Wearable Planter is an art and design studio based in Atlanta, Georgia where owner Colleen Jordan creates tiny vases that blur the line between housewares and accessories. The geometric 3D-printed vessels (a/k/a “jewelry for green thumbs”) are water-resistant. Plant one with a bonsai-sized succulent or lilliputian flower arrangement and celebrate spring with a live plant in […]
The population at Jordan’s Zaatari camp for Syrian refugees has dwindled. The United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR) counts current residents at 83,000, down from over 200,000 in April 2013. People are relocating to communities across Jordan, electing to return to Syria, or simply bailing out of the refugee program. Meanwhile, those that remain – many in […]
There’s a new toy on the shelf that’s been whipping up online comments that accuse its maker of radically challenging expectations of femininity, enforcing oppressive gender norms, and preaching conformity over experimentation. Some say she’s racist, as there are no dolls-of-color in her line. Others point to a liberal tree-hugger theme, as they are dressed for back-packing and camping. Living in […]
Still another device, called the Roots Up Dew Collector, is now being developed for Ethiopia in a project together with the University of Gondar. The device, which can also be used to grow vegetables and other crops, is dew trapping and will be used in the country's arid northern regions.
Seven designers teamed up on a project to transform an ancient Egyptian pyramid into a green skyscraper that works to reverse desertification. Their Bio-Pyramid concept won an honorable mention in the 2015 eVolo Skyscraper Competition, an award that recognizes outstanding ideas that challenge the way architecture relates to both natural and built environments. Could up-cycling the Great […]
IKEA and UNHCR (the United Nations High Commission for Refugees) emerged from two years of research with a prototype shelter suitable for refugee families anywhere. It features an innovative roof that reflects 70% of the sun’s rays during the day yet retains heat during the night, and it’s fitted with solar panels that power an […]
Today is Pi Day. Celebrated around the world every March 14th (3/14), the day focuses on the mathematical symbol that represents the constant ratio of a circle’s circumference to its diameter, approximated as 3.14159. This year’s Pi Day is a once-in-a-lifetime event; it will be 100 years until we experience 3/14/15 9:26:53 again – that’s pi to […]
Falcons have been trained for hunting and sport for thousands of years across the Middle East. Now falconers in the United Arab Emirates are turning to drone technology as a new tool to teach their birds to fly increasingly higher and hunt more efficiently. Can technology teach old birds new tricks? Falcons hunt by scanning the ground below […]
We’ve all heard of the benefits of solar power and the emergence of innovative new projects that are making use of the sun’s energy. But one is soaring above the rest of them – a solar-powered plane attempting to fly round the world! Solar Impulse 2 took off from Abu Dhabi in the United Arab […]
South Tel Aviv’s Central Bus Station (CBS) sprawls across 10 acres in the poorest part of the city. Inaugurated in 1993 as a “city under a roof”, the neglected station – like many urban transport hubs – has since became a hangout, hotel and unofficial business center for addicts, prostitutes, thieves and homeless. It’s not a place to dawdle. Could […]
Iranian architect Nader Khalili, founder of the California Earth and Architecture Institute and proponent of the- dare we say- revolutionary SuperAdobe building technique, would be proud. In the coming week from the 11th to the 14th of March 2015, l’Iran will inaugurate the first edition of “Regeneration of earthen architecture festival” which aims to promote earth […]
Food designer Chloé Rutzerveld has developed a concept for 3D-printed snacks that sprout plants and mushrooms from edible soil housed within a pastry or pasta shell. She envisions a day when your local grocer could print you out a takeaway boxful, and about 4 days later they’ll grow into lunch. In the burgeoning field of futuristic […]
The tire industry is one of the largest users of virgin rubber, blending it with sulfur and heating the mix to create ‘vulcanized rubber’. It’s a highly durable material that is notoriously difficult to recycle. Design schools, small rural start-ups, and major clothing manufacturers are all working to develop ecologically sound disposal options for spent tires. Some of […]
Who says you can’t have your cup and eat it too? The maker of those chicken-like products sworn to be “finger-lickin’ good” is testing a range of 100% edible containers for takeaway coffee. Fast food giant KFC will be testing its new coffee cups in Britain this summer. Called “Scoff-ee” (a wordplay meaning “to eat […]
Mission Control for the Solar Impulse 2 is open for business, ready to guide the solar plane’s first flight around the world. Located in Monaco, the Mission Control Center (MCC) serves as project nerve-center, where a team of analysts and engineers will collect satellite-transmitted flight information to calculate and adjust the plane’s flight path. The plane will take off from […]