Why Design Now
Why Design Now?: Masdar developmentWhy? Masdar is a self-contained, sustainable city currently being built on the desert outskirts of Abu Dhabi. Its design pushes new approaches to alternative energy applied to architecture and engineering on an urban scale. A vast experiment, it aims to be the worlds first car-free, carbon-neutral, zero-waste city powered by renewable energy sources. MASDAR, Abu Dhabi, self-contained, sustainable, city, urban, alternative energy, car-free, Why Design Now, Exhibition |
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Why Design Now?: SunShadeWhy? SunShade is an outdoor solar floor lamp. With solar cells embedded in the canopy and acting as sensors, the umbrella opens and closes automatically like a real flower in relation to the shifting sun. During the day, the SunShade opens to provide shade and harness sunlight, and as the sun goes down, the parasol contracts into a glowing lamp. SunShade, outdoor, solar, floor lamp, umbrella, canopy, Why Design Now, Exhibition |
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Why Design Now?: GoodWeave Label and Odegard RugsWhy? GoodWeave is an ethical certification program that seeks to end illegal child labor in the rug industry. Stephanie Odegards company was the first in America to work with GoodWeave. Sales of her carpets carrying the label support educational opportunities for children in South Asia. The Navaratna rug depicts the Navaratna, or nine gemstones, whose traditional arrangement symbolizes celestial forces in Indian culture. Odegard, GoodWeave, certification, rug, carpet, manufacturing, South Asia, Navaratna, Why Design Now, Exhibition |
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Why Design Now?: Viet Village Urban FarmWhy? After Hurricane Katrina, the Mary Queen of Viet Nam Church and the local Vietnamese community in New Orleans formed a community-development corporation, working with a design and engineering team to create a model for low-tech, sustainable site development. The Viet Village utilizes composting, crop rotation, and cover cropping as well as bio-filtration of water and wind and solar power. Viet Village, New Orleans Louisiana, urban farm, Mary Queen of Viet Nam Church, Hurricane Katrina, Why Design Now, Exhibition |
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Why Design Now?: Hope Solar TowerWhy? Solar towers capture solar energy to heat air under an expansive collector zone. Based on the principle that heat rises, this air flows towards the center of the collector through electricity-generating turbines and up and out of the tower, like a chimney. When built, the tower will be about 750 meters high and could produce enough electricity to power approximately 500 households. Hope Solar Tower, collector, electricity, generation, power, energy, Why Design Now, Gallery and Exhibition spaces |
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Why Design Now?: California Academy of SciencesWhy? Buildings in the United States produce the largest share of the worlds carbon-dioxide emissions. All aspects of the recently completed California Academy of Sciences, a natural-history museum, were designed for maximum environmental performance. The indigenous plantcovered, contoured roof design is a key component of the buildings overall ecological system, making it one of todays most sustainable buildings. California Academy of Sciences, environmental design, building, plant covered, contoured, roof, sustainable, Why Design Now, Exhibition |
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Why Design Now?: Norwegian National Opera and Ballet (Nytt Operahus 2003-2008)Time-lapse Why? The first purpose-built home of the Norwegian Opera and Ballet is both a bridge and anchor for the Oslo community. As part of the first phase of an extensive transformation of the waterfront, the Opera is a monumental gateway to the harbor. Its most distinctive feature is a white marble roof that serves as a public plaza on which visitors can experience the building without going inside. Time Lapse, Nytt Operahus, 2003-2008, Norwegian National Opera and Ballet, Why Design Now, Exhibition |
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Why Design Now?: The Story of StuffWhy? In the Story of Stuff video, environmental activist Annie Leonard explains how products affect human society and the natural world as they make their way through the cycle of material extraction, manufacturing, consumption, and disposal. Free Range Studios worked with Leonard to create a compact, punchy script around simple, active stories, and iconic characters. Story Of Stuff, Annie Leonard, environmentalist, cradle to grave, cycle, fun, Why Design Now, Exhibition |
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Why Design Now?: Next Billion Network: MocaWhy? Another billion people, mostly in the developing world, will acquire access to cell phones in the next three years, unleashing a revolution in communications. The Next Billion Network partners students and local organizations to create mobile technologies for this population, expanding opportunities for self-reliance. For example, Mobile Care enables cell phones to become medical diagnostic devices for health workers in remote areas, and Interactive Alerts use mobile phones to track childhood pneumonia in Pakistan. Moca, MIT Next Billion Network, mobile technologies, mobile care, diagnostic device, health, Why Design Now, Exhibition, interactive, alerts |
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Why Design Now?: MIT Next Billion NetworkWhy? Another billion people, mostly in the developing world, will acquire access to cell phones in the next three years, unleashing a revolution in communications. The Next Billion Network partners students and local organizations to create mobile technologies for this population, expanding opportunities for self-reliance. For example, Mobile Care enables cell phones to become medical diagnostic devices for health workers in remote areas, and Interactive Alerts use mobile phones to track childhood pneumonia in Pakistan. MIT Next Billion Network, mobile technologies, mobile care, diagnostic device, health, Why Design Now, Exhibition, interactive, alerts |
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