Filmmaker Fernando Livschitz created a stop-motion video while isolating at home in Buenos Aires using over 800 pieces of wood that depicts a silhouette seamlessly break dancing. The filmmaker used a real break dancer to develop the stop-motion video frame by frame.
Introducing the Design for a Revolutionary Underwater Research Station
The grandson of famed oceanographer Jacques-Yves Cousteau plans to build a large underwater research station in the Caribbean that would allow up to 12 researchers to stay below the surface for months. It will take approximately $135 million to construct the facility, and it could make a big difference for deep-sea exploration.
Inside the World's First Regenerative Highway
Since ancient times, humans have been altering the environment to create throughways for the transport of food and goods, not to mention travel and military defense. But over the course of thousands of years, little has changed regarding the way roads are built. It’s still a necessity to clear trees and disrupt layers of earth to make way for smoother, more durable foundations, but at what cost?
Startup company Module has developed affordable modular homes that can expand by stacking additional floors. What’s more? They’re energy efficient too.
Farewelll Cement, Hello Binding Agents Made from Seaweed and Shells
The Harvard University Graduate School of Design awarded Daniel Fernández Pascual the prestigious 2020 Wheelwright Prize to further his research proposal Being Shellfish: The Architecture of Intertidal Cohabitation. With the $100,000 travel grant, Fernández Pascual plans to examine the use of seaweed and discarded marine shells as sustainable binding agents for buildings.
Ventilators Made From... Car Parts?
Afghanistan's all-girls robotics team, the Afghan Dreamers, found a way to build emergency ventilators out of car parts, arming healthcare workers with much needed equipment during the pandemic.
LEDs have become the gold standard of energy efficient lighting, but lighting researchers estimate that manufacturing them actually releases more than double the amount of carbon dioxide than manufacturing more conventional lighting.
Get Crafty To Protect Your Health
Design professors share tips and tricks for creating your own face mask at home.
How Will Driverless Cars Change City Streets?
There's no shortage of speculative plans that reimagine the future screetscape. But is it a road to nowhere?
Mercedes-Benz unveiled a futuristic concept car inspired by the film "Avatar" at CES, and it's as groundbreaking as the movie.
Is Your Dog Stressed?
Dog days aren't all fun and games. One company is creating a wearable device that generates data on your dog's emotional state. It works by taking into account a dog's heart rate, which spikes when they're stressed or anxious—just like ours.
Make Way for 3D-Printed Neighborhoods
The world's first 3D-printed neighborhood is in the works in a rural part of Mexico, offering impoverished families an opportunity to live in sturdier homes than those constructed themselves from materials on hand.
Ex-cycling pro Simon Gerrans wants to make your ride safer with this 3-D printed custom bicycle helmet produced by HEXR.
Revolutionary Science Makes Its Way into Flooring Design
Haptics—the science of touch—along with all the other sensory inputs can be influential tools, offering designers exciting possibilities when deciding which materials to use in a space. As workplace design shifts to prioritize more human-centric spaces, our approach to these environments morphs, too, says Mindy O’Gara, director of product and learning experience at Interface. Now more than ever, we’re understanding through neuroscience that we have the opportunity to forge memorable connections to materials creating more meaningful experiences with the built environment. “One of the first sensory connections we have is to material,” says O’Gara. “Our emotional interpretation of the materials that surround us inform how we feel about a space and whether or not we’ll use it. Is it appealing? How does it engage or behave? Can it shape to specific needs? All of these qualities are very important when we think about the value and depth of materials.” One solution is to seek out adaptive products with timeless design elements.
Paper or Pasta? A New Take on Eco-Friendly Straws
One U.K. start-up, called Stroodles, is betting on the future of pasta straws, which more closely resemble the texture of plastic than other materials on the market. The straws, made by an Italian pasta manufacturer, do not change the flavor of the drink and they’re edible–if you’re into alcohol-infused raw noodles.
