What's Hot, What's Not! - Sky Cars - The Only Way is Up

Aerodynamically the bumblebee shouldn't be able to fly,
but the bumblebee doesn't know that so it goes on flying anyway.  

~ Mary Kay Ash

Mid-flight to England this summer, trying to take my mind of the nausea provoking turbulence, I noticed in the in-flight magazine an interesting addition to the gadget section. Nestled on the page in between this years ‘must haves’, of a pair of Skull-crusher headphones, a weird USB stick and an ugly suitcase cover was a cherry red PAL-V (Personal Air & Land Vehicle).

For one horrible moment, I thought that the makers of the Reliant

Robin (a 3-wheeled car from the 70’s, infamous for toppling over whilst cornering) was trying to make a 21st century come back. Upon further inspection, it became apparent that this is far more superior. Intended to be the world’s first practical ‘flying car’, the PAL-V is a single seated, three-wheeled vehicle that can fly as a gyro-copter, drive as a regular car and handles with the diversity of a motorbike. Now how cool is that, in these days of increasing gridlock and road rage! Its fold-able rotor means that it can be driven from your doorstep and then flown to your destination of choice. This could revolutionize personal air travel, as just getting to the airport and one’s flight is a nightmare these days.

The PAL-V is due to appear in 2012. Conceived by John Bakker working with Spark design (amongst others), it has taken 6 years to develop a vehicle concept that can fly as well as drive. The PAL-V has a possible speed of up to 125 mph on land and 120 mph in the air, as well as being able to soar to heights of 4,000 feet.

With transport going vertical, our highways may soon look like something out of the film ‘The Fifth Element’, with Bruce Willis. But it’s not all plain sailing or should I say flying? In order to be able to drive/fly one of these you will need a plethora of licences. For starters, an aircraft certification: “Small Rotorcraft”, road certification: Three wheeled Motorcycles, Class L5e, car drivers license, 20-40 hours of flying experience and approximately $ 7000 to pay for it all! That’s all before you have bought the aircraft, which will only set you back a paltry $75,000.

The PAL-V on the other hand is ‘cheap’, compared to the middle of the range priced, Terrafugia at $194,000. This one looks rather like a plane and has been dubbed ‘not a true skycar’, by its critics. Then there is the top of the range (not on sale just yet) Moller Skycar M400 at $526,634.35. This can comfortably seat four people and travels up to speeds of 380 mph.

Of course in order to fly with the happy abandon of a Jetsons cartoon, (Hanna Barbara), a foolproof GPS navigation system will also have to be implemented for transport that is going to be land-air, at a moments notice, otherwise it could be disastrous. But all said and done, I must admit I like the idea of this mode of transport and should I decide to invest in one, it’ll land nicely on the roof of my vertical garden!

Sources: Pal-V   Moller   Terrafugia

© Alison Day
Alison Day Design 

First published in the Connections magazine #25 Autumn 2009 

Het Paleis, Groningen

Once upon a time Het Paleis (The Palace) used to be a laboratory for physics, but now this magnificent building found at Bloemsingel 10 (near the centre of Groningen), has been totally renovated and transformed into a cultural venue for artists, designers and cultural entrepreneurs. Also, included in the plans were accommodation, in the form of apartments, most of which I believe went like hot cakes, and the complex also has a coffee shop.

Creatief Stad (Creative City) who are also housed in Het Paleis, organized the opening of Creatief Stad, which was opened by the then Mayor of Groningen, Jacques Wallage on 20 July 2009, accompanied by Cuban music, food and drink.

Included in Creative City is the prototype for a rather unusual but thought provoking hybrid shop, called ‘Zooi Box’ (literally, ‘Mess Box’) with re-cycling, as it’s central theme. So much of what is thrown away these days, can of course be re-cycled and re-used again, not only our daily lives, but also in art projects and workshops. The sky’s the limit! Also, if you have any ‘rubbish’, to get rid of…

The official opening took place 19 September, and was opened by the new Mayor of Groningen, Peter Rehwinkel, who was newly inaugurated on 18 September 2009.

For more information: Het Paleis

© Alison Day
Alison Day Design 

First published in the Connections magazine #25 Summer 2009 

Connections Magazine - Summer #24, 2009

Castles in the sky.

© Alison Day
Alison Day Design 

First published in the Connections magazine #24 Summer 2009 

Vertical Gardens

With the ever-diminishing urban space, created by an ever-increasing world population's demand for more living space, plus the already sprawling cities, space is at a premium often leaving little room for the inclusion of a reasonable amount of greenery. For those fortunate enough to have a garden this is not such a problem, but for those with little space or any kind of garden area to speak of, vertical gardens could be an interesting proposition.

Being myself the proud owner of one such pocket-sized space in the form of a balcony, I am well aware of the limitations when it comes to planning one’s greenery for the summer. What to choose, flowers or edibles or a mixture of both? It only takes a few strategically placed terracotta pots and the space is full, leaving only enough room for a small table and a couple of chairs.

So, why not plant upwards, vertical space is plentiful? In doing so, a living wall can also transform the whole side of an ugly concreted and blokish building just by the use of greenery. This is a visually more pleasing picture to the eye and is environmentally friendly too. Possible on any type of wall this can be applied not only to the outside but also the inside of buildings as well. For example to residential courtyards, shopping malls, businesses - just about anywhere with a wall and access to a water supply.

As far as setting up goes, using soil is optional and plants don’t mind growing vertically without it, as long as the all important irrigation system is in place. Plants used are dependant on what is seasonal and available in the area. This is according to the findings of Patrick Blanc, a Frenchman and artistic pioneer in this field.

The increase of green areas within the urban grey, are important not only environmentally, but as people friendly spaces inviting people to linger a while. In this day and age we need more places where it is possible to pause for thought, away from our frantic lifestyles and soaring stress levels, and what could be better than being surrounded by vertical gardens.

Back to my balcony, so how does one realize a vertical garden on a postage stamp? Easy! No, it’s not the trellis/plant rack option. Take an old bookcase; lay it flat on the ground and drill holes in it so that a hosepipe can be threaded from top to bottom in and out of all the compartments. Puncture the hosepipe at intervals to ensure that every compartment will be irrigated. (It would be at this point if I was on the craft section of Blue Peter, a children’s TV programme in the UK, I might say ‘and here’s one I made earlier’, but I digress…) Fill all the compartments with soil and then cover the whole thing with a hessian sheet or sturdy gauze and staple round the sides. Lift up the bookcase to an upright position. Make holes in the hessian at intervals, and now you’re ready to plant plant away in abundance!

As a thing of the future, vertical gardens (also known as sky farming), could provide city inhabitants with a source of fresh herbs and vegetables in limited space, although levels of pollution in some cities might be a cause for concern. As for me, although I like the idea, right now I don’t have a spare bookcase kicking around to give this idea a whirl, and storing one’s books in terracotta pots just to realize this project, just wouldn’t look quite right. 

© Alison Day 

Alison Day Design 

First published in the Connections magazine #24 Summer 2009 

What's Hot, What's Not! - Geocaching

Geocaching is a way to take a walk in the countryside, which is a combination of both sport and game. If you are tired of just looking at flora and fauna whilst listening to the trudging sound of your footsteps on a walk, why not take a walk with a purpose that will keep your brain as well as your body fit?

With Geocaching, the idea is that with the aid of a handheld GPS receiver (using co-ordinates obtained from the Geocaching website), you follow what is rather like a high-tech treasure hunt. At the end of the hunt, hidden somewhere in the world, you will find a cache. The cache is generally a watertight box complete with logbook (the finder can document finding the cache), and ‘treasure’ inside, with which items can be swapped or added. Anyone can hide a cache and the location is made common knowledge via Internet. Once found the cache is returned to its original hiding place and your Geocaching stories and photos can be shared online at various forums.

So, it is also possible to choose the type and grade of difficulty of the Geocache; whether it’s a normal, earth, multi or mystery cache. The earth cache for example is educational, whilst with the multi cache a point has to be reached before the co-ordinates of the final hiding place are given. Another popular variety is the collation of information found at given points in a hunt, which lead to the end destination and, you guessed it, a cache.

The game has been around since May 2000; Dave Ulmer hid the first cache on 3rd May. In order to play the game one has to create an account and become a member, which is free. Currently there are Geocaches placed in over 100 countries around the world and on all seven continents including Antarctica.

So, dust off those walking boots and take your brain for a jaunt!

For the official Geocaching website: Geocaching. For the Dutch website: Geocatching (NL).
Sources: Wikipedia

© Alison Day 2018
Alison Day Design 

First published in the Connections magazine #24 Summer 2009 

What's Hot, What's Not! - Alice TT Assen, 79th Edition 2009

For those of you interested in motorbikes, the 79^th annual TT motorbike race in Assen will be held from the 25^th – 27^th June 2009.

With 100,000 motor enthusiasts eagerly descending on Assen for this event, this famous motor race is dubbed as the Dutchman’s answer to Formula 1 in Monaco and Wimbledon in London. A bit of a high-flown comparison there chaps, but I’m not going to stat bursting any bubbles!

For this motor spectacle, entrance with standing room begins at € 20,00 for adults (dependent on the day). For children entrance is free up to age 15 on the first two days, but only up to age 12 on Saturday 27^th June.

The tribunes can seat up to 56,000 people. For more information and to book tickets please see their website here (Dutch). As with everything popular, these sell very quickly. The circuit in general is clearly visible by all and if that wasn’t enough there are also ten Big Screen Vidiwalls so that you won’t miss a thing.

So, whether or not you are a motorbike fanatic, with a penchant for men dressed head to toe in tight leathers, sitting astride an enormous hunk of metal that shoots around a track at mind bending speeds and belches out more CO2 than should actually be allowed in this day and age, why not try the TT Assen and decide for yourself as to whether it’s Hot or Not!

Photo source here

© Alison Day 2018Alison Day Design 

First published in the Connections magazine #23 Spring 2009 

Connections Magazine - Spring #23, 2009

© Turban Lady by Alison Day

Alison Day Design 

First published in the Connections magazine #23 Spring 2009