3D printing and the Singularity University

I found the latest copy of The Economist & Time Magazine at the bottom of my bag a little worse for wear. Not sure if the residue of a creame egg can be seen (below the S of Stradivarius), but I can assure you, it is there.

This did remind me however of two good articles worth a read....both discuss the issue of technological change and the inevitable effect on our economy, design and as Time puts it (rather dramatically) 'the rapture in the fabric of human history' when artificial intelligence exceeds that of humans.

Economist discusses how 3d printing will change the world: "A technological change so profound will reset the economics of manufacturing. Some believe it will decentralise the business completely , reversing the urbanisation that accompanies industrialisation". Lev Grossman in the Times discusses the work of Raymond Kurzweil and the three year old Singularity University (hosted by NASA and part funded by Google).

(And a photo I took last week that seemed kinda relevant to the subject)

Best of an e-eco blog

My shameless copying from Susanne Siepl-Coates recent blog on e-architect re 'Eco Architecture':

BIGs new Waste-to-Energy Plant that doubles as a ski slope for Copenhagen by 2016.

“The new plant is an example of what we at BIG call Hedonistic Sustainability – the idea that sustainability is not a burden, but that a sustainable city in fact can improve our quality of life. The Waste-to-Energy plant with a ski slope is the best example of a city and a building which is both ecologically, economically and socially sustainable”

Bjarke Ingels Founder and Partner, BIG.  More info...

SOMS's master plan for Green Tech City in Hanoi, Vietnam includes green corridors and agricultural water channels.  More info...

What a lot of bananas!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!! So there is a reason why it has taken me this long to make my first post of 2011, and it is called 'symposium'.

Even with Nurofen slowly becoming part of my daily diet over the past few months, it still wasn't easy organising an international conference in less than 7 weeks. In fact it was only due to RESET's amazing field partners Practical Action Bangladesh that our recent symposium (on community led housing design for the S.W Coastal regions of Bangladesh) held in Dhaka this week, was a fantastic success. If you don't believe me, just check out one of the recent articles in the Bangladesh national newspapers.

Behind the Local Government Engineering Department!

View from hotel

As I sit waiting for my transfer flight at Abu Dhabi, I am clearly in no state to write anything comprehensible, so more to follow in the coming weeks discussing the outcomes of the event and the topic in more detail (and all outcomes/ppts from the symposium will be uploaded on-line to RESET's project website: www.raft-network.net).

Current construction work in Gulshan, Dhaka

Oh, and if you are wondering about the bananas, apparently Nikita in some Bangla dialects means 'lots of bananas'. Could be worse (?)