Friday Photography | The Architecture of Desire

What better way to pay homage to our favorite manufactured holiday then by taking a virtual tour of the Midwest's premiere fantasy hotel chain, FantaSuites. With names like Jungle Safari, Grecian Bath, & Le Cave; each room tantalizes with the prospect of the unknown. From their website:

From the ancient land of Caesar's Court to the futuristic Space Odyssey, let our FantaSuite Suites transport you to the world of your dreams. Each is a unique experience, an adventure, a romantic retreat designed to completely immerse you in the getaway of your choice...

So what might this world of your dreams look like, exactly?

















Unlike another kind of fantasy tourism, FantaSuites is faced with realizing it's escapism with real life brick and mortar. Or as is often the case: plush carpet, creative plastering, and faux plant life. Sadly, about the closest you'll find to a FantaSuites experience online are the wonderful 360° panoramas of each room on their website, all collected here for easy viewing.

Happy Friday!

Chernobyl Fungi Feed on Radiation

Today we have a science fiction-esque follow up to my previous post about Chernobyl tourism in Prypiat, Ukraine. National Geographic reports that three types of fungus have been discovered to grow larger and faster when fed radiation. Scientists were inspired to further study after observing strange fungus growth on the ruins of the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant.

From the paper, published and available at PLoS ONE:

Melanized microorganisms inhabit some remarkably extreme environments including high altitude, Arctic and Antarctic regions. Most dramatically, melanized fungal species colonize the walls of the highly radioactive damaged reactor at Chernobyl and surrounding soils.

The melanin in the fungi apparently gives it a blackish hue. This "pigment may play a role in the fungi similar to that of chlorophyll in plants." The paper points towards further study of melanin and its future potential for energy capture and utilization. In an interview with Ira Flatow on NPR's Science Friday today, lead scientist Ekaterina Dadachova said that this could mean the farming of melanized fungus as a bio-fuel in areas too extreme for conventional farming. Possibilities include underground or even in radiation abundant outer space.

Sadly, I haven't been able to turn up any images of the Chernobyl fungus online. Anybody up for a holiday in Prypiat?

Friday Photography | LincolnWay Energy

This week Friday Photography takes a road trip about 3 and a half hours south from the Twin Cities to an ethanol plant outside of Ames, Iwoa. I made the trip a with a group that was part Architecture for Humanity: Minnesota and part Solutions Twin Cities (a new project of mine, but more on that later) to participate in a conference called BIGe (the little "e" was for energy), put on by the newly formed Architecture for Humanity: Iowa.

On the last day of the conference, we took a tour of the nearby LincolnWay Energy ethanol plant. As we donned our soylent green hard hats a thick fog rolled in, setting the stage for a surreal tour through the nearly year old,and still pristine, power plant. The process for making ethanol is similar to brewing beer. So much so that they actually refer to the 200 proof corn alcohol they create brew as "beer" throughout the process. Seeing vats labeled as such combined with a strong smell that unmistakably reminded me of childhood tours through the Miller Brew Plant in Milwaukee had me expecting a free sample by the end of the tour.

But enough chit chat, on to the photos!









More photos from the ethanol plant, a passive solar house we visited, and the rest of the conference (with a cameo appearance by the back of Cameron Sinclair's head!) can be viewed here.

Some bonus ethanol fun facts:

• One acre of corn can produce enough ethanol to run a car for some 72,000 miles on E-10 Unleaded.\One bushel of corn yields about 2.8 gallons of ethanol.
• A typical 40 million gallon ethanol plant creates 32 full-time jobs and generates an additional $1.2 million in tax revenue for a community.
• Ethanol production results in a net energy gain – producing 67 percent more energy than it takes to grow and process the corn into ethanol.
• Ethanol production consumed about 13 percent of the nation’s second largest corn harvest in 2005 - some 1.43 billion bushels.

Happy Friday from St. Paul, MN!

Reality Tourism

Continuing our series of tourism themed posts (here and here), Sandra from AFH San Diego drew my attention to a group called Reality Tours. Based out of Mumbai, India, Reality Tours offers 2 hour walking "Slum Tours" of the nearby city of Dharavi.



"In these small alleys, you will see why Dharavi is the heart of small scale industries in Mumbai (annual turnover is approximately US$ 665 million) and on the tour we show you a wide range of these activities- from making clay pots and leather bags to recycling plastic." - Reality Tours



The idea of a reality tour is not a new one. In 1989 a group called Global Exchange began with the idea that travel could be educational, fun, and positively influence international affairs. In their model, "... travelers are linked with activists and organizations from around the globe who are working toward positive change. We also hope to prompt participants to examine related issues in their own communities." Global Exchange sets each 7 to 14 day trip around a specific issue and focuses events around providing a view of the issue beyond what is communicated through mainstream media.

This type of trip offers a social exchange that you just can't get in a 2 hour walking tour, but both programs try to create a socially responsible experience, and both have been fairly well received in the international press.

Related Posts:
The Evolution of Eco-Tourism?
Friday Photography | Chernobyl Tourism

Friday Photography | Chernobyl Tourism

These gates mark the entrance to Chernobyl county.

The worst accident in the history of nuclear power occurred at 1:23am on April 26th, 1986. The evacuation and resettlement of over 336,000 people throughout large areas of Ukraine, Belarus, and Russia followed the event. Ground zero, the now radioactive city of Prypiat (home of the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant), has sat "officially" vacant until recently.

In stark contrast to another type of power plant tourism we featured last May, you can now take guided tours of the Chernobyl disaster area. The tour itinerary makes for some interesting reading:

9:00 Depart Kyiv. Two-hour ride northwards to the border of the "exclusion zone". The area is 214 km in perimeter.

11:00 - 14:00 Pass the checkpoint "Dytyatky" and enter the "exclusion zone". Visit to the site of Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant - an enterprise once employed more than 5000 staff. Observe object "Sarcophagus" - concrete and steel shelter covering radioactive masses and debris left after the explosion. Experience the peace and quiet of the ghost-town Prypyat - all 47.500 inhabitants had to abandon their homes the next day after the accident. Explore the deserted apartment blocks, schools, hotels, kinder gardens.

14:00 - 14:30 Lunch (the quality of food is guaranteed).

14:30 - 15:00 A briefing conducted by a specialist of the governmental agency "Chernobylinterinform". Get answers to your questions about the accident, current ecological situation and the future of the exclusion zone.

15:00 - 17:00 Visit to the site of contaminated vehicles. Thousands of tracks, helicopters, armoured personnel vehicles are so soaked with radiation that it is dangerous to approach. Meet the self-settlers, elderly people living in the exclusion zone.

17:00 Leave the exclusion zone.

19:00 Arrive Kyiv

Alexandr Vikulov recently took one such tour and has made some of his fascinating photographs available here.


A totally abandoned city. All the trees you see are new growth since 1986: a radioactive urban forest.


All new pipes run above ground as the soil is so contaminated.


This artwork began appearing some time after the disaster. It appears all over the city. Artistic remnants from the cities first post-radiation tourists.

See the whole set here.
Read more about guided tours of Chernobyl here.
Read more about the hauntingly beautiful Prypiat street art at Wooster Collective and at Wormwood Forest.

Related Posts:
The Evolution of Eco-Tourism?

The Evolution of Eco-Tourism?

THE BUFFALO RIDGE WIND TOWERS

Western Minnesota is a wind power hotspot and in the past 6 years wind farms have begun to pop up all over the landscape to take advantage. In an encouraging sign of the marketability of alternative forms of energy, the town of Hendricks has begun to promote the high concentration of windmills in the area as one incentive for green-minded families to move from the city to a more rural location, as in this excerpt from the city's home page:

"The residents of Hendricks have focused on creating a town which is a perfect place for children. Our school district is one of the best in the nation. Our weather is temperate and provides for four seasons of fun. We are well grounded in our past, as we continue to worship in a prairie church which is now on the National Register of Historic Places. We look to better our tomorrow through efforts such as our wind farms and organic farming. We believe you will find the Hendricks Minnesota quality of life second to none."


SPEND A NIGHT AT THE MIDWEST CENTER FOR WIND ENERGY

If you like the steps Hendricks is taking towards a more sustainable planet, but still aren't sold on the whole package, you might want to consider a night or two "atop a bluff within the world's largest wind farm" at the Midwest Center for Wind Energy. 75 to 100 dollars will get you a night of lodging on the cutting edge of alternative power in the US, not to mention a continental breakfast. Fellow guests to this wind power epicenter include some of the world's top aeronautical scientists and technicians.

With the ever-unstable cost of crude oil consistently rising, it is more important then ever to show support for alternative means of power. Even if you can't make it to Hendricks, MN there is at least one simple way you can show your support: The 3.3 million Xcel Energy customers in the US now have the option to buy blocks of wind power that will supplement the traditional forms of energy they usually consume. After signing up, a portion of your energy (proportional to how many blocks you buy) will come from local wind generation. (Thanks to Jess at Greenlight for the tip.)


THE CHANGING MIDWESTERN LANDSCAPE

This is a great way to single handedly increase the use of a clean & renewable energy source and make a strong statement in support of a new type of sustainable fuel economy.