Machines of the Isle of Nantes or Les Machines de l'Île de Nantes are a set of gigantic mechanical animals designed by Francois Delaroz...
Over the last year, Netherlands-based artist Jeroen van Kesteren has been toiling away at these sculptural airships as part of a series titled Orphanage for Lost Adventures. Made primarily from cardboard, aluminum foil, adhesives, and an assortment of papers used for sails and propellers, the whimsical flying machines have a distinct steampunk feel. The pieces range from 40 to 50 centimeters tall and take about a month to make. Jeroen shares additional images of the airships and several additional sculptures on Pinterest. More
From puppets to pirate-training and fairy cities to fortune telling, a festival that enchants families of all ages
El cantante Joel Lizarraga de la Banda El Recodo junto con su esposa Gabriela y sus hijos Diego Joel de 3 años y Paula Maria de 10 meses disfrutan de un día en familia…
Förder Landschaftsarchitekten: The park is located in the southern part of the city center Bonnevoie-South and was realized in the 1980s. Since then, it has been an important part of the open space network of the City of Luxembourg. The park links two landscape types, the urban landscape (residential district) in the north and cultural […]
The new Maggie Daley Park is both a major addition to Chicago's lakefront and a spur to questions as to what constitutes good park design. This post, the first of four, explores the park's best features. click images for larger view (recommended) Maggie Daley Park had a very successful "soft" opening last December, but it didn't feel right to write about a new park while it was still frozen, brown and unblooming. Now summer's come. It's finally a good time to take stock, and note how architect Michael Van Valkenburgh's design is both a clear break from traditional design along Chicago's downtown lakefront - and more than a little weird. On a Saturday morning earlier this month, the 26-acre, $60 million park had it's official dedication, with Mayor Rahm Emanuel, former Mayor Richard M. Daley, his daughter Nora and other luminaries in attendance. 500 young voices drawn from the Chicago Childrens and After School Matters choirs, all clad in bright yellow shirts, joined the Third Coast Percussion Ensemble in performances that concluded with the world premiere performance of a new work by Augusta Read Thomas honoring the legacy of the park's dedicatee, former Chicago First Lady, the late Maggie Daley. There are many good things to say about Maggie Daley Park. Primary among these is that it's not a museum building. Richard M. Daley had worked with his usual arrogant swagger to force a new structure for the Chicago Children's Museum into Maggie Daley Park's predecessor, Daley Bi-Centennial Plaza, a serene, classically-styled 1970's park dating constructed atop a multi-level parking garage. Daley and his minions sneered at the park dedicated to his late father as a "nowhere." In fact, it had finally evolved into a quite lovely, serene, classically-styled refuge to the the hyperactivity of Millennium Park, the instant icon opened across Columbus Drive to the west in 2004. Major water leaks into the underground garage forced the park to be completely stripped away to make repairs. Daley saw that as a grand opportunity to cater to the monument-building ambitions of a Pritzker family heiress by giving a public park over to a private museum. The ensuing battle was ugly and prolonged, with Daley smearing construction opponents as racist child-haters. The coalition in favor of keeping the park, "Open, Free and Clear", however, was both broad and deep. The opposition poisoned the well for the museum's already anemic fund-raising skills and - combined with a major economic crash - ultimately persuaded the Children's Museum to stay at Navy Pier and improve its facilities there. Maggie Daley Park under construction photography courtesy Bob Johnson Enter Michael van Valkenburgh, whose firm, Michael Van Valkenburgh Associates, may be the most prominent landscape architects at work in the United States today. This June was a double-dip for Van Valkenburgh in Chicago. Just a week before the official dedication at Maggie Daley, there was the official opening of The 606 Bloomingdale Trail, an abandoned rail line converted into a nearly 3 mile long park, for which Van Valkenburgh was lead designer. (seriously dude, click for larger view) By design, the most successful sections of Maggie Daley Park are its most active, at opposing corners of the 26-acre site. To the southeast, just north of Monroe is the three-and-a-half acre "Play Garden", a hilly sequence of family-friendly spaces dominated by the Tower Bridge, a bright-orange. 30-foot high suspension bridge set within a "Slide Crater" with a kid-friendly soft surface and a seating area for parents to relax while keeping an eye on their offspring. There's also a boat to climb on . . . . . . a half-buried whale . . . . . . and even a lighthouse . . . Also now open is the "Enchanted Forest" with dead tree trunks planted upside-down to form arches. A subversive homage to the nearly 900 trees ripped out when the old park was destroyed? At the opposite, northwest corner of the park, along Randolph, is what, in the winter, is the skating ribbon, wrapping around two 40-foot climbing walls. The geometrically irregular structures are covered in an explosion of multi-colored footholds, and at their end point rear up like the prow of a ship. The 27,000 square-foot ribbon offers over 60% more area than a standard NFL hockey rink, stretched out to a nearly quarter-mile length that can accommodate 700 skaters at a time. Using the ribbon is free, and skates can be rented for a modest fee. Its first season was so successful it attracted 70,000 skaters and raked in nearly $600,000 in equipment rentals. Brightly illuminated at night, the ribbon and climbing walls are almost like a second sun, inserting a saucer of light at the feet of the black cat dark facades of the soaring skyscrapers that form the park's backdrop. But now the ice is melted, not by the bright lights but by the warmth of summer. The ribbon has become a running track and host to other warm-weather activities. These are the high places of Maggie Daley Park. But what of the valleys that lie between? And, seriously, what's the deal with these? Next: Unleash the Mutant Mantises - At Maggie Daley Park, Michael Van Valkenburgh rethinks the Chicago lakefront park, Part Two.
Wilderness is essential in the lives of children. I mean essential, like edible food, drinkable water, breathable air. I cannot imagine a decent, sane and healthy life without it. Edward Abbey When…
Les Machines De L'Ile are a collection of curious machines, built on the former shipyards of Nantes. The Elephant is a true spectacle, a definite must-see!
With a kids-only playground, a vibrating glass platform 40ft in the air and one of the US’s longest tree canopy walks, Alan Metcalfe and his team have created a forest experience designed to bring people close to each other and to nature. Magali Robathan finds out more
The traditional seesaw now has a fun, modern upgrade! Perfect for any playground, get a custom quote with Playground Centre today!
Would you believe this: ...is a NINTENDO? Absolutely gorgeous mod by Andrew - you can see some in-process shot in his Imgur album. (Thx for the link, Jacob M.!) And while we're mixing steampunk with retro gaming systems: How about this steampunk "Monster Arcade" by Doug Haffner? The green portholes on the sides have holographic images of Frankenstien and his bride in them, and I'm digging that rich blue lighting underneath. Hit the link for build photos. (Thx, Erik!) You know how a lot of people have bucket lists? Well, I have a *craft* bucket list, and making my own nixie tube clock is on it. Here are a few I've been drooling over: Amy J. sent this one over from Steve's Nixie Clocks. I like how the glass case lets you see all the circuitry inside - plus the reflection looks super cool: And here's a neat idea: John Clark Mills put his nixie tube clock in an old mantle clock case: Such a great way to rescue and re-use old clock cases! And finally, Instructables member Hellboy added blue LEDs, acrylic tubing, and found objects to make one of the most stunning and unique nixie tube clocks I've ever seen: WOW. Hit the link up there for his step-by-step tutorial. There are kits online for building and wiring your own nixie tube clock, so if you're curious just google around a bit. (Sadly I have no specific venders to recommend. If you do, though, please let me know in the comments!) And finally, Audrey F. over in France sent me a few snapshots of an amazing carousel located in the city of Nantes, the birthplace of Jules Verne. It's called "Le Carrousel Les Machines" and is themed around Verne and his work, so there's plenty of sealife and steampunky contraptions: I was so intrigued I went looking for more, and found a video of the carousel in action: As you can see, Audrey's pics barely scratch the surface of the jaw-dropping awesomeness. It's a carousel of automatons! I AM IN AWE. And as if that weren't enough, I also found a video of some creatures they were planning to add to the carousel in the future. Since the video is a year old, I wonder if they're already there now? AH - wait for it - MAZING. That sea dragon! Swoon. So next time you're in Paris, swing by and take a ride on the seahorse for me, k? That's all for this week! Hope you're having a sensational weekend, and as always, if you see something steamy you'd like to share, hit me up in the comments or over on Facebook!
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Les Machines De L'Ile are a collection of curious machines, built on the former shipyards of Nantes. The Elephant is a true spectacle, a definite must-see!
