Via unconsumption:

The Houston artistic team of Dan Havel and Dean Ruck is at it again. (Previous mentions here and here.) Thanks to their handiwork, another old bungalow slated for demolition is being transformed into architectural artwork.

The public art project, which Havel and Ruck designed to function as a stage, is a temporary centerpiece in a new pocket park in Houston’s Fifth Ward, a neighborhood developed in the late 1800s. The Fifth Ward went into decline in the 1970s; in recent years, the area’s been undergoing redevelopment and revitalization. [Side note: Former residents include Congresswoman Barbara Jordan and musician Arnett Cobb.]

Photo above via Fifth Ward Jam - Houston Arts Alliance. 

Pre-deconstruction photo below (by Havel Ruck Projects) via Swamplot.com. 

For additional photos and information, see this Swamplot post. 

Houston!

Reblogging my post from unconsumption:

Dan Phillips (who we’ve previously covered here and here), known for building affordable houses from reclaimed materials, will design a new park in Houston — the city’s first folk art-inspired green space. The park will be developed by the Orange Show Center for Visionary Art, a non-profit group that restored and maintains the Beer Can House (pictured above), a Houston landmark that Phillips counts among his inspirations.

Note to self: How can I call myself a Houstonian and not have featured until now a photo of the Beer Can House? Related: I did, however, post a pic of the Beer Can House’s ReaLemon “tree” made from those lemon-shaped plastic ReaLemon juice containers.

(Via Houston to get a new green space with Beer Can House cred: Meet the Orange Show’s Smither Park - CultureMap Houston. Photo courtesy of Greater Houston Convention and Visitors Bureau.)