Fologram Talks: Holographic Brickwork from Fologram on Vimeo.

Melbourne, Australia–based software company Fologram is utilizing augmented reality (AR) technology to increase the speed and accuracy of complex brick or timber construction. A case study video on the company's website shows a construction crew from All Brick construction and the University of Tasmania, in Australia, erecting a parametric wall using a Microsoft HoloLens headset and a holographic model created by the 3D modeling software Rhino. Working from the holographic model, the bricklaying team completed the parametric wall in seven hours, as opposed to weeks, which this construction project would normally be expected to take. According to Fologram, this technology can eliminate the need for referencing architectural drawings on construction sites and save weeks of project time. The software is now in the testing phase. [Fologram]

Google Arts & Culture online platform is collaborating with Eden Prairie, Minn.–based 3D printing company Stratasys and Oakland, Calif.–based nonprofit CyArk to preserve 3D scans and 3D prints of some of the world's most well known historic sites, including Myanmar’s ancient city of Bagan (shown in the above tweet), Berlin's Brandenburg Gate, and the Mayan ruins of Chichén Itzá in Yucatán, Mexico. The 3D files are available to downloaded for free from Google's Open Heritage website and can be 3D-printed using Stratasys' J750 3D Printer. [Stratasys]

Swedish vehicle manufacturer Volvo has joined forces with Melbourne, Australia–based nonprofit design studio Reef Design Lab and the Sydney Institute of Marine Science in Australia to develop 3D-printed marine habitats for artificial seawalls. According to the Reef Design Lab, seawalls are constructed flat and often lack crevices for sheltering colonizing microorganisms. Dubbed Living SeaWall, this ocean conservation project is "[d]esigned to mimic the root structure of native mangrove trees. ... This aids biodiversity and attracts ... organisms that absorb and filter out pollutants—such as particulate matter and heavy metals—keeping the water clean," according to the project's website. Fifty hexagonal tiles make up the Living SeaWall prototype now installed on a seawall structure in Sydney Harbor. According to the same source, the researchers will monitor the project for the next 20 years to observe how it improves "biodiversity and water quality." [Volvo Cars Australia]

Courtesy Meis Architects
Courtesy Meis Architects
Courtesy Meis Architects

Meis Architects, a New York– and Los Angeles–based architecture and design practice, has created an environmentally friendly stadium seating made from 10 to 20 percent recycled oceans' plastic waste. According to the architects, the manufacture of stadium seating requires a large amount of plastic. On top of that, due to heavy wear and tear, each seat must be replaced at least once or twice during the venue's life. "Unfortunately, stadiums and arenas have historically lagged behind other building types in sustainability. It occurred to me that if we could design a stadium seat that was sourced, at least partially, from ocean plastics we could address two problems simultaneously," Dan Meis, FAIA, the firm's founder and managing principal, tells ARCHITECT. "The Sea Chair is not only sourced in an environmentally advantageous way but is also fully recyclable." According to the architects, prototypes are being manufactured and full-scale production is expected to begin this year. [Meis Architects]

To travel from the southern Norwegian city of Kristiansand to the central city of Trondheim in Norway, domestic and international tourists have a 21-hour-long, 700-mile journey along the coast. To cut the travel time in half, the Norwegian Public Roads Administration launched a $40 billion transportation project featuring the world's longest floating bridge. The new project could also come with an underwater traffic tunnel. Government officials claim that this project will potentially boost the local economy and attract more investment opportunities. [NPR]

A team of scientists from Kaunas University of Technology and Vilnius University in Lithuania have developed a photopolymer resin made from soybean oil– and lignin–based materials that could replace petroleum-based photopolymers that are widely used in the 3D printing industry as filament. According to the team, current 3D-printing plastics are mainly manufactured from fossil fuels. [engineering.com]