Let there be light

When you go to a park, the whole point is to sit on the grass and bask in the lovely sunshine, right? Unless you're in New York -- where the enormous buildings impose a canyonlike gloom over many areas. So it was with the designers of Teardrop Park South, down in the Battery Park area of New York: They began extending their park at the same time as a new building was being erected, and realized they were about to face a huge problem. When both projects were completed, the building would permanently shield the park from the sun. What to do?

When I first heard the story of the Italian Alpine village that wanted to install a giant mirror I thought it might be a joke. But it took only one call to the Mayor of Viganella, Pierfranco Midali, to realise he was deadly serious. So I decided to go and investigate. Continue.