Merry Wanderer of the Night:
social project

Google Books will scan the Italian libraries

Google Inc. and the ministry of culture of Italy have agreed about scanning of ancient books of national library of the country, informs The Wall Street Journal.
The Italian agreement
The corporation will be engaged in scanning of books in library of Rome and Florence. The agreement between the international corporation and the European country — the 1st for Italy. Google has similar agreements are available with the several large educational centres, for example: Oxford University, the Bavarian state museum and Madrid's Complutense University. All scanned materials will take places on web hosting by Google.

According to the representative of the ministry of culture of Italy Mario Resca, thanks to scanning of old books, access to knowledge which contain in these books, will become simpler for many people.

There is also one more benefit for Italy: the corporation has promised to incur all expenses on scanning of books and to construct in the country the special centre. It means, that the project will give hundreds workplaces. Besides it, corporation Google intends to invest in building of a new webhosting in suburb of Rome.
Google's Book Project
VIA «Google Books will scan the Italian libraries»
Digital facade for Medialab Prado

The digital facade on the area of Songs (Plaza de las Letras) is a result of investments of city administration of Madrid; now media laboratory Prado had a possibility to show to the public results of own researches of art, to combine them with requirements of a wide audience and the advanced technologies.

The given artless invention advances very important values and skills: social responsibility, an information transfer, social interaction.
Medialab Prado — Madrid
Media laboratory Prado — Spain
VIA «Digital facade for Medialab Prado»
The educational centre for all and for everyone or how to spiritualise an industrial building

Often, behind a simple cover the furniture disappears very uneasy internally. This supervision very much corresponds to a new building which has constructed architectural bureau Planet 3 Studios Architecture. The new educational centre is custom-made Vidyalankar Institute of Technology.
Architects converted an existing building in new object: they have taken out a core, have altered all inside and have added a new external cover. “The design which has turned out as a result, borrows natural language and forms”, — authors speak.
The external cover leaves free space between a building facade, forming zones for rest and work on the fresh air, protected from a wind and the sun. In a building laboratories, educational halls and a dining room are equipped.
The central object is executed in the form of a traditional flower, a lotus.
VIA «The educational centre for all and for everyone or how to spiritualise an industrial building»
Interior on service at knowledge

Cooper Union — one of the oldest educational institutions in America (since 1859). Establishment specialisation is science and art advancement, and on the basis of idea, that knowledge of the highest quality should be accessible also, as water and air.
In a unification — force!
The internal concept of a building is an engine which strengthens interaction and cross-country-disciplinary dialogue between college and three schools which took places earlier in separate buildings, and today take places under a roof of the uniform centre.
The vertical space is the central place for informal dialogue, an intellectual and creative exchange, it forms heart of a new academic building. All levels of a building, from the first to last floor are connected by a wide ladder.
Visual transparency of knowledge
“Symbolising idea of accessible knowledge, a building openly city”, — is spoken Thom Mayne, by the author of the concept.
“The visual transparency of public zones connects institute to a physical, social and cultural component of a city”.
Space distribution: 820 sq.m. of public zones, more 16 000 sq.m. (9 floors) educational zones (laboratory, studio, classes, student's zones).
VIA «Interior on service at knowledge»