Facebook Pixel INNOVATION BY DESIGN | Fast Company - business - Read this story on Magzter.com

Try GOLD - Free

INNOVATION BY DESIGN

Fast Company

|

Summer 2024

For 13 years, our Innovation by Design Awards have been shining a light on stunning creations. The following pages highlight 20 of this year's winning projects, from an app that helps resettle political refugees to a massive restoration project in Detroit. Plus, a list of winners and finalists in all 50 categories.

- WESLEY ALLSBROOK

INNOVATION BY DESIGN

  • GROWING A NEW BUILDING

  • Fab Tree Hab A

  • TERREFORM ONE

IN A PATCH OF FOREST NEAR THE STORM King Art Center, about 60 miles north of New York City, a building is growing. Clusters of living native willow trees form the structural pillars of this tent-shaped edifice, which is gradually expanding around a wooden scaffold that's guiding the tree trunks' growth. Over the course of just a few years, these trees will form walls and a roof that are just as stable as a conventionally constructed building.

MORE STORIES FROM Fast Company

Fast Company

Fast Company

THE GHOST IN THE SHOPPING CART

Retailers are preparing for the $5 trillion moment when AI agents can shop for us. But teaching them taste is another matter.

time to read

8 mins

Summer 2026

Fast Company

Fast Company

AI 20

These 20 human beings are inventing new ways to harness the ever-accelerating cognitive power of agentic Al.

time to read

15 mins

Summer 2026

Fast Company

HOW WE LEARNED TO STOP WORRYING AND LOVE THE AUTONOMOUS FUTURE

What better way to prepare you for the age of agents than... 40-plus pages of print journalism! When things are moving this fast, the only way to keep up is to slow down, read, and think. What follows is a guided tour of the AI vanguard: Fei-Fei Li's quest to blaze a trail beyond LLMs, Saronic's reinvention of naval might, and Uber's route into a robotaxi streetscape. Plus, 20 visionaries at the forefront of agentic innovation, autonomous shopping, tips on the best AI tools, advice from a dozen CEOs, and the surprising reason why the new autonomy is keeping one power user up at night.

time to read

6 mins

Summer 2026

Fast Company

Fast Company

THE 2026 FAST COMPANY GRILL SIZZLED FOR FOUR DAYS OF SXSW

VIBRANT, ENERGIZING, INSPIRING.

time to read

1 mins

Summer 2026

Fast Company

Fast Company

World Changing Ideas

BIG PROBLEMS NEED CREATIVE SOLUTIONS, AND THESE PROJECTS DELIVER. SOME ARE TACKLING ENERGY AND SUSTAINABILITY, WHILE OTHERS ARE USING NEW TECH TO SOLVE OLD PROBLEMS (AND VICE VERSA!). ALL ARE AMBITIOUS ENOUGH TO GET EXCITED ABOUT.

time to read

12 mins

Summer 2026

Fast Company

Fast Company

AI GETS PHYSICAL

The next frontier for AI? The real world, not just the digital one. As world models start to replace LLMs as the next wave of AI investment and hype, FEI-FEI LI'S WORLD LABS has first-mover advantage.

time to read

14 mins

Summer 2026

Fast Company

Fast Company

IMAX’S EPIC MOMENT

CHRISTOPHER NOLAN DARED IMAX TO MAKE A CAMERA QUIET ENOUGH TO BE USED FOR A WHOLE FEATURE FILM. HERE'S WHAT HAPPENED NEXT.

time to read

5 mins

Summer 2026

Fast Company

Fast Company

42 WAYS YOU SHOULD BE USING AI RIGHT NOW

AGENTIC AI CAN MAKE LIFE—AND WORK—EASIER. YOU KNOW THIS. BUT ARE YOU ACTUALLY DOING ANYTHING ABOUT IT? TIME TO GET OFF THE SIDELINES AND INTO THE GAME.

time to read

4 mins

Summer 2026

Fast Company

Fast Company

INSIDE THE RACE TO MAKE BATTERIES BETTER

AS DEMAND FOR ENERGY STORAGE TECHNOLOGIES SURGES, THERE IS INCREASED URGENCY TO MAKE THESE PRODUCTS LAST LONGER AND PERFORM BETTER

time to read

2 mins

Summer 2026

Fast Company

Fast Company

Monster Hit

How Labubu took over the world-one unboxing video at a time.

time to read

3 mins

Summer 2026

Listen

Translate

Share

-
+

Change font size