The photos of the initiation ceremony at the St. Dominik Savio Silesian School (Gimnazjum Salezjańskie) in the Polish city of Lublin were posted on the school’s website. School officials claim that this tradition lasts for many years. The pics caused a scandal and the school was shown in the news.

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The Chinese city of Zhuzhou, the second largest in the province of Hunan, is being pressed under the tremendous pressure of growth. Home to many a manufactory and textile mill, residents are seeking new ways to live close to work while preserving the spaciousness of the countryside. Thus, these wonderful photos of McMansion-style housing atop a five-story shopping center in the central district of Zhuzhou.
The four houses are perched above the city, invisible to street-level action. They do not cast a shadow on the ground, and seem to exist solely in the rarefied world of smoggy skies, with scenic views into the apartments surrounding their airy enclave. Though the landscaping around the houses leaves something to be desired, the overall approach is one we’d like to see replicated on blank and bare urban roofscapes everywhere. Now that’s mixed-use development.

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Located at 120 West 29th Street in the Chelsea neighbourhood of New York City, this 1,800-square foot steampunk themed apartment is the type of place you definitely check out if they have an open house. For those not in NYC we can only ogle at the gallery below.

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Be careful not to look too closely at these if you have a fear of heights; you will find yourself getting a severe case of vertigo. As much as you might like to believe they are photoshopped, they definitely are not. Having a great love for his city of Detroit, Dennis Maitland wanted to show people a new perspective; something different from the typical tourist shots, so he proceeded to climb. Going to mostly abandoned buildings he would get to the highest point possible, sit on the edge, lean over and shoot.
Maitland says, ”When I started this series, in August, I was afraid of heights and I was afraid to climb ladders past 10 feet. After a few times sitting or standing on ledges, I found myself getting more comfortable with it. I soon realized how to tune everything out and just focus on getting a steady handheld shot. Now, when I go into a building, I’m always looking up and for stuff to climb. The series has pushed me out of my comfort zones and helped expand my creative boundaries. I’ve been able to concur my fear of heights and now I crave the adrenaline.”

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Khan Shatyr (“Royal Marquee”) is a giant transparent tent in Astana, the capital city of Kazakhstan. The architectural project was unveiled by the President of Kazakhstan Nursultan Nazarbayev on December 9, 2006.
The 150m-high (500 ft) tent has a 200m elliptical base covering 140,000 square meters. Underneath the tent, an area larger than 10 football stadiums, is an urban-scale internal park, shopping and entertainment venue with squares and cobbled streets, a boating river, shopping centre, minigolf and indoor beach resort. The roof is constructed from ETFE-cushions provided by Vector Foiltec suspended on a network of cables strung from a central spire. The transparent material allows sunlight through which, in conjunction with air heating and cooling systems, is designed to maintain an internal temperature between 15-30°C in the main space and 19-24°C in the retail units, while outside the temperature varies between -35 to +35°C across the year.

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Space is often an issue especially when it comes to living in the city, so it’s always good to see something like the Cuisine K1 that makes dealing with small spaces a little more bearable.

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This is Sweeb and it may be the future transport used to move around the city. It is a bike monorail pedal-powered. Yes, as in you’ll have to peddle it. It is only a concept now but Google Inc. has already invested $1 million dollars in it believing this may be transport solution for the cities.

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