On a day that's devoted to the White House, let's have fun with architecture.
What do wealthy people need next? How about a tank?
Chalk this up more to design than architecture, but it looks like the wealthy can now buy their own tanks. Admittedly devoid of armaments, but equipped with tracks, gull-wing doors, a night vision and thermal imaging system.
"You can shut all the lights off at night and the vehicle is completely dark and you can run 60 miles an hour down the road and see everything you need to see to be able to drive safely."
"White elephants" are architectural outliers: buildings made with best intentions that fall out of use.
A good podcast episode from Monocle on the topic of white elephants, highlighting the Palestinians' first parliament building (still in limbo) and Belgrade's "redundant buildings."
While we're on the topic, who knew Madrid had so much geometric architecture?
The Editors' Longreads Picks
- An excellent essay on poverty and writing by Starr Davis. Updated May 31, 2022
- Novelist Héctor Tobar tries to understand the 1992 Los Angeles riots through the experiences of a single high school.
- Steven Johnson with a long assessment of the current state of A.I. and language. (The illusion has gotten very good.)
Welcome to The Morning News Tournament of Books, 2017 edition.
- Our championship match is decided in the Tournament of Books, with news of a Rooster surprise debuting this summer. Updated Mar 31, 2017
- In Thursday's action, Reyhan Harmanci sets up a colossal final.
- The Zombie round opens with Buzzfeed's Isaac Fitzgerald reading The Nix and The Underground Railroad.
Все ваши Белый дом принадлежит нам.
- "Will Putin expose the failings of American democracy or will he inadvertently expose the strength of American democracy?" Updated Mar 3, 2017
- Wilbur Ross just wanted to make some money in ethically gray areas (that should've prevented him from taking office).
- Jeff Sessions's spokeswoman can't help but continue to lie.
The oceans are under assault, and not just from the White House and friends.
- Trump's assault on the environment begins with American headwaters. Updated Mar 1, 2017
- Don't just blame the oil companies for destroying the oceans—blame sushi restaurants.
- Nothing escapes the deepest trenches of the ocean floor. Not light, not nutrients, not pollutants.