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Istanbul Isiklarius traffic lights

artlebedev.com

51–60 of 72 posts

Re: Istanbul Isiklarius traffic lights

#52
Reading this got me thinking about the sound signal schemes that traffic stop devices - sometimes the lights, sometimes the push button boxes - emit to aid those with visual impairment.

The Swedish system is a mechanical ticker placed inside the push button box, like a very loud clock that ticks slowly at one tick about every other second during red/yellow, and then picks up pace to about 7-8 ticks per second during green, cleverly aimed towards the listeners' intuition, telling them to "slow down" and "hurry across". I remember how this even served a good purpose and reminder for me as a kid, when I was too young, too impatient and too reckless to pay attention to the streeth lights - but the loud and clear sound signal and its intuitive meaning never escaped my attention.

What's used where you live?

Re: Istanbul Isiklarius traffic lights

#53

When it comes to Lebedev's designs, one would do well to reserve judgement until seeing the final result. For example, Lebedev designed bus stops for the city of Perm with tremendous fanfare, see here: http://www.artlebedev.ru/everything/perm/bus-stop/ . There were hundreds of press articles about it, which is surely unusual for a bus stop design. It then turned out that the bus stops could not be built with rounded…

"[...] if you read Russian, you can convince yourself of this by browsing his blog."

there is an English version of it here: http://www.artlebedev.com/mandership/

which is a translation of http://www.artlebedev.ru/kovodstvo/sections/

(I don't know if this is the blog you were referring to)

Re: Istanbul Isiklarius traffic lights

#54
post #53

When it comes to Lebedev's designs, one would do well to reserve judgement until seeing the final result. For example, Lebedev designed bus stops for the city of Perm with tremendous fanfare, see here: http://www.artlebedev.ru/everything/perm/bus-stop/ . There were hundreds of press articles about it, which is surely unusual for a bus stop design. It then turned out that the bus stops could not be built with rounded…

"[...] if you read Russian, you can convince yourself of this by browsing his blog." there is an English version of it here: http://www.artlebedev.com/mandership/ which is a translation of http://www.artlebedev.ru/kovodstvo/sections/ (I don't know if this is the blog you were referring to)

Probably this: http://tema.livejournal.com/ Com/mandership is much less douchy.

Re: Istanbul Isiklarius traffic lights

#55
post #53

When it comes to Lebedev's designs, one would do well to reserve judgement until seeing the final result. For example, Lebedev designed bus stops for the city of Perm with tremendous fanfare, see here: http://www.artlebedev.ru/everything/perm/bus-stop/ . There were hundreds of press articles about it, which is surely unusual for a bus stop design. It then turned out that the bus stops could not be built with rounded…

"[...] if you read Russian, you can convince yourself of this by browsing his blog." there is an English version of it here: http://www.artlebedev.com/mandership/ which is a translation of http://www.artlebedev.ru/kovodstvo/sections/ (I don't know if this is the blog you were referring to)

No, that's not it at all - I am referring to his main blog at tema.livejournal.com. It's a profanity-laced display that really needs to be appreciated in the original to be believed. E.g. his response to the bus stop fiasco was along the lines of - I am translating liberally here, and you may want to cover the eyes of any small children reading along with you - that as a designer, his ass doesn't get fucked with this, and it's the builder who takes it up the ass for anything not built to his sketches.

That's a pretty original concept of industrial design - all product designers I know follow the product from sketch to engineering drawings to casting molds to the prototype to the production line, to make sure every little squiggle is just right. Now, if he wants to be a sketch artist, as opposed to a product designer, that's fine too, but that's not what he gets hired to do.

You may remember the disaster of the "Optimus Maximus" keyboard - this is the $1500 keyboard with LCD displays on all the keys. It ended up being years late and looked nothing like what was promised - he couldn't handle the engineering of placing the LCDs on the keys, so the keys became transparent with the LCDs under them. Now, that was a privately-developed product, but he's done this to paying customers any number of times as well, leaving them with a misdesigned product and late to the market. He then explains in his charming manner (see above) that this is all their fault.

He is a fantastic walking self-promotion machine, which is why the studio seems unsinkable despite being kind of lousy in terms of actual product design firepower.

Re: Istanbul Isiklarius traffic lights

#56
post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I just wanted to post exactly the same. I haven't yet seen any other city with a traffic as bad as in Istanbul: Drivers typically don't care about traffic lights and drive without braking and just honking over pedestrian crossings, even though they have a red light and there are pedestrians on the street. In case of traffic jams drivers just continue driving on the sidewalk. I saw deadlock situations on crossings mul…

I think you are talking about somewhere in India or Thailand or something, I drive in Istanbul for the last umm, 12 years and never missed a red light intentionally and saw maybe ten or fifteen idiots that does not care about the red light. Btw did you visit Istanbul in the end of 80's I believe it was the only time The city was packed enough and that situation maybe seen because I can remember those times, now its d…

I've lived in Istanbul for 11 years and you must have had your eyes shut mate. 3 lanes of traffic becomes 5; it's all about nosing in and cutting up; red lights are often rushed through for a few seconds after they change (if not more), pedestrian crossings are of no use whatsoever.

As for traffic violations and police stops, don't make me laugh. Driving in Istanbul is carefree - do whatever you want whenever you want (which is why there are so many road deaths... I don't think I know a single Turk who doesn't know of someone relatively close who has been lost in a traffic accident). You'll rarely if ever be stopped by the police. The only time I've been stopped or seen people stopped is by late night alcohol checks or trafik polis running spot checks - both of which you can always pay your way out of (and I have).

I know Turks are generally nationalistic and proud, but please learn to have some introspection, look inwardly, critcise and laugh. Too many subjects on the internet concerning Turkey or Turks get mobbed and trolled by Turks trying to put a positive spin, just because they don't want to see their country portrayed in any bad light internationally.

Re: Istanbul Isiklarius traffic lights

#57

When it comes to Lebedev's designs, one would do well to reserve judgement until seeing the final result. For example, Lebedev designed bus stops for the city of Perm with tremendous fanfare, see here: http://www.artlebedev.ru/everything/perm/bus-stop/ . There were hundreds of press articles about it, which is surely unusual for a bus stop design. It then turned out that the bus stops could not be built with rounded…

Not particularly motivated to support Lebedev, but my understanding regarding the bus stop benches is that they are uncomfortable on purpose, so people won't sleep on them. London's bus stops have these seats as well.

Re: Istanbul Isiklarius traffic lights

#58
post #32

As a passenger of a Dolmus(Turkish taxi bus), scared by their driving style, I heard a joke a while ago: "In France, traffic lights are mandatory. In Italy they are optional. In Turkey they are decorative". It looks they took it seriously.

I always got a kick out of these buses. From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dolmu%C5%9F

  These share taxis depart from the terminal only when a sufficient amount of passengers have
  boarded, and the name is derived from Turkish for "apparently stuffed" for this reason.

Re: Istanbul Isiklarius traffic lights

#59
post #57

When it comes to Lebedev's designs, one would do well to reserve judgement until seeing the final result. For example, Lebedev designed bus stops for the city of Perm with tremendous fanfare, see here: http://www.artlebedev.ru/everything/perm/bus-stop/ . There were hundreds of press articles about it, which is surely unusual for a bus stop design. It then turned out that the bus stops could not be built with rounded…

Not particularly motivated to support Lebedev, but my understanding regarding the bus stop benches is that they are uncomfortable on purpose, so people won't sleep on them. London's bus stops have these seats as well.

I remember reading somewhere in the discussions which I linked to that the bench ended up being at that height simply because the nearest structural pipe (to which it is welded) is there, and all models of the bus stop have benches at different heights because of where the skeleton happens to be (and most are much too high). I don't know if that was part of Lebedev's brief.

Anyway, Lebedev apparently didn't give much thought to how these stops would actually be built (or used, for that matter), leading someone to say that the sketch was by Studio Art. Lebedev, but the actual industrial design was by Vasya the welder - who had no choice but to pick up the burden where the Studio dropped it.

Re: Istanbul Isiklarius traffic lights

#60
Might not be a problem in istanbul but with that shape it seems like the light would be clogged up with snow in one day where it snows. Especially since they use LEDs and not light-bulbs that double as ice-melters since so much electricity burns of as heat.

There's a reason traditional traffic lights has roof but no floor.

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