Social Good

Observed|Miscellaneous

See America

Over 75 years ago the government first commissioned posters to showcase the country's most stunning natural features under the banner "See America".

John Thackara|Essays

Cloud Commuting

A two-year project in Belgium proposes new relationships between people, goods, energy, equipment, spaces, and value. Its design objective: a networked mobility ecosystem.

Observed|Books

Deventer

In Deventer, the Netherlands, a routine real estate deal and demolition became the site of innovation and new intelligence in urban design.

Mark Lamster|Essays

The Astrodome and the Challenges of Preservation

The Astrodome and the future of preservation.

Rick Poynor|Essays

The Filmic Page: Chris Marker’s Commentaires

The French director Chris Marker’s book Commentaires is as innovative as book design as his documentaries are as films.

Observed|Competitions

Liget Budapest International Architectural Design Competition

Four competitions. Five buildings. Six institutions. The Liget Budapest Project is possibly the world’s most extensive architectural competition in 2014.

John Thackara|Essays

A ‘Wild Mirror’ For Desk-Bound Workers

A new scheme in England connects office workers with living systems by means of a ‘wild mirror’: each workspace is twinned with an equivalent area of ecosystem regeneration.

Rob Walker|Essays

Boris, Subverted

The Neighborhood Watch symbol Boris The Burglar is powerfully familiar; what does that mean when it's subverted?

John Thackara|Essays

Summer Xskool in Sweden

This year’s Doors of Perception Summer Xskool explores what it can mean in practice to move from a ‘do less harm’ approach to sustainability to a practice of leave things better.

Alexandra Lange|Essays

Not Afraid of Noise: Mexico City Stories

A photographic tour of Mexico City, house by house, wall by wall.

John Thackara|Essays

Energy: Thriving On Five Percent?

Energy requirements per person in modern times are 60 times higher than our ancestors. How do we sustain that need as populations also increase?

Rob Walker|Essays

A Security Camera Worth Looking At

A thoughtful take on what security cameras should look like, and why.