Based in Japan and one of an emerging generation of young, world-class architects, Shigeru Ban (b. 1957) designs and builds graceful, serene structures using modest materials such as cardboard, paper tubes, bamboo, and prefabricated wood. His buildings are sometimes soaring and birdlike, sometimes [...]

Stronger, faster, lighter, safer, smarterthese are the textiles of tomorrow. From the carbon-fiber composite bicycle frame to the cardiac constraint sock and the Mars Pathfinder landing airbags, material innovations surround us. Our landscape, our buildings, our vehicles, our clothes, and our bodies[...]