Back in 2006, Architect John Kormeling was asked to build a modern day pavilion in the Netherlands that would be based solely on the them of ‘Better City, Better Life’. It was a challenge by the 2010 World Expo in Shanghai, to generate ideas for livable cities in the 21st century.
This amazing design looks like something I used to watch in the cartoon, The Jetsons, back when I was young.
John Kormeling would later name this entire pavilion ‘Happy Street‘.
If you are still confused at what I am talking about, watch this video and it will explain everything.
As this idea is gaining world wide recognition, people want to experience ‘Happy Street’ from the comfort of their own homes…….. or cell phones.
SoGeo, a company out of the Netherlands, has taken the every so popular phrase, “there must be an app for that”, and brought the ‘Happy Street’ experience straight to your cell phone, debuting an application at the current World Expo in Shanghai.
This application will provide users visual access to the pavilion, images for houses and objects, as well as a map locating all landmarks. Currently it is only available for the iPhone and Android phones. The iPhone application also includes Augmented Reality (AR), when walking around the pavilion, showing images and allowing users to experience the pavilion even more.
Don’t have a cell phone? That’s ok, because you can simply visit www.happyhouses.nl/en to view the pavilion online.
As I am your typical Blackberry user and don’t own an iPhone or Android powered phone, I’m very curious as what this app looks like. There are some screen shots below, but it’s not the same.
As of right now, the Android application is available and the iPhone app will become available later this week, pending review.
The application can be found under “Happy Street app” in the iPhone app store and Android market place. For visitors without an iPhone or Android phone, all information is also available on a mobile website (www.happyhouses.nl) which is accessible through any mobile phone with internet access.
If anyone gets this app, let us know in the comments how it is.
Just wanted to send a quick update, the iPhone app is now available, , so try it out and do tell what you think.