The structure, designed by Italian architect David Fisher, has floors that can each rotate independently of one another. Allegedly the building will be powered entirely by wind and solar energy via outer solar panels and wind turbines between the floors. With floors that rotate, buyers will constantly have a different view of the Persian Gulf. Condos are currently going for about $3,000 per square foot. Check the vid BELOW.

Belgian designer Vincent Callebaut, the Lilypad’s creator, describes the city as a “floating ecopolis for climate refugees,” but it looks more like a resort than a shelter. Inspired by nature, it’s designed to house 50,000 people displaced from the effects of global warming and other ecological disasters, and be entirely self-sufficient so it doesn’t contribute to the problem. As a floating city, it can really pick and choose how it gets its energy since wind, solar and hydropower are all easily accessible, and all food and water could be grown or processed. The artificial yet natural landscape won’t have climate refugees feeling like they live on a junker from Waterworld, either.

It’s just about the most fashionable way to weather any ecological nightmare. While the Lilypad may never see the light of day, any zero-emission city design is certainly a step in the right direction. To keep reading and view more pictures click here.

Source: DVICE

Loaded with features like folding wings (so you can keep it in your garage) and seat belt-like parachutes (so you can ease the whole thing down to the ground), ICON Aircraft’s new light sport airplane (LSA), dubbed the A5, might just be the ultimate joyride.

What if you had an aircraft that fit in your driveway and could take off from basically anywhere? The new Icon A5 Aircraft just made flying a lot easier. This sports plane is about the length of two compact cars and has wings that can be folded up for easy storage and transport in a trailer that hitches to your car. But the best part is that it can actually take off from the water, meaning all you need to do is drive it down to the lake and let it fly. The A5 probably won’t be available for a bit, but you can order one now for about $139,000. To see more photos click here. By the way, this thing is real.

The Patagoonies in Palo Alto are got revved up for an extra-special event this past weekend. They were proud to announce that directors, Stanford University students, and friends of Patagonia, Nicholai Lidow and Britt Caillouette, introduced the surf documentary Sliding Liberia at 7 pm on Saturday, June 7, in their shop on Alma Street. The film features the sick surf skills of Crystal Thornburg and Dan Malloy, both Patagonia Surf Ambassadors, as well as Chris Del Moro, an artist whose work is featured on their surf tees, and, most notably, the epic beauty of West African coastal beaches. Central to the message of the film is not the role of surfing in the lives of traveling Americans, but the soul-liberating role the sport can have in the lives of those so greatly affected by civil war in Liberia.

Continue Reading “Sliding Liberia Being Shown & Introduced by the Directors Tomorrow at Patagonia Palo Alto” »

Source: The Cleanest Line

Two new penthouses at 20 Pine, the former headquarters of Chase Manhattan Bank, were just released on the market. With interiors designed by Armani Casa, the units offer a unique opportunity for the baller in search of a pad in Manhattan’s financial district.

The first of the two penthouses is a two-bedroom, two-bath 1,873-square-foot unit priced at $3.2 million. The second is a 1,829-square-foot one-bedroom with 1.5-baths, priced at $3.1 million. In total, 20 Pine contains 409 residences and amenities such as a pool, spa, fitness center, and a terrace lounge.

The 25th floor through the penthouses are serviced by world-renowned concierge service Quintessentially, which offers up your typical luxury hotel amenities, including room service and a daily concierge breakfast. Prices in the building start at $715k, with studio through three bedroom units available. To see more images of 20 Pine Baller Pads, read the rest of this entry BELOW.

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Source: Baller House

Nurai, a new development off of the coast of Abu Dhabi, is without a doubt the most exciting luxury real estate opportunity we’ve seen so far this year. Developed by Zaya, a new Abu Dhabi-based real estate joint venture, Nurai is a natural island located northeast of Abu Dhabi’s city center that is currently in the process of being transformed into a boutique luxury hotel resort with 60 suites, 31 beachfront estates and 36 water villas. Each of Nurai’s three residential model types, designed by New York based architects Studio Dror, comes with a range of unique luxury amenities like private beaches and gardens, infinity swimming pools, concealed service quarters, and outdoor showers.

Entertainment and recreation facilities on the island of Nurai will include three restaurants, multiple lounges, a private helipad and marina with arrivals lounge, and an ESPA spa and fitness center. Commute time to Abu Dhabi from the island is 25 minutes by boat and 5 minutes by helicopter.

Pre-sales for the development are going on now with prices ranging from about $3 million to over $22 million.

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Source: Baller House

Ubud is a town on the Indonesian island of Bali. The town is located amongst rice paddies and steep ravines in the island’s central foothills in the Gianyar regency. One of Bali’s major arts and culture centres, it has developed a large tourism industry. The specialty in Ubud is the nasi babi guling (roast suckling pig), which can be found all over the island. This dish is an all-in-one platter of rice with pork meat, fried pork skin, pig intestines, gizzet, and vegetables and apparently the best place to get it is Warung’s Ibu Oka.

Babi Guling at Ibu Oku is considered a Balinese delicacy for locals and tourists. The food stall has stood there for the past 20 years, serving up what many say is some of the best pork in the world. Half a dozen live pigs are housed at the back of the compound, snuffling, eating, sleeping and generally enjoying life before the pre-dawn kill that will have them cleaned, gutted, stuffed and spitted by 4 a.m., ready for the Warung’s 11 a.m. opening.

For those of you who are curious to what Babi Guling actually is, it is a roast suckling pig packed full of Balinese herbs and spices, such as shallots, garlic, chili, ginger, galangal, turmeric and bay leaves, then roasted over an open fire for at least five hours while continulously being lathered with coconut milk. This is five hours of hot, heavy work for the cooks who rotate, non-stop, the wooden spit by hand, regularly dousing the flames with water to maintain the perfect cooking temperature. Getting the temperature right is an art that has been handed down from generation to generation, the suckling pigs slowly developing that warm golden sheen that makes for the best crackling, the inner meat cooking slowly until it is utterly succulent. Prominent chefs like Jamie Oliver and Anthony Bourdain say this is the best pork in the world.

Ibu Oka learned this art — along with the business — from her parents-in-law 25 years ago. She adds that her in-laws had been preparing Babi Guling for 33 years before she took on the business.

“The family has been making Babi Guling for almost 60 years. Two generations of us. Originally, the business started at the market. I ran it there for the first five years after my parents-in-law died, and then moved the warung to Jl. Suweta 20 years ago,” she said of the business that now involves her whole family.

For pork eaters, this is the mother of all pork dishes. The pork meat is nicely marinated and very tender. The fried pork skin is very crispy and delicious. The atmosphere is very casual, everyone sits on the floor, sharing a long low table while Ibu Oka, the owner of the stall I presume, shaves the tender juicy meat off the pig hanging on the kitchen. Ibu Oka is highly recommended just for the experience of a local food stall, and also for the lovely pork dish.

Giving the phrase “Under the Sea” a whole new meaning, the Poseidon Undersea Resort ($15,000 and up) lets you rest underneath the waves in a room made mostly of acrylic glass. Located in Fiji, the resort offers guests private plane transport from a Fijian airport to the Poseidon Mystery Island, where they’ll enjoy a week’s stay — including two nights in the underwater hotel, with a personal 1,000 foot Triton submarine at their disposal. With a coral reef to explore, beach bungalows for above-sea level accommodations, an underwater library, wedding chapel, restaurants, and more, it’s an out-of-this-world experience just 40 feet below the surface.

Source: Uncrate

It’s a song, a custom, and a festival. In Hawai’i on the first of May, everyone wears flowers, schools stage pageants and give prizes, grade school kids perform dances of the many cultures that make up the islands, contests are held for the most beautiful lei or garland, a Queen is crowned, competitions in both ancient and modern hula are held and popular entertainers give a concert or show for the locals. If you listen to Pandora try typing in Kaau Crater Boys for some traditional and “Hawaiian” island flavor.