This coming week we’ll find out which team won for the Design of the Seattle Central Waterfront. Last week the four shortlisted teams had their formal interviews as well as a presentation to the public. The lead on the four teams are: Wallace Roberts and Todd, Michael Van Valkenburgh, James Corner Field Operations, and Gustafson Guthrie Nichol, which presented at the public presentations last Thursday evening at Benaroya Hall in that order. To view each of their presenations, go here.

It was a unique opportunity to watch some great designers present to the public on their experience and design vision. It also really showed the value of a well-coordinated presenation and that even the great names in our profession can stumble without a little preparation. Although an interesting thing is that while those of us in the audience had some strong opinions on what we witnessed, those that watched it online had some differing views due to the choice views shown by the camera rather than witnessing the entire stage. Either way, it will be interesting to hear the outcome of the decision on what will only be the beginning of a dramatic change for the city of Seattle. What an exciting time to have moved North, where I can witness and document the changes as they take place!

Below is the raw footage from the public presentations. So get comfy, grab some popcorn and enjoy.

Water can make interesting patterns all on it’s own…swirling, flowing, splashing and falling. I recently came across a fountain and was fascinated not by the pattern of the water within the fountain spray or the ripples in the pool but rather colors and shapes in the pool where the water hit water. I later found myself pawing through imagery online, continuing the fascinating with the shapes of water hitting water. I came across this image shown here that captures the moment of fascination I had earlier.

Guerilla stencil artists are on the loose…and they’re promoting urban biking. Sometimes guerrilla work isn’t drawn by artists at all, just concerned people trying to make a statement. The GBL, Guerrilla Bike Lane, even made a video of their nighttime artistic installation. They even used a bike to help with the painting. In the middle of the night, on Monday, July the 26th (or more correctly, the morning of the 27th) a group of activist artists made a bold statement on the streets of Baltimore. They left behind a bike lane, stencil art, and their manifesto which reads:

“The Guerrilla Bike Lane arose from a desire to express ourselves and our passion for an escalating need to reduce the use of fossil fuels. We seek to promote and establish fair and safe riding conditions for cyclists in Baltimore. The intention of our guerrilla artwork is to educate the public using environmentally friendly and creative means in a non-aggressive way. We hope this will serve as a catalyst for people to see and build the community within the city, to consciously take action instead of settling for an inactive way of life.”

After years of cycling associations begging for bike lanes on the bridges and access roads in Lyon, France only to be ignored, Velorution decided to take the paintbrush into their own hands. The group decided to paint bike symbols at key locations to get their point across.

And it works, the cars leave a lane open for cyclists and the groups can ride safely over the bridge.

Some artists take their art into the comedic realm, like these stencils found on the streets in Adelaide, Australia.

The Urban Repair Squad out of Toronto promotes biking and has made it their mission, “To encourage bicycling as an antidote to the poison that is car culture. To actively construct a positive future of what urban transportation could be by installing it NOW. ”

images via carltonreid, Urban Repair Squad, Velorution