What The Roman Empire Would Have Looked Like As A Subway Map
All aboard the Via Appia express. The Roman Empire was remarkably industrious when it came to infrastructure, constructing more than 55,000 miles of paved roads across Europe and North Africa. It’s...
View ArticleExclusive: The High Line’s Ambitious Next Act
The High Line Network, a new forum for cities around the world, isn’t about cloning the park. It’s about helping other cities avoid some of its negative effects. Robert Hammond remembers the uphill...
View ArticleDesigning For Social Justice: 4 Lessons From Chicago Architects
Timothy Swanson, leader of CannonDesign’s Chicago practice, thinks architecture can help inequality in the city–but only if it’s part of a broader strategy. “I’m a fundamental believer that design is...
View ArticleThis Year’s Serpentine Pavilion Is The Building The World Needs
Architect Diébédo Francis Kéré’s stunning design embodies environmental sensitivity and inclusion. When architect Diébédo Francis Kéré won the coveted commission for this year’s Serpentine Pavilion–a...
View ArticleInfographic: The Refugee Crisis Has Gotten Even Worse
The Refugee Project, an interactive infographic charting displaced people and forces uprooting them, has new data showing how explosive the crisis is. Twenty-sixteen was a record-breaking year–and not...
View ArticleAward-Winning Design In A Place You Wouldn’t Expect: A Public Toilet
If Richard Serra designed bathrooms, they’d probably look something like this. When visitors to Lady Bird Lake in Austin need to use the restroom, they’ll discover pleasant surprise: new facilities...
View ArticleThis Pavilion Is Designed Around The Solstices Like A Modern Stonehenge
Built for residents of a Colorado suburb, the viewing platform is tuned to the summer and winter solstices. It might sound counterintuitive, but buildings can (sometimes) enhance wild landscapes....
View ArticleGrenfell Tower: How Deregulation, Privatization, And Bad Design Led To Tragedy
The number of London towers that were outfitted with flammable cladding is rising, according to new investigations. The cause of the June 14 fire that burned down Grenfell Tower, a 24-story public...
View ArticleScience Is Proving Why Urban Design Matters More Than Ever
Benches and greenery may seem inconsequential, but a new study quantifies how deeply they impact the civic life of a city. It’s easy to make our cities attractive. Plant a few flowers, pick up litter,...
View ArticleThis Wearable Flirts For You
Think of it as a wingman for shy people. If the abundance of matchmaking apps–for friends, for dates, for missed connections–signals anything, it’s that meeting people is tough and a lot of people like...
View ArticleA Design Student’s Brilliant, Terrifying Thesis On Trump’s Tweets
Falsehoods, fallacies, lies: Trump’s tweets are plucked straight from a dystopian novel. One graphic designer is underscoring the similarities with type. George Orwell, author of the dystopian novel...
View ArticleN.Y.C.’s Biggest Brutalist Eyesore Gets A Glassy Second Life
“We simply have to see adaptive reuse as ‘Capital-A’ architecture,” says Joshua Prince-Ramus. Nicknames give architectural works evocative personas. Take the Freedom Tower, the Oculus, and the Shard....
View ArticleN.Y.C. Is Spending $106 Million To Make Itself Cooler
Temperature-wise, that is. It’s summer, the mercury is rising, and it’s only getting hotter from here on out. In response to the imminent risks of warmer temperatures, New York City is on a mission to...
View ArticleCheck Out The World’s Trippiest Hotel Atriums
Post-modern architect John Portman designed dramatic, vertigo-inducing interiors. Here are eight of the most stunning. Saying someone is “ahead of his time” is typically regarded as a compliment. But...
View ArticleYour Favorite Podcasts Reimagined As Books
Designer Seung Tae Oh creates visual identities for virtual stories. Podcasts are a decidedly aural experience. But to Seung Tae Oh, there’s ample opportunity to enrich the stories podcasts tell...
View ArticleHere’s How N.Y.C.’s Five Boroughs Should Really Be Defined
Would you live in the Meadows or Minihattan? New York City is famously divided into five boroughs, each with its own quirks and cultural nuances. So much of how the city is understood comes from the...
View ArticleHow Ideo Is Helping Homeowners Defend Themselves Against Climate Change
We’re living in an era of risk, and it isn’t always easy to know how to prepare. After Hurricane Sandy caused $19 billion worth of damage to New York, it comes at no surprise that the city is taking a...
View ArticleWhy Is There So Much Modern Architecture In The NRA’s New Ad?
For decades, authoritarian regimes have waged war on modern architecture and the philosophy it embodies. A new ad proves it’s still a target. If you came across a video featuring Frank Gehry‘s frenetic...
View ArticleA $100 Million Renovation Reveals The Space Needle’s Long-Lost Design
The beloved landmark’s renovation will bring its original vision to life–and preserve it for generations to come. The Space Needle has defined Seattle’s skyline since opening in 1962. But like many...
View ArticleMiami’s New Science Museum Teaches With Architecture
It’s one of the city’s most Instagrammable new buildings–but its design has a deeper mission. Today, science deniers have vaunted positions in federal government, and scientific research is being...
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