Can’t Move Out? Then Move Up!

By 2016, London will be in need of space to house one million more people that are expected to be moving into the city. With the current infrastructure close to being maxed out, one good idea is to move upwards. The group, Popularchitecture, has come up with a plan to build a tower that could house an entire “city” to itself. Every floor would be a “neighborhood” of 600 and a “village” would be 20 floors and house 6,000. Open areas would have gardens, open air theaters, tennis courts, and ice skating rinks. As of now, this is all pure ideas and theory but something like this would definitely help alleviate the pressure of space in London and also create a whole new layer to the urban fabric of the U.K.

Project Page via io9

London Bridge is Falling Where?

For those of you, along with Fergie, who have ever sung that song and just assumed the bridge was actually located in London, you are sadly mistaken. Ever since 1971, the bridge has been enjoying its new home in the most random of places, Lake Havasu City, Arizona. The bridge was built in 1831 and enjoyed a healthy life until 1962 when traffic crossing the Thames River became too much of a load on the aging bridge. The city claimed it unsafe and soon auctioned it off to Robert McCulloch, the founder of Lake Havasu City, Arizona. The bridge was soon dismantled stone by stone and each piece was numbered for easy reassembly. 10,000 miles and three years later, London Bridge was brought back to its prime.

Road Trip America

Parachute Jump Ride To Light Up Coney Island

The once famous “Parachute Jump” ride that was built in 1939 for the World’s Fair in Queens has recently received a face lift thanks to New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg. The structure stands 262 feet tall and has been called the “Eiffel Tower of the Boardwalk”. The ride was in its prime use in the late 1940′s and 50′s but was put out of service as many of the other rides were in 1965. The structure has been covered with lights to illuminate the boardwalk area and now is a beacon for Coney Island. The project ended up costing 5 million dollars and took seven years of negotiating and construction to complete. The following link talks about the steps taken in the negotiation process to make this restoration possible.

Coney Island Parachute Jump

Rem Koolhaas’ proposed mark on Dubai

According to the New York Times, Rem Koolhaas may have the opportunity to place his mark on the architectural playground which is Dubai. It is worth the read and gives a great look of how this well known architect may enhance this architecture rich city.

New York Times: City on the Gulf