Looks like a tooth, but it's a house.

Via a Reddit link I spotted, what the poster call it, the "tooth house". From the outside actually looks like a tooth and it is in Tokyo, Japan, in a tiny corner of a street where art and design created something original.

Faster, faster, but on rails!

Driving to destination is time consuming and your velocity is limited for security measures and sometimes you have to stop for refueling or to refresh yourself. The car still uses an obslete engine, an invention tha has more than a century of age, so while everything around it evolved we are actually going back to more traditional travelling ways. Airplanes are another viable way to go from point A to point B, it's fast and comfortable, but it has a major cons of polluting both the air with CO2 and with loud engine noises.

Countries arounf the world never put aside the ideas of developing a better existing transportation method like the train, because it's upkeep and work force cannot be overlooked for obvious economical and political reasons. So to bring the rails into the 21st century many countries decided to transform the train into something more useful and with less impact on the environment.

Back in 1939 the first high speed train was built in Italy, it's name was ETR 200 and had a top speed of 203 km/h. Since then the Japanese did it again in 1964 with the famous Bullet Train names Shinkansen reaching a top speed of 210 km/h and then 220 km/h. Both of them are called conventional trains because they use set of wheels on conventional rails built around the world.

However there is another type of track where high speed train can reach great velocities, they are called maglev (magnetic levitation) and use electric current on their track to generate a magnetic field of the same polarity that repel each other and generate the required push to move the train. The opposite happens instead when the train needs to break and to stop, the magnetic field is inverted with + and - polarity attracting the parts.

Maglev train in Japan (source: the internet)

The current world record holder is the MLX01 maglevel train 

in central Japan with a top speed of 581 km/h (source: Wikipedia)

The TGV French high speed train is the fastest conventional train with top speed of 574.8 km/h (source: the inernet)

The Two main map of train tracks are spread in Europe and east Asia where there is a big need to move a high density of people who commute for work and for leisure. Different tracks have different speeds according to the status of the tracks. Newer tracks will have greater speeds reaching well over 400 km/h.

European map with red track being the fastest one (source: Wikipedia)

China, South Korea and Japan are the Asian countries to use high speed trains (source Wikipedia)

High speed trains are a viable alternative to airplanes, the construction and expansion of a line is a positive factor for any government because it moves people and goods faster in higher volumes and it also provide jobs  on the construction sites and around it. Recently China announced that it is willing to expand its current hig speed train network to Europe with passengers being able to travel one way in jut two days. This will et China on a very important position wold wide for the import-export of their goods and natural resources. This has been considered to be the biggest infrastructure project in history.


But where is America? The United States had no absolutely no idea what's a high speed train until other countries started building their third generation trains, and they stood there looking and making fun at other countries because they thought "Why do we need trains when we have our big highways and cars that can take us anywhere we want!?". It didn't take long for the US to realize how behind they were in public transportation compared with Europe and Asia. The only fast rail the US has is the ACELIA that runs from Boston to Philadelphia via New York. How embracing for such a powerful country that can easily throw 1 trillion dollars out of the window for a faulty bailout of the banks.


The stimulus bill proposed by US President Obama included the designation of the future in America of the high speed railing system with an investmen of $8 billions. The East coast will be the one to enjoy more tracks from north to south, also the West coast will see only California and Oregon with smaller tracks, but the Midwest will have Chicago as a major hub.

Image source The Huffington Post

We all know that the reason why America is behind other countries is the fact that the car and the oil industry want to continue to have the American citizens slave to the gasoline and to the four wheels. There is no other justification for not having a high speed train that can serve thousands of people every day to go to work and travel without starting a car engine.

Toronto Waterfront: a dream to come true?

The city of Toronto, Ontario, in Canada is probably one of the best city in the world. People, business, restaurants, art, culture and flavors are the key essence to modern life and this city has it. Beside the cold winter weather and the random blizzards you can experience, Canada is as pleasant as knowing that you are travelling into a country of amazing people and atmosphere. 

The city is big and it keeps growing horizontally and vertically, but the vertical way has been recently in the spot for the presence of major building in the downtown core that had left the mark of something better.

The metropolis is located on the lake Ontario developing a series of municipalities that orbit around Toronto, both politically and municipally. Water is one of the most essential part of Toronto and Canada, it is every where and it is important! So much important that city hall has been reconsidering the shape of the waterfront for may years.

The waterfront, the key reference point of every city that has been built on the coast of a lake, river or sea.

The water front is the presence and life of Ontario's water commerce ever since the 18th century, but lately it has been the topic of discussion at city hall. The new development calls for a major overhaul of the south downtown portion of the city in contact with the lake to boost its look and structure. The major presence of silos that used to host wheat, grains and other food is a major problem because there is a major portion to be rebuilt according with the major styles and will of the city.

According to the waterfront website these are the main point in which the areas wil be developed into:

• Reducing urban sprawl
• Developing sustainable communities particularly in the area of energy efficiency
• Redeveloping brownfields & cleaning up contaminated land
• Building more affordable housing
• Increasing economic competitiveness
• Creating more parks and public spaces

Circled in red are the three main areas that seek an overhaul to give the city a face lift.

The Gardiner Expressway that divides the downtown core from the waterfront, is scheduled to be buried underground to help the city southern side become one.

The current area of interest under development or under project

There is lots to build and lots to change because the city waterfront remained almost unchanged. There is a very clear difference that the front has: you can instantly walk into underdeveloped areas within few blocks without noticing. That's why the massive highway and train system that separates downtown from the waterfront has always divided the city, creating areas where nothing has been built for many decades.

Projects to be made and already made

It is unknown what will be the actual projects that the city of Toronto will see. Some are just on paper while others are under construction and other under approval. Here some examples of proposed works from various architect firms.

Different proposals are being presented to change the image that the water front has. Currently is't broken into pieces where it is possible to walk, but parts are busy with docks and undeveloped areas left to scrapyards.

This is the project by Moshe Sadfie  for the East Bayfront residential complex, the same firm that designed the new Pearson International Airport in Toronto and the new opera house.

In a way there is that feeling that the architects and designers have the European croissetes in mind when they thought about new ideas for the waterfront. It is actually a brilliant idea to develop zones for people to walk in so to reduce traffic and to promote fitness and sports event right in the hearth of the city. This can settle an example for Toronto's citizens to improve their health walking or running rather than using their cars everywhere.

Another project to bring together fun activities and the people, without limiting them in any specific areas.

A proposed project to develop the dock area and turn it into a more greener place with parks, recreational areas, commerce and residential zones. All this patches of waterfront that need to be renewed are tied together by the Gardiner Expressway where the eastern portion is under studies for a possible termination, upgrade or a remaining of the whole structure.

The Wave Bridge in the central part of the waterfront is already a reality, it is essential to design the whole project with unique and innovative architecture that will publicize Toronto by itself. There are great potential to reshape the city into a world example in leading sustainability in the urbanization process.

The whole restructuring of the Toronto waterfront is a major challenge that required also the help of the Province as well as the one from the capital Ottawa. Some obstacles in the developing are the silos who are now inactive and that were used in the 20th century to stock grains. These buildings have a massive area of foundations that were built with reinforced concrete and are difficult to dismantle due to their robust composition. Other projects want the conversion of these silos into commercial areas rather than their whole demolition.
Many citizens wish this new project isn't just about creating a massive commercial area, but rather a blend of everything that can give people the choice to spend their time at the waterfront. The creation of museums, schools, campuses and other cultural structure has the potential of boosting Toronto's image not just for it's commerce but also for it's design and arts.