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Blue Street in Chefchaouen, Morocco
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Inside the medina many of the streets, walls, and doors are a magnificent
hue of blue. Chefchaouen was painted blue by the Jewish refugees who lived
there during the 1930s. The beauty of Chefchaouen's mountainous
surroundings is enhanced by the contrast of the brightly painted medina.
It is this beauty and the relaxed atmosphere of the town that makes
Chefchaouen
very attractive to visitors.
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Knockoff Street in Wuxi, China
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SFFCCCKS coffee? It's across from the Appla store. Your brain might have
corrected those brands to read “H&M,” “Starbucks,” and “Apple,” but if
you were walking down the street in Wuxi city in China you'd be wrong.
That's actually how all of the signs read. It kind of feels like a lame
parallel universe. Oddly enough, these aren't companies just ripping
off their competition—they're fake street signs on empty shops
meant to give potential buyers a sense of what the area could look like.
Unfortunately, the idea kind of backfired and the street has become a
big joke on the internet in China.
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Vila de Gracia in Barcelona, Spain
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center, to which they are referring. This place is probably the coolest
suburb in Barcelona. The main streets of Gran de Gràcia, Torrent de l'Olla,
and Travessera de Gràcia are always a hive of activity, but it is the squares
that give Gràcia its unique atmosphere. The way Gràcia is laid out makes
it ideal for street parties, and the Festa Major in August is the most
important in Barcelona after La Mercè. The competition for the Best Decorated
Street is always hard fought and big stages are set up in the major squares
offering some of the best bands around.
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Floating Umbrella Street in Águeda, Portugal
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Sextafeira called Floating Umbrellas. This colorful creation is a part
of the Agitagueda art festival. Due to the fact that the same idea was
used the year before this is the second time the streets of this town
have been covered with loads of vivid umbrellas, providing shade as
well as a wonderful sight. The people loved it so much that the
repetitive nature of theinstallation does not carry the risk of
becoming boring, but rather turning into a wonderful tradition.
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Cracked Stones Street in Enschede, The Netherlands
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The small stream, which gives its name to the street and has in the
past flowed underground, has been restored and brought up to the surface
again. Now, the water is part of the urban environment and has become
the district's new central point. Its asymmetrical design, which widens
and narrows along the street, accentuates its different spatial features.
The base of the stream is treated with a rough structure that reduces the
flowing speed of the water and creates a constant reflective pattern
on the water's surface. A distinctive composition of sharp edged stepping
stones refers to the randomness of natural processes and is also a
reference to the fireworks explosion (the street was partially destroyed
by a fireworks explosion on May 13, 2000).
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The Magic Carpet Streets in La Orotava, Canary Islands
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for the fun in the sun reputation of its southern tourist resorts. However,
anyone looking for more than just a suntan should head north, especially to
the historic and noble township of La Orotava where in June the streets are
decorated with elaborate flower carpets during the Corpus Christi celebrations.
The streets of its old town remain perfectly preserved; beautiful 17th and 18th
century town houses with exquisitely carved wooden balconies border narrow
cobbled streets. It's a feast for the eyes at the best of times, but during Corpus
Christi, when the cobbles are covered with evocative images created from
rose and geranium petals, the town literally blooms.
Technically, this isn't a flower carpet at all; it's entirely made from volcanic
sand taken from Las Cañadas del Teide in the Mount Teide crater, which
makes the subtle skin tones and lifelike expressions on the faces of the
people depicted in the tapestry all the more astounding. In 2007,
the sand tapestry deservedly achieved worldwide recognition when
it was included in the Guinness Book of Records as the largest sand
painting in the world.
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Geometric Streets in Vercorin, Switzerland
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to come and create works during the summer months. They're not
looking for a singular sculpture, they're interested in creative projects
that incorporate the entire village.
In 2010, Lang/Baumann was asked to take on this challenge. "Most of
the houses and their facades are very old, historical wood surfaced
and it seemed interesting to us to contrast them with bright colors on
the street," Sabina Lang of Lang/Baumann explained.
Using only maps, they first measured everything out. Then, "we started at
the point of the geometry of the street directions leading to this central
village square," Lang says. "This was the base for a grid out of which we
developed our drawing."
What resulted was a stunning street painting that ran through the entire
village and got the whole town buzzing. "Many of the village inhabitants
passed by and followed the process of painting," says Lang. "They
used it in a very playful way later, especially the children used it to cycle
or skate or walk on the lines."
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The Pink Street in Lisbon, Portugal
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epicenter for creative and cultural industries that works 24 hours a day.
In the project created by José Adrião in collaboration with Lisbon's City
Council and Cais do Sodré Association, the architect decided to have
the pedestrian street painted in a vibrant pink. In addition, panels
have been place along the sidewalk as an outdoor art gallery.
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The Only Right-Hand-Drive Street in London, England
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street in the United Kingdom where vehicles are required to drive on the right.
This is said to date from the days of the hackney carriage, when a cab driver
would reach his arm out of the driver's door window to open
the passenger's door (which opened backwards and had the handle at the front)
without having to get out of the cab himself. Additionally,the hotel
entrance's small roundabout meant that vehicles needed a turning radius
of 25 ft (8 m) to navigate it.