Performing MDM Opera House By Jie Shen

In this "...design for an opera in Warsaw by the London based architect Jie Shen... the model is not so much a representative tool than a diminished scale building in which materials match with their potential real application...the proposed opera introduces a rough vocabulary which recalls the one used in naval construction." 

more at the funambulist.

'Bounce below' in an abandoned slate mine in Wales

"Giant trampolines inside a mammoth slate quarry cavern are the latest tourist attraction tipped to bring thousands of thrill seeking tourists to the region.

Bounce Below will open next month at Llechwedd in Blaenau Ffestiniog – the world’s first facility of this kind. The caverns, twice the size of St Paul’s Cathedral, will be lit up in a light show while visitors bounce on giant trampolines linked by a 60ft long slide."

From here and here.

Chthonic churches at Lalibela

Lalibela is a town in northern Ethiopia that is famous for its monolithic rock-cutchurches. This rural town is known around the world for its churches carved from the living rock, which play an important part in the history of rock-cut architecture. Though the dating of the churches is not well established, most are thought to have been built during the reign of Lalibela, namely during the 12th and 13th centuries.

Thanks to 2nd year critic Quynh Vantu for bringing up this reference during Monday's crit.