Library builder

3D-Printed Columns Use Ancient Technique Against Earthquakes Bringing together cutting-edge technologies and an ancient approach to resisting earthquake damage, the so-called Quake Column marries tradition and high-tech to create a bold new structural solution needing no mortar nor rebar to reinforce it. Incan masons historically interlocked complex three-dimensional stone shapes in order to allow movement […]

Radiotopia Fundraiser: Support 7 Story-Centric PRX Podcasts Last year, Roman Mars of 99% Invisible and PRX broke records, raising $375,000 with a wildly successful Kickstarter campaign – this year, Radiotopia aims to collect $250,000 in contributions on Kickstarter page to support its lineup of seven amazing radio shows. So far, this campaign has gained over 2,500 backers and […]

7,000 LEDs to Cast Sistine Chapel Ceiling in Bright New Light For 500 years, visitors were able to see Michelangelo’s famous 6,000-square-foot painting bathed in natural light, but for the last 3 decades they have gotten a dismal view, the room shuttered and lit by weak halogens – but all of that is about to change. For […]

Refold Workstation: Mobile Flat-Pack Cardboard Standing Desk Two student designers have seen the future and building toward it with a flexible, foldable, affordable and recyclable cardboard desk that support the weight of a whole person but can also be built in minutes without any tape or connective hardware. The desk has an adjustable height factor […]

Capital Idea: Bridge to Elevated Park for Washington D.C. A freeway bridge linking historically divided sides of Washington, D.C. on either side of the Anacostia River is set to become a vibrant, High-Line-style elevated park. OMA + OLIN have been announced as the winners of a competition to design the new civic space, which will […]

Transformer Hotel: Tiny Room Showcases Convertible Furniture Deploying three novel pieces of multipurpose furniture, this 240-square-foot space manages to pack in all kinds of secrets, surprises and amenities for guests to explore, discover and utilize in a unique micro-suite. The first featured item in the Kinect line, this new series of space-saving furnishings and fixtures from […]

1. Dancing House; Prague, Czech Republic Getty Images/Hemera Marek Slusarczyk Getty Images/iStockphoto Michael Palis Nationale-Nederlanden building / Creative Commons Designed by Czech architect Vlado Milunić alongside the famed American architect Frank Gehry, Prague’s Dancing House, nicknamed “Fred and Ginger” in honor of dancers Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers, sits upon the banks of the Vltava […]

In our working lives, we are in many ways still stuck in the age of the Industrial Revolution. When the masses worked in factories, the office support personnel worked the same hours, or at least “regular working hours” and commuted daily to central offices. Perhaps there was a sense that all workers needed to be […]

Those of us who are tired of throwawayism and of pointlessly amassing closetfuls of disposable footwear, are starting to pay serious attention to the kind of shoe quality that only true expertise and attention to detail can produce. Voting with our wallets, we’d rather shop once a year and obtain something that is beautiful, durable […]

Good coffee was not on an average consumer’s radar in 1971, when the story of the brand now known as Starbucks began. This was the case especially in North America where coffee culture was nonexistent.   That all started to change when Howard Schultz bought Starbucks in 1987 and started its expansion outside Seattle with […]