The biggest names impacting New York’s skyline come together to discuss the projects that now epitomize the city, the ever-evolving real estate market and what’s next for New York’s neighborhoods. — 92Y

Sixty years after the Wright Brothers put man in the air, scientists and engineers were grappling with the next major challenge: putting a man in space - and keeping him alive there. As an engineering challenge, it was the most extreme imaginable. Their solution was a rocket and the most complicated piece of personal protection equipment man has ever known: the space suit. — AlJazeera

Derek Sugden, the dean of acoustic engineers, who has died at the age of 91, remained perpetually surprised that architects could be so concerned with every aspect of the building they were designing ‘but not really with what it sounded like’. According to Sugden, ‘the sound is as important as the surface and the feel. It’s important because our ears define for me the nature of space.’ — London Review of Books

Graduate students from the Gerald D. Hines College of Architecture’s Graduate Design and Build Studio program will officially begin work for the Port Authority of Houston Wednesday.

The project aims to build an open shade structure for a security checkpoint where officers would check I.D.s. under the protection of a canopy. — The Daily Cougar

Researchers at MIT have shown that by surrounding the filament with a special crystal structure in the glass they can bounce back the energy which is usually lost in heat, while still allowing the light through...

Usually traditional light bulbs are only about five per cent efficient, with 95 per cent of the energy being lost to the atmosphere. In comparison LED or florescent bulbs manage around 14% efficiency. But the scientists believe that the new bulb could reach efficiency levels of 40% — the Telegraph

The team advising the Barack Obama Foundation on the selection of an architect for the Obama Center includes the husbands of Caroline Kennedy and Meryl Streep – a designer and a sculptor — with Chicagoans Fred Eychaner and Bob Clark also centrally involved, the Sun-Times has learned.

Known as the Design Advisory Team, the group is helping evaluate proposals from architects for the sought-after commission, with seven firms selected as finalists last December. — Chicago Sun Times

Mumbai’s gigantic slums are one of the city’s most prominent—and problematic—features. Dharavi, located in the heart of Mumbai, is home to upwards of 1.5 million people, giving it the distinction of being one of the largest slums in all of Asia. [...] it will also be home to what organizers are calling the first slum museum. [...]

The museum itself will be a small, flexible mobile structure, which will make it easy for it to be pulled through the slum’s streets on a bike or small vehicle. — smithsonianmag.com

Holidaymakers may soon be able to experience life under the sea by booking a stay at a futuristic hotel on the ocean floor.

The Planet Ocean Underwater Hotel has received USA Patent and Trademark approval as the world's first underwater hotel - with Egypt, Malaysia, Hawaii and the Bahamas revealed as some of the designers' preferred locations.

Guests would be treated to a one-of-a-kind panoramic view of sea life at a staggering 28ft (8.5 metres) below the surface. — Daily Mail

Thanks to the work of Lin Wan and pals at Northwestern University...these guys have worked out how to make Martian concrete using materials that are widely available on Mars. And, crucially, this concrete can be formed without using water, which will be a precious resource on the red planet. — Technology Review

“People involved in building stadiums are usually very reliant on the firms who have demonstrated a strong record in understanding sports sites,” [Christopher S.] Dunlavey said. “BIG is known very well for very innovative architecture and design, but they haven’t been known for that kind of expertise.” — Washington Post