Check out this incredibly clever use of perspective. Axel Peemoeller’s wayfinding system only delivers the message to the people that need to see it – and with massive colorful letters that are impossible to miss. From the designer:

In Melbourne I developed a way-finding-system for the Eureka Tower Carpark while working for Emery Studio. The distored letters on the wall can be read perfectly when standing at the right position. This project won several international design awards.

Also, it is worth checking out Axel’s main page here – he has some nice graphic design work. By the way, his name is definitely Axel, not Alex. I was going to say it is “Axel – like the rose” but then found out that that is actually Axl. And of course there is the axle on your car. Either way, I am a big fan of both Axel’s garage and his name, which is apparently somewhat common in certain parts of the world.

Click here to see more pictures

Props to Jeff Click at ModernLandRun for sending me the link.

Last Friday Toyota showed off their new Winglet personal-transporter. Apparently, it will only go 3.7 mph, barely faster than the 3.0 mph walking speed of a typical pedestrian. While it seems odd that people would pay for something that requires them to stand up and still only travel at a walking speed, there is certainly a cool factor here. Also, persons with mobility problems could benefit greatly from such a device. Either way, this is only the first generation we are talking about; I am sure they will increase the speed in the future.

Not sure what the price is yet, but it did get me thinking. What if we made these available all over downtown like a bike sharing program. You know, so that people that have to park far away from Bricktown, would be able to Winglet it instead. I know I would park at the Galleria for the chance to buzz through downtown on one of these things. In fact, for the $21 million we discussed spending on a downtown trolley, we could provide personal transporters for all of the disgruntled parkers instead. I expect the Winglet to be cheaper than the Segway, but even if we were to spend the $4,500 it costs to buy Segways, we could afford to put over 4,600 of them spaced throughout downtown. It would definitely be fun to watch on Friday nights when the bars let out – that is for sure!

Anyway, don’t get too excited about the Winglet yet, they won’t hit the market until around 2010.

Here is the video:

If you want to read more about the Winglet, here you go:

• Gaurdian.co.uk: Not a Segway but a Toyota Winglet personal transporter
  
• Cnet Crave: Segway, meet the Toyota Winglet

I’m a big fan of the Flaming Lips and a huge fan of their lead singer Wayne Coyne. I love it that he continues to live in his old neighborhood near McKinley Park, when he has the means to live anywhere he chooses. Check out the video and get an idea of what it is like to be an local rockstar, live in one of OKC’s not-so-nice neighborhoods (though I think it is getting better), and have your own alley in Bricktown. Probably the highlight is when he talks about some close calls with armed robbers while working at the old Long John Silver’s at 30th & Classen – makes it sound like South L.A or something.

Tour of Oklahoma City with the Flaming Lips’ Wayne Coyne! from imagiNATIVEamerica on Vimeo.

If you haven’t yet become familiar with the “Core to Shore” master plan, then check out the video posted a couple days ago before reading on.

The “Core to Shore” plan lays out a vision for an over 500 acres area between downtown and the Oklahoma River. This is a long-term plan, intended to shape development for the next 25 years. Much of what is planned will change over time as markets shift and thinking evolves. However, there are a number of public improvements planned that will begin to take shape very soon, when the I-40 relocation nears completion (currently scheduled for 2012). The most significant of these public improvements is undoubtedly the large ‘Central Park’ at the heart of the plan. Oklahoma City’s new downtown park will consists of approx. 32 acres between the new boulevard on the north (replacing current I-40 alignment), SW 7th Street on the south, Hudson Ave. on the west, and Robinson on east. Over $3 million was approved as part of the 2007 Bond election to fund the purchase of the land for the park. In the future, this park will be the symbolic heart of our city, drawing visitors to events from all around while providing future downtown residents recreational amenities and an idyllic escape. With the master plan complete and the funding for the land in place, it is time for us to start visioning what we want the park to be, so I have compiled a list of the ‘Top Ten Must-Haves’ for Oklahoma City’s new park.

To get an idea of what types of amenities and attractions are typically successful at large urban parks, I perused Project for Public Spaces list of the best parks in the world. And here are the results…

#10 Model Sailboats

A pond or fountain for r/c model sailboats is a popular attraction for kids in many parks around the world. In OKC the sailboats will be cruising thanks to winds that average over 11 knots.

#9 Ice Rink

The annual Braum’s ice rink during Downtown in December has proved that an OKC ice rink can not only stay frozen but provide a great winter time destination for people of all ages.

#8 Flower Garden

How can one take time to stop and smell the roses, if there are, in fact, no roses?

#7 A Great Lawn

The perfect place to have a picnic, catch some rays, or throw a frisbee. This flexible space is a key element of many great urban parks.

#6 Beautiful Bridges

Beautiful bridges serve a number of purposes in a great park. They make for picturesque scenes, offer attractive places to sit and converse, and they bridge things – ideally water, but now more often traffic. Oklahoma City will have at least one great pedestrian bridge spanning I-40 and we should hope to have a few more top-notch bridges connecting paths across the parks various water features.

#5 The Crumrine Carousel

The Crumrine Carousel (also referred to as the Oklahoma Centennial Carousel) was an idea floated around a couple of years ago by Bob and Jacqueline Crumrine. The Crumrines were said to have already met with an Italian carousel manufacturer about building the two-level carousel and had even struck a tentative agreement for a location in Bricktown. I haven’t heard much about this project since early 2007, but it is time we revive the idea. Everyone loves a great carousel and it would be a unique feature for our park not found in many places outside of Paris. A Bricktown location wasn’t a bad idea, but it will fit much better in the park.


#4 Public Art

Anish Kapoor’s Cloudgate (first picture) cost $23 million dollars. An absurd amount of money to spend on the piece of public art located in Chicago’s Millennium Park. Yet, the mirrored bean is so loved by the citizens of Chicago and has attracted so many people to the park, that it is considered money well spent. Art can provide something to contemplate, something to remember, or just something to make you smile and it is something our new park must have.

#3 Outdoor Concert Venue

Whether permanent or temporary, having a stage setup ready to accommodate rockstars, symphonies, and everything in between is a definite must-have. Placing this adjacent to the our Great Lawn (see #7) creates an outdoor concert venue to accommodate the masses. In fact, Oklahoma’s very own Garth Brooks set a record when approx. one million people gathered to hear him play in New York City’s Central Park.

#2 World Class Fountain

The popularity of fountains dates back centuries. Romans celebrated their incredible infrastructure with beautiful ornamental fountains (such as Bernini’s Trevi Fountain – third picture). Our park will surely have one fountain, maybe more. Grant Park in Chicago has both the classically designed Buckingham Fountain (first picture) and recently added the more modern – and extremely cool – Crown Fountain (fourth picture) as part of the Millennium Park addition. The fountain will be such an important element of our new park that I recommend holding an international design competition to ensure that our’s is truly world class.

#1 The Oklahoma Land Run Monument

This massive bronze sculpture by Norman artist Paul Moore depicts Oklahoma’s most famous moment. The monument is located south of I-40, near the Bass Pro Shop and spanning the most southern portion of the canal. The current location falls far short of ideal. We need to move this incredible work to a prominent location in our new park where it can get the attention it deserves. The pictures shown are from Doug Loudenback’s extensive overview of the project – worth checking out if you would like to learn more.