Who writes operating manuals? Engineers or lawyers?
byToyota’s Prius pioneered mass use of hybrid vehicles. One of us owns one and drives it to his and his family satisfaction. A recreational-educational…
Visual design
Architecture and Exemplarity
byArchitecture can take the experimental path; experiment means that new solutions can be found; the public availability of architectural work, their sheer…
The Mangrovia Collective Wooden Totem Carbon Sink
byEffective communication may involve representation (a picture of the new model of a car), or metaphor (a bodybuilder to represent the strength of a…
Alien crossing
byA basic principle of law is that one should not turn the impossible into a rule. Rules have to be reasonable. There is…
The Thought-Provoking Nonescalator Handrail
byIf there was a Mangrovia Collective Prize for extreme thought-provoking design, a great candidate would be the Orly Nonescalator Handrail. (Yes, we do spend…
Good Sense at the ATM
byThere appears to be no agreed upon standard for inserting a card in the slot at many machines, including ATM. Or, if there is…
Perspectival Shift at La Maison de Radio France
byThe Maison de Radio France is one of the most spectacular buildings in Paris. Built by architect Henry Bernard, it opened in 1963 and…
The Mangrovia Collective Eyelid Privacy Protector
bySome of the warnings that accompany viruses’ descriptions and critical updates of software include the scary sentence: someone can gain total control over your…
Pedestrian friendly
byThere are many ways in which a town can fail to be pedestrian friendly. European capitals such as Paris or Rome are constantly fighting…
Fahrenheit responsibility
byConverting Celsius into Fahrenheit, and vice-versa, is a necessity for almost everyone who travels to the US, and for Americans traveling almost everywhere outside…