A California-based company called Magrathea just turned on a new electrolyzer that can make magnesium metal from seawater. The technology has the potential to produce the material, which is used in vehicles and defense applications, with net-zero greenhouse-gas emissions. Magnesium is an incredibly light metal, and it’s used for parts in cars and planes, as well as in aluminum alloys like those in vehicles. The metal is also used in defense and industrial applications, including the production processes for steel and titanium. Today, China dominates production of magnesium, and the most common method generates a lot of the emissions that cause climate change. If Magrathea can scale up its process, it could help provide an alternative source of the metal and clean up industries that rely on it, including automotive manufacturing. The star of Magrathea’s process is an electrolyzer, a device that uses electricity to split a material into its constituent elements. Using an electrolyzer in magnesium production isn’t new, but Magrathea’s approach represents an update. “We really modernized it and brought it into the 21st century,” says Alex Grant, Magrathea’s cofounder and CEO. The whole process starts with salty water. There are small amounts of magnesium in seawater, as well as in salt lakes and groundwater. (In seawater, the concentration is about 1,300 parts per million, so magnesium makes up about 0.1% of seawater by weight.) If you take that seawater or brine and clean it up, concentrate it, and dry it out, you get a solid magnesium chloride salt. Magrathea takes that salt (which it currently buys from Cargill) and puts it into the electrolyzer. The device reaches temperatures of about 700 °C (almost 1,300 °F) and runs electricity through the molten salt to split the magnesium from the chlorine, forming magnesium metal. Typically, running an electrolyzer in this process would require a steady source of electricity. The temperature is generally kept just high enough to maintain the salt in a molten state. Allowing it to cool down too much would allow it to solidify, messing up the process and potentially damaging the equipment. Heating it up more than necessary would just waste energy.  Magrathea’s approach builds in flexibility. Basically, the company runs its electrolyzer about 100 °C higher than is necessary to keep the molten salt a liquid. It then uses the extra heat in inventive ways, including to dry out the magnesium salt that eventually goes into the reactor. This preparation can be done intermittently, so the company can take in electricity when it’s cheaper or when more renewables are available, cutting costs and emissions. In addition, the process will make a co-product, called magnesium oxide, that can be used to trap carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, helping to cancel out the remaining carbon pollution. The result could be a production process with net-zero emissions, according to an independent life cycle assessment completed in January. While it likely won’t reach this bar at first, the potential is there for a much more climate-friendly process than what’s used in the industry today, Grant says. Breaking into magnesium production won’t be simple, says Simon Jowitt, director of the Nevada Bureau of Mines and of the Center for Research in Economic Geology at the University of Nevada, Reno. China produces roughly 95% of the global supply as of 2024, according to data from the US Geological Survey. This dominant position means companies there can flood the market with cheap metal, making it difficult for others to compete. “The economics of all this is uncertain,” Jowitt says. The US has some trade protections in place, including an anti-dumping duty, but newer players with alternative processes can still face obstacles. US Magnesium, a company based in Utah, was the only company making magnesium in the US in recent years, but it shut down production in 2022 after equipment failures and a history of environmental concerns.  Magrathea plans to start building a demonstration plant in Utah in late 2025 or early 2026, which will have a capacity of roughly 1,000 tons per year and should be running in 2027. In February the company announced that it signed an agreement with a major automaker, though it declined to share its name on the record. The automaker pre-purchased material from the demonstration plant and will incorporate it into existing products. After the demonstration plant is running, the next step would be to build a commercial plant with a larger capacity of around 50,000 tons annually.

By Ellyn Lapointe Published May 31, 2025 | Comments (0) | Researchers recovered this face-shaped rock from the San Lázaro rock-shelter in central Spain in 2022 © Álvarez-Alonso et al While digging inside a cave in the Spanish city of Segovia, archaeologists uncovered an unusual rock. The hand-sized stone naturally resembled an elongated face, and featured a spot of red pigment made from ochre right on the tip of what may be considered its nose.  “We were all thinking the same thing and looking at each other because of its shape: we were all thinking, ‘This looks like a face,’” David Álvarez Alonso, an archaeologist at Complutense University in Madrid who was part of the dig, told The Guardian. Álvarez Alonso and his colleagues spent the next three years studying this bizarre rock. The researchers posit that 43,000 years ago, a Neanderthal dipped their finger in ochre and pressed it onto the stone’s central ridge—leaving behind what is now considered to be the world’s oldest complete human fingerprint. It’s an intriguing finding that could have significant implications, but some experts would like to see more evidence to support this hypothesis.  The team published its findings in the journal Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences on Saturday, May 24. In the paper, the archaeologists state that the “strategic position” of the dot suggests it is evidence of Neanderthals’ “symbolic behavior.” In other words, it’s a piece of art that “could represent one of the earliest human face symbolizations in prehistory.” “The fact that the [rock] was selected because of its appearance and then marked with ochre shows that there was a human mind capable of symbolizing, imagining, idealizing and projecting his or her thoughts on an object,” the researchers write.  Whether Neanderthals were capable of making art is a subject of ongoing debate, co-author María de Andrés-Herrero, a professor of prehistory at Complutense University, told the BBC. But over the past decade, a growing body of evidence has led many experts to believe that artistic expression emerged earlier in human evolution than previously thought.  The authors of this new study think their stone adds to this evidence. To reach this conclusion, they first needed more data to support the idea that this ancient artist had actually experienced pareidolia: seeing a face in an inanimate object. To that end, they generated a 3D model of the stone’s surface and measured the distances between its features, finding that the red dot—or nose—was placed such that it accurately resembled an actual nose on a human face.  Then, the researchers enlisted the help of geologists to characterize the red dot, confirming that it was made with ochre. Forensic police experts then used multispectral analysis—a technique that can reveal details invisible to the naked eye—to confirm that the red dot had been applied with a fingertip. Their analysis uncovered a fingerprint that could have belonged to an adult male Neanderthal inside the dot.  “Once we had that and all the other pieces, context and information, we advanced the theory that this could be a pareidolia, which then led to a human intervention in the form of the red dot,” Álvarez Alonso told The Guardian. “Without that red dot, you can’t make any claims about the object.” But Gilliane Monnier, a professor of anthropology at the University of Minnesota who studies Neanderthal behavior, is not totally convinced by the researchers’ findings. “The fact that there are these natural depressions—and that we can measure the distance between them and argue that it’s a face—that’s all well and good,” Monnier, who wasn’t involved in the study, told Gizmodo. “But that doesn’t give us any indication that the Neanderthals who [occupied this cave] saw a face in that [rock].”  What’s more, she is skeptical of the researchers’ claim that the red dot was actually made with a human fingertip. It’s possible, she said, that the coloring and fingerprint-like ridges formed naturally. “I would be interested in seeing an explanation by a geologist—someone trained in geology—saying the likelihood of this forming by natural, geological or geomicrobial processes is a very low likelihood,” Monnier said.  The researchers, too, acknowledge that “it is unlikely that all doubts surrounding this hypothesis can be fully dispelled,” and state that the pareidolia hypothesis should not be seen as a definitive claim, but rather a possible explanation for this object based on the evidence. So it’s hard to say whether this study clarifies or complicates our understanding of how the human mind evolved the ability to create art. The face-shaped rock is an intriguing piece of the puzzle, but more research is needed to figure out where it fits. 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May 30, 20253 min readWhat Causes Glaciers to Collapse like the Event That Buried a Swiss Village?Climate change and thawing permafrost play a role in destabilizing glaciersBy Jen Schwartz edited by Dean VisserThe small village of Blatten in the Swiss Alps was largely destroyed by a landslide that occurred as a result of the partial collapse of the Birch Glacier on May 28, 2025. Alexandre Agrusti/AFP via Getty ImagesAn unstable glacier in the Swiss Alps collapsed this week, sending a deluge of rock, ice and mud through the valley below and burying the village of Blatten almost entirely. Scientists had warned about the possibility of a dangerous event related to the glacier, and village residents had been evacuated days earlier—but the glacier’s near-total breakup came as a surprise. One person is reported missing. Government officials initially estimated the debris deposit to be several dozen meters thick and approximately two kilometers long. Making matters worse, the collapse of the glacier, called the Birch Glacier, blocked the flow of the Lonza River, which runs through the valley. As a result, a newly created lake upstream from the debris field flooded an area that has now overflowed into the deposit zone, which could cause a debris flow downstream. As of Friday afternoon local time, officials have reported that the water flow is approaching the top of the scree cone, which is the accumulation of loose, rocky debris.Why did the glacier break apart?The glacier’s collapse and the subsequent landslide—which was so intense that it corresponded to a magnitude 3.1 earthquake captured by the Swiss Seismological Service—likely arose from a series of rockfalls that occurred above the glacier over the past couple of weeks. The rocks, dislodged because of high-altitude snowmelt, exerted significant pressure on the relatively small glacier, according to officials. Experts are looking into longer-term factors that may have weakened the glacier’s stability even before those rockfalls. Christophe Lambiel, a glaciologist who also specializes in high-mountain geology at the University of Lausanne in Switzerland, said on RTS Swiss Television that the rockfalls were linked to climate change. “The increase in the falling rocks is due to the melting permafrost, which increases instability,” Lambiel said, as reported on NPR.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.How would climate change lead to a glacier’s collapse?New research published on Thursday in Science finds that, under current climate policies, more than three quarters of the world’s glacial mass could disappear by the end of this century. In this scenario, almost all small and relatively low-elevation glaciers, like the one in Switzerland, would be wiped out. In a 2024 article for Scientific American, journalist Alec Luhn explained that “the deterioration of ice and snow is triggering feedback loops that will heat the world even further. Permafrost, the frozen ground that holds twice as much carbon as is currently found in the atmosphere, is thawing and releasing these stores.” Thawing permafrost is not just dangerous because it creates instability, as in the case of Birch Glacier. As Luhn wrote, “Research has revealed that the permafrost zone is now releasing more carbon than it absorbs, heating the planet further.”Who is at risk from disintegrating glaciers?It’s clear that the weakening of Switzerland’s Birch Glacier was at least partially caused by rockfall. There are other ways in which changes to glaciers are causing risk—and occasional devastation—to people, communities and infrastructure. As a 2023 E&E News article explained, “At least 15 million people worldwide live in the flood paths of dangerous glacial lakes that can abruptly burst their banks and rush down mountainsides.” These so-called glacial lake outburst floods can be fatal and cause catastrophic damage. “The deterioration of the planet’s snow and ice regions,” wrote Luhn in his 2024 article, “is costing the world billions of dollars in damages,” according to a 2024 State of the Cryosphere report What can be done to preserve glaciers—and protect communities?Giant plastic blankets, gravity snow guns and painted rocks are all potential strategies to slow ice melt in the world’s mountain regions. The sound that glaciers make when water is coursing through their icy cracks can be used to predict glacial lake outburst floods—and thus to save lives. There’s also a growing sense of reckoning with the fate of the world’s glaciers. An essay about the Global Glacier Casualty List, which documents glaciers that have melted or are critically endangered, was also released on Thursday in Science. In it, Rice University anthropologists Cymene Howe and Dominic Boyer write, “The world’s first funeral for a glacier was held in Iceland in 2019 for a little glacier called ‘Ok….’ Since then, memorials for disappeared glaciers have increased across the world, illustrating the integral connection between loss in the natural world and human rituals of remembrance.”

Senior Environment Artist – Unannounced Game | Irvine, CABlizzard EntertainmentIrvine California 92618 United States of America50 minutes agoApplyTeam Name:Unannounced ProjectJob Title:Senior Environment Artist – Unannounced Game | Irvine, CARequisition ID:R025360Job Description:At Blizzard, we craft genre-defining games and legendary worlds for all to share. Through unparalleled creativity and storytelling, we create immersive universes and iconic characters that are beloved across platforms, borders, backgrounds, and generations - only made possible by building a work environment that nurtures the artistry of game development and unleashes the aspirations of our people.We are looking for a Senior Environment Artist to help us craft a new, unannounced game for Blizzard. As a key member of the development team, you will be responsible for delivering high-quality environment artwork through artistic and technical knowledge. You understand how to effectively build, integrate, and optimize a variety of environment asset types as well as how to support the gameplay experience. You are comfortable operating in a dynamic environment, navigating fluid deadlines and changing priorities with purpose.This role is anticipated to be a hybrid work position, with some work on-site and some work-from-home. The potential home studio for this role is Irvine, CA.Responsibilities:Priorities can often change in a fast-paced environment like ours, so this role includes, but is not limited to, the following responsibilities:Working closely with the art director, collaborate with designers, artists, code, materials, VFX and lighting departments to help deliver game environments to a world-class standard .Use your knowledge of environment art creation to deliver work from iterative prototyping to final execution.Create artifacts (content creation briefs, workflow techniques) to guide the work of internal and external artists.Remain current on industry trends including advancement in commercial game engines and workflow efficiencies.Be comfortable touching many aspects of environment work including asset creation, texture work, material creation, composition and set dressing, foliage, geology, roads, and terrain.Proactively identify risks and propose solutions within the area of environment art creation.Minimum RequirementsExperience7+ years of experience in AAA environment art.Proven experience, having shipped multiple major titles in a relevant role.Experience working with a AAA game engine with strong understanding of implementation and integration.Knowledge of many aspects of environment art creation including strong proficiency in industry-standard 3D workflows.A portfolio, with examples and detailed breakdowns, showcasing your practical work.Strong understanding of authoring PBR content.Experience collaborating to develop better workflows and technology.Key AttributesA team-oriented approach to your work, understanding the importance of collaboration, and partnering with all departments.The ability to Inspire others with an enthusiastic approach to game development and improving core skills.Self-motivated ability to push initiatives forward.Extra PointsExperienceExperience working through early development R&D phases of a project is a plus.Solid understanding of game art creation outside of environment art ( e.g. lighting, VFX, characters, animation, rendering).An interest in photography and cinema.Experience creating and handling photogrammetry data.Expertise in 3D composition, form, balance, and color theory.Your PlatformBest known for iconic video game universes including Warcraft®, Overwatch®, Diablo®, and StarCraft®, Blizzard Entertainment, Inc. ( www.blizzard.com ), a division of Activision Blizzard, which was acquired by Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT), is a premier developer and publisher of entertainment experiences. Blizzard Entertainment has created some of the industry’s most critically acclaimed and genre-defining games over the last 30 years, with a track record that includes multiple Game of the Year awards. Blizzard Entertainment engages tens of millions of players around the world with titles available on PC via Battle.net®, Xbox, PlayStation, Nintendo Switch, iOS, and Android.Our WorldActivision Blizzard, Inc., is one of the world's largest and most successful interactive entertainment companies and is at the intersection of media, technology and entertainment. We are home to some of the most beloved entertainment franchises including Call of Duty®, World of Warcraft®, Overwatch®, Diablo®, Candy Crush ™ and Bubble Witch™. Our combined entertainment network delights hundreds of millions of monthly active users in 196 countries, making us the largest gaming network on the planet!Our ability to build immersive and innovative worlds is only enhanced by diverse teams working in an inclusive environment . We aspire to have a culture where everyone can thrive in order to connect and engage the world through epic entertainment. We provide a suite of benefits that promote physical, emotional and financial well-being for ‘Every World’ - we’ve got our employees covered!The videogame industry and therefore our business is fast-paced and will continue to evolve. As such, the duties and responsibilities of this role may be changed as directed by the Company at any time to promote and support our business and relationships with industry partners.We love hearing from anyone who is enthusiastic about changing the games industry. Not sure you meet all qualifications ? Let us decide! Research shows that women and members of other under-represented groups tend to not apply to jobs when they think they may not meet every qualification, when, in fact, they often do! We are committed to creating a diverse and inclusive environment and strongly encourage you to apply.We are committed to working with and providing reasonable assistance to individuals with physical and mental disabilities. If you are a disabled individual requiring an accommodation to apply for an open position, please email your request to accommodationrequests@activisionblizzard.com . General employment questions cannot be accepted or processed here. Thank you for your interest.We are an equal opportunity employer and value diversity at our company. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, marital status, veteran status, or disability status, among other characteristics.RewardsWe provide a suite of benefits that promote physical, emotional and financial well-being for ‘Every World’ - we’ve got our employees covered! Subject to eligibility requirements, the Company offers comprehensive benefits including:Medical, dental, vision, health savings account or health reimbursement account, healthcare spending accounts, dependent care spending accounts, life and AD&D insurance, disability insurance;401(k) with Company match, tuition reimbursement, charitable donation matching;Paid holidays and vacation, paid sick time, floating holidays, compassion and bereavement leaves, parental leave;Mental health & wellbeing programs, fitness programs, free and discounted games, and a variety of other voluntary benefit programs like supplemental life & disability, legal service, ID protection, rental insurance, and others;If the Company requires that you move geographic locations for the job, then you may also be eligible for relocation assistance.Eligibility to participate in these benefits may vary for part time and temporary full-time employees and interns with the Company. You can learn more by visiting https://www.benefitsforeveryworld.com/ .In the U.S., the standard base pay range for this role is $80,800.00 - $149,400.00 Annual. These values reflect the expected base pay range of new hires across all U.S. locations. Ultimately, your specific range and offer will be based on several factors, including relevant experience, performance, and work location. Your Talent Professional can share this role’s range details for your local geography during the hiring process. In addition to a competitive base pay, employees in this role may be eligible for incentive compensation. Incentive compensation is not guaranteed. While we strive to provide competitive offers to successful candidates, new hire compensation is negotiable. Create Your Profile — Game companies can contact you with their relevant job openings. Apply

The Holy See Pavilion Presents a Living Practice of Restoration at the Venice Architecture Biennale 2025Save this picture!Vatican Pavilion. Image © Jose HeviaAt the 19th International Architecture Exhibition, La Biennale di Venezia, the Dicastery for Culture and Education presents "Opera Aperta", a project that positions architecture as a practice of collective care and responsibility. Curated by Marina Otero Verzier and Giovanna Zabotti, Opera Aperta is set within the Santa Maria Ausiliatrice Complex in Venice's Castello district. Designed by Tatiana Bilbao ESTUDIO and MAIO Architects, the project transforms the 500-square-meter site into a space for collaborative restoration and public engagement. Conceived as a work in progress rather than a finished installation, Opera Aperta functions as a platform for ongoing exchange, participation, and engagement rooted in the local context. This open and process-oriented approach was recognized during the opening events, where the Holy See Pavilion received the Golden Lion's Special Mention for National Participation. Save this picture!For six months, the project activates the Santa Maria Ausiliatrice Complex in Venice's Castello district, occupying approximately 500 square meters. The site, rich in historical and cultural layers, was originally established in 1171 as a hospice for pilgrims. Over the centuries, it evolved into the city's oldest hospital and, by the 18th century, served as a nursery, school, and boarding facility. Designated for cultural use by the City of Venice in 2001, the complex is now under the management of the Dicastery for Culture and Education of the Holy See, which is overseeing its restoration as part of a long-term commitment to preserving its significance within the urban fabric.Save this picture!Within this context, Opera Aperta proposes an architectural approach centered on repair, continuity, and reinterpretation. Rather than replacing existing elements, the project focuses on enhancing the built environment through restoration. Cracks and imperfections are treated not as defects, but as spaces for new meaning and engagement. During the exhibition, the Holy See Pavilion becomes a site of ongoing transformation, an open framework that accommodates the work of architectural studios, local associations, and civic organizations. This collaborative structure invites contributions from across the community, positioning the project as a model for inclusive, adaptive, and context-sensitive architectural practice. Related Article Bahrain Wins the Golden Lion for Best National Participation at the 2025 Venice Architecture Biennale Save this picture!Save this picture! Opera Aperta is a collaborative process involving an international team and local collectives together, claiming repair as a creative and radical practice that transcends architectural form to nourish communities, ecosystems and the fragile bonds between them. By revitalising an existing structure, we value its cracks and losses not as flaws to be hidden, but as openings to new possibilities. These thresholds invite us to reimagine the relationship between past and future, growth and decay, rupture and regeneration. Opera Aperta honours the layered histories embedded in this specific place while creating space for those who will come after us. - Marina Otero Verzier, Curator of the Holy See Pavilion Save this picture!Restoration work at the Santa Maria Ausiliatrice Complex is carried out by local artisans and specialized conservators, with expertise spanning stone, marble, terracotta, stucco, mural and canvas painting, wood, and metal. The interior of the complex supports this ongoing work through adaptive spatial strategies. Fabrics suspended from the walls partially veil the surfaces, while maintaining visibility of the interventions. Mobile scaffolding serves a dual purpose, supporting the restoration and functioning as modular furniture that defines flexible zones within the space. Complementing these efforts, Opera Aperta includes platforms for cultural exchange and community participation. A communal table, organized by the cooperative nonsoloverde, invites residents and visitors to engage in shared dialogue during the same weekly intervals.Save this picture!The Venice Architecture Biennale 2025 will run from May 10 to November 23, hosting a total of 65 National Pavilions. Among them, four countries, Azerbaijan, Oman, Qatar, and Togo, will be participating for the first time. The Azerbaijan national pavilion will present Equilibrium. Patterns of Azerbaijan and the Republic of Togo will present the exhibition titled Considering Togo's Architectural Heritage. This year the Kingdom of Bahrain's national pavilion was awarded Golden Lion for Best National Participation. Titled Heatwave, the exhibition was curated by architect Andrea Faraguna and located in the historic Artiglierie of the Arsenale. Golden Lion for Best Participant in the exhibition Intelligens. Natural. Artificial. Collective is awarded to Canal Café by Diller Scofidio + Renfro, Natural Systems Utilities, SODAI, Aaron Betsky, Davide Oldani, and two special mentions were awarded to Opera Aperta of Holy See Pavilion and the Pavilion of Great Britain: GBR: Geology of Britannic Repair, commissioned by Sevra Davis of the British Council and curated by Owen Hopkins, Kathryn Yusoff, Kabage Karanja, Stella Mutegi. Image gallerySee allShow less About this authorReyyan DoganAuthor••• Cite: Reyyan Dogan. "The Holy See Pavilion Presents a Living Practice of Restoration at the Venice Architecture Biennale 2025" 23 May 2025. ArchDaily. Accessed . <https://www.archdaily.com/1030449/the-holy-see-pavilion-presents-a-living-practice-of-restoration-opera-aperta-at-the-venice-architecture-biennale-2025&gt ISSN 0719-8884Save世界上最受欢迎的建筑网站现已推出你的母语版本!想浏览ArchDaily中国吗?是否 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

Martin Köhler stands in front of the Maka Lahi boulder in TongaMartin Köhler/University of Queensland A 1200-tonne boulder in Tonga was swept inland when a 50-metre-high wave slammed into a 30-metre-tall cliff. “This is not just a boulder; it’s the biggest wave-lifted boulder ever found on a cliff and the third largest boulder in the world, so it really needed gigantic forces to move it that far across such a high place,” says Martin Köhler at the University of Queensland in Brisbane, Australia. Advertisement While the boulder has long been known to some locals as Maka Lahi, which means large rock, it had never before been studied by scientists. Köhler and his colleagues were conducting fieldwork in Tonga in July 2024 looking for boulders deposited by tsunamis on cliffs. On their final day in the Pacific nation, villagers told them of a boulder they may wish to see. “We were definitely not expecting to find such a large boulder basically during the very last minute of our fieldwork and I knew quite quickly that this was a major discovery,” says Köhler. Unmissable news about our planet delivered straight to your inbox every month. Sign up to newsletter At 14 metres long, 12 metres wide and nearly 7 metres high, it was a “very striking” boulder, he says, made of coral reef limestone breccia. It had eluded previous searches for possible tsunami boulders in satellite images as it had vegetation growing all over the top of it and forest around it. After seeing the boulder, the researchers were able to find a massive gash in the clifftop above the ocean, 200 metres away, from which they think the rock was torn. Next, the team used computer models to determine how such a large boulder, so high above sea level, could be moved so far inland. Shifting it would have required a wave with a minimum height of 50 metres and a 90-second period, meaning it would have taken a minute and a half to pass and had flow speeds of over 22 metres per second, says Köhler. It is thought that such an enormous tsunami may have been relatively localised and caused by a nearby underwater landslip. Dating revealed an age of 6891 years, thousands of years before human settlement of the island. “It was, for me, hard to believe that it was a 50-metre wave because we hadn’t really seen or known of such a large wave before,” says Köhler. “But if you think that this massive boulder is sitting 200 metres inland on a 39-metre-high cliff, then it’s easier to understand.” Only two tsunami-deposited boulders that have been found on land are bigger: the Obiishi rock on Shimoji-shima, Japan, which weighs 3400 tonnes, and Maui rock, which is also on Tonga, which weighs 1500 tonnes. Journal reference:Marine Geology DOI: 10.1016/j.margeo.2025.107567 Topics:geology

Designing for the British Pavilion at the Venice Architecture Biennale is never simply about surface-level graphics. For TEMPLO, now in its third year collaborating with the British Council on the project, it's become an exercise in turning complex political, historical, and geological themes into a rich, resonant visual language. This year's exhibition – GBR – Geology of Britannic Repair –is no exception. Curated by Jayden Ali, Meneesha Kellay, Victoria Broackes, and Rashid Ali, and with architecture by Nairobi-based cave_bureau, the 2025 Pavilion delves into ideas of extractivism, colonial legacies, and geopolitical fragmentation. It casts architecture not just as a practice of form but of land and memory (what the curators describe as an "earth practice"). TEMPLO's response is a brand identity that mirrors these themes in every detail, from tectonic type to movement-led visuals. It's an approach built not around a traditional logo-first mindset but through what managing director Anoushka Rodda calls a "graphic toolbox". It's flexible enough to span everything from wayfinding signage and social media posts to films, merchandise, and even sound. "Over our three years of working with the British Council in Venice, we've developed a deeply collaborative and interpretative approach," says Anoushka. "That requires a very close working relationship, which we built with an initial workshop and then regular catch-ups with the curatorial team." The result is an identity that doesn't shy away from complexity but embraces it. At its core is the symbolism of the Rift Valley, one of the most significant geological formations on Earth and a site rich with colonial, ecological, and geopolitical resonance. "Given the exhibition's thematic anchor in the Rift Valley, we had to develop an engaging and accessible visual system that could communicate multi-faceted and complex ideas, which could be all too easy to caricature," says co-founder and creative director Pali Palavathanan. The Rift Valley offered both metaphorical weight and formal inspiration for the project. Typography, in particular, was key, and the team began with a sharp, authoritative serif, which is a deliberate nod to imperial structures and colonial architecture. Through a process of carefully chipping away, serifs were softened, and corners were bevelled. The result is a custom treatment that feels weathered, precise and grounded. This softened, fragmented type treatment takes cues directly from the Pavilion's architecture. The British Pavilion's façade, typically defined by its neoclassical columns, has been veiled in a beaded skin by cave_bureau, crafted from agricultural waste, clay from Kenya and India, and shards of red glass. Inspired by Maasai manyatta dwellings, the veil transforms the building's tone from dominant to open, echoing the Pavilion's thematic commitment to repair and transformation. "We wanted to reflect this effect in the identity," says Pali. "So we chose a sharp-edged, authoritative typeface that conveys an impression of imperiousness – colonial authority, almost – which we then 'softened' by bevelling the edges, trimming the serifs and corners to create something more organic, earthy and geographic." Colour also plays a quiet but powerful role. Rather than using overt national or cultural motifs, TEMPLO wove in subtle references to Kenya, an intentional move given that the British Pavilion is part of the British Council's Year of Kenya season. Earthy tones inspired by the Kenyan flag lend the identity warmth and weight without leaning on cliché or pastiche. Movement truly brings the identity to life through type that fractures, shifts, pulls apart and converges. These tectonic actions are present both literally and symbolically, animated in digital formats and implied through dimensional perspective in static applications. "Movement was something that emerged organically early in the process," says Pali. "It soon became clear that movement is integral to the concept of architecture as earth practice, to the tectonic actions of the earth in forming the Rift Valley – the shifting of tectonic plates, the pulling apart and coming together – and to the extractive actions of humans upon the land." The effect is one of tension and possibility: a visual system always on the brink of something, whether it's collapse, repair, destruction, or reformation. That energy carries through all aspects of the campaign, from animated posters and online videos to physical lanyards and in-situ signage. "We are creating a digital campaign of film, audio and social media content for the world to experience, which to us is just as important as the experience in Venice," says Anoushka. Ensuring that cohesion across such a broad spectrum of media is no small task, but for TEMPLO, the answer was to resist the temptation of leading with a static mark. "If you start with a logo and treat everything else as secondary, it's easy to end up with something incoherent or introduce weaker visual elements," Anoushka continues. "But by transforming thematic ideas into a graphic toolbox that can be used to create brand elements of every kind – whether that's the logo, a piece of exhibition signage, a lanyard, or a piece of digital film – the identity becomes expansive, not restrictive." As with much of TEMPLO's work, the personal undercurrents are strong. The agency has long engaged with issues of climate justice, cultural restitution, and postcolonial narratives, but this year's Pavilion feels especially aligned. "Climate change and colonialism are at the heart of what we do," says Pali. "The curators' interests map perfectly onto our own values and personal stories. The Rift Valley begins in Lebanon, where Anoushka has roots, and my family came to the UK from a village in Sri Lanka that was used as a source for extraction." That emotional connection added extra weight to the Pavilion's opening, where the curators dedicated the space to colonised peoples (past and present) from Kenya to Palestine. For TEMPLO, it affirmed the value of design that moves beyond visual language into something more civic, ethical, and effective. "The British Pavilion is always about much more than architecture; it provides a platform for unheard voices and alternative perspectives," says Anoushka. "That's what drives us as an agency to continue to want to collaborate with the British Council – there's a consistent bravery to what they do." In Geology of Britannic Repair, that bravery takes shape through topography and typography, fracture and form, a quietly radical reimagining of what national representation at Venice can be. For TEMPLO, it's not about spectacle. It's about systems that move – across media, meanings, and geographies – with care, clarity, and conscience.

Slovenian Pavilion Highlights the Relationship Between Architect, Craftsman, and Architecture at the Venice Architecture Biennale 2025Save this picture!Master Builders. Image © Klemen Ilovar, 2025The Slovenian Pavilion at the 19th International Architecture Exhibition – La Biennale di Venezia presents Master Builders, a project curated by Ana Kosi and Ognen Arsov and organized by the Museum of Architecture and Design (MAO). The project addresses the evolution of construction technology, encompassing robotics, prefabrication, artificial intelligence, 3D printing, and other emerging tools, while drawing attention to a notable paradox within this technological shift, and also emphasizing that the quality of the built environment continues to rely heavily on the tacit knowledge of skilled craftsmen. By constructing a series of totems, the project examines the collaborative dynamics between architect and craftsman, revealing how this relationship shapes the material realization of architecture.The Slovenian Pavilion is structured around three components: a spatial installation in the Arsenale in Venice; a catalogue that explores the relationship between the architect and the master builder across historical and contemporary contexts; and an interdisciplinary symposium on the production of contemporary architecture in Slovenia, scheduled to take place in November at the Museum of Architecture and Design in Ljubljana. Save this picture!In response to this year's Biennale theme Intelligens. Natural. Artificial. Collective., the Slovenian Pavilion foregrounds the know-how, techniques, and skills of craftsmen as an essential and irreplaceable component of architectural production. By repositioning the role of construction workers within the architectural process, the project redirects focus from the finished architectural object to the methods and practices of contemporary construction on site. In doing so, it raises the question of whether this shift in perspective can lead to a renewed understanding of contemporary architecture. Related Article Bahrain Wins the Golden Lion for Best National Participation at the 2025 Venice Architecture Biennale Save this picture! For architecture to be well-constructed, we need a good team of architects and designers, a good investor, a contract with a good construction company, an experienced on-site supervisor, political backing, a cycle of favorable construction material prices, and favorable financing terms. This general formula is missing a key component, and one that is frequently overlooked when it comes to sharing the credit for well-built architecture – the skilled craftsmen who build structures with their particular know-how, goodwill, and well-trained hands. - Ognen Arsov, curator and architect Save this picture!Save this picture!Located in the Arsenale, the Slovenian Pavilion features four totems representing a family of master craftsmen from the construction site, accompanied by a large-format documentary video that captures the process of their making. Constructed as physical manifestos of craftsmanship, the totems embody the techniques and knowledge of contemporary building practices in Slovenia. Developed through an experimental collaboration between architects and craftsmen, the project investigates the dynamic relationship between design and construction. Each totem was designed using standard architectural planning tools and built on a construction site in Kranj, 35 kilometers north of Ljubljana, based on detailed plans, bills of quantities, and technical documentation, with ongoing dialogue between the designers and builders. The installation responds to the spatial context of the Arsenale, establishing an interplay between the totems while making visible the often-overlooked skills that underpin architectural production. Beyond representing individual craftspeople, the totems function as collective signifiers of mastery, translating the abstract into the tangible and inviting reflection on the role of craftsmanship within the broader architectural discourse.Save this picture!Save this picture!The 19th International Architecture Exhibition – La Biennale di Venezia opened to visitors on May 10 and will remain on view until November 23, 2025, hosting a total of 65 National Pavilions. Among them, four countries, Azerbaijan, Oman, Qatar, and Togo, will be participating for the first time. The Azerbaijan national pavilion will present Equilibrium. Patterns of Azerbaijan and the Republic of Togo will present the exhibition titled Considering Togo's Architectural Heritage. This year's Golden Lion was awarded to the Kingdom of Bahrain for its exhibition Heatwave. Special Mentions were given to Opera Aperta, the Pavilion of the Holy See, and GBR: Geology of Britannic Repair, representing Great Britain.We invite you to check out ArchDaily's comprehensive coverage of the 2025 Venice Biennale. Image gallerySee allShow less About this authorReyyan DoganAuthor••• Cite: Reyyan Dogan. "Slovenian Pavilion Highlights the Relationship Between Architect, Craftsman, and Architecture at the Venice Architecture Biennale 2025" 16 May 2025. ArchDaily. Accessed . <https://www.archdaily.com/1030246/slovenian-pavilion-highlights-the-relationship-between-architect-craftsman-and-architecture-at-the-venice-architecture-biennale-2025&gt ISSN 0719-8884Save世界上最受欢迎的建筑网站现已推出你的母语版本!想浏览ArchDaily中国吗?是否 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

html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40/loose.dtd" The British Pavilion, which was awarded a Special Mention for National Participation at the 19th International Architecture Exhibition, is presenting GBR – Geology of Britannic Repair at the 2025 Venice Architecture Biennale.The Rift Valley is a geological feature that extends from southeast Africa via Mozambique, Kenya, and Ethiopia, along the Red Sea, through Jordan, Palestine, Israel, and Lebanon, to southern Turkey, is the geographical, geological, and conceptual focal point of the show.Cave_bureau, Owen Hopkins and Kathryn Yusoff, Double Vision. Installation view, GBR - Geology of Britannic Repair, British Pavilion, 19th International Architecture Exhibition of La Biennale di Venezia, 2025The exhibition is curated by a multidisciplinary team of curators, including Kabage Karanja and Stella Mutegi of the Nairobi-based architecture studio Cave_bureau, UK-based curator and writer Owen Hopkins, and academic Professor Kathryn Yusoff, collaborated on the show. A variety of international practitioners, such as Mae-ling Lokko and Gustavo Crembil, Thandi Loewenson, and the Palestine Regeneration Team / PART - Yara Sharif, Nasser Golzari, and Murray Fraser, have commissioned installations in addition to the curatorial team's creations.Entrance to the British Pavilion. Installation view, GBR - Geology of Britannic Repair, British Pavilion, 19th International Architecture Exhibition of La Biennale di Venezia, 2025"A dialogue between Great Britain and Kenya about reparation and renewal" earned the British Pavilion a Special Mention from the jury. The Pavilion displays an extraction-defined architecture that leads to degradation of the environment and inequity. The Venice Fellowships Programme is a noteworthy project for knowledge exchange between Venice, Great Britain, and Kenya. The jury also highlights attempts to envision a new relationship between architecture and geology.Room 2: “Rift Room,” Cave_bureau, Owen Hokins and Kathryn Yusoff. Installation view, GBR - Geology of Britannic Repair, British Pavilion, 19th International Architecture Exhibition of La Biennale di Venezia, 2025"We are hugely honoured that GBR – Geology of Britannic Repair has been recognised by the jury. The exhibition creates a vital space for dialogue and collaboration between our two countries that builds on their difficult, traumatic and deeply unbalanced past relationship, to imagine different possible futures," said curators Kabage Karanja, Stella Mutegi, Owen Hopkins and Kathryn Yusoff. "Architecture has a unique capacity to further repair, renewal and restitution and we are delighted that this message has so resonated for the jury. We have already been overwhelmed by the visitor response to the exhibition, and we hope it will continue to challenge and inspire those who visit over the coming months," the curators added.Room 2: “Rift Room,” Cave_bureau, Owen Hokins and Kathryn Yusoff. Installation view, GBR - Geology of Britannic Repair, British Pavilion, 19th International Architecture Exhibition of La Biennale di Venezia, 2025"The British Council, the curators and I are honoured to be awarded a Special Mention by the jury of the 19th International Architecture Exhibition and we would like to extend our thanks to the jury and La Biennale di Venezia," Sevra Davis, Director of Architecture Design and Fashion at the British Council and Commissioner of the British Pavilion."GBR – Geology of Britannic Repair confronts difficult conversations of the role played by architecture in extractive relations while also creating opportunities for hope, optimism and joy.""I am immensely proud of the curators and our partners for their work on this historic collaboration between the UK and Kenya which celebrates connection between the two countries - in line with our mission of building understanding and trust between people in the UK and countries worldwide," Davis added.Room 5: “Lumumba’s Grave,” Dr Thandi Loewenson. Installation view, GBR - Geology of Britannic Repair, British Pavilion, 19th International Architecture Exhibition of La Biennale di Venezia, 2025Cave_bureau, Owen Hopkins and Kathryn Yusoff, Double Vision (detail). Installation view, GBR - Geology of Britannic Repair, British Pavilion, 19th International Architecture Exhibition of La Biennale di Venezia, 2025Room 5: “Lumumba’s Grave,” Dr Thandi Loewenson. Installation view, GBR - Geology of Britannic Repair, British Pavilion, 19th International Architecture Exhibition of La Biennale di Venezia, 2025Room 2: “Rift Room,” Cave_bureau, Owen Hokins and Kathryn Yusoff. Installation view, GBR - Geology of Britannic Repair, British Pavilion, 19th International Architecture Exhibition of La Biennale di Venezia, 2025Room 5: “Lumumba’s Grave,” Dr Thandi Loewenson. Installation view, GBR - Geology of Britannic Repair, British Pavilion, 19th International Architecture Exhibition of La Biennale di Venezia, 2025Room 1: “Earth Compass,” Cave_bureau, Owen Hopkins and Kathryn Yusoff. Installation view, GBR - Geology of Britannic Repair, British Pavilion, 19th International Architecture Exhibition of La Biennale di Venezia, 2025Cave_bureau, Owen Hopkins and Kathryn Yusoff, Double Vision (detail). Installation view, GBR - Geology of Britannic Repair, British Pavilion, 19th International Architecture Exhibition of La Biennale di Venezia, 2025Cave_bureau, Owen Hopkins and Kathryn Yusoff, Double Vision (detail). Installation view, GBR - Geology of Britannic Repair, British Pavilion, 19th International Architecture Exhibition of La Biennale di Venezia, 2025Room 3: “Objects of repair” - Palestine Regeneration Team/PART (Yara Sharif, Nasser Golzari, Murray Fraser). Installation view, GBR - Geology of Britannic Repair, British Pavilion, 19th International Architecture Exhibition of La Biennale di Venezia, 2025Room 3: “Objects of repair” - Palestine Regeneration Team/PART (Yara Sharif, Nasser Golzari, Murray Fraser). Installation view, GBR - Geology of Britannic Repair, British Pavilion, 19th International Architecture Exhibition of La Biennale di Venezia, 2025Room 6: “Vena Cava,” Mae Ling Lokko and Gustavo Crembil. Installation view, GBR - Geology of Britannic Repair, British Pavilion, 19th International Architecture Exhibition of La Biennale di Venezia, 2025Room 4: “Shimoni Slave Cave,” Cave_bureau with Phil Ayres and Jack Young, Centre for Biohybrid Architecture at the Royal Danish Academy. Installation view, GBR - Geology of Britannic Repair, British Pavilion, 19th International Architecture Exhibition of La Biennale di Venezia, 2025Room 4: “Shimoni Slave Cave,” Cave_bureau with Phil Ayres and Jack Young, Centre for Biohybrid Architecture at the Royal Danish Academy. Installation view, GBR - Geology of Britannic Repair, British Pavilion, 19th International Architecture Exhibition of La Biennale di Venezia, 2025Room 4: “Shimoni Slave Cave,” Cave_bureau with Phil Ayres and Jack Young, Centre for Biohybrid Architecture at the Royal Danish Academy. Installation view, GBR - Geology of Britannic Repair, British Pavilion, 19th International Architecture Exhibition of La Biennale di Venezia, 2025Room 1: “Earth Compass,” Cave_bureau, Owen Hopkins and Kathryn Yusoff. Installation view, GBR - Geology of Britannic Repair, British Pavilion, 19th International Architecture Exhibition of La Biennale di Venezia, 2025Room 1: “Earth Compass,” Cave_bureau, Owen Hopkins and Kathryn Yusoff. Installation view, GBR - Geology of Britannic Repair, British Pavilion, 19th International Architecture Exhibition of La Biennale di Venezia, 2025Room 1: “Earth Compass,” Cave_bureau, Owen Hopkins and Kathryn Yusoff. Installation view, GBR - Geology of Britannic Repair, British Pavilion, 19th International Architecture Exhibition of La Biennale di Venezia, 2025Additionally, at the 18th International Architecture Exhibition in 2023, the British Pavilion received a Special Mention for Dancing Before the Moon. Since 1937, the British Council has been the organizer of the British Pavilion, which features the top UK artists, architects, designers, and curators in the International Art and Architecture Exhibitions of La Biennale di Venezia.The British Pavilion serves as a significant forum for conversation about modern art and architecture thanks to these exhibitions and the British Council's Venice Fellowships program, which was launched in 2016.GBR – Geology of Britannic Repair can be visited at the Venice Architecture Biennale 2025 which runs from Saturday 10 May to Sunday 23 November 2025.Find out all exhibition news on WAC's Venice Architecture Biennale page. Exhibition factsTitle: GBR – Geology of Britannic RepairCommissioner: Sevra Davis British Council; Curators: Owen Hopkins, Kathryn Yusoff, Kabage Karanja, Stella Mutegi; Exhibitors: cave_bureau, Palestine Regeneration Team (PART), Mae Ling Lokko & Gustavo Crembil, Thandi Loewenson; Venue: GiardiniThe exhibition will run from Saturday 10 May to Sunday 23 November 2025The British Pavilion is commissioned and managed by British Council Architecture.The top image in the article: Cave_bureau, Owen Hopkins and Kathryn Yusoff, Double Vision. Installation view, GBR - Geology of Britannic Repair, British Pavilion, 19th International Architecture Exhibition of La Biennale di Venezia, 2025. All images © Chris Lane, British Council.> via The British Pavilion

Rewilding, Rigour and Radical Care: Practice Visits in CopenhagenCopenhagen’s architecture is generous to the public realm and Copenhagen’s architects were even more so to us. Day two began at the shared office space of Johansen Skovsted Arkitekter, Djernes & Bell and Kim Lenschow, over coffee and Baku pastries. In this collaborative, little ecosystem of a workplace, the three practices share lunch, end-of-year parties and knowledge – a testament to the collaborative nature that ran through all of the practices we visited. Johansen Skovsted’s extensive experience in architectural reuse, landscape rewilding and rewetting offered a fascinating approach to working within existing ecological systems and utilising architecture to improve components of that as opposed to reworking the entire structure of the landscape. It’s an approach that can inform our work in various remote Indigenous communities in Australia, where we should be looking for smaller-scale solutions that support existing social, cultural, and environmental systems, rather than attempting to rebuild them. As Djernes & Bell director Justine Bell reminded us, that is not the role of the architect.Bell remarked that the architect’s role in this work lies in our professional expertise in land use, existing structures, storytelling and the synergy in communicating potential futures – how landscapes can look and how buildings can feel. Their rigour in material testing and resource-mapping encouraged vigorous conversation around climactic materiality, vernacular architecture and construction methods. Bell, a South African architect, noted that both Australia and South Africa often look to Europe for answers, when, in fact, more relevant ideas are emerging from home. As many Australian architects grapple  with integrating colonial vernaculars with Indigenous knowledge systems, we can also look to vernacular architecture, not to overly romanticise it, but to understand and reinterpret these ideas through a contemporary lens. These kinds of projects rely on the humility of the architect to engage with experts in agriculture, biology, geology, rewetting and research.Through Copenhagen’s built environment principle of not building new, we’ve come to understand – through the lens of these architectural practitioners – the idea of making what is necessary with what is available. The labour involved in reusing existing buildings, conducting material research and constructing the architecture that has been redefining Copenhagen for the past decade reflects the same care that continues to be invested in a building throughout its life span.“Buildings that have included the most labour are taken care of the most,” said Bell. I’ve seen this ethos at work first-hand in my own work in regional and remote communities in Australia. When communities are involved in the design – through consultation, iterative design and revalidating form translation – and in the construction – by engaging local builders, sub-contractors, suppliers, ongoing contracts, the buildings are valued as more than just structure and form. They become  part of the system of the community: spatially, economically and culturally. The post DST Day 2 – Marni Reti appeared first on Australian Institute of Architects.