Urban Prankster » buildings

Snake Game Played on Dorm Windows

Charlie Todd — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 14:03:35 +0000

A student group in Poland executed a series of projects where they used the lights in their dorm room to create awesomeness. In the above video you can see a game of Snake and a bit of Pong at the very end. Their YouTube channel has several other videos, including this James Bond video:

There have been several examples of students using the same technique to create massive games of Tetris. Here’s a video a Russian group that pulled it off:

And don’t forget Improv Everywhere’s mission Look Up More that put humans in department store windows:

Fake Soccer Game
New Improv Everywhere: Where’s Rob? – Lost at a Knicks Game
Improv Everywhere’s Grocery Store Musical

Ugly New Buildings

Charlie Todd — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 17:44:39 +0000

New York Artist Dan Witz has been installing really awesome photo stickers on new buildings in Brooklyn. He writes:

In the past few years much of my neighborhood in Brooklyn has been torn down to make way for luxury housing. For better or worse it’s a whole new street-scape out here. Personally, I can’t say I like the new modern architecture very much, it’s sterile and alienating and so arrogantly disconnected with its surroundings sometimes it seems like giant alien space ships have landed. But let’s face it, bemoaning gentrification in New York City is futile, it’s like complaining about the noise or other unstoppable forces of urban nature.

So for this summer’s piece I tried to make the best of it. These are photo-based, heavily re-painted stickers, mounted on plastic and glued to the walls of the Ugly New Buildings. In May I put up around 30 and about half are still there.

See tons more: Ugly New Buildings

(via: wooster collective)

Calling Bullshit on Illegal Ads
Super Hero Changing Station
Altered Delivery Menus

Digital Water Walls

Charlie Todd — Mon, 16 Jun 2008 19:16:57 +0000

An MIT-designed building with walls made entirely of water was unveiled Thursday at the opening of the Zaragoza World Expo in Spain.

From their press release:

The “water walls” that make up the structure are generated by high-speed computer controlled solenoid valves. They can be programmed to take varying shapes, to display patterns, images and text, and to respond dynamically to input from sensors.

“This capability enables architects to challenge many traditional ideas about architectural form,” says Mitchell. “Doors, for example, need not have fixed locations. When you walk up to them, water walls can open like the Red Sea for Moses, and then seamlessly close behind you.”

“The Digital Water Pavilion illustrates how buildings of the future may change their appearance and form from moment to moment, based on necessity and use,” says Ratti. “It is not easy to achieve such effects when dealing with concrete, bricks and mortar. But this becomes possible with digital water, which can appear and disappear.”

Read the full press release
More photos

Awesome Digital Billboard Alteration