Hotel made entirely of rubbish opens in Madrid Eco-friendly mentality has reached a new level in Spain, with one European artist creating a hotel made entirely out of rubbish.
While it's quite literally a load of garbage, the accommodation does have an important message to instil on consumers, as it has been launched as this year's Corona Save the Beach hotel. The five-bedroom building, which has been designed by German artist HA Schult, is constructed from 12 tonnes of rubbish, all of which was found littering the beaches around Europe.
Visitors to Madrid will be able to see the Beach Garbage Hotel until January 23rd, with the display period coinciding with a tourism fair being held in the Spanish capital. The aim of the structure is to raise awareness of the plight of beaches and seas around the world, which are increasingly plagued by litter.
HA Schult told AFP news agency: 'I created the Beach Garbage Hotel because the oceans of our planet are the biggest garbage dump.' Rose Piqueras, a spokesperson for the project, added: 'We wanted to show what our holidays could become if we don't clean our beaches.'
The Corona Save the Beach campaign targets a new coastline each year to try and save, ensuring they remain places for relaxation and fun. In 2009, it helped save Capocotta beach in Rome and in 2010 the campaign focused on Portman Bat in Murcia, Spain.
This is the church where religious leaders really are preaching from on high - perched 130ft on top of a pillar of rock. The tiny church sits precariously on a jagged cliff which has been eroded by weather over almost 14 centuries. It is believed that pagans built the temple in the bizarre location as the pillar was thought to symbolise their god of fertility.
Experts believe the building - near the city of Chiatura in the former Soviet republic of Georgia - was constructed on the mountain between the sixth and eight centuries.
Konstantin Murtkhveladze, 25, braved the perilous ascent up the pillar using a rusty ladder to take some pictures. 'The old ladder on the side of the pillar looks like it could snap at any time', he told the Daily Mirror. Konstantin, from Tbilisi in Georgia, added: 'But once you get up there it sends a chill down your spine. It feels like a very special place. You can see the church poking above the landscape from far away as you approach. It’s an unbelievable sight.'
This incredible church really does take you one step closer to heaven. The house of God offers an altar-native place to pray but only if you have a head for heights - because it lies on the edge of an amazingly steep 130 foot cliff.
It is not known how the pagans who built the temple carried the materials up the steep pillar without large cranes that are used today. The church is currently being restored with the help of brave volunteers who carry vital materials up the steep ladder.
Father Maxim, 55, who has lived in the church for 18 years, says he dreamed of living there as a child. 'Since I was a child I dreamed of settling on the top of this pillar as other hermits did in ancient times,' he said. When I came here with my friends I envied the monk who had lived there long ago – now I am here too I am happy.'
These structures were commissioned by former Yugoslavian president Josip Broz Tito in the 1960s and 70s to commemorate sites where WWII battles took place (like Tjentište, Kozara and Kadinjača), or where concentration camps stood (like Jasenovac and Niš). They were designed by different sculptors (Dušan Džamonja, Vojin Bakić, Miodrag Živković, Jordan and Iskra Grabul, to name a few) and architects (Bogdan Bogdanović, Gradimir Medaković...), conveying powerful visual impact to show the confidence and strength of the Socialist Republic. In the 1980s, these monuments attracted millions of visitors per year, especially young pioneers for their "patriotic education." After the Republic dissolved in early 1990s, they were completely abandoned, and their symbolic meanings were forever lost.
From 2006 to 2009, Kempenaers toured around the ex-Yugoslavia region (now Croatia, Serbia, Slovenia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, etc.) with the help of a 1975 map of memorials, bringing before our eyes a series of melancholy yet striking images. His photos raise a question: can these former monuments continue to exist as pure sculptures? On one hand, their physical dilapidated condition and institutional neglect reflect a more general social historical fracturing. And on the other hand, they are still of stunning beauty without any symbolic significances.
Scaffolding the stairway to heaven?
Lee Moran
20th May 2011
It is a city famous for its architecture and ancient temples - where construction methods seem to have remained firmly in the past. This incredible photograph shows the death-defying lengths workmen in the east Indian city of Bhubaneswar are going to in building a new shopping mall.
As capital of the Orissa state, Bhubaneswar was one of India's first planned cities and is currently enjoying a mini-boom in the retail industry. Telecommunications, IT and engineering firms poured into the city in the 1990s - leading to the increase in demand for shopping malls.
Alongside Puri and Konark, the city forms the Swarna Tribhuja (The Golden Triangle) and, with more than 600 religious sites, is nicknamed the Temple City of India.
Mother nature celebrates end of Forth Bridge's 121-year paint job with a spectacular show
Jim McBeth
26th November 2011
It is newly painted in what some see as a rather mundane shade of ochre - but yesterday Mother Nature decided that the Forth Bridge deserved better. In a trice the heavens opened up and suddenly the world's most distinctive rail bridge was bathed in all the bright colours of the rainbow. It was the ideal backdrop for the bridge, standing in all its glory - free of scaffolding for the first time in ten years.
It was also a historic moment for the team of 200 workmen carrying out what was known as the world's longest paint job. For the first time since 1890 they could lay down their brushes, knowing they won't have to start all over again on Monday. Thanks to advances in paint ‘technology’, the one-and-a-half mile bridge, with its 43 acres of surface and 6.5million rivets will not require a paint job for 25 years.
Maintenance of the bridge has passed into the language to describe an endless task. ‘It is like painting the Forth Bridge,’ goes the saying. Now that has been made redundant by a triple-layer coat of super-strong paint. A Network Rail spokesman said: ‘The bridge looks amazing, restored to its original glory. It’s looking almost as good as when it was first built.’
Pictures of Tower Bridge during construction found dumped in a skip
29th November 2011
This is one of the London's most beloved landmarks as you've never seen it before. The never before seen pictures of Tower Bridge - one of the world's most recognisable structures - have been unveiled after the stash of hundred-year-old prints were found in a skip.
Coinciding with the 125th anniversary of the bridge's foundation, the 50 sepia photos reveal in incredible detail the ingenuity behind one of the capital's most popular tourist destinations, which was the first bridge of its kind in the world. The unique pictures, dating back to 1892, document the construction the iconic bridge, which at the time was a landmark feat of engineering nicknamed ‘The Wonder Bridge’.
The discarded pictures, which were retrieved by a caretaker who was looking after a building being turned into flats in 2006, have spent the last five years in a carrier bag underneath his bed. The 59-year-old, who wishes to remain anonymous, said that after the occupants of the Westminster office building moved out, the album and a number of documents were thrown into a skip outside. He said: ‘I took the ledgers to the Tower Bridge Museum because I thought they might have some historical value. They included records of the materials and used in the bridge's construction and what they cost. I told the man at the museum that I had also found some photos but he told me they already had plenty of those. I didn't know what to do with them so I wrapped them in some brown paper and put them in a bag under the bed.’ It wasn't until earlier this month, when the owner of the photos mentioned them to his neighbour, City of Westminster tour guide Peter Berthoud that the significance of the find fully emerged.
Mr Berthoud, an expert in the history of London who gives guided tours around famous landmarks including Tower Bridge, said he was gobsmacked by the haul. Mr Berthoud said: ‘When my neighbour gave me a disk with the images on I just couldn't believe it. ‘I spent hours going through my books to see if these pictures were already around, but I couldn't see them anywhere - they are totally unique. Quite simply London Bridge is the world's most iconic bridge, and it's the only bridge over the Thames which has never needed to be replaced at some point. It combines elements of a suspension bridge, a high level bridge and a bascule which allows it to open for ships to pass. Nothing had ever been made like it before, and nothing since. People are always surprised when I tell them Tower Bridge is a steel bridge, as the stone cladding is so recognisable.’
Although many of the century-old pictures are in a state of disrepair, around 20 are in good condition. Many of the 12 by 10 snaps are dated and clearly show how the bridge was put together over a space of eight years. Memorable scenes include turn-of-the-century labourers taking orders from a site foreman in a bowler hat, and a shot if the bridge's original steam-powered engine room, which could open the bridge in less than a minute. In one poignant picture flags decorate the body of the bridge and a hand-written pencil note reads: ‘Note, flags denote Mr Hunter's wedding day’.
Megalomania perceives the city in total construction. The built environment is explored as a labyrinth of architecture that is either unfinished, incomplete or broken. Megalomania is a response to the state of infrastructure and capital, evolving the appearance of progress into the sublime.
Constructed predominantly using 3d Studio Max and rendered with Vray. Organic movement sequences were originally filmed on a Canon 5D mkII, tracked in PF Track and developed in CG. Demolition created using Rayfire. All compositing done in Adobe After Effects, edited in Adobe Premiere Pro. Audio recorded and coordinated using Adobe Audition. More information about the project at http://thoughtsnotthoughts.blogspot.com/
Posted: Thu Apr 05, 2012 2:52 pm Post subject: How I built my house for Ł4,000
When he's expecting visitors, Steve James watches out the windows so he can catch the look on their faces when they see his house for the first time. "It's always the same," he say. "There's an intense stare and total mystification, as if they can't quite believe what they are seeing." This may be because James's house is made of straw and has a turf roof covered in flowers.
James is passionate about eco homes and deeply proud of the cottage, which huddles by a loch near Dumfries. His kitchen is made from a cedar that blew over in a Glasgow park. His sink came from a skip. To one side is a Moroccan marbled shower room, to the other are sofas and a log-burning stove. He sleeps in a galleried bedroom. A compost loo and rainwater filtration system complete the picture.
The total cost: Ł4,000. "Actually, you could make it for less than that," James says. "I'd cut the wood myself next time instead of going to the sawmill. That would knock off a thousand." He finds the whole concept of mortgages quite amusing.
His home is strong, warm and utterly watertight. The only maintenance is a lime wash on the walls every year or two. The turf roof repairs itself. "I'm building a water wheel next," James says. "In the meantime, I'm getting power from a car battery that my partner, Eli, charges for me at her house. You'd be amazed what you can run from that battery – a digital recording studio, a stereo, tools, lights and a laptop."
James, 52, a software engineer, took 10 months to build his house, finishing it in November last year. Now, he's set up a website about straw-bale homes, runs eco-engineering courses and takes commissions making straw-bale buildings; the latest is a changing room for a Hull primary school.
The benefits run much deeper than simply wanting to save cash and the planet. "Now that it's built, the initial buzz has grown into a sort of permanent primeval satisfaction. I sit here, it's warm and quiet and there's snow flying past the windows, and I think: yes, this is what it's all about."
Straw bales can be used to make all kinds of buildings. If you're just building a summer house, you may not need planning permission. The best way to get started is to go on a course or help someone else build a straw-bale house; James's website can put you in touch with someone.
But it's not hard to do it yourself, he says. "Straw is perfect for a beginner. It's easy to work with and you can make your house any shape you want. You can use straw to make any kind of buildings – from a four-storey office block to a house I know, which is a spiral. Go mad, have fun, start living!" It'll help to follow these seven steps. But you will need a bit of DIY sense – and some manual labour from your friends.
I made a solid, 2ft-high base from rocks. It's sort of like building a solid dry-stone wall – you don't need mortar. Take time to get the rocks to fit together well, but it's good to leave gaps; this will ventilate the straw and keep it dry.
2. Add the wooden floor
You need a wooden frame on which to lay your flooring and build the walls. I used flat reclaimed timbers as joists, laying them in a grid and nailing them together. To create a curve at the front, I used thick plywood. The whole thing just sits on the stones – the straw-bale walls will hold it down.
3. Assemble the roof frame
Make the roof frame, so that it's ready to go on as soon as the walls are up. Start with a sturdy frame the same shape as the base. Attach the rafters and fix them together in a tepee shape. It's easiest to hold it all together with screws.
4. Walls and windows
I used 200 oat-straw bales to make my house. They cost Ł1 each. First, lay a complete layer of bales around the edge of the base. Using twine, stitch these to the wooden base. Build upwards, stacking the bales like bricks. Drive thin, pointed wooden stakes through them at intervals to hold them together. I got the walls up in five days – with help from friends. You can cut the straw to fit any shape you like, and stuff extra bits in any gaps. All my windows came from skips. I laid a polythene membrane between the frames and the straw, to protect the frames from damp.
5. Get the roof on
Using plenty of manual labour, lift the roof frame into position. Use some stakes to attach it to the straw walls. I built a galleried bedroom into the roof space, laying a tree-trunk through the span of the roof to support the bedroom floor. I nailed on wooden slats in overlapping rows on top of the roof and covered it in natural rubber pond liner. Then a layer of turf went on top, along with a handful of flower seeds.
6. Render the outside
I used a mix of gravel, sand and water from the loch, and added quicklime. This makes hot lime render, which you can slap on while it's warm and make interesting shapes with. My partner Eli used it to make sculptures at the corners.
7. The interior
For the flooring, a nearby sawmill cut some leftover trees from our local forest into planks, and I nailed them to the joists. I used linseed oil to protect and polish them. I made the kitchen window sills, shelves and work surfaces from a tree that blew over in a park in Glasgow. It was a Lebanon cedar – beautiful. The Belfast sink came from a skip. I made the stove myself, using old paving slabs. It heats the whole house with very little firewood, and it makes killer pizzas.
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