Google parent Alphabet is spinning off a little-known unit working on geothermal power called Dandelion, which will begin offering residential energy services. [...]
Dandelion chief executive Kathy Hannun said her team had been working for several years "to make it easier and more affordable to heat and cool homes with the clean, free, abundant, and renewable energy source right under our feet," and that the efforts culminated with the creation of an independent company outside of Alphabet.
— phys.org
"In the U.S., buildings account for 39% of all carbon emissions, mostly from the combustion of fossil fuels for heating and cooling," Dandelion CEO Kathy Hannun explains on the company's blog. "In the Northeast, heating and cooling is particularly carbon-intensive due to the relatively high use of... View full entry
The built environment of the Valley does not reflect the innovation that’s driving the region’s stratospheric growth; it looks instead like the 1950s. Looking at aerial views of midcentury campuses like the Eero Saarinen-designed Bell Labs next to contemporary ones like Apple, it’s nearly impossible to tell the midcentury structures from the 21st-century ones. — New York Times
While Silicon Valley is a place of much interest to many, its architectural image and overall planning is hard to grasp or call successful. Allison Arieff of NY Times argues that the isolated corporate headquarters of tech giants have no consideration for the larger context of their... View full entry
ICYMI, the always "into it" Julia Ingalls, sat down with Harvard GSD's K. Michael Hays + Lisa Haber-Thomson to discuss the role of jargon in pedagogy, a new GSD online course offering and the "vexed notion of architecture’s autonomy." Will Galloway was "very impressed that Michael Hays and... View full entry
Like a Shell futurologist, one can imagine multiple disastrous futures for Miami. Will it become a southern Super Venice, a la Kim Stanley Robinson’s New York of 2140...Perhaps the hard realism of Paolo Bacigalupi’s The Water Knife is more apt...Or imagine a super Katrina resulting in something a little more Odds Against Tomorrow: — the Brooklyn Rail
from Key Largo John Pennekamp nature center, by author, February 12, 2017Stephanie Wakefield penned some Field Notes from the Anthropocene, inspired by a recent honeymoon in Miami Beach. In which she explores 'experimentation' as a mode of dwelling in the Anthropocene and the emancipatory... View full entry
While no one can claim that they understand where inspiration comes from, most would agree that it doesn't hurt to have an unfettered view of nature in an architecturally inventive setting. Norwegian architects Reiulf Ramstad are among the seven finalists in the Ross Pavilion International Design... View full entry
A crowdfunding campaign has been launched for the latest civic development in North London; the Camden Highline. For years, the disused railway has been talked about among local residents, with many wanting to see a little bit of New York in Camden Town. Image Courtesy of Camden Town... View full entry
“It would be quite fun to be on Mars because you would have gravity that is about 37% of that of Earth, so you would be able to lift heavy things and bound around,” [Elon Musk] adds, predicting that journey times could eventually be cut to 30 days. — The Guardian
Aside from the money, specific technology, and solid timeframe, Elon Musk has figured out a way to get to Mars. The colonization plan, which is designed to place about 1 million people on the planet in 40-100 years using a yet-to-be constructed ship that would carry 100 passengers per trip, needs... View full entry
Confined in Utah’s Mars Desert Research habitat for three days—habitat diameter: 33 feet—the five-person team experienced the cramped living quarters and zero-waste living necessary to survive a journey to outer space. — Quartz
Designers from IKEA are exploring space-saving solutions for tiny homes by living in an actual Mars research station. During the immersion workshop led by Constance Adams, NASA architect behind the habitat for the first human mission to Mars, the team examines the ways in which astronauts'... View full entry
As the country’s crime rate and prison population have steadily declined for years, dozens of correctional facilities have closed altogether. So when the number of migrants started to rise—more than 50,000 entered the Netherlands last year alone—the Central Agency for the Reception of Asylum Seekers (COA) saw a solution. — National Geographic
Many prisons in the Netherlands have been repurposed to house refugees who are waiting to be granted asylum status, a process that usually takes at least six months. Free to come and go as they please, the refugees are not allowed to work but are encouraged to learn Dutch and build connections... View full entry
The City of Los Angeles and its Bureau of Engineering recently worked with seven design firms to reenvision seven sections of the L.A. River through Downtown Los Angeles. The conceptual images that resulted from this process have reimagined the river banks with open space, play areas, public art, new connections and development. — Urbanize.LA
In partnership with the City of Los Angeles Bureau of Engineering and the Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti's office, seven firms have released preliminary visioning plans for a segment of the Los Angeles river. Running through downtown, the seven-mile stretch begins at the southern tip of the... View full entry
How can architects create livable, breathable spaces that not only honor the history of a region, but anticipate the global population increase? This is partly the mission of MVRDV's 300-unit residential apartment/mixed use Ilot Queyries, which is located adjacent to the ZAC Bastide-Niel... View full entry
Chosen from over 65 entries, this year's finalists represent the latest in hotel design and offer a glimpse at the future of travel.The jury looks for projects that are innovative but within the realm of possibility. — CNN Style
The finalists of the hospitality design competition's 11th round are Arno Matis Architecture, EoA Group, and the already existing Play Design Hotel in Taipei, Taiwan. Honorable mentions include student winner, Brandan Siebrecht, from University of Nevada, Las Vegas and student honorable mention... View full entry
The Global Seed Vault, built in the Arctic as an impregnable deep freeze for the world’s most precious food seeds, is to undergo a multi-million dollar upgrade after water from melting permafrost flooded its access tunnel.
No seeds were damaged but the incident undermined the original belief that the vault would be a “failsafe” facility, securing the world’s food supply forever. Now the Norwegian government, which owns the vault, has committed $4.4m (NOK37m) to improvements.
— The Guardian
Designed by LEVER Architecture, Framework Building aims at promoting sustainable building practices and economic opportunity for a sustainable urban-rural ecology.To receive the permit the 12-story building has completed a series of fire, acoustic and structural tests which have proven that mass... View full entry
Organized into the three “zones” of Field, Sequence, and Rooms, the exhibition will bring together the minds of artists and designers like Diller Scofidio + Renfro, Yoko Ono, and Olafur Eliasson and researchers such as the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists, who will propose solutions and approaches to the ever-pressing issues of environmental and social sustainability. — Bustler
As Chapter 2 of the Shanghai Project, the “Seeds of Time” is a cross-disciplinary exhibition designed by Hong Kong- and Madrid-based COLLECTIVE studio and curated by Dr. Yongwoo Lee and Hans Ulrich Obrist. The exhibition is at the Shanghai Himalayas Museum until July 30.Photo: Katja Lam... View full entry
