It's satisfying to learn that cities still harbour secrets. The internet has proved a veritable treasure trove of information about underground spaces, be they
drains, nuclear installations,
submarine bases,
seed vaults,
underground cities, or
subterranea britannica. The
cataphile's city is one of perpetual shade, never happier than when skulking around in the shadows, effecting their plan without anyone really realising they're there.
This is a romantic notion, one enhanced by the existence of catacombs, tunnels and mysterious long-lost spaces beneath our feet. In a city like Paris, with its well-known
subterranean world, it should perhaps come as no surprise to learn of the existence of a secret society dedicated to 'good' deeds, as opposed to an organisation devoted to underground evil. The story of the
Untergunther is a curious one. Owners of a smart-looking website, their story appears to have leaked out over a number of years (here in
The Times, then yesterday in the
Guardian), when a court ruled that their latest achievement was not a crime.
On the contrary, it was a reverse crime. For the Untergunther, a sub-group of the larger
UX, are secret restorers, sneaking in to fix up the abandoned and bureaucratically smothered structures that just need a little care and attention. From the
Guardian: '
Undercover restorers fix Paris landmark's clock'. From the story: 'Under the supervision of group member Jean-Baptiste Viot, a professional clockmaker, they pieced apart and repaired the antique clock that had been left to rust in the building since the 1960s.' We're too slow to beat
me-fi to the story.
Les UX were also responsible for the strange underground cinema discovered last year: '
In a secret Paris cavern, the real underground cinema' (via this
me-fi post). The
Pantheon project is on a different level altogether, a precision
slice through one of the city's most famous - and architecturally dense - landmarks. Increasingly, the mysterious spaces of the future will be up in the sky, the
penthouses and terraces that are off-limits to everyone but the urban elite. Navigating these without discovery will be altogether more difficult.
*JoyceImages, 'dedicated to illustrating
Ulysses using period documents' / the
Print is dead blog /
Midcentury Modernist /
IKEAfans, when you need to resurrect that flatpack, via
haddock / the
concert ticket generator /
ABD ('all but the dissertation'), a weblog /
Robosexual, an excellent mp3 blog, via this '
ultimat e stoner playlist' question /
my reading diary, a weblog /
Half Life 2 in Toronto, via
RPS /
Online merchants worth ordering from.
Catching up with
BLDGBLOG,
Mobile Minimalism ('Let me say right away, though, that I know a lot of people are tired of shipping container architecture...', although Geoff's not) and
Climate Change Escapism, rendering the drowned/scorched earth of two decades hence /
a note on the sale of
QinetiQ, the privatised arm of the former UK government research agency
DERA. It worked out well for some: 'The top ten executives in the business made £200 for every £1 of their own cash they invested in the business. Sir John Chisholm, Qinetiqs chairman, turned £130,000 into £26m; Graham Love, the chief executive, scooped £21m from £110,000.'
Chrome Waves on
The Brit Box,
Rhino Records' patchy, over-packaged set of discs covering the most memorable tunes from late twentieth century British music. See also this
Village Voice article and more (with video links) at
Popmatters /
scary monsters / the
crumbling villas of Prague / fashion ad campaigns collated at
Calikartel magazine /
Oorei!, a design blog / vocational fancy dress for children at
The Toy Factory, including, horrors, suffragette, barrister and architect.
posted by things at 19:10 /
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