Jacob Paul Wiegmann's Blog – November 2011 Archive (48)

Toyota will be presenting the revolutionary "Fun VII" concept car at the 2011 Tokyo Motor Show. The car will be 13-ft-long and capable of holding three people, including the driver. What makes the Fun VII stand out the most, however, is its digitally customizable interior and exterior.

With the use of touchscreen digital surfaces that make up panels in the cars interior and…

"The Automobile Factory"



Artist David Trautrimas' works may look deceivingly simplistic, but upon closer inspection the amount of detail that is in these pieces is astounding. The series entitled Industrial Parkland depicts factories created from the very objects they are supposedly making. For example, a power drill factory is…

Made entirely out of recycled car and motorcycle parts, Swiss artist Tom Samui masterfully crafted these extraordinary metal sculptures. After collecting the materials needed from a local junkyard, Samui cleans and sorts all the pieces needed for current or future works. None of the pieces collected from the junkyards are ever thrown out and once all the pieces have been welded…

If you are familiar with the art world, this portrait may look familiar to you. It is none other than controversial artist Ai Weiwei, the designer behind the iconic 2008 Beijing Olympics Bird's Nest Stadium. One of Weiwei's most recent works, Sunflower…

The Tori-Tori Restaurant is one of the highest rated sushi restaurants in Mexico City, and another location has just been completed in Polanco, Mexico. The building was a collaboration between architect Michel Rojkind and Esrawe design studio. Since the new location is in such a largely residential area, the designers wanted to make an impact to set the restaurant apart. They…

Reminiscent of a sloping Aztec house, Plot 4328, designed by Bernard Khoury Architects, is a three bedroom twin house found outside of Beirut, Lebanon. It features an astounding 33 ft drop from its front entrance to its lowest point. The south facade slopes from ground level up 23 ft and connects with the north facade, which is glazed on all three levels and features balconies that offer wonderful views of the valley. The house also features a shared elevated pool on the tip…

If you have a fear of snakes you may not want to continue reading this post. These beautiful photographs were taken by advertising and art photographer Mark Laita as part of his series entitled "Serpentine." The black background draws the viewer to focus in on the beauty and form of the snakes. The set includes snakes from all around the world and it captures their subtle beauties. Mark Laita says…

Would you ever want to wear these contact lenses? Possibly in a few years, advances in technology will allow us to fit hardware onto contact lenses that would project our emails right in front of our eyes! Thanks to a team from Washington University, this far-fetched idea may soon become a reality.

Prototype trials have recently been completed. By putting nanometer…

Perched on Lake Union in Seattle, Washington, this 1,200 sq ft home by Stanwood-based Northwest Architects was designed for an elderly couple that loves being on the water. Did your eyes almost fool you? The architects designed the outside so that it looks like it's actually floating on a vast body of water!

The use of wood on the outside also makes the house look traditional but peek…

Can you imagine stepping inside this bar? For anyone who is a fan of the movie Alien, the name HR Giger should ring a bell. He's the artist behind the design of the Alien character. The HR Giger Bar, found at the HR Giger Museum in Gruyères, Switzerland, has Giger's signature surrealist touch written all over it. Featuring large overhead arches sculpted like spines and vertebrate, this cavern makes one feel as though they have been swallowed by some massive beast. Everything in this…

How nice would it be to come home to this? We've all seen the Manhattan townhouse with the indoor pool and now we present an Australian apartment with an indoor jacuzzi! This funky apartment was designed by the creative minds at West Phillips Architects. With the simple use of a winch attached to the…

How disorienting is this bridge? Looking as if it's something out of a surreal dream, the appropriately named "Twist Bridge" is quite the stunning piece of architecture. Spanning nearly 138 ft, the bridge connects the Holy-Zuid district and the Broekpolder over Vlaardingse Vaart in The Netherlands. Designed by West 8 Architects and engineered by ABT, the bridge was constructed out of 400…

Sharon Levy's installation entitled "The Wood" is a group of sculptures that examine trees in a series of different ways. The most striking piece when one enters the room is the massive nine-foot-tall "cookie" or cross-section of a tree. Meticulously painted, this work only resembles an actual tree ring, it's actually made of stretched and painted canvas with carved and painted foam…

Hydra Schmidt Coupe



Have you seen the new Captain America movie? If so, then these vehicles should look very familiar to you. Designed for the movie by vehicle designer Daniel Simon, all the concepts took inspiration and guidance from the early 1940's as well as from Marvel's universe. Overall, Simon created seven different…

Ready for some record breaking art? You may remember seeing British artist Joe Hill's awesome 3D artwork before. He's back and breaking a world record this time! November 17 is Guinness World Records day, an annual day started seven years ago by the makers of the famous book, to encourage…

Check out the angles on this house! Located in Sydney, Australia, the Pitched Roof House was designed by architecture studio Chenchow Little. This house came about due to a rather strict building ordinance code requiring all new houses to have pitched roofs. The architects followed this rule but added their own, unique flare to the design.

The triangles forming the roof pitch up but then…

This table is absolutely wild! Created by artist Isaac Krauss, this bronze sculpture is amazing in so many ways. Not only is it incredibly detailed, it took over two and half years to make! Krauss' inspiration for this piece stems from his high school days. Trying to think of an interesting ceramic project, Krauss drew up the design but, due to the limitations of the studio and his teacher's…

Check out the unique design of this! Designed by architecture group KO + KO Architects, the Center for Development and Innovative Transportation building has quite the avant-garde design. Found in Kyiv, Ukraine, it will play host to both daily visitors and numerous types of vehicles.

Due to Ukraine's geographic location, the country is extremely interested in providing new and…