A series of industrial steel ventilation pipes and copper sheet stripped from a scrapyard come together in this industrial-style furniture design dubbed “Tubular.” Typically used for heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) systems, these standard-sized duct sections are surprisingly ideal for this kind of adaptive reused, designed to slot neatly into one another. Their modular nature makes them well-suited to curvy turns in tight spaces, too, as embodied by this chair.

Eindhoven-based designer Lucas Muñoz’s creation is roughly shaped a bit like the famous Vassily Chair (below) designed by Marcel Breuer of Bauhaus fame, except slim metal pipes are replaced by huge galvanized steel tubing (while brown brass replaces dark leather).

Its creator was inspired by elbow joints in his own studio and scraps from a junkyard, and wondered how these could be applied in a different context. “The materiality and shape – the practical means – of the industrial components allow them to afford a variety of roles if arranged in a way that offers some kind of furniture function for a domestic context.”

It was on display at Dutch Design Week, where participants were challenged to put everyday materials, components and objects in new contexts. Hopefully, this is just the start of a larger series — this strategy could make for a great table, among other things.

“I find a great richness in all these engineered standard components. Not only visually but also functionally. Great designers and engineers are behind all these industrial components, and they work hard in making their production and durability as efficient as possible. I find the potential for other functions in these materials.”

Looming above an industrial parcel near an abandoned railway terminal in Beirut, seven balconies jut out into the air like the hulls of stacked skeletal ships. ‘Plot #1282’ by DW5 Architects is one of the first major architectural projects to be erected in a depressed area beside military barracks, fallow agricultural land and a 100-foot-wide highway. It will add 95 industrial lofts to a local that’s currently non-residential, and since other buildings will likely spring up all around it in the coming years, those balconies are strategically focused on preservable views of the city.

A maximum of two apartments will be located on each floor, with the floor slabs arranged around nine exposed cores. Each living space features minimal interior partitioning and lots of glass.

“In its present state, the site enjoys unobstructed panoramic views on all orientations through the totality of the perimeter of the plot,” the architects explain. “As a result of that, all proposed loft spaces enjoy full transparency of their facades with openings that span from floor to ceiling on all exterior elevations. In an unforeseeable future, as the surrounding plots get built, and with the gradual densification of the immediate environment, the full apertures of our facades will face unpredictable situations that our project’s morphology responds to by its continuous setback on the totality of the perimeter of the site and the gradual recess of the floor plates.”

It’s a pretty clever way to make the building adaptable to changing conditions around it, and you have to admit, it has resulted in a kinda spooky but visually dynamic silhouette.

The toll exacted from the earth for human progress is rarely more dramatically visible than from overhead, looking down onto the mines, oil fields, salt flats, recycling yards and other artificial landscapes we’ve created to maintain a population that has exploded since the 1950s. Photographer Edward Burtynsky, who has been flying all over the world capturing aerial images of these scenes since long before the arrival of Google Earth, now sees human activity as expanding “like a rogue species… stretching the boundaries and limits of what we can do in nature.”

How have we changed the shape of the Earth since the dawn of the industrial age? The human population on Earth has expanded by nearly a billion every decade, and in our constant quest for lives of comfort and plenty, we ravenously consume natural resources and radically alter the landscapes we depend on for our own survival. Burtynsky has produced a series of photo collections in 11 categories like water, oil, mines, ship breaking, tailings and quarries to show that our appetites have put our own future in jeopardy.

Accepting his 2005 TED Prize for his stunning work, Burtynsky said he hopes that these images will help persuade millions of people around the world to join a global conversation on sustainability.

“These images are meant as metaphors to the dilemma of our modern existence; they search for a dialogue between attraction and repulsion, seduction and fear. We are drawn by desire – a chance at good living, yet we are consciously or unconsciously aware that the world is suffering for our success. Our dependence on nature to provide the materials for our consumption and our concern for the health of our planet sets us into an uneasy contradiction. For me, these images function as reflecting pools of our times.”

The final phase of the Chicago Riverwalk opened to the public this weekend, completing a project that connects the city’s downtown area to a previously neglected industrial waterfront. For decades or perhaps even centuries, this sort of prime real estate has been similarly misused and disused in cities all around the world, given over to factories, shipyards, power plants and other facilities that don’t exactly encourage public interaction with the shore, but the Riverwalk is part of a movement that’s taking them back.

The Chicago Riverwalk development is a 1.5-mile promenade for pedestrians and bicycles that runs alongside the Chicago River, helmed by Sasaki and Ross Barney Architects. The first and second phases have been open since last year, attracting thousands of visitors to the south bank to patronize restaurants, bars and shops, and take water taxis to other spots along the river.

The clean modern design, which sets off the city’s historic Beaux Arts architecture to its greatest advantage, won an annual design excellence award from the American Institute of Architects, which noted that the Riverwalk “has become the city’s backyard patio.” The promenade features an expansive stepped section planted with trees, effectively creating stadium seating from which to enjoy the water.

It also crosses both over and under several of the city’s bridges, so you can take a continuous riverside walk without ever encountering motor vehicle traffic. Recreation areas, gardens ,lawns and sculptural accents give it the feel of one big park, and some of the gardens float upon the surface of the water.

Many Chicago residents may be less than enthralled with their mayor, Rahm Emanuel, but his signature public works project seems to be going over pretty well, and it’s a valuable contribution to the urban landscape. The city has already ensured that its lakefront is open to the public rather than being claimed by big businesses and wealthy landowners, and it’s refreshing to see the river get the same treatment.

A stunning blend of old and new, this lovely oceanfront home is intertwined with remnants of an industrial ruin; the two are combined while differentiating existing from added architecture.

The house seems to grow out of the deserted walls of the former structure, resting above and pushing beyond them. Designed by Razvan Barsan + Partners of Romania, the program of this seaside California home consists of a series of residential buildings and outdoor decks leading out to a private island.

Local materials like wood, reed and bamboo along with modern lines and copious amounts of glass set the additions apart from the existing remains of both functional and ornate masonry.

Miscellaneous metal cylinders and barrels were also left, the primary home space floating above them on the shore.

The island, bridged by a minimal walkway, features trees, seating and a fire pit for gatherings, all balanced against the secondary structure between it and the mainland..