It is hard to walk through Venice, Italy without wondering how the place was built, its architecture rising inexplicably out of the dark water below, or how water, power and internet traverse its myriad canals. The Rialto Bridge is a great place to begin unpacking these mysteries.

Making this bridge possible is a forest of over 12,000 tree trunks burrowing below the surface. Dating back centuries, these foundations are embedded through loose soil below the waterline and into solid clay below, and support over 10,000 tons worth of structure above.

The whole city sits on over 10,000,000 tree trunks. The wood doesn’t rot because the poles are protected by surrounding mud, away from oxygen that would lead to decay.

Meanwhile, bridges like the Rialto serve a function beyond just connecting people — they also help water and utilities flow around the city, without needing to burrow underground or displace space in shallow canals.

The city still faces threats from structural decay, sinking structures and rising water levels, but perhaps the most amazing thing is that it is still standing at all hundreds of years after it was built.

Historic architecture meets modern art on the canals of Venice, where a pair of gigantic hands emerge from the depths to lend support above the waterline.

Designed by Lorenzo Quinn, “Support” was put into place a month in advance of the 57th International Art Biennale but is already drawing massive crowds ahead of its official debut.

It was prefabricated and shipped into positioned down the Grand Canal, then assembled and positioned so that it appears to support the Sagredo Hotel, a structure dating back to the 14th century.

Like many historic buildings in the city, this one rises straight up from the water — also like others, it is threatened by the prospect of higher sea levels as well as sinking and settling of the ground below.

“I wanted to sculpt what is considered the hardest and most technically challenging part of the human body. the hand holds so much power – the power to love, to hate, to create, to destroy” says the artist.

“Venice is a floating art city that has inspired cultures for centuries, but to continue to do so it needs the support of our generation and future ones, because it is threatened by climate change and time decay.”

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“Reflecting on the two sides of human nature, the creative and the destructive, as well as the capacity for humans to act and make an impact on history and the environment, Quinn addresses the ability for humans to make a change and re-balance the world around them—environmentally, economically, socially,” writes the Halycon Gallery, which represents Quinn.

Well known for its high-tech aspirations as well as architectural exuberance, the city of Dubai has begun ordering jetpacks for use by emergency services personnel in combating elevated blazes in its tall mixed-use towers.

Dubai Civil Defence is making the move in response to fires like the one that recently took place in its unfortunately-named Torch Tower, the world’s tallest residential building when it was completed.

The Martin Aircraft Company is adapting its existing models of commercial jetpacks to better suit the needs of flying firefighters. A standing platform will be added between the propeller engines, to allow pilots to let go of the controls (engaging a default hover mode) and move around more freely, as well as carry equipment.

“Dubai is leading the world in high-rises, and sometimes we have challenges or difficulties reaching those buildings,” Dubai’s Civil Defence chief Ali Hassan Almutawa told the Khaleej Times.

“Sometimes we also find it difficult to communicate with people in those high-rises, especially when people are panicking from windows or balconies. With the jetpack we can go there and communicate physically with them and give them instructions.” Authorities in Dubai aim to secure and deploy their new array of flying machines by early next year.

Converting almost anything you find into a household furnishing, from discarded doors and shelf boxes to dart boards, these clip-on supports can be added or removed in seconds.

Initially experimenting with cards, clips and coat hangers, a pair of Spanish design students in Barcelona, Maria Roca and Erika Biarnes (together: Be-Elastic), developed this system to be elegant, efficient, strong and flexible, combining slim steel supports with straightforward usability.

The real challenge was to make something robust that could also be easily converted on demand. While other clamp-based furniture systems exist, this solution represents a more versatile and expressive aesthetic and a much faster method of assembly and disassembly.

A set of four legs can support a few hundred pounds, making surface selection a more likely weight limitation than the capacity of the supports. As few as two units, however, can create a working piece of furniture, like a side or television table leaning against the wall. The units come in 16 color combinations (4 colors of cable and 4 colors of steel).

The clamps can be attached to essentially anything less than a few inches thick, including recycled objects of various shapes and sizes: “SNAP is designed to fit all shapes and sizes: triangular, rectangular or irregular boards. You can also place the SNAPs wherever you like in corners, on the sides in a disorderly way, or wherever you’d like! It’s up to you.”