Santa Maria in the Trastevere neighborhood of Rome, simultaneously commencing massive pillow action at precisely 6 pm when the piazza's clock tower began to chime.

It's one of those 'you had to be there' events, but you can get a sense of it from via YouTube.

This is the kind of event that represents the fun, spontaneous, community-building value of a central urban square.

Image source: IntheMood4.

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April 30, 2008

Being authentically green goes beyond 'gizmo green'

As urban designer Steve Mouzon states, there's a lot of press on 'gizmo green'; the technology-oriented inventions from hybrids to bamboo floors. However, his website reminds us of The Original Green before technology as we know it today, consisting of the fundamental elements of what's needed to truly go green before gizmo green is introduced.

He defines The Original Green in two phases, with four foundations each:

Sustainable Places
Feedable - Starting with the basic needs, is a sustainable agriculture within a few miles?
Accessible - Do you have a choice other than driving to get around?
Serviceable - Are daily amenities and affordable housing provided... and accessible?
Defensible - We no longer need medieval walls (though some still need gates), but is public safety (ie 'eyes on the street') built in?

Sustainable Buildings
Lovable - If it's not designed to be beautiful and loved to begin with, it won't last.
Durable - If it's mass produced with cheap materials, don't expect it to be there in 100 years.
Flexible - Form-based urban fabric allows uses (retail, residential, office) to change over time while the buildings stay the same.
Frugal - Can your building live a simple life? Read Steve's description of a frugal building to do it justice.

See extensive profiles of each of these qualities including a collection of inspiring photos on Steve's Original Green site.

Thanks to Andy Malone of Asgard Development for the reference.

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April 29, 2008

Paris' version of coworking - with cafe

Of course a coworking site in Paris would have a cafe. Strangely enough, it's one of the only coworking sites to include one, especially given the official definition of coworking as a "cafe-like community/collaboration space for developers, writers and independents."

La Cantine opened January 30, 2008, with 2200 square feet dedicated to three spaces:

- a café and coffee bar for meet-ups, information, exhibitions and project testing;
- a collaborative space for project development (shared desk area);
- a brainstorming and meeting space (conference room area)

The coworking site was initiated by Silicon Sentier, a Paris-based association for digital start-ups, in partnership with a slew of creative government and business entities: the Ile-de-France region government; Orange (one of the largest cell phone providers in Europe); Fondation Internet Nouvelle Génération and the Cap Digital Paris Region competitive cluster - a geographical region with businesses, research centers and educational institutions working in partnership on innovative digital multimedia content and technology projects.

If only more coworking sites could look this good...

Image source: noneck.

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April 28, 2008

Moving streetcar nightclub

Here's a much more conscientious alternative to the Hummer limousine (no, not a hybrid Hummer limousine)... Prague's tram-based nightclub, known as Tramix. Yes, that's a roving streetcar dance party with music, disco lighting and two bars, bringing new meaning to the term bar hopping.

The nightclub streetcar circuits the Czech capital late at night once a month. What's the big deal? From an experience economy point of view, one of the event's organizers, Honza Komarek, states it best, "When you have a great track going and you look out the window and see Wenceslas Square (pictured left), the effect is just massive. People go crazy; everyone is screaming; everyone is waving; everyone is dancing."

Tickets are about $18 for 60 'riders'. The pre-party chauffeur service takes off from a major train station and ends up two and a half hours later at one of the city's dance clubs.

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