“We envision a potential new stadium that makes our community proud and enhances the reputation of our great city and state,” says Titans president and CEO Burke Nihill. “We’re focused on designing a stadium capable of hosting a prestigious international event on a Sunday and a steady flow of impactful community programming later that same week. This is a building that would serve Nashville and Tennessee for generations.”

The new 1.7-million-square-foot stadium will have room for roughly 60,000 guests, a decrease from the current venue’s 69,000 capacity and a move that would make it the smallest in the entire NFL. However, the reduced size is a strategic business decision. “It’s an industry best thinking at this point,” Nihill explained during a recent Metro city council meeting. “It’s a little bit of a painful experience because it’s my job to make sure we sell out the stadium. We don’t sell out the stadium for most of our games.”

Additionally, the NFL has adjusted their requirements when it comes to where the Super Bowl can be held. It is no longer simply a matter of seat capacity, but also whether the local area has nearby hotels, venues, and other fan experiences to support any travelers to the game. By building a newer stadium, lots of prime riverfront real estate will be freed up for the city of Nashville to develop into exactly those types of spaces.

Even though there will be fewer seats at the Titans’ new stadium, they will all have excellent visibility. “Every seat has been pulled further forward and slightly steeper. That means the views are closer and better to the game or the concert than they are in the existing building. In fact, the entire upper deck is pulled about 30 feet closer,” says David Manica, head architect at Manica Architecture, the firm tapped to create the initial design and mock-ups for the stadium.

Manica Architecture is no stranger to designing professional sports venues. In March, David and his team were commissioned to lead the initial design for the Chicago Bears’ new NFL stadium. The firm previously designed the Las Vegas Raiders’ “Death Star” stadium, as well as the team’s headquarters and training facility.

The rest of the $2.1 billion Titans stadium specs include exterior terraces and porches with panoramic views of the city that will offer prime mingling space during events. The stadium will also be weatherproofed with a circular ETFE (lightweight glass substitute) translucent roof. Immediately adjacent to the new stadium will be a 12,000-square-foot community plaza that can be used for “educational opportunities, non-profit events, and other community-minded purposes,” according to the Titans.

It looks as if the Titans’ stadium is already attracting the notice of non-NFL groups. The WWE has reportedly made a verbal agreement to bring Wrestle Mania (its biggest event of the year) to Nashville as long as an enclosed stadium is constructed.

The post New Tennessee Titans Stadium Will Be State of the Art, but Smallest in the NFL first appeared on Dornob.

Looking a bit like a giant bird with its pointed, beak-like front end and green “wings,” the RaceBird first took conceptual form while E1 co-founder and CEO Rodi Basso was staying at her summer house in Sweden. She noticed birds gliding over the surface of the water and imagined how that form could translate to a futuristic, environmentally friendly boat with serious competitive capabilities.

A Formula 1 engineer who previously worked with McLaren, Ferrari, and NASA, Basso founded the E1 Series all-electric race boat championship with sports entrepreneur Alejandro Agag with a goal to bring electric motorsports to rivers and oceans around the world. The duo partnered with Norwegian designer Sophi Horne, naval architect and marine engineer Brunello Acompara, SeaBird Technologies, and Victory Marine to develop, manufacture, and build the RaceBird as the official racing vessel for the E1 championship.

The RaceBird features a fully electric outboard motor produced by marine propulsion experts at Mercury Racing and a cockpit resembling a single-seater race car with a steering wheel and pedals. Designed for just one occupant — the pilot — the RaceBird is powered by a Kreisel Electric battery and uses immersion cooling technologies to maintain top performance while in motion. The hydrofoils keep the body of the RaceBird above the water to reduce drag and maximize its energy efficiency.

Engineers successfully tested the RaceBird in northern Italy in April 2022, and the vessel is now on track to compete in the E1 World Championship in Spring 2023.

“We’re now one step closer to making electric racing on the water a reality,” says Agag. “I remember very well the same scenarios we encountered during the early stages at both Formula E and Extreme E, and just like on those occasions this is a major breakthrough on E1’s journey. Seeing the RaceBird fly proves to me that we can use this exciting, new sporting platform to drive technological innovation in the marine industry and create something spectacular for fans in the cities we visit.”

“Seeing the RaceBird flying on the water for the first time was an emotional moment for myself and many others who have been working on this project over the past few months,” says Basso. “So far, the RaceBird has exceeded expectations especially with the performance, agility and cornering capabilities. The current performance levels are exactly where we wanted them to be, helping to promote exciting foil-to-foil racing close to the shoreline.”

“In the coming weeks, we’ll continue to run further tests and gather the necessary data. I’m really looking forward to showing it in public for the first time, which we’ll be announcing more on shortly. This test marks the first page of a new chapter in the electrification of the marine industry, focusing on accelerating future technologies for the benefit of our waters.”

The post All-Electric RaceBird Hydrofoil Boat Flies Over the Water at Incredible Speeds first appeared on Dornob.

Next time you watch those stunning triple axles and gnarly tricks from the skiers and boarders, take note of the following architectural marvels:

The Beijing National Stadium

Built ahead of the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics, the Beijing National Stadium (also known as the Bird’s Nest), was conceived by the inventive Swiss architecture studio Herzog & Meuron.

Following the Olympic Committee’s decision to start reusing venues for a more eco-friendly, sustainable approach, the National Stadium has the distinction of being the only stadium to host both winter and summer Olympics. In addition to its unique shape and dynamic design, the Bird’s Nest also just so happens to be the world’s largest steel structure — making it the ideal place to host the opening and closing ceremonies of the 2022 Olympics within its illuminated latticed walls.

National Speed Skating Oval

Designed by architecture studio Populous (themselves no strangers to spectacular stadiums), the National Speed Skating Oval is one of only a few new structures built for the 2022 Winter Olympics.

Built on the former site of the 2008 hockey and archery fields, the Oval’s mind-bendingly melty shape (designed to let the spectators hear even the faintest ice scrape) is certainly distinctive — but it’s the 22 strands of electric blue light circling the stadium that really make it a showstopper. Dubbed “The Ice Ribbon,” the Oval is destined to be one of the highlights of this year’s Winter Games.

Big Air Shougang

Completed in 2019, the rollicking ramp Big Air Shougang marks another new addition to the Beijing Winter Olympics roster. Designed by TeamMinus, the structure is “the world’s first permanent big air structure” and will, not surprisingly, host skiing and snowboarding’s trickiest, most extreme big air events. Set on the site of a former steel mill, the ramp itself has an industrial feel to it, while the colorful aluminum side panels add bravado and flair to the scene.

National Sliding Center

Located in the Yanqing Olympic Zone north of Beijing, the National Sliding Center is yet another new addition to the Winter Olympics’ stellar architectural lineup. Designed by Atelier Li Xinggang, the over one-mile-long sliding track is topped with an impressive tiled wooden roof covering the winding trails below.

The primary site of the bobsledding, skeleton, and luge events at the 2022 Olympic Games, the Sliding Center is the first of its kind in China — and only the third to be built in Asia.

National Ski Jumping Center

Another inventive TeamMinus creation, the National Ski Jumping Center hosted the ski jump and Nordic combined events during the 2022 Winter Olympics. Now, it’s set to become an athlete’s training facility and luxe tourist resort post-games.

Nicknamed “Snow Ruyi” because of its resemblance to a ruyi, a traditional Chinese talisman representing power and good fortune, the center is located in the Zhangjiakou Zone northwest of Beijing — itself already a popular ski destination. Topped with an over 100-foot-high circular viewing platform complete with a panoramic restaurant, the Ski Jumping Center will surely be a destination for years to come due to its fabulous location, stunning vistas, and proximity to a new intercity railway.

While many of the structures at the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics were repurposed faves from the 2008 Summer Games, we also saw an impressive new lineup of structures built expressly to host this year’s exciting events.

Next time the games roll around, take a moment between cheering Team USA and catching some curling to get a glimpse of some of the most inventive new architecture out there. You’ll be glad you did.

The post The Architecture of the 2022 Winter Olympics Gets a Gold Medal in Cool first appeared on Dornob.

Hollaway, who was commissioned for the project by billionaire Roger De Haan, recently told Dezeen that “We see this as an opportunity to put Folkestone on the map. To the best of our knowledge this has never been done anywhere else in the world.” The park’s ambitious three-story plan certainly aims to impress, offering facilities for both skateboarders and BMX riders to hone their freestyling and tricks. There will also be a boxing ring (operated by a local boxing club), an 11-meter-high climbing wall, a café, a first aid center, and a rooftop terrace present to complete the ultimate skaters’ paradise.

Located on the site of an old bingo hall in the center of Folkestone, the project is meant to be a lot more than a fun, tricked-out space and architectural centerpiece. More importantly, Holloway wants F51 to be a draw for the area’s youth through engagement and community involvement, with the end goal of revitalizing and re-energizing the small town of Folkestone. “If you make childhood meaningful through education, sport, and recreation, then it’s more likely [youth] will invest in their town and the future…that is what true regeneration is about,” the architect said at the outset of the project.

Replacing the old harborside skatepark also owned by De Haan, the park will definitely be a striking addition to the town. Currently under construction, the structure’s three stories tower above the rest of nearby Tontine Street, looking eerily similar to the prow of an enormous concrete ship. A true work of art described as a “giant piece of pottery” by local artist Matt Rowe, who has been documenting F51’s progress since the beginning, the skatepark was created using polystyrene molds set with rebar, which were then sprayed into their more finished concrete forms. The process is not only artistic (think ceramics), but a crucial part of one of the park’s signature features: a suspended concrete bowl located on the first floor that’s perfect for the likes of BMXers and skateboarders looking to trick, jump, and ride with reckless abandon.

The open space, with its “refined skate surfaces” and reinforced concrete pillars, will also be a fully immersive experience, with the acoustics playing an important part in creating the park’s enigmatic and energetic ambience. Initially described by Halloway as a “controlled adrenaline facility,” the park offers opportunities for boarders and BMXers of all skill levels to showcase their skills. And even though it’s being designed with safety in mind, the park will nonetheless offer an exhilarating way for locals to ollie, 360, and shred to their hearts’ content – all in the small English town of Folkestone.

The post F51: The World’s First Multi-Level Skatepark Shreds into a Quaint English Town first appeared on Dornob.

“We wanted to design a museum that not only eliminated physical barriers but created a completely shared experience, as well,” said Benjamin Gilmartin, a partner at Diller Scofidio + Renfro, the Manhattan-based architecture firm that designed the building.

The accessible experience begins in the lobby, where visitors can request transport chairs, noise-canceling headphones, assistive listening devices, touchscreen styluses, and sensory-input items like fidget tools and weighted lap pads. Additionally, before they get started, patrons can customize their museum tour by adding preferences to an electronic tag. They can select aids like audio-described videos, high-contrast or enlarged fonts for captions, and text-to-speech screen readers. As the visitor enters each exhibit, the programmed tag automatically turns on the desired effects.

The tour starts with an elevator ride to the top floor and works its way through the exhibits, descending each floor with accessibly sloped ramps that are wide enough for two wheelchairs to comfortably pass. “From the earliest stages of design, the team consulted a committee of Paralympic athletes and persons with disabilities to ensure that, from entrance to exit, all visitors with or without disabilities could tour the USOPM facility together and share a common path,” the architects say on their website. In a cool symbolic way, that common 400-foot-long path also allows people to emulate the journey of an Olympic skier on their downhill run to glory.

All the flooring in the 60,000-square-foot museum is a uniform polished concrete, eliminating mobility obstructions. Plus, all videos play with open captions and American Sign Language translations. All touchscreens have tactile keypads to assist the visually impaired.

The 12 gallery halls housed within the museum’s three floors tell the story of Olympic contenders stretching back as far as the first Greek Games in 776 B.C. Visitors can read about each of the 154 inductees to the Olympic & Paralympic Hall of Fame, race against their favorite animated athlete on an interactive track, take on the giant slalom via simulator, and see a collection of modern Olympic torches. And of course, there’s also a plethora of gear, uniforms, and inspirational quotes from many beloved athletes throughout the space.

Outside, in keeping with the athleticism of the Olympians, the multi-angled facade of the exterior structure and its nearly 9,000 reflective anodized aluminum panels continue the feeling of motion. Across a pedestrian and wheelchair-friendly plaza, Diller Scofido + Renfro also designed a multipurpose structure with an outdoor amphitheater. The interior contains a café, a flexible theater that can accommodate up to 26 wheelchairs, and an event space with mountain vistas and a 500-square-foot terrace.

Nestled in the shadow of Pikes Peak, the Colorado Springs museum is located just three miles from the Olympic Training Center, where more than 15,000 Olympic and Paralympic athletes hone their skills each year. While the OTC is not currently accepting visitors due to the COVID-19 pandemic, patrons at the new museum are welcome seven days a week from 10 AM to 5 PM.

The post New Museum Makes the Olympics an Inclusive Experience for All first appeared on Dornob.

The video game store is modeled after the company’s Oregon headquarters and allows players to play rounds of “Tag,” “The Floor is Lava,” and “Dodgeball” with their online avatars. Participants can also design their own mini-games using interactive sports gear.

“Nike created this bespoke world with the backdrop of its world headquarters and inside Roblox’s immersive 3D space, building on its goal to turn sport and play into a lifestyle,” the company said in an official press release.

More importantly for the sportswear giant, gamers can outfit their avatars with digital brand merchandise like hats, shirts, cleats, and of course, sneakers.

“Experience global football in an official Roblox colorway of the Mercurial football boot,” the press release reads. “Gear up in classics like the Air Force 1 and Nike Blazer and in new drops like the Air Force 1 Fontanka and the Air Max 2021. All can be found in the digital showroom, along with a host of other Nike apparel staples like ACG and Nike Tech Pack.”

Players can earn these products by collecting Gold Medals in NIKELAND. That requires completing competitions, building up yards, exploring, and finding Easter eggs. Additionally, Nike fans can purchase any of the exclusive apparel in the digital showroom.

The company is also creating an augmented reality experience in its flagship store in New York to merge the digital and physical realities. “Nike’s commitment to inspiring the advancement and innovation of the future of sports experiences will continue this December when the brand brings the immersive world of Roblox and NIKELAND to life at Nike’s HOI (House of Innovation) in New York.”

Using a Snapchat filter, people visiting the kids’ floor there will be able to “see the space transformed into an augmented reality version of NIKELAND, including its signature avatars, fun games to play, and NIKELAND-inspired Easter eggs to find.”

The Roblox foray could prove to be a lucrative new branch of the company’s revenue streams. The global metaverse market is forecasted to produce over $6 billion in 2021. Some experts believe it could reach $41 billion within another five years.

Further evidence that Nike is planning to build up their virtual reality presence can be found on their job boards. With an October 23rd job listing for a “Virtual Material Designer of Footwear” among other virtual design roles, the company is calling for a “Digital Product Creation group” that will focus on “igniting the digital and virtual revolution at Nike.”

The athletic wear brand is also taking steps to protect their intellectual property in the broader metaverse. In late October 2021, the company filed seven applications with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, among which were the terms “Nike,” “Air Jordan,” “Jumpman,” the brand’s slogan “Just Do It,” and its iconic swoosh logo.

Having ownership of their catchphrases and names will help them police the use of their intellectual property across the many digital universes that are exploding in popularity across the globe.

The post Nike Poised to Make Metaverse Profits with New Roblox NIKELAND first appeared on Dornob.

Sitting among a group of midcentury buildings in Midtown with views of Central Park and One World Trade Center, the new headquarters hosts 1,250 employees from the office of the commissioner and MLB Advanced Media. Studios Architecture’s managing principal architect Joshua Rider and associate Jordan Evans were tasked with adapting the building’s deep floor plates into a hierarchal, layered program that places functions that don’t require natural light, like tech rooms, multimedia screening rooms, and broadcast studios, in the center of the building. That leaves the beautifully day-lit perimeter for spaces that bring the community together.

A triple-height, stadium-like central volume called the Concourse invites employees from all the various departments to a coffee bar, with staircases leading up and down and a full-height, faceted white feature wall upon which live MLB updates, statistics, and game content can be projected. This space is full of triangular patterns abstracted from the shape of a baseball diamond. From this social hub, employees and visitors filter into open offices and flexible meeting areas, each equipped with five different types of mix-and-match workstation models to fit the needs of each department.

“The building also offered top-tier amenity opportunities critical to a headquarters of this size and stature, including terraces and a double-height auditorium now called the Ponti Pavilion,” the architects say. “But these are just the start to a rich variety of flexible gathering and entertaining spaces to support internal events as well as community initiatives, like its Youth and International programs working to broaden the appeal of baseball. A large-scale café with grab and go and food hall options sits in a unique corner of the building, allowing the seating area open to all to hover five floors above sixth avenue — with views of the bustling streets, but also a front row seat to the iconic Radio City Music Hall sign and views extending down to One World Trade and up to Central Park.”

All those oversized baseball graphics might not be subtle, but the architects incorporated baseball themes throughout the building in other, less obvious ways. Red stitching mimicking that on a baseball accents a leather-wrapped reception desk the color of a baseball glove, and seven types of ash wood on the walls and ceilings nod to the baseball bat. Plus, the more you look, the more you’ll find iterations of the diamond shape.

“The end result is a perfect embodiment of our philosophy of One Baseball,” says Pat Courtney, Chief Communications Officer of Major League Baseball. “This sport is meant for everyone, and we want each person who comes to our offices to feel a part of the game.”

The post Studios Architecture’s Major League Baseball Headquarters Embodies a Unifying New Mantra first appeared on Dornob.

On Twitter, some users were weirded out by the display, comparing CUE5 to murderous movie robots and AI technology like Skynet, the self-aware computer system from the Terminator movies that was hell-bent on eradicating humanity. Others, like Elon Musk, commented approvingly, impressed by the spectacle. It’s hard not to find it at least a little bit creepy, given its appearance: a metal body that kind of looks like it was crafted from an enormous cheese grater, comically large hands (modeled on Shaquille O’Neal’s), and a small head with a single glowing eye.

This robot isn’t taking any basketball player’s job anytime soon. Though its accuracy is dead-on thanks to AI-enhanced aim and a host of sensors on its torso that measure distance, the CUE5 took a full 15 seconds to set up its half-court shot, and it can’t jump or dribble. Still, some people couldn’t help but get in a few digs at certain players, implying that the robot could eclipse them in overall performance at any moment.

Toyota developed the first CUE robot just for fun in 2017. Since then, they’ve gone through multiple iterations, improving each one a little bit more. CUE3 appeared on court during the halftime show at Alvark Tokyo’s home match on November 16th, 2019, managing to move just a few meters. At the time, the development team promised Alvark’s fans that the next version, CUE4, would attempt a three-point shootout later in the season. Leveling up the robot’s performance was a challenge, but they pulled it off in January 2020, when CUE4 sank 11 shots in front of a live audience at Japan’s B League All-Star Game.

Toyota hasn’t spelled out exactly what makes the CUE5 different from the 4, but project leader Tomohiro Nomi says it can shoot “almost 100 percent” on 15-foot free throws, 98 percent on three-pointers from the 22-foot international line, and 60 percent on half-court shots. That means it outshoots the NBA’s best players, with only Stephen Curry coming close as competition.

Even if Toyota’s creepy basketball robot manages to get a lot more fluid in its movements, advancing the potential for robotic sports games of all kinds, does that actually sound like fun to watch? Near-perfection in a human can be wondrous to behold, but we expect it from robots, so it’s not as impressive. Plus, there’s always that undertone of horror about what the future of artificial intelligence might bring for all of us meat-sacks. Honestly, why do they always make these things look so terrifying?

The post Toyota’s Creepy Basketball Robot Stunned Viewers of the Tokyo Olympics first appeared on Dornob.

“We are proud to present ‘The Constant Gardeners’ as part of Tokyo Tokyo FESTIVAL Special 13,” said Creative Director and Founder Jason Bruges in a press release. “By developing new paradigms in robotics and performative arts, we hope to show how innovative technologies can be used in storytelling, offering audiences in Tokyo an accessible, meaningful experience that celebrates the Tokyo 2020 Games and the incredible skill and achievements of its athletes.”

The four robots were salvaged from years of industrial factory work and repurposed with specialized tips to draw in the sand, moving back and forth along linear rails. Bruges and his studio embraced the inclusion of robots as a way to “reflect on the role of machines in our daily lives” and to show their potential for experimental creativity.

The raised zen garden bed is filled with 14 tons of crushed black basalt, with another four tons of silver-gray granite lining the floor around the gravel canvas.

Using computer analysis of past video footage of Olympians across a wide range of sports, the mechanical “gardeners” will “create a new visual language to communicate and celebrate the motion of the professional athletes and their feats of physical prowess.” And just as many sports involve teammates working together for a flawless performance, the four robotic arms will have to cooperate to construct such large-scale tapestries of sand.

During the course of the five-week exhibition that overlaps the Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games, the machines will produce about 150 unique illustrations. Some of the art will be representative patterns (“the story of an event unfolding over time”), while others will be more concrete in their depictions (“a single spectacular movement or sporting moment”).

“’The Constant Gardeners’ and the mesmerizing raking of its ‘gardeners’ will offer visitors a peaceful space for quiet introspection in the heart of Tokyo’s cultural district,” says the studio. “The artwork draws inspiration from the aesthetic and craft of the traditional Zen Garden and from the sportsmen and women who carefully hone and perfect their movements to train and excel in their fields.”

Commissioned by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government and Arts Council, the outdoor exhibition is on display from July 28th to September 5th in the city’s Ueno Park.

Artist Jason Bruges got his start in architecture, studying at Oxford Brookes University and the Bartlett School of Architecture (UCL). After working in that field for several years, he started his own multi-disciplinary firm in 2002, blending architecture with technology and interactive design to provide dynamic spatial experiences for people around the globe, although this latest installation is the first art from the studio to be displayed in Japan. Their team of engineers, architects, industrial and computational designers is constantly exploring the “interrelationships between people, data, technology, and nature.”

The post The Constant Gardeners: Artist Creates Robotic Zen Garden for Tokyo Olympics first appeared on Dornob.

Soul Cap, which is known for its previous partnership with Black British Olympic swimmer Alice Dearing, has been outspoken about why the decision is unfair. “For younger swimmers, feeling included and seeing yourself in a sport at a young age is crucial,” Soul Cap co-founder Toks Ahmed wrote in a recent Instagram post. “FINA’S recent dismissal could discourage many younger athletes from pursuing the sport as they progress through local, county, and national competitive swimming.”

https://www.instagram.com/p/CQwIBtoBL3E/

The ban seems to be based on a lack of understanding about Black hair and contributes to a pattern of punishing Black women for their hairstyles. As Soul Cap’s founders have pointed out, many Black women and girls avoid swimming because of the damaging effect it can have on their hair, which makes special caps necessary. That could contribute to the lack of diversity within competitive swimming, but particularly in the U.S., historic racism is a factor as well, like lack of access to public swimming pools as recently as the 1960s. Even more recently, in the 2019 U.S. Swimming Membership Demographics report, only 0.8 percent of 327,337 swimmers were Black men, and 0.6 percent Black women.

In response to the controversy, FINA has announced that it’s reconsidering its decision, and that it expects to make its consideration of “Soul Cap” and similar products part of wider initiatives to ensure there are no barriers to participation in swimming, though they have not yet reversed the ban. “There’s no restriction on ‘Soul Cap’ swim caps for recreational and teaching purposes,” they say.

That statement was criticized by Martiza McClendon, a 2004 Olympic silver medalist and the first Black woman to join a U.S. Olympic swim team. “The undertone behind what their decision was speaks beyond the cap,” she told Good Morning America. “You’re basically saying that Black swimmers aren’t at the elite level and they don’t really need a cap that works best for them.” Furthermore, McClendon explains that FINA’s statement that it can be used recreationally excludes FINA-sanctioned meets, “which happens to be the Olympics… the ultimate goal for most competitive swimmers at that level.”

The swim cap ban went into effect just as track star Sha’Carri Richardson was disqualified from competing in the Tokyo Olympics after testing positive for THC, a chemical found in cannabis, for outdated reasons that are also rooted in racism. On top of that, Namibian sprinters Christine Mboma and Beatrice Masilingi were recently disqualified from the 400-meter race at the Games because of naturally high levels of testosterone, like South African runner Caster Semenya before them. They would have to take medication to lower it in order to compete. These decisions fail to take into account shifting cultural attitudes about cannabis and enforce a narrow, limiting idea of what kind of human body is acceptable to participate in the Olympics.

The post The Ban on Swimming Caps for Black Women is Just One Example of Racism at the Olympics first appeared on Dornob.

Yes, this video game is a year late, along with the actual Olympic Games, but don’t let that stop you from checking it out. Mastering each sporting event does require a bit of technical skill, and just like training for the real thing, it’ll take some practice to make progress, though it’ll mostly just be your thumbs getting a workout. But as you get better, you’ll unlock more features, like fine-tuned tips, new skills, and spiffy outfits for your avatar.

Speaking of outfits, the best part of Sega’s Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 video game is the degree to which you can customize your avatar. Not only do you have a wide range of skin tones, hair styles, and facial features to choose from, you can also slide your character’s weight up and down to achieve whatever the most realistic physique is for you. You can even apply makeup, freckles, and face paint. All the different styles of characters can play together across all 18 events, and no avatar choices will affect performance.

There’s virtually no limit to just how ridiculous you can look, if you so choose. The apparel choices include sumo wrestling, astronaut, neanderthal, knight, pirate, and many other costumes so you can fulfill your very specific fantasy of winning a BMX race while dressed like a cowboy with tiger-themed face paint. Have at it. You could even compete with your friends and family in multiplayer mode – not just in the sports themselves, but at who can come up with the most hilarious getup. And if you would still rather play as Sonic the Hedgehog, you can do that, too.

“The Olympic Games are a unifying symbol of sportsmanship and competition for athletes and fans throughout the world,” president and COO at Sega of America Ian Curran said in a press release. “Tokyo 2020 channels that same positive spirit into a fun, arcade-style experience for friends and family to play together as we all look forward to the start of the Olympic Games this summer.”

“By working with SEGA, we are able to engage new and existing fans – particularly young people – with the Olympic Games far beyond the Games period,” says Elisabeth Allaman, VP Commercial integration at the IOC Television and Marketing Services. “We’re looking forward to seeing the next generation of young Olympic fans build their first tangible connection to the Olympic Games and Olympism through the official video game.”

The full list of sporting events available to play in the game include 110m Hurdles, 4×100 Relay, Hammer Throw, Beach Volleyball, Long Jump, BMX, Boxing, Judo, Rugby Sevens, Football (Soccer), 100m Freestyle (Swimming), 200m Individual Medley (Swimming), Sport Climbing, Tennis, Table Tennis, Basketball, Baseball, and the 100m Dash. The game is available now for $39.99 USD at major retailers including Amazon, Best Buy, Gamestop, VGP, and EBGames. You can also get a digital version from the Playstation store. PS Plus is required for online play and multiplayer mode (up to 8 players).

The post Sega’s Olympic Games 2020 Video Game is Full of Fun Challenges and Absurd Avatars first appeared on Dornob.

From there, the home’s identity gets less literal, but no less gorgeous. “Dunk House” is really a love letter to LA, defined first and foremost by its color. Malka created a special shade of “Los Angeles Blue” just for this application, explaining that the polarized paint interacts “with the various solar luminosities, and automatically adjusts its color to match the Californian sky’s tones, merging the house with its surrounding.” This gives the home a “contemporary stealth camouflage” that makes it less obtrusive in the landscape, merging almost seamlessly into its surroundings.

That camouflage continues from the main house to the mirrored guest home in the backyard, which reflects all the lovely sky blue as well as the adjacent palm trees and the swimming pool that stretches between the two buildings. Facing each other with oversized windows, the volumes feel like extensions of each other, and as the “Los Angeles Blue” paint penetrates the interiors, it helps to blur the lines between indoors and out.

“The result is a contextual alliance between the very materiality of the villa its surrounding, proactively interacting towards the streets of LA, the beach community, the sun’s latitude, and the sky intensity,” Malka says.

The blue is just as refreshing inside as it is on the exterior walls. Used to define a double-height lounge area, it’s painted on the walls and floors and continues with a gradient effect onto the glossy built-in cabinetry. Skylights let the sun play the same visual tricks here as it does outside, amplified by the reflections off the water. The home’s all-white furniture mimics the lounge chairs by the pool in a nod to LA’s perpetually temperate weather.

Though we only glimpse the common areas of the home in Malka’s photos, we still get a sense of the mood that likely continues into more private spaces. The bright cheerful blue shifts into textural sand-colored floors, while white walls deeper inside the home aid in reflecting the plentiful sunlight.

“Dunk House” is one of Studio Malka Architecture’s more laid-back and minimalist works. The firm has gained a reputation for pushing both boundaries and buttons, never afraid to offer surprising and unconventional solutions, experiment with new materials, or make a political statement. They often play with modularity and exploded geometric forms, recently deconstructing a brick wall at the Paname Comedy Club and stacking golden volumes of student housing, both in Paris. Earlier works include a 2014 proposal to co-opt a bridge for modular affordable housing, and “Plug-In City 75,” a sustainable development packed with balconies and hanging gardens.

The post Dunk House: A Sky-Blue Home for a Basketball Player by Studio Malka Architecture first appeared on Dornob.

The “Maria” collection features six pieces, each designed with an eye for minimalism, durability, versatility, and elegance. Staged within her own home, their neutral shades, textural textiles, and refined silhouettes epitomize “Japandi” style, a word describing the overlap between Scandinavian “hygge” coziness and the perfectly imperfect nature of Japanese wabi-sabi. Both emphasize natural materials, heirloom quality, and the patina that comes with regular use.

The “Maria” furniture and decor collection includes a plush velvet sofa with a walnut frame, a coordinating upholstered bench, a woven hemp rug, a floor lamp with a dome shade, a softly curved pedestal-shaped coffee table made of glass fiber concrete, and a matching side table. The lamp and tables in particular have a statuesque feel to them, and the sofa is both stylish and welcoming. The pieces range between $250 and $3,124 USD, with the sofa and bench offered in five muted nature-inspired hues like “warm taupe” and “porpoise” gray.

“Traveling the world, I have been able to see the way culture and design intersect,” Sharapova says. “This collection was born out of my passion for design and inspired by my love of art and architecture. In partnership with Rove Concepts, my first-ever home collection pays homage to my life as an athlete, designer, art enthusiast, and entrepreneur.”

“Between Maria’s design-forward thinking, craftsmanship, and attention to detail and Rove’s expertise in creating beautifully handcrafted furniture, this collection is a seamless fit,” a Rove Concepts spokesperson adds.

For her three-story home overlooking the ocean, Maria collaborated with architects Grant Kirkpatrick and Duan Tran of KAA Design. The interiors are defined by expansive glazing and panel-formed concrete walls, accented with silver travertine, cedar, and bleached oak. Set just steps from the living room, the swimming pool is the true heart of the home, flanked by tatami-style lounge beds and sculptural chairs and tables by Willy Guhl.

Sharapova grew up in a sparse home, and as a result, she associates well-curated belongings with good health. Each piece in her current home is chosen with intention, pairing the simple lines of midcentury modern furniture with the character and personality of antiques and one-of-a-kind finds. It’s easy to see how her choices for her domestic refuge translated to the “Maria” furniture collection.

“I kept telling everyone that I want this to be the best house they’ve ever done. I tried to push their vision because I believe in all of them and want to see them shine,” Maria told Architectural Digest. “I’ve traveled all over the world and enjoyed lots of incredible spaces. But my home is my absolute favorite. I think that’s the way it should be.”

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But how do we house all of those people and meet all their needs? Most experts say the answer is vertical expansion. Urban architecture is set to grow taller and taller, and that’s not just limited to offices and apartment buildings. A new concept by architecture firm Carlo Ratti Associati illustrates how even sporting complexes will soon reach up into the clouds, to potentially dazzling effect.

“Playscraper” is a tower of eight stacked tennis courts, each one offset from the one below it for visual interest and alternating views of the city. Developed for RCS Sport, the sport and media branch of European multimedia publishing group RCS MediaGroup, this isn’t just some visionary idea created without a care for whether or not it could really be built. Its architects worked with a team of engineers and technical consultants to come up with a practical design based on a new construction technology that allows for ultra-tall but extremely strong structures. Inspired by the outer shell of a spacecraft, the B-Core slab structure consists of several prefabricated layers of lightweight stainless steel.

Eight of these steel boxes (each featuring transparent walls on two sides) are stacked to a height of 300 feet, offering 60,000 square feet (5,500 square meters) of total playing space. Each floor contains one stand-alone tennis court with a 35-foot ceiling height. As matches are played inside, the action can be streamed outside via electronic facades running along the long sides of each box, letting the public take part in the fun.

“This project would not just create a new icon for sports lovers,” says architect and engineer Carlo Ratti, founder of CRA and director of the MIT Senseable City Lab. “It also experiments with a new type of public space, extending vertically instead of horizontally. The tower is easy to install and dismantle and can be easily moved. This flexible approach fits the circular nature of today’s sports competitions, which move from location to location throughout the year.”

B-Core technology, developed by Broad Sustainable Building (BSB), is the key component of this skyscraper’s likelihood of eventually being built. The B-Core CTS slab consists of two steel panels clipped together with thin-walled internal tubes, with the gaps between the tubes filled with rock wool for thermal insulation.

These panels can be prefabricated and then assembled quickly and easily onsite. In fact, BSB used them to demonstrate how a four-story building could be erected overnight. CTS slabs are ten times lighter than reinforced concrete for far greater earthquake resistance, have 100 times more corrosion resistance than carbon steel, and boast a nearly limitless lifespan. It’s safe to say we’ll see a lot more structures built with this technology in the near future.

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But it just so happens that interior designer Phillip Thomas spent a lot of time in his small town bowling alley as a kid. The Bellport Community Center’s 90-year-old facility was a refuge for him and his siblings in the 80s, chock-full of fluorescent lights and Formica counters and offering a place for the budding designer to work on art projects while his sister and brother played. Unfortunately, in the ensuing decades, the building began to deteriorate, and it was locked up and forgotten.

As luck would have it, Thomas is now on the board of the not-for-profit Bellport Village Program Fund, which helps the village execute projects that aren’t in their budget each year. The committee decided to renovate and reopen the bowling alley in 2019, giving Thomas the chance to revisit his childhood hangout and give it a whole new look.

Before the renovation, the bowling alley looked just as you’d expect, with twin lanes of weathered wood surrounded by chipping paint and cinder block walls. On the other side of a glass wall is a dimly lit recreation area containing pool and ping pong tables.

Thomas took inspiration from existing yellow tiles in the bathrooms to create a cheerful color palette with references to the town’s setting on Long Island’s Great South Bay. The light and dark blues on the new hand-painted checkered flooring represent the surf, and the red circles represent the buoys floating on the surface.

Thomas tapped a bowling alley restorer in Massachusetts to make the floors of the lanes sparkle again, and he added LED-backlit bowling balls and pins on the wall across from the entrance to help make a big first impression on visitors. Since everything was completed on a tight budget, he enlisted the help of highway crews and village workers to do the painting and heavy lifting.

Now there’s a kitchenette for children’s birthday parties, a wide open space for arts and crafts, recessed lighting, and lots of fun details, like Bellport-branded bowling balls and custom millwork on the shoe storage cabinets. The renovation was completed just before Memorial Day weekend, too, helping to draw in year-round and summertime residents. The alley is just open to village locals for now.

Thomas believes in achieving highly customized results by working closely with his clients every step of the way.

“It is extremely important to remember that, within this rarified world in which we work, we are creating homes for our clients to live in and to enjoy,” he says. “Having a warm relationship with all my clients is vital and, equally important, is to have an easy rapport with everyone who works with us from contractors, to craftspeople, to artisans. I like everyone to feel proud of the work we’ve accomplished as a team.”

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For Vince Reffet, making that dream come true drives him every day. At 35 years old, the young French jetpack pilot has been setting new records with his friend and partner Frédéric Fugenk since 2000. He recently set a new altitude record for Jetman Dubai in a jet-powered wingsuit, ascending to 6,000 feet from a standing start.

Groundbreaking Start

On February 14th, 2020, Reffet, a protégé of renowned jet daredevil Yves Rossy, made history when he stepped onto the runway at Skydive Dubai and soared at an average speed of almost 150 mph to an altitude of almost 6,000 feet in a little over 30 seconds. This was the first time a Jetman pilot took to the air from the ground rather than an elevated stand.

The Trip

Reffet, sporting a carbon-fiber suit, moved at an average speed of 150 mph, reaching a height of 100 meters in eight seconds. His elevation rose to 200m in 12 seconds, 500m in 19 seconds, and in 30 seconds he was soaring at 1,000m. When Reffet was nearly 6,000 feet (1,800m) off the ground, he celebrated the feat with a roll and a loop, released his parachute at 4,921 feet (1,500m), and touched down at Skydive Dubai after an approximate three-minute journey.

Looking Forward

The Jetman team announced that the next goal is to complete a safe landing without a parachute, but reaching that goal is a formidable challenge. To achieve this latest feat, Reffet went airborne at least 50 times and performed over 100 takeoffs and landings, all with a protective fall capture system in place to ensure his safety. Reffet’s wingsuit is currently power-driven by four mini jet engines and includes a hand-controlled thrust power nozzle that enables pilots to be in command of rotations around a vertical axis at zero speed — but a parachute-free landing might require even more safety equipment and additional pilot-control features.

Reffet was excited and proud of reaching this most recent milestone, saying: “We are so happy we achieved this incredible flight. It’s the result of extremely thorough teamwork, where each small step generated huge results. Everything was planned to the split second, and I was overjoyed by the progress that was achieved.”

A press release from Jetman Dubai stated: “It is the first time that a Jetman Dubai pilot could combine hovering safely at a limited altitude and flying aerobatics at high altitude in the same flight. Controlled from the ground by the human body, the equipment enables Jetman Dubai to reach speeds of 400 km/h, as well as hover, change direction, and perform loops.”

From this point on, the only way to go is up.

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