South by Southwest—the Austin, Texas–based festival known for its boundary-pushing take on tech, film, and music—stayed true to style with its fifth annual SXSW Eco, a three-day conference dedicated to inspiring conversation about environmental and social causes. Place by Design, the event’s juried architecture, art, and urban planning competition, brought a suite of global design talents to the stage, each with a unique solution for design problems in the categories of Data + Tech, Art + Interaction, Resilience, Social Impact, and Urban Strategy. Here are five of our favorite innovations.

CyArk

The Oakland, California–based nonprofit CyArk presented its tech-infused means of recording and preserving the world’s most famous monuments. Through a 3-D–modeling process, CyArk creates hyperrealistic models, available to anyone with an Internet connection, that serve to inform restoration efforts and provide unprecedented research materials to students and enthusiasts alike. cyarkrg

AirBare by Urban Matter Inc.

Taking to the streets in Louisville, Kentucky—one of the most polluted metropolitan areas in the United States—Urban Matter uses interactive art to increase awareness surrounding air quality. With data collected through sensors throughout the city, the installation, known as AirBare, offers an interactive visualization of unseen pollutants. urbanmatterincom

City Year x Gensler

Global design firm Gensler has partnered with the education service organization City Year to revamp school interiors in underserved urban neighborhoods across the United States. By working directly with students, Gensler creates colorful, vibrant environments that reflect the unique personalities of each institution. cityyearrg

HOME GR/OWN

Faced with an abundance of abandoned lots, the city of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, partnered with the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee’s Community Design solutions to transform these spaces into sustainable parks and orchards. Over the past two years, HOME GR/OWN has transformed 20 such properties throughout the municipality. milwaukee.gov

Pure Tension Pavilion

Alvin Huang, principal of the Los Angeles–based Synthesis Design + Architecture, presented the Pure Tension Pavilion, a portable car-charging station that can be stored in the trunk of a vehicle and assembled in less than an hour. Huang’s futuristic design features embedded solar panels and was inspired by the late Pritzker Prize winner Frei Otto’s famous tensioned membrane structures.