The Slate Space, an architectural design project by Mozhgan, is all about restraint. It brings together concrete, wood, and stone into a minimalist sanctuary. One that feels anything but cold. Inspired by wabi-sabi philosophy and grounded in modern design, every surface speaks in soft tones. But this isn’t just about materials; it’s about mood. Light and shadow are treated like textures here. They shape each room with quiet drama. Furnishings are sculptural yet simple. Their organic forms echo the home’s earthy foundation.  The result is a space that slows you down, clears your mind, and invites presence. Come take a closer look at this serene and shadow-kissed retreat. In The Slate Space, the living area is a study in balance. It is raw yet refined; minimal yet full of depth. A monolithic stone coffee table commands the room. Its organic form is echoed by the plush, tufted modular sofa in soft and neutral fabric. The concrete ceiling, textured walls, and wood paneling work together to create a cocoon of calm, where every material is allowed to breathe. Natural light filters through slatted wood screens, casting quiet shadows that shift throughout the day. Built-in shelving, concealed storage, and ambient lighting ensure the design remains clutter-free and intentional. Let’s just say, this is a meditative zone designed for pause, presence, and pure comfort. The kitchen at The Slate Space is a bold exercise in minimalist luxury. A monolithic island in poured concrete takes center stage. This makes the space feel grounded yet sculptural. Dark cabinetry lines the walls in uninterrupted planes, hiding clutter behind seamless panels. The end result is a gallery-like feel.A single oversized pendant light adds softness and scale, while open shelving subtly glows with integrated lighting. This offers a warm contrast to the cool stone. With its restrained palette, elevated lines, and natural materials, this kitchen does more job than one… It calms, it inspires, and it invites slow living.

Get in shape with top tips from concept artist Mariia Bulgakova.

HelloFresh's budget plan offers good taste and actual affordability. Though some meals need a little something.

Robyn Denholm, who leads Tesla’s board, said on social media that board members were “highly confident” in Mr. Musk, the company’s chief executive.

Macworld WWDC kicks off on June 9, where we’ll get our first look at Apple’s new software for the fall: iOS 19, iPadOS 19, tvOS 19, macOS 16, watchOS 12, and visionOS 3. We’ve heard there’s a big redesign in store this year, the most dramatic change in years. So what does that leave for May? Not much. There probably won’t be any big hardware or software releases or announcements this month—anything Apple has to reveal, it will do so at WWDC. That leaves software and services as the lone Apple releases for May. New hardware releases In 2024, Apple surprised us with a rare May event to announce the M4 iPad Pro, 13-inch iPad Air, and Apple Pencil Pro. It seems very unlikely that Apple will repeat that this month. While there are several products that could release ahead of WWDC, including the AirTag 2, HomePod mini 2, and M4 Ultra Mac Pro, rumors suggest they will arrive in the fall rather than the spring. Apps and software updates There’s iOS 18.5 and macOS 15.5, but those are relatively minor updates that focus on bug fixes and security, with only a couple of very minor changes. As always, however, there will be security and bug fixes as well. Based on previous yearly x.5 releases and how far along the betas are, we expect the wide release of iOS 18.5, iPadOS 18.5, macOS 15.5, etc. around the second week of May. Services Apple TV+ Here are the shows, series, and movies we expect to release on Apple TV+ in May. If you want to know what’s coming later, check our full guide to upcoming Apple TV+ content. Long Way Home: Best friends Ewan McGregor and Charley Boorman gear up for their fourth Long Way adventure — this time riding through 17 European countries on cranky old bikes. May 9 Murderbot: A 10-episode action-packed sci-fi series based on a series of novellas by Martha Wells. Tells the story of a self-hacking security android who is horrified by human emotion yet drawn to its vulnerable “clients.” May 16 Deaf President Now!: A documentary about an 8-day at Gallaudet University in 1988, where the school’s board hired a hearing president over several qualified deaf candidates. May 16 Fountain of Youth: A film about two estranged siblings who partner on a global heist to find the mythological Fountain of Youth. They must use their knowledge of history to follow clues on an epic adventure that will change their lives … and possibly lead to immortality. May 23 Apple Arcade Apple releases most Apple Arcade games on the first Friday of each month. Check our Apple Arcade FAQ for a full list of Apple Arcade games and more details on the service. Occasionally, games are released with no forewarning, but you’ll usually see next month’s releases listed in the Coming Soon section. SUMI SUMI Matching PUzzle+: Characters from San-X in a matching puzzle game. May 1 Words of Wonders: Search+: Word search puzzles. May 1 LEGO Friends Heartlake Rush+: And endless runner with LEGO characters and vehicles. May 1 WHAT THE CLASH?: A variety of silly two-player PvP battle scenarios. May 1 with My Buddy: A virtual pet sim for dogs and cats in the vein of Nintendogs. May 1

Apple’s salad days are over. The company sits on the precipice of reinvention, and may become even more inward-facing in response to a damning US court judgement that may yet see it face criminal charges for contempt of court. US District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers has ruled that Apple wilfully violated a 2021 court injunction that required it to change some of its business practices in terms of permitting developers to offer customers ways to purchase digital products outside of Apple’s App Store. ‘Will not be tolerated’ The judge told the company to stop preventing developers from sharing external purchasing options and barred it from imposing commissions on transactions made outside its stores. “Apple’s continued attempts to interfere with competition will not be tolerated,” the judge wrote in her decision, finding Apple in contempt of court when Apple’s Vice President of Finance, Alex Roman, lied under oath.  Documents shared during the trial reveal “that Apple knew exactly what it was doing and at every turn chose the most anticompetitive option,” Rogers wrote. She also noted that Apple CEO Tim Cook ignored Apple Fellow Phil Schiller’s advice that Apple should comply with the injunction, and permitted former CFO, Luca Maestri, to convince him not to do so. “Cook chose poorly,” said the judge. An Epic win This is just the latest instalment in the long-running dispute between Apple and a developer called Epic. The latter has been engaged in a multi-year, international campaign against Apple’s so called “Apple tax,” and the computer company appears to have failed to prevail, at least for now. Apple said in a statement it will appeal the judgement: “We strongly disagree with the decision. We will comply with the court’s order, and we will appeal.” But what’s gone wrong here is Apple’s alleged contempt of court. This is a very serious charge that means a criminal component to the case has now emerged. The judge referred the matter to the US Attorney for the Northern District of California who will consider pressing contempt charges, presumably against Roman and the company that employs him. Could this conceivably put Apple CEO Tim Cook in the dock? A global challenge It’s well-known by now that Apple has faced steady and unrelenting attacks against the business model that evolved around its App Store. The company has been subject to anti-trust litigation across the planet, and regulators seem to be settling on a position that will outlaw those practices — even in Apple’s key target market of India. Apple will not be able to prevent app developers from offering their software and services via external stores and will not be able to take a percentage of sales made via those stores. These victories might well please some developers for a while. But they will likely come at a cost to platform security and ease-of-use and could generate confusion as consumers find themselves drawn to multiple stores, not all of which will prove to be as heavily curated or as secure as Apple’s. For Apple, the consequences of the case could see billions wiped off its revenue as developers find sales outside of its store, and as it sees some of its App Store-related payments disappear. This will damage Apple’s services segment, and as that part of its business is important to keeping the company sailing in a difficult consumer hardware sales sea, it means the company will need to turn its ship. What will Apple do? Apple is not without resources. It still has its hardware, platform, and services, and may now choose to compete on more equal terms with external stores — though how that might be implemented is uncertain. In the short term, it seems most likely Apple will need to charge developers more for access to the developer resources it provides. One way the company might do this is to offer a “Pro” tier to developers who want to sell software or services via its own store or any store, or to charge fees for APIs that enable external services. It has to build those APIs, after all, which means they are a product it could conceivably try to profit from. (Whether this is permitted is unclear.) For now, the direction of travel is obvious: the company must now swiftly change course to safely traverse these turbulent, shark-infested seas. You can follow me on social media! Join me on BlueSky,  LinkedIn, and Mastodon.

This is today’s edition of The Download, our weekday newsletter that provides a daily dose of what’s going on in the world of technology. A long-abandoned US nuclear technology is making a comeback in China China has once again beat everyone else to a clean energy milestone—its new nuclear reactor is reportedly one of the first to use thorium instead of uranium as a fuel and the first of its kind that can be refueled while it’s running. It’s an interesting (if decidedly experimental) development out of a country that’s edging toward becoming the world leader in nuclear energy. China has now surpassed France in terms of generation, though not capacity; it still lags behind the US in both categories. But one recurring theme in media coverage about the reactor struck me, because it’s so familiar: This technology was invented decades ago, and then abandoned. And this one research reactor in China running with an alternative fuel says a lot about this moment for nuclear energy technology: Many groups are looking into the past for technologies, with a new appetite for building them. Read the full story. —Casey Crownhart This article is from The Spark, MIT Technology Review’s weekly climate newsletter. To receive it in your inbox every Wednesday, sign up here. Love or immortality: A short story In this short fiction story from the latest edition of our print magazine, writer Alexandra Chang imagines what might happen to a couple’s relationship when one person wants to live life to the fullest, while another wants to live forever. Read the full story and if you aren’t already a subscriber, sign up now to get the next edition of the print magazine. The must-reads I’ve combed the internet to find you today’s most fun/important/scary/fascinating stories about technology. 1 RFK Jr wants to change how new vaccines are testedMedical experts are concerned the shift will curtail access to the jabs. (WP $)+ He has also overseen the closure of a long-running diabetes study. (New Yorker $)+ America’s public health crisis is worsening. (The Atlantic $) 2 Sam Altman’s biometric World project has launched in the USIt’s been dogged by privacy and security concerns in other countries. (FT $)+ It bills its Orb devices as powerful identity-verification tools. (Bloomberg $)+ In fact, it’s partnering with Match Group to verify users are who they say they are. (Wired $)+ How the company recruited its first half a million test users. (MIT Technology Review) 3 Tesla was reportedly looking for a new CEO A rough few months allegedly pushed the firm to search for Elon Musk’s successor. (WSJ $)+ But the company was quick to deny the report. (The Guardian)+ Meanwhile, Musk has insisted he’ll continue working on DOGE. (Semafor) 4 A judge has ordered Apple to loosen its grip on the App StoreThe ruling spells the end of a five-year antitrust case. (NYT $)+ As a result, Fortnite will return to the US iOS App Store. (Variety $) 5 Climate change is worsening our eye healthCommon eye disorders are linked with heat and higher UV exposure. (Knowable Magazine) 6 Instagram’s AI chatbots are claiming to be licensed therapistsAnd will happily make up qualifications. (404 Media)+ But the first trial of generative AI therapy shows it might help with depression. (MIT Technology Review) 7 US drug overdoses are finally decliningBut the Trump administration threatens to undo that progress. (Vox)+ How the federal government is tracking changes in the supply of street drugs. (MIT Technology Review) 8 Young Brazilians dream of becoming social media starsBut TikTok is being investigated for monetizing them when they don’t have the right to work. (Rest of World)+ Meet the wannabe kidfluencers struggling for stardom. (MIT Technology Review) 9 Duolingo has launched 148 AI-powered language coursesJust days after announcing its plans to replace human workers. (TechCrunch) 10 The BBC created a deepfake of Agatha Christie49 years after her death, the crime author is teaching online writing classes. (The Verge)+ An AI startup made a hyperrealistic deepfake of me that’s so good it’s scary. (MIT Technology Review) Quote of the day “The sacrifice to research is immense.”  —Gigi Kwik Gronvall, a senior scholar at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security, explains the consequences of the Trump administration’s decision to force a health department focused on studying deadly infectious diseases to cease operating to Wired. One more thing The flawed logic of rushing out extreme climate solutionsEarly in 2022, entrepreneur Luke Iseman says, he released a pair of sulfur dioxide–filled weather balloons from Mexico’s Baja California peninsula, in the hope that they’d burst miles above Earth.It was a trivial act in itself, effectively a tiny, DIY act of solar geoengineering, the controversial proposal that the world could counteract climate change by releasing particles that reflect more sunlight back into space.Entrepreneurs like Iseman invoke the stark dangers of climate change to explain why they do what they do—even if they don’t know how effective their interventions are. But experts say that urgency doesn’t create a social license to ignore the underlying dangers or leapfrog the scientific process. Read the full story. —James Temple We can still have nice things A place for comfort, fun and distraction to brighten up your day. (Got any ideas? Drop me a line or skeet ’em at me.) + The oldest woman in the world, 115-year old Ethel May Caterham, is the last known surviving subject of Edward VII.+ Great news for axolotl lovers: a captive-bred group of the little amphibians can thrive in the wild.+ Thor Pedersen spent almost a decade travelling the world without flying.+ The fifth annual European Gull Screeching Championship did not disappoint.

Apple gained significant market share in early 2025, growing 13 percent while the global smartphone market remained essentially flat.Pro iPhone modelsApple outpaced the broader smartphone market in Q1 2025, shipping 55 million iPhone units and increasing its global share to 19 percent, up from 16 percent a year earlier, according to Canalys Research's April report.The overall smartphone market grew just 0.2 percent year over year, reaching 296.9 million units. Apple's 13 percent growth stood out, driven by strong demand for the budget-focused iPhone 16e and sales momentum in the United States and emerging Asia Pacific markets. Continue Reading on AppleInsider | Discuss on our Forums

As global trade policies continue to shift, most notably under the Trump administration’s imposition of tariffs, construction projects have begun to face increasing uncertainty over contract performance. One novel legal question relevant to the issue is whether new or increased tariffs can be classified as force majeure events, thereby excusing delays or nonperformance in construction contracts. Force majeure, after all, was one of a number of topics noted in our recent article on how construction contracts could be re-designed for tariff uncertainty. Force majeure clauses, commonly found in commercial agreements, are intended to relieve parties from contractual obligations when extraordinary and unforeseeable events, such as natural disasters, war, or government embargoes, make performance impossible or impracticable. However, these clauses are narrowly interpreted by courts, and their applicability often hinges on the specific language used in each contract.  Related on Archinect:...

Got a project that’s too wild for this world? Submit your conceptual works, images and ideas for global recognition and print publication in the 2025 Vision Awards, The Early Entry period is underway — start your entry today. Cars have been a thorn in architects’ and urban master planners’ sides for years. Apart from their many environmental disadvantages, these vehicles also require a tremendous amount of space and planning to operate efficiently. And yet, ever since cars were invented, cities have prioritized individual transportation and convenience over pedestrian-friendly setups. Fortunately, following the Covid-19 pandemic, a quiet revolution is gradually taking place, where cities turn to people-centric design, thus reshaping urban living. These six transformative initiatives reclaim space and improve the quality of life — oftentimes within vast urban metropoles. Taken together, these urban transformations illustrate that pedestrian-first urbanism is no longer a utopian idea, but rather a tangible, growing movement. By reclaiming car-dominated space, repurposing parking lots and shaded walkways, these designs prove that even the busiest urban cores can become livable, walkable, and inspiring places. The Urban Gallery at Hyperlane By ASPECT Studios, Chengdu, China The Hyperlane is a 1.5 mile (2.4 kilometer) multi-level linear sky park situated within Chengdu’s music and arts university district. The project acts as a replacement for a disused carpark and is comprised of an urban promenade, a “water carpet” landscape and a performance gallery. Specifically, the “water carpet” is made of shallow water ponds, playful urban seating, vegetation and impressive lighting displays that shape a performative urban “walk” along the district. Future additions to the project will be a performance gallery and a social terrace. Erie Street Plaza By Stoss Landscape Urbanism, Milwaukee, Wisconsin The project is located in the Historic Third Ward district of Milwaukee and is the final link in a series of public space activators along the riverwalk. The site used to be a large industrial parking lot, which after the project’s completion became a part of a larger three-mile pedestrian and bicycle street that connects the district with the city center. Programmatically, the plaza is conceived as a civic plane that has the potential to host art festivals, communal gatherings, concerts, farmer’s markets etc. This open-ended design encourages social interaction. Ample vegetation, discrete paving materials and carefully curated benches made of fiberglass populate the field. Urban design on both sides of Zhongxing Road in Shaoxing Ancient City By Tongji Architectural Design (Group), Shaoxing, China The ancient city of Shaoxing is comprised of many cultural monuments and is linked through the Zhongxing Road to the rest of the city. However, prior to the area’s regeneration , the central road-axis faced many functional challenges such as traffic congestion and a general disassociation within the ancient cityscape. The project’s main goal was to weaken ground traffic by separating the arrival and departure points in the area and creating a high-quality walking space. Functions such as the waterfront market, the port head and an old stage were reintroduced, integrating both ancient and modern activities to the site. Yibin Yangtze River Melody Commercial Street By Sichuan Provincial Architectural Design and Research Institute, Yibin, China The project is located in Xuzhou District at the confluence of three rivers. The site is a large commercial land that occupies approximately 1.3 acres (0.52 hectares) and is adjacent to both a business and residential area. The project’s aim is to build an ecological riverside leisure and fashion commercial street to meet the programmatic needs of the region as well as eliminate high-traffic roads and create a more people friendly experience. Pedestrians and vehicles are separated by integrating a road canopy greenway within the site and building an additional aerial corridor. Current elements found on site such as retaining walls and service rooms are preserved and turned into ramps and seating areas, becoming links in-between boardwalks and outdoor staircases. Finally, functional spaces such as a sports field and a playground are introduced. One Green Mile – Public Space and Streetscape Design By StudioPOD, Mumbai, India Jury Winner, Sustainable Transportation Project, 11th Annual A+Awards This project description begins with the following phrase: ‘in cities like Mumbai, finding synergies between mobility, infrastructure and open spaces is required to create livable urban environments.’ Consequently, the intent behind the One Green Mile was to develop a “complete street” within the city’s hectic financial hub that is both a vibrant public space and an efficient circulation space for city vehicles. The masterplan was comprised of three main strategies: (i) streamlining traffic movement and street geometry, (ii) efficiently allocate space for all users and (iii) develop the underused space below the flyover. Following a detailed traffic survey, the necessary modifications took place were footpaths and cycle routes were introduced, while the excess open space was planted with local tree species and populated with custom street furniture. Under-utilized pocket spaces under the flyover were turned into small plazas, play areas and an amphitheater. Shenzhen Yulong District Urban Design Competition By Aedas, Shenzhen, China The proposal placed a strong emphasis on the site’s ecological restoration, development and construction, suggesting a localized solution that conserves the utilizes different large spaces such as equipment rooms and parking spaces. A central green area connects the different spaces that are adjacent to the main water system, ensuring that water prevention systems are in effect. Smart and interactive infrastructure such as technology hubs, public spaces and social communities, Finally, both short-term and long-term traffic guidance systems and a new pedestrian bridge aim to control the disruptions caused by the urban expressway, while the scheme reconnects this urban gateway with the rest of the city. Got a project that’s too wild for this world? Submit your conceptual works, images and ideas for global recognition and print publication in the 2025 Vision Awards, The Early Entry period is underway — start your entry today. Featured Image: Yibin Yangtze River Melody Commercial Street by Sichuan Provincial Architectural Design and Research Institute, Yibin, China The post Feet First: 6 Pedestrian-First Projects Reclaiming the Right-of-Way appeared first on Journal.