Intrigued by the durability of some ancient Roman structures, researchers from the University of Utah in Salt Lake City have taken a closer look at the concrete used to construct the tomb of Caecilia Metella, a first century Roman noblewoman. Located along the ancient Appian Way road—now located in southern Italy—Metella's 70-foot-tall tomb is considered one of the area's best-preserved monuments, according to the university. Aiming to understand the source of that resilience, the researchers sampled and analyzed the concrete used to bind the tomb's bricks, finding that its mortar contained "volcanic tephra" rich in strätlingite crystals. These crystals "block the propagation of microcracks in the mortar, preventing them from linking together and fracturing the concrete structure," states a university press release. Thanks to a binder of calcium-aluminum-silicate-hydrate, the tephra "remodeled" the concrete, strengthening it over time.
The scientists are now working to replicate those effects in modern-day concrete, aiming to improve its lifespan and reduce the carbon emissions associated with concrete production and installation. “Focusing on designing modern concretes with constantly reinforcing interfacial zones might provide us with yet another strategy to improve the durability of modern construction materials,” said researcher and MIT professor Admir Masic in the same release. “Doing this through the integration of time-proven ‘Roman wisdom’ provides a sustainable strategy that could improve the longevity of our modern solutions by orders of magnitude.” [University of Utah]
Researchers from the Riken Center for Emergent Matter Science in Saitama, Japan, and the University of Tokyo have crafted a soft, crystal sponge that could absorb and desorb carbon dioxide. Made up of three-dimensional chains of interlocking, ring-like molecules, the thin, porous material can absorb gas molecules. When researchers pinched the material, however, it compressed and deformed, suggesting that they could manually release the captured gas molecules. "We believe these results could lead to the creation of innovative porous materials that can absorb and desorb gas molecules such as carbon dioxide simply by pinching and releasing them with our fingers," said lead researcher Hiroshi Sato in a Riken press release. [Riken Center]
The Barcelona Institute for Global Health has released a ranking of European cities with the highest mortality due to lack of green space. The study, which looked at over 1,000 cities from 31 different countries, found that green space was unevenly distributed and that as many as 43,000 premature deaths could be prevented if the cities followed the World Health Organization's recommendations for residential proximity to green space. According to the institute's ranking, the top five cities studied with the highest burden of mortality were: Trieste, Italy; Turin, Italy; Blackpool, U.K.; Gijón, Spain; and Brussels. [Barcelona Institute for Global Health]
The University of Amsterdam's Center for Urban Mental Health has published a study proposing a new framework for studying the ways that cities impact mental health. The researchers proposed that negative feedback loops can stem from factors including limited green spaces, loud and heavy traffic, and increased pollution, and that, once established, the feedback loops can cause mental health problems in individuals that then have a "negative impact on the social cohesion of the neighborhood, which in turn can have a negative effect on the residents," said Claudi Bockting, co-director of UMH, in a university press release. [University of Amsterdam]
Researchers from the University of California, Berkeley have published a study examining the ways that climate change will exacerbate the divide between wealthy countries and lower-income countries when it comes to cooling. Using models based on energy usage data, the researchers found that U.S. demand for cooling energy will increase only slightly. Energy needs for cooling in some emerging countries, however, could increase dramatically while remaining inaccessible to residents. “Prior analyses ignored energy usage data from the developing world, where billions live in poverty and lack energy access,” said researcher and UC Berkeley professor Solomon Hsiang in a university press release. “But their conclusions were exactly backward. Our data show that richer populations can protect themselves from the impacts of warming, but the global poor don’t have this luxury.” [University of California, Berkeley]
Given the high costs of software, many architecture and design firms are looking for ways to lessen the technology's financial burden. Here, Michael Kilkelly, AIA, a principal at Space Command in Middletown, Conn., shares seven open-source software options for architects. [ARCHITECT]
A new study from the American Geophysical Union reports that pollution from freight trucks and traffic disproportionately affects lower-income communities and communities of color in 52 U.S. cities. Using high-resolution pollution data gathered by satellites, researchers found that "low-income neighborhoods and communities of color experience an average of 28% more nitrogen dioxide pollution than higher-income and majority-white neighborhoods" due to proximity to roadways, according to an AGU press release. In larger cities such as Phoenix, Los Angeles, and Newark, N.J., that gap widens to over 40% more NO2 pollution. [American Geophysical Union]
After years of curtainwalls and glassy towers in cities, The New York Times reports, "masonry is having a moment." Read more about these new brick façades, some completed with custom brick shapes in unexpected colors. [The New York Times]
