Completed in 1972 by architect Kisho Kurokawa, Tokyo’s Nakagin Capsule Tower was one of the most radical expressions of Japan’s Metabolist movement. Designed as a living, modular organism, the building consisted of prefabricated capsules meant to be replaced over time — an architecture of flexibility, impermanence, and futurist optimism. In reality, the capsules were never updated. Aging infrastructure, rising maintenance costs, and changing safety standards eventually led to the tower’s closure and demolition in 2022, transforming it from visionary landmark to architectural legend. Continue reading Eye On Design: Nakagin Capsule Tower Commemorative Lamp→
When I was in San Diego on vacation this past summer, my friend and I would often pass this stunning mural that adorns the front of an apartment building in her neighborhood. After doing a bit of research, I discovered that the piece is by street artist Skye Walker, whose work I’ve seen previously while vacationing in Moab, Utah. This guy gets around. Continue reading Colorful Mountain Lion Mural on Apartment Building, San Diego→
Stone Garden as Photographed in 2020 By Iwan Baan (This Photo and All Others By Gail)
Stone Garden (2020) is a 13-story residential tower imbued with hopeful futures for inhabitants of a postwar city. Conceived by Beirut-born architect Lina Ghotmeh as an inhabited sculpture, it transforms tumultuous events into creative potential. Continue reading Eye On Design: Stone Garden Apartment Building, Beirut→
This abstract street art ‘portrait’ with the words “Rebel” at the top — which is an obvious nod to David Bowie’sAladdin Sane album cover — is painted at end of the trash bin corral adjacent to Alternative Apparel clothing store at 281 Lafayette Street. It’s just a short stroll down the block from Bowie’s former residence at 285 Lafayette Street, where his widow, Iman, and daughter Lexi still reside. Daniel Winchester is the artist. A friend who used be the family’s dog nanny told me that this piece actually went up a week after David died. I can’t believe I just noticed it, and how great it stills looks. David Bowie Forever.
Brazilian artist Eduardo Kobra continues to make the rounds in NYC, but this mural, entitled Black or White, of Michael Jackson’s Face as both a child and an adult actually went up some time ago, in late August of 2018. I have walked by it a bunch of times and that orange food truck is always there, so it’s hard to get a clear shot. Continue reading Michael Jackson Mural By Kobra→
