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.
University Professor Has Redesigned The Zweibrück Observatory In Germany Into R2-D2
Star Wars fans know him, the little droid R2-D2. Through him, friends of space can now look into the stars, more precisely into the Zweibrück starry sky. Because Hubert Zitt, professor at the Zweibrücken University of Applied Sciences, has redesigned the Zweibrück Observatory of the Natural Science Association.
Sin City Seoul: Welcome To The New Side Of South Korea
Koreans still work hard, there is no doubt of that—office workers routinely spend 14 hours a day in their cubicles. But this is not a story about how Koreans work. This is a story about how Koreans play. And Seoul is Play City.
Wikkelhouse: Pick Your Modular Segments & Click Them Together
The “Wikkelhouse”, or “wrap house”, is a truly customizable home composed of 5-meter-square (53-square-foot) modules that click together to create any-sized structure. Once “printed”, the basic units can be customized: kitted out as a bathroom, a kitchen or combined bunk rooms can create larger rooms.
Striking Street Photography In Japan By James Takumi Shyegun
Stunning street scenes by James Takumi Shyegun, a talented photographer, videographer, and model from Tokyo, Japan. Takumi focuses mainly on urban, architecture, and street photography.
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.
How Artificial Intelligence Will Change Architecture
Artificial Intelligence remains a Pandora’s Box of possibilities, with the potential to enhance the safety, efficiency, and sustainability of cities, or destroy the potential for humans to work, interact, and live a private life.
World’s Tallest Wooden Building, Mjøsa Tower By Voll Arkitekter
Mjøsa Tower (Mjøstårnet) by Trondheim-based Voll Arkitekter, the world’s tallest wooden skyscraper, is over 4.5 meters higher than planned. Now structurally topped out, the 18-story structure stands 85.4 meters tall and is officially the world’s tallest timber tower.
The Floating Utopia Of Salesforce Park
Salesforce Park, in downtown San Francisco, sits atop the Salesforce Transit Center. It is a lush, five-and-a-half-acre rooftop arcadia of rolling meadows and meticulously landscaped, climatically harmonious, drought-tolerant flora. San Francisco’s newest public space reflects Big Tech’s influence—and a city’s anxieties.
How Adorable R360 Coupe Shaped Mazda’s Design DNA
The Japanese brand might be celebrating their 100 year anniversary in 2020 but it was 60 years ago that one model, in particular, set the benchmark for Mazda and microcars at large. priced at just 300,000 ¥ (around $830 USD), the small, adorable Mazda R360 coupe was more than a city car.
“Seoul Wave”, A Short Film About South Korea’s Futuristic City
Filmmaker Brandon Li made a thrilling 7-minute film on life in the South Korean city of Seoul. Li’s distinctive filming style is present—swooping gimbal shots, push-ins, a saturated vibrancy.
Why Singapore Is Heating Up 2x Faster Than The Planet
Singapore is heating up twice as fast as the rest of the world – with maximum daily temperatures predicted to reach 35-37 degrees Celsius by year 2100. This video explores how, beyond climate change, the urban heat island effect spells trouble for future Singapore.
The Case For Making Low-Tech ‘Dumb’ Cities Instead Of ‘Smart’ Ones
There’s no concrete definition of a smart city, but high-tech versions promise to use cameras and sensors to monitor everyone and everything, from bins to bridges, and use the resulting data to help the city run smoothly. But what if we ditched the data and embraced ancient technology instead?
Sustainable Architects And Designers Collaborate On Net-Zero Homes
A joint effort between UK-based, modular, sustainable architects Koto Design and US-based prefabricated design and manufacturing company dedicated to sustainable construction, Plant Prefab, has revealed designs for two net-zero homes.
Was The Millennium Dome Really So Bad? The Inside Story Of A (Not So) Total Disaster
Twenty years later, it is still a byword for New Labour hubris, squandered resources and hideously bungled planning. In fact, it was a byword for all of these things before it even opened. It is clear that the prevailing narrative that the Dome was a total failure is not – or at least not quite – the full story.
2,000 Drones Replace Fireworks On New Year’s Eve In Shanghai
Nearly 2,000 drones took to the night sky and illuminated the Huangpu River in Shanghai to welcome in the new year. At around midnight, the drones gathered to form a running man. It moved forward, showing the changes and achievements Shanghai has made in the past 40 years.
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.
How The Dumb Design Of A WWII Plane Led To The Macintosh
For all the triumph of America’s new planes and tanks during World War II, a silent reaper stalked the battlefield: accidental deaths and mysterious crashes that no amount of training ever seemed to fix. At first, pilots took the blame for crashes. The true cause, however, lay with the design. That lesson led us into our user-friendly age—but there’s peril to come.
Adobe Unveils Photoshop Camera App For iOS & Android
Adobe today announced a new mobile app called Photoshop Camera, which “brings Photoshop magic directly to the point of capture.” Photoshop Camera is a new Sensei AI-powered app that automatically recognizes subjects in photos and suggests artist-created image filters to apply.
The Fall Of New York And The Urban Crisis Of Affluence
I have never seen what is going on now: the systematic, wholesale transformation of New York into a reserve of the obscenely wealthy and the barely here—a place increasingly devoid of the idiosyncrasy, the complexity, the opportunity, and the roiling excitement that make a city great.
Italian Artist Peeta Blends Graffiti And Abstract Forms Into Optical Illusion Murals
Italian artist Peeta combines elements of graffiti and abstract art to paint murals that appear to morph and dissolve architectural structures. Abstract shapes swirl around and cut into walls to form M.C. Escher-like scenes that play tricks on the eyes and change depending on the viewing angle.