More than just a green facade: Vertical gardens for sound absorption and architectural acoustics

Noise can become uncomfortable for us in many situations both indoors and outdoors. External noise consists of activities (airplanes flying overhead, traffic on the road, etc.) that are either loud enough to be considered uncomfortable when outdoors, or are of an elevated volume to the extent that they infiltrate buildings at levels considered...

A timber guardrail for highways made with hardwoods

A timber guardrail made of sustainable tropical hardwoods has been developed in the Netherlands. The guardrail is an environmentally friendly alternative for zinc-coated steel barriers. The guardrail is made of a combination of two durable hardwood species: angelim vermelho (Dinizia excelsa) from Brazil and azobé (Lophira alata) from Africa....

A circular economy for medical devices; barriers and opportunities for laparoscopic instruments