Chris Dyson Architects won the competition to design a new building on the Harrow Arts Centres (HAC) campus. The focus of the campus is the Grade II-listed Elliott Hall. The Greenhill Building is behind this, next to the boiler house and chimney and several low brick buildings, now artists studios historically part of a school and its farm. It replaced a crumbling site cabin.To make the most of the available budget, the team had to be inventive with site, form and structure and explore unconventional materials to deliver a flexible building that would be of enduring value to the local community. Our aim was to provide the spaces for yoga, workshops and celebrations that the community had asked for, while supporting HACs aim to be more financially sustainable. The L-shaped, two-storey building maximises useable space. Two large teaching rooms on the ground floor have double doors opening onto a courtyard. Above are two top-lit teaching rooms and a small studio with a view through the trees.Its an early example of a fully cross-laminated timber structured arts centre, which was more typical in education and office buildings at that time, but offered an affordable, low-waste and low-carbon alternative to structural steel.Mathew Witts, partner, Chris Dyson ArchitectsAdvertisementProject dataStart on site 2021 Completion Gross internal floor area 2Construction cost 1.8 millionConstruction cost per m2 3,910Architect Chris Dyson ArchitectsClient London Borough of HarrowStructural engineer Webb YatesM&E consultant Webb YatesQuantity surveyor PT ProjectsPrincipal designer Chris Dyson ArchitectsApproved building inspector Harrow Building ControlLandscape architect Kinnear Landscape ArchitectsSignage and wayfinding Studio EmmiTransport planningFire safety CWBCAD software used RevitAnnual CO2 emissions 1.1 kgCO2e/m/yr (operational)Predicted design Life 60 yearsEmbodied and/or whole-life carbon225 kgCO2e/m (structural)144 kgCO2e/m (non-structural)369 kgCO2e/m (total upfront)300 kgCO2e/m (sequestered)Architects choicesThe approach is unashamedly new, but sensitive to the campuss history and patchwork of buildings. The site was once surrounded by fields. This agricultural legacy informed the L-shaped plan around a yard and red corrugated faade we considered Cor-ten early on, which we have used previously, but the cost was prohibitive and we liked the boldness of the red fibre cement against the brick, and the fact it is an everyday, practical farm material. Throughout, the design embraces the challenge of doing more with less: creating more useful space for people, but using less material, less energy and a fully CLT structure.Chris Dyson, principal, Chris Dyson ArchitectsSpecificationThe red corrugated faade is made from a fibre cement more typically used for barn roofs. The profile was selected from a brochure specified for livestock and equestrian facilities. It offers good thermal performance and protects from heat and moisture.All materials were selected with consideration of their future use just as CLT can be dismantled and repurposed, the cement fibre cladding panels can be ground down to create new ones. The building itself is designed to be similarly adaptable.The serrated roof peeks above the surrounding brick buildings. Each asymmetrical pitch takes advantage of north light and glazing creates bright, top-lit rooms. The budget was focused on the elements that would most impact everyday use, such as acoustic insulation between floors so a dance class upstairs wont disrupt a life drawing session downstairs.AdvertisementOne challenge was to manage the budget against rising material costs and availability during the pandemic. This was achieved through pragmatic material choices, close collaboration with suppliers, clear priorities and keeping our focus on the buildings eventual users. For services, our design uses off-the-shelf commercial cable trays to minimise installation costs and save time.Chris Dyson, principal, Chris Dyson ArchitectsSelected productsDoorsDorplanPuraDor in ashAll roomsdorplan.co.uk/puradorFloor coveringsIVCCommercial Optimise 70 heterogeneous vinyl floor covering, Cevennes T97Allivc-commercial.comSuspended lightingHilton6280 Surface/suspended. Black finishGround floorAll DownlightsJohn Cullen LightingRF2. Black finishThroughoutjohncullenlighting.comCladdingEternitExternal faadeseternit.co.ukRooflightsVeluxRoofvelux.co.ukCross-laminated timberEurbanThroughouteurban.co.ukLiftCibescibeslift.comRoofSarnafilRoof coveringgbr.sika.com

The Last of Us season 2 trailer teases two of the game's most impactful scenesAirs April.Image credit: Max News by Victoria Kennedy News Reporter Published on Jan. 7, 2025 A new trailer for The Last of Us has been released, teasing some of the events to come in the show's second season.Additionally, while we still don't have a specific date, it has been announced that The Last of Us season two will begin airing in April. That's the same month The Last of Us Part 2 will make its PC debut.The trailer, which you can see below, lasts a little over a minute, but still manages to cram in the suspense. Along with Ellie and Joel, we also get another look at new characters for this season, including Kaitlyn Dever's Abby and Isabela Merced's Dina. Please note, beneath the trailer I will be going into more detail about what was shown, so be aware of major spoilers for The Last of Us Part 2 below.The Last Of Us Season 2 | April 2025. Watch on YouTubeA fair portion of the trailer is made up with snippets of scenes we have seen before: Ellie and Dina getting swarmed by infected in the subway, Ellie at the Jackson dance (although this time with Dina), Joel shedding a tear during a presumed therapy session, the tender moment between a weary looking Tommy and Maria, and so on.Jeffrey Wright, reprising his role as Isaac, and the Seraphites are also glimpsed during the latest trailer for season two. Image credit: Naughty Dog Image credit: MaxBut there are also two moments I particularly want to highlight, which are sure to pack an emotional punch upon the series' release.The first is the very opening of the trailer, which begins in a hallway with a wailing siren and ominous red lighting. A lone figure walks into the shot. She is holding a gun with a Firefly pendant around her neck. It is Abby, and this scene is clearly set in the hospital after Joel's rampage at the end of season one.Those who have played The Last of Us Part 2 know this means Abby is about to come across the body of the doctor who was set to perform surgery on Ellie before Joel killed him - her father. I won't deny, I cried when I played through this part. Image credit: Naughty Dog Image credit: MaxThe second moment that bears mentioning specifically is the lone shot of Ellie, again bathed in a red light, aiming a gun at an unseen target. The scene then cuts to black, but heavy breathing can be heard.Based on events in The Last of Us Part 2, I am going to say this moment takes place after Ellie chases WLF member Nora (played in the show by Tati Gabrielle) down in Seattle. Ellie proceeds to torture and kill Nora, in one of the already harrowing game's most harrowing moments. Ellie's actions here traumatise her even further, and she returns to Dina and Jesse in a state of shock.When I played The Last of Us Part 2, this moment with Nora left me feeling especially uncomfortable. I wonder if those who have not played the game will feel this same sense of unease when the second season airs. Image credit: Naughty Dog Image credit: Max Image credit: Naughty DogLast year, The Last of Us showrunner Craig Mazin confirmed the second season of The Last of Us will comprise of seven episodes, with one of those episodes being "quite big" in length."The story that we're telling is much bigger than the story of season one, there's just a lot more going on, it's a lot harder to produce but we want every episode to feel like its own blockbuster to be honest with you," Mazin said in June.The Last of Us Part 2's story will not be told in full during season two, with subsequent seasons expected to wrap up the narrative.

You can trust VideoGamer. Our team of gaming experts spend hours testing and reviewing the latest games, to ensure you're reading the most comprehensive guide possible. Rest assured, all imagery and advice is unique and original. Check out how we test and review games hereNetEase Games reveal of Marvel Rivals Season 1 Eternal Night came with some awesome looks at some new content for the free-to-play superhero shooter. Alongside new maps and the arrival of the Fantastic Four, the new season will be nerfing some popular characters to make them more fair to fight.Some of the most overpowered characters in the game will not be toned down to offer a more balanced experience in the free-to-play game. Alongside the massive damage of Hawkeyes arrows, players will be excited to learn that Jeff the Land Sharks sweeping Ultimate will be nerfed as well.Marvel Rivals balance adjustmentsRevealed in the studios Dev Vision Vol. 3 video update, Marvel Rivals Season 1 balancing pays close attention to Hela, Hawkeye and Jeff the Land Shark. Noted by fans as the most unbalanced characters of the games launch period, alongside that pesky Iron Fist, the heroes managed to top the best characters tier list for the game.In the first half of Season 1, we will be making crucial balance adjustments to keep the battles fresh and exciting, NetEase confirmed in the update video.Formidable ranged duelists were targeted as the key focus for Rivals first major balance sweep with nerfs coming to entice players towards other ranged characters. On the other hand, Captain America and Venom will see huge buffs to make them more viable against ranged foes, empowering them to charge into battle and protect their allies.Additionally, NetEase confirmed that heroes in unique positions like Wolverine and Storm will also be tuned to allow them to shine more individually on the battlefield, while Cloak and Dagger are also tweaked to service more diverse team setups.Finally, NetEase confirmed that healer Jeff the Land Shark will see a massive rework on his heavily meme-d ultimate. The developers are working to fine-tune the characters detection range of his ultimate, allowing players more chance to escape his adorable wrath.At the time of writing, NetEase has not revealed the exact stats behind these balance adjustments, but some are expected to be major. With over 30 heroes to play as, and more to be added, Marvel Rivals will see constant balancing updates, and thats only a good thing.Marvel RivalsPlatform(s):macOS, PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series S, Xbox Series XGenre(s):Fighting, ShooterSubscribe to our newsletters!By subscribing, you agree to our Privacy Policy and may receive occasional deal communications; you can unsubscribe anytime.Share

cookielawinfo-checkbox-analytics11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics".cookielawinfo-checkbox-functional11 monthsThe cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional".cookielawinfo-checkbox-necessary11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary".cookielawinfo-checkbox-others11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other.cookielawinfo-checkbox-performance11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance".viewed_cookie_policy11 monthsThe cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. It does not store any personal data.

Take a guessCourt documents reveal just how much more expensive Call of Duty games are to make compared to even PlayStation's biggest exclusivesIt's fair to say that everyone knows Call of Duty games cost a lot of money to make, but I don't think most of us could guess just how much money is spent on developing each title. News by Sherif Saed Contributing Editor Published on Jan. 7, 2025 Of the many high-budget games that get released every year, Call of Duty titles remain among the most mysterious in terms of what goes into their production. While Take-Two and Sony Interactive Entertainment may drop some budget figures here and there about their top-selling, most lucrative franchises, Activision never brings up the topic.The annualised shooter, it turns out, is a lot more expensive to develop than many of the games we usually think of when we think expensive video game, and we now have, for the first time, an idea of just how much money it took to develop a few of the most recent Call of Duty games.To see this content please enable targeting cookies. As revealed in Stephen Totilos Game File newsletter, Activision recently disclosed some figures about the budgets, as well as sales, of a couple of its most recent Call of Duty titles. The details were part of court filings made by the publisher in a case filed against it regarding a 2022 elementary school shooting in Uvalde, Texas.In the documents, Call of Duty creative boss Patrick Kelly revealed that the budgets for Call of Duty games released between 2015 and 2020 reached upwards of $700 million per title. More specifically, the executive said that 2015s Black Ops 3 cost over $450 million to develop, and took three years to make. The game ended up selling 43 million copies.The 2019 Modern Warfare reboot was also cited as having sold 41 million units on a budget of more than $640 million. Finally, 2020s Black Ops Cold War was the most expensive, costing Activision over $700 million and selling the least, at 30 million copies. All games were made by hundreds of developers at several studios. Black Ops Cold War is the most expensive of the three games cited.The lawsuit, which was filed in May last year [paywall], also involves Instagram. It blames Call of Duty, along with the social media platform - in part - for the content that influenced the perpetrator of the mass shooting. The three Call of Duty titles referenced were said to be the shooters most-played games.As Totilo points out, these are the highest budgets reported by a major video game publisher. Theyre also well beyond the already high costs of some of the most expensive games ever made, such as The Last of Us Part 2, which Sony revealed in court documents that it cost over $220 million to make.

HelldirectingHelldivers 2 is getting a film adaptation, and here's hoping it's not just a shot-for-shot Starship Troopers retread with Chris Pratt's face plastered over a Bile TitanGame that draws lots of inspiration from a movie is now getting a movie about said game. It's the circle of life.Image credit: Arrowhead/ Sony News by Mark Warren Senior Staff Writer Published on Jan. 7, 2025 Helldivers 2 is getting a movie adaptation, Sony has confirmed during its CES 2025 press conference. What'll it be like? Well, as of right now the company isn't saying, but hopefully the answer isn't just a straight-up copy-and-paste of one of the game's inspirations, but with a few big name actors peppered in there.That inspiration is Starship Troopers, which did the whole soldiers with slightly Fascist vibes fighting for control of the galaxy thing pretty well back in 1997, giving this Helldivers movie a slightly more complex job in terms of setting itself apart as something we've not seen before.To see this content please enable targeting cookies. "Looking ahead as to what might come next, I'm excited to announce we are working with Sony Pictures on developing a film adaptation of our amazingly popular PlayStation game Helldivers 2," head of PlayStation Productions Asad Qizilbash said on stage.That was it in terms of the details for now, leaving us all to ruminate on what could be coming while we keep on blasting the Illuminate to bits and/or play Crazy Taxi with our FRVs. To see this content please enable targeting cookies.Unsurpringly, players have quickly taken to Reddit to have a bit of a laugh about the whole thing - the current top post on r/helldivers is a fantasy casting of Chris Pratt as a Bile Titan. Yep, Chrissy. You've done an ok voice for Mario, now get ready to play a Terminid that gets killed by (scrolls down thread) Tom Holland and Timothee Chalamet as the bugdivers.That same thread includes ideas like Adam Sandler as John Helldiver, Anya Taylor-Joy as Eagle-1, and Danny Devito as the voice of every single Automaton. It started as a joke, but some folks in the thread do seem to have come around to the idea of this all-star meme cast, which would also include tyhe likes of Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson as a Democracy Officer and Jack Black as a hellbomb.Meanwhile some folks reckon the Helldivers movie should just be YouTuber Nadya Play's edit of the Penguins of Madagascar into the game. To be fair, Skipper, Kowalski, Rico, and Private are the ideal four man squad. Plus, the movie will probably have an 18 rating anyway, so a bit of this won't be too scandalous.What do you want to see from this Helldivers movie? Let us know below!

That Horizon Zero Dawn Netflix series might have been canned, but don't worry, Sony has another trick up its sleeve: a film adaptation. Read more

Image: Nintendo Life / AcerIn case the 'Switch 2' wasn't quite enough, 2025 is promising to be absolutely rife with new PC and Android-based gaming handhelds. It's the Big Thing at the moment, and manufacturers are understandably eager to get a foothold over their competitors in terms of power, approachability, and in Acer's case at least size.Yes, Acer has revealed what might be one of the largest gaming handhelds we've ever seen with the Nitro Blaze 11. With a screen clocking in at 10.95 inches, it's a powerful beast with a hefty price tag to boot, costing users a minimum of $1,099.99 when it launches in Q2 2025.It's got some pretty sizeable specs to go along with the monstrous screen too. You're getting an AMD Ryzen 8040HS processor, 16GB of LPDDR5X RAM, and up to 2TB of storage, with a pair of detachable controllers, hall-effect joysticks, a built-in kickstand, and two back buttons.If an 10.95-inch screen is a bit too big for you, Acer is also launching the Nitro Blaze 8, a smaller version qith an 8.8-inch screen, though this variant lacks the detachable controllers and built-in kickstand.With the upcoming 'Switch 2' said to boast an 8-inch screen, it's safe to say that Nintendo's planned successor will be considerably more portable than some of the ridiculous PC handhelds making their way to market. An official reveal is right around the corner too, with Nintendo promising an announcement before the end of March.Images: AcerIt's remarkable to consider that none of these devices would likely exist without the Nintendo Switch. We take detachable controllers for grated these days, but without Nintendo paving the way (again!), the PC handheld market probably wouldn't be enjoying its current bout of prosperity.What do you make of Acer's new 'handheld'? Do you think the size is acceptable, or is a bit too beefy for you? Let us know with a comment.

In BriefPosted:1:12 AM PST January 7, 2025Image Credits:GrubhubJust Eat Takeaway completes Grubhub sale to Wonder for a modest $650MAfter looking for a buyer for more than two years, Just Eat Takeaway.com has finally closed the menu on Grubhub. On Tuesday, the Dutch food delivery giant said it completed the sale of the U.S. business to Wonder, the food startup founded and led by e-commerce veteran Marc Lore. The deal has an enterprise value of $650 million, but Grubhub is coming laden with $500 million of debt. Adding in other M&A fees, Just Eat Takeaway will be walking away with a mere $50 million, a small fraction of the $7.3 billion valuation that Grubhub had when Just Eat Takeaway gobbled it up in an all-share deal in 2020.The sale, which was first announced in November 2024, underscores the ongoing downsizing or right-sizing? in the industry to focus more on profitability after years of overinvestment and unrealistic growth targets. Just Eat Takeaway says it will turn its focus towards investment in countries in which it has the greatest competitive advantage.In the case of Wonder, Lore is somewhat of a legend in the world of e-commerce, previously founding and selling companies to Amazon and Walmart. Wonder has raised around $1.7 billion and has ambitions to go public in the coming years at a $40 billion valuation, Lore has said, but that will mean that the business has to grow considerably beyond what it is today. Grubhub gives it a national footprint albeit one that has been operating with heavy debt for some time. The challenge will be whether Wonder manages to finally turn that around.Topics

Microsoft plans to invest $3 billion to expand its artificial intelligence and cloud Azure services in India, turning to the worlds most populous nation to fuel its revenue growth engine.The firm, which has been operating in India for more than two decades, will also train an additional 10 million people in the country with AI, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella said at an event in Bengaluru Tuesday. The investments in infrastructure and skilling we are announcing today reaffirm our commitment to making India AI-first, and will help ensure people and organizations across the country benefit broadly, said Nadella. The diffusion rate of AI in India is exciting.India is a key overseas market for American tech giants that have poured tens of billions of dollars in building and scaling their operations in the South Asian market over the past two decades as they work to court businesses serving hundreds of millions of users.The competition has intensified among hyperscalers in recent quarters as Microsoft aggressively broadens its offerings with new AI capabilities. E-commerce group Amazon said in 2023 that it planned to invest $12.7 billion in its India business by 2030.Microsoft, among the top cloud and AI providers in India, operates three datacenter regions in India and plans to make its fourth ready to go live next year, the company said. The $3 billion investment will be deployed to develop a scalable AI computing ecosystem to serve Indias AI startups and research community.India has also cemented its place on the global map as one of the worlds largest and fastest growing developer markets. More than 17 million of them in India use Microsofts Github. A number of tech executives, including Nvidia chief executive Jensen Huang and AMD chief Lisa Su, have visited India in recent months, in part to court developers.Microsoft also said it has signed an AI memorandum of understanding with SaaSBoomi, a community for B2B startups in India. As part of the collaboration, the two will seek to promote entrepreneurship in smaller Indian cities and towns and also help attract an additional $1.5 billion in VC funding for Indian AI and SaaS startups. Microsoft is already seeing many of its clients in the South Asian market use its newest technologies to bring efficiencies to their businesses, Nadella said. Some of its clients in India include Infosys, Air India, Meesho, Tech Mahindra, Federal Bank, Apollo, MakeMyTrip, HCL Tech, Manipal, Icertis, and InMobi. IT firm Persistent is using Microsoft 365 Copilots Contract Assist to reduce negotiation time by 70%, Nadella said.