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This is a vw bus toy that is also a small box. You can print different versions of different pieces and put it together the way you want. You can download th...

Via ManufacturingStories

If you want a preview of the downtown Vancouver streetscape in 2035, start with a walk down Granville or Georgia Street today.

Most of the buildings will still be standing. There will be additions and replacements, but most of the changes that will transform downtown's living, work and retail space will be undetectable from the sidewalk. That includes upgrades to water and energy systems in buildings that in 2012 are models of inefficiency by contemporary standards, let alone future ones.

"If you are thinking 2035, realistically 80% of the buildings that will be in existence at that time have already been constructed," said Innes Hood, a professional engineer and senior associate with Stantec Consulting, a consulting firm with 12,000 planners, architects, engineers, project managers and experts, working in teams to break down the boundaries between designers, contractors and investors, while using advanced computer modelling programs.

 

Retrofits are crucial.

One of Hood's main assignments is overseeing the redevelopment of existing buildings. More often than not, that means uncovering, through energy audits, glaring examples of waste - air leaks, inadequate insulation, inefficient heating and ventilation systems.

"We are involved in residential projects where we can achieve 80-per-cent reduction in energy use and become essentially greenhouse gas neutral through the implementation of cost-effective technologies," Hood said. "We're not having to strive to the leading edge. These are tried and true technologies around good building enclosures and high-performance mechanical systems such as heat pump technology...

Via Lauren Moss, Digital Sustainability

Plane makers don’t mince words about the fastest growing market in aviation. “Single-aisle aircraft remain pivotal,” declares Boeing’s long-term market view. “Over the next 20 years, we project that 23,240 single-aisle planes will be delivered, representing nearly 70 percent of commercial plane deliveries and 45 percent of total delivery value,” Boeing says..Read More..

Via ManufacturingStories

We live in an era of accelerating change. Technology is changing and innovating faster than most of us can keep up. And at the same time, it's easy to get so caught up in shiny visions of the future, and not notice the astounding things that are happening in science and technology today. So the next time people ask you where the future went, tell them it's already here.

 

Here are nine underrated or overlooked technologies that could transform the world before you know it. Check these out...

 

 

Via Susan Bainbridge