This photo was found on the fascinating Architecture of Doom tumblr site. Lots to unpack here, mostly beautiful pictures of brutalist or stark architecture and monuments, many in some state of decay or abandonment.
Picture below: Man on camel posing in front of the Soyuz rocket monument, Baikonur, Kazakh SSR, 1980s
Update 4/30/2025: No longer happening at the Park Church in Denver, but thank you to all those that pitched in or contributed to this endeavor.
My wife, Emily Moore, has started this GoFundMe campaign to help our lovely Venezuelan friends (who have recently migrated to Denver) earn money, meet people, stay warm, etc. Please take a look and help out if you are able.
Our daughter’s boyfriend, generously offered to fly me over Denver/Boulder in a vintage Cessna. Lovely up there.
This tiny self-powered container dwelling packs a quite a punch. I could imagine 100s of these around Denver where homes are needed. More information here.
Designed to be affordable building systems, easy to transport and assemble. These homes measure approx. 350 sq ft and can accommodate 4+ people. The structural system is scaffolding tubes/fittings with lumber crosspieces for panels (adding to the stiffness). Clear corrugated polycarbonate sheets cover the roof/walls - making it waterproof.
I could imagine these with insulated panels, solar and water collection systems and wood stoves as quick off-grid dwellings in rural, mt or urban settings. More here.
Very impressive idea and implementation of a net zero house that is also a mini farm and education tool with all systems working together. Check out this 8min video highlighting many of the smart ideas.
These lost mates were found on sidewalks and roadsides and picked up by Thomas Scott while cycling about. The arrangement by color gradient is a nice touch. More here.
Impressive European youth having a go at sustainability and creative thinking. They’ve made many informative videos. More here.
I feel like the world is getting behind this.
Excerpt from the NYTimes:
Switzerland, a favorite destination for Russian oligarchs and their money, announced on Monday that it would freeze Russian financial assets in the country, setting aside a deeply rooted tradition of neutrality to join the European Union and a growing number of nations seeking to penalize Russia for the invasion of Ukraine.
After a meeting with the Swiss Federal Council, Switzerland’s president, Ignazio Cassis, said that the country would immediately freeze the assets of Russia’s president, Vladimir V. Putin, Prime Minister Mikhail V. Mishustin and Foreign Minister Sergey V. Lavrov, as well as all 367 individuals sanctioned last week by the European Union.
Help however you can. Here are two relief organizations:
Jeff Pachoud
Matt Slocum
Marco Bertorello
I love this incredibly practical idea and below is a modified summary of what they do.
powerHYDE is a carbon negative, self-financing home for the homeless.
Each home produces 4X the amount of energy it needs. A cluster of 75 homes (a community) is a mini power plant generating 1 MW (MegaWatt) collectively selling the surplus energy to neighboring industries - generating additional income for the inhabitants as well as powering communal facilities.
This potentially solves: 1. the enormous demand for housing (40 million rural homes in India) 2. the increasing need for sustainable energy (300%) 3. a sustainable financial model. Read more.
Love the idea of this project planned for 2022.
ICON, an Austin-based construction technologies company pioneering large-scale 3D printing, will be working with homebuilder Lennar, to build 100 homes co-designed by the Danish architecture firm, BIG-Bjarke Ingels Group. More here.
Still one of the smartest disaster relief structures I’ve run across. Everything fits in the container, it has leveling legs/feet, shade or roof structure that can hold solar panels and can arrive by boat and truck. More here.
Whether it is ideas, money, time, talents, space or countless other things, ultimately, giving away some of what you find important will likely come back to you and others in positive ways.
The Boulder County fires over the past 2 days have yielded unimaginable loss for so many but the acts of generosity coming out of this tragic event remind me of how good people are when they rise to the occasion. I feel inspired by the stories of teens donating clothes, babysitting services, and pet care; business providing goods & services; and people offering up rooms in their homes and whole houses while they’re out of town.
Here are some ways you can help.
Looks like much needed snow is headed our way. Take care of each other.
Our neighbors shared this idea of this with us a few days ago and we may need to try it next year. Jólabókaflóðið is the Icelandic tradition of giving books to one another on Christmas Eve and spending the rest of the night reading and consuming chocolate. Read more here.
Doshi is one of those impressive and thoughtful designers, who is still rather obscure even after receiving the Pritzker Architecture Prize 2018. Read more here.
