For years empirical evidence has suggested that the Mediterranean diet, which includes a lot of fish, nuts, olive oil, fruits and vegetables, is superior to others, but it has been exceptionally difficult to prove the relationship between food and diet given that so many other factors can influence a person’s health. Plus, let’s face it: […]
From vertical farming to rooftop gardening, here are 7 of the best agricultural companies and projects put in practice in the Middle East. There’s no getting around it: the world is becoming a much less secure place in which to live. Economies are tanking, geo-political systems are in turmoil, weather events such as wintertime drought are […]
There seems to be a tremendous struggle happening in the Middle East – a fight between the good guys, like this 10-year-old Emirati wunderkid, and psychotic fundamentalists (along with a host of other corrupt elements.) The good maybe overwhelmed by the very worst bad guys there could be. And then there is the boy who […]
Talk about being self-sufficient, but totally weird! Israeli student designer Naomi Kizhner has designed a collection of jewelry that harvests energy from veins in the human body. The project highlights in a beautiful and artful way how humanity is addicted to energy consumption. It may be a thought experiment more than anything, but these jewels provoke […]
Are you allowed to ride a bicycle? For Afghan girls and women, that’s a no. If they dare, people may throw rocks at them or call them unspeakable names. The Global Ride for Solidarity coming up this weekend is designed to catalyze a new cultural paradigm in the country, one that finds riding a bicycle […]
While many Muslims don’t drink alcohol, the people of Batroun, Lebanon love their beer. At least according to Jamil al-Haddad, the visionary behind Colonel beer and a new microbrewery built out of recycled materials.
Are you tired of seeing the same old giant wind turbines in a field or offshore? And do you worry about their impact on migrating birds? Hooman Tahvildar Akbary from Iran has a solution that is both super efficient and beautiful.
Sometimes, design really does change lives. Dr. Amit Goffer previously designed ReWalk, a device that gives paraplegics paralyzed from the waste down mobility again. But 90 percent of handicapped people are unable to use it. In order to give quadriplegics a similar new lease on life, the Israeli designer made a few modifications with UPnRIDE.
Most Gulf countries import up to 90 percent of their food, which neither bodes well for food security no climate change – since the food that is brought in from Europe and elsewhere has a lot of what are called “food miles.” True to their name, Forward Thinking Architecture proposes a solar-powered hydroponic food belt as […]
A farmer in Al Ain, the very green, flowery emirate bordering Dubai, claims that after three years of impregnating legions of nannies on his farm, his billy goat suddenly sprouted udders. And then produced milk.
Not everyone who visits Antalya wants to go scuba diving to see the extraordinary Mediterranean marine life, but now they can still catch a glimpse of what lives under the sea’s surface thanks to a beautiful new aquarium on the Turkish Riviera.
Turbo.roo is a sweet little chihuahua who was born with just two front legs. The breeder gave up the puppy after realizing that he would need a great deal of special care, so a vet in Indianapolis adopted him.
An Istanbul-based design firm has teamed up with one of the fathers of vertical gardens to liven up a bespoke restaurant in the city. Autoban and Patrick Blanc from France lined an wall with lush greenery, giving the space something of a jungle aesthetic that stands in direct contrast with some of the cold hard materials inside.
Australian filmmaker Daniel Agdag is also a talented sculptor who preferences a decidedly minimalist material palette. Based in Melbourne, the artist builds whimsical flying machines with nothing but cardboard and glue — and they “only” take a month or two to make.
Here’s something you don’t see every day – a double-headed dolphin! This week the two-headed immature dolphin washed ashore in Turkey, where a sports coach alerted authorities.
Bernard Khoury is one of Lebanon’s most sought after architects, and now he has built his own home – a rooftop penthouse bam smack in the middle of Beirut.
More than 100 graffiti artists were invited to Tunisia as part of the Djerbahood project – an inventive rehabilitation initiative that uses street art to turn a dusty village into an inspiring open air gallery.
In 2011, scientists warned that giant plumes of methane gas could fast-track planetary warming. And now – a version of this prediction has come to pass in Siberia. Despite being at the “ends of the Earth,” Yamal Peninsula’s three methane craters contain a cautionary tale for us all.
Is there anything worse than being in a hot city with cars idling, kicking up heat and pollution? We don’t think so, and apparently Erick van Egeraat agrees. The city of Unaizah has approved Egeraat’s plans to build a massive ring road around the city, as well as an underground street.
Forward Thinking Architecture has designed floating farms for Singapore, a country that shares many of the problems we have in the Middle East – food insecurity, lack of land, and a rapidly growing population. We think this design might be appropriate for our region as well. A subsidiary of JAPA, an ideas lab, Forward Thinking […]
The United Arab Emirates has passed resolution 500 in an effort to curb shark finning and protect endangered species. Currently a hub for the shark trade, the United Arab Emirates (the UAE) will implement the new laws on September 1, 2014. The new laws prohibit fishermen from catching sharks within five nautical miles off shore, and within three nautical […]
After going several months without, I’ve fallen back into the habit of ‘needing’ at least one cup of joe to wake up, and I know I’m not the only one. Cue Barisieur from Britain’s Joshua Renouf. “Motivated by playful designs which encourage interaction; and induce a cherished relationship with both the product and user,” Renouf designed a hybrid coffee maker and alarm clock that […]
The most spectacular Islamic religious architecture and interior design is something few westerners have experienced. Mohammed Reza Domiri changes that, at least a bit, with extraordinary photography. Using an extreme wide-angle lens, the young Iranian unveils a world of color, geometry, and beauty we can only dream of.
With so much conflict erupting around us, it’s hard to imagine a peaceful future, but Erdem Architects does a good job of it. The Turkish firm recently won an international design competition with their proposal to turn an area of the Italian city La Spezia, historically used to host the city’s war arsenal, into a series of serene peace islands.
When we first presented the solar-powered woven refugee shelters that have now been seen all across the world, many people suggested they’d also make great festival tents. Well, now we’re wondering the opposite. Could these B-and-Bee shelters designed for Belgium festivals provide temporary housing for refugees in the Middle East?