Industrial Design

Thirty-six homes—the world’s last topped with a traditional eelgrass roof—all sit here on Laeso.

Could Eelgrass Be the Next Big Bio-Based Building Material?

On the island of Laeso in Denmark, one man is reviving the lost art of eelgrass thatching and, in doing so, bringing attention to a plant that has great potential

The original Macintosh computer may seem quaint today, but the way users interacted with it was game-changing.

Forty Years Ago, the Mac Triggered a Revolution in User Experience

When it was introduced in 1984, Apple's Macintosh didn't have any striking technological breakthroughs, but it did make it easier for people to operate a computer

Almost like an arrow, the somewhat triangular shape of the architectural framework points this pedestrian in the right direction.

Appreciate Awesome Architecture With These 15 Photos

No passport is needed for this virtual tour of beautiful buildings around the world

Steps lead to one of the pools that Louise du Pont Crowninshield had built among the remains of the former powder mill.

An Abandoned, Industrial Ruin Bursts With New Life in Delaware

Thanks to a few horticulturalists with an eye for history, a garden lost to time peeks out from the creeping vines

When flushed, commercial toilets can spew airborne particles at speeds of up to 6.6 feet per second.

Here's What Really Happens When You Flush a Toilet

Using lasers and cameras, scientists visualized the plume of tiny, aerosolized particles ejected from commercial toilets during flushing

Twelve-year-old Madison Checketts was named one of the 30 finalists in the 2022 Broadcom Masters Competition, the country’s premier science, technology, engineering and math competition for middle school students.

This 12-Year-Old Designed a Water Bottle You Can Eat

After seeing plastic polluting her favorite beaches year after year, Madison Checketts decided it was time to do something about it

Taste testers involved in a recent study preferred chocolate that shattered in their mouth.

Have Scientists Designed the Perfect Chocolate?

Part of a burgeoning field of 'edible metamaterials,' Dutch physicists found that 3-D printed spiral-shaped candies give the ideal eating experience

Building a Corsi-Rosenthal box portable air filter comes down to duct-taping together a set of furnace filters and a box fan.

The Homemade Air Purifier That's Been Saving Lives During the Covid-19 Pandemic

Made from everyday items found in hardware stores, the Corsi-Rosenthal box is a testament to the power of grassroots innovation

Frederick Hurten Rhead, panel for overmantel, 1910

First Museum Dedicated to American Arts and Crafts Movement Opens in Florida

Proponents of the artistic philosophy pushed back against industrial production and embraced handcraftsmanship

Were it not for tuberculosis, artist and furniture maker Daniel Mack writes, “It’s unlikely that there would have been an Adirondack chair.”

How the Adirondack Chair Became the Feel-Good Recliner That Cures What Ails You

The furniture piece has gone through countless permutations, but it all started at a time when resting outdoors was thought to be a matter of life or death

An installation view of "Automania" at the Museum of Modern Art in Manhattan. The red car in front is a Cisitalia 202 GT Car (1946) designed by Italian firm Pininfarina; the green car in the background is a German "Beetle," a.k.a. a Volkswagen Type 1 Sedan (1949). The lithograph on the wall is Watch the Fords Go By (1937) by A. M. Cassandre.

How the Automobile Changed the World, for Better or Worse

New MoMA exhibition explores artists' responses to the beauty, brutality and environmental devastation of cars and car culture

Wassily Kandinsky, Curved Tips, 1927

Rediscovered After 70 Years, Kandinsky Watercolor Sells for $1.3 Million

The modern art pioneer painted the work, which resurfaced in a private collection last month, in 1927

A "deliberately inconvenient" twin champagne glass created by Athens-based architect Katerina Kamprani

Take a Virtual Tour of Failed Designs, From the DeLorean to Google Glass

An online exhibition showcases 40 creative flops, including a curvy ping-pong table and a doll dubbed Little Miss No-Name

Now is a good time to explore the world right at our feet.

Ten Surprising Facts That Will Make Your Walk Around the Block More Interesting

With Covid-19 keeping you close to home, now is a good time to learn about elements of your neighborhood that you take for granted

This month's picks include Mantel Pieces, The Dead Are Arising and A Series of Fortunate Events.

How the Alphabet Got Its Order, Malcolm X and Other New Books to Read

These five October releases may have been lost in the news cycle

Ten Surprising Facts About Everyday Household Objects

While COVID-19 has us homebound, it’s a good time to reflect on the peculiar histories of housewares we take for granted

Vegas Vicky, Las Vegas, Nevada

A Vibrant Tour of America's Neon Signs

In his upcoming book ‘Neon Road Trip,’ photographer John Barnes captures a luminous part of advertising history

Lucy Hughes holds a piece of MarinaTex.

This Bioplastic Made From Fish Scales Just Won the James Dyson Award

British product designer Lucy Hughes has invented a biodegradable plastic made from fish offcuts

Left: Visitors roam the Portland show wearing vintage fashions from the Washington State boutique BelAir Betties. Right: The tail section of a 1958 Chevy Impala, customized with 1959 Cadillac taillights, on display at the 63rd annual Portland Roadster Show.

Take a Trip to America's Hot Rod Heaven

Today's show-car royalty reinvents the wheel

Commuters ride up escalators at the Dupont Circle Metro Station in Washington, D.C.

How the Escalator Forever Changed Our Sense of Space

Sure, the 19th-century invention transformed shopping. But it also revolutionized how we think about the built environment

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