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.
Global 5G Deal Poses Significant Threat To Weather Forecast Accuracy
A long-awaited international deal governing how the world’s technology companies should roll out 5G technology poses serious risks to weather forecast accuracy, according to data from federal agencies and the World Meteorological Organization.
How I. M. Pei Shaped The Modern City
I. M. Pei died at the age of 102 after a long career as an architect of great renown. The China-born, U.S.-trained architect took on commissions that helped reshape cities around the world through the second half of the 20th century.
The Air Conditioning Trap: How Cold Air Is Heating The World
Warmer temperatures lead to more air conditioning; more air conditioning leads to warmer temperatures. The problem posed by air conditioning resembles, in miniature, the problem we face in tackling the climate crisis. The solutions that we reach for most easily only bind us closer to the original problem.
Why Green Energy Finally Makes Economic Sense
Renewable energy is now comparable with the cost of building new coal and nuclear capacity. Existing, older power plants already have the capital investment sunk, so they are cheaper — but, in the case of South Africa at least, many of these plants are reaching retirement ages.
Why Amazon Is Betting You’ll Buy A Million Dollar Prefab Home
Prefab has long been the unattainable unicorn of architecture, the ideal marriage of high design, efficient building, environmental consciousness, and affordability. Designers have long tried and failed to take modular mainstream. Can this Amazon-backed entrepreneur make prefab more than just a fad?
House In Takatsuki By Tato Architects Has 16 Different Floor Levels
A series of triangular and rectangular platforms create numerous floor levels inside this house in Osaka, Japan. Designed by Tato Architects, House in Takatsuki is a three-storey building containing 16 different floor levels.
Studio Precht Designs A Fingerprint-Shaped Park For Physical Distancing
Austria-based studio Precht — previously known as Penda — has unveiled the design for a lush green park envisioned for physical distancing and short-term solitude. Dubbed Parc de la Distance, the open air space has been shaped in the form of a fingerprint, evoking human touch.
Why Is Africa Building A Great Green Wall?
Eleven countries are planting a wall of trees from east to west across Africa, just under the southern edge of the Sahara desert. The goal is to fight the effects of climate change by reversing desertification.
Prefab Needs To Be Fixed Before It Can Save Housing
Today, prefabrication in the United States is stunted. The small manufacturers that exist cannot invest in research and therefore cannot produce the more sophisticated projects that are needed today. Plus, in many cases, it can be less costly to ship a project over from a more experienced or innovative fabricator.
The Story Of The McBarge, The Floating McDonald’s Restaurant
Take a trip back to the mid 80’s when Vancouver hosted a World’s Fair event with one of the most unique fast food restaurants ever constructed. Friendship 500, or better known as The McBarge.
The Green Sludge That Could Transform Our Diets
One potential alternative food source – both for humans and the animals we eat – is algae. Microalgae is rich in protein, amino acids, fatty acids, and vitamins. Could the green stuff that appears on ponds and lakes after a particularly warm spell be the answer to the planet’s food security problems?
Tourism Is Eating The World
The number of international tourist arrivals has been increasing more or less exponentially since the mid-20th century, and totaled about 1.4 billion in 2018. Europe has seen the biggest share, but the Asia-Pacific region is growing fast.
The “Smart City” Makes Infrastructure And Surveillance Indistinguishable
The “smart city” is not an actually existing entity. It’s a misleading euphemism for a corporately controlled urban future. Urban command centers are built primarily for police, not planners, let alone the public.
Inside China’s Ghost Cities
Australia’s 60 Minutes TV program visited China’s eerie ghost towns. An entire city – all the buildings, the roads, schools, hospitals, you name it – except the people. There is not a soul to be seen.
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.
Heaven Or High Water: Selling Miami’s Last 50 Years
The consensus among informed observers is that the sea will rise in Miami Beach somewhere between 13 and 34 inches by 2050. Sunset Harbour is expected to fare slightly worse, and to do so more quickly. Thus, I felt the Sunset Harbour area was a good place to start pretending to buy a home here.
Scientists Found Ancient, Never-Before-Seen Viruses In A Glacier
Researchers have recovered evidence of ancient viruses in the glacier ice, including 28 viral groups that are new to science. As our planet undergoes climate change, these frozen records can inform predictions about which microorganisms will survive, and what the resulting environment will look like.
Rubber Tires — A Dirty Business
The booming global tire market is worth billions – but this comes at a high price, both to humans and the environment. Over 50 million car tires are sold each year in Germany alone. But where does the natural rubber for them come from?
How Scientists Imagined And Built An Undersea Utopia For Humans
During the late 1960s many believed revolutionary social and political change was imminent, and Jacques Cousteau was no exception. Soon there would be “undersea parliaments and new nations,” he wrote; “poets, architects, and painters would be needed to give expression” to this “new world.”
Catch Me If You Can: The Global Pursuit of a Fugitive Ship
Authorities believe the STS-50 operated illegally for 10 years or so and looted up to $50-million worth of the fish. Interpol had issued a purple notice for the vessel. But the vessel’s owners and captain had been evading authorities for years with a typical bag of tricks