If necessity is the mother of invention, then opportunity is the father. And thankfully, there are still some people who view problems less as obstacles and more as opportunities.
Take a problem like the lack of lodging for outdoor events, for example. Such open-air events, like music festivals, which are typically held in large, open fields, end up looking like a 1960s commune as tents, teepees, and other makeshift living arrangements pepper the venue. And if it rains, well, everyone there better be prepared to get wet and muddy. Unless, of course, the festival planners had the foresight to provide Snoozebox’s portable hotel rooms, designed with mobility and ephemerality in mind.
These portable hotel rooms are just one of novel ideas featured in our annual Great Solutions report. Others include pop-up farms designed to provide communities with a sustainable food supply, a new anti-bacterial paint perfect for hospitals, schools, and nursing homes, and digitally fabricated concrete formwork that pushes the bounds of what can be cost-effectively constructed in concrete.
Go to our Great Solutions landing page to read about these 13 innovations (also, see the table of contents below).
Great Solutions Table of Contents
Bacteria-killing paint, IdeaPaint PULL magnet paint
Automated vehicle medical supply delivery
Physical therapy healing garden
Porcelanosa’s retractable ceiling
Double-angle precast concrete anchor
WWII watchtower turned guesthouse
Emergency department behavioral health unit
Digitally fabricated concrete formwork
Dual-purpose fire sprinkler systems
BubbleDeck voided biaxial slab
Or view all the Great Solutions on one page.
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Great Solutions | Jan 19, 2016
Concrete innovation: voided biaxial slab slashes weight, saves concrete
System reduces slab dead load by 30% on medical clinic project
Great Solutions | Jan 19, 2016
Healing garden doubles as therapy trails
A Boston-area hospital takes the healing garden to the next level.
Great Solutions | Jan 14, 2016
WWII watchtower turned into ‘land yacht’
Architect Siemasko + Verbridge and contractor Windover Construction transformed a coastal wartime observation post into an amenity-filled guesthouse.
Great Solutions | Jan 12, 2016
Sprinkler system does double duty
Two innovations tap into the multi-use potential for fire/life safety infrastructure.
Great Solutions | Jan 7, 2016
Bacteria-killing paint and magnetic wallcovering highlight innovations in surface materials
Sherwin-Williams recently introduced Paint Shield, the first EPA-registered microbicidal paint that kills virtually all infection-causing bacteria after two hours of exposure on painted surfaces.
Great Solutions | Jan 6, 2016
Shepley Bulfinch develops elegant design solution to address behavioral issues in emergency departments
ED scheme allows staff to isolate unruly patients and visitors in a secure area.
Great Solutions | Jan 6, 2016
All-encompassing farming kit can provide communities with a sustainable food supply
Several manufacturers partnered with the group Farm from a Box to develop an off-the-grid farming solution for communities, all without the need for outside help.
Great Solutions | Jan 4, 2016
Toronto’s newest hospital employs 10 robots for moving food, supplies, and equipment
The 1.8 million-sf Humber River Hospital is loaded with high-tech gadgets. Its coolest innovation is the use of automated guided vehicles.
Great Solutions | Jan 4, 2016
Snoozebox’s portable hotel rooms make outside events more livable
Since 2011, the London-based company has thrived by creating portable hotels that are set up for the duration of open-air events (or longer), and offer many of the comforts of conventional hotels.
