Although it's not shocking that companies like Gensler have automated on/off sensors in their lighting grid to save energy when no one's in the office, it's slightly less comforting to realize that many companies are now using sensors to monitor when employees are at their desks, if they're... View full entry
Founded at the MIT Sloan School of Management, Sistine creates custom solar panels designed to mimic home facades and other environments, with aims of enticing more homeowners to install photovoltaic systems.
Sistine’s novel technology, SolarSkin, is a layer that can be imprinted with any image and embedded into a solar panel without interfering with the panel’s efficacy. Homeowners can match their rooftop or a grassy lawn.
— MIT News
The product caters to the growing "aesthetic solar" market which tries to attract homeowners that are considering going solar but fear the aesthetic impact of the traditional, bleak-looking dark solar panels on their home's appearance. Just last fall, Tesla CEO Elon Musk revealed a line of glass... View full entry
This post is brought to you by Blank Space. The Driverless Future challenge seeks proposals that actively shape NYC’s response to driverless technology - will offer resources to help finalists transform their proposals into real companies and products.Blank Space is proud to announce... View full entry
An unpopular president, a myth-making architect, and a multibillionaire tycoon are building an oversize airport in a nature preserve. Can they make Mexico great again? — Places Journal
The progressive capital of Mexico has a long history of massive infrastructure projects — megaproyectos — with egalitarian aims. Daniel Brook looks at the social, political, and environmental issues surrounding the latest — a $13bn new airport rising on a sinking lakebed. This article... View full entry
Hot on the heels of announcing a new initiative to build a miniature city on Mars, the Dubai government has unveiled the first successfully-tested Autonomous Aerial Vehicle (AAV)—aka a flying car. Apparently, they will begin operations as early as July.Manufactured by the Chinese company EHANG... View full entry
Relax, you don't need new glasses: the closely spaced, suspended panes of glass on Giovanni Vaccarini's SPG Headquarters in Geneva purposefully create a blurred/vibrating effect, especially when viewed from a distance.However, producer The Piranesi Experience and filmmaker Claudio Esposito have... View full entry
The ruler of Dubai, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, has announced intentions to build a “miniature city” on Mars within the next 100 years, reports Arabian Business. Sheikh Mohammed, who also serves as the Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE, launched the project at the World... View full entry
If you didn't get a degree from a NAAB-accredited program, but have spent years accumulating Architectural Experience Program-worthy hours, you may now receive an official NCARB certification. How? Well, the details are spelled out in the press release below, but think of it as a potential reward... View full entry
Princeton University researchers have announced the development of a low-cost, nontoxic coating that can preserve iconic stone structures from decay. Comprised of hydroxyapatite, a calcium compound that can be found in bones and teeth, the solution seeps into the stone’s surface, binding cracks... View full entry
This post is brought to you by BIM 360 Team Your latest building design project is moving forward quickly. But you discovered a small hitch yesterday: the MEP engineers referred to an old version of the structural model while modifying the duct work. Luckily, the team spotted and resolved the... View full entry
For the latest in the newish series, Small Studio Snapshots, Nicholas Korody chatted with Los Angeles-based studio MILLIØNS. Daniel Elmore felt "these guys sound legit in their intentions and I'm looking forward to seeing what they produce in the future...The rest of the article is uncommonly... View full entry
How does Santiago Calatrava's Oculus encapsulate the complex history and significance of its site? In this brief video from filmmaker Jeff Durkin, Calatrava's elaborate transit hub canopy is sited in its aesthetic and social contexts via a series of carefully selected voice-over news clips and... View full entry
In any great hack, speed and convenience reduce formerly tedious, mind-numbing tasks into relatively easy operations. This appears to be the case with Volodymyr Kurbatov's tips on hand sketching numerous POVs/scenarios for virtual reality simulations. He breaks down the process with helpful... View full entry
The Japanese technology giant wanted a place to experiment with solar power and renewable energy, autonomous vehicles and other technologies. And it needed a public partner and community support. It found that in Denver, DIA, Xcel Energy, developer LC Fulenwider and many others. — Denver Post
Tamara Chuang highlights some of the technology (ranging from consumer electronics, to "smart" public infrastructure) Panasonic was hawking at CES 2017. Some of which will be employed at Peña Station Next, a new TOD, smart city lab on the edge of Denver International Airport. Last month, she... View full entry
Christo's proposed silver-fabric-panel draped "Over the River" project has been in the making for about 25 years, after he started hunting for a natural host site in 1992 and then gradually garnered the neccessary official approvals and permits over the following decades for a 42-mile stretch... View full entry
