PeachyDragon.com Blog

Life-Sized Bird's Nest is a Horse-Riding Arena

Prague-based design studio SGL Projekt took on the grueling task of adding an equestrian training ground to a previously deserted farmstead known as Stork Nest Farm. Inspired by the storks who dwelled on the chimney of the abandoned distillery, the studio designed the space, mimicking a massive bird's nest. The dome-like structure is supported by glulam timber beams encased within a protective barrier made of translucent polycarbonate. It stands 12.5 meters high with a diameter of 34 meters and boasts an 8-meter-wide skylight that provides a natural means of ventilation for the stadium. Its simple airflow system aids in maintaining a good climate for the space's equestrian visitors. ...

02/03/12 2:30 pm

Times Square's BIG Beating Heart

Find romance in the big city by taking your sweetheart to see this giant red heart installation in New York City’s Times Square. Danish architecture firm BIG (Bjarke Ingles Group), with Flatcut and Local Projects, designed this interactive cube-shaped pulsating heart that burns brightly alongside the intense lights of New York’s bustling city center. Titled BIG♥NYC, the installation was created “out of the very materials that constitute Times Square: movement, lights, the masses.” The partially sandblasted acrylic tubes are set up in 10'x10'x10' formation and illuminated by LED lights that shine up from the base. The light emanates through the translucent areas of the tubes, creatin...

02/03/12 11:13 am

Redefining a Space with Colorful Tape

Brooklyn-based artist Rebecca Ward uses electrical tape with vinyl adhesives to create visually exciting installations. Her site-specific geometric creations work as an extension to its surrounding architecture. The tape artist redefines the space she's working in with her evenly spaced parallel and interweaving stretches of bright lines that form three-dimensional shapes. Taking her architectural pieces around the world, Ward has shown her installations from a gallery in Texas to a Kate Spade flagship store in Tokyo. The artist seamlessly incorporates her tape art into each unique space she works in through meticulous calculations. There is always a balance of composition and color ...

02/02/12 1:00 pm

Artificial Urban Glaciers

In 2000, the city of Enschede in the Netherlands survived a catastrophic fireworks explosion. Closely following the disaster, a rebuilding project was initiated to restore hope and confidence in the town. Roombeek Street is a commercial street and the urban core of Enschede. In 2005, a stream that ran under Roombeek Street was restored and brought to the surface. Architecture group Buro Sant en Co provided the landscape architecture and urban design services to develop a beautiful, while still functional, public space that brought innovation and pride to the community. “The base of the stream is treated with a rough structure that reduces the flowing speed of the water and creates a...

02/02/12 11:29 am

Dreamy Hanging Sculptures

Nicola Yeoman is a London-based installation artist who plays with the concepts of perspective and common spatial expectations. At first glance, her installations are conventional hanging sculptures. Upon entering the gallery space, initial reactions to the work are challenged “as the viewer finds him or herself able to walk within and about the work—the relationship of the viewer with the object renegotiated and the interplay of dependence altered.” Most recently she created In Waiting, which is made mainly from drapery and cement (see last photo). It is part of an ongoing series called Scrapbook Circles. By combining her love of photography with design, Yeoman has been able to bot...

02/02/12 10:43 am