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As some people in American get richer they need ever more imaginative ways to spend their money. 

According to the New York Times, they've moved beyond the home spa, to the home observatory.

“The reason why people don’t use their telescopes is they are such a pain to haul out and set up,” said John Spack, 50, a certified public accountant who had a domed observatory built on top of an addition to his house in Chicago last year. “Now, if I want to get up at 3 a.m. and look at something, I just open the shutter.”


Posted by Ed Cotton


Via


Posted by Ed Cotton The UK is covered with brick terraced houses; they are part of the nation's character.  It would be easy for architect to just knock down a row of these houses, put new ones up in their place, or even build a high rise.

At Chimney Pot Park in Salford, the architects tried something different. They created a new concept, "The Upside Down House"; reversing the original format of the 1910 homes, placing the bedroom downstairs and the living room upstairs.


Sometimes, with ideas, it's often easy to tear it down start again, but re-imagining what already exists, can often be a more powerful way to go.

Via dezeen



Posted by Ed Cotton Influx attended an excellent mini conference at CCA hosted and curated by Geoff Manaugh of Bldgblog fame.

The line-up of speakers:

Geoff Manaaugh- Gave an amazing talk about his pet interests that included- articifical islands, micro nations, fault lines and underground cities
Erik Davies- Talking up California's eclectic spiritual architecture
Walter Murch- The academy award winning movie editor- talking about the connection between the Pantheon in Rome and Copernicus
Rebar Group- A San-Francisco group of acitvist artist/performers who's projects explore the concept of space

One of the most interesting presentations was given by the architects Iwamoto Scott- who talked about their recent projects. One which stuck out was the Jellyfish house; a vision of a home (50 years into the future) located on Treasure Island in San Francisco Bay.

It was full of lots of amazing ideas:

- The house is built with a skin designed to filter water from the bay and rain water- the filters would use a combination of UV (just like many bottled waters we buy today) and titanium dioxide
- The ambience of the environment is changed by the user- the color of the walls and roof could be changed at a flick or a switch
- The skin of the home would also act like a digital membrane- carry digital circuits and technologies

The last element reflects the evolution from the concept of the smart home (a concept that's been with us for the last 10 years) as a home that you program, to the ambient home; something even more intelligent, in that it reacts to changes in stimuli. This is already a theme we are starting to see more in consumer electronics and building materials.

Image: Iwamoto Scott