This series will take you to the world's most ingenious homes
We at the Optimist Daily are always curious about the latest developments in architecture and design. It came to our attention that Apple TV+ has a pretty incredible documentary series out that will take you to some of the world’s most intriguing dwellings. All the episodes in the series Read More...
Experimental “dementia villages” turn back the clock to help seniors
Just imagine how terrifying it would be to find yourself lost in your own home, or to have everyone around you keep insisting that a person you don't recognize is your own child. That’s what life can be like with dementia. It’s scary—and not only that, it can also be dangerous. A person with Read More...
This village for the formerly homeless is adding 3D printed homes
In Austin, Texas, two innovative organizations are coming together to build a series of 3D printed homes for the homeless. Mobile Loaves & Fishes believes that housing alone isn't the solution to homelessness, but instead, building a safe and loving community around the homeless will have a Read More...
In this Dutch neighborhood, there's 1 vehicle for every 3 households
The Netherlands is well-known for being the ultimate biking country, and, today, pedestrianized city centers are also the norm in many of the country’s urban areas. Still, in the country’s major cities, vehicles still tend to dictate the design of most public spaces. In an effort to change Read More...
A design firm transformed old scrap yard into row of sustainable homes
Redeveloping a former scrapyard into a site for sustainable, solar-powered houses may sound like a difficult challenge, but that’s exactly what a London-based architecture firm managed to pull off. Unit One Architects has turned an unused lot in northern London into a row of dwellings, Read More...
Now this is how to make eco-friendly prefab homes without cookie cutter approach
Prefab houses aren’t exactly a thrilling proposition to architects, but with urbanization in full swing, there is a great need for nice, quickly-constructed prefab houses. The good thing is that the architects behind these houses are finding ways to build prefab homes that produce clean energy, Read More...
Creating pockets of air within concrete fixtures can slash building emissions
The production of concrete is one of the biggest sources of emissions in the world, so anything done to reduce the production of it is a win for the environment. In Germany, architects have come up with a clever way to use less concrete in buildings by incorporating air pockets made of recycled Read More...
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...
Why we should start building skyscrapers using wood
There’s almost no source of carbon emissions that is more overlooked than buildings. Beyond the monstrous amount of energy and resources that go into building skyscrapers out of concrete and steel, it also requires a ton of energy to cool and heat those same buildings. Part of the problem with Read More...
This high-tech wood reflects sunrays and keeps homes cool
Conventional construction materials used for building our homes are most often inefficient. Cooling our houses during the warm season, for instance, usually requires a staggering amount of energy and associated carbon emissions. In an attempt to find a solution to this, scientists at the University Read More...