World View wants to take passengers to space in zero-pressure balloons, the American Museum of Natural History is getting a new science center, and don’t miss out on HD Expo + Conference 2022. All that and more in this week’s Five on Friday.
Artists call for climate action in California
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Californians stuck in highway traffic will soon have new focal points beyond the license plates in front of them. The new initiative A Cool Million will task 14 artists to create large-scale works related to the climate that will adorn billboards and other public spaces across the state. The Art Newspaper reports that the campaign is the brainchild of art collectives For Freedoms, Art + Climate Action, and Art into Acres. Slated for an April 22nd Earth Day launch, the project will support the conservation of one million acres of biodiverse landscapes as well. Participating artists include Katherine Bernhardt, Petra Cortright, Njideka Akunyili Crosby, Lynn Hershman Leeson, Josh Kline, and Hugo McCloud. The Museum of Contemporary Art in Los Angeles, the Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive, the Broad, the Getty Museum, and SFMoMA are among the institutions partnering on the project as well.
Balloon spacecraft flights to begin in 2024
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PriestmanGoode has introduced renderings of its capsule design for World View. The space tourism company is already accepting bookings for passengers eager to fly through the edge of the Earth’s atmosphere in the sleek new vessel, Dezeen reports. Maiden voyages, which will last between six to 12 hours, are scheduled for 2024. Attached to a giant zero-pressure stratospheric balloon, each spaceflight capsule will journey eight passengers and two crew members more than 98,000 feet into the air, where the planet’s curvature, the blue line of the atmosphere, and the darkness of space will be visible. Interiors will be distinguished by geometric details and pearly white surfaces to support thermal management.
Studio Gang teases AMNH expansion
The entrance of the Richard Gilder Center for Science, Education, shown in a rendering; courtesy of Neoscape, Inc./© AMNH
New renderings illuminate Studio Gang’s plans for its expansion of the American Museum of Natural History. Slated for a winter 2022-2023 completion, the forthcoming Richard Gilder Center for Science, Education, and Innovation will grow the New York museum’s footprint by 230,000 square feet. New design details reveal that the extension will be home to a four-story civic space, as well as a research library and learning center on the fourth floor, writes ArchDaily. A high-tech theater, butterfly vivarium, insectarium, and nearly 4 million scientific specimens will also be housed across the Gilder Center.
Former BART cars find new life
Rendering courtesy of Hernandez-Eli Architecture
A fleet of decommissioned Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) cars will be given new life, including overhauls that serve as an arcade and a sports bar. Following the introduction of the new Bombardier fleet, the San Francisco Chronicle reports that sweepstakes winners will pay $8,000 each to move and upgrade the 22-ton cars and reimagine them. Among the winners is the Oakland A’s, which plans to transform one car into a new beer garden and sports history museum. Other plans will see former BART cars revitalized into a video game arcade, a Scraper Bike Team clubhouse, a BART museum, a posh rental home, and an F+B and workspace concept. The Hayward Fire Department and Contra Costa County Fire Prevention District will use two new cars for training purposes as well.
Last call for HD Expo registration!
The NEWH Young Entrepreneurs Breakfast at HD Expo + Conference 2021; photo by PWP Studio
Registration is still open for HD Expo + Conference 2022! Taking place at Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino in Las Vegas from April 26–28th, this year’s show will offer another series of inspirational sessions, networking opportunities, show floor activations, and new product showcases. In addition to product innovations from hundreds of companies, highlights will include more than 30 dynamic conference sessions featuring more than 150 key industry professionals all hosted on the show floor at one of three exciting spaces: the Social Hub, designed by 21c Museum Hotels; the DesignWell Pavilion, crafted by INC Architecture & Design; and the HD Park (with a concept by Willliams-Sonoma, Inc. Business to Business). HD Expo + Conference is also bringing back its signature Owners’ Roundtable event, where more than 30 hotel brand and ownership executives will share their outlook on the industry. To register and buy tickets, head to hdexpo.com.
