Mountain Visacacha (Lagidium viscacia)
Also known as the Southern Visacacha, the mountain visacacha, while it may look like a rabbit is a species of rodent related to chinchillas. Mountain visacachas are found throughout the Andes mountains in South America. Viscachas are also diurnal and emerge from their cliffside dens to feed on vegetation and bask in the sun.
Phylogeny
Animalia-Chordata-Mammalia-Rodentia-Chinchillidae-Lagidum-viscacia
Excuse me while I keel over from the sheer force of this creature’s adorableness.
150 years ago the Battle of Chancellorsville pitted the Union Army of the Potomac, under Major General Joseph Hooker, against the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia, under General Robert E. Lee. Lee decided to divide his forces in the face of a larger Union army, which resulted in a major Confederate victory, Lee’s “perfect battle”. Despite having a reputation as an aggressive division commander, Hooker’s failure to take the initiative during the engagement lost him not only the battle but also President Lincoln’s confidence and he was replaced soon afterwards as commander of the Army of the Potomac.
- Map of Field of Occupation, Army of the Potomac, [from Dumfries south to Port Royal and west to Chancellorsville]. Prepared by order of Gen. Hooker from reconnoisances made under Capt. R. S. Williamson, Lt. N. Bowen, Gen. D. P. Woodbury, and others. From the Civil Works Map File
- Wilderness, near Chancellorsville, Va, ca. 1860 - ca. 1865. From the Matthew Brady Photographs series.
Soon, over 70 percent of the worlds growing population will live in cities. Changes in climatic conditions, in manufacturing and agricultural production, the increasing strain on finite resources and the ever more complex supply chains necessary to supply our populations compel architects to reconsider the near future face of the urban environment, as diverse pressures make the increasing density of many cities an inevitability.
Projects on show cover a wide range of locations and programmes but share some common concerns: they all posit forms of symbiotic relation between systems, seeing architecture as an art of connection.
From a novel response to urban change in Tokyo to the establishment of autonomous manufacturing facilities and network nodes in the southern Sahara, all of the proposals arise out of individual responses to immanent issues: not empty form making, but rather considered design research positions.
ERGODICITY
Where: Mowlem Street Studios, Bethnal Green London
When: Thursday 2nd of May 2013 at 6pm
Price: FreeThis is exhibition from the Graduate Diploma class of my Architecture School, anyone in London tomorrow should check it out, the work is incredible!
once again…
The Living Residents of Manila’s North Cemetery via Amusing Planet
Housing is so scarce in the Filipino capital of Manila, that thousands of residents have found an alternative to their housing woes by making the cemetery their home.
Metro Manila is a bustling city with a population of around 12 million. It ranks as the world’s eleventh largest metropolitan area and the fifth largest urban area by population. It is also ranked as one of the most densely populated cities in the world. But the vast majority of the city’s residents are poor. As much as 40% of the population lives below the poverty line, often squatting in shantytowns, unable to afford anything better.
