Made by power tool-maker Makita, this is the ultimate coffee machine to energize construction workers, charged by the same batteries already in use on work sites. The CM501D is designed to derive energy from plug-in, rechargeable, lithium-ion power sources that drive cordless screws, drills, saws and other standard equipment.

For those unfamiliar with them: these swappable systems (used by various companies) add simplicity and redundancy, allowing different tools to work off share batteries, so some can be recharged while others are in use.

The Japanese company behind this unusual battery usage boasts the mobility of the device, which can be brought to work sites that are not yet plugged into the grid. It can make about a half-dozen cups on a single 18V battery charge, from modular coffee packs or ground coffee It is convenient, requiring no paper filter (grounds can be poured straight in), compact, versatile and fast.

Makita’s first coffee maker went on sale in 2015, but the design was more conventional — it was less robust and compact (featuring a cord that batteries could be plugged into). The new model is made to me sturdier and safer, an all-in-one machine without any lines to trip over.

As a general strategy, this powering system opens the door to other similar ideas, too — anything needing electricity on a building site could be adapted to function in a similar way. Meanwhile, other toolmakers (like DeWalt, Ryobi, Bosch and Dremel) could learn a lesson or two from this manufacturer.

A turn of phrase meets art in this mural made to look like a face, with glass-framed eyes reflecting the world outside.

Graffiti interventionist Achilles likes to put art in context, using walls and spaces as backdrops for layered works that wouldn’t work quite the same way anywhere else.

Many of his site-specific works play with perspective and create visual surprises by tucking elements onto different surfaces to create reveals as the viewer approaches.

Compared to his complex works, his artist bio is short and to the point: “Achilles lives and creates in Athens, Greece. He loves street art, graffiti and painting. He works as a freelancer creating murals, portraits, paintings, illustrations etc.”

In an unprecedented feat of engineering, the world’s most infamous nuclear disaster site has been covered by a huge prefabricated steel arch designed to shield the world from its fallout. Made to fit over the so-called sarcophagus, a crumbling concrete and lead shelter initially erected at the site, the New Safe Confinement structure spans nearly 1,000 feet horizontally.

The original protective shell over the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant’s reactor was a hurried affair and never meant to be permanent — 4,000 people in the region were still killed in the initial catastrophic meltdown but many more were saved thanks to this hasty intervention.

In the days, weeks and months following the disaster, hundreds of thousands of evacuees and emergency workers were exposed to dangerous radiation.

At the cost of 1.5 billion dollars the new lid is also not a solution to last forever, but it is designed to last for 100 years. Weighing 36,000 tons and taller than the statue of liberty (354 feet) the monstrous structure is only partially complete — it still needs to be rendered airtight and radiation equipment is yet to be installed. The entire thing has been constructed offsite on nearby land before being moved into place.

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..

Incredibly accurate laser-scanning technology, precise down to a hundredth of a millimeter, has helped British architects not only plan a new structure but also secure permission from a local planning commission. Their proposed Rock House, now approved, preserves both natural and architectural features currently on a government-protected site.

Cornish firm Poynton Bradbury Wynter Cole (PBWC) Architects enlisted CESurveys to lidar scan the existing property, located in a conservation area. Their scanner system fires tens of thousands of lasers per second to get precise distance readings on complex terrain. Compared to traditional surveying and site-mapping strategies, this approach is much faster, cheaper and more effective.

The results are translated into a three-dimensional model that can be manipulated, showing the effects of site changes or interventions. Scans from around sites are stitched together to form a complete picture.

The resulting models have an array of benefits, including the ability to show approving parties what the impacts of additions and remodels might be to a given property. They also helped the architects, in this case, maintain key lines of site, such as views out to the sea, and limit the cost of revisiting the site frequently to document additional features. Slices of the scans also make it easy to generate sections and elevations, sliced directly out of the models.

Applications of lidar scanning goes well beyond architecture, too, including the ability to document historic infrastructure and preserve 3D models of fresh crime scenes.