Blog Elektroniker
By Tim Leberecht - June 15, 2011
Can flying be fun again? Yes, it can. Airbus just released a video and a series of images that envision air travel in 2050 as a fully immersive, human-centered experience. The company’s designers and engineers conceptualized a plane with "bionic structure and interactive membrane” that provides spectacular panoramic views through its almost fully transparent skin.
Blog Object Oriented
By Jonathan Rowell - March 28, 2011
Blog designophile
By Michael DiTullo - December 19, 2010
As a Creative Director for a global innovation firm, I fly often. Having to get around the globe on short notice I sample a lot of airlines. All of us should be turning to the passenger next to us saying "can you believe this is really working" on every flight we take, but much of the majesty and magic has been sucked out of the flight experience. From the online booking process, the shoeless, beltless, TSA shuffle through security, to the ragged airplane interiors we are just trying to get through it, perhaps imagining we are in our "happy place".
Not on Virgin, where Sir Richard Branson, billionaire, innovator, adventurer (man crush) and Adam Wells, Virgin America's Design director, have created an immersive design based experience that brings back a touch of that wonder of flight.
Blog designophile
By Michael DiTullo - November 14, 2010
Kristina and I have always taken design excursions to meccas like the Philip Johnson Glass House , The Walter Gropius House, and Palm Springs. This weekend we took a long overdue trip outside of San Francisco to Marin County. We started our day at Frank Lloyd Wright's Marin County Civic Center. This 1957 masterpiece was almost demolished in the 1970s. It went on to be featured in such classic films as Lucas's THX 1138 and Gattaca. You can still grab lunch in the cafe on week days, and docent tours are offered on Wednesdays.
Next we popped up to Terra Linda Valley to sample some Eichler Homes. Marin County has the largest concentration of Eichler's. None are open to the public, but frequently there are some great examples for sale, and they have open houses on Sunday. Don't worry, they are used to design gawkers. Check out Marin Modern for listings.
Blog Total Football
By Tim Leberecht - June 4, 2010
Blog TEDGlobal
By Various frogs - July 6, 2009
On board a KLM 747 to Amsterdam, I’m reading Alain de Botton’s The Art of Travel as a preparation exercise for the TEDGlobal conference in two weeks (frog is a sponsor and the conference theme, "The Substance of Things Not Seen," is the theme of this group blog).
Blog Emma and the City
By Emma Zhu - June 15, 2009
Yesterday I stumbled upon a serious 7-page long Do You Belong to New York quiz on Time Out. It includes all the seemingly meaningless but nitty-gritty questions about living in the City, such as "What's the most you're willing to pay for a beer?". I have no clue how the score percentile would look like. My wild guess is that if you can nailed half of the questions down, you can live in the City happily ever after.
I didn't start the quiz yet. I even failed a random converstaion about DUMBO. When a friend asked me about the place I solo wandered last afternoon, what came up in my mind was that little cute flying elephant I adored in the kindergarten.
(If you already know what DUMBO is, you can take the quiz now instead of clicking in to read more...but if you don't, I'd like to babble a little bit further...)
Blog Emma and the City
By Emma Zhu - June 13, 2009
When I was awoken by the morning sunshine today, I decided to get out of Manhattan after week-long changing weather. Since I arrived in the city two months ago, I've stepped out of the island for only a few times, partly because there are too many exciting things in Manhattan to get you bored and partly because it's kind of a "big" plan you have to make for seeing around outside the city yet without a car. But each of the few times was worthwhile and refreshing experience.
Blog Emma and the City
By Emma Zhu - June 8, 2009
Where is this place? What is going on there? Emma, are you still in the City?
Blog Emma and the City
By Emma Zhu - May 31, 2009
Benjamin Franklin Parkway is one of the must-see places in Philadelphia, from a visitor's point of view. If you have only one day planned in Philly, go spend a few hours in the Philadelphia Museum of Art. If you have one day plus available in town, I suggest you schedule a whole day for the Parkway, including enough time enjoying your favorite genre of art in the museums and strolling around Fairmount Water Works.
