Blogging makes a writer vulnerable to hyperbole – anything to capture a corner of the internet. But it’s not hyperbole to say that Desypher’s architectural expression vis-à-vis the Islamic Museum of Australia is unparalleled in any contemporary Islamic architecture I’ve come across.
GAD Architects stacked a series of recycled shipping containers on top of a fancy shopping mall in Istanbul to create this remarkable modern day bazaar. Officially it’s a food court, but in practice, it is so much more.
Iranian photographer Hossein Zare captures in photography what we can only see in our dreams – otherworldly land and cityscapes infused with an sense of eternal longing. A longing to reconnect with the land, with the heavens? Step in to see just a small handful of his incredible work.
London’s Victoria & Albert Museum just wrapped a stunning show of Arab-influenced artwork from ten contemporary artists selected as finalists for year’s Jameel Prize – 3. The work of French designer Florie Salnot is a standout as it quite literally creates something spectacular from near nothing.
How many times have you seen a big old patch of lawn in the middle of Abu Dhabi and cringed?
Qatar plans to spend roughly $200 billion to prepare for the hundreds of thousands of fans who are expected to show up for the 2022 World Cup – a sum that appears to be four stadiums more than the Emirate can afford.
New York’s REX architecture studio has designed a pair of skinny media towers that feature ‘blooming’ Mashrabiya sunscreens that protect against excess solar gain. Mashrabiya is an old Arabian architectural practice to passively cool hot desert buildings.
An Israeli costume designer has created a series of hats that look good enough to eat, serving up 3-course millinery that pretty much covers soups to nuts. File this under “silver linings” – Maor Zabar cooked up his headpieces after being diagnosed with Crohn’s disease.
A turtle that washed up on a beach in Israel was found with his two left flippers dangling hopelessly by his side – they had been severed by sharp fishing lines. The Turtle Rescue and Rehabilitation Center in Michmoret named him Freedom and kept him for four years.
Until you have babies, the true awfulness of diapers doesn’t really set in. But ask the modern parent, who will buy up to 2,800 mostly non-biodegradable diapers in their baby’s first year. Then they will chuck most of them in the trash. Cine’al has at least one solution: hyper-absorbent diapers made with jellyfish.
On a recent trip to Ethiopia, Italian designer Arturo Vittori discovered how collecting water is both dangerous and time-consuming – especially for women and children. He thinks these water-trapping WarkaWater Towers will help.
German artist HA Schult has spent the last 18 years traveling around the world with his own army of ‘trash people.’ Like a modern version of China’s terra-cotta warriors, the exhibit recently landed in Israel.
Anyone who hasn’t been to Syria in the last few years can’t possibly grasp the full extent of the horrors Syrians have endured, but we do know it has been unspeakably hard. To take the edge off, a handful of artists in Damascus built what the Guinness Book of Records recently confirmed is the world’s […]
Majlis are the boardrooms of the Arab world. A traditional ‘place of sitting’ often adorned with cushions on the floor, they are used to receive guests and exchange ideas. In the past, nomadic desert dwellers used special tents. Intercon takes a modern approach to this special meeting room with floating Majlis that are moved daily.
Could the built environment take cues from Mother Nature? When Dutch designer Daan Roosegaarde puzzled this, a light popped on in his head, a light created by genetically modified plant life! He imagined a self-illuminating streetscape (image above). He told Dezeen, “I mean, come on, it will be incredibly fascinating to have these energy-neutral but at the […]