The medals all feature work by Canadian artists Corrine Hunt and Omer Arbel, and are each laser-etched with a unique design so that no two of the games’ medals will be the same. But perhaps most interestingly, the medals are made from materials reclaimed from used electronics. All that gold, silver, and bronze used to be running something… and now it’ll all be part of some of the biggest and heaviest medals in Olympic history.

The medals are also not flat, but instead move and rise, a design said to spring from the undulating land of Vancouver.

[via notcot]

Produced by Solid Alliance and Appare Japan, Finger Olympics 100m lets you “run” a 100-meter dash using only your fingertips. Just place your index and middle finger on the touch screen of your iPhone or iPod touch, and start twiddling them as fast as you can.

It’s sort of like a modern take on the classic Konami Track and Field arcade game. You know, the one where you had to mash on the buttons so hard that your fingers bled if you wanted to be assured of a gold medal. There’s no guarantee that playing Finger Olympics might not leave you with blisters on your fingers either.

And the Finger Olympics are truly and international event since you can share your best run times with your neighbors across the planet thanks to a world high score board.

Finger Olympics 100m is available now over at the iTunes App Store for $1.99 (USD). Appare plans on releasing additional olympic events in the near future. One can only hope that shotput event doesn’t involve spinning around as fast as you can and throwing your iPhone across the room.

The Digital Beijing building takes its inspiration from a circuit board, so the concept is certainly well-suited for containing a computer. Modder Nick Falzone (aka Greensabbath) built this beauty out of ebony and maple from a design rendered by a friend… who also happens to be architect Gert Swolfs, who did the original renders for the building design itself.

This is quite a case, but with a powerful team behind it, we can expect no less. Falzone named the completed case Chiaroscuro, an Italian term used in art for work that strongly contrasts light and dark. It’s a name that works here on several levels.

[bit-tech.net via Hack n Mod]

GreenPix – Zero Energy Media Wall uses thousands solar photovoltaic capture cells attached to a grid of glass panels, each of which conceals an array of computer-controlled LEDs.

The wall was constructed for visitors attending the 2008 Beijing Olympics, and located in the Xicui entertainment complex, near the site of the games.

The display opens to the public this month, and will feature live and recorded video performances works by artists from around the world.

Click to View Embedded Video Clip

GreenPix was designed and implemented by New York architecture firm Simone Giostra & Partners, along with global design and engineering firm Arup.

You can read more about the project over on the GreenPix website. (Check out this nifty simulator application if you want to get a better idea of how the display works).

[via PSFK]