Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania are using food scraps to create environmentally friendly alternatives to concrete and epoxy while also reducing the waste going into landfills. First, inedible fibrous and woody materials from plants are collected from the university’s farm on campus. Okra was one of the crops used in the project. Then, senior … Read more
From residential rooftops to utility-scale solar systems, all PV systems share one purpose: generating electricity. This course provides the foundational electrical knowledge needed to understand how these systems function across all scales. You’ll master the relationships between voltage, current, and resistance, learn how electricity is generated and distributed, and understand the critical differences between power … Read more
Rammed earth is an ancient technique that has been dated back to at least 7000 BC in Pakistan. The method compacts moist soil, clay, and aggregates to form dense walls that help keep indoor temperatures stable – a principle applied extensively in ancient China and the Middle East. Rammed earth construction has been used in … Read more
3D-printed recycled construction materials are reshaping sustainable manufacturing by transforming waste into scalable architectural products through additive fabrication technologies. Vitriform3D and Oak Ridge National Laboratory developed a process that converts discarded glass bottles into 3D-printed tiles, wall cladding, and structural building materials using binder jetting systems. The process reduces landfill waste while creating customizable surfaces … Read more
The former Radziwill Palace in Belarus, which has long stood abandoned, was sold at auction for a symbolic sum of 90 rubles. The buyer is Tatyana, a Russian woman who now lives in Minsk. She says that owning her own palace was her childhood dream, and now she wants to restore it and make it … Read more
In some of the world’s harshest desert landscapes, people learned to build entire cities using mud. Made by mixing earth, water, and straw, mudbricks were shaped by hand and dried under the sun, creating a building material that was inexpensive, accessible, and surprisingly effective in extreme climates. Described below are ten of those desert cities. … Read more