All articles by barbara speed
barbara speed
This dot map shows that there are really very few people living in Scotland
Scotland is a great and wonderful, if not (yet) independent, nation. But today we were reminded of quite how sparsely…
The document you aren't allowed to see: how viability assessments undermine London’s affordable housing
Someone sends you a letter saying you must move out of your home in the next three months, because it…
This author/architect/space tourist has designed a skyscraper shaped like a cobra
Shanghai has its fair share of oddly-shaped skyscrapers. There’s the “Orient Pearl Tower“, also known as “that weird tower made…
Newly available pictures of the Barbican under construction are basically brutalism porn
To most of us, the Barbican is a series of towers with flats in, plus a theatre where you might…
Smart homes could cut energy bills and emissions – but they'll never take off in this renters' economy
A couple of months ago, I went to a presentation about a smart thermostat making waves in the Netherlands. The company,…
Finnish police officers can now issue on-the-spot fines for sexual harassment
Until now, street harassment in Finland has been “kept under wraps too often”, according to high-profile politicians But since New Year’s…
Google now lets you explore St Paul's Cathedral (and thousands of other cultural sites)
A few years ago, a friend of mine ran a series of computer classes for older people. Most were keen…
Transport maps have become too complex for our brains to understand, according to science
As you may have heard (from us, approximately weekly), London’s Underground map might just need a redesign. Perhaps adding colours…
China bans "weird" architecture in cities
It’s finally happened: China’s central government has realised that some of the wild and wonderful structures erected around the country…
Google (aka Alphabet) is launching its wi-fi balloons this year
To some, “Project Loon” seemed a very apt name for Google’s plan to deploy wi-fi to rural and remote areas…