Dutch students build solar power motorhome
Is it a car? Is it a house? Technically this sustainable motorhome is both. Running on solar power, Dutch students created the vehicle to promote cleaner travel and demonstrate the potential of green living. A group of Dutch students from the Technical University of Eindhoven have built a new...
Current in Design
Fanni Sandor’s tiny wildlife sculptures encourage eco-sensitivity
Hungarian artist Fanni Sandor has created tiny, biologically accurate sculptures that encourage viewers to appreciate the delicacy of even the smallest patches of wildlife. Anyone remember that primary school banger of a hymn that told us God has the ‘whole world in his hands?’ Hungarian artist Fanni Sandor has created...
London Zoo places handbag on display to raise poaching awareness
To make a clear statement about animal poaching and the illegal wildlife trade, the London Zoo has displayed a brown crocodile skin bag where its Siamese crocodiles usually reside. Visiting London Zoo presents an exciting opportunity to observe some of the world’s most elusive creatures without ever having to leave...
Saudi Arabia announces plans for a futuristic city named The Line
The future of architecture could forever be changed by the design of a new vertical city in Saudi Arabia. Fresh details about the project pose it as an epicentre of sustainability, productivity, seamless living, and leisure for millions of people. Of all prosperous nations in the world, Saudi Arabia looks...
AI-generated piece controversially wins art competition
This year at the Colorado State Fair, a piece of AI-generated art won an award for Emerging Digital Artists. In the days since, online debate about what constitutes ‘real art’ has ignited. If you keep up with Thred, you’ll already be completely in the loop regarding AI-generated ‘text-to-image’ programs and...
Why did Agnes Denes grow a field of wheat in New York?
In the 1980s, Artist Agnes Denes created a wheat field in central New York, protesting the imbalance of wealth, global warming, and the patriarchy. In the midst of this unprecedented heatwave, her work feels more relevant than ever. The idea of creating a two-acre large wheat field in central...
‘In the Black Fantastic’ dubbed best exhibition of summer
London’s Hayward Gallery opens a new show featuring 11 artists from the African diaspora and, according to critics, it’s must-see. Kara Walker and Nick Cave are just two of the artists showing in the Hayward Gallery’s ‘In The Black Fantastic’, which opened this June. Curated by Ekow Eshun, chair of the Fourth Plinth (a London-based art commission bringing free contemporary art to Trafalgar Square), ‘In the Black Fantastic’ uses fantasy...
3D printers are being used to create living dirt structures
A team of designers in Jerusalem intends to swap emission heavy materials like concrete and reinforced steel for 3D printed living structures made entirely of natural resources. 3D printing has come a long way in the last 20 years and is slated to become $56bn market by 2027. In the last year alone, we’ve written about sustainably printed fashion, design homeware made from food waste, and even...
Amateur urban planners use DALL-E to re-imagine cities without cars
You probably know the DALL-E application best for the strange meme material it generates, but it has genuinely useful applications too. Recently, amateur urban planners have been using it to re-imagine cities designed for pedestrians, and the results are captivating. DALL-E is where many of us go to waste time, right? A dull afternoon at work is made that little bit brighter by generating absurd memes like Shrek at the strip club,...
Five sustainable housing initiatives supporting the refugee crisis
Last year, 89.3 million people were forcibly displaced from their homes due to conflict, violence, and climate change. Let’s look at the architects creating sustainable housing projects to meet their needs. When war erupts in one part of the world, it’s not an isolated issue. The consequences are felt by all – albeit at varying degrees – and practical solutions for developing new housing is one that requires collective effort. The...
