The Structural Awards, held by the Institution of Structural Engineers every year, recognizes the range of innovation, achievement, and excellence of structural engineers whose work is often overlooked. The Structural Awards highlights the challenging environments structural engineers constantly face in order to help build highly complex structures. The annual competition aims to distinguish talent, garner public attention, and inspire young people to explore the field of structural engineering. — bustler.net
Take a gander at some of the shortlisted projects below. View full entry
In addition to last year’s unveil of an augmented reality-capable catalog, Ikea now boasts a new app feature that can turn that little book into a virtual piece of furniture. The new AR can now help shoppers envision what the furniture might look like in their apartment by adding the illusion of the product on top of the live view through a smartphone camera. — digitaltrends.com
It's time for our latest selection of Kickstarter projects from Archinect's curated Kickstarter page! Marina Abramovic Institute The Marina Abramovic Institute in Hudson, NY will be an interdisciplinary performance and education center, home to long durational work and the Abramovic Method. The... View full entry
Yin Zhi, head of Beijing Tsinghua Urban Design Institute, said, "The technique that Broad Group uses has no precedent in the world, and the cost they promised is very low. So they either have some record breaking techniques or it’s a lie. They are gambling. If they win, they will change the history of world architecture, but that's one chance in a million." — news.xinhuanet.com
In China’s Hunan province, ground was broken for the next "world's tallest skyscraper". It was a brave ambition. The developer Broad Group planned to build an 838 meter tower with 202 stories, in just 10 months. The tower would surpass the current tallest skyscraper, Dubai’s Burj... View full entry
“I can see all of the devices in your home and I think I can control them,” I said to Thomas Hatley, a complete stranger in Oregon who I had rudely awoken with an early phone call on a Thursday morning.
He and his wife were still in bed. Expressing surprise, he asked me to try to turn the master bedroom lights on and off. Sitting in my living room in San Francisco, I flipped the light switch with a click, and resisted the Poltergeist-like temptation to turn the television on as well.
— forbes.com
“Urban Innovation” are two words I hear in tandem a lot these days, along with “civic hackathon” and “crowdsourced urbanism.” Contrary to what you might think, these buzzwords have not been coined by urbanists attempting to appear more innovative. They’ve been coined by tech innovators attempting to be more urbanist. — nextcity.org
It works like this: people empty their latrines into a sewage receptacle (currently, latrines are often emptied into rivers), the waste gets funneled through a series of tubes and is pressurized at extreme temperatures, and the byproduct is clean, possibly drinkable water. Deshusses describes the process as “a pressure cooker on steroids.” — wunc.org
“Ultimately people can’t get around conveniently because they are far away from everything.” And it is this observation that for me epitomizes the problem of the driverless car — it’s the worst kind of solutionism. By becoming so enamored with how technology might transform the car, we’ve neglected to adequately explore how getting rid of cars might transform how and where we live. We’d do well to heed Gorz’s exhortation to “never make transportation an issue by itself.” — opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com
It's a given that America continues to be a car-obsessed society despite the more painstaking reality of driving a car in many major cities of today. In The New York Times, editor Allison Arieff of SPUR points out that the U.S. is still fixated on selling, using and enhancing the car when... View full entry
Keeping up-to-date with your favorite architects, firms and schools has just become WAY easier! As you know, Archinect delivers a lot of news and information, every day, reflecting the activity of the architecture community at large. For some people, this can be too much information! So... View full entry
Here’s what’s holding back 3D printing, the technology that’s supposed to revolutionize manufacturing and countless other industries: patents. In February 2014, key patents that currently prevent competition in the market for the most advanced and functional 3D printers will expire, says Duann Scott, design evangelist at 3D printing company Shapeways. — qz.com
Engineers from Microsoft have made a new operating system which could enhance the control of the smart home. The new software will become a platform for making apps for “installation” to flats and houses which are furnished with different electronics and household appliances. — architechnologist.com
This software is available at lab-of-things.com. View full entry
PSFK, the popular creative think-tank that runs PSFK.com, will be hosting its Future of Home Living Experience in the new 101 building in Chelsea, New York beginning on July 23, 2013. Carefully curated by the PSFK team, this free interactive exhibit invites everyone who wants to explore the... View full entry
For the latest edition of the Working out of the Box series, Archinect spoke with Spain-based Brazilian Creative Director/Creative Consultant Gustavo Almeida-Santos of studiogaas. Therein, we learn Mr. Almeida-Santos is currently attending ETSAM in Madrid, where he is enrolled in a... View full entry
Four Finalists and four Honorable Mentions have been selected in TEX-FAB Digital Fabrication Alliance’s 2013 international digital fabrication competition, SKIN. — bustler.net
Related: Cellular Complexity - 2013 Faculty Winner of AIA|LA’s 2x8 Student Exhibition Design Competition Finalists of APPLIED Research Through Fabrication Competition UPDATE: 3xLP wins SKIN Digital Fabrication Competition View full entry
News The LA Times reported that a Rancho Cucamonga structure described as one of the last surviving examples of Chinese worker housing in the region has been selected by the National Trust for Historic Preservation for its 2013 list of America's 11 Most Endangered Historic Places. Archinector... View full entry