Oslo, Norway– and New York–based creative agency Framlab has proposed a design concept for the production of steel hexagonal pods and clad in a 3D-printed, recycled polycarbonate shell called Homed to house New York City's homeless. The front façade of each pod will utilize smart-glass technology that can transition between transparent and opaque options, as well as display digital advertisements. The firm, which was founded by Norwegian designer Andreas Tjeldflaat, aims to utilize overlooked urban spaces, such as windowless, blank façades of multistory buildings, to affix the single-occupancy units. [ARCHITECT]
Scientists at Duke University have developed a new method for creating ultra-thin hybrid organic-inorganic crystals that could significantly improve future generations of solar cells, LEDs, and photodetectors. The technique utilizes lasers to vaporize a frozen solution that is heated to create crystalline forms, which are then applied to a thin film. [Duke University]
Researchers from Potsdam, Germany–based Fraunhofer Institute for Applied Polymer Research IAP are currently experimenting with potato starch as an alternative eco-friendly base material for paints and varnishes. While the starch has certain adhesive properties that would be beneficiary, it must be chemically modified so that it is not water soluble. [Fraunhofer Institute for Applied Polymer Research IAP]
A team from the Los Alamos National Laboratory are creating double-pane solar windows that can generate electricity through the use of small semiconductor particles called quantum dots. The researchers utilized multiple layers of the low-cost dots to absorb energy from multiple levels of the solar spectrum. [Los Alamos National Laboratory]
The operator of the Netherlands’ electric grid, TenneT, has revealed a proposal for the world's largest wind farm, which would be built around an artificial island about 60 miles off the coast of the U.K. According the current plans, the farm would be capable of producing 30 gigawatts of power over about 2,300 square miles and could be completed by 2027. [Quartz]
A design by French artist and architect Arthur Mamou-Mani has been selected to be the 2018 Burning Man festival temple. Named Galaxia, the structure will comprise 20 timber trusses with a 3D printed mandala at its center. [ARCHITECT]
