Google Maps Indoors

Google Maps has introduced new feature Indoors as logical next step. The videos bellow illustrate the applicability of this feature in airports or malls, and I really like the message that all the previous maps have left you at an entrance door. This app among everything else, for me as a virtual tourist, brings a joy of getting inside of many places like NYC High Line or Colosseum in Rome (that is just is presented in the advert video...who knows what else is there :). Bliss.

Hillman Curtis - Artist Series : Daniel Libeskind

Hillman Curtis is the author of the Artist Series, the set of videos with established and celebrated artists speaking about its work and views on art. Among many interesting videos which can be found in this series on his websites there is one with Daniel Libeskind.

David Hillman Curtis is a filmmaker, designer and author. His film work includes "Ride, Rise, Roar", a feature length documentary on David Byrne which premiered at SXSW 2009, as well as several national commercials for Ogilvy/IBM, online commercial work for Rolling Stone, Adobe, Sprint, Blackberry and BMW and the popular documentary series "Artist Series". He has also produced nine short narrative films; "Bridge", was selected as one of only seven shorts for the GenArts 2009 festival in New York, "Embrace", and "Spinal Tap" each won "Best Dramatic Short" Webby Awards.

As a web designer David has designed sites for Yahoo, Adobe, Aquent, the American Institute of Graphic Design, Paramount and Fox Searchlight Pictures among others.

His three books on design and film have sold close to 150 thousand copies and have been translated into 14 languages.

David Hillman Curtis' work has been featured in numerous design publications worldwide. He has also lectured extensively on design and film related subjects throughout Europe, Asia and the USA. He was nominated for the Cooper Hewitt National Design award in 2009.

He generally goes by his middle name, Hillman.

Spirit of Space - Waterline Chicago

Chicago + Weimar
Spirit of Space

Creating films solely about architecture will bring many benefits to the architectural profession and the public’s awareness + understanding of the value of the designed built environment.

The cadence of morning rush hour reflects the rhythm of the Chicago River, but how often do we allow the river to reflect a wandering glance from us? This "glance" aims to bring to light the potential of Chicago's socially under utilized, aqueous artery.

Isay Weinfeld - Square Nine Hotel, Belgrade

Images Courtesy of Square Nine Hotel

Project: Square Nine Hotel
Location: Belgrade, Serbia
Author: Isay Weinfeld
Collaborator architect: Domingos Pascali
Project manager: Elena Scarabotolo
Design team: Adriana Aun / Adriana Zampieri / Ilza Fujimura

SUPPLIERS
Woodworks: Moveis Teperman
Marble: Marble & Granite Service Srl – VR Italy
Flooring and Wood on façade: Indusparquet

DATES
Beginning of the project: 2005
Building completion: February 2011

Ben Mendelsohn - 60 Hudson Street / Bundled, Buried & Behind Closed Doors

Bundled, Buried & Behind Closed Doors
from Ben Mendelsohn
on Vimeo.

Lower Manhattan’s 60 Hudson Street is one of the world’s most concentrated hubs of Internet connectivity. This short documentary peeks inside, offering a glimpse of the massive material infrastructure that makes the Internet possible.

Featuring interviews with Stephen Graham, Saskia Sassen, Dave Timmes of Telx, Rich Miller of datacenterknowledge.com, Stephen Klenert of Atlantic Metro Communications, and Josh Wallace of the City of Palo Alto Utilities.

Paris Squares

We start with my favorite Place de la Bastille and continue with Place de la Concode, Place Charles de Gaulle and finally Place de la Nation. Enjoy!

Place de la Bastille

The square straddles 3 arrondissements of Paris, namely the 4th, 11th and 12th. The square and its surrounding areas are normally called simply Bastille.

The July Column (Colonne de Juillet) which commemorates the events of the July Revolution(1830) stands at the center of the square. Other notable features include the Bastille Opera, theBastille subway station and a section of the Canal Saint Martin. Prior to 1984, the formerBastille railway station stood where the opera house now stands.

The square is often home to concerts and similar events. The north-eastern area of Bastille is busy at night due to many cafés, bars, night clubs, and concert halls.

As a consequence of its historical significance, the square is often used for political demonstrations, including the massive anti-CPE demonstration of 28 March 2006.

Julien De Smedt - Holmenkollbakken Ski Jump, Oslo

Holmenkollbakken is a large ski jumping hill located at Holmenkollen in Oslo, Norway. It has a hill size of HS134, a construction point of K-120, and a capacity for 30,000 spectators. Holmenkollen has hosted the Holmenkollen Ski Festival since 1892, which since 1980 have been part of the FIS Ski Jumping World Cup and 1983 the FIS Nordic Combined World Cup. It has also hosted the 1952 Winter Olympics and the FIS Nordic World Ski Championships in 1930, 1966, 1982 and 2011.
The hill has been rebuilt 19 times; important upgrades include a stone take-off in 1910, an in-run superstructure in 1914, and a new superstructure in 1928. During the Second World War, the venue was used as a military installation, but upgraded in the late 1940s. Further expansions were made ahead of the 1966 and 1982 World Championships, as well as in 1991. From 2008 to 2010, the entire structure was demolished and rebuilt. As of 8 February 2011, the hill record is unofficially held by Anders Jacobsen at 142.5 meters. The official hill record was set at 5 of March 2011 by Andreas Kofler at 141 meters. The hill is part of Holmenkollen National Arena, which in addition to cross-country and biathlon venues has the normal hill Midtstubakken.