For some time now, VTN Architects has been on a mission to regreen the gray streets of Vietnam’s cities by producing buildings that host plants and trees on their exteriors. The firm’s own new office naturally reflects this passion and is almost totally covered in greenery, including vegetables, herbs and fruits. The Urban Farming Office is located in a burgeoning area […]
Urban Farming Office In Vietnam
Ultra Thin Coating For Solar Panels
Solar panels can’t operate efficiently if they’re caked in dirt, but cleaning them regularly can become a time-consuming process. Engineers in Germany have now developed an ultra-thin coating that can make solar panels and other surfaces self-cleaning. Solar is the biggest source of renewable energy, and it’s growing quickly. But as you could imagine, it’s not feasible to send someone […]
Scubajet
Rather than having to buy both an eFoil and an electric surfboard for powered fun on the water, Austria’s Scubajet – the folks behind the torpedo-shaped underwater propulsion devices – has launched its new Performance Series with a single board that combines both. “E-foiling and e-surfing are two different passions of mine, and I don’t want to miss out on either,” said […]
Hair Follicle Transplants Could Eliminate Scars
Unlike normal skin, scar tissue doesn’t contain any hair follicles. New research now indicates that when such follicles are transplanted into scar tissue, that tissue changes to become much more like uninjured skin. Previous studies have already shown that skin with lots of hair follicles heals faster and scars less than non-hairy skin. It has additionally been found that follicles […]
MVRDV Designed Expansive Library
Much of MVRDV’s architectural output lately has drawn inspiration from the natural landscape, including its recently completed Valley project. Having been commissioned to create one of China’s largest new libraries, the firm continues this trend and riffs on its planned location at the confluence of two rivers to design an eye-catching flowing building with an interior layout that takes the form of […]
Concentrated Photosynthesis Device
We are a solar-powered planet; the vast majority of energy needed for life on Earth comes from the sun – and a lot of it, including food and fossil fuels, is the result of plant-based photosynthesis – the conversion of sunlight, water and carbon dioxide into oxygen and sugars. The first chemical step in photosynthesis happens in the chlorophyll that […]
AI Aquarium
When you’re looking at a tank full of fish at a public aquarium, it can be difficult to figure out which ones are which species. The AI Aquarium is designed to help, by overlaying information that lines up with the individual fish in question. Created by Taiwan’s Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI), the AI Aquarium was recently the recipient of […]
Huawei Smartwatch Pulls Double Duty As Charging Case
Though smartwatches and true-wireless earphones have only been around for a fairly short time, their respective marketplaces are already pretty crowded. To stand out, companies need to create something different – and Huawei has certainly done that by combining the two for the Watch Buds. It was perhaps easy to dismiss the Chinese mobile tech giant’s idea as a fanciful concept when it was teased toward […]
Finding New Use For Parking Lots
Harley-Davidson has joined forces with high-profile British architecture firm Heatherwick Studio to transform disused car parking lots at the company’s headquarters in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, into a new public park for both pedestrians and motorcycle enthusiasts. The Juneau Avenue Campus Headquarters park will be centered around a new outdoor amphitheater-like multipurpose events space named the Hub that will replace the old […]