On Oct. 28, Elon Musk shared a photo on Twitter showing the progress made on a Los Angeles tunnel constructed by his infrastructure and tunnel-drilling company, the Boring Company. In a separate Instagram post, Musk elaborated on how the underground tunnel would function: "It will work like a fast freeway, where electric skates carrying vehicles and people pods on the main artery travel at up to 150 mph, and the skates switch to side tunnels to exit and enter." According to the tweet, the tunnel has been dug a length of 500 feet so far, and is scheduled to reach a length of 2 miles in the next four months. [Twitter]
An interdisciplinary team of scientists from Nanyang Technological University (NTU Singapore) together with Singapore's industrial development company JTC have created FiroShield, a coating made from a combination of chemical additives that can protect steel against fire and corrosion. [ARCHITECT]
Researchers at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory together with Georgia Tech University, Oregon State University, and the Ames National Laboratory, in Iowa, have 3D-printed a marine-grade, low-carbon stainless steel, which could be use in the aerospace and automotive industries as well as in oil and gas. [Science Daily]
Students at the University of Virginia School of Architecture designed 3D-printed models of temporary installations inspired by the school's pavilions (famously designed by Thomas Jefferson) for the institution's bicentennial celebrations. Assembled in the school's fabrication lab, the end result was "a series of interlocking arches made of nontoxic, recyclable polypropylene plastic." [UVA]
ICYMI: Detroit-based architecture firm Rossetti Inc.'s Inverted Bowl rethinks stadium construction and the seating hierarchy by moving the upper decks closer to the playing field and emphasizing interactivity to entice more fans to watch their favorite sports teams and entertainers live. [ARCHITECT]