This week, the UK foreign secretary suggested a bridge across the English Channel

This week on Dezeen, UK foreign secretary Boris Johnson revealed his plans for a bridge linking England and France.

The Conservative MP – who staunchly campaigned for the UK to leave the European Union during the divisive 2016 referendum – proposed building a “Boris bridge” across the English Channel, and has reportedly gained the approval of French president Emmanuel Macron.

Johnson tweeted: “I’m especially pleased we are establishing a panel of experts to look at major projects together.”

BIG unveils scheme to protect San Francisco creek from flooding

Meanwhile, Bjarke Ingels’ studio BIG released a proposal aimed at preventing flooding in San Francisco, which includes the construction of floating villages connected by ferries, a red-hued cycle route, and a highway for autonomous vehicles.

Council saves Herzog & de Meuron’s Chelsea football stadium from neighbours’ injunction

In West London, Chelsea FC’s new stadium got the green light for construction after the local council blocked an injunction put forward by local residents

Across the city, residents of the Cityscape complex in Croydon were told they would have to foot a £2 million bill to replace building’s cladding, despite it failing combustibility testing put in place following the Grenfell Tower fire.

Shigeru Ban to build “pagoda in the park” as his first UK building

Japanese architect Shigeru Ban’s first project in the UK also received planning permission this week.

The five-storey house, which will be a collaboration with cross-laminated-timber expert Waugh Thistleton, is set to be built near London’s River Thames.

Stefano Boeri designs first tree-covered social-housing project

Elsewhere, Italian architect Stefano Boeri presented designs for the first use of his vertical forest model on a social housing project, proposed for Eindhoven.

Never far from the headlines, Apple outlined plans for another US campus away from its recently completed headquarters in Cupertino, as part of a major investment and recruitment strategy.

Sebastian Herkner creates confectionery-inspired glass tables for Pulpo

IMM Cologne opened this week, and Dezeen’s coverage from the international interiors show included a collection of modular rugs that can be folded into furniture, and confectionery inspired glass tables by Sebastian Herkner.

Emmanuelle Moureaux’s rainbow-hued installation seemingly changes colour

Popular projects on Dezeen this week included stackable micro homes in Hong Kong, a rainbow-hued installation made from over 100,000 paper number cut-outs and a 19-square metre flat in London.

The post This week, the UK foreign secretary suggested a bridge across the English Channel appeared first on Dezeen.

Leth & Gori converts Copenhagen chapel into cancer-care facility with colourful painted joinery

Leth & Gori has transformed a 19th-century chapel in Copenhagen into an activity centre for cancer patients, using a material palette influenced by the building’s original painted ceiling.

Leth & Gori converts Copenhagen chapel into cancer-care facility featuring colourful painted joinery

The studio headed by architects Uffe Leth and Karsten Gori was tasked with transforming the chapel into a facility called the Elephant House, which is operated by the Copenhagen Centre for Cancer and Health.

The chapel dates from the 1880s and is located alongside the centre’s main building, which was designed by Nord Architects and completed in 2009.

Leth & Gori converts Copenhagen chapel into cancer-care facility featuring colourful painted joinery

The Elephant House functions as an annex of the main facility. It provides spaces for rehabilitation activities and functions including fitness and training, mindfulness, yoga, discussion groups and events.

The focus of the architectural project was on updating the existing spaces to suit their new purposes, while retaining the character of the existing building.

Leth & Gori converts Copenhagen chapel into cancer-care facility featuring colourful painted joinery

“The transformation of the former chapel seeks a new spatial design that carefully embraces the cancer patients with daylight, warmth, authentic materials and details, in celebration of the craftsmanship and original qualities of the historic building,” said the architects.

Following a detailed consultation with future users, staff and the centre’s directors, the studio devised a strategy for reorganising the building’s interior.

Leth & Gori converts Copenhagen chapel into cancer-care facility featuring colourful painted joinery

The chapel’s nave is now the main training hall, which was updated by introducing a timber portal frame that incorporates bench seating between its pillars.

The chancel was transformed into a workshop space lined with deep plywood shelves. A glazed door opens from this space onto a garden to the rear of the building.

Leth & Gori converts Copenhagen chapel into cancer-care facility featuring colourful painted joinery

Transepts to the east and west of the nave now contain kitchens, changing rooms, toilets and another workshop, all of which references the original building in their material palette.

In particular, the hues of the chapel’s decorative wooden ceilings are translated into fitted joinery and hardware including dark-red lacquered radiators, blue-painted doors and black handles.

Leth & Gori converts Copenhagen chapel into cancer-care facility featuring colourful painted joinery

New glazed doors and a window looking out from the nave towards the adjacent building allow plenty of daylight to reach the interior. These elements are painted a traditional shade of green that contrasts with the red brick facades.

A wooden staircase ascends to a first floor containing a meeting room and a second training hall, where the original painted ceiling beams are visible.

Leth & Gori converts Copenhagen chapel into cancer-care facility featuring colourful painted joinery

The use of chalkstone blocks for newly constructed walls and terrazzo for flooring in the kitchens and workshop areas encapsulates the sympathetic approach applied throughout the building’s renovation.

“We believe in the value of a thoughtful and careful transformation of the existing buildings,” said Leth and Gori. “Straightforward and robust solutions, which are beautiful for many years to come.”

Leth & Gori converts Copenhagen chapel into cancer-care facility featuring colourful painted joinery

The pair formed their studio in 2007 and have previously worked on an extension to a bungalow comprising a cluster of asphalt-clad pods and a house featuring a low-maintenance interior lined with clay and plywood surfaces.

The post Leth & Gori converts Copenhagen chapel into cancer-care facility with colourful painted joinery appeared first on Dezeen.

'Tomb Raider' Official Trailer #2

Warner Bros. Pictures just released the second sneak peek at Tomb Raider, an upcoming 2018 action-adventure film based on the 2013 reboot of the Tomb Raider video game franchise. The film stars Alicia Vikander (as Lara Croft), Walton Goggins, Daniel Wu, Hannah John-Kamen, Dominic West, and Nick Frost, and is scheduled to raid theaters on March 16th, 2018.”Lara Croft, the fiercely independent daughter of a missing adventurer, must push herself beyond her limits when she finds herself on the island where her father disappeared.”..(Read…)

The Best Fails of the Week

Fail Army presents a cringe-causing compilation of the best and funniest fail videos that hit the Internet during the third week of January 2018…(Read…)

A portable wall socket, essentially!

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Power banks are great, without them I’d be lost. Literally. The amount of times I go camping and run out of battery is insane. I used to laugh at the idea of more is better, but in Jackery’s case, this might be true. Having just recently released the Jackery PowerBar High Capacity Portable Charger, I can’t help but think this ‘brick’ would be perfect so any outdoor trip or even weekend trip that will have you on the move all-day everyday.

I say that because the Jackery PowerBar comes with a handy AC wall outlet and a powerful 20,800mAh battery. It comes with a USB C, QC3.0, and 5V/2.4A three USB outputs. Believed to power iPhone and Samsung smartphones up to 10 times, provides 1.2 charges to a MacBook Air 12″ and up to 70% charge on a MacBook Pro 15″ with the use of the AC outlet. Named the PowerBar, this thing should be called “The Beast” due to its insane charging ability, not only that, but the Iron/Grey color gives off a badass look while the rugged industrial look shows it’s ready for business.

Designer: Jackery

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ListenUp: Laurie Anderson + Kronos Quartet: The Water Rises / Our Street Is a Black River

Laurie Anderson + Kronos Quartet: The Water Rises / Our Street Is a Black River


The second release from Laurie Anderson and Kronos Quartet’s forthcoming collaborative album Landfall, “The Water Rises / Our Street Is a Black River” is a video featuring two back-to-back tracks. The album marks a first collaboration from the two……

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L'Abri renovates Montreal home with slatted timber floors and walls

Canadian build-design studio L’Abri has outfitted a home in Montreal with thin slats of wood that create floorboards on the upper level and form a partition in the foyer.

Rivard by L’Abri

The Rivard project involved turning apartments in an early 1900s property into a contemporary single-family home. The layout is reconfigured with a centralised living space that covers the entire ground floor, with a back terrace and car port.

“The original bunk apartments, largely partitioned, give way to a spacious modern residence,” said L’Abri.

Rivard by L’Abri

The interiors are characterised by their original high ceilings and new windows throughout. Walls and cabinets are white, with concrete floors adding to the bare aesthetic.

L’Abri redesigned the space with a focus on “maximising open spaces, spatial cleansing and finesse of detail”.

Rivard by L’Abri

The front door is designed with a large glazed portion and is surrounded by other windows. It opens onto a foyer, created between a small bathroom in front, and a slatted timber partition with a built-in bench to the right.

Rivard by L’Abri

A living room is located on the other side of the screen, and flows in a fully white kitchen with a central island. In the rear, an outdoor patio is accessed from a minimally decorated dining area, where built-in cabinetry matches that found in the kitchen.

Rivard by L’Abri

This main living space spans the length of the house, from street to back terrace, and features a handful of large windows that flood the pared-down interiors with light.

A newly designed staircase, constructed of light wood with white rails, leads to the upper floor.

Rivard by L’Abri

Here, the hallway is covered in slatted timber flooring to form a footbridge, which filters light from a large skylight down through to the kitchen below.

Rivard by L’Abri

The master suite, two bedrooms and a detached bathroom complete the first level. The master bedroom has 10-foot-high (three-metre) ceilings that follow the roofline, as well as a small balcony that overlooks the street.

A external spiral staircase connects the back yard, the upper-floor hallway, and a roof deck with an outdoor dining table.

Rivard by L’Abri

The residence is located in Plateau-Mont-Royal, a tree-lined area of Montreal that is dotted with quaint townhouses, popular cafes and bars, and small galleries.

Recent interior renovation projects elsewhere in the city include a single-family home from the 1950s with updated surfaces inside and out, a light-filled townhouse with a slated metal staircase, and commercial space transformed into a family home with pink and teal accents.

Rivard by L’Abri

Also based in Montreal, L’Abri comprises a four-person team of Francis Labrecque, Francis Pelletier, Nicolas Lapierre and Jennifer Tu-Anh Phan. The studio has previously completed a two-storey timber house for a young carpenter in rural Quebec.

Photography is by Jack Jerome.

The post L’Abri renovates Montreal home with slatted timber floors and walls appeared first on Dezeen.

My word, Motorola!

Motorola has been the phone of my youth! I’ll never forget the days of flipping open my Motorola Razr and the level of excitement that I would get was second to none. That was then, so what now? The Livermorium Moto Z Keyboard Mod might just bring some feelings of nostalgia back, maybe even start their own memories for users now.

Avoiding the annoyance of currently having to sacrifice half of the screen to the keyboard interface, this keyboard mod makes texting a whole lot easier. Additionally, you can adjust the angle of the keyboard to make it more comfortable in your hands. If the screen just isn’t bright enough for you, it even comes with a backlight that you can turn off.

Slim, discrete and practical, this Moto Z Mod may just be what the doctor ordered. In a world where phones are being manufactured to have fewer buttons, fewer openings and conforming to the less is more way of life (literally), it’s nice to see a change in the tide now and then.

Designer: Livermorium

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Link About It: We Are Evolving Away From The Y Chromosome

We Are Evolving Away From The Y Chromosome


Aside from the “master switch gene,” SRY, the Y chromosome (only found in men) contains very few other genes. And it’s the only chromosome not necessary for life. Right now, it’s in a state of degeneration, shriveling up for males. This degeneration……

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Link About It: Cancer Survivors Turn Radiation Masks To Art

Cancer Survivors Turn Radiation Masks To Art


According to Artsy, groups across the United States (and other nations) have taken radiation masks—mesh pieces molded to patents’ faces in advance of chemotherapy for head and neck cancer—and turned them into art. The groups are composed of artists……

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