Google’s Lumiere generates realistic AI videos from text prompts
AI video is fast turning from uncanny valley to genuinely realistic, and Google’s Lumiere is the most sophisticated text-to-video generator we’ve seen to date. Evoking a sense of awe – and a hefty dose of unease – Google recently exhibited how sophisticated AI video has become in just a few...
Current in Design
Can wooden wind towers make renewable energy even cleaner?
Eradicating carbon-intensive materials from the production of wind turbines, like steel, Swedish start-up Modvion is creating easy-to-assemble alternatives from wood. Is this the way forward? Solar maybe the current undisputed king of the renewable energy farmyard, but wind is a close runner-up. There’s a global consensus that any chance of achieving...
14-year-old develops new bar of soap to treat melanoma
Heman Bekele may have found a strikingly simple answer to skin cancer treatment: a bar of soap. Despite extortionate amounts of fundraising and tireless research, a cancer cure still often feels like a pipedream. But as far as cancer research goes, it's long been suspected that the answer to one...
How structures made from oyster shells can help prevent coastal erosion
Reef Design Lab based in Melbourne uses locally sourced oyster shells mixed with concrete to build structures that reduce coastal erosion and support marine wildlife. Along the shore of Port Phillip Bay in Australia, large dome-shaped modules sit submerged just below the water’s surface. Though they resemble large sand dollars at...
The ‘Future Library’ is humanity’s sustainable literary time capsule
In 2014, a project was set underway to plant one thousand tree saplings in Norway. Their destiny? To be turned into books a century from now, as part of the Future Library project. When you imagine what the world will look like one hundred years from now, you probably...
The benefits and challenges of pedestrianizing Central London
Around the world, people are expressing the desire to live in a ‘walkable city’. Let’s look at some of the challenges of pedestrianizing inner-city streets, with London as an example, as well as some of the challenges to doing so. Whether or not a city is walkable greatly impacts...
The Manchester Museum is returning over 170 Aboriginal artefacts
The decision marks a breakthrough in Britain’s imperialist museological history. But is it as positive as it seems? In a world increasingly conscious of its colonial legacy, the Manchester Museum has made the rather groundbreaking decision to return hundreds of Aboriginal artefacts to their rightful homes. The Aboriginal Anindilyakwa community of Australia’s Northern Territory celebrated the return of 174 cultural heritage items as part of a repatriation project organised with the...
Why aren’t cities just planting more trees?
We are all obsessed with plants and for good reason. They are proven to improve our mood, purify our air, and even keep cities dramatically cooler on hot days. So with mental health struggles, air pollution, and deadly heatwaves on the rise – why are governments so slow to plant more of them? When pondering simple and effective ways to halt the global climate catastrophe we’re currently spiralling towards, one...
Paris Olympics to seat thousands of spectators on recycled chairs
The Paris 2024 Olympics has set out to use its moment on the world’s stage to promote sustainability. Part of its multi-step effort to do so involves seating 11,000 spectators in chairs made from recycled plastic material. The Olympic Games are often regarded as a spectacular celebration of human ability, watched by millions around the world. But throughout the last decade, the event has borne the brunt of great scrutiny...
Could white paint help Barcelona cope with frequent heatwaves?
Spain is warming at a faster rate than any other European country. In an effort to protect city-dwellers from worsening heatwaves, the Spanish government is considering painting Barcelona’s iconic buildings white. Barcelona’s cityscape has long been hailed by urban planners and architectural novices for its practical design and abundant natural features. But climate scientists are warning that current efforts to expand local green spaces won’t be enough to keep the...
