Process blogs, custom cities & cozy airports

Doing science online

[via nielsen]
I’ve encountered several faculty members who have a low opinion of blogs, including academic blogs. I’m thinking about giving a presentation about what I call process blogs. These are blogs that present either one big problem (as I hope the The Daily Clique does) or several problems (as Terry Tao’s does) and work to solve these problems using the tools and communities that have developed around online conversations (comments, RSS, search, delicious). From Michael Nielsen:

You can think of blogs as a way of scaling up scientific conversation, so that conversations can become widely distributed in both time and space. Instead of just a few people listening as Terry Tao muses aloud in the hall or the seminar room about the Navier-Stokes equations, why not have a few thousand talented people listen in? Why not enable the most insightful to contribute their insights back?

You can also think of blogs as a way of making scientific conversation searchable. If you type “Navier-Stokes problem” into Google, the third hit is Terry Tao’s blog post about it. That means future mathematicians can easily benefit from his insight, and that of his commenters.

Customised city

[via anne]
This article’s take on the popular “city as open-source software” metaphor is backed by an exceptional collection of supporting examples, including Montreal’s Roadsworth:

Perfectly mimicking the colours and aesthetics of Montreal’s metropolitan street markings, Roadsworth plays with the visual language of the street itself – joining two streets by painting an oversized zipper head where their lines merge, or transforming a pedestrian crossing into a row of oversized birthday candles. The city’s visual grid no longer functions as a symbol of control but as a catalyst for expression.

In a post from Spacing a few years ago, Peter Gibson—Roadsmith’s given name—explained his motivation for playing with the city:

“Painting images on the street is actually a very innocuous gesture in the face of the problems that exist. We are living in serious denial if we feel that business as usual is going to ensure our continued survival and well-being.”

Documentary filmmaker Alan Koln premiered Roadsworth: Crossing the Line in Montreal late last year.

At home with the modern Goths: Richard Rogers, Graham Stirk and Ivan Harbour

[via bldgblog]
Architects talking about coziness. I’m now fascinated by the Madrid Barajas Airport:

There was a deliberate decision there to go for warmth and texture - to do what airports don’t do. We asked - what don’t we like about airports? It was things like those greying carpet and ceiling tiles, finishes that made you feel uncomfortable. At Barajas the roof swoops down quite low, you almost feel you can touch it.

There are some great images of Madrid Barajas on Flickr.