Jean Nouvel's Sydney towers boast vertical gardens and a huge sunlight reflector French architect Jean Nouvel teamed up with botanist Patrick Blanc to create this pair of plant-covered Sydney towers that reflect light into their lower levels with a huge cantilevered panel of mirrors. Named One Central Park, the complex is the centrepiece of a AUS$2 billion masterplan in downtown Sydney by developers Frasers Property Australia and Sekisui House Australia. Ateliers Jean Nouvel, whose projects include the Les Bains des Docks aquatic centre in Le Havre, collaborated with local firm PTW Architects on the design of the building, which comprises two residential towers positioned atop a five-storey Central shopping centre. The western tower is 84 metres high and accommodates 240 homes, while the 117-metre-high eastern tower contains 383 apartments, including 38 penthouse flats with exclusive access to a 100-metre-high sky garden. This structure cantilevers 42 metres off the side of the east tower and is made up of 320 reflectors.
What the future looks like | Science It would be foolhardy to venture technological predictions for 2050. Even more so to predict social and geopolitical changes. The most important advances, the qualitative leaps, are the least predictable. Not even the best scientists predicted the impact of nuclear physics, and everyday consumer items such as the iPhone would have seemed magic back in the 1950s. But there are some trends that we can predict with confidence. If population growth were to continue beyond 2050, one can't be other than exceedingly gloomy about the prospects. The world will be warmer than today in 2050; the patterns of rainfall and drought across the world will be different. CO2 concentration levels will reach twice the pre-industrial level by around 2050. Some technical advances - information technology, for instance - surprise us by their rapidity; others seemingly stagnate. I hope that by 2050 the entire solar system will have been explored and mapped by flotillas of tiny robotic craft.
3D Printed Cast Speeds Bone Recovery Using Ultrasound A new prototype brings together 3D printing, room to breathe and ultrasound pulses to create a cast that is not only comfortable and stylish to wear but is expected to speed healing relative to existing options. However, despite success in vitro and promising results from clinical studies LIPUS has not been widely adopted, partly because the measured benefit has varied across trials, in some cases appearing too small to justify the effort. Where LIPUS currently involves a daily session at a medical clinic, Deniz Karasahin added a portable ultrasound generator to the cast. "For single 20 minute daily sessions this system promises to reduce the healing process up to 38% and increase the heal rate up to 80% in non-union fractures," he has claimed, using figures from the top of the ranges produced in trials of LIPUS without changing cast technology. Photo Gallery
Manmade Weather Installations : Cloudscapes at MOT Cloudscapes at MOT (Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo), is an interactive art installation that allows people to enjoy an experience they probably thought they would only be able to daydream about: walking through clouds. It is a manmade weather phenomenon that involves cooled and heated air pumping into the cube in three distinct layers. These layers keep the cloud floating at a pre-determined height. A collaborative effort between Japanese studio Tetsuo Kondo Architects and environmental engineering firm Transsolar, Cloudscapes at MOT is an ethereal experience.
Underwater Transcontinental Trains : underwater train The idea of an underwater train has lived in the realm of science fiction for quite a while now. China is looking to change that with a proposal to create a deep sea train system that will connect China directly to the United States. For those that don't know, China is very far from the USA. The even stranger part is that the railroad isn't a one-way. Dynamic Storm Photography : wave photography NY-based photographer Dalton Portella is known for his dark and captivating wave photography. Capturing ocean views during stormy weather, these images are dramatic and visually striking in a gloomy way. Their artful aesthetic is elevated with the use of mood lighting, high contrast filtering techniques and by the raw beauty of nature itself. Nature's unpredictable beauty is captured in this crashing wave photography series by Dalton Protella.
Dramatic Wiccan Editorials : witchy fashion Danica Kompany dons witchy fashion staples in Glassbook Magazine's 'Black Moon' editorial. Photographer Malek Naz Freidouni captures the model as she poses in an empty pool or amidst a leafy forest setting. Channeling a modern day witch, Danica boasts luxe and sultry fashions from labels that include Balmain, Phillip Lim and Giuseppe Zanotti among other names. She is styled by Stara Pezeshkian who works alongside the shoot's hair stylist Sadira Benge and makeup artist Margoux Le Roux to transform her model muse. 'Black Moon' highlights luxe and witchy fashions that include fur-sleeved coats, feathered jackets and luxe leather accessories like thigh-high boots and waist-cinching belts. In addition to her alluring wardrobe, model Danica also pulls of artful eyebrow and makeup applications.
Leonardo DiCaprio Honored for Environmental Work at Clinton Awards The 10th Clinton Global Initiative Annual Meeting opened with the 8th Annual Clinton Global Citizen Awards in Gotham Sunday night at the Sheraton New York Times Square Hotel, honoring those with unparalleled work in philanthropy and service. The evening was hosted by “Late Night with Seth Meyers” host, Seth Meyers, and included performances from The Roots, Aloe Blacc, Natalie Merchant and Jason Mraz. Among the honorees were the President of the Republic of Kosovo Atifete Jahjaga, former co-founder and chairman of Qualcomm Dr. Irwin Mark Jacobs and actor Leonardo DiCaprio for his environmental preservation efforts. “We are exhausting our planet’s capabilities to support you and me. In his acceptance speech, DiCaprio stressed the importance of environmental preservation and that more needs to be done. “Now what does that say about us that we care so deeply about growing our own economy and yet do so little to protect our only home?” “Go out and see the world.
Half of world's animals have disappeared since 1970 In Britain, the turtle dove has declined by 95 per cent, while seals, toads, red squirrels, moths, dormice, hedgehogs and hares are also suffering. The WWF said the report was a ‘wake-up call’ and urged people to cut down on consumption. “It’s certainly very concerning,” said Mike Barrett, Director of Science and Policy at the WWF, “And if it carries on at the present rate we will continue to lose even more animals. “People in Britain need to realise they are not just impacting their own country. “But we are not despairing, because we are able to say why we are losing these animals; we are seeing a loss of their habitats. “We need political agreement so a global climate deal can be reached and policies which take account of natural capital. The WWF’s Living Planet Report looked at 10,380 populations of 3,038 species across the globe. The situation is worst in low-income countries, where wildlife populations have declined by 58 per cent on average between 1970 and 2010.
3D printed heart saves baby’s life as medical technology leaps ahead - News - Gadgets and Tech Using MRI scan data, Morgan Stanley Children’s Hospital in New York City 3D printed a copy of the child’s heart, which was both riddled with holes and structured unusually. Surgery was going to be complicated and dangerous, but this 3D printed heart provided the surgeons the opportunity to study the organ, and develop a detailed surgery strategy. “The baby’s heart had holes, which are not uncommon with CHD, but the heart chambers were also in an unusual formation, rather like a maze,” Dr Emile Bacha, who performed the surgery, told Connecticut local media. “In the past we had to stop the heart and look inside to decide what to do. With this technique, it was like we had a road map to guide us. The project was funded by Matthew’s Hearts of Hope, a Connecticut –based foundation. They have said that another 3D printed heart is in the making, with details to follow in the next month. Loading gallery American architect 3D prints castle in his back garden 1 of 4
Ebola outbreak: Spread of deadly disease across Europe is 'unavoidable', warns WHO chief - Europe - World - The Independent The World Health Organisation's European director Zsuzsanna Jakab has said while more cases will spread in Europe, the continent should be well prepared to control the disease. Health officials in Spain today said four people - the nurse, her husband and two others - were being monitored in hospital in a bid to stem the spread of the virus. "Such imported cases and similar events as have happened in Spain will happen also in the future, most likely," Ms Jakab told Reuters. "It is quite unavoidable ... that such incidents will happen in the future because of the extensive travel both from Europe to the affected countries and the other way around," she said. Ms Jakab said European health workers were most at risk of becoming infected, but added that "the most important thing in our view is that Europe is still at low risk and that the western part of the European region particularly is the best prepared in the world to respond to viral haemorrhagic fevers including Ebola.” Loading gallery