Istanbul’s newest airport, aptly called “Istanbul New Airport,” partially opened this past October and aims for complete functionality by the end of the year. It boasts historically-inspired architecture (for example the control tower is inspired by Turkey’s national flower, the Tulip), 22 LEED-certified buildings, a slew of child play areas, holistic “wellness” centers, and a size larger than Manhattan. No word on baggage claim efficacy.

No stranger to existential living, Rotterdam has emerged as a design hotbed for dealing with rising seas. The Dutch have famously existed as a waterlogged population for centuries. Now, the country has incorporated their new climate change-related aquatic peril into an economic and development opportunity, channeling funds into neighborhood and urban development that doubles as flood management. For the Dutch, surviving floods is a national identity—only time will tell if that eventually goes global. 

Sports gear company Vollebak recently unveiled the "100 year pant," a water-and-fireproof pair that promises to outlive you. Inspired by astronaut gear and military technology, the pants are much lighter and generally more comfortable than previous incarnations of armor-gear. Well suited for firefighters, stuntmen, and soldiers, most of their features are superfluous to most – but if you die testing their flame resistance, at least you'll go out with your pants on.  

Noise is all around us, whether we like it or not. We're only now beginning to understand the detrimental effects loud sounds can have on our health. Luckily, we can mitigate those effects with design thinking.

Natoora, a sustainable supplier of fruits and veggies to some of London's most prestigious chefs, recently opened a brick-and-mortar shop that feels very similar to another retailer of posh, eco-friendly goods. The fresh produce store was designed in collaboration by architect Noé Golomb and cabinet maker FincH, whose work includes five fit-outs for Aesop stores. All of the food items are locally sourced and are kept in their natural state with no plastic packaging.

Scientists at Northwestern University and San Diego State University may have unraveled the mysteries of the Black Widow's super-strong web. MRI and NMR imaging revealed the molecular structure of the glands that make the spider's silk, which could be extrapolated to synthetically reproduce this stronger-than-steel material at scale. Everything from bridges to bulletproof vests could one day be impervious thanks to one of the world's deadliest spiders.

Bjarke Ingels Group and Italian lighting brand Artemide have teamed up to produce a lamp that can provide indoor plants with the kind of light they need to survive. The Gople lamps use Artemide's patented RWB lighting system to diffuse red, blue, or white light to encourage the plants to photosynthesize or bloom. The lamps come in a white crystal, transparent silver, and transparent bronze finish.

To say that open offices may not have been the productivity godsend they were touted to be is a bit of an understatement. It seems everyone—from the common office worker to journalists to big-name designers—has conceded that these workplaces cater more to distraction than to productivity. Luckily, those challenges may soon be erased by Panasonic's WearSpace, a futuristic headgear that resembles horse blinders and promises a 60% reduction in the wearer's peripheral vision.

An acronym for architecture for health in vulnerable environments, ARCHIVE Global believes design can help combat disease. A recent pilot project confirms the belief. In 2014, the nonprofit launched Health From the Ground Up, an initiative to improve conditions for the disadvantaged in Southeast Asia. Upon learning that thousands of Bangladeshi children die due to parasites harbored in the dirt floors often used in their homes, the team focused on a single basic element: new flooring material. They chose poured concrete, not only easy to maintain and less likely to transmit disease but also able to be installed by local masons. A month after installation in 10 homes, post-construction surveys revealed no new infections in the children living there.

Innovation is the name of the game at SANDOW, as evidenced by the brand’s latest collaboration with Grammy Award–winning musician and New York Times bestselling author Questlove (not to mention Interior Design's Innovation channel, too). The venture, called CREATIVE HOUSE, aims to unite a diverse mix of artists, designers, inventors, and innovators to inspire, connect, and ideate all kinds of new brands and products. Further details will be announced in January 2019, but Questlove provided a snapshot of the project at this year’s Adobe MAX Creativity Conference.

Homes built to the Passive House standard have been gaining popularity in recent years, and with the UN's latest dire warning about climate change, that popularity may see a bona fide boom. For people looking to do their part for the planet, German company Lofts to Go offers a solution: the Coodo, a prefab structure that adheres to this rigorous environmental standard. The units can be used as both residential and commercial spaces, and developments are in place to take the Coodo completely off the grid. 

It’s full steam—er, electricity—ahead for autonomous vehicles. The hospitality industry expressed its excitement over this swiftly emerging tech at the 12th annual Radical Innovation Awards, selecting Steve Lee’s Autonomous Travel Suite as the grand prize winner. The Aprilli Design Studios's project won the jury and audience over with its sleek design, game-changing door-to-door service, and easy integration with future tech.

Leather has been the quintessential material of good taste and class for centuries, but its throne as status symbol is increasingly being usurped by high-tech consumer goods. In a bid to create the ultimate semiotic expression of the aspirational lifestyle, HP rolled out the Spectre Folio, a leather-bound convertible laptop. It remains to be seen how many people who don't resemble Patrick Bateman will actually purchase this $1,300 computer.

Countless birds have succumbed to ill-fated collisions with airplanes, but a recent study from Purdue University provides a possible solution to this tragic reality: LEDs. In their experiment, the team demonstrated that birds, specifically the brown-headed cowbird, consistently avoided flying through a hole in a board that was surrounded by red or blue-emitting LEDs. This provided some hope that in the future airplanes could be outfitted with LEDs to help birds steer clear while in the air.

Fashion and architecture don't often intermingle, which is strange considering that both fields make functional art for distinctly human use. So when Prada featured three handbags by female architects Cini Boeri, Elizabeth Diller, and Kazuyo Sejima at this year's Milan Fashion Week, the evidence that these two industries had more to offer each other only mounted. Each of the bags expertly riffed on Prada's iconic nylon bag, offering new possibilities for an accessory that set the precedent for a new idea in women's fashion: functionality can be luxurious, too.

Rothy's, a footwear brand that makes shoes exclusively out of recycled plastic water bottles, has at last rolled a sneaker style. The shoes resemble classic Vans, but come with an added benefit of being sustainably sourced and completely recyclable. The asking price is $125, which runs a little less than Adidas's Parley shoes ($140). 

Since antiquity, architecture has remained in the realm of "men's professions." A handful of female architects made dents, but their accomplishments went virtually unrecognized by professional institutions and the public at large. But women architects are finally getting their due credit and professional barriers are incrementally lifting, enabling several women to make lasting contributions to some of the world's most design-forward cityscapes. 

First trains, then cars, and now yachts are getting the eco-friendly electric treatment. The Hinckley Company's Dasher is the world’s first fully-electric luxury yacht, earning the nickname "Tesla of the sea.” The stylish boat produces zero emissions, runs with whisper-quiet propulsion, and can be fully charged at the dock in half the time of its land-locked counterparts.

As 3-D printing becomes more available, the potential to create unprecedented architectural feats has exploded. The latest iteration of this growing trend involves a research team at ETH Zurich and the super-slim concrete ceiling they made with a 3-D printed sand mold. The team made a total of 11 1,000-square-foot slabs, which will be installed in their ongoing DFAB House project. 

Moscow's Metro has been around since the 1930's, a time before the hegemony of any one style in public spaces came to be the accepted norm. Because of this, each station in the Russian capital treats urbanites to a vast array of architectural and artistic motifs that today would be extraordinary to imagine a government endorsing. Architectural historian Nikolai Vassiliev has been documenting the stations in hopes of preserving them.

Another day, another architectural materials innovation, it seems. We know that fungi and vegetables have the potential to forever sever our ties with concrete, but it turns out bacteria may be a part of that picture, as well. bioMason, a biotech startup from North Carolina, has found a way to create bricks from nothing more than tiny microorganisms and natural aggregates in water. 

LEGO blocks continue to entertain budding and established architects, but now they're both fun and environmentally friendly. LEGO has launched their first sustainable building brick series, called Plants From Plants, made of sugarcane-derived plastic. This effort is part of a larger company-wide plan to manufacture most of its products in environmentally friendly ways or with recycled materials by 2030. 

Shopping for glasses and mattresses has moved from brick-and-mortar to online marketplaces, and now, finally, paint is following suit. Launched by entrepreneur Nicole Gibbons, Clare is a sample-first, buy-later paint company with a carefully curated collection of 55 colors and one finish. An online quiz and algorithm help indecisive buyers discern exactly which color they need.

Talk about hanging out. But not if you’re prone to vertigo. Monade Capsule, a prototype that debuted during Dutch Design Week in Eindhoven, is Alice Bleton’s response to “office workers needing a private spot away from the office where they can re-engage with the outdoors,” she notes.

Think double-decker buses are only for sightseeing? Alexander Dennis is eschewing that stereotype by introducing North America’s first electric double-decker transit bus to Southern California next year. The manufacturer’s Enviro500 model, which will soon help alleviate traffic between the San Gabriel Valley and Los Angeles, will sport a Proterra E2 battery that enables a travel distance of up to 200 miles per charge.

People around the world, particularly in Africa, Asia, and South America, have used gourds as beverage containers for centuries. Jun Aizaki of Crème Design took that knowledge and used it to develop a gourd-based disposable cup that is completely organic. Aizaki hopes to find large commercial backers that can help transform the incredibly time-intensive process of growing a gourd into something that can happen fast enough to meet today's consumption demands. 

One of the most ambitious fights against global warming today is being fought on the carbon capture and sequestration front. Instead of viewing carbon as a problem, entrepreneurs across many sectors are viewing carbon as an economic and environmental opportunity.

When it comes to personal mobility, luxury automobile manufacturers are reaching for the stars. At the Farnborough Air Show, Aston Martin debuted Volante, a conceptual three-seat vehicle sporting a hybrid-electric power train that allows vertical take-off and landing. It’s strictly hypothetical for now—the British luxury sports car manufacturer needs to clear a multitude of legislative roadblocks before officially launching—but the idea paints a bright picture for the future of air travel.