This is a photograph of Damien Hirst standing in front of a wall of butterflies — at least, it was before Dan Tapper got his hands on it. The British-born, Toronto-based artist creates algorithms that transform images into abstract art.

Source: Artist transforms algorithms into abstract art | WIRED UK

Over the past 18 months, Lucy Johnston has been scouring the globe for progressive artists. After investigating 400, she noticed a trend that she calls digital-artisan — combining the classical skills of a crafts worker with tools once reserved for the automotive and aerospace industries.

Source: These digital artisans combine classical craft with 21st century techniques | WIRED UK

You can’t improve on nature, so why not copy it? The Sepios is an aquatic robot developed at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zürich that imitates a cuttlefish’s movements.

Source: The Sepios aquatic robot helps divers and the military

Gerben Stouten, a biochemist at Delft Technical University, has found a microorganism that turns waste into water — and makes bioplastic in the process. “We try to find organisms in nature that can do a special trick,” says Stouten, 30.

Source: A Dutch chemist uses bacteria to turn trash into magic

This jagged building is the Musée des Confluences, built on a man-made peninsula in Lyon, France, at the point where the Rhône and Saône rivers converge. “The ground water is very high,” says Wolf Prix, principal architect of Austrian firm COOP HIMMELB(L)AU. “We had to drill about 500 piles into solid ground so it would be safe to build on.”

Source: A look inside the Musée des Confluences in Lyon, France | WIRED UK

Futurists have long dreamed of flying cars — and Slovakian startup AeroMobil has finally built one fit for purpose.

Source: The Slovakian startup building a flying car | WIRED UK

Earth experienced its hottest year on record in 2014, according to the National Climatic Data Center in the US, with extreme weather hitting indiscriminately — from an Arctic winter in Chicago to a year-round drought in Los Angeles. The problem? Rising temperatures caused by global warming mean the atmosphere holds more vapour, resulting in more rain.

Source: High-impact climate events increasingly impact our cities

YouTube is home to many beauty vloggers, but Michelle Phan is undoubtedly its queen. More than seven million subscribers tune in to the 27-year-old’s video makeup tutorials, which have been viewed over one billion times. And, in the process, Phan has turned her face — and the things she puts on it — into a multi-million-dollar brand.

Source: Building a business on video selfies | WIRED UK

The Philharmonie concert hall in Paris opened in January — even though it was unfinished. In the days before its debut, Marshall Day, the company leading the hall’s acoustic design, couldn’t gain access because the gunmen responsible for the Charlie Hebdo attacks had fled to the surrounding area. But rather than suspend the opening, the tragedy created an act of solidarity.

Source: How the City of Lights’ newest concert hall rode out a storm

Urban areas are getting smarter, with city projects such as solar-powered bike paths in Krommenie, the Netherlands, to cardless ATMs in Chicago already under way.

Source: The connected streetscape is here — and it’s smarter than you think