For a single day next month, locals and visitors will be able to experience Paris without motorized traffic, giving the city over to pedestrians and bikers. Free of traffic congestion, noise pollution and vehicle emissions, the Day Without Cars will transform the physical and auditory landscape, enabling views and revealing ambient sounds ordinarily drowned out by the urban cacophony on September 27th.

Timed to coincide with a United Nations climate conference and European Mobility Week, the move is partially a display of possibilities for car-free cities as well as a statement about the environment. The 1st through 7th, 10th and 11th arrondissements (city sections) will all participate; monuments and gathering spaces such as the Champs Élysées, the Bastille, and the Eiffel Tower are included as well.

Other metropolitan areas around the world including Montreal, Bogota, Mexico City and Ho Chi Minh City are following France’s lead and instituting similar vehicular restrictions to various degrees. In such cities, photographers will be able to stand in the streets, capturing unique shots of urban architecture and infrastructure without the risk of being run over. Facing increased traffic, cities like London and Los Angeles are already considering ways in which to permanently reduce congestion and give over areas to mass transit, cyclists and pedestrians.

Some cities have longer-term visions for a car-free future as well. In China, plans and budgets have been established for a car-free city built from scratch. In Abu Dhabi, a car-free, self-sufficient city is also in the works, though some question its feasibility. Meanwhile, Hamburg has firmly committed to a 20-year plan to eliminate cars, keeping routes for public transportation and emergency vehicles but otherwise handing city streets over to paths and trails for walkers and bikers.

Access to natural daylight has long been one of the biggest limiting factors in building design – some solutions involve reflecting real daylight from the outdoors, but until now no solution has been able to mimic natural refraction processes and fool our minds into thinking we are surrounded by actual sunlight.

Developed by CoeLux in Italy, this new form of artificial light is able to dupe humans, cameras and computers alike using a thin coating of nanoparticules to simulate Rayleigh scattering, a natural process that takes place in Earth’s atmosphere causing diffuse sky radiation. Far beyond simply making lights brighter or bluer, this approach accurately replicates how miles of atmosphere transform light within just a few millimeters of surface space. Professor Paolo Di Trapani of Italy’s University of Insubria has so far spent over 10 years working on this system.

The source of illumination is an LED projector that emits white light in a spectrum that mimics rays of sunlight – meanwhile, a sophisticated optical system creates the sensation of the distance between the sky and the sun. Though the images shown here are all real and unedited, extensive 3D modeling preceded physical tests, prototypes, live demos and, finally, the finished product. “The objective included further developments of the existing Maxwell Render software functionality to include light scattering properties, light polarization effects, custom spectrum data (through spectrum curves or raw data) and light spectrum measurements, by including a virtual spectrophotometer,” explains the inventor.

The result is an effect that carries the same qualities we are used to experiencing outside, from color and saturation to light quality. The company also boasts that these photos are untouched and that their fake skylights in showrooms fool people in person just as effectively, appearing to have infinite depth just like one would expect looking up into the sky (James Turrell’s skyspaces and this work by Christo come to mind). The entire setup is incredibly thin and thus easy to set flush with a wall or ceiling, forming a convincing faux sunlight or window.

The potential applications are effectively endless, from lighting deep indoor spaces (such as subway tunnels) to replacing natural light in places where winters drag on and daylight hours are short. The company sees opportunities in areas like healthcare and elder care facilities where it may not be possible to put patients or residents near real windows for spatial or health reasons.

Currently, three lighting configurations are possible, simulating various broad regions – Mediterranean, Tropical and Nordic – featuring various balances of light, shade, hue and contrast. They are also working on additional offerings, including simulated daytime sequences (sunrise through sunset) and color variations to reflect different kinds of weather conditions.

Present iterations can also cost up to tens of thousands of dollars but the they are aiming to bring down the price in future versions as well as through scale of production. Ultimately, one could imagine the shapes of buildings changing radically around such an invention – the creators of this breakthrough have likened it to the elevator, which transformed the way we were able to build vertically in urban environments.

Combining ancient earthen-architecture approaches and cutting-edge robotic technologies, this contour crafting process promises a revolution in how we address one of our most basic and universal human needs: shelter.

Inventor and teacher Dr. Behrokh Khoshevis of University of Southern California points out that residential construction is labor-intensive, inefficient and hazardous. In short: it is overdue for a paradigm shift, one that not only automates and speeds up processes but also allows for mass customization and individualization.

His Counter Crafting system “is a fabrication process by which large-scale parts can be fabricated quickly in a layer-by-layer fashion. The chief advantages of the Contour Crafting process over existing technologies are the superior surface finish that is realized and the greatly enhanced speed of fabrication” in part through the use of additives for faster hardening times.

Steel reinforcement, plumbing and electrical can all be installed by robotic attachments as the concrete walls are poured. In turn, conventional shape and style limitations need not apply – curves are as simple to program as right angles. Part of the beauty of this system is that it cuts out the middle man – designs can go straight from the digital drawing board (CAD software) to the on-board computer.

Nor is this simply one man’s fantasy: “Contour Crafting has been under development under support from the National Science Foundation and the Office of Naval Research. Also, the application of CC in building adobe structures using inexpensive materials is being pursued in conjunction with the CalEarth organization.” Contour Crafting is also working with NASA to explore possibilities for 3D-printing structures in space.

In an Paris apartment with just over 200 square feet, it is almost impossible to imagine anything but the more bare essentials resulting a boring space. But that is where illumination enters the equation, flooding in to add depth and complexity to this abode. This, then, is a short story of light.

The architects, Betillon | Dorval?Bory, examined the limited space available architecturally, but also scientifically, testing the type and quality of the natural light to be found (and then suggesting what should be carefully introduced) across the existing interior zones.

A single wall was introduced, dividing the main bedroom area from daytime activity spaces like the kitchen, but not just (nor even primarily) as a visual barrier – it was intentionally and most-importantly designed to be a backdrop for two types of light.

On the ‘night’ side: a diffused orange streetlamp glow of the after-hours city that we associate with evening, which washes the walls in a more monochromatic direction (suited for sleeping and showering). On the ‘day’ side, a pure all-purpose white of the kind found in active spaces like offices – one which allows us to see things in black and color as well (suited for cooking and gathering).

Notably, the ‘night’ side lights can also be turned off (or overpowered by daylight), allowing the entire place to ‘open’ into a single space. If there is a lesson to be learned here, it is that physical objects are not the only things that form (or inform) the nature of space. Spatial variety can come via intangible elements like illumination, which in turn can serve equally powerful functions in fleshing out a space – particularly a small place with little room for solid decor.

With the rise of digital technologies, photographers are finding increasingly fascinating ways to capture minutes, hours, days, weeks, months and even entire years. Here are just three extraordinary time-lapse photography examples spanning from seconds to minutes through a 24-hour day and culminating in a full 365-day year.

Sean Lenz & Kristoffer Abildgaard are on the shorter end of the spectrum, but their colorful collaborations are nonetheless spectacular. Their shots range from a few seconds up to several minutes, and capture luminescent paint sticks placed in above waterfalls – the path of the material traces the movement of the water. “To accomplish some of the more complicated shots they strung several sticks together at once to create different patterns of illumination. For those of you concerned about pollution, the sticks (which are buoyant) were never opened and were collected at the end of each exposure, thus no toxic goo was mixed into the water.”

Eirik Solheim started shooting pictures out of his window daily, then realize that with coding help from colleagues and readers, he could compile a time-lapse collage of an entire year. “The resolution of the 16 000 images I now have from 2010 are 3888×2592 pixels. So I selected 3888 images snapped during the day.” From there, he created a series of videos as well as the finalized composite still image above.