Submitted by WA Contents ADEPT selected to transform former Karstadt warehouse into a cultural hub in Braunschweig Germany Architecture News - May 22, 2025 - 14:57   html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40/loose.dtd" Copenhagen and Hamburg-based architecture office ADEPT has won an international competition to transform a former Karstadt warehouse in a historic area of Braunschweig (DE) into the "Haus der Musik". Called Haus der Musik, the 18,000-square-metre cultural hub will house a new concert hall, a public music school, and other community-oriented programs.The winning project is founded on adaptive reuse principles rather than demolishing the current structure. The old building's architectural rhythm and load-bearing structure are preserved and reactivated. On top of the existing volume is a brand-new, precisely calibrated performance hall, and street level provides direct access to music school activities. From a commercial hub to a cultural hub, the design embodies a daring urban metamorphosis grounded on continuity."The Haus der Musik is a dream project – not just because of its scale, but because it allows us to bring together everything we care about: transformation, sustainability, as well as social and urban social value," said Martin Krogh, founding partner at ADEPT. "This is the largest project in our studio’s history, and undoubtedly one of the most meaningful," Krogh added.The "Third Place"—that vague, largely unplanned area between activities that creates a vast possibility for a new identity emerging from the neighborhood—is the focal point of the transformation. Arrival, music school, and concert hall are all connected by this multi-layered social landscape of performance, instruction, and gathering. Because the music school is integrated into the existing framework, it fosters a vibrant, all-day rhythm of instruction, practice, and casual conversation. Below it, the Klangkeller provides an unpolished and adaptable platform for underground scenes and experimental music. With meticulous consideration for acoustic clarity and spatial intimacy, the new music hall is built as a traditional shoebox typology and is situated in the top levels of the building to retain as much of the old structure as possible. Adjustable ceiling components enable custom tuning based on the performance situation, including organ music and amplified events, while sound-reflective wall and ceiling panels distribute sound uniformly around the room. Both the main floor and the upper balconies provide direct sightlines and engulfing sound to the audience. Rehearsal rooms and backstage areas flank the hall, facilitating a smooth transition between rehearsal and performance. The music hall is further reinforced as a municipal venue by the 270-degree panoramic terrace that encircles the foyer and provides public views of the city."With equal measures of caution and courage, the winning proposal transforms the existing building through adaptive reuse into an important component for Braunschweig's city centre, as well as for the city’s musical landscape," the jury stated."The difficult balancing act between preservation, transformation and innovation has been convincingly achieved." "Even if the interpretation and conceptual reuse may seem surprising at first glance, the contextual integration is comprehensible, sensitive and convincing," the jury added.Site planUrban Presence: A Cultural Link Within the Historic CityThe Haus der Musik acts as an essential urban connection between Altstadtmarkt and Kohlmarkt, two important public squares in Braunschweig, and is located along one of the city's main pedestrian thoroughfares. The project creates a new cultural hub in the urban fabric by reactivating the ground floor with a completely transparent façade and opening up to the city through spacious patios and foyers. It extends beyond its plot to create sightlines, pathways, and gathering spots across the city. The design adds a new public vitality that enhances the old town's civic life while honoring the scale and rhythm of its historic surroundings. Ground floor planThe building's articulated façade and stepped form blend in with Braunschweig's urban profile while quietly indicating its new function as a gathering place for people to enjoy music and social interaction.First floor planUsing a Modern Language to Interpret the PastRedesigning the facade as a reinterpretation of the current building while honoring the historic setting and its distinctive buildings to create a new identity is a crucial architectural gesture. The new facade reworks the original's modular rhythm to create a tactile, sculptured enclosure. Views into the activity within the building are made possible by the dynamic interplay of light and shadow created by the cascading pieces. The ground floor's transparency invites the public in by blurring the lines between the interior and the city.Second floor planWarm timber interiors frame the building's social center, while the structured facade echoes Braunschweig's medieval roofscapes. Materiality is crucial in defining atmosphere and character. In order to preserve important sightlines and blend in with the surrounding urban fabric, the new volume gently recedes from the original cornice lines.Third floor planBuilding on What Already ExistsIn this initiative, sustainability starts with what currently exists. By preserving and reusing the Karstadt building's structural grid and core, demolition and the resulting carbon effect are avoided. With little alteration to the existing foundations, a lightweight music hall made of steel and wood is constructed above. Cross-laminated wood (CLT) components that are prefabricated enable low-emission and rapid installation.Fifth floor planBy incorporating rooftop photovoltaics and utilizing Braunschweig's low-emission district heating network, the building runs with exceptional energy efficiency. Comfort is maintained while energy consumption is reduced through the use of passive cooling techniques and intelligent ventilation. Demand is further decreased by localized heating systems and water-saving devices.Basement floor planThe result is not merely a monument for music and culture – but a showcase of how architecture can be both ambitious and responsible, rooted in the past and ready for the future.Elevation BrabandstraßeElevation JakobstraßeElevation PoststraßeFacade section existingFacade section ADEPTSection AASection BBSection CCAxonometric drawingConcept, existing as starting pointConcept, community functions as connectorsConcept, concert hall in new constructionConcept, concert hall constructionADEPT and LYTT Architecture completed visitor points reframing largest landscape park in Copenhagen, Denmark. In  addition, ADEPT and Karres en Brands revealed plans for a new masterplan, called WoodHood – Garden City 2.0, in Köln, Germany. Project factsProject name: Haus der MusikArchitect: ADEPTClient: Friedrich Georg Knapp w. Stadt BraunschweigEngineers: Assmann Beraten und Planen, Corall Ingenieure, AvissplanAddress: Poststraße Braunschweig, DESize: 15,000m2 + 3,000 under groundAll images © Aesthetica Studio.All drawings © ADEPT. > via ADEPT

Ongoing Regent’s Park Estate Story Trail Regent’s Park Estate, London NW1Regent’s Park Estate Story Trail is a public art trail. Artworks include Unwritten by Polish artist Rafal Zajko, which excavates the history of a clandestine LGBTQ+ bar located beneath St Mary Magdalene church and You Are Here by Ocean Stefan, a queer, trans and non-binary artist based in Margate. olddiorama.com Unwritten by Rafal Zajko. Photography: Nick Turpin 22 May AJ goes OUT sixteen3’s showroom, London EC1Advertisement Sponsored by UK furniture designer sixteen3 and held at its showrooms in Clerkenwell as part of Clerkenwell Design Week, the AJ is holding a party to celebrate the release of this issue. Expect music, drinks, posters, copies of the AJ and lots of networking with co-collaborators and contributors. sixteen3.co.uk 24 May Queer Archi* Social London LGBT+ Community Centre, London SE1Organised by Queerscapes, Queer Archi* Social is a meet-up for queer and trans people working in the architecture, landscape, horticulture and built environment sectors. Not a formal networking event, it’s a chance to meet others who get it, swap stories and find new collaborators. londonlgbtqcentre.org queerscapes.com Still from E.1027 Eileen Gray and the House by the Sea. Credit: Rise And Shine World Sales 31 May Linden Archives Museum of LiverpoolStuart Linden Rhodes established Instagram account @Linden_Archives during Covid, digitising hundreds of 35mm photographs he shot for All Points North and Gay Times in the 1990s. This talk covers his books on the pub and club scene from Birmingham to Newcastle, as well as Pride events across the whole of England. liverpoolmuseums.org.ukAdvertisement 7 June Queer Realms – Zine Workshop Ada Haus, London SW8Part of The London Festival of Architecture, this zine workshop, organised by and for LGBTQ+ people, invites attendees to explore how their identities shape and are shaped by the London landscape, using zine-making as a creative tool. londonfestivalofarchitecture.org You Are Here by Ocean Stefan. Part of Regent's Park Estate Art Trail. Photography: Nick Turpin 9 June-14 September The Painted Picnic – A Summer Pavilion Citypoint, London EC2Designed by artist John Booth, Citypoint’s plaza will be transformed into a vibrant scene from an outdoor party. Inspired by the LFA’s 2025 theme Voices, the installation reimagines a still-life composition at an architectural scale that visitors can interact with. Digital illustrations by Booth celebrating Pride month will also be on display on the screen at Citypoint throughout June. Brookfield Properties as the commissioners. londonfestivalofarchitecture.org 14-18 June Queer Frontiers 1 Customs Wharf, EdinburghHeld over five days of the 2025 Architecture Fringe in Scotland, Queer Frontiers is a project that explores the ‘corporate capture’ of the queer as we progress towards a future where queer has become the norm. The event includes an exhibition and talks, organised by designer and researcher Kirsty Watt, designer Samuel Stair and Architecture Fringe co-director Andy Summers. architecturefringe.com Still from E.1027 Eileen Gray and the House by the Sea. Credit: Rise And Shine World Sales 18 June E.1027 Eileen Gray and the House by the Sea Museum of BathAs part of Queer Bath 2025’s festival and in partnership with FilmBath, this screening sheds light on Irish designer and architect Eileen Gray’s story and the significance of the Modernist villa E.1027 in queer architectural history. The screening will be followed by a discussion on gender, space, and visibility in design. queerbath.co.uk June, date TBC Architecture LGBT+ Life Drawing HOK, London W1Architecture LGBT+’s next free-to-attend monthly life drawing class is being held at HOK’s offices near Warren Street. A queer model will do a variety of poses throughout the evening for attendees to draw. Drawing supplies, music and drinks are all included. The event is aimed at those who work or study within the architectural field. architecturelgbt.com Life drawing at Heatherwick Studio. Photography: Daniel Innes and Joe Stancer 21 June Soho Queer History – Walking Tour Trafalgar Square, London WC2A two-hour walking tour exploring the history of London LGBTQ+ life. It takes you through the West End, sharing stories of drag queens of the 1700s, gay soirées of the 1920s, and the development of this queer neighbourhood. londonfestivalofarchitecture.org 4 July Queer Nightcrawl Through the City NLA, The London Centre, London EC2Dani Dinger and Dan de la Motte of Queer Tours of London shine a light on London's hidden queer stories. The tour strolls down Sodomites Walk, heads to the docks to discover the secret lives of the Mollies of 18th Century Wapping and minces down Old Compton Street to navigate the danger and dalliance of 1930s Soho. thelondoncentre.org 5 July Architecture LGBT+ London Pride Celebration 2025 London, location TBCArchitecture LGBT+ hosts a breakfast and drinks ahead of the London Pride parade to gather architects and built environment professionals together before joining the parade with the official architecture float. architecturelgbt.com London Pride Float competition winning scheme Proudspeaker by oo office. Credit: oo office 5 July London Pride Float Hyde Park Corner, LondonIn March this year, the LFA, Architecture LGBT+ and Freehold announced an open call for the annual £8,000 pride float competition, which is backed by Brookfield Properties and will celebrate the contributions of LGBTQIA+ architects to the built environment. The winner is oo office. architecturelgbt.com November, date TBC Queer Places: The Exhibition 2.0 Liverpool, location TBCLaunching its second round, exhibition Queer Places, a growing archive of Liverpool’s LGBTQ+ spaces past, present and future, opens its doors again in November. The exhibition will be filled with art, architectural models, maps, photographs and artefacts celebrating queer heritage. New this year are interactive 3D models of historic queer spaces. queerplaces.co.uk Queer Places exhibition. Credit: Queer Places Organisations, initiatives and platforms Architecture Foundation Young Trustees’ Spatial Queeries Spotlight Sunday A weekly spotlight on LGBT+ practitioners, design initiatives and queer spaces. @youngtrusteesArchitecture LGBT+ Not-for-profit organisation run by volunteers. It aims to provide an inclusive and prejudice-free environment for LGBT+ architects and those working and studying within the profession through learning, mentoring and networking events – including life drawing and yoga. architecturelgbt.com @architecturelgbtArchitecture LGBT+ Academic Champions Network (ACN) An alliance of academic champions – one per architecture school in the UK – working to improve representation and understanding of queer identity and action in architectural education. architecturelgbt.com/academic-champions-networkBuilding Equality UK-wide member association with resources for built environment consultants, engineers, developers, contractors and institutions – plus events. buildingequalityuk.comFirst Brick Community-led, democratically run housing organisation aiming to build housing and community spaces for LGBTQ+ people who want and need it. firstbrickhousing.co.ukFreehold Networking hub for LGBTQ professionals and allies in the UK’s real estate industry. freeholdlgbt.comFriends of The Joiners Arms: The JOIN Project Collaboration with community partners to explore how LGBTQIA+ venues and organisations can help create inclusive spaces and better opportunities for work, training and volunteering. friendsjoinersarms.comHomotopia Arts and social justice organisation based in Liverpool supporting local, national, and international queer and trans creatives, artists and makers. homotopia.netInterEngineering A professional network aiming to connect, inform and empower lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender engineers and their straight allies. interengineeringlgbt.comLondon LGBT Community Centre Based in pop-up premises in Southwark, this centre is a safe, sober space that welcomes and supports anyone identifying as LGBTQ+. The space was fitted out by the design and architecture community, who rallied around to support the space. londonlgbtqcentre.orgOpen Plan Scotland A volunteer-led advocacy and support network for all who identify as LGBTQIA+ and study or work across architecture in Scotland. openplan.scot @openplanscotlandOutwardly Creative A new event in Brighton bringing together queer members of the arts and creative industries, including architects. outwardlycreative.co.uk @outwardlycreativePlanning Out Network for LGBT professionals in the town planning and planning sector. @planningoutPride of Place: England’s LGBTQ Heritage Resource and interactive map uncovering and celebrating the LGBTQ heritage of buildings, places and landscapes across England. historicengland.org.ukThe London Queer Housing Coalition Specialist steering group made up of by-and-for LGBTQ+ housing and homelessness organisations working in the capital. stonewallhousing.org/lqhcThe Outside Project London’s LGBTIQ+ community shelter, centre, domestic abuse refuge and trans night shelter. lgbtiqoutside.orgThe Proud Place, Manchester Manchester’s LGBT+ Community Centre hosting The Proud Trust in a purpose-built building. theproudtrust.orgTonic Community-led, not-for-profit organisation focused on creating vibrant and inclusive urban LGBTQ+ affirming retirement communities to address issues of loneliness and isolation of older LGBTQ+ people. tonichousing.org.ukRIBA Collections: LGBTQ+ spaces Research guide to a few of the historical spaces that have formed sites where LGBTQ+ communities have explored, celebrated or concealed sexual and gender identities. architecture.comQueerscapes A platform and community for queer and trans spatial practitioners, including architects, designers, landscape architects, urbanists, builders, gardeners, artists and anyone working with space. queerscapes.com @_queerscapesQueercircle Charity founded to fill the gaps and advocate for systemic change where other arts, health and education institutions fail or actively perpetuate harm, based in the Design District in a David Kohn-designed building. queercircle.orgQueer Design Club Online platform where LGBTQ+ designers can celebrate queer contributions to the design industry and visual culture, share their work and connect with each other. queerdesign.clubQuEAN: Queer Educators in Architecture Network Network of queer spatial design educators – with a focus on queer theory, pedagogies, identities and intersections with spatial design – founded by Gem Barton. @quean_the_networkQueer Places A growing, free digital archive celebrating the vibrant LGBTQ+ spaces of Liverpool’s past, present and future. queerplaces.co.uk @queerplacesQueer Scenarios A research, practice and dissemination community that explores and supports queer identities and queer approaches within critical spatial practices, working collaboratively between teaching staff and students. Based at Central Saint Martins. @queer_scenariosThis list is by no means comprehensive and there are plenty of other resources available. If you are doing something in this field, the AJ would love to hear from you.

It's a whole different kind of dark mode for the paparazzi-like AI feature in Windows 11.

May 22, 20255 min readDisaster-Struck States Waiting for Weeks for Trump’s Sign-Off on FEMA AidStates and cities struck by deadly tornadoes and floods are begging the Trump administration for disaster aidBy Thomas Frank & E&E News A man is comforted by a family friend while cleaning up the debris of his house on May 18, 2025 in the community of Sunshine Hills outside of London, Kentucky. A tornado struck the neighborhood of Sunshine Hills just after midnight on May 17, 2025 in London, Kentucky. Michael Swensen/Getty ImagesCLIMATEWIRE | Public officials have started pleading with the Trump administration for help in recovering from deadly disasters as President Donald Trump triggers frustration in states struck by tornadoes, floods and storms by taking no action on requests for aid.Trump has left states, counties and tribes in limbo as he delays making decisions on formal requests for millions of dollars in Federal Emergency Management Agency funding. Some areas that are still reeling from extreme weather are unable to start cleanup.“We’re at a standstill and waiting on a declaration from FEMA,” said Royce McKee, emergency management director in Walthall County, Mississippi, which was hit by tornadoes in mid-March.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.The county of 13,000 people can’t afford to clean up acres of debris, McKee said, and is waiting for Trump to act on a disaster request that was submitted by Gov. Tate Reeves, a Republican, on April 1 after the tornadoes killed seven people, destroyed or damaged 671 homes, and caused $18.2 million in public damage.“I’m disappointed, especially for the people that lost their houses,” McKee said.Trump himself assailed FEMA in January for being “very slow.”The frustration over Trump’s handling of disasters is the latest upheaval involving FEMA. Trump recently canceled two FEMA grant programs that gave states billions of dollars a year to pay for protective measures against disasters. The move drew protests from Republican and Democratic lawmakers.On May 8, Trump fired FEMA leader Cameron Hamilton and replaced him with David Richardson, a former Marine Corps officer who has no experience in emergency management.At a congressional hearing on Tuesday, Missouri Sen. Josh Hawley, a Republican, pleaded with Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem to push Trump to approve three disaster requests that Missouri Gov. Mike Kehoe, a Republican, had sent to Trump beginning April 2.“We are desperate for assistance in Missouri,” Hawley said as Noem pledged to help. Her department oversees FEMA.St. Louis Mayor Cara Spencer, whose city was badly damaged by tornadoes earlier this week, told MSNBC: “What we need right now is federal assistance. This is where FEMA and the federal government have got to come in and help communities. Our city can’t shoulder this alone.”U.S. President Donald Trump speaks to members of the press on January 24, 2025 as he prepares to travel to North Carolina, California, Nevada and Florida over the weekend.Kent Nishimura/Getty ImagesTrump has not acted on 17 disaster requests, a high number for this time of year, according to a FEMA daily report released Wednesday. On the same date eight years ago, during Trump’s first presidency, only three disaster requests were awaiting presidential action, the FEMA report from May 21, 2017, shows.Eleven of the 17 pending disaster requests were sent to Trump more than a month ago.“This looks to me like, until FEMA’s role is clarified, then we’re just going to sit on it,” said a former senior FEMA official who was granted anonymity to speak candidly.Trump has indicated that he wants to shrink the agency, which distributes about $45 billion in disaster aid a year, helps with as many as 100 disasters at a time and, he said, “has been a very big disappointment.”“It’s very bureaucratic and very slow,” Trump said in January during a visit to disaster-stricken western North Carolina.The Trump administration has made no announcements about how it is handling requests for disaster aid, leaving governors, local officials and individuals uncertain about what to expect.“A disaster survivor that’s waiting for relief — that’s the hard part about this,” the former FEMA official said.In a statement to POLITICO’s E&E News, White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson said the administration wants state and local governments “to invest in their own resilience before disaster strikes, making response less urgent and recovery less prolonged.”Trump handles disaster requests “with great care and consideration, ensuring American tax dollars are used appropriately and efficiently by the states to supplement — not substitute, their obligation to respond to and recover from disasters,” Jackson said.'Death and destruction'Despite the absence of an announced policy change, Trump’s actions on a handful of disasters indicate that he is making it harder for states to receive FEMA aid for cleanup and rebuilding.There is no indication of partisan considerations in Trump’s actions. Only three of the 17 pending disaster requests came from Democratic governors. Trump made national headlines in April when he denied a request by Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders, a Republican who was the White House press secretary during his first presidency.The denial of Sanders’ request for aid to clean up debris and repair electric cooperatives after a tornado outbreak in mid-March exemplifies Trump’s new direction. Sanders calculated that the tornadoes caused $11.6 million in public damage, which is more than enough to qualify for FEMA aid.Under long-standing FEMA policy, the agency sets a population-based damage threshold that states must exceed in order to get money for cleanup and rebuilding. In Arkansas, the threshold is slightly more than $5.8 million — and the state’s damage was twice that amount.Sanders appealed the denial, but Trump again rejected her request for repair money, although he did agree to help 249 households pay for temporary housing and minor home repairs with FEMA aid. The federal funding will amount to about $1 million.Trump took the same action on aid requests from West Virginia Gov. Patrick Morrissey, a Republican, and Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear, a Democrat, after flooding struck their states in February and April, respectively. In both cases, Trump approved money for households and rejected their funding requests for public rebuilding.When Trump rejected Washington state’s April request for aid to help rebuild public infrastructure following a November flood, Gov. Bob Ferguson, a Democrat, noted that the damage easily exceeded the threshold to qualify for federal money.“There are very clear criteria to qualify for these emergency relief funds. Washington’s application met all of them,” Ferguson said after Trump’s denial. Communities “have been waiting for months” for federal aid, “and this decision will cause further delay.”On Tuesday, Beshear sent Trump a new disaster request after tornadoes killed 19 Kentucky residents and caused extensive property damage. Beshear is seeking an “expedited major disaster” declaration, which presidents typically approve in a day or two.“This tornado event is devastating. There’s no other way to describe the death and destruction this has brought to the community,” Beshear said at a news briefing Tuesday.Although the request did not calculate the cost of the damage, Kentucky Division of Emergency Management Director Eric Gibson said Tuesday, “We met a number that is clearly easy for anyone to see that this disaster needs some federal assistance.”Beshear said Trump called him Sunday after the outbreak and "pledged to be there for the people of Kentucky."Reprinted from E&E News with permission from POLITICO, LLC. Copyright 2025. E&E News provides essential news for energy and environment professionals.

CD Projekt has teamed up with Microsoft to create some fancy new Witcher 3-themed Xbox controllers to celebrate the game's 10th anniversary - which I really can't quite believe because I personally haven't aged a day. The controllers - officially known as the 'Xbox Wireless Controller - The Witcher 3 10th Anniversary Special Edition' and the 'Xbox Elite Wireless Controller Series 2 - Core The Witcher 3 10th Anniversary Special Edition' - are described as being "tempered and battle-ready", and promise "intricately crafted details". They feature The Witcher 3's wolf medallion iconography, as well as Glagolitic script. I personally don't know what the script says, but apparently it can be translated and those symbols "are not random". If you work out what it means, please let me know. Away from the cosmetic sides of things, these chaps also boast all the features you'd expect from an Xbox controller. So, rubberised back grips, remappable controller inputs, Bluetooth support and so on. You can check how they look in the video above. They've been created by CD Projekt's own designers, with Gabriela Pešková from CD Projekt and Mekias Bekalu from Xbox calling this "such a special moment for both" teams. "We explored a lot of directions when creating this controller, but from the beginning we knew we wanted to tell a story," added CD Projekt design lead Joshua Flowers. "We wanted it to feel like something that has been with you on the path, something worn and personal. As we developed concepts, we began crafting the story of this controller - and how it might exist in The Witcher 3's world. This narrative is what we fell in love with. It had to feel like it belonged in The Witcher 3 universe - like it had lived through battles and carried stories of its own." The Xbox Wireless Controller variant is available now for £74.99 while the Xbox Elite Wireless Controller costs £149.99. Both are exclusive to the Microsoft Store. As for the future of the series, The Witcher 4 won't be out until after 2026, but we got a first trailer at the end of last year. Earlier this week, Geralt voice actor Doug Cockle called out so-called fans as "stupid" for describing The Witcher 4 as "woke" for having Ciri as the protagonist. Read more

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 Marvel Rivals doesn’t only feature its core 6v6 hero shooter gameplay; rather, the game consists of different modes to cater to each player and their playstyle. While some like the stacked action that ranked lobbies bring in Competitive, others like to grind on missions and play arcade modes like Conquest or Doom Match to level up faster. However, each new season, NetEase introduces a new limited-time mode that gives players a break from the overall action and gives them a fresh perspective to utilize their favorite heroes. Modes like Clash of Dancing Lions allow you to play soccer with heroes like Star-Lord, while Giant-Size Brain Blast allows you to turn any of the heroes in the roster into an easy headshot target with a huge head. Once again, Rivals devs are bringing in a new limited-time mode called Ultron’s Battle Matrix Protocol with the Season 2.5 release, which is a unique fantasy team experience where you can create your own team and send them into battle. Marvel Rivals’ new mode allows you to create your own fantasy team of superheroes Marvel Rivals released their latest episode of Dev Vision Vol. 06, where the devs discussed new content arriving in the Season 2.5 update, arriving on May 30, 2025. In the video, apart from the new Team-Ups and changes, devs also showcased a new Limited-Time experimental mode called Ultron’s Battle Matrix Protocol which will release on June 6 and will offer a fantasy team style experience where you can create your own team of six superheroes and send them into battle, along with modifying their stats. Make your own Rivals team with six heroes of your choice. Image by VideoGamer. Purchase power ups for your heroes to perform better. Image by VideoGamer. Arrange your heroes in the formation you want them to attack from. Image by VideoGamer, You can amplify your hero’s abilities to overpower enemy team. Image by VideoGamer. Previous Next 1 of 4 Previous Next If you’re still trying to wrap your head around it, think of it like Football Manager but with superheroes. You’ll begin each round by creating your team of six superheroes and battling against five other players with their own unique team composition. Once you’ve made your selection, you’ll be loaded into the Card Shop menu from where you’ll be able to craft unique builds and enhance hero traits. Then create a formation of your team and set the heroes in frontline, midline, and backline positions in a 4×5 grid format. Once you’ve set your heroes in a lineup, then play as Ultron and assist your team to defeat enemies by constantly enhancing their powers and introducing new cards into play. You can turn Venom into a Kaiju Monster, make Hela throw her daggers all around the map, demand Psylocke to affect a larger area, or even summon multiple Monstro Spawn as Namor. You can play multiple rounds and win after you’ve gathered the most victories against enemies. While you’re checking out Season 2.5 content in Marvel Rivals, do check out all the hero nerfs and buffs that will affect the meta drastically when the update is out. Marvel Rivals Platform(s): macOS, PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series S, Xbox Series X Genre(s): Fighting, Shooter Subscribe to our newsletters! By subscribing, you agree to our Privacy Policy and may receive occasional deal communications; you can unsubscribe anytime. Share

Now that he’s out of the White House, where does Joe Biden live? The 46th US president has had a lifelong love of real estate, though he hasn’t always had the financial means to express it. “Even as a kid in high school I’d been seduced by real estate,” Biden wrote in his 2007 biography, Promises to Keep. His “idea of Saturday fun” when he was married to his first wife, Neilia, was to “drive around the Wilmington area scouting open houses, houses for sale, land where we could build,” he added. Reportedly, the former Delaware senator even carried issues of Architectural Digest on his daily commute. At one point, he was struggling to pay off three mortgages and a loan from his father-in-law to indulge his house habit. Eventually, Biden slowed down in favor of stability. Since the late 1990s, the Biden family has kept a Wilmington, Delaware, property as their main house. After his vice presidency, Biden was able to make more money through speeches and book deals, in turn allowing him to invest in a long-coveted vacation home.Read on to discover more about President Biden’s real estate portfolio.DuPont mansionIn 1974, the Scranton, Pennsylvania, native paid $185,000 for a rundown 1930s mansion in Wilmington, Delaware, once owned by the prominent DuPont family. Three years later, he married Jill Biden (née Jacobs), and she joined him at the five-bedroom, three-bathroom home, which he nicknamed the Station. The manse served as campaign headquarters during Biden’s 1988 presidential run. The 10,000-square-foot Colonial needed extensive repair, so he sunk ample time and money into renovations. “Whatever he gets, the house eats for breakfast. That house loves cash,” wrote journalist Richard Ben Cramer in his book about the 1988 presidential race, What It Takes.Biden sold the two-acre property for $1.2 million in 1996.“The Lake House”The Bidens bought a four-acre Wilmington plot for $350,000 shortly after offloading their DuPont mansion, then custom-built a 6,850-square-foot manse on the property overlooking a man-made lake built by the DuPonts. According to Delaware Online, Biden designed the home himself. The Colonial-style house, which was completed in 1998, has three bedrooms and four and a half bathrooms and is located in the coveted Greenville neighborhood, also known as Château Country for its concentration of stately Colonials. Reportedly, the estate also hosts a cottage that Biden rented out to the Secret Service for $2,200 a month while he was vice president. Aerial photos reveal that the dwelling, which the Bidens call the Lake House, also boasts a spacious backyard pool.This is still the family’s primary residence.1 Observatory CircleFormer Vice President Kamala Harris and former German Chancellor Angela Merkel outside of the Vice President’s residence in 2021.Photo: Samuel Corum/CNP/Bloomberg via Getty Images

Death to Squishies By Bart on May 22, 2025 Behind the Scenes I asked Marcin Cieśla to tell us about his 'Death to Squishies' animation that was featured on BlenderArtists in March. Get ready for the delights and despairs of a one-man animation project which included dancing in front of his phone girl-band style for reference!A stort story about a certain animation. “Death to Squishies” from Ratchet & Clank 3.Ladies and gentlemen. Girls and boys. I rarely write texts like this… but not by choice. Only when my work is done, all set with poise, each detail aligned, no faults or voids. Now and then, when the time employs, it feels like festive days with all their noise. I’m so happy, like a kid with toys! Let’s start the talk - so raise your voice!...and Courtney strikes a daring pose, Perhaps it’s time to end my prose. Alright, enough fooling around. I’m not typing all of this just to waste someone’s time with poor-quality rhymes. So, why are we here? Well, I’d like to tell a story. To write a few words about how I spent almost two years working on a certain project - my biggest one yet. I personally love reading behind-the-scenes stories like this, so I thought someone might find it interesting. And if not, well, too bad - I’ll just write it anyway, and no one can stop me - ha! Look, look, how I just write all of this.Ok man, what’s your point?...you may ask, my dear reader. I will answer brilliantly - I don't know. That's why I think it would be best if I started with a short explanation. In the year of our Lord 2023, I created a small fanart of a character from the Ratchet & Clank series. Specifically, I'm talking about Courtney Gears from Ratchet 3. In the description of this project, when I was finishing it, I mentioned that I might also try to create a 1-minute animation using the character model that I already had at the time. It was quite tempting considering that the goal seemed quite achievable, because in a sense part of the work was already done. At least that's what I thought at the time. After all, I already have a finished character model - why not use it again and create an animation with it? What could go wrong (those familiar with Murphy's law know very well what). Ah, the poor naive author of this text didn’t yet realize what he was signing up for...At the beginning, he created a new project and a scene.The scene, however, was without form, it was a blockout. It is best to start any project like this with a blockout - a kind of 3D “sketch.” You roughly and quickly arrange simple shapes in the scene to get a general idea of where things should be, what size they should have relative to other elements in the environment, and so on. That’s exactly what I did. This stage of work is particularly satisfying because any progress brings immediate, tangible, and easily noticeable results. I drop a character into the file, but there’s nothing around them - just emptiness. So, I create a simple floor and walls. Boom - suddenly, the whole perception of the scene changes completely. It’s a bit dark, so I add a basic lamp. White, colored, spot, or area - whatever it may be, its mere presence makes a huge difference.Although every object in the scene, even in its simple blockout form, had to be manually created, it didn’t take long before the first signs of progress started appearing before my eyes. Those first bursts of dopamine can be incredibly motivating. "Hey, this is actually going pretty smoothly," I thought. And it did. You start a new project and you have only an empty space with a default cube and a camera in front of you. A day or two later, in the same file, you see a whole bunch of colorful, scattered objects. Maybe they are simple, maybe a little sloppy, but it doesn't matter. Compared to what was there at the beginning (an empty 3D file), the progress is huge! You almost feel like patting yourself on the back. And although at this stage it seemed to me that I had already done a lot of work, in reality it was just a false first impression. The real work hadn't even started yet.Lights, action! Oh wait, the camera first.Since the project was supposed to be an animation, I decided that before I went any further, I should roughly outline the camera work. An initial frame layout to see roughly where the close-ups would be, and what the slightly wider shots would look like. Which objects would need more detail, and which could get away with less. It seemed like a reasonable approach - after all, it would be a shame to spend too much time perfecting an object that wouldn’t even be properly visible in the camera.My starting point, of course, was the original animation from Ratchet & Clank. The music video titled "Death to Squishies" contained all the guidelines I needed. In my version, I tried to preserve as much from the original as possible, so initially I simply replicated the camera movements one-to-one. This is where I ran into the first problem. What worked 20 years ago in PlayStation 2 graphics doesn't necessarily translate well to modern visuals. Maybe I just couldn't translate it properly - who knows. The fact is, however, that at the end of the day I slightly modified some shots and cuts. Not drastically, but still. A slightly different frame, maybe a cut half a second later, maybe a different camera movement pace. By the way, it’s incredible how much such small adjustments can change.At this stage of the work, another dose of dopamine kicked in. Smaller than before, but still very motivating. "Not only do I already have the initial version of the scene, but now everything is starting to move! I'm moving at lightning speed, and nothing can stop me!"Very nice, but now get to work.It's probably a confrontation with the later stages of the project, after that first wave of naive joy, what we call short-lived enthusiasm. You start something with joy, see the initial huge progress, and it seems like the work is moving at an express pace, with the finish line already appearing on the horizon. However, reality doesn't really care about it and sooner or later it comes to verify the progress. The first such verification hit when I had to model the final version of the first segment of the scene. What had previously been just a simple, rounded cube was now waiting for its true realization. How dense should the details be, and where should they go? What should be fully modeled, and what could simply be painted onto a texture? What resolutions should the textures have? What colors should they be? You can know all the fundamentals of designing such things, and still get lost. For example, I realized that despite having reference material in the form of the original animation, I could really use designs with more detailed elements. Luckily, Insomniac still makes games from this series today, so I managed to find some modern assets from the latest Ratchet & Clank on PS5 on ArtStation. They worked perfectly as references. My confidence, however, was in a bit of a decline.As it quickly turned out, creating just one element of the scene in the final version takes much longer than the total time I worked on the entire project from the beginning up to that point. My example platform first had to be prepared in high-poly - a version with the highest possible level of detail. Then, the same model had to be created again, this time in low-poly - a geometrically simplified version for optimization. After that, details had to be baked from one version onto the other, textures painted, plus several other technical steps. Then the same thing had to be repeated for each element of the environment that was waiting to be prepared. Glass panels, inner platform segments, the outer ring with lamps, speakers, screens, scaffolding, cages, and so on. All of this only to realize later that while individual segments might look fine on their own, they didn’t necessarily work well together as a whole. For this reason, I went back from time to time to slightly modify already existing parts of the scene. And time kept passing.And he saw that it wasn't very good...Paradoxically, what had helped me earlier was now becoming a source of complexes for me. Using the stunning visuals from Rift Apart—the latest Ratchet & Clank installment - was incredibly helpful at first. Over time, however, as more and more of my own objects filled the scene, a wave of self-doubt started creeping in. "This doesn’t even look half as good as the work of the artists at Insomniac Games." "Why am I even doing this?"For a long time, lighting had been bothering me. Light is one of the most important aspects of 3D graphics - period. In fact, the perceived quality of the final image depends more on the lighting than on the quality of the objects being illuminated. Seriously. Lighting is incredibly important. That said, I kept failing with every new attempt at lighting the scene. Too dark, too bright, the color palette came out ugly, sometimes it felt too flat, other times something got overexposed. I can't count how many times I postponed dealing with it, discouraged by yet another failure. To be honest, I’m still not satisfied with the final lighting. I simply had to draw the line somewhere and move on.But it wasn’t all bad. At this stage of the project, I had already modeled almost all the scene elements - that’s something. A certain milestone. Mrs. Dopamine came for a visit again. A small dose of motivation to push further forward. After all, it would be silly to abandon the project now, with so much work behind me, right?Wait, what was I talking about?You're talking so much nonsense here, Mr. Author, and this was supposed to be about animnantion. I'm asking where is aminantion! So where is it? This amimatnion!A fair question. Maybe a little clumsy, but fair. So, where’s the animation? Honestly - still in its early stages. Normally, a project like this would involve multiple people working in parallel. That way, while the 3D artist is modeling the scene, the animator can already start working on the animation on simplified models, because he doesn't need detailed ones. That alone would cut the work time in half (!). But since I was the only one working on the whole thing, I had a new, another big task in the form of animation. "Well, now it’s finally all downhill from here", I thought. "Hehe, the fool hasn't learned anything", fate probably thought. I think it did. I don’t know - I didn’t ask.The first attempt came together pretty quickly. I wouldn’t say it went well, but at least it went fast. That’s something. I decided to start working on Courtney first. After all, she’s the main character of the entire clip, and the focus is primarily on her. The first shot - when she steps down from the stage. The second - when she… um… dances with her back to the camera. Then the third, fourth, and in one go I did the entire first half. Alright, time to share my progress online and get some feedback from people.And what were the opinions? "Overall, it’s not bad, but…"—which, in short, means "Dude, it’s actually really bad, but I’m trying to be nice." And yeah, it really was bad. The first version of the animation was slow, uninteresting, and just plain awful. It hurts a bit when you realize you’ve done a poor job. But pride doesn’t finish projects. What didn’t work had to go in the trash, and I had to start animating all over again from scratch. This time, slightly humbled by the mediocre feedback, I decided to take things more seriously. What did that mean? Well, when working on animation, it’s always a good idea to record some references first. How do you do that? Very simple: grab your phone and place it on a shelf or desk with recording turned on goof around carefully play in front of the camera the scene you are going to animate live with the hope that no one will ever, ever see this recording ._. With this type of reference, things went a bit better. The second attempt was still far from expectations, but at least it was an improvement over the first one. Thanks to the references, I managed to improve the pace, but also the overall choreography of the shots. Then there was the third attempt, and I stopped there.It's still not over yet?!Although Courtney’s animation was more or less done, the dancers were still waiting. And unfortunately, I don’t mean beautiful women dancing in celebration of the project’s completion. Not at all! There was still a long way to go, and to be honest, at this point, I felt like I had absolutely no idea what I was doing. And it was starting to show - this time in the dancers’ animation. Maybe it wasn’t as bad as Courtney’s first animation attempt, but it definitely wasn’t good. And no amount of goofing around in front of my phone for reference could fix it.How to put it... a bearded dude with all his appeal is not the best reference point for graceful, agile dancing ladies on stage. So, instead of wasting even more time, I decided to spend some of it searching for dance references online. And wow, maybe I just don't know what I'm talking about, but I really didn't know that there were so many terrible dances on the internet. I swear, a good chunk of what I watched were girls either rolling around the floor aimlessly or shaking chaotically, as if they had no idea what they were trying to achieve. And these are things proudly published by dance schools (!). At some point, however, I came across Asian girl bands…Alright, alright - let me explain. Well, you see… oh c’mon, I'm not going to explain myself! What can I say - you can like them or not, but it’s a completely different level. „Western” dance groups aren’t even close to the discipline and precision you see in Asian ones. These dances finally looked like something someone had really thought through. They just made sense! So, finally I had my reference.At this point no one reads this anyway.Since I’ve already scared off whoever I might have scared with my mention of girl bands, I can now openly admit that I really did use them as references. Am I embarrassed about it? Duuude, I was embarrassed when I tried dancing in front of my phone and then watched that pitiful sight. Now, I was just happy to finally push the work forward. And indeed, with the new references, things went a bit smoother. One attempt, then another - I honestly don’t remember how many there were. What I do remember is that this stage of the work was a bit of a relief. The dancers didn't require as much attention as Courtney, I had better references for them, but the fact that the project as a whole was already in "some" state also helped a lot. Maybe it’s silly, but working on something where you can actually see the results, rather than just imagining them vaguely, makes a big difference.Thanks to this, my mood was a bit more positive. The worst was already done, so confidence peeked its sad little eyes out from the depths of despair (pff, look at him, suddenly trying to be a poet). Once I managed to finish animating the dancers after a few attempts, the last thing still waiting for me was the lighting - the task I had been postponing to "hopefully never."Dude, but I don't see anything here.This moment had to come eventually, and now - it had arrived. My eternal nemesis. My weakness. The thing that had haunted me from the very start of this project. Ladies and gentlemen - lighting. (Here, we imagine the sound of a terrified and shocked crowd.)Somewhere in the previous stages of my work, when things weren’t going well, I experimented with lighting. As I’ve mentioned before, I was never satisfied with this aspect of my work. But at least I had some general direction now. A direction that didn’t make me feel "Yes, this is it," but also didn’t scream "Dude, this is a total disaster." So I had a direction that was neutral. Neutral - meaning acceptable. I knew I probably wouldn’t come up with anything better. So, I stuck with relatively simple, uniform blue lighting for the scene. That was supposed to be the background - my foundation for further work. The monotonous, solid color was interrupted by pink screens (with slight variations) and occasional yellow lamps. Nothing spectacular, but I assumed that if it doesn't hurt the eyes, then it's already good enough.While this lighting more or less worked for the scene as a whole, it didn’t quite handle characters in different, dynamic shots. That’s why the final, secret ingredient was character lighting. I experimented with it quite a bit, but in the end, I stuck with the standard three-point lighting setup. The main lamp - to pull the character out of the background, the fill lamp - to eliminate unwanted shadows, and in some shots a contour lamp - to add a bit of drama by lighting the character from behind. This simple set of lights just needed to be placed properly in each shot and voilà - the lighting was done.We go to sleep and the work will do itself.Wait, it’s still not over? How much more…The last thing left to do was rendering. Everything done so far existed only as a 3D project file I had been working on. Now, it was time to turn the fruits of months of effort into a video file. But that’s not as simple as it seems. I mean - it is. But also, it isn’t. It both is and isn’t.On one hand, rendering is simple, since it’s basically a process handled almost entirely by the computer rather than the person. On the other hand, rendering isn’t simple - because of that almost part. It can be a real pain. Theoretically, all that’s left to do is press the "render" button and sit back with a beer in hand, admiring the frames being drawn on the screen, accompanied by the gentle hum of the PC fans under the desk. And, for the most part, that’s true (though I wouldn’t recommend keeping beer too close to the keyboard). The problem, however, is that rendering needs supervision. Especially when the whole process is set to take four months (!). Seriously. That’s a lot of beer cans, but also plenty of time for things to go terribly wrong - and something almost certainly will. Maybe the software closes unexpectedly. Maybe the graphics card runs out of memory. Maybe an unforeseen error pops up. Or, maybe - after 120 rendered frames - the brilliant author of this text realizes that he forgot to enable or hide an object in the first shot (what a silly guy, pff). Since I needed my computer during the day for work, rendering took place at night. And if something went wrong two hours in, well… in the morning, I was greeted by a beautiful error report that had been sitting there for six hours. No problem, that's cool. At least after such a night the electricity bill was unnecessarily a bit higher…Sooner or later, it was finally done. I had all the frames rendered on my disk. In their raw, still-unprocessed state, the entire thing took up (and still does, I need a new disk ._. ) a staggering 1.2TB. Then, I pieced everything together. A bit of post-processing, a pinch of color correction, a handful of final tweaks. And at last - my exhausted eyes beheld it. A file with the friendly name "0100-1800.mp4." Or, in other words - the finished animation. The result of months of my work. I hope it was worth it.Get up, I think he finally finished yapping!Meow, meow, meow - you've talked so much here, man, and honestly, what’s the point of it all? As I eloquently pointed out at the beginning - I don’t know. I don’t know why I wrote this text about my project. If someone actually read it - great, that makes me really happy. Greetings to all three people who did it. I hope it was worth spending some time in my little world of 3D graphics. I know this project means much more to me than it ever will to anyone reading this. And that’s fine. But if reading this wasn’t a waste of time for you, dear reader - that’s something. And with that positive note, I’ll wrap this up. Lights off, time for bed.Until next time!

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Back to the Past A cult classic gets some love with the Space Marine Master Crafted Edition, launching June 10 Available on PC, Xbox Series X|S, and Game Pass with plenty of updates. Image credit: Relic Entertainment News by Connor Makar Staff Writer Published on May 22, 2025 After Space Marine 2 released to a supurb level of consumer and critical acclaim, it should be no shocker that the Space Marine Master Crafted Edition has just been announced during the Warhammer Skulls event. This game is coming from SEGA and Sneakybox, the latter responsible for a sweep of modern additions like 4K resolution, updated controls, improved models and enhanced audio. In the press release sent out alongside this announcement, Sneaky Box producer Vaidas Mikelskas states it is more of "a thoughtful restoration" than a technical upgrade. To see this content please enable targeting cookies. This modern recreation of the cult classic comes with all the original modes, including the campaign and PvE / PvP multiplayer. What's particularly interesting with this new and improved version of the game is that the Orks are getting a special touch up. The faction has new models and over 100 new voice lines, which sounds great of course, granted Warboss Grimskull keeps all his fantastic quips. Warhammer 40,000 Space Marine is one of those games that has carved a place in people's hearts for years, and given that we're now in a real golden age of both Space Marine love and Warhammer 40K passion in general, in makes sense we'd get a touched-up version of the classic on modern platforms. Plus, you won't have to pay full price for it either! The game will be sold for €39.99 or your regional equivilent, or downloadable on Game Pass for the subscription fee. Are you going to dive into this new and improved version of Space Marine? Let us know below!