A 12-metre-long pedestrian bridge will be the world's largest 3D-printed metal structure when it is completed and installed in Amsterdam next year. Originally slated to be built in place, Dutch 3D-printing start-up MX3D realized their design would have placed too much stress on canal walls, and have been busy conducting tests and rejigging...
Yotel is receiving a $250 million investment from Barry Sternlicht's Starwood Capital Group to expand at a time when pod-style hotels are growing in popularity and interest among developers and consumers alike. Starwood Capital, the private investment firm, is acquiring a 30 percent stake in the process. Currently, Yotel operates four airport...
Normal black asphalt absorbs around 80 to 90 percent of sunlight. This is a big concern in areas like Los Angeles that receive a lot of sunlight. The asphalt absorbs the heat and reflects it back, leading to urban temperature increases. The high temperatures, in turn, lead to more need for energy-sucking air conditioning. Demonstrations have...
Solar sidewalks open the door for smarter road surfaces that could change the number of lanes by literally moving the white lines or display dynamic road-based signage that changes with driving conditions detected by integrated sensors, such as black ice.
This solar surface is the scaffold for all those future applications. The 1,200-...
The ultra-low energy trend has finally expanded from new building construction to envelop retrofits for commercial buildings. Ultra-low energy buildings are defined as ones that produce as much energy as they use, on average, through the adoption of a renewable energy system. Cost is still an issue for ultra-low energy building retrofits,...
U.S. homeownership rates have declined among most major demographic subgroups -- including by household income and region -- except among older Americans, whose homeownership rates have held steady. Overall, homeownership is down eight percentage points, from 71% to 63%. These findings are based on data from Gallup's annual Economy and Personal...
Real estate’s illiquidity and centralization present significant inefficiencies for investors, especially those purchasing properties abroad. There are currently no international standards or comprehensive technologies for electronic property rights transfers. Legacy registry systems were created to handle local investors, but are ill-equipped...
China has hired the Italian architect Stefano Boeri to build a forest city in the mountain area of Guangxi in the southern part of the country. Titled Liuzhou Forest City, the development in China will be a fully functioning city, complete with offices, houses able to home 30,000 people, hotels, hospitals and schools. Every building, street and...
Technology company Pavegen has unveiled the world’s first “Smart Street” in London’s West End that utilizes the company’s unique kinetic paving slabs to generate energy from pedestrians’ footsteps. But unlike earlier Pavegen installations deployed in cities like Washington DC and Rio de Janeiro (which uses the panels as the foundation for a...
With the federal government deadlocked in intractable partisan debate, mayors across the U.S. are stepping up to drive progress by cultivating their innovation economies. A growing number are developing innovation districts to elevate their cities' brands. U.S. are investing significant resources to develop what the Brookings Institution calls...