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A new survey from Bluebeam has documented the widespread use of AI technology in every facet of the AEC industry. According to their survey of management employees in seven countries, around three-quarters (74%) of all businesses have implemented AI into their workflows. This is especially... View full entry
During two decades with GSA, [Kevin] Powell has had a front seat view of how technologies in facilities have evolved over the years. As electrification and decarbonization efforts continue to emerge for buildings, Powell remains excited about seeing the future of buildings unfolding. — FacilitiesNet
The architect behind the U.S. General Services Administration’s Green Proving Ground program is Berkeley CED graduate Kevin Powell, who spoke recently with FacilitiesNet about emerging technologies and decarbonization efforts in the building sector. As the manager of the country’s largest... View full entry
Last week marked the announcement of the U.S. General Services Administration’s collaborative Green Proving Ground program with the Department of Energy. The initiative is aimed at producing “real world” evaluations of 17 different emerging technologies that may have a considerable... View full entry
If there’s one thing that 2021 has shown us, it is that, for better or for worse, the world is evolving faster than ever. While this is a natural phenomenon, it’s apparent that the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic has exacerbated the level of uncertainty the world faces. Sociopolitical and... View full entry
After six years of design and research at MIT, a pair of autonomous boats have been launched into the canals of Amsterdam. Roboat, a research project undertaken by the MIT Senseable City Lab and the Amsterdam Institute for Advanced Metropolitan Solutions (AMS Institute), seeks to encourage a... View full entry
Researchers at the MIT Senseable City Lab have unveiled their latest project, which seeks to understand human mobility in cities. Titled Wanderlust, the project uses large-scale cellphone data to understand the movement of people in the metro areas of Boston, Abidjan, Braga, Lisbon, Porto, Dakar... View full entry
The MIT Senseable City Lab has unveiled their “Favelas 4D” project, dedicated to mapping the largest favela in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Using 3D laser scanning technology to analyze the urban landscape of Rocinha, the project seeks to understand and quantify the architectural logic of one of... View full entry
This post is brought to you by Microsol Resources Technology is transforming the way that buildings and infrastructure are designed, constructed and operated. It is helping improve decision making and performance across the buildings and infrastructure lifecycle. Join us at TECH Perspectives on... View full entry
As high-rises keep growing taller, more connected and more efficient, there is increasing pressure on Otis and rival elevator companies Schindler, Kone and Thyssenkrupp to reduce wait times for rides and to personalize experiences—for instance, by allowing riders to call elevators from smartphones. — The Wall Street Journal
Neil Green, Otis Elevator Company's chief digital officer, discusses the future of elevator design and functionality with The Wall Street Journal. According to Green, the future of vertical transportation is set to include a larger focus on digital and smart technologies, including... View full entry
Visions of the future [autonomous vehicles] will bring have already crept into City Council meetings, political campaigns, state legislation and decisions about what cities should build today. That unnerves some transportation planners and transit advocates, who fear unrealistic hopes for driverless cars — and how soon they’ll get here — could lead cities to mortgage the present for something better they haven’t seen. — The New York Times
With new technologies emerging, cities are debating the most effective transportation systems to fund. Caught in the midst of this struggle is the proposition of paving over the New York subway in order to create an underground highway for autonomous vehicles. Those championing the idea believe... View full entry
This partnership between human and machine is what lies ahead as automation tools permeate our lives at a quickening pace. As many worry about the potential for robots to steal our jobs (or lead a violent overthrow of society), the reality may be more nuanced: They may end up being something more like creative collaborators [...] We must re-tool the workforce, be ever learning, and open to rapid change to reduce the negative impact. — citylab.com
Brooks Rainwater asserts urban spaces as the testing grounds for the impending automation revolution and asks whether this will simply eliminate jobs or create new, better ones. While job displacement estimations vary, there is no denying the tremendous impact emerging technologies will have on... View full entry
I’m not saying America’s cities are turning into dystopian technocapitalist hellscapes in which corporations operate every essential service and pull every civic string.
But let’s take a tour of recent news from the metropolises.
— New York Times
Farhad Manjoo unpacks the extreme impact big tech companies have on US city construction citing cases from Amazon, Elon Musk's Boring Company, and Bird's electric scooters. Are these innovations simply breaking through the red tape of local government or are they dominating with no input from the... View full entry
Design lies at the heart of both architecture and software. People continuously try to define what design is (which maybe means designers are not good at designing design), and the reason is perhaps because there is no single type of design but several. Here I’m going to talk about three that are relevant to both architects and fintech: blueprint-based design, recipe-based design, and systems design. — fastcodesign.com
David Galbraith, previously featured in our Working Out of the Box series, explores what financial technology can learn from architectural design by diving into three design types. Galbraith has worked for Norman Foster and Fisher Park, and is currently a partner with Anthemis Group, a VC... View full entry
European plane-maker Airbus has announced it is to develop lower-deck passenger modules that sit inside the cargo hold.
In a press release Tuesday, the firm said it was partnering with Zodiac Aerospace to build the compartments, complete with sleeping berths for passengers.
Airbus said the intention is to receive formal approval from aviation bodies by 2020 with the first installation to be made on an A330 aircraft.
— cnbc.com
Airbus and Zodiac Aerospace are creating sleeping modules that would be interchangeable with regular cargo containers. This would give airlines the flexibility to reconfigure their cargo on layovers or turnarounds. Their first mock-up was reportedly well received by airlines. Take a look in... View full entry
The History Channel will soon air Project Impossible, a series following the next generation of massive engineering projects considered unthinkable only a few years ago. Shot in 14 countries, the first season includes 10 one-hour episodes focusing on undertakings shaping the future of our... View full entry
