fun floor plans from tv land

Artist Inaki Aliste Lizzaralde draws, among other creations, the fictional floor plans from TV shows such as Frasier and Friends - and it's pretty neat! I'm sure I'm not the only person who has admired some of these apartments over the years and it is wonderful to see the layouts brought to life.

the big bang theory, image: inaki aliste lizzaralde

Flavorwire has gathered together the floor plans completed to date: The Big Bang Theory (pictured), Frasier, Friends and Sex and the City. Stay tuned for more as Lizzaralde is currently working on Seinfeld and plans to complete The Golden Girls, Two and a Half Men, Will & Grace and several others.

Of course, the thought that crossed my mind? How much TV does Lizzaralde watch?

olympic architecture - the legacy

A big question for any Olympic host city: How many of these (expensive) venues will we be stuck with that are either under- or unused in the future? That same question applies to London 2012 and, at first glance, it seems the answer is: not many. And that's the right answer. Most venues were planned to be adapted for reuse and will be. Others are temporary and after the Paralympics will be removed.

In this informative article in The Independent "What's next for the London 2012 Olympic venues?" Jonathan Brown outlines the options. 

For instance, the gold rush Team GB experienced in cycling means that, for sure, venues such as the Velodrome will continue to be used. Indeed, along with BMX and mountain and road cycling facilities, it will form part of the Lee Valley VeloPark.

velodrome, image: the independent

The Aquatics Centre will continue use as a pool complex serving the community and schools, as well as elite athletes. Its capacity will be reduced (which may or may not solve the 'restricted view' problem encountered during the 10 Meter platform diving competition).

The basketball arena, comprising 1,000 tonnes of steel and 20,000 square metres of recyclable plastic, was always intended to be temporary, so it will simply be dismantled. There was muttering about it being sent to Rio for reuse in 2016 but that won't happen.

The Olympic Stadium, the iconic building in Olympic Park, does not yet have a permanent tenant, or an operator for that matter. There was much back and forth between West Ham United, Tottenham Hotspur and Leyton Orient for a period but others, including Formula 1, are jumping into the bidding now. Resolving that issue will go a long way to ensuring the legacy of the Olympics is truly sustainable.

The bigger question, though, is "What will happen to Olympic Park?" Built on a vast wasteland in Stratford, east London, the vision calls for it to become a complete new community with jobs and housing to go along with the venues such as the Aquatics Centre, Velodrome and Stadium that will remain. Planning permission for 11,000 new homes already exists and creating jobs to go along with the housing will be paramount.

That is the true legacy of London 2012: a new community with a variety of housing, employment opportunities and recreational facilities. It's a good plan.

olympic architecture

In the spirit of London 2012, enjoy this post by designboom featuring the architecture of the olympics, london 2012 olympics: architecture of the games.

A couple of interesting facts to note: the buildings were erected on time and on budget, and they are a mixture of permanent and temporary structures.

Pictured below is the aquatics centre designed by Zaha Hadid, which has been getting negative press because of the restricted views of the platform diving and the big screens from a number of seats. As a result of the dissatisfaction, olympic organisers will offer refunds for up to 4,800 tickets sold for the 10-metre platform diving.

aquatics centre by zaha hadid, image via pin it

aquatics centre interior, image: the telegraphWhat is slightly perplexing to me, with all the wonderful renderings and imagery designers are able to produce, is that someone can erect a building with a swooping, drooping ceiling and not take into account the height of the 10-metre diving platform vis-a-vis the seats. It can't be just me that finds this odd...