Hello and welcome back to The Weekly LOdown - where we gather our favorite links from the architecture and building industry and share them with you each and every Friday.

This week’s LOdown talks architecture– new and old, large and small, cool and bizarre! Here’s what we’ve been clicking:

Allison

I checked out this link because I was hoping to change the initial “ew, gross” reaction I had when I heard there’s a pavilion made from old Speedos. Turns out the project is pretty creative and not at all like I expected. Treehugger posted images of the unique tensile architecture installation created primarily from “upcycled” Speedo swimsuits and designed by students at Chelsea College of Art & Design. Apparently, recent changes in swimming competition rules prevent Speedo from selling a particularly high-tech style of swimsuit they manufactured. Rather than wasting the sportswear, Speedo donated the unsold merchandise to Chelsea College and encouraged the students to find an alternative use for the sustainable material.

Julianne

This article from the New York Times caught my eye this week. The article takes a look at Rome’s architecture, a mix of deteriorating old structures and new modern buildings. The city faces challenges in maintaining its old structures and balancing the old with the new.  The slide show is interesting as well.

Alexandra

The Longaberger Basket Company headquarters, located in Newark, OH, definitely ranks among the strangest office buildings in the world. A larger-than-life replica of the company’s famous market basket took two years and $30 million to construct. When founder Dave Longaberger presented the “basket-shaped headquarters” to his architects, he was told the project was impossible. His response? “If they can put a man on the moon, they can certainly build a building that’s shaped like a basket!” And he was obviously correct—the building has been featured in publications ranging from the Wall Street Journal to People Magazine. Interesting fact: the handles, weighing 150 tons, are heated to prevent ice from forming in the winter.

Nick

Here are 5 buildings that are so special they have their own ZIP codes. Some will surprise you, some won’t.

Thanks for reading!