As urban populations are skyrocketing, digitization is taking off everywhere, and the day-to-day risk factors in our life keep changing. Our security needs are undergoing a dynamic transformation.
The Industrial Revolution brought coal-powered factories and dense urban living, spewing air pollutants like soot and chemicals, making buildings suffer from grime, dampness, and poor indoor air quality – while introducing a devastating environmental toll. Since then, the construction industry has been a major contributor to environmental pollution and resource depletion. However, in recent years, there has […]
The built environment contributes to nearly half of all global CO2 emissions each year. The lion’s share of this environmental impact belongs to the day-to-day running and energy needs of our buildings such as homes, offices, schools, or hospitals: The building operations, including their energy consumption, accounts for approximately 27 percent of the world’s annual CO2 emissions. […]
Few human-made construction materials stand the test of time as the good-old, humble brick does. Historians believe bricks are the oldest-known construction materials. Archaeologists uncovered bricks dating back to 7,000 BC in some ancient settlements in present-day Southern Turkey. The ancient craft of brick-making continued during the Middle Ages in Europe, and peaked during the Industrial Revolution in the […]
Over the last decades, sustainability has become one of the most defining forces across all industries, and architecture is no exception. A growing number of architectural firms and practitioners aspire for their buildings to be as green as possible. To do so, they utilize new digital technologies, innovations, and materials — and also tap into their own […]
“We don’t stop playing because we grow old; we grow old because we stop playing,” said George Bernard Shaw, the celebrated Irish playwright who won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1925. Playing is human; likewise, games have been a fundamental tool for human evolution. Throughout history, they helped us to learn, create social bonds, release stress, and […]
Despite the lingering misconceptions about facial recognition technologies, they’re becoming more and more prevalent in many areas of our lives where security is concerned. Especially since facial recognition can facilitate a touch-free process of access, the COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated the widespread acceptance and adaptation of these technologies. In addition, many governments, airports, and airline companies took the […]
Japan is arguably going through the biggest demographic challenge of modern history. After lingering around zero growth at the beginning of the 21st century, Japan‘s population has continued to shrink since 2010, with the decline rate accelerating in recent years. In 2022, the island nation, with a population of about 125 million, recorded its largest decline due to the combination […]
Our built environment generates about 40 percent of the global carbon emissions. Almost a quarter of this comes from operational emissions, such as the energy needed to heat, cool, and run our buildings, while the remaining quarter is from materials and construction. Cement, the most ubiquitous material used in most modern buildings, is responsible for a total […]
Personal car ownership has defined many aspects of modern urban life as we know it. Without a doubt, cars can bring great convenience, comfort, individual freedom, and opportunities to their owners. On the other hand, cars require an enormous amount of resources, both in terms of manufacturing and everyday use. In addition to being one of […]
At a compound annual growth rate of 15 percent a year, face recognition is one of the fastest expanding markets in security technologies
Throughout history, diseases and pandemics always had a tendency to shape and inform the development of our built environment – and the COVID-19 pandemic was no exception. As the lockdowns forced millions of city dwellers worldwide to adapt to a hyper-local life for months at a time, an increasing number of urbanists started to understand the importance of accessibility […]