World’s Largest Mud-Brick Building

“The walls of the Great Mosque are made of sun-baked mud bricks called ferey, a mud based mortar, and are coated with a mud plaster which gives the building its smooth, sculpted look. The walls are between 16 in. and 24 in. thick – the thickness varying with the wall’s height. Bundles of palm branches were included in the building to reduce cracking caused by frequent drastic changes in humidity and temperature and to serve as readymade scaffolding for annual repairs. The walls insulate the building from heat during the day and by nightfall have absorbed enough heat to keep the mosque warm through the night. Gutters, made of ceramic pipes, extend from the roofline and direct water drainage from the roof away from the walls. To protect the Great Mosque from water damage, in particular flooding by the Bani river, the entire structure was constructed on a raised platform 3 meters high. A set of six stairs, each decorated with pinnacles, leads to the mosque’s entrance.” w/ photos. LINK

Are you in the Crowd?

Brazilian artist Guilherme Kramer has spent a year hand-painting faces onto office walls. It obviously took him a lot of time and dedication to finalize the piece, but the end result is really good!
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Interactive Murals By Ernest Zacharevic

These awesome murals by Ernest Zacharevic really make the buildings on which they’re painted come alive, and add a whimsical touch to the town. Ernest’s paintings range from entire walls to subtle little pieces, and they all look like they’re interacting with the environment, and objects, around them.
Link –Via: Hi Fructose, Via: Neatorama

Animusic - Beyond the Walls

Animusic - Byond The Walls. LINK: Youtube

The All of Everything

A central London exhibition space dedicated to showcasing the creative talents of University of Arts London’s students, The Arts Gallery is soon to fall victim to Crossrail’s controversial new railway project that has already taken the famous London Astoria and other smaller yet equally renowned venues and clubs. Fittingly, the gallery’s final show is a suitably epic affair and the largest, most ambitious yet from former Central Saint Martins graduate, Mike Ballard. The All of Everything features the artist’s almost apocalyptic vision of arts history, the installation encompasses the entire space of the gallery with floors, ceilings and walls depicting all that art has given us, psychedelically fused with Ballard’s archaic vision of all that art will ever give… a truly staggering piece of work that is as thought provoking as it is awe-inspiring. Showing from now until the demolition of the gallery, that is scheduled for some time in February, this is a unique work, displayed in unique circumstances and should not be missed…. LINK

Ancient rock art from around the world

"Even 15,000 years ago, humans were compelled to decorate their abodes"
South African rock reveals history of the San.

Painted walls and overhangs in South Africa are helping scholars piece together the millennia-long history of the San, a group of hunter-gatherers who became extinct after European colonization in the 19th century. More than 40,000 paintings in 500 rock shelters have been discovered. They depict animals such as the eland – a type of spiral-horned antelope – and hunters and are thought to represent religious beliefs of the San. Researchers hope that by firmly dating the paintings, they can see how the people changed over time. LINK

Carcasonne

Located in Southern France, Carcassonne is the ultimate example of a heavily fortified medieval town. Built on top of a hill, the town is surrounded by high and thick walls with towers and all kinds of fortifications giving the town a fairy tale appearance.

Link, Via: Neatorama

Patching Old, Crumbling Walls with LEGO

As part of a group art project "20 Eventi," Jan Vormann came to the village of Bocchignano, Italy, and "fixed" old, crumbling walls there … with LEGO!

Link - Via: Boing Boing, Via: Neatorama