In search of Carbon Neutral Cities

At one of our office Lunch & Learn seminars, we were reviewing Masdar Project in Abu Dhabi and all the technologies involved into making this “city laboratory” a carbon neutral city. The question of the day was;  “Given the prohibitive costs of all these technologies used in making this project carbon neutral, how can developing countries aspire to developing green …

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Glass Pt. 3: The Endless Choice

When it comes to glass, its characteristics allow it to be modified for so many uses. The design and constuction industry has been using glass for so long, yet it’s so impressive how much progress and innovation is made.  We can find glass being used all around us; even for floors! Looking at a simple drinking glass, you can wonder …

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Glass Pt.2: Vaguely Opaque!

From simple particles of silica, glass has become one of the most used materials in the construction industry. It’s many valuable characteristics contribute to its value of being one of the most sustainable and wellness promoting products commercially available. Glass allows for: Light transmission Visibility Durability Safety Recyclability many many more…. Today, I want to highlight a specific type of …

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Glass Pt. 1: Let’s Get Cracking

GLASS: It can be clear, it can be frosted, it can be curved, it can be recycled, it is unstoppable.  Before we get to far, let’s first start with the initial question. What is it really made of? The over-simplified answer is: Sand!  Have you ever wondered why sand glistens and is rough in large pieces? This is because the …

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Bangkok’s lost heritage

Driving last week end through Bangkok old China town roads, I couldn’t  help wonder like so many other times, why is nothing being done to preserve the old traditional buildings in this area? It’s heart breaking, some real gems are left to complete disrepair and neglect! I understand that restoration and preservation of traditional buildings can be a very expensive …

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Recycled Paper=ART

We use tons of paper every day, from newspapers, magazines, stationary, and for designers like us, sketches, drafts, briefs and printouts of plans are cluttering every design studio! Paper is still widely used considering that offices and schools are going paper free. We do our best to minimize our carbon footprint and try to use the least amount of paper …

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What’s the future of waterfront cities?

I have written a couple of articles recently about climate change and waterfront cities; wondering  why are people still reclaiming part of the sea and building to no end, why are properties fronting water still fetching huge prices? I think we are not really totally convinced that there is a real problem; it’s called global warming and it’s signs and manifestations …

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The Lost Heritage, Kolkata

    I wrote  recently about the lost heritage in Bangkok and what I thought were the reasons behind the total neglect of these buildings.I just returned from Kolkata and believe me what I saw was beyond comprehension. Some amazing architectural pieces were at the verge of collapse.Kolkata was the first British Capital of India and thus has one of the richest …

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Underground Cities

From the early ages humans settled in places where there was water, fertile land, plenty oflight and sun and where they could defend themselves. But once in a while we find thesevery intriguing human settlements in the deep of earth; so why have ancientcivilisations built underground cities? The obvious answers seem it is for defense purposesOr for protection from natural …

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