Saudi Arabia has unveiled the stadiums that will host games at the World Cup in 10 years time, including a venue built on The Line at Neom and a stadium informed by the bark of a tree.Revealed as part of its official bid submission to FIFA, the 15 stadiums will be based in and around four cities Riyadh, Jeddah, Al Khobar and Abha, as well as the under-construction The Line.In total 11 new stadiums are planned for the World Cup, with three currently under construction. The country's two current largest stadiums will be renovated, while two further existing stadiums will be temporarily expanded during the tournament.FIFA is set to confirm Saudi Arabia as the host for the 2034 event in December, with the country the only bidder for the event.Read on for details of the 15 stadiums set to host games at the 2034 World Cup:New Murabba Stadium, Riyadh, unknown architectInformed by the bark of an acacia tree, the New Murabba Stadium will be surrounded by numerous rock-like forms divided by canyons."Its design replicates the layered overlapping planes and peeling planar texture of the bark of the native acacia tree," according to the bid document.The 45,000-seat stadium will form part of the Murabba downtown development, which is being created in the northwest of Riyadh. The development will also include a 400-metre-high cube-shapedskyscraper named Mukaab.King Salman International Stadium, Riyadh, by PopulousSet to host the World Cup final, the King Salman International Stadium will be the country's largest stadium when it completes.Designed by architecture studio Populous, which is creating several venues for the tournament, the stadium in Riyadh will have a capacity of 92,000. Its design was informed by mountains and renders show landscaped panels enclosing the structure."The stadium will blend into its surrounding topography, with terrain and natural habitat forming part of the stadium's roof," said the official submission."Aside from its aesthetic appeal, this design will provide effective shading and ventilation tailored to the desert climate."Roshn Stadium, Riyadh, unknown architectDesigned to resemble numerous crystal-like shards rising into the air, the Roshn Stadium will be built to the south of Riyadh as part of a wider residential neighbourhood."The stadium is designed as a dynamic part of the urban fabric, encouraging the community to walk around and through the facility," the bid stated.It will sit in a central plaza, surrounded by the bowl's 'crystalline' structure, a delicate latticework that will glow in the night sky.King Fahd Sports City Stadium, Riyadh, by Ian Fraser,John Roberts,Michael KC CheahOriginally opened in 1987, the King Fahd Sports City Stadium is topped with a distinctive fabric roof supported on a series of 24 masts that are each 58 metres high.The stadium, which is in east Riyadh, is currently being refurbished by Populous with its capacity set to increase from 58,000 to 70,000.The renovation is expected to be completed before the AFC Asian Cup in 2027.Prince Mohammed bin Salman Stadium, Riyadh, by PopulousNamed after Mohammed bin Salman, the crown prince of Saudi Arabia, the stadium is planned as part of the Qiddiya entertainment district 30 kilometres from Riyadh.The cliffside stadium will have stands on three sides with a large, retractable LED wall occupying the other side. The building will also incorporate an Olympic Museum."The bowl has been designed to optimise the spectator experience, featuring a unique three-sided arrangement to allow for spectacular views out towards the Tuwaiq cliffs," said the official bid.Prince Faisal bin Fahd Sports City Stadium, Riyadh, PopulousCurrently under construction in the east of the city, the Prince Faisal bin Fahd Sports City Stadium will be informed by traditional architectural motifs from the country's central region."The stadium design draws inspiration from the 'culturally contextualized modernism' principles of Salmani architecture," said the bid document.The stadium will be constructed using locally produced materials and will utilize energy efficient systems, including extensive solar panels on the roof."South Riyadh Stadium, Riyadh, PopulousAnother stadium informed by the "principles of Salmani architecture", the South Riyadh Stadium will be located in the south of the capital as the name suggests. It will be wrapped in numerous reddish-brown vertical fins and topped with a transparent roof."The facade blends modernity with the rich architectural language and material palette of the area," the bid stated.King Saud University Stadium, Riyadh, by Michael KC Cheah, renovation by PopulousOne of two existing stadiums that will be temporarily expanded for the World Cup, the King Saud University Stadium will have a capacity of 46,000 during the tournament before being reduced to 33,000 after the event.Neom Stadium, Neom, unknown architectDescribed as the "most unique stadium in the world", the Neom Stadium will be incorporated into The Line mega city, which is under construction in the north west of the country as part of Neom."Neom Stadium will be the most unique stadium in the world," said the bid."With a pitch situated more than 350 meters above ground, stunning vistas, and a roof created from the city itself, the stadium will be an experience like no other."King Abdullah Sports City Stadium, Jeddah, by ArupOpened in 2014, the 62,000-capacity King Abdullah Sports City Stadium was designed by Arup. The stadium will be refurbished ahead of the World Cup."Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah Sports City Stadium is an elegant, respectful and versatile complex that combines traditional Islamic architecture with innovative design to form a highly functional, sustainable and flexible building," said Arup.Qiddiya Coast Stadium, Jeddah, PopulousOne of the most colourful stadiums being built for the World Cup, the Qiddiya Coast Stadium is being built 45 kilometres to the north of Jeddah. It will be surrounded by numerous fins that were designed to evoke the idea of a Mexican wave."It is designed as a physical representation of the vibrant relationship between people and water, energy and matter, with its design also evoking the ripple effect of a Mexican wave," said the bid."Its form undulates; its vibrant color palette is rich and joyful."Jeddah Central Development Stadium, Jeddah, by GMP ArchitectenCurrently being built as one of the anchor buildings of the Jeddah Central giga project, the 45,000 seat stadium was designed by German studioGMP Architecten.The stadiums will be entirely surrounded by buildings that make it appear to be a mass of historic structures."It echoes the traditional architecture of Jeddah's historic Al Balad district, while embracing technological advancements and innovative building design," said the bid document."It features three tiers, with an outer concourse connected to four surrounding 'villages'. The stadium bowl is fully covered by a semi-translucent roof, with a retractable inner roof and a 360-degree LED screen."The wider development will include 17,000 homes as well as anarts centre designed by Heatherwick Studio, an opera house designed by Danish studio Henning Larsenand an oceanarium by US studioSOM.King Abdullah Economic City Stadium, Jeddah, unknown architectLocated 80 kilometres for Jeddah, the King Abdullah Economic City Stadium will form part of a planned new city on the Red Sea Coast.The drum-shaped stadium will have a capacity of 45,000.Aramco Stadium, Al Khobar, by Foster + Partners and PopulousDesigned by UK studio Foster + Partners, the Aramco Stadium, which will be delivered by Populous, is currently under construction in the city of Al Khobar on the country's eastern coast.Informed by the whirlpools that exist off the coast of Saudi Arabia, the 47,000-seat stadium will be covered in a series of sail-like forms. It is set to complete in 2026 and be used for the 2027 Asian Cup."The stadium's architecture celebrates the sea's dynamic nature and its profound influence on the local community," the official bid document."Its whirlpool-shaped design mimics overlapping sails and draws on graceful, natural wave motifs, to blend seamlessly with the coastal landscape."King Khalid University Stadium, Abha, renovation by PopulousLocated in the southwestern city of Abha, the King Khalid University Stadium is the second existing stadium that will be expanded for the tournament.Originally opened in 1987, the stadium currently has a capacity of 12,000, which will be increased to 45,000 during the World Cup.The post Saudi Arabia reveals all 15 stadiums for the 2034 World Cup appeared first on Dezeen.

A home in Suffolk with an origami-like roof and a timber house built on a stone cellar in Estonia were two of the most popular houses featured on Dezeen in July.Also featured is an exposed concrete house in Japan, a pair of renovated homes on a remote Canadian peninsula and another secluded home in Canada clad in cedar shingles.Read on to find out more about Dezeen readers' favourite houses this month:Photo by Tnu TunnelPro House, Estonia, by Hanna Karitsand Mari HuntPro House is a home constructed from locally sourced wood built atop a disused stone cellar, designed by architectsHanna Karits and Mari Hunt to have minimal impact on the remote site.Located in a forest in Estonia, Pro House has a rectilinear form with a pitched roof clad in dark-stained timber, informed by the surrounding farm structures.Find out more about Pro House Photo by DoublespaceWhistling Wind Island, Canada, by Akb ArchitectsCedar shingles clad a cluster of buildings at Whistling Wind Island, which was designed by architecture studio Akb Architects as a summer home for a kite surfer and his family.Four structures were built on a remote archipelago in Ontario,Canada, including a main cottage, guest cabin, sauna and a building containing boat storage and a fitness studio.Find out more about Whistling Wind Island Photo by Jim StephensonWater Farm, UK, by Studio BarkArchitecture practiceStudio Bark created an origami-like roof that folds in different directions for the Water Farm family home in Suffolk.The geometric home was clad in locally sourced sweet chestnut cladding and a central outdoor courtyard lets natural light into the interior spaces.Find out more about Water Farm Photo courtesy of Studio Cochi ArchitectsHouse in Nishizaki, Japan, by Studio Cochi ArchitectsThick concrete walls surround the House in Nishizaki, designed by architecture practice Studio Cochi Architects as an "urban oasis" protected from being overlooked by surrounding buildings in the densely packed area.Studio Cochi Architects left the concrete structure exposed throughout the house and complemented it with weathered metal accents and dark wooden carpentry.Find out more about House in Nishizaki Photo by Julian ParkinsonBurdens Point Residence, Canada, by Reflect ArchitectureToronto studioReflect Architecture renovated a pair of century-old saltbox houses on a Newfoundland peninsula to create the Burdens Point Residence vacation home.The studio added windows and galvanised steel roofs to the two vernacular buildings, which serve as a single property while also being self-sufficient.Find out more about Burdens Point Residence The post Dezeen's top five houses of July 2024 appeared first on Dezeen.

Another two months flies by, heres what weve been working on:NamaqualandWere making great progress with the Namaqualand project and expect to finish it in the next two months. Hopefully, itll be ready around the next dev log!Its amazing how much work there is after scanning a location for just a week Theres not much more to say other than the team has been hard at work grinding out assets, so heres a little sneak peek:Moon ProgressMeanwhile, Dario has started working on our moon scans in earnest. There will be quite a few of them, and theyre all very similar, but we hope this will give you a lot of flexibility and variation in large environments.FabricIts been a while since I last spoke about our fabric scans project, and plans have changed a bit since then.While assembling the Cornell box and pondering what sort of machine wed build to automate the scanning process itself, we were contacted by a company in Germany, Colormass, that specializes in doing this sort of thing.Colormass offered to scan a small set of fabrics for us, more or less at cost. While still quite a bit more than it would have cost us to do ourselves, it would free up a few months of our time to work on other projects, so we decided it was still a good idea.They are working on a set of 30 scans as we speak, but weve seen 4 of them so far:Model RecategorizationIn more general news, weve spent some time rethinking the categories we use for models. What we have now was thought up many years ago, back in the brief days of 3D Model Haven, when we had less than 50 models in total.Now, the library is considerably larger and more varied, and were a bit tired of calling everything a prop or decorative.While were already fairly happy with the new categories weve created, changing categories for everything all at once has a number of technical implications. There are unanswered questions about how specifically we want the new system to workwhether or not it will be the same for textures and HDRIs, too.The website, our Blender add-on, and any third-party tools using our API all need to work seamlessly while we make the transition, taking into account users who may not have the latest version and are still expecting the old categories. Theres still much to decide and determine here, but I thought Id mention it so youre aware of one of the many aspects of running an asset library besides the act of making the assets themselves Blender Asset Drop HandlerSpeaking of our add-on, I made a patch for Blender 8 months ago that adds a small feature that would allow our add-on to be used more intuitively and efficiently.Quick and dirty proof of concept of what could happen if we had asset drop handlers in #b3d's Python API (my patch: https://t.co/JUDP0ls50U). pic.twitter.com/VLaAsHG1Df Greg Zaal (@GregZaal) May 16, 2024The feature is simply a Python hook into the asset browsers drag-and-drop event, which would allow us to attach our own code to this action. For example, we could download the asset after the user drags it into their scene rather than requiring all users to download all assets upfront, as it currently works.Similarly, we could ask the user what resolution theyd like the asset to be or simply follow some default preference. Currently, our asset always comes in at 1K resolution, and you have to go to a menu to change this after adding it to the scene.There are a number of other features we have in mind that rely on this patch, and its been waiting patiently for review for the last year. Finally, there has been some activity, and other developers have been working on similar patches and more general implementations, so its possible we may finally get to see these features in Blender soon Better Astro-HDRIs?Finally, a bit of a teaseOne of our most requested types of HDRIs are night HDRIs. We have a few, and a few more on the way from Namaqualand, but since shooting those weve realized our current lens is a bit soft.Its not bad, the image above being the worst case I could find, but the poor coma coupled with the relatively high level of noise (due to the limit of 15s exposures to avoid star trails) there is definitely some room for improvement.Luckily, Sigma recently released a new lens that blows every other potential astro-HDRI lens out of the water: the 14mm f/1.4 Art.Not only is this lens twice as bright as our current lens, meaning theoretically half as much noise, but its also on another level of sharpness wide open.Nikon Z7 + Laowa 15mm F/2Sony a7R4 + Sigma 14mm F/1.4We visited a local camera store and shot a few tests, albeit during the day, and came to the conclusion that we needed this We have an HDRI trip planned for the end of August, where well put it to the test and hopefully capture the best starry skies anyone has ever seen in an HDRI.Assuming the weather plays nicely with us.Thanks for reading this far! We look forward to sharing more exciting progress in the next Dev Log Until then, feel free to join us on Discord where we are always hanging out, and let us know what you are working on too!

Download the scene fileBrowse the assetsWere proud to present Poly Havens latest asset collection: A Verdant Trail.Browse the assetsThe goal of this project was to explore the idea of traveling to different biomes and capturing scans over a few days to create a cohesive asset pack that can be used to recreate similar environments.South Africa has an absurd number of biomes within relatively easy reach, so our idea was to see what would be involved in creating an asset pack for each of them one dayMicro-biomes of South Africa, and the location where most of our scans were capturedhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_vegetation_types_of_South_AfricaWe first started this project back in April of 2023, slowly gathering references, scouting locations, and planning the scope of the final collection.Reference photo of a boulder we might have scannedOur working title for the project was Little Falls, which is the name of the suburb where we gathered most of our data. We had some grand ideas of rivers and waterfalls as well, which were soon decided to be too much of a time investment for something we cant publish as an asset on Poly Haven.The small riverbed makes for quite a tranquil sceneThis biome, technically a grassland, is extremely common in the highveld of South Africa. Our initial reason for choosing it as our first biome project was that it was very accessible to us. It covers most of our province and were all very familiar with it.Greg is scouting for scannable rocks amongst the grassy outcropOur primary reference was a small rarely-used public park, home to the waterfalls that the suburb is named from. The path is generally overgrown and runs treacherously alongside the polluted river.Rico is trying not to fall off the narrow path into the riverbank belowMoments before Dario gets his shoe stuck in the mudJandre patiently waits for the rest of the team to catch upThere were plenty of rock faces to scan, though much of it was covered in wild grasses and proved a bit challenging to process. We later also visited other nearby parks and reserves to scan more surfaces that were a bit less overgrown.The cliffside would be great to scan, were it not for all the dense foliage obscuring itThere was a wide variety of vegetation and rock types densely packed in this small area, we had to be careful to create a mockup of the final scene and a wishlist of the assets we would really need before going and capturing everything. We wanted to avoid being too overwhelmed for our first biome project.The riverbank is home to a variety of washed-up trash and debris, brought by heavy rains in the summer monthsOverall the project was a great success!There is always more to scan, but we learned a lot about what is required for scanning things in the wild, such that we were able to travel to Namaqualand in September to capture that biome as well. Weve started processing those scans too now, but thats a story for another blog post Until next time, thanks for your continued support on Patreon, and we look forward to seeing what environments you make with our new assets!Rico, Dario & Jandre, on our first location scout.Browse the assets

Welcome to 2024! We have some exciting plans for this year, but before we can make any grand announcements we need to finish what we started and polish off our previous projects The Hidden AlleyAnother wildly successful community project! You can read about it here, head straight to the assets page, or download the final scene file.Well certainly set up another community project later this year, but for the next few months we need to focus on some other popular projectsLittle Falls Verdant TrailOur latest environment project is just about complete! We decided on a final name for the collection little falls was simply a working title and no longer suitable since there are no falls in our finished scene instead we decided Verdant Trail is more in style with the theme.Heres a small sneak peek, well share more in a few weeks once all the assets are uploaded:Fabric PlansLast time I shared a bit of our big-picture ideas for scanning fabrics at scale.Since then weve been researching some other approaches and testing out a few different workflows that might work at the scale we want, without compromising on quality, nor spending 99% of our effort on 1% gains.Were still ironing out the kinks (though not yet literally), but our plan is to construct a variant of the Cornell box so that we may capture solid physical reference of each fabric sample and use this to aid in the replication of material properties in Blender after weve digitized it with the photometric stereo workflow.This may not be the final design, but the idea is to keep it simple while still providing as much information as possible to aid in discerning the subtle view-dependant material properties that are critical for creating a convincing fabric material such as sheen weight, roughness, subsurface scattering, etc.The fabric sample will be wrapped around a polystyrene sphere and impaled with an aluminum rod to support it on the back wall of the box, like a large leathery lollypop.A two-point light setup gives you a strong, but not too harsh, key light and a rim light in predictable locations.We forego the red and green walls of the traditional Cornell box to avoid confusing the hue of the fabric sample itself. Instead, half the walls are painted white to bounce some light to the underside of the ball, and the rest are dark to keep enough contrast for the diffuse gradient to remain visible.The 18% grey sphere and Macbeth color chart provide an anchor point for exposure and white balance respectively, ensuring we can calibrate the surface albedo accurately.#TheMoonPrior to the Blender Conference, we visited a lunar simulant facility in Rostock, Germany.You can hear more about the project in my lightning talk below, but in a nutshell, the aim is to create relatively small-scale textures of the lunar surface as accurately as we can without actually visiting the moon ourselves.Well likely only get to processing these scans later this year, as we want to first complete the Verdant Trail and Namaqualand collections.Q&A StreamFinally, we hosted a stream at the end of the year to answer some community questions and share some updates and plans:

Fabulous FabricOne of the areas lacking in our texture library is fabric materials.Some years ago, Rob created some photometric stereo scans (what were starting to call light scanning which is less of a tongue twister and harder to confuse with photogrammetry) of fabric materials, which you can find here: https://polyhaven.com/textures/fabric?a=Rob%20TuytelThis is a good start, but if youve ever visited a fabric store (or taken a look inside your closet) you know there are hundreds of types of fabric that were missing.Photogrammetry is usually our primary method of capturing surface geometry and building textures, however, it has its limitations. When there is very little (relatively speaking) height variation in a surface, say for example a polished wooden tabletop, or any fabric, then you end up with a lumpy mess where the photogrammetry tool imagines height details from the image noise or simple errors in calculation.Lumpy scanned normals vs B2M faked normals. Both not great.Essentially, you have to throw away the geometry and use the photogrammetry software as a glorified panorama stitcher, and then create the normal map/height map some other way.Going with the age-old bitmap to material (B2M) technique of fudging the albedo map until you get something that looks a bit like a height map is something we want to avoid.A more accurate method is to keep the camera still and capture multiple images with different light angles, feeding them into a tool like Details Capture to compute the surface normals based on these known light angles.It, too, is an approximation, as things like material color, reflectivity, and translucency can throw it off, but the results are far better than B2M or photogrammetry.B2M (worst)Photogrammetry (eh)Light Scan (pretty great)One challenge with light scanning (photometric stereo) is that youre limited by the resolution of the camera, since the camera doesnt move around like it does in photogrammetry, rather the light moves instead.Even the highest resolution consumer cameras dont reach 8K on the vertical axis.To get around this, you can shoot multiple light scans in a grid pattern with a bit of overlap, process them as separate textures, and then stitch them together again like a panorama. Doing this in a 22 grid with our camera results in slightly more than 8K resolution.PTGui, the software we use for stitching HDRI panoramas, happens to also work amazingly well for this task too as its designed to counter distortion curvatures, blend seams dynamically along natural edges in the image, and work with many gigapixels of data. Its JSON-based project files (or templating system) also make it trivial to stitch the same panorama for both the albedo and normal maps.Side note: We played around a bit with pixel shift as well which can theoretically reach about 12K resolution without moving the camera, however, this tech is very sensitive and we couldn't reliably capture sharp images. In many of our tests, the combined pixel shift image was slightly more blurry than even a single of the lower resolution 16 brackets despite having more pixels. We should be able to solve this with more rigid setups, but then we also have to deal with inconsistencies in flash exposures as well. That could be solved with high-power video lights, but we moved on to the panorama method before investing in this.Were starting to design a workflow around this to use at scale, so we can capture dozens more fabric materials and process them as painlessly as possible. Once were happy with it, well document the workflow on our wiki (like we have all our others) and share it for you to learn from and improve upon.Well likely take the last few months of this year to plan and test things further, and then begin raiding fabric stores early next year.Wood Workshop VisitWood, one of our most popular texture categories!Wood textures are something you can never really have enough of. There are dozens of different species commonly used for furniture and construction, and a seemingly infinite number of ways to lay out planks in patterns for flooring or fences. And what about stains and finishes, roughness and polish, live edge and composites ?While more than 10% of our texture library today is made up of wood materials, Id say we havent even scratched the surface.This is actually the primary reason why we built the C-monster, and we finally got to put it to its intended use last week:We scanned a few veneer boards and piles of sawdust, and will begin processing them later this year when our to-do list is a little shorter. If those work out well, we plan to return to scan a few more types of wood.NamaqualandOur trip to the desert last month was a huge success!It was a bit more lush than we were expecting, but that also meant we could capture a lot of nice little flowers to make things more interesting.We havent yet parsed through our data completely, but Id estimate we have about 50 good assets waiting for us to process.Were also working on a behind-the-scenes video documenting the whole trip, which should be a fun watch Sadly we need to finish up our other projects before we can start work on this collection, but Im already looking forward to seeing the results.Little FallsSpeaking of other projects, Little Falls is next on our list at the moment to finish up. Progress is slow but steady, as weve been preparing for another top-secret mission you can read about on Patreon In the meantime, here are some tasty renders that Rico threw together with the assets hes working on:Hidden AlleyJamess progress on the Hidden Alley scene is coming along great! We should have some more to share soon, but for now here are some sneak peeks:Rigging StandardsYou may have noticed a number of our models have been updated with rigged versions, and affixed with a bone icon in the library:This is thanks to efforts started by Yann Kervran, who has been donating his time to help us rig existing models and come up with good standards for future rigs.A focus for the rigs is to try and be software-agnostic and unopinionated, allowing changes to control elements without needing to redo any mechanical parts of the rigs.Every animator likes their rigs to work a certain way depending on the motion they have planned, so our approach is to create a rig that is broadly useful, but still adaptable.Collection PagesFinally, I spent some time improving the layout of our collection pages, adding a nice image banner and some links for each collection.You may also notice a brand new collection: The Pine Forest.This combines several of our pine and fir tree assets, plus related textures and rocks, into a convenient bundle, also making the scene that Rob created for the project available for download.Well thats it for this Dev Log! Next time well talk more about our top-secret mission and share more progress of all our ongoing projects

Although the Paris 2024 Olympic Games have taken an exemplary approach to construction, reusing venues is not enough to make the games truly sustainable, argues Carbon Market Watch's Benja Faecks as part of our Olympic Impact series.By relying mainly on existing infrastructure and setting ambitious carbon budgets for any new builds, this year's Olympics have dramatically reduced construction-related emissions compared to previous editions.But this doesn't address the fundamental issue with the games according to Faecks, who is an expert on global carbon markets at non-profit watchdog Carbon Market Watch."The things they did well, they really did well but it's not enough to really make the Olympic Games as sustainable as they could be," she told Dezeen. "The elephant in the room is still the size of the event and the spectators.""It's the hardest thing to solve," she added. "And that probably will never be tackled if you keep having the games in one single location."Event surpasses national green building codesParis 2024 is working to cut its emissions by 50 per cent compared to London 2012 and Rio 2016, as it strives to become the first Olympic Games in line with the Paris Agreement goal of halving global emissions by 2030.And the organisers have made construction the primary tool in their carbon-slashing arsenal.In previous editions, new buildings generally accounted for a major chunk of emissions, generating 60 per cent of London's 3.3 million-tonne carbon footprint, equivalent to 1.98 million tonnes CO2e."If you look at the five different emission sources, construction normally does make up for a lot of the emissions," Faecks said. "And that's also mostly what's been scrutinised in the media."Top image: Benja Faecks is an expert for Carbon Market Watch. Above: most of the Paris 2024 events are being hosted in temporary and existing venues such as the newly renovated Grand Palais. Photo by Laurent KronentalFor Paris, the organisers are working to reduce this to 450,000 tonnes CO2e 30 per cent of the event's 1.58 million-tonne carbon budget by relying on 95 per cent temporary or existing infrastructure.And in the new athletes' village, which will be converted into housing in the wake of the games, the aim is to reduce emissions per square metre by 30 per cent through using recycled and biobased materials a more ambitious target than required under France's green building regulations."That's a way in which Paris does lead by example," Faecks said."Focus should have been on spectator travel"However, a report penned by Faecks for Carbon Market Watch found that the event's climate strategy disproportionately prioritises construction as a flagship category alongside food, which accounts for less than one per cent of the footprint but 20 per cent of the strategy."From my perspective, the real focus should have been on spectator travel," she said. "But they say at several points: this is not fully our responsibility and we can't impact the choices people make and how they come here."Despite the fact that spectator transport to and from Paris accounts for the largest chunk of the event's carbon budget, Faecks said organisers have remained "relatively silent" on the issue.Read: Dezeen's guide to the architecture of the Paris 2024 OlympicsThis disregard for the massive carbon impact of air travel is further underlined by the fact that AirFrance is one of the key sponsors of this year's Olympics, she claimed.In fact, all of the event's official partners, including Coca-Cola and steel manufacturer ArcelorMittal, are running their operations in a way that is "incompatible with the objectives of the Paris Agreement", Faecks argued in her report."All the sponsors of Paris right now are on a pathway to climate catastrophe," she said. "The message the sponsors are sending to the world is: look at us, we're good but we're completely fuelling everything bad.""Not enough trust in the system"Whether Paris 2024 will ultimately be in line with the Paris Agreement remains to be seen. "It is a waiting game because there are so many things that could go wrong," Faecks said.Already, a number of issues have arisen that could jeopardise the 1.58 million-tonne carbon budget, as several new public transport routes are delayed and hundreds of athletes have insisted on having air conditioning units in their rooms, originally designed to be cooled solely via a low-carbon geothermal system.This could spell a "catastrophe" for the event's carbon targets, Faecks believes."So much money went into this new innovation," she explained. "But there's not enough trust in the system for it to have the effect that it should have on the environment."Accommodation in the athletes' village was designed to be cooled using a geothermal system. Photo by Stefan TuchilaThere are also questions about whether the construction standard set by the Paris Olympics can be met by other host cities, which might have less existing infrastructure.The organising committee for Los Angeles 2028 has already committed to building no new facilities for the event. But Brisbane, which is set to host the summer games in 2032, is planning to construct six new permanent venues alongside four Athletes' Villages."We don't know if the games in general will be on a [carbon] reduction pathway so if the next games have to be lower and the next games have to be lower than that," Faecks said."We actually don't have any declaration on what the plan is," she added. "Imagine if the next games are in a country where there's not so much existing infrastructure, would you also request from them to go lower than Paris?""It's a fairness versus sustainability angle and the easier solution, in that sense, is to go radically rethink the games.""The stress on one single location is too big"One possible solution would be to create a decentralised event, held simultaneously across multiple countries and cities to spread the burden on local infrastructure and encourage spectators to take shorter overland travel routes, Faecks argues.This, she says, could help to slash the impact of the Olympics while also making it accessible to more people around the world."And that then takes away pressure from construction because you don't have to build massive stadiums," Faecks said."The stress on one single location is too big," she added. "Incremental progress is good but it will never lead to truly sustainable games."Illustration by Capucine MattiussiOlympic ImpactThis article is part of Dezeen's Olympic Impact series examining the sustainability measures taken by the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games and exploring whether major sporting events compatible with the climate challenge are possible.The post Paris 2024 Olympics sustainability efforts "not enough" says carbon expert appeared first on Dezeen.

Saudi Arabia has unveiled plans for a stadium 350 metres above the ground on top of The Line mega city, which is being built as part of Neom.Revealed as part of Saudi Arabia's official bid submission to FIFA for the 2034 World Cup, the 46,000-seat venue is one of 15 stadiums that will host games during the tournament."Neom Stadium will be the most unique stadium in the world," the official bid submission states."With a pitch situated more than 350 meters above ground, stunning vistas, and a roof created from the city itself, the stadium will be an experience like no other."Neom Stadium will host games at the 2034 World CupFew details are available about the design of the Neom Stadium and its architect has not been made public.It is planned to be integrated into the first section of The Line, which is currently under construction.Read: Populous designing 92,000-seat stadium for Saudi World CupThis section, known as the Hidden Marina, will include a man-made marina and with a large arch for boats to pass through.Along with the stadium, several supporting facilities will be built within The Line, including a "fan festival site", training pitches and five hotels.It will be embedded in The LineConstruction of the stadium is planned to begin in 2027, with completion expected in 2032. Following the World Cup, the stadium will become the home of a newly formed Saudi professional football team.The Neom Stadium is one of 15 that will host games at the World Cup in 2034. Other stadiums set to host games at the tournament include a 92,000-seat stadium in Riyadh and a stadium that will overlook a cliff in Qiddiya both designed by Populous.Neom is one of 14 giga projects being developed in Saudi Arabia as part of the Saudi Vision 2030 plan to shift the country's economy from a reliance on oil.The project has been criticised on human rights grounds with human rights organisation ALQST reporting that three men were sentenced to deathafter being "forcibly evicted" from the Neom site.UN Human Rights Council laterexpressed "alarm" over the imminent executions. Saudi Arabiaresponded to the UN by denying abuses had taken place.Recently we asked if it was time for architecture studios to walk away from the project due to rising human rights concerns.The post Saudi Arabia unveils 2034 World Cup stadium on The Line at Neom appeared first on Dezeen.

Outdoor brand Arc'teryx and Google spinoff Skip have developed a pair of hiking trousers with a built-in exoskeleton that provides a 40 per cent power boost when walking uphill.Designed to combat mobility challenges caused by ageing, fatigue and injury, the MO/GO pants work via motors at the knee that support the leg muscles during an ascent and the knee joint during the descent.Skip and Arc'teryx have developed "powered" hiking trousersThe project was originally initiated by a team at the Google X research and development facility, who went on to establish their own company Skip in 2023 to bring the idea to market.Founders Kathryn Zealand and Anna Roumiantseva both have loved ones whose lives were affected by mobility challenges, prompting them to explore potential solutions using wearable robotics and artificial intelligence.The built-in exoskeleton gives leg muscles a 40 per cent boost on the ascentSkip partnered with the Advanced Concepts team at Arc'teryx to combine exoskeleton technology with a practical hiking trouser, adding bespoke carbon fibre support structures that spread force from the motor across the leg while hiking.The result is the "world's first powered pants", the companies have proclaimed."MO/GO feels like a natural extension of the body, enhancing mobility without drawing attention to itself," the project team said. "This sleek, slimline design sets it far apart from the medicalised devices available to date."The exoskeleton snaps onto carbon fibre cuffs worn inside the trousersSkip named the product MO/GO after mountain goats and hopes it will be "the ultimate hiking guide" encouraging people to enjoy outdoor pursuits that might otherwise be beyond their current capabilities.Its compact battery-powered motors are integrated within an exoskeleton joint that snaps onto lightweight carbon fibre cuffs worn inside the trousers.Read: Terra AI "compass" enables users to take phone-free walksFixings on the cuffs align with openings in the trouser legs, allowing the external powered module to attach and detach as required.A pocket in the back of the trousers holds a battery that provides over three hours of maximum assistance when walking uphill boosting leg strength by up to 40 per cent and recharges automatically when walking downhill.Buttons can be used to control the amount of support providedThree buttons on the device are used to turn the power on or off and to alter the amount of assistance. A suite of sensors linked to a computer module also makes real-time adjustments based on terrain and walking style.For Skip, MO/GO represents the first example of a new product category it calls "movewear", which involves "integrating exoskeleton technology into consumer products that support you as you move effortlessly, confidently and joyfully".First shipments of the product are expected in late 2025"We believe that it's not enough to make mobility products that are useful," the company said. "To make a real difference in how people move they need to be something you can't wait to put on in the morning and tell all your friends about."MO/GO is currently available for reservation through the company's website, with shipments expected in late 2025. The product will also be available to rent from various locations throughout the autumn.Other examples of products designed to assist movement include a mind-controlled suit that helps paralysed users move their arms and legsand a bionic wearable that uses artificial intelligence to correct walking patterns.The post "World's first powered pants" by Arc'teryx and Skip give hikers a boost as they walk appeared first on Dezeen.

The Royal Commission for Riyadh City and the Ministry of Sport have unveiled a stadium designed by architecture studio Populous in Riyadh, which will host the 2034 World Cup final.Named King Salman Stadium, the stadium is planned for a site in north of Riyadh alongside the Riyadh 2030 Expo site and near the Zaha Hadid-designed King Abdullah Petroleum Studies and Research Centre.Populous is designing the King Salman Stadium in Saudi ArabiaScheduled for completion in 2029, the stadium will be the largest in the country and host games at the World Cup in 2034 including the final.Designed by stadium specialist Populous, the design of the building was informed by mountains and will include large expanses of green walls. It was selected from a shortlist of six designs.Read: Everything you need to know about Saudi Arabia's 14 "giga projects""The chosen design draws inspiration from the mountainous landscape, integrating with King Abdulaziz Park through a valley that intersects the surrounding stadium garden and green spaces," said the Royal Commission for Riyadh City."The main stadium's architectural design includes green walls and ceilings spanning over 96,500 square meters, drawing inspiration from local urban structures and aligning with environmental sustainability and green building standards," it continued."This design will establish a distinctive global sports architectural icon capable of hosting major local and international entertainment events."The stadium is set to host the 2034 World Cup finalAccording to the royal commission, the stadium will have a capacity of 92,000 and will contain a "150-seat royal suite" along with 120 hospitality suites and 2,200 dignitary seats.It will be topped with a walking track that will have views over the surrounding parkland.Alongside the stadium, a series of other sporting facilities will be built including an arena, Olympic-sized swimming pool, athletics track and outdoor courts for volleyball and basketball.It will be part of a sporting complexThe King Salman Stadium is one of 15 that will host games during the 2034 World Cup. Other stadiums set to host games include the Prince Mohammed Bin Salman Stadium, which will overlook a cliff in Qiddiya.The post Populous designing 92,000-seat stadium for Saudi World Cup appeared first on Dezeen.