Drawing Inspiration from Paper Folding

The flat-pack design could reduce energy demand drastically compared to a standard canvas structure. PHOTO: CoExist

The flat-pack design could reduce energy demand drastically compared to a standard canvas structure. PHOTO: CoExist

It has long been known that origami has many benefits like developing eye hand co-ordination, sequencing skills, attention skills, patience, temporal spatial skills, math reasoning etc. And now a structure design inspired by the Japanese art of folding paper may help the military significantly reduce its energy demand.

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Can We Keep Cars Off the Streets

Madrid's car-free zone is just under 500 acres. Only people who live in the zone are allowed to take their cars inside. Those who want to drive in, but don't live in central Madrid, need to have a guaranteed space in one of the city's official parking lots

Madrid’s car-free zone is just under 500 acres. Only people who live in the zone are allowed to take their cars inside. PHOTO: Pictures Dot News

After over a hundred years of living with cars, some cities are slowly starting to realize that the automobile doesn’t make a lot of sense in the urban context. It isn’t just the smog or the traffic deaths; in some cities, cars aren’t even a convenient way to get around. Commuters in L.A. spend 90 hours a year stuck in traffic. A UK study found that drivers spend 106 days of their lives looking for parking spots. A growing number of cities are getting rid of cars in certain neighborhoods through fines, better design, new apps, and, in the case of Milan, even paying commuters to leave their car parked at home and take the train instead.

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