Guesthouse La Dimora Di Metello in Matera, Italy. By Manca Studio
A house with a rooftop infinity pool by Kois Associated Architects - Tinos Island, Greece
Designed for the rocky terrain that makes up the island’s south-west coastline, the Mirage house is conceived by Kois Associated Architects as “an invisible oasis” where residents can enjoy panoramic views over the Aegean Sea without giving up their privacy.
The team decided to bury part of the building in the landscape and then create a large open-air living room in front. These will all be sheltered beneath the rooftop pool, which will act as a huge mirror to help the building camouflage with its surroundings.
Dry stone walls will surround sections of the interior and also frame the building’s entrance. These are designed to reference the traditional walls that can be spotted all over the scenic island landscape.
Patsiaouras explained: “The elements that stirred our imagination most were the linear drywall constructions that articulate the landscape and the scattered shallow concrete water-reservoirs used for agricultural purposes.”
via koisarchitecture.com
Missplaced New York. Photos by Anton Repponen
Eleven New York City landmarks have been misplaced, their current location unknown. Photographs of unclear origin appear to show them scattered across the globe – on sand dunes, mud flats, “lunar” plains, and rocky beaches. Nobody knows exactly what happened or why. Stories by Jon Earle.
via misplaced.design
Svalbard Global Secure Seed Bank on the Norwegien Island of Spitsbergen
The Svalbard Global Seed Vault is a safe storage for the seeds of literary all the plants in our planet. It can withstand a nuclear strike, and aims to preserve crops in the face of climate change, war and natural disasters. The facility is managed by the Nordic Genetic Resource Center and protects crop diversity by safeguarding spare seeds that belong to the other 1400 seed banks found worldwide.
When full, the vault will hold 4.5m samples – an estimated two billion seeds – from all known varieties of the planet’s main food crops, making it possible to re-establish plants if they disappear from their natural environment or are obliterated by major disasters. That’s why the facility is also called the “Biodiversity Doomsday Vault”.
The seedbank is 120 metres (390 ft) inside a sandstone mountain on Spitsbergen Island,and employs robust security systems. Seeds are packaged in special four-ply packets and heat sealed to exclude moisture. The facility is managed by the Nordic Genetic Resource Center, though there are no permanent staff on-site.
via croptrust.org
