Amazing building

The newspaper feature has been adapted into more than a few films and TV shows.

* Ripley hosted a series of two dozen Believe It or Not! theatrical short films in 1930 and 1931 for Warner Brothers Vitaphone. He also appeared in a Vitaphone musical short, Seasons Greetings (1931), with Ruth Etting, Joe Penner, Ted Husing, Thelma White, Ray Collins, and others.
* Ripley's short films were parodied in a 1939 Warner Brothers Merrie Melodies cartoon titled Believe it or Else!. Released on 25 June, directed by Tex Avery and written by Dave Monahan, it featured a running gag in which Egghead (a prototype Elmer Fudd) appeared to declare, "I don't believe it!" On 5 November of the same year, another Avery documentary parody, Fresh Fish, was released. Written by Jack Miller, this cartoon's running gag was a two-headed fish that kept swimming onto the screen to ask, "Pardon me, but can you tell me where I can find Mister Ripley?"
* The first Believe It or Not TV series, a live show hosted by Ripley, premiered March 1, 1949. Shortly after the 13th episode, Ripley died May 27, 1949 of a heart attack and several of Ripley's friends appeared as the host including future Ripley's Believe It or Not! president Doug Storer. Robert St. John served as host from the second season until the series ended on October 5, 1950.


* Ripley's Believe It or Not! aired from 1982 to 1986 on the American ABC television network. Character actor Jack Palance hosted the popular series throughout its run, while three different co-hosts appeared from season to season, including Palance's daughter, Holly Palance, actress Catherine Shirriff, and singer Marie Osmond. The 1980s series reran on the Sci-Fi Channel (UK) and Sci-Fi Channel (US) during the 1990s; it is currently airing on NBC Universal's horror/suspense-themed cable channel Chiller.
* An animated series, Ripley's Believe It or Not!, was produced in 1999 and followed the adventures of "Michael Ripley", Robert Ripley's nephew. The show was aimed at a younger audience, and would often feature Michael going around the world.

* The most recent series based upon the comic strip, once again titled Ripley's Believe It or Not! also debuted in 2000 on TBS. Hosted by actor Dean Cain, the series took a slightly more sensationalistic approach to its subject matter. The series was cancelled in October 2003 after four seasons. Like the previous syndicated live-action series, this latest edition moved to the Biography Channel for reruns, and continues to air today.
* Ripleys.com held a Dear Mr. Ripley contest where 10 contestants were chosen to be voted upon as to which of their stories is the most unbelievable. The contestants included a two-faced kitten, a car hurdler, a painting on human flesh canvas, a swallowed golfball by a snake, an unopen deck of cards in a thin neck bottle, a collector of Converse shoes with over 400 pairs, a man that survived a dumptruck falling on him, a painting made of nail polish, a kid that pogo's and plays sports at the same time, and a tongue swallower. The winners were announced on December 15, 2006.

* The puzzle-solving game Ripley's Believe It or Not!: The Riddle of Master Lu was published and developed by Sanctuary Woods, and released in 1995.

* A movie about the life of Robert Ripley is to be released in 2011 and starring Jim Carrey.

The original target demographic were bachelor salarymen.[1] The compact apartments included a wall of appliances and cabinets built in to one side, including a kitchen stove, a refrigerator, a television set, and a reel-to-reel tape deck. A bathroom unit, about the size of an aircraft lavatory, is set into an opposite corner. A large circular window over a bed dominates the far end of the room.[1]

Construction occurred on site and off site. On-site work included the two towers and their energy-supply systems and equipment, while the capsule parts were fabricated and the capsules were assembled at a factory.

The capsules were fitted with utilities and interior fittings before being shipped to the building site, where they were attached to the concrete towers. Each capsule is attached independently and cantilevered from the shaft, so that any capsule may be removed easily without affecting the others. The capsules are all-welded lightweight steel-truss boxes clad in galvanized, rib-reinforced steel panels. After processing, the panels were coated with rust-preventative paint and finished with a coat of Kenitex glossy spray.

The cores are rigid-frame, made of a steel frame and reinforced concrete. From the basement to the second floor, ordinary concrete was used; above those levels, lightweight concrete was used. Shuttering consists of large panels the height of a single storey of the tower. In order to make early use of the staircase, precast concrete was used in the floor plates and the elevator shafts. Because of the pattern in which two days of steel-frame work were followed by two days of precast-concrete work, the staircase was completely operational by the time the framework was finished. On-site construction of the elevators was shortened by incorporating the 3-D frames, the rails, and anchor indicator boxes in the precast concrete elements and by employing prefabricated cages.

On April 15, 2007, the building's residents, citing squalid, cramped conditions as well as concerns over asbestos, voted to demolish the building and replace it with a much larger, more modern tower.[1][2] In the interest of preserving his design, Kurokawa proposed taking advantage of the flexible design by "unplugging" the existing boxes and replacing them with updated units, a plan supported by the major architectural associations of Japan, including the Japan Institute of Architects; the residents countered with concerns over the building's earthquake resistance and its inefficient use of valuable property adjacent to the high-value Ginza.[2] A developer for the replacement has yet to be found, partly because of the late-2000s recession.[1]

Opposing its slated demolition, Nicolai Ouroussoff, architecture critic for The New York Times, described Nakagin Capsule Tower as "gorgeous architecture; like all great buildings, it is the crystallization of a far-reaching cultural ideal. Its existence also stands as a powerful reminder of paths not taken, of the possibility of worlds shaped by different sets of values."[1]
anything can become sculpture: actions, written or drawn instructions, or even a thought. His art often treats elementary as well as banal life needs and actions, as well as their perversion, as can be expressed in physical deformations. (source: MUMOK)

Wurm's most recent work is the object "House attack", installed on MUMOK's external façade: the single family house as a symbol of the everyday plunge into the façade of the museum.

The installation is accompanied by the exhibition "Keep a Cool Head", by Erwin Wurm (Opening: 19 October, 2006 - 7.00 p.m.).

Finally, the architecturally boring MuseumsQuartier (by Ortner & Ortner) has got a landmark.