Category Archives: Futurism

Adam Touch - File Under Futurism
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Adam Touch - File Under Futurism - Video

There are moments in history that leave their mark in buildings. With hindsight, these structures define a period, its ambitions, values, skills and frailties. Like fossils in a geological layer, they are precisely recognisable they could not come from another time. So it is with the baroque churches of the counter-reformation, the colossal palaces of Americas gilded age and the spare modernism of the Attlee governments buildings for health, education and housing.

So it is also with the greying Teflon and white-painted steel, the straining cables, the walls of planar glazing and the gaudy graphics that tell you that a building project was started in the early years of the national lottery. This month, it will be 20 years since Noel Edmonds and Anthea Turner hosted the first draw, and the strange alchemy started by which eminent committees converted the spinning coloured balls into art galleries, sports stadiums, parks, discovery centres, bridges and places of more-or-less vague environmental purpose. This spree of public building was often wasteful and absurd. The way the lottery was set up encouraged constructions of unclear purpose and insufficient means of maintenance. It helped launch the ill-conceived idea that to regenerate a place you need only install a cultural icon and leave the rest to the private sector.

It was confused about its cultural and democratic values. It helped create a bizarre attitude to risk, which is still with us, whereby it is acceptable to blow a billion pounds on something as uncertain as the Millennium Dome, yet the lesser details have to be micromanaged by expensive consultants until the life is squeezed out of buildings or other cultural projects.

The lottery had disasters the short-lived pop music museum in Sheffield, something called The Public in West Bromwich, the dome. The Earth Centre near Doncaster received 41.6m, with the idea of reviving a former mining area with tales of ecological hope. It foundered and ex-pitmen retrained as guides and greeters found themselves out of a job again. But the lottery building boom also had triumphs the Eden Project, Tate Modern and plenty of well-conceived, well-executed projects that continue to enrich the life of the country. It stood for something that had been forgotten, which is the importance of investment in places for shared public experience.

It was only half-intended. John Majors government decided there should be a national lottery, the proceeds of which should be spent on good causes, but there was a concern that they should not be spent on things that would normally be paid for out of taxes, such as teachers or road repairs. So lottery money had to follow the principle of additionality, meaning that it would go to projects that wouldnt happen without it, and it had to be spent only on capital projects. Capital projects, give or take such things as buying instruments for brass bands, are usually buildings and so an era of accidental architectural patronage began.

There were other forces at play. The turn of the millennium was looming, along with a feeling that Something Should Be Done to celebrate an impressive if empty number. There was growing confidence in British art, design and architecture, which would be consecrated in the Blair years as Cool Britannia. There was burgeoning environmentalism. Interest was growing in the renewal of British cities and of the wastelands left by the disappearance of manufacturing. In 1997, the Bilbao Guggenheim would be launched, and with it the idea that iconic buildings could be at the centre of culturally led regeneration.

So optimism and futurism were back in fashion along with some sense, if vague, of social purpose. It was a striking contrast with the preceding decade, when Margaret Thatchers government all but killed off the idea of public building and Prince Charles insisted that whatever was built should look to the past. In the recessionary early 1990s, British architects had looked yearningly across the Channel at the grands projets with which President Mitterrand and other French politicians adorned their cities.

Suddenly it was happening here. Distributors were set up, public bodies handed the Brewsters Millions problem of spending torrents of cash. They included the Arts Council, the Sports Council, the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) and the Millennium Commission. Lord Rothschild, chair of the HLF, invited people of influence to lunch and asked for their ideas to help relieve his embarrassment of riches, a subject in which a Rothschild, of all people, might be expected to be expert.

There was no shortage of suggestions. It was proposed that all British cathedrals should be repaired and restored by the year 2000. Cities and towns raced to claim local specialisms that could be the basis of a museum or centre glass in Sunderland, pop music in Sheffield, space exploration in Leicester and (unsuccessfully) laughter in Morecambe. Ecological themes were spun into multimillion-pound proposals of varying degrees of lameness, some of which were built. Few stopped to notice that its not very green to put up a half-redundant structure.

Newspapers and journalists were bombarded with ideas. Among those I received was a new age-y proposal for celebrating the millennium. It came with a sketch of a large circular structure, with smaller circles attached to its circumference, to be built on the Greenwich peninsula in London. The group in question said this circle had been designed by the celebrated architect Richard Rogers, so I checked with his office. Oh no, came the slightly embarrassed reply, it was not really one of the practices projects. It was just a doodle done by one of Rogerss partners, as a favour to some friends of his.

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The buildings that won the national lottery jackpot the hits and misses

Acting Chairman Christopher A. Hart briefs the media. (Credit: NTSB)

The National Transportation Safety Board officially began their investigation of the crash of Virgin Galactics SpaceShipTwo. The craft was destroyed on October 31 during a test flight that claimed the life of one pilot.

That pilot has been identified as Michael Alsbury, 39, who was a test pilot for Scaled Composites, the contractor that is building and testing the spaceship for Virgin.

The NTSB began their investigation this morning. Senior investigator Lorenda Ward will be in charge of the process. She is leading a team of 13-15 investigators with a variety of specialties to determine the cause of the crash.

Acting NTSB chairman Christopher A. Hart gave a briefing this morning to the media.

This has many similarities and some differences to the NTSBs usual investigations, Hart said in response to a question from a reporter. Thisll be the first time we have been in the lead of a space launch that involved persons on board.

Hart didnt have much information yet about the specifics of the crash as the investigation was beginning, but indicated that there should be lots of evidence because test flights are typically very well documented.

Updates to NTSBs investigation will be gathered at its website here.

Virgin Galactics founder, Sir Richard Branson, was also on the scene today and briefly addressed reporters and others in Mojave.

Richard Branson at a press conference at the Mojave spaceport. (Credit: Virgin Galactic)

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NTSB Begins Its Investigation Of Virgin Galactic Crash

This image from video by KABC TV Los Angeles shows wreckage of what is believed to be SpaceShipTwo in Southern California's Mojave Desert on Friday, Oct. 31, 2014.

Virgin Galactics SpaceShipTwo was destroyed during a powered test flight today in Mojave, CA. According to a statement issued by the company, During the test, the vehicle suffered a serious anomaly resulting in the loss of the vehicle. The WhiteKnightTwo carrier aircraft landed safely.

According to the Associated Press, a witness to the incident said that the spacecraft exploded in-flight. However, during a press conference this afternoon, Mojave Spaceport CEO Stuart Witt claimed that he didnt witness any explosion.

There were two pilots on board the craft. Local law enforcement agencies have confirmed that one of the pilots was killed during the accident and the other was injured and evacuated to a nearby hospital.

Virgin Galactics spacecraft are being built and tested by Scaled Composites, the company that built the first private spacecraft to travel into space ten years ago this month. Both test pilots were employees of Scaled Composites.

During the press conference, Scaled Composites President Kevin Mickey stated that he expected the investigation into the causes of the crash to take several days.

In this image from video by KABC-TV Los Angeles, a rescue crew carries a person on a stretcher to a waiting helicopter near the scene of a crash of the SpaceShipTwo in Southern Californias Mojave Desert on Friday, Oct. 31, 2014. (AP Photo/KABC-TV)

This was the fourth powered test flight of SpaceShipTwo. The rocket engine in the first three successful flights had been developed in conjunction with Sierra Nevada Corporation.

However, in a statement issued by Sierra Nevada today, the company stated that its technical and program involvement ended in May of 2014 with Virgin Galactics announcement to use its own internally developed technology for the SS2 rocket motor. SNC had no involvement in the build or qualification testing of the motor used in this flight, nor in the integration of this motor to SS2. SNC was not engaged in any manner in the pre-flight safety or technical approvals or in the flight operations of the mission conducted today.

During the press conference, Mickey insisted that the motor was the essentially the same except for a new mix of fuel.

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Virgin Galactic Spaceship Destroyed During Test Flight

How World War I changed art

How World War I changed art

How World War I changed art

How World War I changed art

How World War I changed art

How World War I changed art

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

Editor's note: This is the ninth in a series on the legacies of World War I appearing on CNN.com/Opinion in the weeks leading up to the 100-year anniversary of the war's outbreak. Ruth Ben-Ghiat is guest editor for the series. Ara Merjian is associate professor of Italian Studies at New York University, where he is an affiliate of the Institute of Fine Arts and the Department of Art History. He is the author of "Giorgio de Chirico and the Metaphysical City: Nietzsche, Paris, Modernism" (Yale University Press, June 2014).

(CNN) -- The years preceding World War I in Europe are generally referred to as the "Belle Epoque" -- a cultural and economic golden age. The period was hardly one of utter utopia for all citizens. But in the wake of the conflagration that would shake the globe beginning in August 1914, it came later to be seen as a period of calm before the storm. Its cultural practices, too, seem tinged with an almost naive optimism.

Ara Merjian

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How WWI gave birth to modernism

Harlequin London at Decorex 2014 Neo Futurism
Trend forecasting is not a science - it is born out of a personal opinion and gradually metamorphoses into a look or style. We have been fascinated recently ...

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Harlequin London at Decorex 2014 Neo Futurism - Video

A4-Futurism, Multimedia Presentation
Video for class, do not own anything in this video. Everything belonfs to their respective owner. Music: Work It by Tone Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike...

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A4-Futurism, Multimedia Presentation - Video

Los Angeles, CA (PRWEB) October 30, 2014

L'Homme De Maison officially launches in the United States now. All over the world, the brand has been turning heads, and it's slowly infiltrated the North American market. However, it's on its way to becoming a luxury footwear trend-setter stateside with its latest line.

A vision between Dutch designer Brian Nickson and iconic soccer players Leon Best and Colin Kazim Richards, L'Homme De Maison brings classy panache and stunning high-end style to the sneaker world. These striking, yet elegant pieces have already been proudly worn by everyone from hip-hop titan Rick Ross and R&B crooner Jeremih to pop star Nick Jonas and platinum-selling rapper Fabolous.

As far as the shoes themselves are concerned, the brand merges an innovative articulation of classic trends with stylistic futurism. Whether it's a chic and slick high-top punctuated by eye-catching colors or comfortable low cut shoes evoking understated rustic tones, these shoes capture each individual wearer's personality. Simply put, they've got something for you to make a shoe statement with.

This month, the luxury men's footwear leader will take over a chic hotspot to introduce L.A. elite to selections from its latest collection. The evening will be fueled by a soundtrack of exclusive tracks from DJ Earry Hall, who's set to spin selections from his EARRY X L'HOMME DE MAISON mix for the duration of the evening.

LHomme De Maison sneakers currently retail from $400-$505 with free shipping worldwide. The brand will also be launching a full collection of footwear for women and kids in January 2015. For more information on LHomme De Maison, please visit http://www.lhommedemaison.com.

### About L'Homme De Maison LHomme De Maison is a luxury mens footwear brand envisioned by the collective of noted Dutch designer Brian Nickerson and celebrated sportsmen Leon Best and Colin Kazim Richards. This collective's love of fashion and their interest in design were key factors in the decision to launch their own collection. They architected a shoe that could be worn everyday but that also wouldnt look out of place on a night out. Each pair of shoes is fashion forward, high quality, and produced using the best materials delivering the ultimate in comfort and fit.

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Luxe UK Street Wear Sneaker Brand Launches in the US

With the price of technology plummeting, a new breed of producer has been able to fuse electronic culture with non-Western forms.

Spoek Mathambo is one of the first to make an impression on the UK. Based in South Africa, the producer is capable of spinning a vivid web which encompasses native Zulu forms and tech-driven futurism.

Previously working solo, the producer is now operating alongside new ensemble Fantasma. A five piece, the group unites some pioneering figures in what could loosely be termed African Future Dance.

New EP 'Eye of The Sun' is due to be released on November 10th, with South African artist Moonchild on vocals.

British producer My Panda Shall Fly has stepped in on remix duties, adding his own flavour to the producer. Picking up on those left field elements, the London based artist steers 'Eye Of The Sun' into more experimental climes.

Check it out now.

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Track Of The Day 28/10 - Fantasma

Orbital Sciences Antares rocket exploded shortly after launch. (Credit: NASA TV)

An Orbital Sciences Antares rocket exploded at 6:22 EDT today, six seconds after its launch. The cause of the launch failure is still being determined. It does not appear that anybody was injured by the accident.

The Antares rocket was to carry a Cygnus spacecraft to the International Space Station, loaded with cargo and supplies for the crew. Orbital Sciences has a $1.9 billion contract with NASA to make at least 8 cargo runs to the International Space Station. The company has already made two successful flights, this was to be the third.

Another cargo ship is currently scheduled to liftoff from Kazakhstan on October 29. So far, theres been no indication that this flight will be delayed. SpaceX is also scheduled to deliver a cargo ship to the station in December. Theres currently no danger to the crew of the ISS from this failure.

More information will be added to this story as its released.

Update 7:24pm EDT: The NTSB will be active, but in monitor mode for this investigation. This means that Orbital and NASA will be able to interview their people. Had NTSB decided to take a lead role in investigating, nobody could be interviewed until an NTSB investigator began their work.

Update 7:35pm EDT: The failure of this launch shouldnt impact Space Station operations. However, a number of science experiments were lost. You can see a complete list of those here. Also notably lost was asteroid mining company Planetary Resources first space telescope and a flock of 26 Cubesats from Planet Labs. These were all going to be launched from the Space Stations cubesat launcher.

The two companies took this in good spirits, though. Planet Labs noted in a blog post that While this will not have a huge impact on at Planet Labs because our agile aerospace approach, space is hard and our hearts go out to our fellow space innovators.

Planetary Resources simply tweeted:

Update 7:57pm EDT: Orbital Sciences issued the following statement:

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Antares Rocket Explodes On Launch Pad