Combating urban loneliness: restructuring cities to encourage social interaction
The way communities are constructed in today's bustling cities exacerbates the loneliness many people feel. Andy Field, a British artist, observed a park teeming with people but with little connection amongst them while visiting Baltimore's Mount Vernon Place. Field's insights from his book, Read More...
This concept puts the urban garden at the heart of city design
Earlier this year, we shared the exciting news about the Parisian plan to turn the iconic Champs-Élysées avenue into a public garden. With the same goal of greening up the French capital, a new urban design proposal, created by architecture firm Rescubika, showcases how the future of Paris’ Read More...
It’s easy to make old buildings more efficient with this modular system
Many of the new buildings being constructed today are designed with the planet in mind, and while that may help humanity shrink its carbon footprint, the reality is that the number of old buildings will continue to outnumber new buildings well into the future. Keeping an old building up and running Read More...
Design firm turns old airport runway into beautiful park in Shanghai
Back in 2011, the Longhua Airport in Shanghai was closed and left abandoned. Now, more than a decade later, architecture studio Sasaki has finished transforming the runway of the former airport into an expansive linear park. The Xuhui riverfront area once hosted the airport, but hasn’t Read More...
This energy-neutral Dutch school promotes sustainability by design
What better way to teach kids about sustainability than to have them study in a school building that has embraced the concept to the maximum? In the Dutch city of Utrecht, a recently completed primary school has done exactly that. Located in Utrecht, Dutch architecture firm EVA architecten has Read More...
Santa Monica’s new civil building will produce more energy than it uses
The City of Santa Monica will soon welcome a new civic building that will not only bring the various municipal departments scattered throughout the city under one roof but will also fulfill the Living Building Challenge — making it the largest civic building of its kind to meet the world’s Read More...
Why safe streets are a powerful tool for combatting climate change
It’s not hard to understand why many parents don’t let their kids walk and bike to school in Los Angeles where streets are designed for the fast movement of cars. In LA, crashes are the leading cause of death for kids aged 4 to 15. To keep kids safe, parents revert to cars—even if the trip is Read More...
More cities around the world are starting to love car-free streets
Cultural attractions, walking through the city and gazing at plazas, buildings, and places—these are the things that make a city unique. And what particularly adds to the charm of a city is the absence of noise and air pollution coming from car-congested streets. With that in mind, many cities Read More...
Italian architect wants to build smart city in Mexico with 7.5 million plants
Italian architect Stefano Boeri has unveiled plans to create a forested smart city in Cancun, Mexico, that is designed to be a "pioneer" of more eco-efficient developments. Smart Forest City Cancun is intended to be built on a 557 hectare site near the Mexican city. According to the architect, Read More...
Colorful Chicago building proves affordable housing and beauty can go together
Affordable housing, beautiful aesthetics, and sustainability are three things that rarely unite under one building, but in Chicago, architects have managed to bring all three together in harmony. Created by John Ronan Architects, the colorful building contains a public library at ground level and Read More...