This week, architectural software provider Morpholio Trace and mobile 3D model application Shapr3D announced a new collaboration to enable designers to marry sketching and 3D modeling all on an iPad—or other iOS 12 device. The resulting feature, called "Drag n' Fly," allows users to "view and soar around drawining and models," according to a Morpholio press release. [Morpholio]
Zwolle, Netherlands, is currently home to a 98-foot-long bike path, 70 percent of which is made of recycled plastic (the equivalent of 218,000 plastic cups) embedded with sensors to track the road's temperature, durability, and usage. Developed by road construction company KWS and other partners, the smart plastic pathway concept called PlasticRoad was initially announced three years ago. A second road is slated to open in the nearby city of Giethoorn, Netherlands, in November. [PlasticRoad]
Contributor Blaine Brownell, AIA, explores products that use reclaimed plastics from oceans and landfills as feedstock for innovative building components. [ARCHITECT]
The Sydney Opera House has achieved carbon neutrality five years ahead of schedule. Though the building was designed with energy efficiency in mind—including a seawater cooling system and self-cleaning tiles—the opera house implemented new protocols over time to reduced the energy needs of the building. In 2014, LED luminaires were installed in the concert hall, leading to a 75 percent reduction in energy consumption, and in 2017, the performance facility began transporting its waste to an upcycling facility to convert it into energy. [Sydney Opera House]
In our latest Innovative Detail feature, New York–based landscape architecture firm !Melk designed a 9,100-square-foot canopy and event space in West Sacramento, Calif., with a sleek shingled skin that provides both function and form. [ARCHITECT]
Development companies and Silicon Valley startups are looking to robotic furniture systems as the future of small-space living. San Francisco–based Bumblebee Spaces, for one, is making use of ceiling space with its automated retractable bed systems that can be controlled using control pad or voice-command applications. [The New York Times]
When Scott Pruitt resigned as head of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in July amid multiple ethics scandals, he left behind dozens of environmental policies and proposals that are poised to radically shift the agency’s mission. We review key changes to date. [ARCHITECT]
