Italian architect Carlo Ratti has collaborated with robotic bar system manufacturer Makr Shakr to develop an autonomous bar and cafe vehicle. Named "Guido"—which translates from Italian to "I drive" in English—the system combines Makr Shakr's automated drink-making technology with a self-driving platform that can navigate a city. According to Makr Shakr, "Guido, our self-driving urban café, doesn't only combine new technologies, it is also a way of imagining new social opportunities in the metropolis." [Carlo Ratti Associati]
Google affiliate Sidewalk Labs has prompted a backlash over data privacy with its Quayside smart-city waterfront neighborhood project in Toronto. In our annual "What's Next" issue, architecture critic Alex Bozikovic reports on what's been overlooked amid the controversy. [ARCHITECT]
A team from RMIT University in Melbourne, Australia, has developed a system to create sustainable bricks using water treatment by-product biosolids that would normally be sent to landfill or stockpiled. The fired bricks required about half the energy in their creation than conventional bricks need, are cheaper to produce, and report lower thermal conductivity, meaning they transfer less heat, which could help overall building envelope performance. [RMIT University News]
Microsoft has pledged $500 million to address the affordable housing crisis on the Eastside of King County and the Puget Sound region near Seattle, which has become the sixth most expensive region in the nation. [Affordable Housing Finance]
