go here.

believe it or not, the photo above is of a train interior in japan.

with the results looking nicer than most nurseries, the japanese have taken the idea of ‘child-friendly public transport’ to the next level with these 2 beauties, both designed by eiji mitooka. he was the artistic force behind ‘omoden’ (toy train) and ‘ichigo ec’ (strawberry train), a couple of regional trains which travel on a daily basis on the 14.3km kishigawa line in japan. the japanase are intent on making train travel a more comfortable experience for everyone, women and children especially, and the results are incredible.

both trains contain hundreds of toys, tv screens showing cartoons, immaculately clean wooden flooring and cots for younger children. call me cynical but i can’t imagine anything like this emerging in the uk unless it was an attraction at a theme park.

here’s more of the stunning ‘toy train’…

here’s a video of the toy train…

and here’s the ’strawberry train’ which runs on the same line…

incidentally, the last station on the kishigawa line (kishi station) has a stationmaster named ‘tama’. he’s a cat. here he is…

only in japan.

sources: 1, 2

i didn’t realise there were so many architecturally incredible fire stations until a few days ago when i lost hours looking into it. turns out there are more than a few. here are, in my humble opinion, the 7 best…

1. vitra fire station, germany

architects: zaha hadid
completed: 1993
current status: inactive

this aesthetically stunning fire station was designed in order to serve the vitra furniture manufacturing complex in weil am rhein due to all surrounding fire stations being out of range. this was rectified years later, disappointingly resulting in the station being used to showcase the company’s chair collection.

photo credit: danrocha

photo credit: nickehret

2. cologne fire brigade hq, germany

architects: bfm architekten
completed: 2005
current status: active

the circular building houses the local fire brigade whilst the other sections of the complex are home to the training and management departments of cologne fire brigade. the whole thing seems to resemble a smaller, redder version of the forthcoming bird’s nest in china.

3. ave fenix fire station, mexico

architects: at 103 architects
completed: 2006
current status: active

the amazing ave fenix fire station in mexico city contains a standard fire station, ‘fire library’, recruitment centre and other private & public spaces. the front end of the building is elevated above the ground whilst the interior is filled with a huge array of intriguing spaces and shapes.

4. hill street fire station, singapore

architects: municipal council of singapore
completed: 1908
current status: active

built in 1908 for s$64′000, this is the oldest existing fire station in singapore and when opened it signalled the end of horse-drawn firecarts. dotted with classical arches and columns, the building has been preserved and recently restored perfectly and is still used today.

photo credit: petrst

photo credit: ozlady

5. berlin fire station, germany

architects: sauerbruch hutton
completed: 2004
current status: active

this building was designed in 2002 by sauerbruch hutton architects and won the riba award in 2004. the station houses police cars, fire engines, control equipment and administrative offices and the red & green slats on the station’s exterior represent the emergency services within the building: green for the police, red for the fire brigade.

photo credit: janorama

photo credit: janorama

6. parque de bombas, puerto rico

architect: maximo meana
completed: 1882
current status: inactive

this beautiful gothic fire station was originally used as an exhibit pavilion for a trade fair in 1882 - soon afterwards the fire brigade moved in and served the town of ponce until 1990. mostly made of wood, the building is now an extremely popular firefighters’ museum. the bottom photo shows the station in the 1950s and looked nearly identical to its modern self.

photo credit: michael dillingham

photo credit: bflaccus

photo credit: lulubrian

7. houten fire station, netherlands

architects: samyn and partners
completed: 2000
current status: active

the implementation of the curved shell roof at the fire station in houten was ‘the result of the search for elegance of form’. the wall at the back of the open half is covered in pictures painted by local children from all 22 of the surrounding schools, a technique used in order to deter the kids from vandalising the station.

note: as always, any photos found on flickr are linked to the relevant user’s page.

is it just me or are these immense structures slightly scary?

the 3 largest flagpoles on earth…

gijeong-dong flagpole, north korea

in the 80s, the south koreans built a huge 328ft tall flagpole in daeseong-dong, an area extremely close to the north korean border. the north koreans then proceeded to build their own larger version about a mile away at the entrance of ‘propaganda village’ in the dmz. it’s still recognised as the tallest supported flagpole in the world and measures 525ft. apparently when it rains the flag must be lowered as the structure can’t take the weight of a humungous wet flag. here’s the google maps link.

aqaba flagpole, jordan

at a whopping 430ft, the world’s tallest free-standing flagpole sits on the coast of jordan and can be seen from israel, saudi arabia and egypt. i can’t for the life of me spot the bugger on google maps. have a look at the area here and see if you have more luck.

raghadan flagpole, jordan

jordan can also claim the title of ’second largest free-standing flagpole on earth’. at 416ft the ‘earthquake resistant’ raghadan flagpole can be seen up to 16 miles away and holds a flag measuring 200 x 130ft. the carbon steel pole weighs 190′000lb, design and construction took 2 years and it can withstand winds as strong as 90mph. ogle it on google maps.

(all photos from flickr link to the user’s account)

sources: 1, 2, 3

1. tankchair

the tankchair is a custom made off-road wheelchair designed by a guy whose wife was growing increasingly frustrated by the limits of her normal electric wheelchair. this treaded beast can wade through mud, streams, sand, snow and gravel. on his website the creator says, “turns out that other people want a tankchair so i’m going in debt and am going to build them”. order yours here.

2. custom-built segway wheelchair

spanish designer josep mora decided to adapted a standard segway pt for people with reduced mobility. he added a seat, a handbrake to ensure the machine stays upright whilst still and a fold-away handlebar. it looks like a really functional modification. video below…

3. ibot

for ingenuity you can’t beat the ibot, an incredible self-balancing wheelchair designed by segway inventor dean kamen. as well as the 2 small wheels at the front, the ibot has 2 pairs of motorised wheels at the back, one of which the whole chair can balance on using a gyroscope. the first advantage to this system is extra height for the user, the second advantage the spooky ability to climb stairs…

4. porsche p’gasus

at present only a concept, the ibot-inspired porshce p’gasus also relies on a gyroscope based balancing system. however, whereas the ibot raises the user whilst remaining seated, the p’gasus slowly stands you to a near vertical position, seemingly strapped in just at leg height. technical details are thin on the ground at the moment but let’s hope something good comes from this minimalist design.

5. toyota i-real

touted by toyota as a ‘personal mobility vehicle’, this concept seems to be aimed at disabled people and able-bodied humans who have too much money and not enough sense. the back end of the i-real lowers automatically as speed increases towards its maximum of 18mph and sensors alert the user to upcoming collisions by way of noises and vibrations. video below…

extra

the future of ‘wheel’chairs?

sources: 1, 2, 3, 4