Los Angeles Roads May Soon Be Paved With Recycled Plastic
The City of Los Angeles has partnered with landscape product company Technisoil on a plan to pave roads with a new material called “plastic asphalt.” It’s a surfacing material that uses oil made from shredded plastic waste as its binder.
The Lost Neighborhood Under New York’s Central Park
A story that goes back to the 1820s, when that part of New York was largely open countryside. Among them was a predominantly black community. It became known as Seneca Village. And when Irish and German immigrants moved in, it became a rare example at the time of an integrated neighborhood.
A Vision For Agriculture
Allowing cows out to harvest their own feed and spread their own manure is the most profitable means of producing meat and milk. But, somehow, agricultural science has encouraged farmers to mount a treadmill of increasing yields of milk or meat by increasing the amount of production per unit input.
How To Redesign Cities To Fight Loneliness
What do cities have to do with loneliness? “The way we build and organize our cities can help or hinder social connection,” reads a Grattan Institute report. It’s not that the built environment “causes” interaction, but it can certainly either enable or constrain potential interaction.
Japan’s Lost-and-Found System Is Insanely Good
The scheme for reuniting unlucky people with their wayward valuables relies on a complex mix of infrastructure, carrot-and-stick legal encouragement, and cultural norms. Taken together, they form a shockingly efficient system that has long been a source of wonder for Western observers.
Concept Tyre Repairs Itself On-The-Go
Goodyear developed the first tubeless tyre around 65 years ago. Now, it is working to develop a tyre that replaces itself when it wears out. The reCharge tyre is designed for a future where driverless cars are the norm – a future that may be fast approaching.
Solar-Powered Prefab Home Comes Move-In Ready
Haus.me is a turducken of housing buzzwords: The 3D-printed prefab house integrates smart home technology and can also go off-grid. The company has been making and testing homes that generate their own energy since 2016. Now, the company is ready to start shipping the homes to customers.
Can Tiny Houses Save Detroit?
Detroit is grappling with both devastating poverty and a hot real estate market. But Rev. Faith Fowler of the nonprofit Cass Community Social Services sees a way to remedy both: Develop tiny houses, and create a rent-to-own financing mechanism to help impoverished Detroiters become owners of those homes.
How The Bauhaus Kept The Nazis at Bay, Until It Couldn’t
There are few symbols of Modernist design and architecture more iconic than the Bauhaus building in Dessau. The art school’s brief run in Germany shows not a simple dichotomy, but rather how, to varying degrees of bravery, individuals tried to survive under tyranny.
Coroflot Mobile Work Unit, Where Mobility And Creative Talent Come Together
Coroflot, a website dedicated to connecting designers with creative professional opportunities, is excited to introduce the Mobile Work Unit (MWU). The concept for the trailer-office grew from a desire to create a space solution that referenced both the mobility and creative talent of the Coroflot community.
Downloadable Architecture Projects Let Kids Build Their Own Cities And Skyscrapers
British architecture firm Foster + Partners recently launched an initiative called #architecturefromhome, a series of free downloadable activities that hopes to share the whimsy and wonder of the built environment with screen-bound kids.
The Golden Ratio: Design’s Biggest Myth
In the world of art, architecture, and design, the golden ratio has earned a tremendous reputation. The Parthenon, the Pyramids at Giza, the paintings of Michelangelo, the Mona Lisa, even the Apple logo are all said to incorporate it. The golden ratio’s aesthetic bona fides are an urban legend, a myth, a design unicorn.
Cinematic Street Photography Of Japan By Jack Rangooni
Stunning street shots by Jack Rangooni, a talented self-taught photographer, and urban explorer from Auckland, New Zealand. He recently visited Japan and shared some amazing street scenes on his Instagram.
Dubai’s Plan to Outlive Oil
Dubai does have oil, but today it only accounts for less than one percent of its GDP. What looks like a pure extravagance is actually pure marketing genius, attracting 14 million international visitors a year, who spend more than any other city in the world, 65% more, even, than New York or London.
This Breathtaking ‘Tree Tower’ Is The Changing Face Of Toronto’s Cityscape
Inspired by Montreal’s renowned Habitat 67 building, this incredible proposal for an 18-story timber tower block in Toronto shows that high-rises can be built sustainably and still connect with nature, even in a hectic urban environment.
Floating Island System Imagines A Future For The People Of Kiribati
Kiribati is in danger of being lost to rising sea levels. In response to this, YAC launched the ‘Kiribati floating houses’ competition to architects and designers across the globe. Marcin Kitala’s winning project comprises a system of pentagonal-shaped platforms, which can be easily connected or disconnected.
Mars Patents Heat-Resistant Chocolate That Maintains Taste And Shape In Hot Climates
Mars, Inc. has developed a packaged heat-resistant chocolate it says maintains taste, mouthfeel, and shape during transportation and handling in hot climates.
The Future’s Green For Copenhagen
Copenhagen has already earned its reputation as Europe’s capital of style and sustainability. Now the city is embarking on some of the world’s most ambitious architecture projects in a bid to become the greenest on earth.
The High-Tech Vertical Farmer
In the kale-filled facility at vertical farm startup Bowery Farming, it’s a piece of proprietary software that makes most of the critical decisions — like when to harvest and how much to water each plant. But it still takes humans to carry out many tasks around the farm.
The Start-Ups Building ‘Dark Kitchens’ For Uber Eats And Deliveroo
Venture capitalists have all aligned on the best solution: kitchens that only serve delivery customers, known as “cloud”, “ghost” or “dark” kitchens, that use a combination of advanced food preparation, underused real estate and algorithm-driven optimisation to lower overheads and increase output.
Sweden’s Floating, Circular ‘Arctic Bath’ Hotel Opens On The Lule River
The unique Arctic Bath hotel, which was first announced in 2018, comprises a floating circular main building designed by architects Bertil Harström and Johan Kauppi to resemble a bird’s nest, accompanied by a series floating and land cabins around it.