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February 2013

All about water conservation

  Links and Resources for Water Conservation Information Water – the website Water – Use It Wisely. has a great page of water-related resources.  It includes links to state, regional, and federal water conservation organizations in the U.S., general conservation organizations, research organizations, water conservation tips, drought info, landscaping and xeriscape, …

It’s National Engineers Week!

Quick, how many engineers or engineering firms can you name?  If you’re having a little trouble, now’s your chance to become more aware of the huge contribution these inventive thinkers make to our built environment. Here are a couple of links with practical information on what engineers do and what …

Hovering roundabout for bicycles & pedestrians

Circular bicycle bridge hovers over busy highway – walkers and bicyclists in the Dutch city of Eindhoven have a great way to cross a major intersection, via this wonderful floating bridge designed by ipv Delft.  You get a taste of it in the 1-min clip accompanying the post and also …

High growth African cities

    African cities with high growth potential – about recent release of MasterCard’s African cities growth index.  The index covers sub-Saharan cities. According to the the United Nations Human Settlements Programme, the urban population of Africa is expected to triple by 2050 to 1.23 billion (from 395 million in …

Chilean cities get panoramic treatment

Santiago’s biggest newspaper takes a visual approach to urban issues – the Santiago edition of newspaper El Mercurio started a series, Santiago en 180°, with panoramic photos of sections of the city annotated with information on traffic, nearby changes, history, etc. Though a simple project, by rethinking what’s newsworthy El Mercurio has …

Tech boom – Watson in Africa

  Information technology in Africa: The next frontier (The Economist) – IBM, along with other tech firms, is setting up shop in Africa, last year opening one of its twelve global research labs in Nairobi. Africa’s chief attraction is that it has been growing while richer regions have stalled …. Its …

Lebbeus Woods at SFMoMA

Sci-Fi Stylings From A Legend Of Architectural Fantasy – upcoming exhibition (Feb 16-June 2, 2013) at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, Lebbeus Woods, Architect, will feature the visionary architect’s work since the mid-1990s (he died late last year as the exhibition was being planned).  There aren’t many built projects by …

Visual & optical phenomena

102 Visual Phenomena  & Visual Illusions – website of Michael Bach, a German professor of ophthalmology.  Each illusion or phenomenon is explained, includes references, and an interactive way to convince yourself of what’s really happening.  Absorbing and fascinating, especially for anyone involved with design, color, signage and wayfinding.  Shown here …

SHoP designs Africa’s Silicon Valley

    SHoP Breaks Ground on Africa’s Silicon Valley – “state-of-the-art business and technology hub” just outside Nairobi, Konza Techno City is expected to be complete in 20 years. It will include a university campus (with many universities and affiliated research labs), a technology and life sciences district, and a government …

Designing with the land for Indian development

  Biomimicry used as a guiding force to design Lavasa Township – post on World Architecture News’ Metroblogs about HOK’s award-winning masterplan for 12,500-acre town of Lavasa, near Mumbai.   The development is expected to [be] complete in the year 2020 and will include five planned urban villages that can accommodate …