architecture
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Scientists find a way to make concrete on Mars
If humans are ever going to have a long-term presence on Mars, they'll need to make their own buildings -- they can't count on timely shipments from Earth. But how do they do that when the resources they have will share little in common with what they knew back home? Northwestern University researchers have an idea. They've developed a concrete that uses Mars' native materials. You only have to heat sulphur until it melts, mix it with an equal part of Martian soil and let it cool. The finished concrete is very strong, easy to work with and recyclable -- you just have to reheat it to get some building supplies back.
The 'world's biggest' 3D printer will build emergency houses
The design team at WASP (World's Advanced Saving Project) will unveil what is being billed as the world's largest 3D printer on Friday in Rieti, Italy. Dubbed the "Big Delta," this enormous device stands roughly 40 feet tall with a 20 foot diameter. But despite its size, the Big Delta is extremely efficient and uses only 100 watts of power. Its oversized design allows the Big Delta to quickly and easily print low-cost disaster-relief housing. What's more, it can do so using locally-sourced materials (read: dirt and mud) which also acts to minimize construction costs. The WASP team also foresees employing this printer for non-disaster-related home building. According to a company release, the Big Delta help accommodate the estimated 4 billion people worldwide that will lack adequate housing by 2030.
7 solar-powered buildings that produce more energy than they use
By Cat DiStasio As the cost of solar energy falls, more and more buildings are being outfitted with photovoltaic systems -- and some even generate more electricity than they use. Structures like that are called "energy positive" and it's a pretty impressive feat. If your home or business can produce more power than it needs, it can actually turn a profit, since local utility companies can buy that excess electricity from you and feed it into the grid for others to use. We've rounded up some of the most incredible energy-positive buildings from around the world -- read on for a closer look.
6 futuristic building technologies that will change the world
By Cat DiStasio Technology progresses at a breakneck pace -- but why is our built environment so far behind? Fortunately, some smart folks have devoted their lives to developing futuristic technologies that can reduce the carbon footprint of buildings, make them more energy-efficient and lower maintenance costs. In just the past few years, researchers have developed self-healing structures, revolutionary heating and cooling systems and buildings that eat smog. Read on to find out about those cool building technologies and a few more.
Google will use robot-crane hybrids to build new Mountain View HQ
"Crabots" will help build Google's sprawling Mountain View campus. According to Architects Journal's latest report, these robot-crane hybrids will play a specific role in the construction of the Bjarke Ingels and Thomas Heatherwick designed structure. The UK publication is privy to detailed planning documents that the tech giant submitted to the City of Mountain View Council in Silicon Valley. The papers include mock-ups of the machines that will lift and shift the block-like "pre-fabricated" components inside the structure. The objective, according the report, is "to create a solution that can be assembled efficiently and economically within pre-erected canopy structures by means of small, easily manoeuvrable cranes."
Vertical farms, smart ceilings and national pride at the world fair
Expo Milano is a makeshift city studded with spectacular pavilions. In an attempt to outshine each other at the world fair, which opens today, 143 countries brought in their A-list teams of architects, innovators and culinary experts to design their temporary buildings. The UK built a beehive structure that's straight out of a sci-fi movie. China has an elaborate floating roof. Italy used air-purifying cement for its palazzo. And while the US pavilion isn't an architectural extravaganza, it's a didactic display with a giant automated vertical farm that's the first of its kind and size.
From garage to campus: A look at the digs of tech's Big Five
Google, Apple, Microsoft, Facebook and Amazon: These juggernauts are at the forefront of the tech industry. And with that success comes an ever-expanding workforce, and the need for a place to put them. To keep pace with growth, these companies have been making the requisite real-estate deals in order to build physical spaces to match their forward-thinking business approach. Fortunately, their designs are also more environmentally conscious than ever before. With the eyes of the world upon them, they've taken the well-being of the Earth, as well as their employees, into account, building innovative work spaces in an attempt to harmonize with the world around them. Below, we take a look at some of the steps these giants of industry have made over the years as they've moved from garage operations to vast campuses. [Image: NBBJ]
Inhabitat's Week in Green: floating cities, solar bikes and a Dr. Seuss house
Each week our friends at Inhabitat recap the week's most interesting green developments and clean tech news for us -- it's the Week in Green. The Volkswagen Camper van is one of the most iconic vehicles of the 20th century, but VW hasn't put out a new model of the hippie standby since 2003. That could all change soon, as a VW board member recently revealed that the carmaker is planning to unveil an electric concept Camper in the near future. In other automotive news, Tesla has launched a new edition of its Model S sedan. The Model S 70D will replace the Model S 60, and it will be powered by Tesla's dual-motor all-wheel-drive system. Most industry observers acknowledge that self-driving cars are the future, but one car company believes they're also the present. Korean automaker Hyundai is set to release a semi-autonomous car later this year. The car won't exactly drive itself, but it will have the ability to stay in a lane on the highway and adjust the car's speed in response to traffic conditions.
Inhabitat's Week in Green: oil rig oasis, bio-pyramids and Facebook's new home
Each week our friends at Inhabitat recap the week's most interesting green developments and clean tech news for us -- it's the Week in Green. Tesla, the Silicon Valley-based electric carmaker, is unrivaled when it comes to automotive innovation, and now the company is moving beyond the garage and into the home. Tesla CEO Elon Musk revealed earlier this year that the company is developing a house battery that could help homeowners go off the grid. But Musk isn't done: He also announced that Tesla would release a new product -- one that it isn't a car -- at the end of April. Will it be the house battery? We'll just have to wait and see.
Inhabitat's Week in Green: self-driving cars, library tanks and bionic arms
Each week our friends at Inhabitat recap the week's most interesting green developments and clean tech news for us -- it's the Week in Green. It was a big week for Tesla. CEO Elon Musk just announced the end of electric vehicle range anxiety thanks to a Model S software update that makes it "impossible" to stray too far from a charging station. Tesla also got a big break in New Jersey as Governor Chris Christie lifted the state's ban on the automaker's direct sales model. Elsewhere on the automotive front, BMW just unveiled the X5 eDrive40e, which can travel up to 19 miles in fully electric mode and is rated at 71 mpg. An Audi is set to embark on the first-ever cross-country trip for a self-driving car. The electronics company Delphi is the driving force behind the road trip, and they've rigged up an Audi SQ5 with the necessary sensors, cameras and controls for the trip.
Inhabitat's Week in Green: solar-powered planes, Audi EVs and custom-fit bikes
Each week our friends at Inhabitat recap the week's most interesting green developments and clean tech news for us -- it's the Week in Green. After months of preparation, a pair of Swiss aviators has embarked on the first-ever around-the-world flight in a solar-powered airplane. The Solar Impulse 2 took off from Abu Dhabi last week, and it already set a world record for the world's longest solar-powered flight when it landed in India a day later. Over the next five months, André Borschberg and Bertrand Piccard plan to make 12 stops around the globe, showing the potential solar power holds. In other renewable energy news, Goodyear announced plans to develop a heat-gathering, electricity-generating car tire at the Geneva Auto Show.
Google's future campuses are as flexible as its technology
Hey, Apple and NVIDIA: you aren't going to be the only Silicon Valley giants with outlandish office space. Google has revealed a proposed redesign of its Mountain View campuses (specifically, four sites) that not only doesn't resemble a traditional workplace, but mirrors the company's open, flexible approach to tech. Rather than house everyone in concrete, Google plans "lightweight, block-like" facilities that can shuffle around as workers shift their focus to projects like self-driving cars. The buildings should do a better job of blending into the environment, too. They'll use translucent canopies to let in more air and light, and the emphasis is on protecting nature and the community (by promoting bike paths, local businesses and wildlife) rather than creating a sea of offices and parking lots.
Color-changing E Ink lets walls come alive
Do you think that the walls at your school or office just aren't sprightly enough? E Ink may have a way to liven things up. Its new Prism material lets buildings subtly change colors and patterns on the spot, without having to rely on banks of expensive digital displays that stick out like a sore thumb. It's more than just animated wallpaper, though. It can respond to input, such as a person walking by, and even works for furniture -- imagine a bench that changes its look every day. Prism sips only a tiny amount of power, too, so you don't need to keep things plugged in.
Recommended Reading: NYC's new subway hub is an architectural marvel
Recommended Reading highlights the best long-form writing on technology and more in print and on the web. Some weeks, you'll also find short reviews of books that we think are worth your time. We hope you enjoy the read. How James Carpenter Gave NYC Subway Riders a Portal to the Sky by Shaunacy Ferro, Fast Company New York City's latest subway station is a really big deal. Fulton Center recalls an age when public transit stations packed in architectural prowess, and this hub does just that. The main element is the so-called Sky Reflector Net that not only bathes the atrium in natural light, but also reflects that light two stories underground thanks to a cable structure suspended way up above.
The Big Picture: a London footbridge that fans open for boats
What you see above is a bridge of a slightly different flavor. Taking inspiration from Japanese hand-fan design, the Merchant Square Bridge uses a cantilvered deck to cross the Grand Union Canal in Paddington, London. Each of the five steel beams open in sequence and use what designer Knight Architects calls shaped counterweights to assist the hydraulic jacks that raise and lower the planks. Just how much weight is needed to aid the spans? Architecture & Design says 40 tons worth -- about the heft of an average humpback whale. The design of the bridge allows boats to pass under freely, and pedestrians to cross the 20 meter-wide (roughly 65 feet) body of water. To see it in action (and in the down position), check out the video we've embedded below if you can't make it to London to peep in person.
Not every house has rooms that turn 90 degrees, but this one does
It would seem that when Iran isn't busy putting the kibosh down on social media, its architects are designing some pretty crazy ways to beat the weather. Case in point: a seven-floor house in Tehran with three rectangular rooms that can rotate up to 90 degrees in accordance with the season. As Slate tells it, the design was inspired by Iranian mansions of yore that had separate living rooms for both summer and winter. When extended outward, the spaces offer each floor its own terrace. Besides being one hell of a bragging right for its homeowner, the rooms serve a functional purpose as well: the lowest is a breakfast area, the middle a home office and the top was planned as a guest room. How's it all work? Custom CNC-machined mechanisms that function a lot like the turntables used at auto shows do the heavy lifting... err, turning. This isn't the firm's first project to push architectural boundaries, either -- it's also done some bananas design on a house with curved concrete façades and interiors. [Image credit: NextOffice]
North Korea's vision of the future looks like classic sci-fi
When a country is essentially cut off from the rest of the world, peculiar things can happen. In Cuba, the half-century-plus trade-embargo means antique Chevy Bel Airs roam the streets like pigeons, and apparently North Korea's communist ideology translates to some pretty interesting views of the future. A tourism firm in the region gave a state-employed architect free reign to imagine how the mountains of Myohyangsan would appear with a high-rise bridge connecting them in one instance, and what a floating house/hovercraft hybrid (seriously) or a hotel and gondola in Nampo's port would look like in others. The whole of the idea was to experiment with what a "sustainable tourism model" might resemble, according to CNN. And, if you ask us, the four-year project has a certain pulp sci-fi vibe to it. The concept drawings will be on display at Venice's Architecture Biennale until November if you'd like a first-hand look, otherwise hit the source if you can't make it to Italy by then.
Robot builders work together to create structures much bigger than themselves
If you've ever read a novel from Iain M. Banks's Culture series, then you'll know that builder-bots play a huge role in his vision of the future: A future in which houses, cities and even entire planets can be built on the cheap by armies of drones. In a very modest way, something like this is already possible, thanks to a team of researchers from Catalonia's Insitute of Advanced Architecture. They've created a prototype design for an "ecology" of mini robots, which work together to squirt out various materials that harden to create the frame and skin of a building. Wheeled Foundation Bots come first, building up the base layers, and then Grip Bots clamber up these structures to create further levels. The video after the break makes it all so sound very simple and inevitable, but it slightly glosses over an important fact: these bots can only build according to an architect's exact instructions. And, as any builder will repeatedly tell you, architects know almost nothing about how to actually build stuff. (At least, not until robots take their jobs too.)
Inhabitat's Week in Green: Juggernaut Bike, Project Blue and a skyscraper made of desert sand
Each week our friends at Inhabitat recap the week's most interesting green developments and clean tech news for us -- it's the Week in Green. It's been a big week for architecture -- especially the futuristic kind. First, winners were announced for the 2014 eVolo Skyscraper Competition, a contest that challenges designers to create buildings that are beautiful as well as problem-solvers. Top honors were earned by Sand Babel: a twisting, solar-powered, 3D-printed skyscraper built from desert sand. Then there's the extraordinary Hyper Filter Skyscraper, which is designed to inhale carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases and exhale oxygen. China's ongoing air-pollution crisis seems to have inspired more than one designer, as an honorable mention also went to Project Blue, a skyscraper that could actually transform air pollution into green energy.
RoomScan creates floor plans automatically
Now here's a clever idea for an app: using the position sensors in your iPhone, the free RoomScan app creates a pretty accurate floor plan (within a foot or so) of any room. When you launch the app you'll see some help screens, and there are links to several videos showing RoomScan in operation. To get started, you just touch your iPhone to any wall. Walk to another wall and tap the iPhone on the wall, and then go to another. When you have touched all the walls, go back and touch your original wall, then tap the 'finish' button. RoomScan then draws a reasonably accurate floor plan. The app guides you by voice in what to do, and it if feels it doesn't have accurate data it will ask you to repeat the process. If you bring your iPhone or other iOS device to to the wall with a jolt, RoomScan says "ouch!" and asks you to try again more gently. You also need to move fairly quickly between walls, or RoomScan asks you to pick up the pace. I didn't have much hope that any of this would work. I tried it in my master bedroom, which has a bay windows and some angled walls, and the resulting diagram was quite close. In the app's settings, you can select US or metric measurements. Your floor plan can be emailed, which is very handy. A paid version of the app lets you add symbols for things like doors, and connects multiple rooms so you can create a whole house floor plan. The Pro version is US$4.99 I continue to be amazed at some of the helpful and really creative apps that have appeared for iOS, and RoomScan and RoomScan Pro are each a case in point. I wouldn't use either app to create architectural plans that have to be super-accurate, but RoomScan does what it claims to do. Try the free version to convince yourself that it works, and if you want more, go for the paid version. RoomScan is a universal app. It requires iOS 7 or later and it's optimized for the iPhone 5. It's useful, and it's is also a great demo of what iOS 7 can do.
