World's tallest living wall takes root in Sydney

"Renowned French botanist, Patrick Blanc, has created the world’s tallest vertical garden at a residential development in Sydney’s inner west. However, the 33-storey north-facing green wall is merely a “practice run” for Blanc’s even bigger installation planned as part of the $2 billion Central Park development at the former Carlton Brewery site on Broadway.

The living artwork, currently installed at Frasers Property’s Trio development in Camperdown, uses 4,528 native Australian plants from 69 different species that are fed by a grey-water, dripper-irrigation system. “You can observe many of these species growing wild on maritime cliffs or along the cliffs and rocky slopes in mountainous areas, making this project a kind of ‘Botanical Vertical Garden’,” Blanc said.

In collaboration with Pritzker prize-winning French architect Jean Nouvel, Blanc will also add vegetal wall panels to two residential towers as part of the Frasers Broadway development. These living walls are set to reach up to 150 metres in height and cover up to 10 times the area of the Trio prototype. Blanc, who is credited with inventing the concept of a vertical garden, told Architecture & Design that he is experimenting with the use of tubes and pyramids that can be entirely clad in plants as part of his work on the Frasers Broadway project.

As well as providing a green aesthetic, vertical gardens can also offer a reduction in energy consumption through thermal insulation, Frasers Property managing director, Dr Stanley Quek, said. “Not only are Patrick’s vertical garden installations captivating, but also by putting these sustainable pieces in cities we are able to cut down on greenhouse gas emissions and have them act as a natural air purification system,” Quek said.

The Trio development, which was designed by Fender Katsalidis, gives every apartment a balcony edged with louvered screens that acts as passive sustainable design and gives the building a “dynamic”, ever changing aesthetic, Karl Fender said."

Tim & Jean - The Next Big Thing

"What is it that makes Australian electro duo Tim & Jean so special? That's not meant as a corny opening line for this feature, that's a genuine question. We really want to know what kind of magic potion is running through the water in their hometown of Perth or how many virgins one needs to sacrifice in order to have what they have. With just one song circulating around at the moment, the blissful synth-pop jam Come Around, Tim & Jean have already blown bloggers and industry types away. Indeed, after wowing Australian audiences as part of Triple J radio’s Unearthed competition, the duo has found itself in the middle of a major label bidding war in the US, cementing its buzz as the next big thing set to go supernova in 2010. On Come Around the kids, and yes I do mean kids as the two are just 15 and 18 respectively, show off a surprisingly masterful knack for melding mirror-ball electronics with stomping choruses and irresistible hooks. With more gold like this on the way now's the ideal time to fall for Tim & Jean as you can bet you'll be hearing a lot of them very soon."

source: http://www.thecoolhunter.com.au/

check them out @ http://www.myspace.com/wearetimandjean

Paint-Free Coke Can Saves Energy, Reduces Pollution

"Designer Harc Lee has created a “naked” Coca Cola can that forfeits Coke’s typical bold red and white stripes in favor of au naturale silver. The aluminum can is created without using any paints or dyes, and stands to greatly reduce pollution and energy use associated with producing and recycling soda cans.

Instead of coloring the can with toxic dyes and paints used on traditional Coca-Cola Classic cans, Harc Lee’s monochrome coke can would use a pressing machine to make the brand stand out from its background. The result is a sleek, updated look fitting for a 21st-century beverage.

Though the can may be silver, its design is decidedly green. By giving up its bold colors, the can reduces air and water pollution that occurs during the coloring process and eliminating the energy and toxic dyes required to give the can its color. Plus, the naked can streamlines the recycling process: before any aluminum can can be recycled, it must first be stripped of its paint. Ditching color during production saves a ton of energy and effort at the recycling plant.

Sure, this is just one type of can in America’s ever-growing lineup of tasty, single-serving beverages. But let’s put things into perspective: according to Gizmodo, Coca Cola produced 67.8 million cans of Coca Cola Classic in 2007. That’s about 24.7 billion cans a year! And if Diet Coke and Coca-Cola Zero also adopted the naked look, the tally would total about 75.3 billion cans every year.

It’s unclear whether Coca-Cola will pick up the new look, but we should definitely give props to Harc Lee for coming up with such an innovative design. It’s up to consumers to convince advertisers and beverage producers that brands can still retain their own identities even without bright, bold colors on the labels."

source: www.inhabitat.com

Empire of the Sun - Album of the Year @ ARIA's

"For years, Luke Steele has been hailed as the Next Big Thing in Australian music. Last night, the eccentric Perth performer climbed to the pinnacle of Australian music when his band, Empire of the Sun, dominated the 23rd ARIA Awards in Sydney.

Steele and his collaborator Nick Littlemore were the toast of the town when their electro pop duo collected four gongs including Album of the Year, Best Group, Single of the Year and Best Pop Release for its critically acclaimed debut album Walking on a Dream.

These accolades came after the band's success at the recent ARIA Artisan Awards, where it was awarded Best Video, Best Cover Art and Best Producer.

The awards consolidated a big year for the band, which counts Barack Obama and Jay-Z as fans and whose upbeat, sci-fi themed songs have been on high rotation on radio stations."

source: theage.com.au

'Sweet Disposition' - The Temper Trap

House on Carysfort Road - ODOS Architects

"This mid-terrace house in Ireland has been extensively refurbished into a contemporary live/work space. The new structure was conceived as a simple form which connects at ground level with the existing house. The tight site and strict planning constraints defined the form of the new extension from an early stage."

Carysfort Road, Dublin, Ireland, by ODOS Architects, via: The Architectural Review

Pranav Mistry @ TED INDIA 2009: The thrilling potential of SixthSense technology

Awsmazing!

'This Is War' Preview - 30 Seconds To Mars

'Kings & Queens'

'This Is War'

1. Escape
2. Night Of The Hunters
3. Kings and Queens
4. This Is War
5. 100 Suns
6. Hurricane Feat. Kanye West
7. Closer to the Edge
8. Vox Populi
9. Search and Destroy
10. Alibi
11. Stranger in a Strange Land
12. L490

New album 'This Is War' out December 8th!

Melbourne and Olympic Park Masterplan

The Melbourne and Olympic Parks masterplan aims to cater for the growing popularity of the Australian Open and to establish Melbourne and Olympic Parks as an unbeatable sports and events precinct.

The proposal places a strong emphasis on the comfort of patrons, with more open space and shade, increased seating capacity, better connections to public transport and the city, and easier movement into and within Melbourne Park.

The plan proposes:

• a new 'town square' with a lightweight roof to provide shade and protection for patrons in the centre of Melbourne Park
• improved player facilities
• more practice courts
• an international broadcast centre and better media facilities
• a roof for Margaret Court Arena
• new headquarters for Tennis Australia
• better pedestrian links between the precinct, Birrarung Marr and the new rectangular stadium.

The Victorian Government has provided $5 million for the preparation of a long term masterplan for the site, and detailed design and costings for the first stage of the project. The masterplan will take over 10 years to implement, and will need to be delivered in a way that allows the Australian Open Grand Slam and Rod Laver Arena to continue to operate.

Stephen Wiltshire draws NYC from memory

"Stephen Wiltshire is an artist who draws and paints detailed cityscapes. He has a particular talent for drawing lifelike, accurate representations of cities, sometimes after having only observed them briefly. He was awarded an MBE for services to the art world in 2006. He studied Fine Art at City & Guilds Art College. His work is popular all over the world, and is held in a number of important collections."

"Glow in the Dark" Book Promo - Kanye West

Awesome concert footage, can't wait for the DVD!