Category Archives: 2012

Nothing Will Be Restrained

Posted on July 27, 2012 by cosmopolitanscum

This short film essay looks at how man has built and talked about elemental architecture forms since the Tower of Babel. It takes the viewer inside the ArcelorMittal Orbit for the first time as well as placing it in historical … Continue reading →

Posted in 2012, Architecture, Engineering | Tagged , , , , , | 4 Comments

Interview: Cecil Balmond

Posted on October 21, 2011 by cosmopolitanscum

Cecil Balmond is a Sri Lankan born, British designer, engineer, artist, architect, and writer. Known for his close collaborations with architects, such as Toyo Ito on the Serpentine Pavilion and Rem Koolhaas on the Casa da Musica in Porto and … Continue reading →

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Of Montreal

Posted on July 13, 2011 by cosmopolitanscum

After the establishment of the Committee d’Organisation des Jeux Olympique (COJO) in 1972, the body tasked with not just running the Olympic Games in Montreal but controversially to build the structures, the Canadian Ambassador for Argentina wrote to his superiors … Continue reading →

Posted in 2012, Architecture, Media, Old Things, Urbanism | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Reaching for My Revolver

Posted on June 21, 2011 by cosmopolitanscum

Will Gompertz on the Today programme this morning said that the arts has “always been embedded in the idea of hosting the Olympics.’ As portions of the £80m Cultural Olympiad were officially announced – a group of artists to create … Continue reading →

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When Doves Fry

Posted on April 28, 2011 by cosmopolitanscum

A plan to ban fireworks from the Opening Ceremony of the games, prompted IOC President Jacques Rogge into prolonged reminiscence about a salutary tale from the annals of Olympic history. Rogge, one of the rare members of the IOC to … Continue reading →

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Gratuitous Beauty Pageant Post

Posted on October 21, 2010 by cosmopolitanscum

Giovanna Mazotti was voted Miss Italy in 1952 winning the right to represent her country at that year’s Miss Universe competition, which was eventually won by Miss Finland. Upon returning home, Miss Italy  told a Rome newspaper that the Miss Universe … Continue reading →

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A Cathedral Dedicated to Excrement

Posted on October 1, 2010 by cosmopolitanscum

As London’s sewer system accepts into its gaping maw a huge autumnal deluge, it is worth sparing a thought for those who created it. The Metropolitan Board of Works was created in 1855 to improve the cities infrastructure ‘under the … Continue reading →

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Familiarity Breeds Contempt

Posted on June 28, 2009 by cosmopolitanscum

Yet another horrendous piece of graphic design plops through the mat of the poor benighted inhabitants of London’s Olympics boroughs and yet again they as one recoil at the hideosness of the logo. (A hideousness which I want to explain … Continue reading →

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Moving along nicely

Posted on May 12, 2009 by cosmopolitanscum

I still think that it’s going to be a bit silly when its finished and its wrapped in muslin or whatever. Good to see that the death of the UK construction industry has been somewhat exaggerated.

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