Adapting the 19thcentury masterplan for Barcelonas expansion to todays pressing ecological concerns engenders controversies and disagreementsThe isotropic grid has demonstrated its capacity to organise a territory, from a small neighbourhood to an entire continent. It was famously used for the 19thcentury expansion of Barcelona, which led the civil engineer behind the masterplan, Ildefons Cerd, to invent the word, and discipline of, urbanisation in the process. Cerds vision for Barcelonas expansion was accompanied by a foundational text on urban planning: General Theory of Urbanisation (1867). In the 1840s, the city of Barcelona was constricted within medieval walls, but bursting at its seams. New storeys on buildings would extend out as they rose and arches were stretched across the narrow streets so that additional lodgings could be built on top of them. These practices inevitably led to overcrowding and dire public health issues.By the early 19th century, the old city of Barcelona was overcrowded. The lack of available space had forced inhabitants to build upwards and exercise their creativity: upper storeys extended out into the narrow lanes, while arches were erected in the middle of streets to be built uponCerd envisioned the Eixample, meaning expansion in Catalan, as a way to connect the old city, or Ciutat Vella, to seven peripheral villages, including Grcia and Sarri, which were then amalgamated as neighbourhoods. Since one of the findings of Cerds research was that the narrower the citys streets, the more deaths occurred, he used a grid of 20mwide streets, with 5mwide pavements on each side and an inventive 45 chamfer at each intersection, resulting in octagonal urban blocks.In the original plan, approved in 1860, a large portion of the block was intended for open and green spaces; only two or three of the blocks 113.3mlong outer edges would be built up, to a depth of 20m and a height of 16m, leaving a generous recreational space at the centre. Each unit would also receive plenty of air and sunlight. A utopian socialist, the Catalan engineer imagined a homogeneous and egalitarian city structure.Demolition of the medieval walls finally started in 1844 and, within a decade, the civil engineer Ildefons Cerd was working on the citys expansion plan. His proposal was approved in 1860Credit:Museu dHistoria de la Ciutat, Barcelona / WikimediaOver the years, the project underwent significant alterations, as it became subject to the pressures of population growth and real estate speculation. By the end of the 20th century, the built density was four times what was originally intended. The urban blocks were built up on all four sides, with constructions that were deeper and taller than planned, and their centres had been gradually occupied many of them became car parks. Cerd might have predicted, 30 years before the car was invented, that residents of Barcelona would move in private locomotives, but he did not foresee the degree of congestion and pollution that would ensue, jeopardising his hygienist vision of a green and healthy city.Since the early 2000s, municipal governments from various political factions have focused the debate on the urban model and instigated new projects where public space could transform the citys ecosystem and generate alternative political, economic and social models for the immediate future. In the last 10 years, the municipalitys programmes of superblocks and green axes have aimed to address the shortage of green spaces and unacceptable levels of air and noise pollution by restricting access to through traffic in certain streets, prioritising instead pedestrians and alternatives of mobility.In Cerds rational masterplan, a large portion of each urban block was reserved for recreational space. However, the engineers precise recommendations were not respectedCredit:WikimediaSalvador Rueda, the Citys director of the Urban Ecology Agency until 2020, imagined what he called superblocks as critical components of an ecosystemic urbanism; by significantly reducing the public space allocated to cars as most journeys are to be made on foot, bicycle or public transport it is possible to reimagine the city as comfortable, attractive and socially cohesive. His proposal consisted of grouping the Eixamples blocks into units of nine (33), so that a new orthogonal grid of 400m400m emerged. This plan was arguably not that new. Back in 1932, during the rationalist expansion era and a year before the Athens Charter, Le Corbusier and Josep Llus Sert had designed the Maci Plan, which reorganised Barcelonas urban fabric with 400m-wide square blocks; due to disagreements between professionals and politicians, it was never implemented.The idea is that superblocks recover three quarters of the surface area currently allocated to vehicles, while reducing traffic by only 15 per cent vehicles using the interior streets of the superblock drive at the slower speed of 10km/h. Similarly to the shared spaces adopted in the UK, on Londons Exhibition Road for instance, this transformation frees space for new forms of urban interaction. Importantly, superblocks are not conceived as isolated and independent cells, but as a network; the programme, approved in 2015, aimed to create 503 superblocks by 2030.The municipality initiated a series of programmes to address the lack of green spaces and unacceptable levels of air and noise pollution. Launched in 2015, the superblocks, consisted of grouping together several of Cerds blocks to create quieter streets within. This example in the neighbourhood of Sant Antoni was designed by Leku StudioCredit:Del Rio BaniUsing previous interventions of shared spaces and pedestrianisation in Ciutat Vella and Grcia as precedents, Barcelonas first superblock took the form of a pilot project in the industrial and workingclass Poblenou neighbourhood in 2017. This first test quickly brought to light discrepancies between the theoretical model and the challenges of a city in transformation: it revealed problems of management, communication and maintenance, but also adverse effects on public transport infrastructure, logistical difficulties and negative economic repercussions.Some of these initial mistakes were addressed subsequently. The second superblock, in Sant Antoni, demonstrated that a similar intervention implemented in an area with different socioeconomic and urban realities produced significantly different outcomes. The denser vegetation helped reduce pollutant particles but failed to improve noise pollution, as the noise of cars was replaced by the loud, recreational use of the space. Sant Antonis superblock has also been speeding up gentrification, triggering discontent among neighbours and traders, and overshadowing other improvements. Despite some benefits, these interventions fall short of Ruedas promoted model as they have failed to constitute a network and remain isolated transformations in the city.The citys necessary urban transformation has become a political and electoral weaponA change in municipal government in 2019 led to a new phase of the programme, which sought to turn one of every three streets in the Eixample into pedestrian, green spaces the so-called green axes. Like in the superblocks internal streets, traffic remains allowed but at a reduced speed, and Cerds chamfered intersections are converted into new plazas. In 2020, the City chose four sites Carrer del Consell de Cent, Carrer de Rocafort, Carrer del Comte Borrell and Carrer de Girona and launched an architecture competition to transform these streets, introduce plazas, and design the junctions where they meet the rest of the city. A total of 4.65km of green axes have since been created, freeing 58,000m for pedestrians and adding 11,000m of planted areas, with 400 new tree species.Due to technical and electoral constraints, ambition was dampened in areas such as soil permeability and groundwater management. More broadly, the increasingly polarised political climate has coopted urbanism as a tool for partisan confrontation, reflecting differences in interests among political leaders, economic stakeholders, technical experts and local residents. Yet amid these diverse views lies an unchallenged consensus: the need to improve the citys environmental conditions remains urgent, requiring rethinking mobility systems and, therefore, the urban model. Rueda was citing Cerd when he asserted that every mode of mobility generates a model of urbanisation. Environmental studies highlight the Eixample as the area of Barcelona that is most affected by pollution, where particulate matter consistently exceeds WHO limits. Research also demonstrates that both the superblocks and green axes would improve citizens physical and mental health.Since the inauguration of the green axes in 2023 and 2024, three major positions can be distinguished in the debate. Firstly, those at the municipality who initiated and delivered the Eixamples four green axes, represented by the Citys former chief architect Xavier Matilla, defend the model based on both environmental and social principles, and argue that criticism stems from the defence of purely economical interests. Secondly, Ruedas criticism of the green axes is that they interfere with, and compromise, the idea that superblocks must operate as a network; he argues that they are insufficient and inefficient as stand-alone interventions. Finally, influential voices that led the urban transformation of Olympic and postOlympic Barcelona, including the architect Josep Antn Acebillo, advocate an approach that respects the Eixamples urban morphology and does not alter the trees or pavements, which they consider the historical and cultural heritage of Cerds proposal. Acebillo suggests allocating half the street surface to movement, with four lanes (for public transport, electric vehicles, bicycles and personal urban transit such as motorised wheelchairs and scooters), and the other half to recreational activities. He believes that, given the isotropic character of the Eixample, this transit scheme would only be efficient if uniformly applied to all streets, and argues that the egalitarian structure of the Eixample holds a value that is at once material, symbolic, societal and organisational.Ultimately, Barcelonas recent attempts at superblocks and green axes highlight the immense complexity of transforming public space at this scale. While most residents recognise the urgent need for a new mobility model aligned with health and environmental priorities, there is currently no clear way forward. Instead, the citys necessary urban transformation has become a political and electoral weapon. The potential for rich urban discussion is currently overshadowed by political appropriations and judicial rulings that seek to overturn some of the completed projects due to procedural defects; these rulings argue that these interventions are not reforms but changes to the Metropolitan Plan, and would necessitate greater political consensus and procedure.As the 2023 elections brought in a new municipality, current political leaders have shifted efforts toward facades, rooftops and vacant spaces, deprioritising urban movement as the main focus. Combined with the unfinished programmes of superblocks and green axes, what began as an ambitious debate on urban models and networks has dissolved, at least for now, into fragmented proposals and superficial modifications a patchwork of interventions rather than a considered network.2025-02-19Reuben J BrownShare AR February 2025ExtensionsBuy Now

This new attack has a nasty bitegettyA stark new warning for Microsoft Windows users this week, as AI sniffs out an enhanced keylogger that steals sensitive information from popular web browsers from popular web browsers like Chrome, Edge, and Firefox, logging keystrokes, capturing credentials, and monitoring the clipboard.Take this warning seriously the malware has already targeted millions of PCs and shows no signs of slowing down. And this is programmed to attack when your PC restarts, hiding in amongst Windows benign processing tools to avoid detection.The warning comes by way of Fortinet, its latest report on the poisonous Snake Keylogger that has become one of the most persistent Microsoft Windows threats out in the wild. The security firm says its new AI engine designed to detect and analyze previously unknown threats in real-time picked up this latest suspicious activity through a blend of behavioral analysis and file attributes.Snake Keylogger has been around in its various guises since 2020, Check Point warns that its likely to come at them through a malicious Office document or PDF is attached to the email. If the recipient opens the document and enables macros or uses a vulnerable version of Office or a PDF reader, then the malware is executed.Whats new, Fortinet says, is Snake Keyloggers deployment of AutoIt, a scripting language commonly used for automating tasks in the Windows environment, to deliver and execute its malicious payload. This better obfuscates the threat over past variants, essentially hiding attacks within normal Windows processing tasks. Unsurprisingly, the malware sets its attributes to hidden when it installs.Snake Keylogger drops a file into the Windows Startup folder to launch whenever a PC restarts. This means Snake Keylogger can maintain access to the compromised system and re-establish a foothold even if the malicious process is terminated. By running this way, it also benefits from the Windows Startup folder allowing scripts, executables, or shortcuts to run without required administrative privileges.Once the slippery keylogger has a hold on your PC, it checks its location to hone its attack, monitors for the security credentials it has been programmed to steal, and when it picks these up from your keystrokes, your clipboard or your browser autofill data, it sends them to its handlers.This latest Fortinet warning follows one from Russias BI.ZONE just a fortnight ago, with attacks on Russian firms using the commercial styler NOVA - a new fork of SnakeLogger. With Fortinet warning its latest variant had been seen in China, Turkey, Indonesia, Taiwan, and Spain, this Snake is clearly well travelled.Suffice to say, this is yet one more reason to run updated security software on your PC and to avoid any temptation to open Office or PDF attachments that come at you by way of emails. Unless its something youre expecting from someone you know, be careful.

Choose your answer and the correct choice will be revealed. Correct Answer:It might explodeA brief explanation whyAlthough it's unlikely to happen with most discs in most drives, there have been occasional reports of discs exploding inside CD/DVD drives. In the majority of those cases, the disc was already damaged, and spinning it at high speed was all it needed to shatter.When tested by the TV show MythBusters back in 2003, it took around 23,000 rotations per minute (RPM) to make a conventional CD explode. That kind of speed is technically achievable with 48x or 52x CD drives exactly the sort of performance metrics PC enthusiasts coveted in the early 2000s. However, the MythBusters team couldn't make a CD explode in a standard, unmodified drive and had to resort to other methods to push the disc to its breaking point.If a CD spins too quickly, the centrifugal force acting on it increases dramatically. Even tiny scratches, hairline cracks, or manufacturing imperfections can become critical weak points as the RPM rises. When the forces exceed the disc's structural integrity, it can tear apart explosively. Beyond ruining the disc, such an event can also damage the drive, potentially sending shards of plastic flying at high speeds.Many videos online show CDs exploding when they're pushed to the limit, including high-speed footage from The Slow Mo Guys capturing a disc coming apart at 170,000 frames per second, watch below.In modern drives (which are going extinct sooner or later), manufacturers limit the maximum speed to reduce the risk of catastrophic disc failure. Improvements in disc materials and drive construction also help minimize the likelihood of such accidents. Nevertheless, the theoretical possibility remains if the disc is significantly damaged and the drive spins it fast enough.

Firefly Aerospaces Blue Ghost spacecraft has captured some stunning footage from 75 miles (120 kilometers) above the lunar surface as it gears up for its highly anticipated landing attempt on March 2.Our #GhostRiders completed another lunar orbit maneuver with a 3 minute, 18 second burn early this morning. This maneuver moved the lander from a high elliptical orbit to a much lower elliptical orbit around the Moon. Shortly after the burn, Blue Ghost captured incredible footage pic.twitter.com/ygyMVpaBW4 Firefly Aerospace (@Firefly_Space) February 18, 2025In an update shared on X, Texas-based Firefly said the spacecraft completed another lunar orbit maneuver with a 3 minute, 18 second burn early on Tuesday, adding that it moved the lander from a high elliptical orbit to a much lower elliptical orbit around the moon.Recommended VideosIt explained that during the spacecrafts new orbit, the mission team will experience communication blackouts as Blue Ghost goes around the far side of the moon. When on the near side, the team will continue to downlink data and finalize the plan for our next maneuver that will get Blue Ghost even closer to the lunar surface and keep us right on track for landing on March 2, it said.Please enable Javascript to view this contentThe robotic landing mission is part of NASAs Commercial Lunar Payload Services program, and is aiming to deliver 10 scientific investigations and technology demonstrations to support future human exploration of the moon under the Artemis program.Key objectives include analyzing lunar regolith properties, studying the moons geophysical characteristics, investigating interactions between solar winds and Earths magnetic field, and evaluating the abilities of a global navigation satellite system.Blue Ghost launched on January 15 aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The spacecraft has already been sending back some incredible images, including this one of Earth.The planned touchdown spot is close to a volcanic feature called Mons Latreille within Mare Crisium, a 500-kilometer-wide basin on the moons near side. The mission is designed to operate on the moons surface for about 14 Earth days, which is equal to one lunar day.Editors Recommendations

Baidu made its AI model Ernie 4.5 open source, inspired by DeepSeek's success.CEO Robin Li previously said closed-source models were more powerful and economical.Baidu's shares surged last week after announcing its AI chatbot will be free from April 1.The CEO of Chinese tech giant Baidu says DeepSeek's virality pushed the company to make its own artificial intelligence model open source.Open-source models allow for the free and open sharing of software to anyone for any purpose. DeepSeek, an emerging Chineserattling US tech and AI companies. Third-party tests showed the model outperformed its peers from OpenAI, Meta, and other top developers, and the company said it was built for less money."One thing we learned from DeepSeek is that open-sourcing the best models can greatly help adoption," Robin Li, Baidu's CEO,Baidu announced last week that it would make its latest AI model Ernie 4.5 open-source from June 30. The news marks a reversal of Li's belief that large language models should not be open-sourced.The CEO previously said that closed-source models are generally more powerful and economical than open-source ones. In an interview last year with Chinese media outlet Yicai, he said that open-source models are a good fit for academia, but not for businesses.Other executives,CEO of Mistral and Meta's chief AI scientist, have touted DeepSeek's success as a win for open-source models.Baidu on a tearAs competition in the chatbot space intensifies, Baidu also announcedmake its AI chatbot free from April 1. The company cited better technology and reduced costs.Hong Kong-listed Baidu shares surged nearly 12% before closing 5.7% higher on the day of the chatbot announcement.In late 2023, months after Ernie was released, Baidu started charging 59.90 renminbi, or $8.20, for premium search features."Ernie 4.5 will be our best model ever. And we would like to have our users and customers try them out more easily than before," Li said on the earnings call on Tuesday.Baidu faces fierce competition from competitors, including Alibaba's Qwen and ByteDance's Doubao 1.5 Pro. Search rival Tencent announced last week that it would integrate DeepSeek into itsBaidu's move to open-source and make its chatbot free came days before Chinese leader Xi Jinping's Monday meeting with the country's tech moguls, signaling his support to revive the sector. The meeting included gaming giant Tencent CEO Pony Ma, electric vehicle maker BYD CEO Wang Chuanfu, and Huawei CEO Ren Zhengfei. Baidu's Li did not appear to attend the high-profile event.Baidu is also part of a recent stock rally for Chinese tech firms, which are making a comeback after Beijing's pandemic-era crackdown on Big Tech.On Tuesday, Baidu reported it doubled its third-quarter profit to $711 million, compared to the year earlier. Revenue dropped 2% to $4.67 billion in the quarter ending in December, beating analyst estimates of $4.3 billion.Its New York-listed shares slid 7.5% after hours on Tuesday following the earnings results.

KFC is moving out of Kentucky.Yum Brands said that it would shift its brands into offices in Texas and California.It said that it would also ask 90 of its US-based remote employees to return to the office.KFC is shifting its US headquarters from Kentucky to Texas.KFC's parent company Yum Brands said in a press release on Tuesday that the group would designate two brand headquarters in the US one in Plano, Texas, and one in Irvine, California.The relocation marks a shift away from the fried chicken chain's roots in Kentucky. Yum Brands' current headquarters is in Louisville, Kentucky.The group said in the release that the shift in headquarters was to "foster greater collaboration among brands and employees."However, Yum Brands and the KFC Foundation would maintain corporate offices in Louisville, the release said.The company said it would also ask KFC's US-based corporate office employees who are currently working in Louisville to relocate to the Plano headquarters.About 90 remote employees will also be called back to the office. The release said that they would be relocated to "the campus where their work happens.""The relocation of approximately 100 KFC U.S. corporate roles will occur over the next six months, while the relocation of 90 remote positions will take place over the next 18 months," the release read.Yum Brands is the parent company of four food and beverage chains KFC, Taco Bell, Pizza Hut, and Habit Burger & Grill.There are over 4,100 KFC stores in the US. KFC's website wrote that globally, the store count exceeds 30,000 in more than 145 countries.The group released its fourth-quarter earnings on February 6, reporting an 8% sales growth globally, with KFC's sales growing 6%.Yum Brands' stock is up about 10% from the start of the year.Representatives for KFC did not respond to a request for comment from Business Insider, sent outside regular business hours.

House in Binh Duong / Tad.atelierSave this picture!Architects: Tad.atelierAreaArea of this architecture projectArea:90 mYearCompletion year of this architecture project Year: 2024 PhotographsPhotographs:Tad.atelier Lead Architect: Vu Tien An More SpecsLess SpecsSave this picture! Tad.atelierText description provided by the architects. House in Binh Duong project is a small residential house located in a neighborhood near an industrial zone in Binh Duong Vietnam. It is designed to accommodate both the living and remote working needs of the homeowner. The house focuses on simplicity, sufficiency, rusticity, and harmony with nature. With a lifestyle centered around vegetarianism and spiritual practices such as meditation, the living space is organized to provide tranquility and serenity, aligning with the family's daily activities.Save this picture!When designing the house, our goal was to create a modest, eco-friendly housing model that utilizes local resources and enables partial self-sufficiency in food production. The design approach is based on five main strategies:Save this picture!Save this picture!Save this picture!1. Adaptive Architecture The house is structured to adapt to the local microclimate while supporting partial food self-sufficiency through the integration of vegetable gardens and fruit trees as key landscape elements. In addition to meeting the homeowner's essential needs, the project aims to foster a slow-paced, ecological lifestyle for the family.Save this picture!Save this picture!Save this picture!Save this picture!2. Inside-Between-Outside The house incorporates multiple buffer spaces, such as verandas, courtyards, and corridors, to create a seamless transition between architecture and nature, interior and exterior spaces. This design improves air circulation and softens natural light while serving as a multifunctional area that connects inhabitants with the environment, maintaining privacy and security.Save this picture!3. Sufficient Structure The house is built with a simple design, optimizing costs and minimizing material use. The layout follows a "just enough" approach, ensuring flexibility and environmental friendliness while meeting practical living needs.Save this picture!4. Local Materials Save this picture!5. Spiritual Value of the House Beyond serving as a living and remote working space, the house provides a retreat for meditation, connecting its residents with nature. The living areas are designed to be sufficient and adaptable, fostering a balance between material and spiritual well-being while maintaining a harmonious relationship with the surrounding environment.Save this picture!The overall design of the house reflects a philosophy of balance between material and spiritual life, aiming for sustainability and harmony with nature. The principles of adaptive architecture are applied to create a living space that meets the family's essential needs while minimizing environmental impact, contributing to a small, self-sufficient, and long-term sustainable ecosystem.Save this picture!The architectural design also emphasizes the transition between indoor and outdoor spaces, fostering a natural connection between people and their surroundings. The "just enough" approach simplifies structural complexity, eliminates unnecessary elements, and creates a flexible living space that can easily adapt to the family's evolving needs.Save this picture!Project gallerySee allShow lessAbout this officeTad.atelierOfficePublished on February 19, 2025Cite: "House in Binh Duong / Tad.atelier" 19 Feb 2025. ArchDaily. Accessed . <https://www.archdaily.com/1027066/house-in-binh-duong-tatelier&gt ISSN 0719-8884Save!ArchDaily?You've started following your first account!Did you know?You'll now receive updates based on what you follow! Personalize your stream and start following your favorite authors, offices and users.Go to my stream

A man went to hospital complaining about weakness in his left leg, and subsequent brain scans revealed a surprising finding.

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There are quite a few highlights in the Rebel Wolves studios debut title, The Blood of Dawnwalker, and one of them is its time-as-resource mechanic, which requires players to manage their time wisely.When Games Radar asked if this approach might turn off some players, the games Creative Director, Mateusz Tomaszkiewicz, who was the lead quest designer for The Witcher 3 and quest director of Cyberpunk 2077, shared his thoughts on taking risks in game development. He recalled that, with The Witcher 3, CDPR had a bold decision to have a long story.We tried to combine these really expansive storytelling techniques that were usually built in more linear RPGs, like more corridor structured RPGs, like The Witcher 2, for example, and we tried to carry that over to an open-world, Mateusz said.Taking risks might not be a favored approach, as it means the results are out of control, and if it doesnt work well, it could hurt badly to both the team as well as the fame of such a beloved franchise. The team was like, We didnt know if people actually want this, if that actually fits the play style of an open-world game. But we took these risks. We did what we could to mitigate them.Luckily, it worked out in the end. In a Reddit discussion, players were asked if they feel The Witcher 3 is too long. The majority of the answers didnt feel lengthy at all. Instead, some were quite enjoying it, immersed in the game and narrative, and couldnt have too much of it; they believed it could be even longer. The expansive story contributed to what brought the game to a new height, which could be out of reach if being conservative.Dont forget to join our80 Level Talent platformand ournew Discord server, follow us onInstagram,Twitter,LinkedIn,Telegram,TikTok, andThreads, where we share breakdowns, the latest news, awesome artworks, and more.Source link The post Having A Long Story For The Witcher 3 Was A Risky Approach CDPR Took, Said Former Lead appeared first on CG SHARES.