There has been a growing consensus that urban living is
better for the environment than suburban sprawl and its higher carbon
footprint. Cities are also great laboratories for ideas: so many smart
ambitious people packed in together are bound to collaborate, coming up with
the businesses, causes and ideas of the future.
So cities might save us. The question is, how do we live in
these boxy things without going crazy? Evidently that question occurred to a
lot of designers crammed in together, and they’ve found ways to give our urban
lifestyle more style while making it more livable.
Tudelü retractable walls allow one-room apartments to close
off or open up at the push of a button. Designer Luca Nichetto, working with
developer Urban Capital, has come up with the "Cubitat": a
customizable ten-foot cube that functions as kitchen, bedroom, storage, and
more. While the future of design seems bent on making the best use of every
cubic inch, there’s also a retro movement, perhaps resisting this
tight-cornered trend, for the curvy metro-sexiness of midcentury modern design.
Design issues matter when you’ve left your apartment as
well. Vision Zero city planning aims to make streets. Other city planners have
brought the issue of light to light. Are these skyscrapers putting us all in
too much shadow?
Inside or out, the challenges of urban living will inspire
new designers as we continue to pile into these growing swarming cities.
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