I can't wait to see the Infiniti version...

But in the meantime French car maker Renault has come up with Wind, a super-cute little underpowered convertible that solves the hard-top, but I still want space in the trunk, conundrum.



It's only for sale in a few select Euro kind of places at the moment, but it's a spiffy looking ride their Japanese siblings at Nissan could perhaps muscle up for the rest of us.

Mixing conventional ingredients such as living, leisure, working, and shopping

Wandering our way back to SOHO after a quick stop at the Paul Frank store last weekend, we stumbled upon a neat exhibition at the avant-garde Storefront for Art and Architecture.

A study in urbanism, the gallery presented various modern residential solutions as a response to societal demands in Copenhagen, Denmark. Proposed by Danish design group BIG, the ideas are an attempt to find balance between competing, and often contradictory, environmental, social and economic demands. The reality of Danish urban planning and construction in the past century are a launching pad for new, intriguing concepts on how we live and commune with one another.

The models and videos presented in the exhibit were thoughtful in how they asked you to engage yourself in the overall question of what compromises you are willing to make in choosing a place to live. They open a conversation as to what a city can do to find new housing solutions in an ever crowded world.

The truth is, the conversation reminded me that I would have a hard time living in most of the proposed developments. While I adore the energy and vitality of urbanism, I also know that I value personal space and open air environments. It is why despite having spent time in major metropolises -- and finding myself ever drawn back to their energy -- I deeply value the open space on the canal I wake up to every morning here in Denver.

While the solutions envision open-space environments, you cannot disguise the sheer density of some of these proposals. Much more refined than other philosophical attempts to put entire live-work-social environments into single skyscrapers, these ideas at least attempt to find more realistic solutions for our ever-crowded cities.

I am firmly a proponent of density in urban cores, but at which point does density itself lower your standard of living?

Sadly the exhibit closed shortly after we visited it, so it is too late to encourage any of you to go find it. Storefront did succeed in presenting an intimate thesis on urban living that thoughtfully engaged one of the key questions facing humanity today:

With more and more of us migrating to cities around the world, where -- and how -- will everybody live?

Bird's nests and animated exteriors in a sports palace world

With millions upon millions of dollars spent on shiny new sports palaces here in the States, it amazes me how few are truly iconic. They are little more than expensive excuses for corporate boxes in an era of diminished design expectations.

Not so in Barcelona or Beijing.

Spanish soccer club, FC Barcelona recently announced bold plans for a major stadium renovation "meant to become an international architectural reference point for the 21st century." A bold claim backed up by cutting edge lighting and materials intended to create an iconic building adaptable to the needs of rabid soccer fans on one day, and other civic events the next day. The new Camp Nou Stadium is meant to become a landmark in a city already full of them.

Similarly, the Chinese have pulled out all the stops with their bird's nest design for the new National Stadium being built for next year's 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing. Throwing out the rules on how stadiums should be built, an inhabitat review explains "the structure itself is composed of a grid-like formation that serves as both structure and facade, integrating the stairs, walls, and roof into one cohesive system. Instead of form being dictated by function, [the] design effectively removes the distinction, making function and form one in the same."

Somehow both of these make Invesco Field here in Denver look very minor league. Don't get me wrong, I do get the value stadiums provide for cities like Denver. Their impact in developing a sense of community spirit goes well beyond the tax revenues they generate.

But, if you're already spending hundreds of millions of dollars, can't you at least make them look pretty?

Shark Attack!!!!

I had an odd conversation this weekend with someone from France who insisted that you shouldn't swim in the Mediterranean... because of sharks.

Between 1847 and 2006 there were apparently only four reported shark attacks in France. During that century and a half, there were just 39 attacks in ALL OF EUROPE.

To put this in perspective, In 2006 alone there were 38 recorded shark attacks in U.S. waters including Hawaii, and 62 worldwide.

Out six-or-so billion people, 62 were attacked by sharks last year.

I think the French can swim at ease...