Professor Carlo Ratti participated in this year’s Manifesta 14 in Kosovo, where “artists show how they want to reconquer their city from traffic and big capital,” reports Sandra Smallenburg for NRC. “Together with students from the University of Pristina, he reclaimed the outdoor space by simply painting it with yellow paint and delimiting it with garden furniture,” said Smallenburg.
Professor Carlo Ratti and his colleagues developed the Urban Vision and Urban Program for Manifesta 14, a nomadic European biennale in Kosovo, which “proposes a new methodology for reclaiming public space in the city,” writes Maria-Cristina Florian for ArchDaily. “Cities around the world are currently going through an extraordinary time marked by crises but also potential for a renaissance,” said Ratti.
MIT scientists have used custom software and maple plywood to create “The Cosmic Cliffs Infinite Galaxy Puzzle” based on the newfound images from the James Webb Space Telescope, reports Elissaveta M. Brandon for Fast Company. The 264-count puzzle contains “squiggly pieces that can be reconfigured in endless ways” writes Brandon.
Tiffany Chu ’10, chief of staff for Boston Mayor Michelle Wu, speaks with columnist Jeneé Osterheldt for The Boston Globe’s “A Beautiful Resistance” series about her goals for creating a more inclusive Boston and her AAPI heritage. Chu explains that she believes in “knocking down walls and showing people what is possible."
A new study by MIT researchers examines how different spaces such as cafeterias can help foster collaboration on academic campuses, reports Paul Basken for Times Higher Ed. “The method affirms expectations that colleagues working physically nearer to each other are more likely to find each other, and that the odds of connection are higher between locations with indoor pathways,” writes Basken.
Neri Oxman, founder and former director of the Mediated Matter group at the MIT Media Lab, speaks with Wall Street Journal about how the work she started at MIT can impact the future of urban architecture. “As part of our research at MIT, we 3D-printed glass augmented with synthetically engineered microorganisms to produce energy [from the sun],” said Oxman. “This allows us to develop solar-harnessing glass façades that can act as a skin for pre-existing buildings.”
With the announcement of the new MIT Morningside Academy for Design, MIT is looking to create “a hub of resources for the next generation of designers, integrating areas of study such as engineering and architecture in the process,” reports Dana Gerber for The Boston Globe. “This is really going to give us a platform to connect with the world around problems that communities are facing,” explained Prof. John Ochsendorf, who will serve as the academy’s founding director.
MIT has announced the creation of a new multidisciplinary center, called Morningside Academy for Design, which is intended to serve as a “focal point for design research, education, and entrepreneurship,” reports Michael T. Nietzel for Forbes.
MIT has announced the establishment of the MIT Morningside Academy for Design, reports Susan H. Greenberg for Inside Higher Ed. The new center “aims to foster collaboration and innovation across academic disciplines – including engineering, science, management, computing, architecture, urban planning and the arts – to address such pressing global issues as climate change, public health, transportation, and civic engagement,” writes Greenberg.
Prof. Carlo Ratti speaks with USA Today reporter Marina Pitosky about the latest internet debate: are there more doors or wheels in the world? “I’m more like a door person,” said Ratti. “The number of doors should be taken into account, and not just by looking at what’s in our homes.”
Boston Globe reporter Sheryl Julian spotlights J. Kenji López-Alt ’02 - a chef, restauranteur and writer - and his new cookbook, “The Wok: Recipes and Techniques.” In his new cookbook, “you hear someone who’s giving you all kinds of alternatives in recipes, in the techniques, in the way you operate in your kitchen,” writes Julian.
Olympian Alexis Sablone ’16 will be the new head coach for the United States women’s skateboarding team in the upcoming Olympic Games, reports Michelle Bruton for Forbes. Sablone “has one of the most decorated careers of any female street skater, with seven X games medals and a 2015 World Skateboarding Championship,” writes Bruton.
Forbes has named Raya Ani ’94, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala MCP PhD ’81, ’78, and former postdoc Shulamit Levenberg to their 50 Over 50 list, which highlights women from Europe, the Middle East and Asia who are leading the way, reports Maggie McGrath for Forbes. “Women around the world are proving that 50 and beyond is the new golden age,” writes McGrath.
CNN reporter Jacopo Prisco spotlights Prof. Carlo Ratti and architect Italo Rota on their eco-friendly design of Italy’s pavilion at the Dubai Expo 2020. “One thing I do not like about temporary events – like various international exhibitions or the Olympic Games – is that a huge amount of waste ends up in landfills after just a few weeks or months,” says Ratti. “This is why we wanted the Italian Pavilion to address the temporary nature of the Dubai Expo 2020. Most architectural elements are recycled or recyclable, refused or reusable.”
Prof. Azra Aksamija speaks with NPR’s Scott Simon about her book "Design to Live: Everyday Inventions from a Refugee Camp," which spotlights the inventions and designs created by Syrian refugees at the Azraq refugee camp in Jordan. “For me, you know, what's so powerful about them is they visualize, on the one hand, this ingenuity of human spirit, yes, and resilience but, on the other hand, really, what is missing because people invent what is not provided,” says Aksamija, “and what is not provided are basic ideas of what constitutes human - essential human needs.”