#HTE

The Hummer of Off-Road Wheelchairs and The Story of How A Famous Architect’s Ashes Became a Diamond

Core77’s editors spend time combing through the news so you don’t have to. Here’s a weekly roundup of our favorite stories from the World Wide Web.

The Most Extreme Wheelchair Mod I’ve Ever Seen 

This video bills the Ripchair as the Ferrari of the powered wheelchair world, but a Hummer is a better comparison. In addition to treaded 24 hp rough and tumble mobility, the Ripchair is built to incorporate the user’s own chair for minimum transfers and maximum comfort. Ostensibly powerful enough for a full day of backwoods rambling, and quiet enough for a hunting trip - I do neither and still want to try one.

—Kat Bauman, contributing writer

How Luis Barragán Became a Diamond

A long-winded legal battle around intellectual ownership is being reinterpreted as a gothic love story by conceptual artist Jill Magid and further documented in this fantastic New Yorker article.

The structure of this tale: a woman to be married to the heir of a prestigious design legacy asks not for an engagement ring but instead for the archive left by the late Luis Barragán, the prolific, Pritzker Prize-winning Mexican architect. The woman, so taken by these works, locks away the archive and keeps it to herself. Magid, in conjunction with the Barragán family, exhumes the ashes of the famous architect and turns the remains into a lab-grown diamond. For what purpose? To propose to the ringless wealthy wife and owner of the archive to return Barragán’s life’s work to Mexico in exchange for the body of the architect.

—Allison Fonder, community manager

Talking With Tuesday Bassen About Her David VS. Goliath Battle Against Zara

Not only is Zara ruining the world through fast fashion, but also by stealing the work of over 20 indie artists in the past year alone. Tuesday Bassen’s legal battle with the massive Spanish brand has generated a media storm. By telling the artist she isn’t famous enough to have her work stolen, even though it was undoubtedly stolen, Zara is attacking livelihoods and committing a crime against small, independent artists and designers everywhere. Between needing to promote work on multiple social media platforms and having online portfolios, there is nowhere for indie artists and designers to hide from massive retailers while still generating business. Check out this site to see side by side comparisons of indie artist designs with Zara products and for more media coverage.

—Molly Millette, editorial intern

A Camera That Gives The Selfie Stick Some Historical Context

This is the Mintola ac 301 Courrèges, the product of a collaboration between camera brand, Mintola and French fashion house, Courregès in the 1980s. This camera was designed to take self portraits–the small mirror on its face allows users to check themselves out while taking their own picture. Sound familiar? Looks like iPhone front-facing cameras and selfie sticks have ancestors after all. This article/interview with artist, Simon Denny, discusses everything from his “discovery” of this camera and how China’s Shanzhai bootleg industry can actually be somewhat inventive.

—Emily Engle, editorial assistant

How NASA Space Suit Science Could Keep NYC Subway Stations Dry

With the recent announcement that the L Train will be shut down for TWO YEARS to repair water damage from Superstorm Sandy, this article from the engineers at Arup about seeking out a solution to keep NYC Subway Stations dry is both timely and a reminder of the urgency of designing for resiliency.

—LinYee Yuan, managing editor

Remembering the 1945 Empire State Building Plane Crash

In July of 1945 a U.S. Army B-25 bomber was flying over Manhattan in heavy fog—and crashed directly into the Empire State Building, killing 11 people within and the three crewmen onboard. It’s a little-known NYC story and crazy to think how they cleared the wreckage using 1940s technology. For instance, in an era predating reciprocating saws, how do you get a mangled B-25 into small enough pieces to bring down from the 79th floor of a building?

—Rain Noe, senior editor