Threads and fibres no longer have to be static – they can be made to change technical capabilities All over the world, thread, yarns and fibres of countless kinds and with myriads of different specs get woven into garments and textiles. These, in turn, are the basis for huge industrial manufacturing and logistics operations, spewing out more-or-less planet-destructive products in a cycle of...

Bridge design normally thinks horizontally – until creative engineers rethink the basics Bridge design is a historical discipline with a massive legacy mindset of complexity, expense and one-off, manpower-intensive processes. But sometimes – even after thousands of years of bridges – creative engineers are able to rethink some of the basics. Bridge building is essentially about spanning horizontal distance. And in its modern iterations...

Buildings don’t have to look like buildings in order to succeed or delight. Oppenheim Architecture has moulded a Swiss waterworks cathedral … I’ve spent many ýears writing about different kinds of technology – including pumps, filters, dehumidifiers and separation technologies – used in waterworks and water treatment facilities. And I’ve also spent many years drooling over gorgeous architecture – often ecclesiastical. It’s not often these...