New Atlas

Architecture Audio available

Snøhetta and Harvard join forces to make old buildings sustainable

Adam Williams December 5, 2018

Snøhetta has teamed up with Harvard's Green Buildings and Cities to create HouseZero. The project involved renovating a pre-1940s building into a new energy-positive office and aims to offer ideas for making old inefficient buildings energy-efficient.

HouseZero is an energy-efficient renovation of Harvard's Green Buildings and Cities headquarters

Science

Ancient Egyptian pigment may find use on power-saving roofs

Ben Coxworth October 11, 2018

Thousands of years ago, the ancient Egyptians created a blue pigment which they used in their depictions of gods and royalty. Derived from calcium copper silicate, the substance is now known as Egyptian blue – and it could be used to both save power and generate electricity.

Egyptian blue is considered to be the world's first synthetic pigment

Architecture

Energy efficient Treehaus spins elegantly down a forested hillside

Nick Lavars August 20, 2018

Utah’s Summit Park is home to an eye-catching new hillside abode consisting of stacked cubes that gently rotate as they head up toward the canopy. The recently completed Treehaus has a big focus on energy efficiency to soften the blow of the area's harsh winter climate.

The Treehaus has been placed on the market with an asking price of US$1.1 million

Materials

Ultra-thin coating makes "dumb" glass smart

Ben Coxworth February 27, 2018

There are already "smart glass" windows that can be tinted to block the sun's hot rays, thus reducing the need to run air-conditioning systems. Such systems still require electricity, however. Now, scientists have developed a coating that allows existing glass to become smart … no power required.

PhD student Mohammad Taha with a sample of coated glass

Automotive

Making idling buses and delivery trucks more environmentally friendly

Rich Haridy June 18, 2017

Idling engines waste fuel, but some vehicles need secondary systems powered constantly and are unable to stop their engines when stationary. A research team has found a way around this, by harnessing wasted energy from a vehicle as it slows down to power secondary systems when at a stop.

A system developed at the University of Waterloo can enable vehicles like buses to turn their ...

Around The Home

Ultrasonic clothes dryers set to shake up the laundry

Darren Quick April 20, 2017

Last year, ORNL scientists revealed they were working on ultrasonic clothes drying technology. At the time, they said they planned to implement the technology in a press dryer and a clothes dryer drum. A new video shows they've been true to their word.

In a step towards commercial availability, ORNL researchers have integrated their ultrasonic drying technology into a ...

Marine

Century-old rotorsail design gets modern makeover

Rich Haridy March 15, 2017

Finnish company Norsepower has looked to the past for inspiration in making modern shipping more environmentally efficient, finding a solution in a nearly century-old engineering innovation relegated to the annals of quirky mechanical history.

Finnish company Norsepower has rediscovered a nearly century-old engineering innovation that could pave the way for ...

Architecture

Floating digs to alien spaceships: The best buildings of 2016

Adam Williams December 20, 2016

Join us as we take a look at the 10 best buildings we've reported on in 2016, including the world's second-tallest skyscraper, an out-of-this-world opera house, the world's first 3D-printed office, and floating student housing.

New Atlas highlights the most impressive, innovative, and interesting buildings we've covered in 2016

Around The Home

Philips and Dubai unveil world's most efficient LED bulb

Stu Robarts October 6, 2016

Thanks to a research partnership with the municipality of Dubai, Philips has developed a range of LED bulbs that are claimed to reduce electricity consumption by up to 90 percent when compared to incandescent bulbs and will last up to 15 time longer, too.

Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum (right), Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai ...

Environment

Ultra-efficient ultrasound takes the heat out of clothes-drying

Ben Coxworth August 15, 2016

Scientists are looking at how ultrasound can be used to dry laundry. They've already developed technology that they say could make clothes dryers 70 percent more energy-efficient than they are now.

The new system utilizes vibrating piezoelectric transducers in place of heat