The 2021 edition of Design Week Lagos has kicked off in Nigeria, embracing the theme "Design Revolution." Founded in 2019 by interior designer Titi Ogufere, DWL was launched to share and celebrate contemporary African design with visitors from around the world. Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, which began in 2020, the festival has grown and evolved since its conception.
This year, DWL takes place in-person and online to highlight "new pathways in manufacturing methods, illuminating ingenuity, and information sharing so that a growing community of contemporary designers can better tap into a rich history of craftsmanship and unique material knowledge across the continent," according to a DWL press release. The festival includes an annual showcase of African furniture and design objects, a student competition, and a regional roundtable hosted by the International Federation of Interior Architects.
On Oct. 24, DWL will celebrate the release of Made by Design, a Netflix docuseries that highlights architects, interior designers, and products designers in Africa. Also created by Ogufere, the series will follow 13 different designers including architects Tosin Oshinowo, Theo Lawson, and Papa Omotayo. [Design Week Lagos]
Tatheer Zahra, a researcher from Queensland University of Technology in Brisbane, Australia, has used off-the-shelf bioplastics—commonly used in running shoes or memory foam pillows—to design and 3D print load-resistant auxetic geometries. Instead of flattening upon impact, the biodegradable shapes expand and contract in a range of directions, potentially withstanding a car traveling 60 kilometers per hour. In a QUT press release, Zahra explained that the geometries, if embedded into mortar, could be used as a "protective wall render" to help shield buildings from vehicle impact. [Queensland University of Technology]
In 2017, the California legislature introduced AB 617, an air pollution bill heralded as environmental justice policy that would use cap-and-trade measures to fund pollution control plans spearheaded by the region's most vulnerable communities. Nearly four years later, however, the measure has left these communities—the ones it was purportedly written to protect—mired in bureaucracy and without significant emissions reductions. Grist staff writer Naveena Sadasivam takes a look at AB 617 through the lens of Richmond, Calif., a city struggling to use AB 617 to lower its pollution from a Chevron oil refinery. [Grist]
Prince William announced the winners of his inaugural Earthshot Prize, awarding 1 million pounds (approximately $1,400,000) to five projects that provide innovative "solutions to the world’s greatest environmental problems by 2030," according to the Earthshot Prize organization. This year's winners included Takachar, a portable device that reduces smoke emissions and produces biofuel; and the Republic of Costa Rica, which has reversed deforestation by paying its citizens to protect their forests. [The Washington Post]
Also from The Washington Post, the Atlanta-headquartered company TK Elevators is constructing a 420-foot tower to test and research skyscraper elevators. TK Elevators will test innovations, such as twin elevators and elevator operations in extreme environments. [The Washington Post]
How do our brains navigate cities? After studying more than 14,000 people in cities, including San Francisco, Boston, and Cambridge, Mass., a group of MIT researchers found that pedestrians reliably travel "paths that seem to point most directly toward their destination, even if those routes end up being longer," according to an MIT release. Dubbed the "pointiest path," this kind of low-brain power, vector-based navigation is also seen in insects and primates. “There appears to be a tradeoff that allows computational power in our brain to be used for other things—30,000 years ago, to avoid a lion, or now, to avoid a perilous SUV,” said Carlo Ratti, a professor of urban technologies at MIT’s Department of Urban Studies and Planning and director of the Senseable City Laboratory. “Vector-based navigation does not produce the shortest path, but it’s close enough to the shortest path, and it’s very simple to compute it.” [MIT]
After a failed IPO attempt in 2019 and the ousting of former CEO Adam Neumann that followed, WeWork stock has finally gone public via a SPAC (specialty-purpose acquisition company). [Fast Company]
Seattle's former KeyArena is now the Climate Pledge Arena. The sports and performance venue aims to be the "most progressive, responsible, and sustainable arena in the world," according to its website. It is hosting its first National Hockey League game on Saturday. Radio station KUOW interviewed International Living Future Institute founder Jason McLennan last week. [KUOW]
Architecture has a representation problem. ARCHITECT's October 2021 issue, guest edited by the National Organization of Minority Architects, showcases the achievements of the broad and diverse design community and serves as a call to action. [ARCHITECT]
Could wood replace our wires? ARCHITECT columnist Blaine Brownell, FAIA, examines the latest research on "functionalized" wood and the familiar material's conductive potential. [ARCHITECT]
Autodesk University 2021, a three-day event held virtually, highlighted tools to promote CDEs and interoperability and showcased the importance of learning from other software users. [ARCHITECT]
