The fantastic architecture of Mormonism. The recent scandal in Texas has had a relatively minimal impact on UK news, but we were struck by the genuine strangeness of the architecture. The Yearning For Zion Ranch in Eldorado, Texas, home of the now notorious Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, LDS Churches are a disciplined, uniform bunch. 'Throughout its history Mormon architecture has been more functional than experimental, more temperate than ornate, more restrained than innovative.' The use of standard plans turns the conventional idea of a religious structure on its head, with no need for superfluous architectural glorification. Instead, worship is conveyed through deeds, not things.

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Waxy on Milliways, 'the unreleased sequel to Infocom's The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy' (play it here in the original DOS-style, or the BBC's rather jazzier version) (via). In the comments, Michael Bywater responds to the implication that he was largely responsible for the game's eventual abandonment.

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World leaders channel Ken Adam / Clattery Machinery on Poetry, a weblog / a folding metal bed, at Canadian Military Heritage / combat reports filed by Mustang pilots in WW2 / Hierarchical flow charts from the 1940s 20th Century Fox at the Infomercantile. The full story of their origins (slightly dubious, as it turned out) at Collector's Quest (which is a thoroughly enjoyable website in its own right).

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Rem Koolhaas's House in Bordeaux arrived too early for the kind of intense, web-led discussion and endless posting that turns other signature houses into instant online stars. However, that lack of early exposure is gradually being addressed. The new film 'Koolhass Houselife' (sic) is an intriguingly straight look at a very unconventional structure. Talked about in more detail at Gizmodo, the image of the cleaner is especially priceless. Related, all about lifts: Up and then Down. 'In most elevators, at least in any built or installed since the early nineties, the door-close button doesn't work. It is there mainly to make you think it works. (It does work if, say, a fireman needs to take control. But you need a key, and a fire, to do that.)'

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Jump Scenes, for cinema goers with weak constitutions / beton + garten, a design weblog / great to be reminded of this again: Breaking Free (via) / kssk.tumblr.com, occasionally nsfw but usually interesting images of large engineering projects / freefoot crush, a weblog / flickranywhere, an app.

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Yet more on the awful Eiffel saga, this time at the NYT (and original story) / house trucks / all about the first wind tunnels / all about space elevators / a nice post on Peake / The Pinocchio Theory, a weblog / hybrid cultures, a weblog / the LINE architecture weblog / bezembinder's illulstrated links, occasionally nsfw / The Malas Blog / shoehorning an engine from one car into another demonstrates an extreme commitment to craftsmanship / little slices of the Earth / a virtual exhibition of Railway history in London.

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The cartographer Richard Newcourt chronicled seventeenth century London with a famous map. Following the Great Fire, Newcourt made a new map that set out the city as a monumental grid, each square containing a church at its centre, Corb before Corb. Newcourt's plan was rational and practical - creating countless fire breaks. But it was also a major inspiration for American grid-style town planning. See also the monumental Google Urbanism, 'the growth of London 1666 to 1799', a cartographic speculation at Medien Architektur.

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Textism has crept back into existence, thank goodness. Was it really nearly four years? / Art Found Out, a weblog / all about San Serriffe / from houses of Mormon to houses of Mammon, the new birds-eye view feature in Microsoft's Live Maps is a perfect tool for architecture spotters. posted by things at 20:57 / 0 comments