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In July 1999 , the editors of the Engineering News-Record published their list of 125 significant projects completed since 1874 as part of the magazine’s 125th anniversary celebration series. Each project “must have been completed in the past 125 years; the project advanced construction methods or technology; the project demonstrated outstanding design or overcame unusual design challenges; the project was the first of its kind; the project made a major positive impact on the quality of life; the project overcame major construction challenges; the project has become larger than life over time; and the project demonstrated geographic and market diversity.” The projects are listed here.

“According to this article in The Herald Newspaper, the island of Islay, on the West coast of Scotland is set to become the world’s first Hydrogen Fuel Cell powered island. Scientests at Napier University wish to use the existing Wave Power Station to treat sea water and store the resulting hydrogen in fuel cells. The first plan is to power a building, moving on to powering the entire island in a decade.” From slashdot.org.

March 22 is World Water Day. Safe drinking water, basic health, hygiene education and sanitation facilities are nonexistent for impoverished people throughout the world. WHO/UNICEF estimates that the combination of theses conditions results in the death of 6,000 people every day, most of them children. Western NGOs that are working to build sustainable water supplies, provide access to clean water, develop sanitation, and promote hygiene, include: WaterAid, UK; Water For People, USA; WaterCan/EauVive, Canada; and Water for Survival, New Zealand.

Quoth the Christian Science Monitor:

“They are among the most intriguing pieces of beachfront architecture in Art Deco Miami Beach, and certainly among the smallest. They are eight lifeguard stations that stretch over nine blocks of beach lining the commercial part of Ocean Drive. The stations... [were] rebuilt three years ago to replace the ones that hurricane Andrew destroyed. But the stations between Sixth and Eighth Streets are not the generic, weathered shacks of yore. To local architect William Lane, who designed them for free, they tell the world about Miami Beach. ‘They’re a response to the kind of energy that’s here in Miami,’ Mr. Lane says. The pastel structures blend 1920s Art Deco with 1960s pop-culture themes.”

What struck me when I saw them, though, was not how their whimsical style suited South Beach, but how much they stood out — and how this served their function. Sometimes it’s important for structures to call attention to themselves.

Sometimes it’s not enough to just add Braille to your signage.

“Coco Raynes Associates, Inc. developed The Raynes Rail to provide the missing link between the entrance of a building and the desired location. Continuous Braille messages and audio devices positioned at strategic locations provide the impaired traveler with a degree of independence previously unattainable in unknown surroundings.”

The concept is simple: a handrail that incorporates Braille messages. It has been installed in hospitals, hotels, and museums, both indoors and outdoors. The system is modular, so the Braille messages can easily be changed. The audio messages are activated by photosensors and permit multilingual applications.

“The Helen Hamlyn Research Centre explores the implications of social change. Its focus is ‘design for our future selves’ — using design to improve quality of life for people of all ages and abilities. It has four core social change themes: ageing populations, changing patterns of work, mobility for all, innovation in care and rehabilitation. The Centre collaborates with the staff and students of the Royal College of Art and with a range of external commercial, academic, government and charitable partners.”

Research projects cover graphic, package, industrial, architectural, transportation, and urban design.

In 2001, the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists announced a competition

“to focus the world’s artists, architects, and visionary thinkers on a problem that has all but stumped the world’s policy makers, scientists, and leaders: the problem of plutonium disposal. Plutonium stays radioactive for thousands of years, can be made into nuclear bombs, and is deadly if ingested. But simply hiding it away prevents the world from learning anything from its folly. The challenge: to design and build a facility where all the world’s plutonium can be safely stored for all eternity (or 240,000 years, whichever comes first), where tourists can visit and acknowledge the folly of creating as much explosive plutonium as humanly possible, and something that’s beautiful and grand and awe inspiring.”

There are quite a few technical considerations. Check out the contest rules and the winning designs.

The World Monuments Fund is a New York-based non-profit dedicated to preserving and protecting endangered works of historic art and architecture around the world. The World Monuments Watch issues the List of 100 Most Endangered Sites every other year. Some of these sites are also on the UNESCO World Heritage List.

If you’ve ever stood in line at 1am on West 27th street in Manhattan, chances are you’ve noticed an old elevated rail. The High Line was built in the 1930s to elevate dangerous and congesting railroad traffic above city streets. It runs for 1.45 miles, from 34th Street along the edge of the Hudson River through West Chelsea into the Meat Packing District. The Friends of the High Line are dedicated to the preservation of the structure and its conversion into a public park and trail.

Arquitectos sin Fronteras is a non-profit that organizes professional architects and technicians who develop and promote the study, planning, management, design, and construction of public works projects in regions affected by poverty, discrimination, natural disasters and armed conflict. Volunteers work on everything from schools and public housing to hospitals and latrines in places from Congo to India to Peru.