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Arts & Culture / Design

The Honda Smart Home, on the University of California, Davis, campus, is an experiment in efficiency.

What It’s Like to Live in This Smart, Energy-Efficient Home of the Future

Nine months in, a family of four adjusts to life in the Honda Smart Home, a testing ground for new technologies at University of California, Davis

Seven Ways to Revamp Deserted Spaces Under New York City’s Highways and Elevated Trains

The Design Trust for Public Space reimagines neglected areas under the city’s infrastructure

The rolling hydraulic bridge at London’s Paddington Basin built in 2004 curls up on itself like a pillbug.

A Look Into the Innovative Mind of One of the World’s Most Inventive Architects

A new show at the Cooper Hewitt reveals the process behind designer Thomas Heatherwick’s projects

The shelter bus can be used as a market during the day.

In Hawaii, Old Buses Are Being Turned Into Homeless Shelters

A group of architects envisions a rolling solution to the state’s homelessness problem

“The [museum] is a beautiful example of the strategic ‘borrowing’ that created the rich cultural environment we have all inherited from the African continent.”

Is Architecture Actually a Form of Weaving?

David Adjaye, architect of the National Museum of African American History and Culture, approaches building design as creating “fabric”

Older community barbershops in Detroit serve as community gathering places.

Barbers Are Giving Buzz Cuts to Detroit’s Overgrown Lots

A new project funded by a Knight Cities grant has local barbers and landscape contractors working to revitalize vacant spaces

Urban Explorations

Restaurants and Hotels Breathe New Life into Beautiful, Abandoned Churches and Monasteries

Vaulted ceilings and stained glass windows adorn these restored and reimagined structures

Renderings

2 World Trade Center and the Promise of Green Skyscrapers

New renderings of the tower show impressive sky gardens—a trendy feature that’s difficult to pull off

American South

Sleep With the Fishes: The Best Places to Spend a Night Underwater

As the weather heats up, escape to these hotel rooms beneath the waves

An open source cardboard dino from KitRex stands outside the New York Hall of Science during the World Maker Faire in September 2014.

The Innovative Spirit

What Is a Maker Faire, Exactly?

Billed as the world’s greatest show and tell, the DIY extravaganza might just make a maker out of you

A paternoster elevator can be thrilling, or just scary.

Ride This Bizarre, Old-School Elevator Before They All Shut Down

The paternoster elevators of Europe are weird, a bit scary and getting harder and harder to find. For now, there are still a few you can ride

Maze-like landscaping has cut the decibel level of the ambient noise at Amsterdam's Schiphol Airport in half.

This Crazy Land Art Deflects Noise From Amsterdam’s Airport

To drown out flight noise, the Amsterdam Airport turned to large-scale landscaping

Industrial designer Shin Kuo thinks everyone in a building should be able to live in the penthouse for a time.

Six Architectural Ideas That Could Change the Way We Live in Cities

Whether in response to polluted air or shrinking space, architects keep coming up with novel approaches to reshaping urban life

University of Vermont engineering student Joseph Maser gazes down at the prototype of the inflatable airlock for space stations and vehicles that he and three other students built.

Made by College Seniors, These Seven Products Give Us a Glimpse Into the Future

Engineering students at universities across the country took these projects from sketch to reality in one year

Umami Concepts, a fully stocked kitchen in Hong Kong, can be rented for an evening.

For Your Next Party, Rent a Kitchen the Size of Your Apartment

With living space shrinking, urbanites are paying for kitchen space to host special occasions

The rugged northwest coast of the island of Tristan. Winds and waves are so rough that many of past inhabitants were shipwrecked sailors who drifted ashore.

Redesigning the World’s Most Remote Human Settlement

Why architects are hosting a competition to help inhabitants keep living there—and how you can visit

Signs with arrows pointing the way to popular destinations, along with average walking times, popped up in Raleigh.

Tactical Urbanists Are Improving Cities, One Rogue Fix at a Time

And city governments are paying attention, turning homemade infrastructure changes into permanent solutions

A 3D visualization of the Three-Eyed Raven concept.

The Set Designer From Game of Thrones Hints at What’s to Come in Season Five

Production Designer Deborah Riley discusses the influences behind the intricate and imposing sets of the hit HBO show

One of the colossal Buddha statues, before it was destroyed.

Planned Afghan Cultural Center Will Honor Ancient Statues Destroyed by the Taliban

The winning design will memorialize two ancient Buddha statues demolished in 2001

This apparatus can be used to lay Easter bunny tracks. It dispenses flour in a pattern that resembles paw prints. The same device can be repurposed for Christmas, when it lays Santa's tracks or reindeer hoof prints.

14 Easter Inventions That Never Quite Took Off

This holiday take a look at these products, from egg coloring devices to tomb pendants

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