Arch. Myriam B. Mahiques Curriculum Vitae

Tuesday, January 29, 2013

The ¨intelligent¨ sidewalks in Rio de Janeiro

Ipanema sidewalk. From greengopost.com
Rio de Janeiro sidewalk. From wikipedia.org
Sidewalk in Copacabana, Rio de Janeiro. 
From http://www.flickr.com/photos/artjonak/7510519826/

When I was a student in highschool, a friend of us went to Rio de Janeiro. He was a young man, and there was too much in Rio to enjoy. When he came back, the first description of the city he made me and my girl friends, was about the design of the sidewalks. Being our sidewalks in Buenos Aires so boring, with these mosaics we call ¨vainillas¨ he was absolutely impressed by the wavy pattern.
A few years after, I had my own opportunity to personally walk Rio´s sidewalks, by the sea, with the  buildings and the morros on the other side, that´s a great experience. 
Today I´ve read that:

¨The city began installing a series of QR code patterns onto its pavements on Friday 25 January in preparation for the 2016 Olympics, starting at Arpoador by Ipanema Beach. Keeping in line with the traditional black and white mosaic tiles that already line the streets in this area, the QR codes can be easily activated using a free app for smart phones called ‘QR Reader’.
In scanning the pavement QR code, the user will be diverted to a tourist information website which lists details about area where they are standing, including a Google Map so they can find their way about.
The first of this series of QR code mosaics is located in Arpoador and its associated website provides information such as: “The place was named Arpoador because in the past, whale harpooning was common in that region. The whales used to migrate from the south in search of warmer waters. At that time, it was necessary practice because whale oil was widely used in construction to produce mortar.”
Other tit-bits of information include the length of the beach (500m), details of night-time sport activities and where to stand to get the best views of the Ipanema and Leblon Beaches. Warnings of strong waves in the area are both a warning to weaker swimmers and an invitation to seasoned surfers.¨
FROM:

I´d never have imagined an interactive, intelligent design as this in my years of a student in architecture. Even more, there´s a Dutch firm that will ¨build¨ the first house ¨printed¨ with a huge 3D printer.
I´m astonished, maybe I´m getting old.


QR code mosaic in Rio de Janeiro. From http://www.worldarchitecturenews.com

1 comment:

  1. Nice blog. Rio local people, who have conventionally been to blame for giving tourists main headings and town minutia, considered very highly of the new concept.
    Architecture design

    ReplyDelete

LinkWithin

Related Posts with Thumbnails