Portland, Maine’s Plan to Become a Technology Town

Private equity firm co-founder David Roux’s donation of $100 million will help to translate Portland, Maine’s commitment to technology—and its ability to accelerate economic growth—into research and graduate programs under the Roux Institute banner. Northeastern University will manage the programs, and attendees can earn masters and doctorates in AI and machine learning. While Portland isn’t struggling economically (its unemployment rate is 2.2%), city officials and economists fear …

Trace Architecture’s Stunning Bookstore in a Tiny, Rural Chinese Town

Located on the outskirts of Xiadi, a tiny town in China’s Fujian Province, a stunning new Trace Architecture-designed bookstore occupies a once-abandoned residence. A model for sustainable structural reuse, the pre-existing building’s two foundational concrete walls act as bookshelves—and a stark contrast to natural wood accents and skylight. Outside, guests are greeted by a glass-walled cafe at ground level (with panoramic views of the surrounding …

Our Cosmos is a Spacecraft Graveyard

While it’s common to think of the universe as dark, mysterious and infinite, it’s less often that we consider all the human-made space junk floating around nearby. The cosmos is a graveyard of spacecraft—each with its own story. These defunct vessels “glide silently in Earth’s vicinity” with “their mission to chronicle the wonders of the universe long ended.” The Kepler, for instance, trails our planet since running …