Urbanism: New York
Business is blooming

Once the niche fascination of native-plant obsessives, wildflower meadows are poised to go mainstream as more homeowners and landscape designers reconsider the ecological cost of traditional lawns. The trouble is that few have the patience or the time to pull it off. Enter Meadow Lab, a start-up that allows people to roll out a biodiverse native wildflower meadow just as they would a lawn.

Launched this year in New York’s Hudson Valley by former Food52 chief commercial officer Claire Chambers, Meadow Lab offers two products: Wildflower Soil, a blend of northeastern native seeds mixed into high-performance soil; and Wildflower Sod, a pre-grown wildflower turf. Both are designed to speed up the notoriously finicky multi-year process of establishing a meadow. “There’s a lawn-conversion conversation happening everywhere,” says Chambers. “But most people who try to start a meadow end up with a horror story.”

Her version eliminates early failure points, appealing to designers, developers and homeowners who want ecological impact and instant visual feedback. “It’s a gamechanger,” she says. “You’ve asked for a meadow and so you actually get one.”

After a long career that has seen her running ecommerce at Walmart, Chambers is leaning into the back-to-the-land lifestyle and plans to have a network of company-owned farms across the US. “This should feel like a generational business,” she says. “Something built to last.”

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Aviation: USA
Flights of fancy

Adam Goldstein
CEO and founder, Archer Aviation

The hype around airborne taxis has long outpaced the hardware. But Archer Aviation, a Silicon Valley Evtol (electric vertical take-off and landing) start-up, believes that it’s primed for flight. The plan is for its four-seater, Midnight, to launch in the UAE in December. It aims to eventually run 20-minute hops from Dubai to Abu Dhabi.

Flying taxis have been in the works for years but haven’t shown up. Is Archer different?
The technology’s ready now. Tesla led a revolution in battery tech that’s made its way into aviation. Governments are working with industry to shape aircraft standards and real capital is coming in.

Why the UAE and not the US?
From Abu Dhabi Investment Office, Mubdala Investment Company and Etihad Airways to the regulatory authorities, everyone in the UAE said, “We want to make this happen.” It’s is more agile and ambitious. And it’s our gateway to the Gulf, India and Asia.

The ‘Midnight’ seats four. Will it work as public transport?
We’re looking at $200 (€175) for a 20-minute flight but as we scale that number comes down. We want the price to be closer to that of an Uber Black.

What about military use?
We’re building an autonomous hybrid Evtol aircraft that can carry significant payloads for surveillance, logistics and tactical mobility together with [US defence start-up] Anduril.

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Construction: Singapore
Stacking up

Prefabricated homes have struggled to shake off a reputation for drab uniformity. But Singapore’s developers and designers are showing how prefab can be pretty fabulous – and premium. The city’s skyline now has several silhouettes that are standing due to PPVC, a construction method akin to that of Lego houses: modules are manufactured and finished in a factory before being fused together to make a high-rise.

Leading the way is homegrown studio ADDP Architects, which has designed several skyscrapers using this technique. Its 56-storey condominium complex, Avenue South Residence, features some of the world’s tallest prefab buildings.

Hang Ping Chin, partner at ADDP, wants to challenge the idea that prefabrication results in cookie-cutter developments. “Building modularly doesn’t mean standardisation,” she says. “In fact, PPVC enables one to experiment freely and test different façades, treatments and high-quality finishes.” The firm’s latest addition to Singapore’s skyline is The Orie, currently under construction, which features eye-catching origami-like folds in its design. It’s pretty far removed from being a mere stack of little boxes.