Trends
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Categories: Architecture
Bring the Brick Back: 4 Examples of Stunning Modern Buildings Using Brick
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 […]
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Categories: Architecture
From Trash to Treasure: 4 Facades From Recycled Materials
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 […]
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Categories: Urbanization
Virtual Playgrounds: How “Gamification” Can Help Us Solve Urban Problems
“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 […]
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Categories: Security
Faces As Boarding Passes: Top 3 Questions Answered
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 […]
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Categories: Urbanization
Here’s Why Japan Decided to Build Smart Cities From Scratch
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 […]
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Categories: Architecture
How Green Building Technologies Are Transforming Home Construction
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 […]
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Categories: Urbanization
Pedestrian Paradises: Top 4 Car-Free Urban Areas in the World
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 […]
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Categories: Technology
Top 3 Myths About Face Recognition Dissolved
At a compound annual growth rate of 15 percent a year, face recognition is one of the fastest expanding markets in security technologies. The COVID-19 pandemic skyrocketed the importance and relevance of touch-free, frictionless experiences even further. Powered by this growth, face recognition technologies keep evolving, increasing their areas of use, accuracy, speed, and security. Despite the numerous benefits […]
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Categories: Urbanization
“Fifteen-Minute City”: An Urban Concept That Might Change How We Live
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 […]
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Categories: Technology
Every Drop Counts: 3 Examples of Water-Efficient Designs
Water is the source of all life on earth. It’s essential for our health, environment, and economies. However, given its importance, water isn’t as abundant as one might imagine. While bodies of water cover most of the earth’s surface, only one percent of it is freshwater that’s available and safe for us to drink. According to the UN-Water, […]
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Categories: Society
Air Travel is Bouncing Back. Here Are 5 Things Industry Leaders Should Know
There’s no way to sugarcoat the economic devastation the aviation sector has suffered during the pandemic: In 2020, airlines bled a loss of USD 168 billion. For comparison, this was the equivalent of the gross domestic product of the entire country of Greece in the same year. While uncertainties concerning the COVID-19 pandemic linger, thanks to rising global immunization […]
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Categories: Architecture
Can Vertical Cities Solve Urban Population Overload?
By 2050, 70 percent of the world’s forecasted 10 billion population will live in cities, translating into roughly 7 billion urban dwellers, compared to 4.4 billion today. Most of this booming urbanization will take place in emerging economies such as China, India, and Indonesia. Even though these countries boast a vast land mass, they might still struggle to accommodate this urban growth in […]
