As part of the series of Dezeen Talks filmed at the Inside awards in Barcelona, Dezeen editor-in-chief Marcus Fairs talks to Alberto Miceli-Farrugia of Architecture Project about their renovation of a property overlooking the Grand Harbour in the Maltese capital of Valletta, which won the creative re-use category.
Dezeen Wire: a team of engineers based in California have created a material made from a lattice of hollow metallic tubes that they claim is the lightest in the world – BBC
The substance is 100 times lighter than Styrofoam and consists of 99.99% air. Tubes with a wall thickness 1,000 times thinner than a human hair are used to create the lattice structure that gives the material it's strength. Potential applications include shock and sound absorption and thermal insulation.
Dezeen Wire: in her latest article for The New York Times, design critic Alice Rawsthorn examines the symbols and slogans adopted by the Occupy protest movement in cities around the world.
Rawsthorn explains that the name 'Occupy', which originated at the Occupy Wall Street protest against the banking and democratic system, "is a stellar example of both what is known in marketing as an umbrella brand name and what the anti-corporatists in the movement could call beating them at their own game." She adds that the use of hashtags and slogans short enough to send on social networks such as Twitter have helped the movement spread globally and could represent a new protocol for protesters involving "the repeated use of a few carefully chosen words," rather than images.
Dezeen in Israel: these high-heeled shoes that look like inflatable sex dolls are part of a collection of footwear by Tel Aviv designer Kobi Levi. More about Shoes by Kobi Levi
Dezeen Wire: the opening of the September 11 museum in New York, which is scheduled for September 2012, is under threat due to an ongoing dispute over unexpected costs – The Washington Post
The museum is part of a memorial to the victims of the 2001 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Centre being developed by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, who say that they are owed $156 million by mayor Michael Bloomberg's National September 11 Memorial & Museum foundation. The row had been kept quiet over fears it could overshadow the 10th anniversary of the attacks but has now led to the suspension of construction contracts which could delay the completion of the museum.