Not to force a point here, but the strange juxtaposition on Sky News last night that set in split-screen live coverage of the NYSE closing bell against helicopter shots of Croydon in flames after arson and looting seems more than

This post might be a little beyond its sell by date but hopefully the whiff of staleness isn’t too strong. It’s about three of the most interesting things I’ve seen all year. So I’m afraid you’ll have to humour me

“Somehow, everything must be watched; nothing must be allowed to be commonplace in the way that things just are commonplace: each project must be weighed, and planned, and approved, and only then built, and only after that discovered to be

I’m speaking this thursday (16th) as part of London Mets ‘Rip It Up & Start Again‘ series. Details below: Short Stories about the city by Dann Jessen, Julian Lewis and Judith Loesing from East and Sam Jacob from FAT Architecture

Versioned Chairs explores the effect of translations acted out on a series of canonical chairs. The original design was first translated into a textual description that attempts to describe the physical characteristics of the chair as accurately as possible. These texts

So, to end 2010, an amazing, touching, poignant dustbin. Out with the old, in with the new and all that. And where better to get rid of the old than in this accidental freak? Part Cornetto, part trashcan, it’s both

And for 2011, a new broom. I could tell you how this conflation of two orders of domestic objects challenges notions of use and decoration. I could argue that its reworking of domestic utility is somehow a post-feminist reworking of

Here is one of my contributions to the Obituaries issue of the New City Reader,  edited by MOS. If you can’t get to the New Museum to pick up a copy, download the whole thing here. The Death of Nothing Architectural Minimalism rose

A couple of links to great talks I hosted last week at the AA: Damon RichCities Destroyed for Cash The Great Recession has produced a new theory of architecture; per US Secretary for Housing and Urban Development Shaun Donovan, ‘The

It’s been pretty quiet here at Strange Harvest for a while – other stuff has been getting in the way. I’ve had a drawing in Max Frasers ‘Joy of Living’ show at Somerset House – a benefit for Maggies Centre’s (which closes tomorrow,

These are just but two of the many explorations of the significance of representation that seem to occur with regularity in cartoons of the 1950s and 1960s. At one moment we see a painting that we understand to be pictorially

This really should be a super long essay, but for now these short notes will have to do. Of course it’s obvious, but moments of British pagentry like the Royal Wedding display the intense choreography of state and crown. The

Within a few hours of the new reports of Osama Bin Laden’s death, these models appeared on Googles 3D Warehouse. Sketchup ready, these 3D models are composed from who-knows-what source material and are made for who-knows-what-ends. Downloading by Sky News

Here’s a clip from British Pathe of Le Corbusiers funeral. The clip is described here: “Various shots of the coffin of famous French architect Le Corbusier being carried through the courtyard of the Louvre Museum in Paris, France at night. On each

The Eurovision Song Contest is a European project – that’s to say not a project by Europeans, but a project that is about Europe – or even more: an attempt to construct Europe. From its 1956 origin as a project of the

A quick note to bump a couple of events I’m contributing to in the near future. First up is a talk for Icon as part of their Icon Minds programme on 25 May 6-7pm, I think in the The Farmiloe Building on

This is the first in a new series titled Show & Tell authored by guest contributors. The idea is to present an idea, a project, a collection, research or subject in a manner that is part blog post, part curation

A quick note: I have a series of drawings in the new issue of San Rocco (issue 02/ The Even Covering Of The Field) accompanied with a text by Simon de Dreuille. It’s out now and you can get a copy here. Also,

There’s one particular moment in Pablo Bronstein’s great show at the ICA Sketches for Regency Living where the idea of architecture, style, ideology come together, where his ping ponging of reference shudders to a strange conclusion. First we find it as an

This is the accidental work of the City of York Council who have built a new fence right through an existing set of goalposts. Not only wonderfully surreal, it provides a beautiful enactment of the relationship between municipal bureaucracy and

  Quick note to say I’m taking part in the first issue of Format tomorrow, Tuesday 28th June at the AA , 6.30pm, on the subject of magic, design and architecture with artist Jonathan Allen and hosted by Shumon Basar. We’ll be talking about magic’s role

Super excited to be part of Postopolis DF – the Mexican edition of Storefronts Postopolis, this time in partnership with Museo Experimental El Eco, Tomo and Domus Magazine. Previously you’ve seen groups of celebrated (if that’s the right word) architecture/landscape/urban/art/design

Over at Election Aesthetics, we will be following the upcoming UK General Election from a visual culture, aesthetic and design perspective. Posts will come from top British designers and design critics so it should prove to be an interesting dissection

The most fascinating show about design in London this year (and we’ve had a lot of design shows) is not a design show. Michael Rakowitz‘s ‘The Worst Condition Is To Pass Under A Sword Which Is Not One’s Own’ at

Hausu, La lampara asesina from seres on Vimeo. 2.31 minutes which set out in the clearest terms the deep seated antagonism at the heart of design. In the end, design will suck us in, tear us apart, spit us out,

When you find yourself in times of trouble, historically speaking, its quite likely you’ll find yourself in a desert. For Satan in Paradise Lost, for the Israelites fleeing Egypt, for Mark Thatcher on the Paris Dakar rally, deserts are places

From the medical records of St George’s Hospital Medical School: “A 3 year old boy presented to our accident and emergency department with an obvious penetrating head injury. He had tripped and fallen onto a metal model of the Eiffel

Excited that Beyond issue 2 is out. Alongside luminaries both literary and architectural including Douglas Coupland and Francois Roche, I have contributed a short story titled “Everything Dale Myres Could And Couldn’t See”. The story chronicles a digital animators increasing

Sub Plan is a research project developed by an AA summer school unit led by Finn Williams of Common Office, David Knight and graphic designers Europa. It’s a guide to what’s known in the UK as Permitted Development. Permitted development