Reference

Micro Living
New Yorkers may soon be folding themselves into smaller spaces. In July, New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg called for proposals for a new residence comprised of micro-units, or apartments no bigger than 350 square feet (http://www.nyc.gov/html/hpd/html/developers/HPD-adAPT-NYC-RFP.shtml). (FYI, Bloomberg’s town house is 12,500 square feet.) Micro-units aren’t a new concept: San Jose, Seattle, Chicago, and Boston permit a version of a micro-unit, and internationally, Tokyo, London, and Paris have long allowed them. In fact, Tokyo’s Nakagin Capsule Tower has apartments that are about 107 square feet.

Putting the Hate on Hold
The Barclays Center made a mad dash to the finish line, but compared to the world’s most outrageous stadiums and entertainment complexes, it’s a bit sedate (http://weburbanist.com/2010/10/15/score-13-of-the-worlds-coolest-craziest-stadiums). The Sapporo Dome in Japan features an 8,300-ton playing field, which slides in and out to allow for fresh air on nice days and protection during the winter. In Brazil, no concrete was used to build the Janguito Malucelli stadium, the country’s first eco-friendly sports facility, with low-impact seats embedded into a hillside.

At Home in the Office
The business landscape is changing, and so are corporate offices around the globe. These companies are making the most of their spaces to encourage, inspire, and attract their young, digitally savvy employees (www.inc.com/ss/worlds-coolest-offices-2012#9). Quirky, a crowdsourced product-maker based in New York City, bucked the inventor’s need for secrecy and put its open-air lab smack in the middle of its space; Airbnb (with offices in San Francisco) proudly displays some of its most unique Web listings by building conference rooms that mimic those spaces; and Twitter (also in San Francisco) employees are welcome to take advantage of a rooftop deck and vegetable garden.