Zillow

The city of Seattle has partnered with landlord liaison company Housing Connector and online real estate database Zillow to launch a digital tool to connect those who experience homelessness with houses for which they are qualified to rent. Designed as part of a partnership with Seattle mayor Jenny Durkan's Innovation Advisory Council, the tool aggregates available units on Zillow's navigation interface. “Staff at Housing Connector and the organization’s nonprofit partners can go into the portal to look for rental inventory to help their clients,” said Zillow senior social impact software engineer Steven Kwan in a company blog post. “They can also grant access to the landlords and property owners who want to list their units through this program.” To date, Housing Connector has located housing for 460 people. [Zillow]

Software developer Bentley Systems has open its call for nominations for the Year in Infrastructure 2020 Awards. The program, which is judged by industry experts, recognize infrastructure projects for digital innovations that improve project delivery and/or asset performance. The deadline for nominations is May 1, 2020. [ARCHITECT]

Researchers at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Lausanne (EPFL) in Switzerland have developed a new technique for 3D printing tiny, detailed objects in record time. The group has already created a spinoff startup called Readily3D to pursue further development and market the system. While conventional 3D printers build objects layer by layer, this system combines translucent gels and lasers to create a final product. "It’s all about the light,” said Readily3D chief technology officer Paul Delrot in an EPFL press release. “The laser hardens the liquid through a process of polymerization. Depending on what we’re building, we use algorithms to calculate exactly where we need to aim the beams, from what angles, and at what dose.” [EPFL]

Courtesy Papertile

These seven recycled interior products and finishes will make you feel as good as they look. [ARCHITECT]

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Today, I’m thrilled to announce I am launching the Bezos Earth Fund.⁣⁣⁣ ⁣⁣⁣ Climate change is the biggest threat to our planet. I want to work alongside others both to amplify known ways and to explore new ways of fighting the devastating impact of climate change on this planet we all share. This global initiative will fund scientists, activists, NGOs — any effort that offers a real possibility to help preserve and protect the natural world. We can save Earth. It’s going to take collective action from big companies, small companies, nation states, global organizations, and individuals. ⁣⁣⁣ ⁣⁣⁣ I’m committing $10 billion to start and will begin issuing grants this summer. Earth is the one thing we all have in common — let’s protect it, together.⁣⁣⁣ ⁣⁣⁣ - Jeff

A post shared by Jeff Bezos (@jeffbezos) on

Amazon chief executive Jeff Bezos took to Instagram to announce the launch of the Bezos Earth Fund dedicated to fighting climate change. "Climate change is the biggest threat to our planet," he wrote. "We can save Earth. It’s going to take collective action from big companies, small companies, nation states, global organizations, and individuals." Bezos has committed $10 billion in initial funding, which will be awarded as grants beginning this summer. [Instagram]

 Lazarus (2016). Produced by, and in collaboration with, Stratasys.
Photo: Yoram Reshef. Mask art: Neri Oxman. Courtesy the Mediated Matter Group. Lazarus (2016). Produced by, and in collaboration with, Stratasys.

Regardless of whether you first learned of Neri Oxman decades ago, during her keynote at the AIA 2016 Convention, or through publications on her discipline-defying, celebrity-attracting work, you can now experience her projects firsthand at the Museum of Modern Art, in New York, through May 25. [ARCHITECT]

Make no mistake: Architectural lighting can make or break the final look of a project. Read the developments that nine architectural and lighting designers consider invaluable to their own practices and that they see permeating the industry at large. Common themes include circadian lighting, additive manufacturing, and lighting controls. [ARCHITECT]