Shanghai Store By S Studio Unfolds Surprises Through The Richness Of Materials, Colors And Propshtml PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40/loose.dtd"Shanghai-based spatial design office S Studio has designed a fashion store that plays with different geometries, pastel-toned surfaces and props to create unexpected surprises in each floor.Named AVVENN, the 195-square-metre store is located on the Tongren Road in Shanghai, China. The two-story street store "seeks variation within order, embarking on an exploration of spatial structure and emotional resonance."S Studio always investigates subtle relationships between objects and spaces during the design process.The design's inward extension enhances the room's sensory richness by adding materiality and volume, which triggers feelings. Pioneering Harmonism, the brand's new concept, is narrated through the space.Eliminate the boundaries of spaceA two-story street story is located on AVVENN Tongren Road. What distinguishes such a facility from typical commercial space?Starting with the front, S Studio redefined the exterior and interior parts' proportions while preserving unity. The vast white facade makes it difficult to distinguish between the levels, combining them into a single, cohesive image.It looks like a gradually layered white area from the outside looking in, making you want to go inside and discover what surprises are inside.Create the emotional atmosphere of the spaceKnown for their spatial structures, within the room, the studio has reconstructed a little structure that serves as a second "roof."Guests are cordially invited to push the door open by the growing framework. As one passes through the pink marble eaves, the room's general atmosphere starts out peacefully before progressively changing into one of dramatic suspense.The weight of the eaves is supported by the concrete-cast columns. A remarkable contrast between the space's heaviness and lightness is produced by specially crafted "gaps" that give the eaves and columns a nearly floating relationship.Objects and propsS Studio uses props to define the architectural shapes in an effort to strike a balance between practicality and beauty. The curved lines of stone props in the middle of the first level evoke strong feelings.By using an unconventional technique of partition, the apparel display space reinforces the impression of barrier. The hanging rods are supported by the extra-long base plate, which keeps the room looking lovely whether it is occupied or not. In its design, So Studio investigates the variety and balance of materials.By using gray-toned marble extensively and cleverly dividing several spaces within the harmony of the materials, the designer reduces the amount of material used.The surface of the specially made Italian recycled bricks retains the rough roughness of the natural air holes.Hand-firing produces natural colors that conceal surprises inside a well-organized framework. Mirror elements that run like a river between the first and second floors give the room a constantly shifting feeling of illusion and reality. Everything unfolds like a picture, turning into a reflection in the mirror.Infuse the space with dramatic interestA gently sloping roof on the second story greatly softens the impression of the street-front store. On this stage, the spatial independence, separated from its environment, peaks.The hanging, unusually formed structure appears to transcend the space by increasing the line of sight, giving the impression of volume while preserving an airy lightness. It resembles the curtain slowly rising at the beginning of an engrossing performance.Guests are naturally drawn to stay here because they are curious. The "reconstructed structure" reappears next to the second-floor stairs. Instead than enclosing an elevator as one might normally anticipate, the blue stone hides a secret changing area."In the fast-paced rhythm of modern life, commercial spaces are among the places, aside from home and the office, that most easily stir our emotions," said S Studio."Each design is a new exploration of the relationship between people and their environment.""We take minimalism to its extreme, on one hand, experimenting with large-scale structural changes, marking a design practice that blends spatial construction with emotional ambiance," the studio explained.According to the studio, the space triggers the flow of emotion by creating props that inhabit the delicate space between objects and architecture. Visitors are drawn in and enthralled by the dramatic tension and surprises that the space offers.SectionSectionS Studio created interiors for a concept store, featuring soft beige tones and curved display shelves to give the feeling of "like your skin, comfortable, caring with protection" in Shanghai, China.In addition, the studio completed a new fashion store that combines the notions of "Live Artwork" and "Resident In" in this store in Xintiandi Fashion Phase II, Madang Road, Shanghai.Project factsProject name:AVVENNStudio:S StudioLocation:Shanghai, ChinaArea:195m2Time:2024All images Wang MinjieAll drawings S Studio.> via S Studio

10 Highly Anticipated Projects To Look Forward To In 2025html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40/loose.dtd"As we conclude the celebrations of 2024, we have compiled a list of 10 eagerly anticipated buildings set to open in 2025.MAD Architects' Fenix Museum in Rotterdam features an iconic "Tornado" structure that rises from the ground floor and extends out of the rooftop onto a platform.Other notable projects include Snhetta's Shanghai Grand Opera House, which has a sculptural staircase connecting to the roof; Foster + Partners' Techo International Airport in Cambodia, designed with structural trees that create a spacious roof; and BIG's Suzhou Museum of Contemporary Art, characterized by its curvy roofs. Together, these buildings comprise our list of the most anticipated buildings set to open in 2025.Here are ten buildings we are excited to see debut in 2025 (in no particular order):Image Henry VerhorstFenix Museum in Rotterdam by MAD(to be opened on 16 May 2025)Designed by MAD Architects, the Fenix Museum is scheduled to open on 16 May 2025 in Rotterdam. Currently under construction on site, the FENIX Museum of Migration is the first MAD cultural project in Europe. The project was commissioned by the Droom en Daad Foundation.Under the direction of conservation architects Bureau Polderman, the 1,486-square-meter museum is located in a former warehouse on a prominent location in the center of Rotterdam's historic harbor. A dynamic structure known as the "Tornado" rises from the ground level and spills out onto a platform from the rooftop. The Tornado structure evokes the rising air by hanging over the city. It is a metaphor for the journeys refugees take around the globe.Read more about the FENIX Museum of Migration by MAD.Doris Duke Theatre under construction on the Jacobs Pillow campus (October 2024). Image RobertBenson; courtesy of Jacobs PillowJacobs Pillow, Doris Duke Theatre inBecket, Massachusetts, USA by Mecanoo (to be opened on 9 July 2025)The new Doris Duke Theatre in Becket is set to be opened on 9 July 2025. Designed by Dutch architecture practice Mecanoo, the theatre is located in Becket Massachusetts, Jacobs Pillow is a treasured 220-acre National Historic Landmark and will be a home to Americas longest-running international dance festival. The reimagined Doris Duke Theatre occupies the site of the former studio theater from 1990, destroyed by fire in November 2020.The recently renovated Doris Duke Theatre, which looks to the future with cutting-edge technology, adaptable performance spaces, and an accessible, sustainable design, will open in the summer of 2025. While Marvel is the architect of record, the project is developed in collaboration with technical theatre consultant Charcoalblue and renowned artist Jeffrey Gibson. The project will be Americas "only purpose-built new dance theater" in the Berkshires, United States.Read more about the Doris Duke Theatre by Mecanoo.Image Moreau KusunokiPowerhouse Parramatta inSydney, Australia by Moreau Kusunoki and Genton (to be opened early 2025)Designed by Franco-Japanese architects Moreau Kusunoki, lead designer of the project, and Australian architects Genton, local architect of the project, the Powerhouse Parramatta is scheduled to be opened early 2025. The 32,579-square-meter museum is situated in Parramatta, which is surrounded by a river and is home to one of Australia's most varied and rapidly expanding communities. According to Powerhouse Parramatta, "Australias largest cultural infrastructure development since the Sydney Opera House and will open in 2025."The museumdubbed "a pioneering a new museum model"aims to reshape modern museum culture and practice. The combined area of the exhibitions and public areas will be 8,572 square meters. Three levels of size and complexity can be found in Powerhouse Parramatta's structure: the building's faade and, most importantly, its supporting structure, or exoskeleton, are both formed by the white steel latticing that envelops the structure.Read more about the Powerhouse Parramatta by Moreau Kusunoki and Genton.Image Tadao Ando Architect & AssociatesNaoshima New Museum Of Art in Naoshima, Kagawa, Japan by Tadao Ando (to be opened in spring 2025)The new Naoshima New Museum Of Art in Naoshima, Kagawa, is scheduled to be opened in spring 2025. Designed by acclaimed Japanese architect Tadao Ando, the museum is located on a hilltop near the Honmura district of Naoshima, Japan. Once complete, the Benesse Art Site Naoshima will be Ando's tenth architectural work, the Naoshima New Museum of Art.With two stories below ground level and one on the ground floor, the new three-story museum features a wide roof whose slope complements the hilltop site. Straight down from the ground level to the underground floors is a stairway chamber with a skylight for natural light. There are four galleries on either side of the stairs. A caf on the ground floor's northern section provides a picturesque view of the island of Teshima and the passing fishing boats, which is a typical sight of the Seto Inland Sea.Read more about the Naoshima New Museum Of Art by Tadao Ando.Image courtesy of Foster + PartnersTechno International Airport in Phnom Penh, Cambodia by Foster + Partners (to be opened in July 2025)Designed by Foster + Partners, the new Techno International Airport in Phnom Penh, Cambodia is scheduled to be opened to the public in July 2025. The project's structural trees provide a spacious roof and a light-filled passenger interior. Inspired by Campodia's vernacular architecture, Foster + Partners' design seeks to be the new vision for Cambodia's capital while also adapting to its tropical environment.In order to maximize walking distances, the terminal structure is designed with a central headhouse and two aerofoil-shaped wings for arrivals and departures. There are several structural trees that support the large roof; each tree is 36 meters long. The lightweight steel grid shell that makes up the roof canopy. In addition to its shell feature, the roof will contain a cutting-edge screen that filters sunlight and lights up the expansive terminal area.Read more about the Techno International Airport by Foster + Partners.Image StudioSZ - Justin Szeremeta, David Sommer, courtesy of SnhettaShanghai Grand Opera House, Shanghai, China by Snhetta (to be opened in late 2025)The new Shanghai Grand Opera House in Shanghai is set to be opened to the public in late 2025. Designed by the world renowned Norwegian architecture firm Snhetta, the 146,786-square-metre building has a sculptural stairway connected to the roof in an effort to draw in a younger audience for experimental performances. For the ground floor's new public area, the spacious spiral staircase is aimed at becoming a great avenue.The Opera's main auditorium, which has 2,000 seats and is a perfectly tuned instrument with cutting-edge technical solutions and excellent acoustics, is its focal point. For smaller shows, the second stage, which has 1,200 seats, will provide a more intimate atmosphere. In an effort to draw in a younger audience of operagoers, the third stage, which has 1,000 seats, provides a versatile staging and seating configuration that allows for more avant-garde and distinctive productions.Read more about the Shanghai Grand Opera House by Snhetta.Image courtesy of OMA and InplaceHarajuku Quest in Tokyo, Japan by OMA / Shohei Shigematsu (to be opened in February 2025)A new mixed-use scheme, designed by OMA, is scheduled to be opened to the public in February 2025. The design, led by OMA Partner Shohei Shigematsu, features a twisted and sculptural facade created through a "pinching and pulling" approach that enhances its sculptural expression.Named Harajuku Quest, the complex spans 8,082 square meters and includes retail spaces on the first three floors, while dining areas occupy the upper three floors. The rooftop features a terrace surrounded by a large central green wall. Once complete, Harajuku Quest will be the firms first ground-up mixed-use building in Omotesando.Read more about the Harajuku Quest by OMA.Image Justin SzeremetaSuzhou Museum Of Contemporary Art, Suzhou, China by BIG (to be opened in 2025)The new Suzhou Museum of Contemporary Art, designed by BIG, is set to be opened to the public in 2025. Currently under construction on site, the 60,000 square meter new museum, created by BIG, architecture company Font, and engineering firm ARTS Group, provides a modern interpretation of the elements that have influenced the city's landscape, architecture, and urbanization for centuries.The project is designed as a community featuring 12 pavilions. Four of these pavilions will house the main gallery experience of the Suzhou Museum of Contemporary Art. The remaining five pavilions will include a theater, a restaurant, a grand entrance, and a multipurpose hall that can be used for events and lectures.Read more about the Suzhou Museum Of Contemporary Art by BIG.Image Foster + PartnersSheikh Zayed National Museum, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates by Foster + Partners (to be opened in 2025)The Sheikh Zayed National Museum, Abu Dhabi, designed by Foster + Partners, is scheduled to be opened in 2025, according to Foster + Partners' website. One of the highly-anticipated projects of 2025, the 44,000-square-metre museum is nestled in a landscape garden, and will be dedicated to the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, the founding president of the UAE. The Zayed National Museum will be the centerpiece of the Saadiyat Island Cultural District, showcasing the history, culture, and recent social and economic transformations of the Emirates.The galleries are designed within a mound that abstracts the topography of the Emirates. Rising above this mound are five lightweight steel structures, sculpted aerodynamically to function as solar thermal towers. The heat generated at the top of the towers draws air vertically through the galleries, utilizing the thermal stack effect. Despite ongoing construction delays and uncertainties regarding operational strategies, the museum is now expected to open in 2025.Read more about the Sheikh Zayed National Museum by Foster + Partners.Image courtesy of MAD ArchitectsAnji Culture and Art Center, Anji, China by MAD (to be opened in 2025)The Anji Culture and Art Center, by MAD, is set to be opened in 2025. The current construction project spans 120,000 square meters and is concealed beneath white metal roofs that resemble "bamboo leaves" in Anji, China. This project includes six major venues: the Grand Theater, Conference Center, Leisure Center, Sports Center, Youth Activity Center, and Art Education Center. These venues are strategically located beneath the "bamboo leaves" roof, which surrounds the unique green tea fields of Anji.As MAD founder Ma Yansong stated, "Anji is the only county to win the "United Nations Habitat Award" and has been praised as bamboo and white tea town of China.""The project is designed as a transitional connecting space between the natural and built environments of the region; on the east side lies the city, while the river and the mountains in the distance on its west side," he added.Read more about the Anji Culture and Art Center by MAD.Top image in the article: Shanghai Grand Opera House, Shanghai, China by Snhetta. Image StudioSZ - Justin Szeremeta, David Sommer, courtesy of Snhetta.

Cave-Like Farmhouse By Earthscape Studio Provokes "A Wild Experience" With Its Earthen Architecturehtml PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40/loose.dtd"This farmhouse, which looks like a small hill from above, redefines the self-sufficient space with its smooth faade and sinuous form. The farmhouse, designed Indian architecture practice Earthscape Studio, is located in Mettupalayam, Coimbatore, Tamilnadu, India.Named Into The Wild, the 138-square-metre farmhouse was developed in response to its surrounding featuring a verdant panoramic view of the mountains and deep woods of coconut and palm trees. The site lies plain with no special characteristics of terrain or landscape.As the developer's site, the surrounding area spans approximately 12 acres, including the project lot, which is rather plain.This prompted the creation of an intriguing building that respects nature. Earthscape Studio began the design process with a focus of 25 percent on construction and 75 percent on nature.According to the studio, planting and growing trees is not only sustainable but also crucial for how the building interacts with the natural environment. Consequently, the studio concentrated on construction techniques that would minimize carbon emissions.This innovative, self-sustaining structure features a fluid design that the studio refers to as fold architecture. The 4-inch shell (114.3 millimetre) is crafted to bend and flow, incorporating a series of arches. It is covered with layers of thappi plaster on the outside and mud plaster on the inside, applied on both sides of the ferrocement."Being a self-sustaining structure, it has no columns or beams. Mud is not a material palette, the beautiful thing in earthen architecture is not only about using the materials, but also about the artisans," said Earthscape Studio."Traditional lime plasters from India flows along smoothly on the floor and the furnitures giving a luxuriant feel inside the spaces. This helps in reducing the temperature of about 3 degrees inside the space from the outside," the studio added.The 7-foot tall (2,286 meters) verdant landscape wraps around the structure with lush grass. Being in a highly humid area, this foliage helps reduce indoor temperatures and acts as a structural element of the building. This Farm House, identified by 2BHK, offers surprising experiences in each space.The circular transitions evoke curiosity about the interiors. The folds and curves create a cave-like atmosphere, providing a sense of adventure. From the lower level, the windows open to a sylvan view, allowing cool air to flow into the space.Ventilation openings extend from the structure in various locations, allowing hot air to escape and creating a natural stack effect. The light that filters through each vent adds a dramatic ambiance within the interiors. A linear opening at the bar provides a panoramic view of the tall coconut and palm trees.The central courtyard connects to various spaces through smaller and larger openings, facilitating natural light and ventilation. This design fosters a sense of openness and a seamless transition between open and semi-open areas."We believe that Interiors are not about purchasing and arranging inside a space. All the furnitures are in-built in accordance to the space. The bed, cushions and the fabrics are customized in accordance to its own shape and play creating an opulence feel," the studio explained."The bed, bar counter, pantry, seating are all done with arise finishes giving a lap of luxury at each space."The bathrooms are finished with arise finish, a water-proofing material that doesn't require any chemicals. The wood utilized for cabinets, benches, and doors is gathered from scrap wood.The stone seat and door knobs are carved on the location where the stones are obtained. The green foliage that covers the shell creates the illusion of a home on the inside and a garden on the outside.Roof planFloor planSection AASection BBElevationPreviously, Earthscape Studio designed a farmhouse wrapped by agabion wall to filter daylight and airflow to the interior the mountain ranges in Anaikatti, Coimbatore, Tamilnadu, India. In addition, the firm built a farmhouseentriely made of locally available and sustainable materials, by developing its own construction system.After continuing his architectural studies at Wallmakers, which Vinu Daniel started, Petchimuthu Kennedy founded Earthscape Studio in 2022. The architectural design philosophy and ideology of Earthscape Studio strives to produce and highlight structures that are emotionally charged and soulful.Project factsProject name: Into The WildArchitects: Earthscape StudioLocation: Mettupalayam, Coimbatore, Tamilnadu, IndiaCompletion Year:2024Gross Built Area (m2/ ft2):1450 sq.ft / 138m2Lead Architects:Petchimuthu KennedyTeam:Petchimuthu Kennedy, Shivani Saran S K, Niha Ann Baby, Sowmiya ArulAll images Studio IKSHA.All drawings Earthscape Studio.> via Earthscape Studio

Rising costs, shifting habits, and post-pandemic pressures are accelerating the decline of nightclubs, live music venues, and pubs, leaving cultural and economic voids in towns and cities across the UKSource: ShutterstockAt the current rate of closures, all major UK nightclubs could vanish by December 2029, according to a stark warning from the Night Time Industries Association (NTIA).The NTIAs Last Night Out campaign, launched last year, highlights the existential threat facing the UKs night-time economy, which has already lost 37% of its clubs since March 2020. The ongoing decline in nightclubs, live music venues, and pubs is reshaping the cultural and economic fabric of towns and cities, with wide-ranging implications for the built environment.The challenges faced by these venues have been compounded by the aftermath of the Covid-19 pandemic, soaring energy costs, inflation and shifts in consumer behaviour. Research from the NTIA shows that three nightclubs per week more than 150 per year have closed since the pandemic began.Michael Kill, CEO of the NTIA, warned: We are witnessing the systematic dismantling of the night-time economy. Without urgent intervention, December 31, 2029, will be the last night out, and the end of a clubbing era that has defined generations.This NTIA points out that the crisis goes beyond nightclubs. Grassroots live music venues and pubs many housed in historic buildings are also under significant strain. Rising rents and the cost-of-living crisis have hit small, independent operators the hardest. According to the NTIA, nearly 40% of grassroots music venues operated at a loss in 2023, with many reducing live music programming or closing entirely. Similarly, data from CGA, a hospitality consultancy, shows that pubs and bars have seen a 43.6% decline in premises over the past 20 years.According to data from the NTIA, in 2005, the country boasted over 3,000 nightclubs, but by June 2023, only 851 remained. Live music venues also saw a sharp drop, from 960 in 2022 to 835 in 2023. Meanwhile, the number of pubs shrank from 51,500 in 2003 to 39,933 in 2023.> Also read:MOTH Club at risk as Hackney housing plans spark controversyMany in the industry argue that the loss of nightlife spaces is diminishing the vibrancy of urban areas, potentially weakening their appeal as cultural hubs. They contend that venues are not solely places for entertainment but also serve as incubators of creativity, community, and social interaction. According to these perspectives, closures risk creating voids in town centres and high streets, with concerns about the impact on local economies and the future of historic buildings that may remain vacant or underused.Source: Google Street ViewThe Crown Hotel in Station Street, Birmingham. The former live music venue hosted early performances by Black Sabbath and has been closed since 2014For architects and urban designers, these closures present complex challenges. Many night-time venues operate in historically or culturally significant buildings that can be difficult to repurpose. Some former pubs and nightclubs are converted into residential units, but the loss of social spaces can diminish the broader identity of an area. In other cases, venues are left derelict, contributing to urban decline.Last year, Birminghams Crown Hotel, a historic pub famed for hosting early performances by Black Sabbath, was awarded Grade II-listed status in an effort to safeguard the site from what many saw as the looming threat of residential redevelopment. While the listing has increased the likelihood of preserving the buildings architectural and cultural heritage, the pub has remained unused since 2014. Proposals to revitalise it as a cultural venue fell through amidst the city councils ongoing financial struggles, leaving its future uncertain despite its newly recognised status.The declining number of nighttime venues and clubs highlights the growing tension between new residential developments in urban areas and the preservation of cultural spaces. The controversy surrounding Hackneys MOTH Club where nearly 14,000 people have signed a petition against two proposed adjacent housing developments underscores the challenges of balancing Londons housing needs with its night-time economy.> Also read:Black Sabbath pub gets grade II listingSacha Lord, night time economy advisor for Greater Manchester, highlighted the broader impact: The night-time economy has been an integral part of our cultural and economic history. Its more than just a night out; its where friendships are forged, creativity flourishes and local economies thrive. The current trajectory spells disaster not only for the businesses themselves but for the communities they serve.The economic pressures on venues have grown significantly in recent years. Inflation has driven up energy prices and rents, while consumers are increasingly cautious about discretionary spending. The NTIAs 2024 report notes that despite a rebound in attendance for live music events post-pandemic, smaller venues have struggled to cover rising costs. Meanwhile, pubs and bars are grappling with changing consumer preferences, with younger demographics favouring experience-led or food-centric venues over traditional drinking establishments.The NTIA and other industry bodies are calling for urgent government action to prevent further closures. Proposed measures include business rates relief, VAT reductions and recognition of night-time venues as cultural institutions on par with museums and galleries. Michael Kill stressed the importance of immediate support: The loss of our venues means the loss of jobs, culture and a vital part of the UKs social fabric.> Also read:Ian Chalk Architects submits plans for Troxy restoration and new hotel

Freshplans have been submitted for a development on top of Southwark Underground station.Source: AHMMThe proposed developmentHelical and Places for London, the property company for Transport for London, are proposing to build a 15 storey student accommodation tower.The pair agreed a joint venture partnership in late summer 2023 for the redevelopment of three over-station sites at Southwark, Bank and Paddington.Located on the corner of Blackfriars Road and The Cut, the Southwark site had an existing planning permission, secured in July 2022, for a 17-storey commercial office building designed by Allford Hall Monaghan Morris (AHMM).There was also a proposal for a new 14 storey tower comprising 25 new affordable homes designed by Bell Phillips architects,The replacement PBSA scheme, also designed by AHMM, is a complete departure from the previous designs andwill comprise 429 students room and double height amenity spaces running all the way up the building.Instead of subsidising a proportion of the student room, the developer proposes to meet affordable requirements by providing 44 conventional affordable homes.These will be provided in a standalone nine-storey building on land west of Joan Street.A community space is proposed on the southern part of the ground floor of this building, facing out onto The Cut.Source: AHMMThe previously consented schemeThe project team includes Gardiner & Theobald, Rapleys and Aecom. Other firms involved include Heyne Tillett Steel, Studio GB, Hoare Lea, Curtins and Mace.Southwark station was designed by Sir Richard MacCormac of MacCormac, Jamieson & Pritchard Architects and completed in 1999.

I'm a serious foodie but a laughable cook. Thankfully, I live in New York City, where it's cool not to cook and there are endless options for eating out. I'm spoiled for culinary choice, with some of the best restaurants in the world within walking distance of my home.I've tried to re-create my favorite food but fall short with even the simplest dishes. So when I heard there was an artificial intelligence app that would turn any photo into a recipe, I had to try it.SideChef's RecipeGen AI app is a home cooking and online grocery platform. The new beta AI feature allows cooks (or wannabe cooks) to take a photo of any dish at a restaurant or on social media, and it promises to instantly generate a step-by-step recipe. I wanted to see how accurate the ingredients were and how close it could get to a restaurant meal I recently had.SideChef is an award-winning shoppable recipe platform that has been in the market since 2013, and its RecipeGen AI feature launched this month as a step-by-step home cooking app. It's free to download and use.Here goes!From sous-chef to SideChef Upgrade your inbox Get cnet insider From talking fridges to iPhones, our experts are here to help make the world a little less complicated. The setup was simple. I downloaded the SideChef app on my phone and clicked on Add, then Generate Recipe From Photo. You can either take a photo directly in the app or choose an image from your library.To test out SideChef's accuracy, I wanted to try two methods:Upload a photo of a meal I'd had at arestaurant.Upload a photo of a meal I'd had athome(because I know exactly what I put in it).For the restaurant meal, I chose a beginner-friendly brunch dish to make it easy for SideChef to decipher. We'd brunched at Malibu Farm on a recent trip to California, where they put a fresh spin on breakfast staples like sweet butter and pillowy sourdough. Amanda Smith/CNETI checked the menu to see what the ingredients were, so I could cross-check better: "scramble - sourdough focaccia and breakfast potatoes with a choice of strawberry or basil butter. Kale, spinach, ricotta, eggs and bacon."This is what SideChef came up with: Right off the bat, I was disappointed in the lack of attention to detail. The dish didn't have red bell peppers, green bell peppers, onion or potato seasoning. I don't think it had milk either, but SideChef included it. It also missed the leading flavor profiles -- strawberry butter, ricotta cheese and the sourdough focaccia.To give SideChef the benefit of the doubt, it's hard to distinguish the sourdough focaccia because the photo doesn't show the dimpled top of the bread -- but it didn't even list sourdough.It might've also been hard for SideChef to spot ricotta in the eggs (mistaking the creaminess for milk). It didn't even try with the strawberry butter, prompting me to buy regular butter instead. No, I want my bougie strawberry butter. At this point, I felt like SideChef was more interested in using AI to get an affiliate commission through Walmart (the fulfillment partner).Before I moved onto my home-cooked recipe, I tried another restaurant dish photo to test its culinary capabilities.This time, ramen!I uploaded this photo: Amanda Smith/CNETIt was "thinking" for about 15 seconds, then I got an error. I tried again, as advised, but no luck.Alright, SideChef, let's try this a different way. I picked my favorite dish my wife makes: sweet potato gnocchi with sausage! Amanda Smith/CNETI know the exact ingredients because she made a video about it:Sweet potatoEggFlourSausageMushroomsButterBrothParmesanHere goes! Now we're cooking.It did a lot better this time. It got the main ingredients, but it added sun-dried tomatoes, likely because we had basil on it.With the ingredients 90% there, I checked how the app suggested I cook it and how it was different to how we actually did it.SideChef suggested: SideChef actually made the recipe more complicated than it needed to be. It's a simple seven steps:Heat up the sweet potato, slice it down the middle, remove the jacket and mash it in a bowl.Add one egg and whisk.Add in a cup of flour and mix.Cut the sweet potato dough into four pieces, roll each one into a thin rope, then cut into little gnocchi pieces.Cook the sausage over the frying pan. Add mushrooms, butter and broth.Boil the gnocchi, then add it to the frying pan to crunch it up a little.Sprinkle with parmesan.In SideChef's recipe, it didn't specify to remove the sweet potato jacket or clearly instruct how to prepare it. It advised us to bake the gnocchi, but we boiled it. Other than that, it was 70% there.The chef's kiss?It depends on the recipe. It has a hard time with nuance and, like other AI tools, tends to make it up if it's unsure. It's a handy little app that could be used to inspire new ideas and ingredient concoctions or if you're in a restaurant and don't want to bother the waiter with dish details.But for people with an ounce of skill in the kitchen, SideChef probably doesn't pose much use -- especially for cooks like my wife who wing it and feel creatively confined following recipes, let alone AI.

If you've ever needed to get somewhere in a hurry, you've probably relied onGoogle Mapson your smartphone. Specifically, Street View, Google Maps' first-person perspective option that uses photos taken by Google itself, is one of the best ways to help you get around town with visual cues. It's an immersive, 3D map of the real world.Street View is so ubiquitous that you've likely seenGoogle's camera carsrolling by at some point as they take the images used to craft the maps you use on a regular basis. Just type in an address, and you'll be transported there in an instant so you can have a 360-degree view of the point of interest and its surroundings. But as useful as this view can be, it's also an invitation for scammers to use your home to try and intimidate you. Especially if you happen to have your home visible in one of the photos.That means strangers could scope out where you live, but Google Maps lets them do it easily -- from their couch. Anyone with a phone or computer can do it. Including someone who wants to scam you out of money or time.Fortunately, there's a simple way to blur your home on Google Maps and help prevent others from seeing too many details of where you live. Here's how to do it.For more, check outessential Google Maps tips for traveling. Watch this: How to Blur Your Home or an Object in Google Maps 02:24 How to blur your home on Google MapsYou'll need to do this on your computer -- the blurring feature isn't available in the Google Maps application on iOS or Android. It is accessible through the web browser on your mobile device, but it's rather difficult to use, so your best choice is a trusted web browser on your Mac or PC instead.Atmaps.google.com, enter your home address in the search bar at the top-right, hit return, then click the photo of your home that appears. Click on the photo of your home, right above your address, on the top-left part of the page. Screenshot by Nelson Aguilar/CNETNext, you'll see the Street View of your location. ClickReport a Problem at the bottom-right. The text is super tiny, but it's there. This is the Street View of your location. Screenshot by Nelson Aguilar/CNETNow, it's up to you to choose what you want Google to blur. Using your mouse, adjust the view of the image so that your home and anything else you want to blur is all contained within the red and black box. Use your cursor to move around and the plus and minus buttons to zoom in and out, respectively. If you want to blur more than what's in the black/red box, use the + button to zoom in. Screenshot by Nelson Aguilar/CNETOnce you're finished adjusting the image, choose what you're requesting to blur underneath:A faceYour homeYour car/license plateA different objectYou'll be asked to give a bit more detail as to what exactly you want blurred, in case the image is busy with several cars, people and other objects.Also, be completely sure that what you select is exactly what you want blurred. Google cautions that once you blur something on Street View, it's blurred permanently.Finally, enter your email (this is required), verify the captcha (if needed), and click Submit. You're required to provide additional information about what you want to blur, so be thorough. Screenshot by Nelson Aguilar/CNETYou should then receive an email from Google that says it'll review your report and get back to you once the request is either denied or approved. You may receive more emails from Google asking for more information regarding your request. Google doesn't offer any information on how long your request will take to process, so just keep an eye out for any further emails.For more, take an inside look at how Google built Immersive View for Maps.

This is the year Apple shows us the next phase of Vision Pro, Apple Intelligence and HomePod speakers (with screens?) CNET's Bridget Carey highlights the biggest products we're expecting from Apple in 2025.

January 3, 20253 min readHeliophysics Is Set to Shine in 2025The science of the sun and its effects on the solar system is a sprawling discipline that expects a very exciting 2025By Meghan Bartels edited by Lee BillingsThe sun sends out a constant flow of charged particles called the solar wind, which ultimately travels past all the planets to some three times the distance to Pluto before being impeded by the interstellar medium. This forms a giant bubble around the sun and its planets, known as the heliosphere. NASAs Goddard Space Flight Center Conceptual Image LabIf our solar system were to lose a few moons or even a planet, the difference might be hard to noticebut lose the sun, and everything changes. Despite its role as neighborhood linchpin, however, scientists still have a whole host of questions about how the sun works and how it influences our daily life on Earth and in space. And 2025 is poised to play a key role in getting answers.Three factors are combining to make the coming year particularly exciting for the discipline known as heliophysics: the suns natural activity cycle, a fleet of spacecraft launches and the release of a blueprint designed to guide the next decade of work in the field.Right now the sun is in the maximum phase of its 11-year activity cycle, where scientists expect it to remain for perhaps another year or so before its activity begins to wane. And although the current Solar Cycle 25 isnt breaking any records, it has produced a host of solar flares and other spectacular outbursts that scientists have been able to monitor with recent new instruments. Those observers include both the largest solar telescope ever built and a spacecraft that has made the closest approach to the sun in history.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.And this year those groundbreaking projects will get plenty of new company; NASA alone expects to launch half a dozen missions to study the sun and the myriad ways it shapes the solar system. Among them are the Interstellar Mapping and Acceleration Probe, or IMAP, designed to help scientists map the outer limits of the suns sphere of influence; the Escape and Plasma Acceleration and Dynamics Explorers, or ESCAPADE, a pair of spacecraft that will orbit Mars to study the Red Planets experience of space weather; and the Polarimeter to Unify the Corona and Heliosphere, or PUNCH, mission, which combines four small satellites orbiting Earth to study the suns outer atmosphere, or corona.Moreover, U.S. heliophysicists have a new so-called decadal report, a blueprint for the coming decade that sketches out a host of national science priorities, that was released last month and that federal agencies will begin implementing in the coming year. Im really excited about it, says Joe Westlake, a heliophysicist and director of the Heliophysics Division of NASAs Science Mission Directorate.These decadals are aspirational views of our future, he says. Theres some really good stuff in this one.For future spacecraft missions, the report recommends that NASA pursue two large projects. One mission would consist of a total of 26 spacecraft: Two would be stationed high above our planets poles in circular orbits and would take images of auroras and Earths magnetic field from afar. The rest would be located in more elliptical orbits that pass through the geomagnetic field, where they would gather local observations of its strength and nearby plasma. Twenty-plus spacecraft and the ability to put those all together at the same time, looking down, looking up and collecting observations, is going to be such an incredible dataset tool for us, says Nicki Rayl, acting deputy director of the Heliophysics Division. I think its going to be groundbreaking.The second large project would be a spacecraft designed to swoop over both poles of the sun several times over the course of an entire 11-year solar activity cycle. A current NASA mission, the Parker Solar Probe, has been diving ever closer to the suns surface, but it has stuck to observing the sun over its equatorial region. Meanwhile an ongoing European Space Agency mission called Solar Orbiter has provided only partial views of the solar poles. Consequently, our stars poles remain mysterious regions, even as they play a key role in the evolution of the suns magnetic field. Going to the poles of the sun is hard, and its a tricky environment to get into, Rayl says. Thats the next unknown territory.On Earth, these ambitious missions would be augmented by the Next Generation Global Oscillations Network Group (ngGONG), which builds on the existing GONG group of observatories that began work in 1995. These observatories are spread around the world to keep the sun in their sights throughout the day, and they use a technique called helioseismology to study the solar interior by observing waves passing through it, much as geologists employ seismology to study the interior of Earth.Some of these audacious, incredible goals that are in the decadal help us really jump into the unknowns and do some discovery science, Rayl says. And in the meantime, she notes, the missions launching in the coming year will yield ever more insightsand new questions to askabout the sun. Im just thrilled that were going to be in the data-collection mode, she says. Its go time.

January 3, 20254 min readJumping 'Numts' from Mitochondria Can Be Fast and DeadlyBits of DNA from mitochondria can skip surprisingly fast into our genome and may reduce lifespanBy Martin Picard edited by Madhusree MukerjeeLittle loops floating inside this illustration of a mitochondrion represent its DNA. Kateryna Kon/Science Photo Library/Getty ImagesMost of us remember two things from high school biology: that mitochondria are the powerhouses of cells and that we inherit stable sets of chromosomes from our two parents. Both truisms are only sort of true. Mitochondria do far more than produce energythey also compress and transmit information about the state of a cell. And our chromosomes, although safely ensconced within the cells nucleus, are far from stable. A piece of genetic code from another chromosome, or even from a virus, can embed itself into the DNA chain, changing how itand wefunction.Mitochondria descend from an ancient bacterium that was swallowed, millions of years ago, by an ancestral cell from which all life descends. As living beings, they have their own genes, called mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA). Starting in the 1960s, researchers showedfirst in mice and then in yeasts and humansthat pieces of mtDNA can somehow also jump into chromosomes and named these insertions nuclear mitochondrial DNA segments, or numts (pronounced new mites). In 2022 Patrick Chinnery of the University of Cambridge and his colleagues cataloged numts from more than 60,000 humans and found that new ones are created once in about 4,000 births. All of us walk around with numts that weve inherited from ancestors in our chromosomes.In 2024, however, Weichen (Arthur) Zhou and Ryan Mills, both at the University of Michigan, and Kalpita Karan, then at my laboratory at Columbia University, in collaboration with me and others, made an astonishing discovery. Numtogenesis, or the formation of new numts, happens not only across millennia but likely several times over during a persons lifespan. In cultures of human cells, numtogenesis happens over days to weeks. Further, numts seem to be particularly concentrated in the brainand may influence how long we live.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.These groundbreaking studies began at Rush University Medical Center, where a team led by neuroscientist David Bennett sequenced DNA from more than 1,000 brain samples from individuals enrolled in a long-term study of aging. Scanning these data, Zhou, Mills, Karan and their colleagues found that chromosomes in the brain cellshad many numts. Intriguingly, the prefrontal cortex, the seat of high-level rational thinking, had a particularly high concentration of these intrusions. And people with more numts in their prefrontal cortex had died earlier. People with normal cognition had lost as many as five years of life per numt. (In people with dementia caused by Alzheimers disease, numts didnt seem to matter: their age at death was unrelated to how many numts they had in their prefrontal cortex.)All previous searches for numts had been performed using immune cells from blood samples; that is why the scientific community had missed this stunning fact for decades. Blood immune cells undergo constant quality control, so only the best cells survive to be sequenced. Presumably, immune cells with numts are eliminatedor maybe numts just dont happen in immune cells. In the brain, bad neurons cannot be so readily discarded, which may be why neurons with genome alterations from numts persisted long enough to meet the DNA sequencer.You might wonder how these mtDNA fragments get inside the nucleus in the first place. Mitochondria, we now know, have many ways to release their DNA into the cytoplasm surrounding their host cell. Once there, mtDNA fragments can make their way into the nucleus either through pores in its wall or, if the cell divides, seep in while the envelope dissolves and reassembles. Either way, the release of mtDNA appears to be a process controlled by mitochondria.The fact that numts can adversely affect health is perhaps not so surprising. Retrotransposons, gene fragments that jump from one chromosome to another, trigger inflammation and possibly contribute to aging. In 2017 Keshav K. Singh and others at University of Alabama at Birmingham, showed that numtogenesis speeds up in cancerous cells and may contribute to cancer formation.But how fast can new numts arise in normal cells? To address this question in our groups 2024 study, Karan used the Cellular Lifespan Study database developed by Gabriel Sturm, in which cells from different individuals are cultured in vitro and observed over time as they age. She found that cultured human cells accumulate one new numt every 13 days on averagea remarkable rate. Taking cells out of the body accelerates multiple hallmarks of aging, which may explain why numtogenesis happens so fast in cell cultures.We also discovered that stress accelerates numtogenesis. Work that Sturm, Natalia Bobba-Alves, then at Columbia, I and our colleagues published in 2023 shows that energetic stress, caused by energy deficiency within a cell, can compromise the health of mitochondria. Karan found that when the mitochondria were dysfunctional, as occurs in people with mitochondrial diseases (and, to lesser extent, in those with diabetes and other metabolic disorders), cells in cultures accumulated numts up to 4.7 times more rapidly. Cells with defective mitochondria showed a new numt about once in every three days.These findings suggest a new way in which stress can affect the biology of our cells: making mitochondria more likely to release pieces of mtDNA that then infect chromosomes. And they add one more way in which mitochondria shape our health beyond energy transformation: directly changing the sequence of our genome. Numtogenesis may serve to speed up evolution as a response to stress.Most importantly, given that people with more numts in their brain die earlier, we must also add numtogenesis to the list of mechanisms that may contribute to how long we live. Mitochondria give us energy and life, for sure, but they may also contribute to the dimming of our inner flame of life.