Premier League club left historic base of 115 years for new ground in 2020The plans include new homes and parklandHTA Design has submitted plans to build mixed-use housing at the former home of Premier League side Brentford.The Bees left their Griffin Park ground after 115 years in 2020 to move into their new home called the Brentford Community Stadium which was built by now collapsed contractor Buckingham.Developer EcoWorld was behind the new stadium and its plans for Griffin Park include 149 mixed-tenure homes and new landscaping.The plans were first submitted in 2021 and included proposals for 75 private homes.But these were amended to include more affordable homes and the fresh plans, which was validated by Hounslow council last month, now feature 30 homes available at a discounted market rate.Source: ShutterstockGriffin Park pictured in 2019. Brentford moved into its new home the following yearAs well as the new housing, work will include 1,770 sq m of public green space and improve connectivity in the area.Others working on the deal include civil and structural engineer IESIS, M&E consultant Designbrook and landscape architect Exterior.

The incorporation commented after a tender process which saw the Glasgow-based housing association award the 12 million affordable housing scheme on Kilmun Street to Oberlanders Architects for a lump sum fee of 132,000 excluding VAT.The project is for 56 high-quality and attractive affordable units on vacant, previously-developed land in Kilmun Street and nearby Shiskine Drive close to Maryhill Locks.A total of 21 teams submitted tenders for the project, which had an anticipated contract sum of 12 million, meaning the winning feewas the equivalent of less than 1.1 per cent.AdvertisementOne rival unsuccessful bidder anonymously questioned whether the collective cost of preparing all these submissions may approximate the fee submitted by the winning team.RIAS chief executive Tamsie Thomson said: The RIAS is aware of this case, which illustrates the crisis in funding for new social housing, and its knock-on effects for architects working across Scotland.We understand at least 20 practices bid for this project and fees across the board were generally well below levels which are sustainable. The Scottish government must promote tendering systems that end this dangerous race to the bottom.Thomson added:The immediate adoption of tools like graduated pricing, which accounts for the danger of abnormally low bidding, is a vital first step. Failure to create a market that sustains professional standards will have significant consequences for architects and clients in the future.A spokesperson for Maryhill Housing Association said the organisation was confident the tender had been carried out fairly and transparently.AdvertisementThe spokesperson said: In line with our tender review process, all bidders for our Kilmun Street project confirmed that they fully understood the brief and that their pricing was accurate.The association is committed to fair work practices, so bidders were also required to answer a question regarding Fair Work First all of whom scored highly in this area.We can also confirm that the winning bidder is a Real Living Wage employer. In addition, our development team works closely with all consultants and contractors to ensure that the services they provide are of a high quality.Oberlanders partner Andrew Wilmot said the companys fee had not been calculated or presented as a percentage of construction cost. He said Oberlanders submitted a lump sum cost in line with best-practice options outlined in RIBA/RIAS guidance.Wilmot said: The project brief from Maryhill HA was extremely well defined, with significant repetition of accommodation and significant RIBA Plan of Work tasks already completed through a previous appointment and detailed masterplan.In that specific context, RIBA/RIAS guidance identifies the lump sum fee as the most appropriate fee proposal, with a clearly defined brief allowing the architect to give an accurate forecast of how much time is required.Wilmot said Oberlanders was a RIBA/RIAS chartered practice which is ISO accredited for its quality management systems and is a Real Living Wage employer. He refuted presumptions the winning fee was abnormally low or unsustainable or based on a percentage fee.We echo RIASs concerns regarding sustainable fee levels in our industry, he said. And, like RIAS, are committed to promoting and maintaining the highest professional standards. However, it is not the case that Oberlanders submitted an abnormally low or unsustainable percentage fee bid for this project.Maryhill HA will receive a quality service, from our highly experienced team and we are looking forward to working with the team to deliver a fantastic development of much-needed affordable housing for the local community.The Kilmun Street project is part of a larger blue-green masterplan to transform the area surrounding Maryhill Locks drawn up by ERZ Landscape Architects. It comes six years after McGinlay Bell completed a new 4 million housing development nearby.Maryhill is a historic north-west suburb of Glasgow, served by both the River Kelvin and the Forth and Clyde Canal. The Maryhill Transformational Regeneration Area was set up to boost the quality of affordable housing in the area and improve its public realm, landscape and sense of place.The Kilmun Street project will deliver 56 affordable homes on vacant land, which formerly contained housing and forms a northern boundary to the area. The development will feature 30 terraced houses, 12 flats for elderly people and 14 mid-market rent homes.It is understood the project brief for the scheme was well defined and included building upon an existing site layout with building footprints and parameters defined through an existing and detailed masterplan already lodged for planning consent outside the scope of the tender.More than 40 per cent of the project brief comprised a single duplicated and repeated unit. The schedule of accommodation, building types and specifications were further defined by pre-existing design codes and guidance, allowing more accurate forecasting of the architectural resources required for delivery.Bids for the commission were evaluated 60 per cent on quality and 40 per cent on price. Applicants were required to hold employers liability insurance of 10 million, public liability insurance of 2 million and professional indemnity insurance of 5 million.Commenting on the wider context of architect fees in Scotland, Jane Briggs, business development manager at Collective Architecture said: We are encouraged to see the RIAS actively engaging with the Scottish government to address these challenges.The introduction of measures such as graduated pricing and protections against abnormally low bids is essential to safeguarding professional standards, ensuring quality outcomes, and sustaining the viability of architectural practices, she said.We look forward to seeing a fairer and more sustainable procurement system.Comment by Andrew Wilmot, partner, Oberlanders ArchitectsThe Maryhill fee was not calculated or presented as a percentage of construction cost.The fee for Maryhill was calculated following RIBA/RIAS guidance, which outlines three ways for architects to calculate fees; percentage of construction cost, lump sum, or time charge.The project brief from Maryhill HA was extremely well defined, with significant repetition of accommodation and significant RIBA Plan of Work tasks already completed through a previous appointment and detailed masterplan.In that specific context, RIBA/RIAS guidance identifies the lump sum fee as the most appropriate fee proposal, with a clearly defined brief allowing the architect to give an accurate forecast of how much time is required.Oberlanders is an RIBA/RIAS Chartered practice. We are ISO accredited for our robust quality management systems, and a Real Living Wage employer.We echo RIASs concerns regarding sustainable fee levels in our industry and like RIAS are committed to promoting and maintaining the highest professional standards. However, it is not the case that Oberlanders submitted an abnormally low or unsustainable percentage fee bid for this project.Maryhill HA will receive a quality service, from our highly experienced team and we are looking forward to working with the team to deliver a fantastic development of much-needed affordable housing for the local community.

EY said in a report published with Companies House last week that the contractor had estimated liabilities of 308 million to trade creditors.Six UK subsidiaries of the construction giant, including its main ISG Construction arm, filed for administration in September, sending shock waves throughout the industry.It emerged in October that almost 20 architects were owed a combined 870,000 by the contractor. Among them are Stride Treglown, TP Bennett, AHMM, AHR, BDP, Piercy&Company, GT3 Architects and NBBJ with others expected to come forward.AdvertisementBut, following EYs stark message, it now appears any attempt to salvage funds from ISG would be fruitless.With just 34.6 million expected to be realised, and preferential creditors such as staff and HMRC owed in excess of 95 million, EY said it was highly unlikely there would be any cash remaining for unsecured creditors such as suppliers.The administrator's report said draft FY23 accounts showed turnover of 2.2 billion but a net loss after tax of 133 million.This included significant asset write-downs of 148 million in relation to contract losses, it added.Administrators cited Covid, the war in Ukraine and the additional time and money required for high-rise housing schemes among the factors affecting ISG in the years leading up to its collapse.AdvertisementDifficulties procuring performance bonds for certain projects adversely affected' profitability while the cancellation of one big project and the pausing of another negatively impacted cashflow.Market speculation in the autumn of 2023 led to many suppliers and creditors narrowing their credit terms, said the report.An offer for the entire share capital of ISG Group from investors including South African Andre Redinger and Australian James Overton fell through and, despite last-ditch attempts to find alternative solutions, the company ultimately fell into administration.According to construction intelligence provider Glenigan, the contractor had a project pipeline worth 4.3 billion when administrators for all eight firms were appointed on 20 September. More than half of that workload was already on site.As a result, a number of schemes were put on hold, including Piercy&Companys 70 million Regents Quarter offices-to-labs project at Kings Cross and its nearly completed overhaul of Millennium Bridge House next to The Thames.Other affected projects on ISGs books include the 32.7 million restoration and redevelopment of Birminghams Moseley Road Baths, overseen by Donald Insall Associates; the 44 million conversion of Coventrys former Ikea store into an arts and culture centre by Buttress; and the 281.6 million Queen Square Institute of Neurology and UK Dementia Research Institute for the University College London, designed by Hawkins\Brown.However, clients are already rolling out contingency plans to restart stalled schemes. In Cardiff, it has been reported, the council has brought in one of ISGs subcontractors to finish off the part-built 106 million Fairwater Campus school project designed by HLM.2024-12-03Greg Pitchercomment and share

Looking for the most recent Wordle answer?Click here for today's Wordle hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Connections and Strands puzzles.There are plenty of otheronline word gamesnow, but I still play the New York TimesWordlegame every day. These days, it's not only an old friend, it's also a nice warm-up for Connections, Strands and the rest.Also, we'veranked all the letters in the alphabet by popularity, if you want to use this list to decide on your best start words.Everyday Wordle tipsI've written a lot about Wordle -- fromcovering its 1,000th wordto my list of thebest starter wordsto ahelpful two-step strategyto news aboutcontroversial word changes. I've even rounded upwhat I learned playing the hit online word puzzle for a full year. If you're rethinking your need for the actual answer, you might try tips from one of those stories.Still need a starter word? One person told me they just look around and choose a five-letter object they've spotted as their starter word -- such as COUCH or CHAIR. I tend to stick to starter words that have the most popular letters used in English words. I like TRAIN as a starter, though I have a friend who uses TRAIL. I've read that peopleuse the financial term ROATE, but I like to use words I actually know.What is Wordle?If you read this far, you know how to play. You have six chances to guess a five-letter word, and the game gives you feedback as to whether the letters you've guessed are in the puzzle or not, and if they're in the same spot where you guessed they are. The New York Timesbought the game from creator Josh Wardlefor seven figures in 2022. Wardle famously created the game for his partner, and let her narrow down the 12,000 five-letter words in the English language to just 2,500, creating the database of answers. It was convenient, too, that he has a name that plays off "word."A Times spokesperson told me it lists the very first Wordle as appearing on June 19, 2021, and the papercelebrated the game's 1,000th word on March 15. Spoiler: That 1,000th word was ERUPT. As in, "Dad will erupt if the Wordle is so tough he loses his streak." Today's Wordle hints Before we show you today'sWordleanswer, we'll give you some hints. If you don't want a spoiler, look away now.Wordle hint No. 1: RepeatsToday's Wordle answer has no repeated letters.Wordle hint No. 2: VowelsThere is one vowel and one sometimes vowel in today's Wordle answer.Wordle hint No. 3: First letterToday's Wordle answer begins with the letter S.Wordle hint No. 4: Part of speechToday's Wordle answer is an adjective.Wordle hint No. 5: MeaningToday's Wordle answer means something that is trembling or unsteady.TODAY'S WORDLE ANSWERToday's Wordle answer is SHAKY.Yesterday's Wordle answerYesterday's Wordle answer, Dec. 2, No. 1,262, was GUILE.Recent Wordle answersNov. 28, No. 1,258: CHOCKNov. 29, No. 1,259: HIPPONov. 30, No. 1,260: DOGMADec. 1, No. 1,261: MAUVE

Looking for the most recent Strands answer?Click here for our daily Strands hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Wordle and Connections puzzles.Strands doesn't get as much attention as its New York Times game siblingsWordleandConnections, but it can be just as challenging and entertaining. Strands just moved out of beta, so it's now in the New York Times' official Games app, which might bring it more fans. I go into depth about therules for Strands in this story.If you're looking for today's Wordle, Connections and Mini Crossword answers, you can visitCNET's NYT puzzle hints page.Read more:NYT Connections Turns 1: These Are the 5 Toughest Puzzles So FarHow to play NYT Strands1.Use today's theme to look for words relating to that topic. See one? Drag or click the letters in order. Click on the last letter twice to submit your guess. If you've found a theme word, it'll light up in blue and stay that way.2.Other words you find are considered hint words that give you clues to the theme words. Find three hint words (they must have at least four letters each) and the game will reward you by showing you a theme word. But if you can't unscramble it, find three more hint words and the game will highlight the theme word's letters in order.3.Hunt for thespangram, a special theme word that spans the entire puzzle, though it could flow across or top to bottom. It summarizes the puzzle theme.4.When you're done, you'll have used every letter on the board in either a theme word or spangram. Theme words fill the entire board and do not overlap.Hint for today's Strands puzzleToday's Strands theme is:Lead the way.If that doesn't help you, here's a clue: For when the power goes out.Clue words to unlock in-game hintsYour goal is to find hidden words that fit the puzzle's theme. If you're stuck, find any words you can. Every time you find three words of four letters or more, Strands will reveal one of the theme words. These are the words I used to get those hints, but any words of four or more letters that you find will work:PEND, HONE, HONED, MANS, LANE, MARE, MANE, SHAM, FLIT, FLIGHT, LIGHT, FLASH, RAMP, HEAD, LAMPAnswers for today's Strands puzzleThese are the answers that tie into the theme. The goal of the puzzle is to find them all, including the spangram, a theme word that reaches from one side of the puzzle to the other. When you've got all of them (I originally thought there were always eight but learned that the number can vary), every letter on the board will be used. Here are the nonspangram answers:TORCH, CANDLE, LANTERN, FLASHLIGHT, HEADLAMPToday's Strands spangramToday's Strands spangram isILLUMINATION. To find it, start with the I that's four letters in from the left on the bottom row, and wind up. The completed NYT Strands puzzle for Dec. 3, 2024. NYT/Screenshot by CNET

December 2, 20242 min readLightning on Earth Knocks Killer Electrons Loose in OrbitHigh-energy electrons released by storms on Earth can threaten satellites and spacecraftBy Kate Graham-ShawLightning releases charged particles in Earths orbit. Samuel Boivin/Getty ImagesLightning strikes in the atmosphere can trigger a rain of high-powered killer electrons in low-Earth orbit that form harmful streams of radiation, new research suggests. Scientists had previously thought killer electrons might appear only in our planets distant outer radiation belt, but a study in Nature Communications finds that lightning nudges them loose in the much closer inner belt, too.These high-energy particles are damaging to spacecraft and also to humans in space, says study co-author Lauren Blum, an astrophysicist at the University of Colorado Boulder. Knowing when there are very high-energy electrons in the inner radiation belt would be helpful to know when to avoid it.Electron precipitation occurs when charged particles, held in place by Earths magnetic field, are dislodged from stasis in one of the planets doughnut-shaped radiation belts. Examining data from NASAs SAMPEX mission, which tracked charged particles, the new studys lead author Max Feinland (then an undergraduate student at Boulder) noticed something strange in the readings on microburstsquick surges of high-energy electron precipitation recorded between 1996 and 2006. After designing an algorithm to find these spikes in the data, Feinland was surprised to see readings from the inner radiation belt, which many scientists thought hosted only less energetic, slower electrons. Feinland and Blum, then Feinlands research adviser, immediately began wondering about potential causes. People knew that there was lightning-induced electron precipitation in the inner belt, Feinland says, but they hadnt conclusively seen it for electrons that are going this fast.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.Comparing their microburst data with National Lightning Detection Network datasets, the researchers found a statistical likelihood that bursts in the inner belt indeed coincide with lightning flashes. Electromagnetic waves unleashed by the latter travel up Earths magnetic field lines from the atmosphere and into the region of the inner radiation belt, where their energy is enough to knock high-energy electrons out of their magnetic confinement.The teams findings are compelling because it seems that no one has made such a link before, says space weather scientist Steven Morley of Los Alamos National Laboratory. This area of research has data constraints, he adds, as there have been few measurements since SAMPEX ended two decades ago. But he says that the study is very exciting, even though it is very data-limited. It really does open up a lot of other questions.These findings are a wake-up call for how weather on Earth and in space are intertwined, Blum says; this connection could potentially have consequences for the ozone layer, atmospheric chemistry and even climate. We cant just study sun-to-Earth and radiation belt dynamics separately, she says. We have to understand whats going on below in our own atmosphere and terrestrial weather systems, too.

Warcraft 1 & 2 will be preserved on GOG even after Blizzard delists them later this month"Games should live forever. This means ensuring they remain accessible, updated, and enjoyable."Image credit: Blizzard Entertainment News by Vikki Blake Contributor Published on Dec. 2, 2024 GOG has vowed to preserve Warcraft 1 and 2 even though they're set to be delisted from its store on 13th December, 2024.Whilst not confirmed, it's likely the games are being pulled because of the recently released remasters.As part of its game preservation efforts, however, GOG wrote in a blog post that once a game joins its archive program, the company will "pledge to maintain [a game's] compatibility even if it gets delisted from the [GOG] store".Warcraft Remastered Battle Chest trailer.Watch on YouTube"At GOG, we believe that games should live forever," the team said. "This means not only preserving them but also ensuring they remain accessible, updated, and enjoyable on modern systems."We're incredibly proud of the work we've done on Warcraft 1 and Warcraft 2, bringing them back to life after decades of unavailability. Through our efforts, we've introduced several new features to both titles, including multiplayer support over LAN and enhanced graphical options like antialiasing and anisotropic filtering."That's why, as part of its preservation efforts, GOG says it is committed to ensuring "owners of those titles can still expect a seamless experience and tech support for those titles"."We are grateful for the opportunity to work with Blizzard on these titles. While the delisting is unfortunate, we assure you that every user who already owns these games on GOG will continue to benefit from our commitment and have access to versions that remain compatible with modern systems, preserving their experience for years to come," GOG concluded.In Eurogamer's World of Warcraft 1 & 2 Remastered review, Katharine wrote, "two RTS classics that are still worth playing today, even if the greatest enemy of both Warcraft armies still ends up being the humble tree".

By Todd Feathers Published December 2, 2024 | Comments (15) | New lawsuit accuses Apple of surveilling and censoring employees. Drew Angerer/Getty Images Apple has been hit with a wide-ranging lawsuit accusing the company of invasively surveilling its employees and illegally restricting what they say about their jobs. The case, first reported by Semafor, was filed Monday in Californias Santa Clara County superior court by Amar Bhakta, who works for Apple as a digital ad tech operations manager. Bhakta claims that Apples policy requiring workers to use Apple computers, phones, and cloud services subjects its employees to surveillance and forces their patronage through the monetization of employee personal data as a condition of their employment.Many Apple employees, including Bhakta, use their personal iPhones and Macs for work, according to the lawsuit, and are required to install an electronic sim card or virtual private network that gives Apple the ability to access any data stored on the device and track their location in real-time. Apple also requires employees to use its iCloud service and for workers using their personal devices, that means granting the company virtually unrestricted access to their personal clouds, according to the lawsuit. The data can include email, contacts, reminders, entire photo libraries, internet browsing data, health data, messages, smart home data, passwords, apps, files, documents, calendars, notes and backups.The suit says that Apples policies, including the Business Conduct Policy that all new hires must sign, allow the company to access, search, and monitor all data and communications on employees devices and in their iCloud accounts. Bhakta further alleges that the companys policies restricting what information employees can share, including details about their compensation, violate California labor law.While the suit is sparse on details regarding how Bhakta was hurt by the policies, it says that he was denied the opportunity to speak in public settings about his area of expertise, digital advertising, and forced to remove information about the working conditions at Apple from LinkedIn. Being able to speak openly about my work is so important to me professionally and personally, Bhakta said in a statement released by his attorneys. Its disappointing that Apple, whose ethos is privacy and confidentiality, would try to monitor and censor me. That hurts my ability to advance professionally. I hope this complaint causes Apple to change their approach to monitoring employees outside of work and reminds employees that they have the power to stand up too.Apple did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The suit adds to a growing list of complaints about the companys labor practices. In October, investigators with the National Labor Relations Board accused the company of imposing illegal confidentiality agreements, non-disclosure policies, non-compete policies, and social media policies on its nationwide workforce.Daily NewsletterYou May Also Like By Kyle Barr Published November 30, 2024 By Matt Novak Published November 22, 2024 By Kyle Barr Published November 22, 2024 By Dua Rashid Published November 18, 2024 By Kyle Barr Published November 18, 2024 By Kyle Barr Published November 15, 2024

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