Svalbard’s “Doomsday” Seed Vault to Get a Snøhetta-Designed Welcome Center

Preserving some 986,243 seed species, in zero degrees Fahrenheit, the Svalbard Global Seed Vault protects the legacy of Earth’s fauna. For those who’ve long dreamed of seeing the site themselves, a visitor center known as The Arc is set to open in 2022. Design firm Snøhetta will lead, and their vision is two-fold. First, a mirrored, modernist main building (on a suspended timber frame, so …

Yaara Nusboim’s “Alma” Therapy Toys

Israeli designer Yaara Nusboim created these wooden therapy toys in collaboration with child psychologists for kids to work through various struggles (including trauma) during play therapy. This kind of treatment was developed by psychoanalyst Melanie Klein some 80 years ago, and encourages children to express themselves through play rather than conversation—offering a comfortable distance for them from whatever issue they are facing. Nusboim says, “The …

China-Based BGI Aims to Extend Life to a Minimum of 99 Years

For China-based BGI, the secret to living longer and healthier lies in interpreting our genetic sequences (a notion that’s often met with privacy concerns). Along with regular exercise and a healthy diet, tapping into our DNA to determine which diseases or ailments we’re susceptible to may prolong life 20+ years above the international average, which hovers around 71. The genetics giant (along with plenty of …