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Tech News
The World’s Deadliest Construction Projects, Visualized
The infrastructure being built for Qatar’s World Cup is using the most cutting-edge construction technologies. Yet due to the poor treatment of migrant workers, an estimated 4,000 people could die building it. A new timeline of construction deaths shows this inconsistency throughout history: Even though construction methods have improved over time, worker conditions don’t always … Continued
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Tech NewsDesign
This Robot Stacks Bricks Into Impossible-Looking Building Facades
Bricks are known for their strength and impenetrability—not necessarily for their light and airy look. But a Swiss firm has created just that, stacking bricks into a sculptural helix-like lattice that zig-zags across the front of a building. And they did it with the help of a robot. The architectural firm Gramazio Kohler used the … Continued
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Tech NewsDesign
How Volunteers Built a Memorial To One of the Worst Mass Shootings Ever
Today marks four years since a gunman killed 77 people in Norway, 69 of them on the small island of Utøya. In time for the anniversary, the island has unveiled the finished memorial to the victims. But it’s not the memorial officials had originally planned, and the reason why illustrates how difficult memorializing can be. … Continued
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Tech NewsDesign
Yes, There Is an Airport Being Designed Just For Animals
Air travelers have long complained that they’re treated like cattle; and now cattle will actually be treated better than most economy passengers. An entire airport terminal is being built for animals, including a dog spa with “pawdicures” and a bone-shaped doggie wading pool. Yes, it’s all very real, and it will be open next year. … Continued
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Tech NewsDesign
The Plan To Reuse Earthquake Rubble For Emergency Homes In Nepal
The earthquake that killed thousands of people in Nepal and destroyed priceless heritage sites also flattened hundreds of thousands of normal homes and buildings. Now, the rubble from those structures is being put to use by an architect who is designing permanent shelters for those who lost their homes. As we wrote in May, the … Continued
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Tech NewsDesign
These Geothermal Homes Use Heat From the Mountainside They’re Built Into
Japan is a country that’s 75% mountains, which makes construction more than a little tricky. One architect’s solution? Build homes into the mountains—then rent them out. Tenants then score natural geothermal insulation in an abode that’s downright Seussian. This cozy, seven-unit residential complex is nestled at (and into) the foot of Mineyama Mountain in Takamatsu, … Continued
By Bryan Lufkin -
Tech News
The Foundation of the World’s Next Tallest Building Is Just a Lake Now
Can the world’s tallest building be built in 90 days? It’s been two years since we asked that question, and as a report from a local Chinese paper illustrates today, the answer is an unequivocal no—at least not when the government thinks the plan is dangerous. Back in 2013, a company called Broad Group announced … Continued
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Tech NewsDesign
We Cannot Allow This Awful Idea for Airport Design to Become Real
Airports and cities don’t get along for a few specific reasons—namely, air pollution, noise pollution, and plain old risk. As such, some designers think that a future of increased urban density could be an opportunity to mix things up. This concept for a new airport in downtown Stockholm is simply mixed up. An architecture graduate … Continued
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Tech News
The Booming World of Architecture That Only Exists In Pixels
There’s a long tradition of great architects never building a single thing. They’re calledpaper architects, because their work is purely 2D. But today, you might look for them working somewhere else: video game design and 3D visualization. An architectural visualization artist named Ronen Bekerman has been at the center of that shift. Bekerman runs a … Continued
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Tech News
These Hanging Hotel Rooms Have Good Food, Great Views, So Much Screaming
It’s not unlike camping, according to visitors. Except for the fact that you’re hanging from a sheer rock cliff 400 feet above the ground. Oh, and the bathroom. The bathroom is… different. These are the Skylodges, a set of three steel capsules that hang off of a cliff that leads down into Peru’s Sacred Valley—the … Continued
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Tech News
The Dramatic Architecture of Opera Houses That Only the Singers See
Designed to make audiences gasp even before the performance begins, opera houses are perhaps the most architecturally opulent spaces on Earth. A new book by photographer David Leventi attempts to document the grand interiors where civilization’s most celebrated musical acts come to life. Over eight years Leventi visited 40 opera houses in 19 countries, from … Continued
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Tech NewsDesign
Architect Finally Gives Us What We Want: A Beyoncé-Inspired Skyscraper
Just when you thought the world had hit peak Beyoncé, the hippest city in Australia is going to build a massive skyscraper inspired by… Beyoncé.This is not a joke. The city of Melbourne has given planning approval for the construction of a curvy 68-story tower in its central business district. It even moves. The skyscrapers … Continued
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Tech NewsDesign
I Want to Live In This Colorful Maze Made From Sheets of Plastic
Each year a different artist or designer is tapped to create the Serpentine Pavilion, a site-specific installation that’s open all summer in London’s Kensington Gardens. This year’s Pavilion just opened to the public as a colorful, cacophonous labyrinth—with a secret cafe at the center. When can I move in? According to the Madrid-based artists José … Continued
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Tech NewsDesign
I Want to Live Inside This House Hidden In This Cliff
Cliffs are beautiful, terrifying, and exhilarating all at the same time. Can you imagine living inside of a glass house that was built inside of the edge of a cliff? This is what a couple of Greek architects are proposing. Behold: Casa Brutale. This architectural concept is more or less a concrete box that’s nestled … Continued
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Tech NewsDesign
RIP Donald Wexler: The Midcentury Architect Who Made Palm Springs Cool
The city of Palm Springs, California, wasn’t always known for its sleek, spare residential design. During the 1950s and 60s, architect Donald Wexler designed a particular style of building for the growing town that became known as Palm Springs Modernism—a look that’s become synonymous with the desert region and that’s seeing a resurgence today. Wexler, … Continued
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Tech News
Paris Gets Its First Skyscraper In 42 Years, And It Was Worth the Wait
In 1972, Paris approved a hulking 690-foot skyscraper that dwarfed the rest of the city and looked like it was designed by Darth Vader on the back of a cocktail napkin. It’s no wonder it’s taken the city 42 years to give tall buildings another shot. In fact, the city ended up banning tall buildings … Continued
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Tech NewsDesign
North Korea’s New Airport Has a Chocolate Fountain and a Dark History
Kim Jong-un showed off North Korea’s modern international airport this week, which includes a rich cornucopia of duty-free goods, “espresso-based drinks,” and other luxuries. But the story behind the airport’s design is unmistakably tyrannical. The old airport was a symbol of 1950s and 60s-era Communism. It was done up in an imposing neoclassical style, and … Continued
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Tech News
Erase Your Mistakes With the World’s Greatest Architectural Landmarks
Mistakes aren’t always set in stone, and neither are these miniature versions of iconic architectural landmarks from around the world. They’re actually made from rubber, so you can use them as erasers, or just leave them around your desk to make you feel like a giant. Available in three different $5 packs that include four … Continued
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Tech NewsDesign
This Preschool Turns Into a Huge Puddle Playground When It Rains
Kids need to play—it’s simply how they learn. More and more, scientists who study early childhood development say that preschools and kindergartens are focusing on academics when they should be letting kids simply play. Not at this preschool in Japan. At Dai-Ichi preschool—located in Kumamoto, at the southern end of Japan—play is the main item … Continued
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Tech News
This Pavilion Is Made From… Cardboard?
This cubic pavilion was constructed in the heart of Valencia in March. With its crisp, straight geometric lines and lustrous silver finish, it looks like it’s made of metal: aluminum? Some kind of steel? Or maybe, just maybe, it’s cardboard. The structure, known as the Ekklesia pavilion, was built by the art collective Pink Intrude, … Continued