Advertising the High Life

It is no secret that Pop Up City is one of my all time favourite urban design blogs and a consistent source of temporary urban design and architecture inspiration and this project really is inspiring. Architect Julio Gomez Trevilla has designed a temporary house in Mexico that is incorporated with and hidden behind a typical billboard in Mexico. This innovative project is a true combination of urban play, pop up building, activating new spaces and turning the traditional way you think about cities on it's head.  

An unassuming Billboard via Pop Up City

The house acts as a temporary residence for artists with the first artist Cecilia Beaven painting a mural based on suggestions on what you can do with a blank piece of paper. This project really brings a level of personalisation in the city that Kevin Lynch and Bentley et al would be more than proud of. The resulting house may not be hugely spacious, but it includes everything you need to meditate on your next creative project - even your own kitchen.  

The inside of a hidden house via Pop Up City

Now I am a huge believer in the power of art in revitalising our cities and in the ability of temporary urban design, so I can't wait to see even more projects like this popping up in the future. It is so exciting to see this global trend continue to push the boundaries and I can't wait to feature even more innovative projects.  

Mobile Cities

Now I want to admit to you guys something, hideously, hideously embarrassing - I have never had a meal provided by a food truck. This is particularly bad as I have noticed they seem to have been the biggest urban trend of the last 6 months or so and only seem to be growing in popularity. That being said, Australia and Brisbane in particular only just seem to be really picking up the whole mobile food service trend, with Brisbane's only current contender being "The Bun Mobile" pictured below. 

The Bun Mobile @ Newstead via Facebook

Now I can't help thinking that the food truck may turn out to be one of the biggest trends of 2013, allowing us to have adaptable and ever changing cities. BUT is the humble truck restricted to just serving us delicious, specialised foods? Why can't we have makers and craftsmen using the truck as a mobile store? We could have "The Shoe Horn" a bespoke cobbler featuring the old school ice cream truck horn.  Or "The Rolling Press" where people could simply walk in and have an appointment for their printing and letterpress needs. Not only could this trend provide us with exciting, moving cities but it could also allow for small businesses an affordable way to get on their feet before moving to more permanent (and expensive) premises. 

This is one trend I would really like to see be taken to new levels this year, what do you think? 

Semi Permanent? Super Cool

I am currently in the middle of writing about 3 different blog posts (some awaiting my own illustration- eek!) but as soon as I saw this post over on the Habitus Living blog I had to drop everything and talk about it too!  This is exciting because it is a little bit of a departure from what I had originally considered temporary urban design but something that I can get just as excited about! Basically a fabulous creative Melbourne couple have developed "The Super Cool" and noticing a resurgence in "pop up shops" decided to make that market their own. 

The Super Cool pop up store @Habitus Living

Basically The Super Cool live in a semi-permanent state, constantly popping up in new locations across Melbourne. Although the idea of finding a favourite store and upon heading back finding it missing is slightly horrifying, the idea of using different spaces and constantly moving areas paints a picture of a progressive and evolving city. Creating a mobile business also allows The Super Cool to set up in different spaces then where you would regularly expect a store (e.g. a warehouse or a fishing dock) adding an element of surprise and whimsy to an all ready magical Melbourne. 

I know I want to see more of these popping up in the future, what do you think? 

Subway to Work

Subway car offices in Shoreditch, London (Nov, 2012)

While recently travelling in England I became addicted to the program "George Clarke's Amazing Spaces" which is like a less pretentious grand designs for the conversion of small, irregular spaces into habitable homes and offices. One of the spaces featured was these subway cars which had been converted into cheap, rentable office space in the middle of London. As I was wandering around Shoreditch (mostly looking for the more famous "Box Park" nearby) I took the above photo of some cool graffiti and subway cars which turned out to be the very offices featured on amazing spaces. 

Inhabitat, again, has featured these offices with a number of pictures showing their sleek interiors (am I ever going to feature something those geniuses haven't found first?) which you can visit by clicking here. Or I have been guilty of borrowing one of their photos showing the inside of the converted car and placing it below - it was just too sleek and pretty not to have! I wish I had known at the time what I was photographing, but all the fun of visiting a new city is stumbling across the unexpected. 

The interior of "village 2" subway car from Inhabitat.com