Working-class apartment blocks—particularly those built by authoritarian governments—don’t exactly have stellar aesthetic reputations. When you think of the high-rises erected for the proletariat, adjectives such as “brutish,” “drab”, and “grim” are what immediately pop to mind. Yet it is important to remember that even when budgetary constraints and government ideology factored into the construction equation, […]
Entries Tagged as 'architecture'
The Hidden Beauty of the Panelaks
February 1st, 2013 · Comments Off on The Hidden Beauty of the Panelaks
Tags:architecture·Communism·construction·Mongolia·photography·Serbia
The Mystery of Throatboxing
September 10th, 2012 · Comments Off on The Mystery of Throatboxing
Throat singing is considered something of a female pursuit in Inuit culture, but Nelson Tagoona has no qualms about incorporating the artform’s esophagus-expanding techniques into his beatboxing. Check out the above clip, then move onto this related performance, which took place this summer in front of one of Microkhan’s favorite architectural curiosities.
Tags:architecture·beatboxing·Canada·hip-hop·Inuit·Iqaluit·music·Nelson Tagoona·throatboxing
The East Bay
April 30th, 2012 · 1 Comment
I’m out in California, doing some (very, very, very) last-minute reporting for the book. In my absence, check out these abandoned structures; the ones from Gary, Indiana, are particularly haunting.
America’s Penchant for Reinvention
April 24th, 2012 · 1 Comment
Our vast nation’s architectural history boasts few curiosities more delightful than the Nuwaubian pyramids of Eatonton, Georgia, captured here in drive-by video. Some approximation of a backstory is available in this Macon Telegraph story; suffice to say that one must always be wary of religious leaders who were once aspiring musicians. (See also: Koresh, David; […]
Tags:Anderson Scott·architecture·cults·Georgia·Nuwaubian pyramids·photography·religion
Architectural Antipsychotics
March 7th, 2011 · 2 Comments
I’d wager that there isn’t a single state in the nation that lacks an architectural oddity dubbed something like “The Strangest House in the World.” You know what I’m talking about—that random tourist attraction that lies somewhere between two medium-sized towns, and is a testament to mankind’s ability to develop total (and somewhat frightening) tunnel […]
Tags:architecture·mental illness·neuroscience·Palace of Depression·psychology
Let There Be Hydroelectricity
December 16th, 2009 · 4 Comments
Explicitly Communist architecture gets a unfairly bad rap from critics. Sure, builders behind the Iron Curtain were overly fond of dismal panelaks and other multi-dwelling units that reeked of dingy misery. But when the last true believers in the dictatorship of the proletariat decided to go the triumphalist route, man, did they ever pull it […]
Tags:architecture·art·Communism·dictatorship·mythology·Nicolae Ceausescu·Romania·statues
As the Haus Turns
December 10th, 2009 · Comments Off on As the Haus Turns
Has any architectural innovation been as unfairly maligned as the revolving restaurant? Call such establishments as the Restaurant Skyline Mannheim and Yanggakdo Hotel kitsch if you must, but we rather like the idea of spinning around while feasting on serviceable victuals. Think of it as a sub-gourmet celebration of man’s aptitude for making grand machines. […]
Tags:architecture·Brazil·Germany·Luigi Colani·North Korea·revolving restaurants·Rotor Haus·urban design