Design
What Finland’s amazing new library can teach us about valuing public amenities
In a country that boasts one of the world’s highest literacy rates, the arrival of the new central library in the capital of Finland last year was a kind of moon-landing-like moment of national bonding. The €98 million facilities, whose opening in December 2018 marked the centenary of Finnish Read More...
This innovative device helps beekeepers take better care of their hives
Beekeepers frequently open up their hives to check on them, but doing so adds to their workload and stresses out the bees. That's why a team of Dutch entrepreneurs set out to develop a high-tech alternative, resulting in the BEEP base hive-monitoring system. The base itself is a weatherproof Read More...
Urban farms could breathe life into the typical big-box store parking lot
Typical parking lots at big-box stores, sprawling over several acres, are empty most of the time, unnecessarily occupying space that could otherwise be designated for more useful community projects. One way to breathe life and utility into these bland spaces could be by turning them into urban Read More...
Algae is going mainstream as Kanye West unveils algae-based sneakers
We can already imagine some of our readers facepalming after reading this headline, but the fact of the matter is nothing spreads faster than when an “influencer” bringing it to the mainstream. That’s why it’s awesome that Kanye West unveiled a new shoe prototype from his Yeezy fashion Read More...
This fabric is made from an abundantly growing cactus in Mexico
There are so many fashion brands on the market making gorgeous vegan leather goods that are totally animal-free — but most of those brands use plastic-derived materials to achieve the look. However, a new brand out of Mexico, called Desserto, is shaking things up by turning nopal cactus leaves Read More...
Coffee pods finally have a biodegradable alternative
The coffee pod is a nemesis to environmentalists, overflowing landfills across Europe and America by the millions. These pods, which are made from aluminum and plastic, are an especially frustrating source of waste because there are simply much greener ways of making coffee that require just as Read More...
This carbon-negatives raincoat is made entirely from algae bioplastic
A New York designer, by the name of Charlotte McCurdy, has created a water-resistant jacket made from a bioplastic material derived entirely from large-celled algae. Because the jacket is made of algae, which is the single biggest capturer of CO2 from the atmosphere, it’s technically Read More...
New modular units could restore dignity to transitional homeless shelters
Inside a typical transitional homeless shelter, where people stay while waiting to get a spot in permanent housing, 20 or 30 beds might be clustered together in a single room. Privacy doesn’t exist. But a new, modular design (not shown in photo) for shelter furniture, called Dome—a little like Read More...
A Mexican student has made pavement that self-repairs with rain using old tires
Wouldn’t it be amazing if rain repaired roads rather than damage them? Well, that could soon become a reality thanks to a student by the name Israel Antonio Briseño Carmona. Using recycled tires combined with additives, the student has created a sort-of rubber pavement that turns rain into a Read More...
This wound-healing sticky tape was inspired by spiders in the rain
When it comes to design, there’s no better source of inspiration than nature. Recently, scientists at MIT took inspiration from spiders to create a double-sided tape that sticks body issues together after surgery. When it rains, spiders exude a special type of “glue” that allows them to Read More...