Design
This clever house transforms itself to adjust to different types of weather
This is still a design idea, but a clever one: this house takes on different shapes for different types of weather. On a hot day, a screen and shell move out to wrap around the entire home. On cold days, it gets rid of these layers again so the sun can warm all areas of the house. On top of this, Read More...
Inspired by Nature
Researchers are borrowing designs from the natural world to advance biomedicine. When biomedical engineer Jeff Karp has questions, he looks to animals for answers. In 2009, Karp gathered his team at the Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston to brainstorm novel ways to capture Read More...
Butterfly may know how to make solar energy cheaper and more efficient
Biomimicry is the burgeoning field describing how designers look at nature's solutions for today's problems. Experts from the University of Exeter have taken the approach. They found that if you want to make solar energy cheaper and more efficient, it may be good to look at butterflies. By Read More...
Activists make cities more friendly for the homeless with mattress project
In an attempt to discourage homeless loitering, some cities have introduced spikes, covering flat, raised ledges to stop people from sitting or sleeping on them. So a group of London activists have created the Anti Anti Homeless Spikes project. They glue mattresses over a set of spikes, and create Read More...
Rainbow mural brings together community in Mexican "drug capital"
Somewhere over the rainbow, you will find this Mexican town called Palmitas, in the district of Pachuca. A youth organization called Germen Crew teamed up with the Mexican authorities to beautify this neighborhood, previously known as the "drug capital" of the region. According to the Facebook Read More...
Japanese architect unveils plans to reuse earthquake rubble to build Nepal relief shelters
He did it again. Shigeru Ban, the Japanese architect known for his work on emergency shelters, unveiled a plan to reuse brick salvaged from collapsed buildings as construction material for relief shelters in Nepal. After the earthquake in April, the Nepalese are still in dire need of shelters Read More...
Levi's inspires us to recycle old clothing and shoes
Americans send about 24 billion pounds of unwanted clothing, shoes, and other textiles to landfills each year. That's a staggering amount of waste, considering that an estimated 95% of those textiles could be recycled, if only there were simple, easy, and widespread ways for consumers to do so. Read More...
Can coffee-waste furniture get people excited about sustainability?
Such is the bet made by British designer and materials development expert Adam Fairweather, who is striving to turn upcycling into an art form. His latest obssession are coffee grounds. Addressing food waste is less on his mind than “using materials that have a perceived value to them, to Read More...
Pencils collection to increase color psychology literacy
The impact of color on mood and behavior is a well established fact. Although the science has yet to investigate ancient healing traditions based on color, the interest in color psychology has been growing. The School of Life, an international organization dedicated to helping people develop Read More...
Ikea’s refugee shelters are unbeatable
Ikea’s flat-packed refugee shelters—tested in Ethiopia and Iraq—are, according to some design experts, one of the most significant developments in design in the last 10 years. The innovative shelters are made from insulated polymers, create a 17.5-square-metre enclosure, fit up to five Read More...