Material Cultures, OEB Architects, and WonKy were named as joint winners of the AJ’s ‘best in low-cost design’ project prize out of 30 shortlisted schemes on the award's 30th anniversary. The trio of schemes were considered the best in class among the 30 projects costing up to £399,000, with judges recognising the seperate strengths of all three winning schemes in terms of environmental sustainability, social purpose and and materiality. Judges said Material Cultures with Central Saint Martins, for Clearfell House, 'was very strong' in comparison to the other shortlisted projects, with judges praising its educational aspect.Advertisement The scheme, which was developed as a hew home for Forestry England in Dalby Forest in Yorkshire with Central Saint Martins’ Regenerative Construction unit, was also ' probably the most sustainable on the 30-strong list' in terms of materiality, the panel said. OEB Arcitects's Lewisham Loggia's, a loft conversion of a terraced house, was an 'inteligent, well considered piece of architecture' and a reinterpretation of a common housing typology. Judges added that it was 'romantic, magical and lyrical'. WonKy won for The Clearing, Lesness Abbey Woods, which judges said was 'resourceful' and 'playful' thanks to its use of a large parachute forming an all-weather outdoor classroom with covered dappled lighting. Judges noted the 'resourcefulness' of the scheme, which was more about the process rather than the design itself. They added that the scheme was 'matter of fact' which  would 'create rituals for the community'. The winner of the People’s Choice Award, voted by readers online and based on over 1,600 votes when the poll closed, was AGNES by CAKE Architecture with 13 per cent of all votes. The festival stage made out of scaffolding and translucent fiberglass took the top place by just 0.6 per cent of the votes.Advertisement 2025 marks the 30th anniversary of this award which first launched back in 1995 with Anthony Grimshaw Associates winning the inaugural award for Garden Gazebo. AJ Small Projects is sponsored by Marley. Previous winners have included David Leech Architects, Kate Darby Architects, Carmody Groarke, Haworth Tompkins, Hawkins\Brown, Mole Architects and Chris Wilkinson. Last year the prize was awarded to Hayatsu Architects and Grizedale Arts for The Farmer’s Arms Cold Food Store, built on the side of a former pub in the Lake District for a local arts organisation specialising in crafts. The winners were announced at a free-to-attend event at Orms’ recently fitted-out offices in London’s Old Street. The shortlisted contenders were assessed by returning judge Pedro Gil of Studio Gil, last year’s winner, Takeshi Hayatsu of Hayatsu Architects, along with architect Roz Barr and Dicle Guntas, managing director of innovative property developer HGG London. The shortlisted practices each presented their projects to the jury in a live crit-style judging session on the same day as the awards event – Thursday 1 May. To celebrate the award's 30th anniversary, programme director of the World Architecture Festival and former editor of the AJ in 1995, Paul Finch made a small speech covering its vibrant history of past winners. AJ Small Projects is the showcase of the best in low-cost design from the best designers. To mark the 2025 anniversary milestone – and to reflect the quality and variety of the almost 170 entries received this year – the AJ shortlisted 30 exemplary projects for the first time in the award’s history. The shortlist includes every typology of project from saunas and wellbeing spaces to new parks and outdoor classrooms – and all completed well within a tight budget of £399,000. The intention has remained the same throughout the award’s existence – to give well-deserved recognition to projects realised on more modest budgets. The full shortlist can be viewed in three parts here: AJ Small Projects 2025 shortlist: Part 1 AJ Small Projects 2025 shortlist: Part 2 AJ Small Projects 2025 shortlist: Part 3 Source:Charlie RedmanTo celebrate Small Projects turning 21 in 2016, three projects were named winners including The Welcoming Shelter, a kinetic structure by Bartlett student Charlie Redman Full list of past AJ Small Projects winners 1996 Garden Gazebo by Anthony Grimshaw (£57,500) Read more here 1997/1998 Princes Club Ski Tow Pavilion by Chris Wilkinson (£60,000) Read more here 1999 Glover Flat by Wilkinson King (£43,000) 2000 10 Market Stalls by Hawkins\Brown (£144,000) 2001 Holland Park by Boyarsky Murphy Architects (£120,000) 2002 London House by Simon Conder Associates (£98,500) Read more here 2003 TFL International by Studio BAAD (£217,000) 2004 Ola Mae Porch by Lucy Begg and Robie Gay (£3,600) 2005 Bell-Simpson House by NORD Architects (£80,000) 2006 Three Seton Mains by Paterson Architects (£200,000) Read more here 2007 Wallace Road by Paul Archer Design (£250,000) 2008 Japanese Tea House by Mole Architects (£7,000) Watch film here 2009 Moonshine by Mitchell Taylor Workshop (£150,000) Read more here 2010 The Dovecote Studio by Haworth Tompkins (£155,000) Read more here 2011 Jellyfish Theatre by Koebberling and Kaltwasser (£17,000) Read more here 2012 Old Workshop by Jack Woolley (£232,000) Read more here 2013 Box House by Laura Dewe Mathews (£245,000) Read more here  2014 13 Wapping Pierhead by Chris Dyson Architects (£210,000) Read more here 2015 Maggie’s Merseyside by Carmody Groarke (£217,000) Read more here 2016 Contemporary lean-to by Doma Architects (£101,800), The Welcoming Shelter by Charlie Redman (£22,000), and Avon Wildlife Trust Cabin by Hugh Strange Architects (£32,000) Read more here 2017 Croft Lodge Studio by Kate Darby Architects and David Connor Design (£160,000) Read more here 2018 Wrong House by Matheson Whiteley Architects (£93,000) Read more here 2019 Conservatory Room by David Leech Architects (£49,750) Read more here 2020 House in North Wales by Martin Edwards Architects (£120,000) Read more here 2021 Common Room by Rashid Ali Architects (£9,500) Read more here 2022 Drovers’ Bough by Akin Studio (£70,200) Read more here 2023 Adelaide Street by OGU Architects and MMAS (£340,000) Read more here 2024 The Farmer’s Arms Cold Food Store by Hayatsu Architects and Grizedale Arts (£35,000) Read more here 2025 Clearfell House by Material Cultures, Lewisham Loggias by OEB Architects, and The Clearing by Wonky AJ Small Projects is sponsored by

Hints and answers for the NYT Connections: Sports Edition puzzle, No. 221, for May 2.

OpinionMay 1, 20255 min readThe Scary Implications of U.S. Government Attacks on Medical JournalsA Trump-aligned prosecutor’s attack on medical journals is a threat to your health care—and the medical establishment should not complyBy Eric Reinhart Senator Joseph McCarthy holds up a letter during a House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) hearing. Bettmann/Getty ImagesIn April, I decided to make public a leaked letter from the acting U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia to the editor-in-chief of CHEST, a leading pulmonology and critical care journal. I did so because the letter represents an authoritarian threat to science, and I knew it wasn’t an isolated, bizarre incident. It is a warning sign, another move in a broader campaign to exert control over research, medicine and media.The letter asserts that “publications like CHEST Journal are conceding that they are partisans in various scientific debates.” It was written by recently appointed acting U.S. attorney Edward R. Martin, Jr., who gives no examples that might demonstrate partisanship; nor does he cite any laws or legal principles to indicate a matter that should concern the U.S. government. Instead, without justification or jurisdiction over a private medical journal based in Illinois, he simply invokes his federal office to demand that CHEST explain if it accepts “competing viewpoints,” and how it is now developing “new norms” to adjust its editorial methods in view of its alleged—by Martin—biases.Since I publicly shared this, at least four additional journals, including the New England Journal of Medicine, have confirmed receipt of similar letters, according to MedPage Today, STAT News, the New York Times and Science. Aside from Eric Rubin at the NEJM, none of the targeted editors have been willing to go on record, fearing retribution from the Trump administration. It’s likely that letters were sent to many more journals; CHEST’s was simply the first to leak.On supporting science journalismIf you're enjoying this article, consider supporting our award-winning journalism by subscribing. By purchasing a subscription you are helping to ensure the future of impactful stories about the discoveries and ideas shaping our world today.Why CHEST? It’s a specialty outlet—not even among the top 50 medical journals. Is this a keyword-driven campaign like those we’ve seen at the CDC and NIH? Under Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., terms like “diversity,” “minority” and “equity” have been systematically flagged. This has led to elimination of federal positions and programs, cancellation of research grants, and scrubbing of government websites and statistics—all related to these words.A search of CHEST’s archive for “transgender,” for example, returns 33 hits—articles acknowledging the clinical implications of caring for trans patients (e.g., ventilator settings may need to be adjusted). Add in other Trump-targeted terms like race, disparity, female and disability, and we can see the outlines of a new DOJ-led front in the administration’s campaign to target minorities for denial of care, legalized discrimination and bureaucratic erasure.Kennedy has also previously objected to medical journals not publishing studies that support his debunked and baseless theories, such as false claims that vaccines cause autism, declaring a plan to “create our own journals” to publish such studies. Last year, while running his own presidential campaign, he stated he would take legal action against editors in response: “I’m going to litigate against you under the racketeering laws, under the general tort laws. I’m going to find a way to sue you unless you come up with a plan right now to show how you’re going to start publishing real science.” Kennedy is not a scientist and has no training in medicine. He has not volunteered to submit his claims to the types of critical, anonymized expert reviews that are designed to support scientific rigor at scientific journals.Kennedy frequently makes evidence-free claims on podcasts and television shows and now in government press conferences, regardless of the consequences. However, peer-reviewed journals like CHEST require extensive scrutiny as part of their evaluation process. Outside scientists examine submitted studies for biases, errors, and unsupported claims or conclusions, and authors are required to include statements about conflicts of interest—including reasons for even just the appearance of bias in the eyes of others—and to disclose their funding sources. This is routine procedure at journals, about which Martin’s letter indicates he knows strikingly little.We don’t know Martin’s, Kennedy’s or Trump’s specific motivations in sending a letter to CHEST, but it is clear that Martin’s threat to journals is not a one-off stunt. Like Trump’s actions that cut off or threaten federal research funding at Columbia, Harvard and other universities, it appears to be part of a calculated strategy to identify, isolate and intimidate researchers who, and institutions that, acknowledge realities like inequality, social differences and structural violence.American health institutions have long been entangled with state violence: forced sterilizations of Black and Indigenous women, repression of civil rights protesters, collaboration with anti-immigrant policing, the push to categorize queer people as pathological and dangerous, and denial of reproductive and gender-affirming care.These alliances are enabled by a professional culture that rewards compliance and punishes dissent. In that respect, the Trump administration’s mounting ideological control over medicine represents not a historical rupture but rather a continuation of sordid legacies.To understand what is now transpiring, it is important to note that Martin has never before been a prosecutor. He has no experience in criminal litigation, appointed to his post to serve political ends. Since taking office, he has hired Michael Caputo—Trump’s disgraced first-term COVID spokesman who then infamously accused government scientists of “sedition”—as an advisor at the U.S. Attorney’s Office. The message is clear: this is not about law enforcement. It is about using state power to intimidate scientists and suppress dissent.Against this backdrop, if journal editors refuse to speak out and organize to defend academic freedom, they will not only ultimately fail to protect themselves and their journals. They will also sacrifice targeted communities.When confronted by government intimidation driven by personal ideological agendas instead of the public good, silence is complicity—not neutrality. We must refuse to compromise when the Trump administration comes first for stigmatized and vulnerable groups—such as trans individuals, disabled people, or immigrants they label as “criminals”—as a means of normalizing state violence and expanding its unconstitutional reach.This is not the time to issue hollow statements condemning the supposed “politicization of science”—a line that conflates partisan interests with what should be bipartisan political principles upon which rigorous scientific practice, ethical clinical care and genuine public health depend. Science is always already political, and we must organize politically to defend it against authoritarian threats. That requires calling out the Trump administration’s intimidation campaign for what it is: a McCarthyite attempt to purge science of inconvenient truths and ethical foundations.The production of knowledge, the allocation of care, and the very questions we ask and answer, are all shaped by systems of power. When medical professionals pretend otherwise, we create a vacuum. And that vacuum is quickly filled by the loudest ideologues and most craven opportunists.To fight back, we need coordinated action and solidarity with those most targeted. And we need to stop pretending that defending science means staying above politics. Provoked by the revelation of Martin’s letter, The Lancet—a world-leading, London-based medical journal—has taken on this public responsibility and done what its American counterparts have so far declined to do: published a clear and forceful editorial stance condemning the Trump administration’s assault on science, medicine, and public health, and calling for Kennedy’s resignation. Other journal editors and health leaders should now join in taking such principled political stands. To do so, they must give up on the naïve fantasy that, if they just keep their heads low enough, they can avoid becoming targets and simply wait out the Trump administration as it destroys essential scientific infrastructure.Martin’s letter is a declaration that scientific inquiry is no longer safe unless it aligns with state ideology. If we let that stand, we don’t just lose our journals. We lose the right to ask questions that matter—and the ability to care for those most in need.This is an opinion and analysis article, and the views expressed by the author or authors are not necessarily those of Scientific American.

Silksong is playable in a museum this September, but that probably doesn't help narrow down its release date Cherry picked. Image credit: Eurogamer News by Matt Wales News Reporter Published on May 1, 2025 It's been six long years since Hollow Knight sequel Silksong was confirmed to be in development, and fans - starved of much in the way of news - have managed to reach such a frenzy of anticipation in that time, it's a wonder the whole thing didn't end in mass spontaneous combustion. Some of the pressure was thankfully released last month when developer Team Cherry finally confirmed a 2025 launch window, but an exact release date remains elusive. What we do now know, however, is Silksong's set to be playable at an Australian museum this September, suggesting it'll either release before, after, or during that time. Silksong is more specifically due to appear at Australia's national museum of screen culture (ACMI) as part of its upcoming Game Worlds exhibition, running from 18th September 2025 to 8th February next year. The exhibition focuses on 30 video games - including the seminal likes of The Sims and World of Warcraft - and "charts technical and design innovation to uncover what makes these virtual worlds feel alive." And in among that number is Silksong, which has earned its place in the line-up partly for the sheer magnitude of anticipation surrounding its release and partly to celebrate its homegrown origins, given Team Cherry is based in Adelaide. "Since Hollow Knight: Silksong's initial announcement in 2019, it has been one of the most anticipated indie games on the planet," Game World co-curators Bethan Johnson and Jini Maxwell wrote in a statement announcing the news, "and we are thrilled to celebrate the design of this South Australian-made game as a centrepiece of Game Worlds in September." Here's Silksong's now six-year-old reveal trailer.Watch on YouTube "From the hundreds of sprites that animate Hornet's different movements and attacks, to the logic behind the game's most challenging boss fights - and of course, having the game playable in-gallery - our Silksong displays delve deeply into the details of the game's artistic direction and design. We're so grateful to Team Cherry for trusting us with their work, and so excited to share that work with you!" It is, of course, tempting to try and divine a narrower Silksong release window from this fresh morsal of news, but that ultimately feels like a fruitless endeavour. ACMI's announcement makes no suggestion Silksong's playable Game Worlds appearance is in any way a first, so there's every chance it'll get a general release ahead of its museum debut. On the other hand, it doesn't say it's not a first, so the opposite might also be true? All we know for certain is Silksong comes Switch, Switch 2, and PC later this year, with an Xbox and PlayStation release to follow.

You can trust VideoGamer. Our team of gaming experts spend hours testing and reviewing the latest games, to ensure you're reading the most comprehensive guide possible. Rest assured, all imagery and advice is unique and original. Check out how we test and review games here Former Call of Duty executive producer and producer of Ubisoft’s decimated XDefiant Mark Rubin has told other developers to “be more like Larian” after spending decades working under major publishers.  Larian Studios, who abandoned DLC for being too boring, has spent a full year adding major free updates to Baldur’s Gate 3 for no additional cost. While the studio is now leaving BG3 behind to focus on two new games at once, the team has never nickel-and-dime’d its audience.  Former CoD lead doesn’t want to be like Activision  Speaking to an xDefiant fan on Twitter, or X if you’re one of those, Rubin explained that Call of Duty’s long term success relies entirely on “FOMO marketing” while trying to “make the most money possible out of the player base”. However, Rubin’s sadly-killed work on xDefiant tried to move away from this, even if it didn’t pan out.  “They [Call of Duty] rely on FOMO marketing and EOMM matches. But I feel like it used to be just more about the quality of the game which would drive players to play,” the former CoD producer said. “And that means making the game more player centric.” Rubin explained that, like Baldur’s Gate 3 does for RPGs, the huge player counts of multiplayer shooters should only be because of their quality, not because of what skins are coming to the game or some weird form of IP loyalty.  “Your game should have a high player count because it’s good and people want to play it rather than people playing it because the game has a $250 million marketing budget,” the former face of Call of Duty said.  “Everything just said is very simplified as it would take too long to get really into it,” Rubin continued. “One last simple analogy: be more like Larian, less like Activision.”  Since leaving the Call of Duty franchise, Rubin has been quite vocal about his issues with the series’ more modern games including its fine-tuned matchmaking system designed to dish out the optimal amount of dopamine. For his work on xDefiant, he boldly removed skill-based matchmaking, but that didn’t help save the game.  As it is right now, Larian’s work on Baldur’s Gate 3 is the exact opposite of what modern Call of Duty is. At its heart, Call of Duty often feels like product for product’s sake, whereas Larian Studios’ finely-crafted RPG is not just product as art, but also art that offers far more value than anyone ever expected. At the end of the day, Rubin’s issues aren’t with the individual workers creating Call of Duty, but Acitivion’s approach to games as a product.  “Just want to add that there are some great people at Activision and their studios,” the game dev veteran said. “I just think they evolved into something they weren’t and haven’t been able to escape.” Baldur’s Gate 3 Platform(s): macOS, PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series S, Xbox Series S/X, Xbox Series X Genre(s): Adventure, RPG, Strategy 10 VideoGamer Subscribe to our newsletters! By subscribing, you agree to our Privacy Policy and may receive occasional deal communications; you can unsubscribe anytime. Share

Guests mingled at Dawnridge, the Beverly Hills home of legendary designer Tony Duquette. Photo: MARK HUMPHREY XPERIENCE FACTORYFrank Cancelloni, Group CEO of Jim Thompson, welcomed guests with a short history lesson on its founder’s achievements as well as a view into the company’s expansion as a global lifestyle brand with branches in fashion, textiles, home accessories, and even hospitality. “This evening was a true celebration of creativity, heritage, collaboration, and culture. Since its founding more than seven decades ago, the brand has become synonymous with exceptional Thai craftsmanship and a pioneering spirit that bridges tradition and innovation,” Cancelloni said.Walton Goggins, Tayme Thapthimthong, Jim Thompson CEO Frank Cancelloni, Dom Hetrakul, Natasha Rothwell, and Jon Gries. Photo: Harmony GerberJim Thompson, the man, was an American intelligence operative working for the U.S. Office of Strategic Services (OSS) in Thailand during World War II. Following the war, he returned to private industry, founding a business that helped revitalize the Thai silk industry in the 1950s and ’60s. He vanished in Malaysia’s Cameron Highlands in 1967, never to be seen again—a famously unsolved mystery that continues to garner interest and speculation to this day. His formidable legacy includes the extraordinary Bangkok house he built in the late 1950s, a place that merged his professional training as an architect and his passion for Asian antiquities. That landmark project provided serious inspiration for The White Lotus’s creative team, and it remains a touchstone for designers working across the globe today. Khop khun kha.

Likely Store-y Fortnite might default dance its way back onto iOS in the US soon, but it'd take Epic and Apple suddenly deciding to call off a raging Lionel Hutz war Two big corporations in the midst of a heated legal battle over money deciding to bury the hatchet? Aye, sounds likely. Image credit: Epic News by Mark Warren Senior Staff Writer Published on May 1, 2025 Fortnite hasn't been available on iOS in the US since 2020, but for the first time in a while there's a chance that might change soon, following a US Court ruling in favour of Epic Games amid its lengthy legal battle with Apple over payment options. This is a feud that's been raging for almost five years, with Epic and CEO Tim Sweeney having taken issue with Apple and Google's official in-app purchase mechanisms, introducing its own direct in-game payment option in the iOS and Android versions of Fortnite. The two mega-corps then pulled the game from their storefronts, leaving Epic and Sweeney to try and get us all to care via a campaign to "stop 2020 from becoming 1984" that would have been a bit embarrassing if any of these people were capable of feeling shame. To see this content please enable targeting cookies. While there have been signs of the game getting to return to UK IPhones while the legal battle between Epic and Apple has kept on raging, Epic CEO Sweeney has offered the fruit company a "peace proposal" that'd make iOS Fortnite a thing in the US again, following the latest twist in the litigation. That twist is Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers delivering a verdict that found Apple "in wilful violation" of previous court injunction that it had to allow purchases made for iOS games and apps through outside web links. It did, but then instituted a 27% commission on such purchases. "Apple’s response to the Injunction strains credulity," the court's verdict reads, "After two sets of evidentiary hearings, the truth emerged Apple, despite knowing its obligations thereunder, thwarted the injunction’s goals, and continued its anticompetitive conduct solely to maintain its revenue stream." To see this content please enable targeting cookies. It also accused Apple of some even more serious stuff, writing: "In stark contrast to Apple’s initial in-court testimony, contemporaneous business documents reveal that Apple knew exactly what it was doing and at every turn chose the most anticompetitive option. To hide the truth, Vice-President of Finance, Alex Roman, outright lied under oath." Epic's claiming this as a victory, with Sweeney having tweeted: "NO FEES on web transactions. Game over for the Apple Tax. Apple’s 15-30% junk fees are now just as dead here in the United States of America as they are in Europe under the Digital Markets Act. Unlawful here, unlawful there. "Epic puts forth a peace proposal," he continued, "If Apple extends the court's friction-free, Apple-tax-free framework worldwide, we'll return Fortnite to the App Store worldwide and drop current and future litigation on the topic." Will Apple accept? Well, a spokesperson for it has told Eurogamer: "we strongly disagree with the decision" adding that it'll "comply with the court's order" and appeal. How do you feel about this corporate handbag-swinging? Are you keen to drop back into Fortnite on iOS Let us know below!

But what about the rest of us?!Hollow Knight fans have been itching to get their hands on the upcoming sequel, Silksong, and while it's still currently scheduled to launch in 2025, desperation is undoubtedly starting to creep in with some.Thankfully, news that Silksong will be playable at an Australian museum later this year might provide a clue as to the game's full release. According to IGN, Silksong will be featured at ACMI, Australia's museum of screen culture, as part of an upcoming 'Game Worlds' exhibition.Read the full article on nintendolife.com

Apple CEO Tim Cook offered the company’s first comments on the impact of President Trump’s tariffs during Thursday’s second-quarter earnings call with investors. While the iPhone maker saw only “limited impact” from tariffs in the March quarter, Cook said Apple couldn’t forecast what that would mean for the coming quarter. However, if things remained the same, the company estimates tariffs will only add $900 million to its costs in Q3. The news was a relief to investors, with one even calling it a “pretty good outcome.” However, investors were still concerned as to what the next quarters could hold, given the rapid changes to U.S. trade policy in recent weeks. Cook told investors Apple’s estimate was meant to provide some color and would only hold if the current global tariff rates, policies, and applications didn’t change for the balance of the quarter and if no new tariffs were added. He also warned that this estimate shouldn’t be used to project the impact of tariffs in future quarters, as there are “unique factors” that benefit the June quarter. In an interview with CNBC, Cook had downplayed the impact of tariffs, noting that Apple is already sourcing about half its iPhones for the U.S. from India, and most other products for the U.S. market from Vietnam. When pressed by one investor to offer more details on the June quarter and beyond, Cook said, “I don’t want to predict the future, because I’m not sure what will happen with the tariffs.” Cook added that he wouldn’t want to predict the mix of production in the future, but noted that he was very engaged with the tariff discussions. (That much was already clear. Shortly after a meeting with President Trump, Apple’s iPhones were spared from the trade policy changes that could have sent iPhone pricing soaring.) Techcrunch event Exhibit at TechCrunch Sessions: AI Secure your spot at TC Sessions: AI and show 1,200+ decision-makers what you’ve built — without the big spend. Available through May 9 or while tables last. Exhibit at TechCrunch Sessions: AI Secure your spot at TC Sessions: AI and show 1,200+ decision-makers what you’ve built — without the big spend. Available through May 9 or while tables last. Berkeley, CA | June 5 BOOK NOW “For our part, we will manage the company the way we always have, with thoughtful and deliberate decisions, with a focus on investing for the long term, and with dedication to innovation and the possibilities it creates,” Cook said. “As we look ahead, we remain confident, confident that we will continue to build the world’s best products and services, confident in our ability to innovate and enrich our users’ lives, and confident that we can continue to run our business in a way that has always set Apple apart.” Topics

For nearly 25 years, the Seymour Marine Discovery Center, a research facility and museum operated by the University of California, Santa Cruz, has hosted Ms. Blue, the largest outdoor blue whale skeleton on display in the United States. When the bones began deteriorating, the Center moved to preserve Ms. Blue with the help of Halon Entertainment and LiDAR scans. Check out the reconstruction video below. “Ms. Blue has become a cultural landmark, and when it looked like she was going to disappear, there was a very real sense of loss from the community,” said Jonathan Hicken, executive director of the Seymour Marine Discovery Center. “We spoke to dozens of preservation and fossil specialists, but most suggested a plastic-like covering, which sent the wrong message regarding conservation. When Halon Entertainment suggested a way to preserve her that included a full digital recreation and an educational component, it was an easy choice.”  To preserve Ms. Blue, Halon Entertainment began by capturing 53 detailed LiDAR scans of the 87-foot skeleton. Members of the VFX team deployed the Leica RTC360, a portable 3D laser scanner capable of capturing data at up to 2 million points per second. The entire process took less than a day, and using that LiDAR data, Halon was able to create a photorealistic digital facsimile of Ms. Blue. Working from the 3D model, Halon employed ZBrush and Substance Painter to “rebuild” the whale, adding skin and muscle. It then used Maya for reconfiguration and repositioning before uploading the digital Ms. Blue into Unity. Once in the game engine, Halon created a realistic series of animations based on the movement of whales in their natural environments. With the recreation completed, Halon built an app that students and visitors can interact with, including four original, animated lessons highlighting the life of blue whales. The team also created an AR component to show Ms. Blue as she once was. “Using the same tools our artists rely on to create award-winning VFX for films, episodics and games, our team was able to build something we are incredibly proud of,” said Jess Marley, Halon VFX supervisor and producer for the Ms. Blue project. “Working with the Seymour Center team, we hope the new Ms. Blue will help to educate thousands of people over the next few years, and possibly inspire a new generation of marine enthusiasts.” Along with the digital replica of Ms. Blue, the Seymour Center is also planning to replace or repair the damaged bones in an effort to return the skeleton to its place outside the facility. For the larger bones that are too heavily damaged to preserve, Seymour turned to 3D printers Swellcycle, a group known for creating sustainable surfboards, to create accurate replicas of Ms. Blue’s bones. Using dozens of LiDAR scans from the Leica RTC360, the 3D printing team began replicating the bones down to the grooves in the originals, using printing materials made from recycled hospital trays. For the original bones that were still viable but damaged, engineering professors and students at UC Santa Cruz developed a unique powdered putty, created from shrimp shells. A few additional bones were archived for future research, including a proposed project aimed at tracing Ms. Blue’s origins and potentially identifying her descendants. The AR replica of Ms. Blue and the four educational lessons will be available to visitors at the Seymour Marine Research Center in the future. The new skeletal model of Ms. Blue, including 3D printed replacements and repaired bones, is currently seeking additional donors for a debut in the coming months. Check out Reconstructing Ms. Blue with the Leica RTC360 and Halon Entertainment: Source: Halon Entertainment Journalist, antique shop owner, aspiring gemologist—L'Wren brings a diverse perspective to animation, where every frame reflects her varied passions.