# Hussein Chalayan strikes again

Hussein Chalayan last 2008 collection contains a set of laser dress as impressive as usual (see older post). Red lasers are rotating and reflecting on cristals. Chalayan is still the only designer I know who is constantly looking for linking fashion and technology and therefore, to some extent to mix human body and technology (if someone knows another one, comments are open !).

Here is a video where you can see the entire collection but if you are only interested by these technologies dress go directly to the 8th minute.


Here is another one with a making of

# Yona Friedman's lecture online

Yona Friedman's last lecture in Le Pavillon de l'Arsenal (8th april 2008) in Paris is online (in French only) --> click here

# Perret Brothers in Le Raincy

After visiting Le Havre, I felt obliged to go to Le Raincy (Seine Saint Denis - Paris' suburbs) in order to see Notre Dame de la Consolation Church also designed by Auguste Perret and his two brothers Gustave and Claude, fifty years before the incredible Saint Claude Church in Le Havre (see older post). In fact Notre Dame du Raincy was constructed in 1922 in order to represent an homage to La Marne Battle's (1916) casualties. It was by then the first religious building designed by Perret's office and in order to make the construction happen, the office even had to put some money into it !
Thanks to the slightly conic posts, facades are not structural and are allowed to receive Marguerite Huré's (same than in Saint Joseph) stained glass. Ceiling crowns are very unusal and structuraly rational.
It definitely worth it to cover the 20km between Paris and Le Raincy to visit it !

# Just a line on a map...

In september and october 2006 was voted the Secure Fence Act by the US Congrete and Senate which "allows for over 700 miles of double-reinforced fence to be built across cities and deserts alike between California and Texas in areas that have been prone to illegal drug trafficking and illegal immigration. It authorizes the installation of more lighting, vehicle barriers, and border checkpoints, while putting in place more advanced equipment like sensors, cameras, satellites and unmanned aerial vehicles in an attempt to watch and control illegal immigration into the United States. Officials say that it will help cut down on the number of illegal vehicles that go back and forth across the border bringing illegal drugs." (White House communication)

How crazy it is to observe that a wall is just a line on a map but what is resulting from this line are the most consequential political decisions acting on life of thousand of people. I could have put some more pictures of Berlin Wall, Cisjordan Wall or the Indian-Kashmir Wall, but I think that this "line effect" can be also observed on smaller scales, and architects have to be deeply aware of it.

# Will Alsop's website

Sharp Centre for Design in Toronto

Will Alsop's website is updated and presents in a quiteclearly way the office's projects.

Ben Pimlott Building in London

Canary Wharf Lifting Bridge in London

Hôtel du Département des Bouches du Rhone (Prefecture) in Marseille

Stratford dlr Station in London

Blizard Building in London

# Power Unit Studio's House Y

Here is a house in Aichi (Japan) designed by Power Unit Studio.

# Fractal Table by Platform Wertel Oberfell

Another industrial design object; an arborescence resin table designed by Platform Wertel Oberfell (young german design firm) with Matthias Bär. Nice !

# Introducing the Shit Box !

As said on The Brown Corporation's website, Shit Box is a lightweight portable cardboard toilet, made specifically for outdoor use. The box pops up from a convenient 14 inch flat pack to a rigid, reusable, comfortable toilet. Each box comes with ten degradables poo bags.

I just finish reading Mikes Davis' Planet of Slums who analyses in a chapter the "shit impact" and I'm thinking that the Shit Box could be some kind of solution...

# Visiting Concrete Le Havre / Auguste Perret & Oscar Niemeyer

Yesterday, I went to Le Havre in order to make a little photographic reportage within the city which was reconstructed after allied bombings in 1944. At this time Le Havre could be assimilated as the French Coventry and 10 000 new housing had to be built in ten years. Auguste Perret, who was already 71 years old, was appointed as Chief Architect of the Reconstruction and his office designed all the buildings which are now Le Havre downtown. In order to be efficient, every single architectural element's dimensions were according to a 6.24 metres weft. Thus, every buildings are 2x6.24m wide, every post is separated to another one by 6.24m, every window is 6.24/6m etc.
In addition of that, Perret wanted to build an huge concrete layer 3.50 metres above ground and to "lay" all the city on it because of the boggy land. Thus, all the technical facilities (water, electricity, telephone, car parks etc.) would have been put under this layer. Unfortunetly, it wasn't accepted by Le Havre's Authority.

Here is Saint Joseph Church, also designed by Perret and it is one of the crazyiest building I have ever visited. Thanks to Marguerite Huré's stained glasses and Perret's monumental concrete, I really felt like I was playing in Blade Runner !!! Unfortunetly my pictures can't really make you figure out but it's really really amazing !

The other very famous architect who worked in Le Havre is Oscar Niemeyer. Here is his building in the very centre of the city, some kind of kilimanjaro let down in Normandy ! It's called the Vulcano (you can't make it up !) and I didn't get the chance to visit it (every thing was closed for vacation) but the exterior surface is really fascinating ! Another superb concrete landscape in the city's core. Look at the styly gutters around the doors !