Materials scientists in China have developed an insulator that reproduces the structure of individual polar bear hairs, while scaling toward a material made up of many hairs for real-world applications in architecture and aerospace. Polar bear hairs are hollow, and the shapes and spacing of their hollow centers is responsible for their distinctive white coats, as well as being a source of incredible heat-holding capacity, water resistance, and stretchiness. — earth.com
Shu-Hong Yu, professor of chemistry at the University of Science and Technology of China and co-author of the paper titled Biomimetic Carbon Tube Aerogel Enables Super-Elasticity and Thermal Insulation published in the journal Chem, writes, “Polar bear hair has been evolutionarily optimized... View full entry
Architecture is often subject to photo manipulation, especially as it has been made easier through increasingly sophisticated imaging software. The most recent set of examples that we have come across are the creations of Russian production studio Lestnica. Headed by Artem Prudentov, the... View full entry
The “Renewable Rikers Act,” crafted by Queens Councilmember Costa Constantinides, aims to create a green vision for the 400-acre correctional facility that would keep the island out of the hands of luxury developers, while lessening the burden on communities loaded with city infrastructure. — Curbed NY
A trio of legislative efforts are underway in New York to transform the Rikers Island jail into a green energy powerhouse for the city. Queens Council member Costa Constantinides told Curbed, “Closing Rikers Island, if we do this right, can not only end overpolicing and the atrocities... View full entry
A proposed bridge over the 101 would allow mountain lions and other wildlife to cross safely over the freeway and improve their access to food and mates. — kcrw.com
Caltrans authorities working in Los Angeles County are pushing toward creating a $60 million wildlife crossing that will allow urban animals to roam throughout the region's mountainous geographies. The 165-foot by 200-foot crossing would span over US Highway-101 and Liberty Canyon in the city of... View full entry
Over the past several years, home automation and smart home technology have become exceedingly popular and are now more commonplace than ever before. In the not so distant past, these concepts were hard to grasp, and felt out of reach for the average homeowner.
The House of the Future in Ahwatukee, Arizona, designed by former Taliesin Associated Architect Charles Schiffner, embraced these innovative concepts as early as 1978.
— The Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation
Frank Lloyd Wright was a visionary, but he likely couldn't have predicted the next big to have spun out of Taliesin West, the architect's winter home and school in the Arizona desert. When he passed in 1959, many of his apprentices formed an architecture firm named Taliesin Associated... View full entry
A new audit conducted by the city of Portland, Oregon presents an alarming view into the contentious renovations currently being undertaken for the Michael Graves-designed Portland Building. Among a flurry of critiques aimed at the project organizers, the report states that changes performed to... View full entry
In response to the ongoing toxicity crisis gripping the town of Flint, Michigan, 2020 Democratic presidential contender Julián Castro has unveiled a nationwide lead abatement plan. Last week, Castro, former Housing and Urban Development secretary under President Barack Obama, became the first... View full entry
Eleven churches and chapels in Piedmont, northwest Italy, that have normally been closed to visitors will now be accessible to anyone downloading the app Chiese a porte aperte (Churches with open doors). [...]
It enables the visitor to register and book entry to any of the churches, which is automatic and without charge. A guided tour in Italian, French or English is thrown in as well.
— The Art Newspaper
Fresco interiors in one of the participating churches. Image via Fondazione CRT/Facebook"The buildings have been chosen for their architectural or historic interest and because they are on hiking routes, such as the Via Francigena, in the mountains, or near other notable sites," reports The Art... View full entry
Eight months after the discovery of cracked steel girders forced its closure, the Transbay transit center is safe to reopen, an independent panel of engineers and experts has concluded. The reopening is set for 6 a.m. July 1. — San Francisco Chronicle
A five-member peer-review committee appointed by the Metropolitan Transportation Commission has approved a series of recently-completed structural repairs made to the Pelli Clarke Pelli-designed Transbay Transit Center in San Francisco. Workers repair damaged structural beams at the Transbay... View full entry
The work of Scottish architect Charles Rennie Mackintosh belongs to the early modernist period, along with that of Austria's Adolf Loos and California's Irving Gill. Though Mackintosh built very few projects during his career, the few that have survived have continued to be of great importance for... View full entry
This post is brought to you by HiveIO As datacenter technologies have evolved from mainframes to distributed architectures to the Internet each layer of "improvement" brought with it ever increasing complexity. HiveIO changes the datacenter at its core. We bring simplicity and cost control to... View full entry
research from American and European scientists suggests that Texas — especially the waters along its coast — could be a pretty good place to store carbon from the petroleum industry. — Grist
In an effort to find new methods for storing carbon dioxide emissions, European researchers have been experimenting with injecting liquefied CO2 into the seabed surrounding former drilling sites in the North Sea. Studies so far show that leakages are minor and carbon sequestration potential is... View full entry
Dallas Area Rapid Transit has joined a national effort to explore how autonomous buses could shuttle people around cities in the future.
It is one of about a dozen transportation agencies that are part of the Automated Bus Consortium, which will research driverless buses and run pilot projects to better understand how they could be rolled out nationwide.
— Dallasnews.com
The consortium, whose membership includes the transit agencies of Los Angeles County and Atlanta, and the Michigan Department of Transportation, was created by AECOM and aims to begin testing a fleet of 75 to 100 full-sized automated buses in major cities by 2021 or 2022. Todd Plesko, Dallas... View full entry
Author William H. Frey, senior fellow for the Metropolitan Policy Program at the Brooking Institute, writes, "These trends are consistent with previous census releases for counties and metropolitan areas that point to a greater dispersion of the U.S. population as the economy and housing... View full entry
All the blueprints and material specifications needed to put it together are included in a cardboard box. They come both on a flash drive in PDF format and printed on 36-by-24-inch sheets. The company says that the package also includes reading materials about the house, discount codes to build some of the stuff you need at providers all around the United States, as well as a door knob, a hammer, and a hat with the company logo. — Fast Company
A company that once sold designer trailer homes switched gears after a stalled venture to focus their attention on helping homeowners design their ideal A-frame cabin. For how much you ask? $1,950. As ideal as that sounds, one may be waiting for the catch. However, when Everywhere Inc.'s... View full entry
