Nestled in the South End of Boston, this brownstone had all the modern amenities that the homeowner was looking for, but lacked the storage and décor that would match our client's taste and lifestyle. The homeowner wanted to keep the style of the apartment contemporary, but also wanted to weave in their art collection and family heirlooms for a more transitional blend.
With an open plan on the first floor, LDa created areas for three defined spaces: kitchen, living and dining. Navy blue, rust, cream and white colored hues tie together each space making them feel unified in concept but separate in functionality. To add storage and architectural detail, we designed a modern-styled media wall with flat cabinetry which doubles as a bookshelf and coat closet, tucked snugly under the staircase. A new stair railing features a wood railing which speaks the mix of modern and traditional nature of the house. In the kitchen, traditional paneled cabinetry is complemented by modern appliances, lighting and hardware. Upstairs, the rooms are quieter and cozier, with a calm monochromatic palette, but still featuring unique touches such as embroidered wallpaper in the master bedroom, and custom built-ins. After infusing the classic architecture with the more stylish décor, the result is a sleek and sophisticated space that exudes warmth and light.


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It's hardly a secret that video games and esports are at an all-time high at the moment – last month, we got one hell of a lot of new additions to our gaming libraries. There were so many new releases lately it's hard to even keep track of them all. Most new releases lately have been on console.
Thankfully, someone other than us has kept track of things for us. The list of Top Grossing games this last month might surprise you a little – on PC, Dungeon Fighter Online, League of Legends, Crossfire, Fantasy Westward Journey Online II and Fortnite led the charge. The titles on this list aren't new releases but games that have been around for some time and are still selling quite well.
Popular titles like PUBG, CoD: Black Ops 4, Assassin's Creed Odyssey and the like are on the list too, but much further down. On Mobile, there are some interesting names as well – the top five are Honour of Kings, Pokemon Go, QQ Speed, Candy Crush Saga and Monster Strike.
Given that not too long ago it seemed like Pokemon Go was quite dead, it's refreshing to see it make a recovery. Games like Clash Royale, Clash of Clans and similar titles did well too…just not quite as well as these five. On consoles – and arguably, the best recent releases were on console – things are not quite so surprising.
CoD: Black Ops 4 leads the charge, followed, unsurprisingly, by Red Dead Redemption 2, Fortnite, Fifa 19 and Assassin's Creed Odyssey. Further down the list are the new Spider-Man, CoD: WWII and Forza Horizon 4. The two top titles here both did spectacularly well.
Particularly amazing on that list is of course, Red Dead Redemption 2. In less than a week, the game sold 4 million digital units. Roughly 67% of them were bought on the PS4 – the game is actually headed for a pretty impressive record: If sales keep going as they have (which seems likely), the game is going to have the strongest-ever quarter of digital console sales.
That's no small feat, especially given that the game had plenty of competition around its launch-date. It's not the only title to achieve something amazing though – Fortnite's revenue was 20 times higher than it was in October last year. Despite that, it's still not as high as it has been – July this year, the game hit its peak.
Overall, global consumers spent a stunning $1.53 billion on digital console games alone. With the holidays coming up and Black Friday deals starting early, it's not very surprising that taken year-over-year, console downloads are up by 80%, setting an all-time record.
The biggest factors in this epic increase were three games in particular – first and foremost Red Dead Redemption 2, Fortnite and CoD: Black Ops 4. This October was a milestone for digital games downloads – for the first time ever, they exceeded $1 billion in one month…and exceeded it by half that!
Esports are up high, down under in Australia!


What did you notice about the people that were not paying attention?
This flag is on the right side of the screen and I want to see how it handles wrapping. Looks like it worked well.
Here is a bike that is yellow!
Question on filling in blanks!


It's been quite a week for George Metzger, the young Basingstoke & North Hants wicketkeeper, whose maiden Premier Division century coincided with his selection for the South & West team to play in next week's English Schools' CA Bunbury Under-15 Festival at Stowe School.
Unable to make Basingstoke's trip to Ventnor, Metzger instead played for the Hampshire Academy and notched a debut making 109 in the 164-run thrashing of New Milton.
Metzger, pictured left by Neil Smith, will be joined at the Bunbury Festival by Fletcha Middleton (who won the batting prize at last year's tournament) and left-arm all-rounder Tom South.


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New phenolic compounds oleokoronol, oleomissional and ligstrodial have been found specifically in Koroneiki and Mission extra virgin olive oils: http://www.oliveoiltimes.com/olive-oil-basics/olive-oil-varieties/new-phenolic-compounds-found-in-evoo/51475. This is exciting news given that phenolic compounds present in olive oil act as strong antioxidants and free radical scavengers. It is currently known that olive oil is a source of at least 30 phenolic compounds, the major ones being oleuropein, hydroxytyrosol and tyrosol, which are postulated to contribute to the lower incidence of coronary heart disease, as well as prostate and colon cancers in the Mediterranean diet. It will be interesting to see in future studies the role of these new phenolic compounds in the prevention of such diseases.


text:
A path forward for global 5G Wireless
Whenever technologists and engineers come together to form an alliance, heads of state and diplomats have been known to crash the party. But if they spend all next year arguing with each other, these engineers could wrap up plans for 5G while no one else is looking.
By Scott Fulton III | January 10, 2020 -- 13:00 GMT (05:00 PST) | Topic: 5G
Rays of hope for global 5G Wireless Scott Fulton explains a colossal win for the Conservative Party in the UK and how the continuation of trade talks between the US and China bode well for the prospects that the world's telcos will implement a single, global 5G communications system. Scott Fulton explains why keeping everyone talking helps the manufacturers of small-scale transmitters to keep their prices low. Read more: https://zd.net/2TbpjCr
The 5G Wireless portfolio of standards is essentially complete, with stakeholders approving key enhancements last week to the physical layers of 5G New Radio for the upcoming 3GPP Release 17, and a new round of refreshes scheduled for the following June. In many countries, including the US, 5G mobile service is being rolled out for the first time from 4G LTE radio towers, upgraded for transmissions at multiple frequency bands -- not the highest mmWave scale, although still greater bandwidth. Meanwhile, some cities are also beginning to see the first signs of smaller, lower-power transmitters installed atop light posts and existing telephone poles.
Yet for many telcos in North America and Europe, the big Christmas gift arrived early: On Dec. 12, the Conservative Party won a decisive majority of the UK's parliamentary seats, keeping Prime Minister Boris Johnson in power, and effectively assuring that the United Kingdom will leave the European Union on Jan. 31, 2020, with a deal between them.
"We will get Brexit done on time by the 31st of January, no ifs, no buts, no maybes," remarked PM Johnson on his victory, "leaving the European Union as one United Kingdom, taking back control of our laws, borders, money, our trade, immigration system, delivering on the democratic mandate of the people."
It wasn't so much that the opposition Labour Party was necessarily bad for 5G. The Conservative win forestalls an economic rift between the divorcing factions that could force 5G stakeholders to divide, leading to separate evolutionary paths for future wireless technology iterations.
Almost immediately upon the swearing-in and seating of new MPs, and Conservatives officially regaining control of the House of Commons, Parliament voted 358 to 234 to approve the EU (Withdrawal Agreement) Bill (complete with parentheses). For eleven months following the withdrawal date, the UK will retain its membership in the EU's customs union, as well as the European "single market." This means trade restrictions and tariffs between the UK and other EU member nations will remain waived. Should the early talks bear fruit and both sides agree, they could extend this interim period for as long as two more years. The World Trade Organization will not need to step in to mitigate disputes.
Cradle of the revolution
The man who will lead Europe's side of these negotiations, France's Michel Barnier, told the Web Summit in Lisbon last November he believes the fate of these negotiations will determine whether Europe as a whole continues to have a voice in any economic or technological negotiations in the foreseeable future.
Courtesy European Commission
"In late-18th century England, James Watt developed the steam engine," remarked Barnier. "The dynamic he created soon spread to Belgium, France, and Germany, and Europe became the cradle of the First Industrial Revolution. Today in the 21st century, the US and China are in the lead. If we in Europe do not act now, the future of our industry, jobs, personal data, and ethical standards will be made in Washington and Beijing."
One of the Prime Minister's top priorities for 2020, according to his office, will be his country's stance toward China's Huawei -- the world's No. 1 producer of telecommunications equipment, Finland's Nokia being No. 2 and Sweden's Ericsson being No. 3. Mr. Johnson's government had an opportunity to reach a final policy decision on Huawei earlier in the year, but instead tasked its Culture Secretary, Nicky Morgan, with announcing a delay of that decision until after the Dec. 12 election.
In the interim, Ms. Morgan found her position elevated to the House of Lords. Nevertheless, it appears she will be retained in her cabinet role at least temporarily, perhaps for a mere few weeks. During that time, perhaps in early January, she may announce whether the newly empowered Conservative government will follow the US' lead in excluding Huawei from its 5G network buildout plan.
UK Culture Minister Nicky Morgan
Last Dec. 4, pivoting from his earlier position supporting such an exclusion, Mr. Johnson indicated he may be willing to bend in favor of Huawei. The BBC quotes him as having told a press conference, "On Huawei and 5G, I don't want this country to be unnecessarily hostile to investment from overseas. On the other hand, we cannot prejudice our vital national security. Nor can we prejudice our ability to co-operate with other vital... security partners, and that will be the key criteria that informs our decision about Huawei."
The UK's most vital security partner, of course, is the US. On that same day, the US President indicated he had personally reached a deal with Italy to block Huawei's involvement with that country. For its part, Italy's minister of industry politely waited three weeks not only to effectively deny any such deal had been reached with the US but to officially open the door to Huawei's involvement in building out Italy's 5G networks -- putting Italy in alignment with France and Germany on that issue.
So Morgan will still have a difficult decision to make if indeed she makes it right away as anticipated. If she shuts Britain's doors to Huawei, she could send a signal to the European Commission that the UK is not interested in making trade deals on communications, or in leaving the infrastructure of the EU's "digital single market" whole and contiguous. (Barnier is on record as stating it's the EU's goal to retain the UK in the single market, admitting the value-add of Brexit in the first place has never been adequately explained to him.)
But if Morgan leaves the door open a crack for Huawei, as Johnson did in early December, then the issue can remain a discussion item during the transition phase. That discussion could still, of course, break down or encounter a logjam. However, if these talks continue exhibiting the behavior patterns they've shown up to now, the most likely time such a collapse could occur is in the latter part of 2020, near when this phase is scheduled to conclude.
By that time, 3GPP will likely have already ratified the extensions to 5G's physical network layers to account for more channels and greater bandwidth. New transmitters built for deployment in some of the more challenging areas of the world -- such as the Balkans, India, Pakistan, and middle Africa -- would already have their specifications set in stone. Even if the Huawei rift were to expand after that time, its effects on wireless and mobile technologies wouldn't be felt until the time 3GPP is setting aside for what would have been called "6G."
Now, the wrench being thrown into these deliberations comes not from the US but, in a stunning surprise, from Germany. In comments to a cybersecurity conference last November, German Defense Minister Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer stated it remains in the best interest of Germany to prevent access to its national infrastructure by foreign powers. If such a block could not be guaranteed, the minister said, "one has to ban Huawei from the procedure, just like other countries have done." This after, just the previous month, government officials sustained their previous findings that no single vendor should be excluded from the country's "security catalog," in the interest of fair competition.
So the UK is not the only deliberator here weighing the political and technological ramifications of both sides of this issue. As long as governments' final choices remain up in the air, though, it's good news for standards groups such as 3GPP, and 5G's various stakeholders, which can continue building their standards and deployment agendas on-schedule.
Slicing and dicing
In his Web Summit speech, France's Barnier cited one critical element of his ongoing negotiations with the UK: Ensuring continued EU funding of projects that included the UK when they were originally launched. The EU government currently sanctions and funds the 5G Public Private Partnership (5G PPP), which has already contributed to 5G portfolio development. 2020 is due to be the year when that partnership begins deploying Phase 3, which the European Commission describes as "an end-to-end 5G experimental network infrastructure."
Europe's original pre-Brexit plan for 5G deployment.
"This new high-performance network," according to 5G PPP, "will be operated via a scalable management framework enabling fast deployment of novel applications, including sensor-based applications, with reduction of the network management OpEx by at least 20 percent compared to today."
One of the technologies involved in this phase will very likely be Matilda, an experimental standard for implementing network slicing at the NFV level. For the smaller telcos in the world to be able to accommodate all the technologies that 5G entails, they will need a reliable, secure, and legal way to achieve network slicing -- dividing cloud data center infrastructure into inviolable segments. Telcos could simply lease those virtual segments from data center providers, or agree to jointly manage their facilities, rather than build, own, and operate every cubic centimeter of space such data centers would occupy -- along with all the power they would need to consume, or even produce for themselves.
How 5G Will Transform Business
5G will be popularized via telecom carriers and the marketing of wire-cutting services, but the biggest impact and returns will come from connecting the Internet of things, edge computing and analytics infrastructure with minimal latency.
"Matilda aims to devise and realize a radical shift in the development of software for 5G-ready applications," writes 5G PPP, "as well as virtual and physical network functions and network services, through the adoption of a unified programmability model, the definition of proper abstractions and the creation of an open development environment that may be used by application as well as network functions developers."
For many telcos and communications firms, and even startups seeking to become such firms, network slicing is the key to their entire future. If this doesn't work out, regardless of what happens on the radio access and transmitter front, 5G will not happen.
Certainly, no country is more invested in the success of Matilda than the UK. A demonstration of the gains made during 5G PPP's Phase 2, including high-speed 5G millimeter-wave (mmWave), network-aware applications that can be deployed in stadiums and public events (5G-PICTURE), involving stakeholders throughout Europe, remains scheduled for Bristol's Ashton Gate Stadium next March. That project was launched with EU funding and is overseen by appointees of the European Commission (EC). Providing hardware and expertise for that demo will be Bristol-based Blu Wireless.
Had the Conservatives lost the election, and Parliament remained hung (without a clear majority), or had Labour won the majority of seats and its leader, Jeremy Corbyn, rejected the Brexit deal on the table as he indicated he would last October, the whole stadium-based network slicing demo might have been called off. Without a deal, the EC might have withdrawn support for the project until it could have been renegotiated separately -- an extremely unlikely event.
The sun rises in the East
"You can't do 5G without collaboration with all the industry players," remarked Paul Scanlan, Huawei's CTO for its carrier business. "It just doesn't work."
In a ballroom of the Savoy Hotel in London last Dec. 3, Huawei held an event called the Trust in Tech Symposium. Speakers at that event, including Scanlan, helped Huawei stage its most dramatic defense to date, making the case that without any technology vendor's direct participation in the final outcome, the whole standard falls apart.
"We need a different type of regulatory framework -- I'll call it an 'appropriate' regulatory framework -- to vow to encourage operators to invest this way, and encourage collaboration. Because otherwise, it won't happen. And the reason it doesn't happen is because. . . you've got to change your DNA. You've got to change your mindset. You've got to look at things in a different way. And that's not what's being done, generally, across the industry."
It is far from the first time we've heard a technology vendor plea for fairness from those who would seek to regulate it, by means of a brain transplant or, at least, a partial lobotomy (see: "Facebook"). If we change the way we think about things -- for example, by not thinking about them -- then we see the world in a whole new light, or at least in a different shade of darkness.
But Scanlan's plea may not have fallen on deaf ears, or has often been the case, on no ears at all. PM Johnson's statement cracking the door open for Huawei was made the very next day.
Days later, the US and China reached, at the very least, an agreement to seek an agreement. Although the US administration touted such a deal had been made, sending stock values higher, Chinese officials later denied the deal had been actually signed. The US President later denied that Chinese officials had made the statement, attempting to cast doubt on the authenticity of a video made by the Chinese government of its own press conference, and condemning The Wall Street Journal for evidently conjuring the video from the voluminous ether. =The Associated Press, however, has reported on terms of the agreement, signed or not. US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer, a real person, told the AP that China had agreed to purchase a record $40 billion annually in agricultural products.
Ostensibly, the primary element of this trade deal centers on farm products and does not even mention 5G, mobile products maker ZTE, or Huawei explicitly. But as long as China holds out the hope of greater agricultural purchases, the US appears to hold out hope of removing Chinese communications companies from the FCC's "entity blacklist," which could take place as a result of Phase Two talks, or even a later round.
The longer that hope can be extended, the greater the window of opportunity Huawei has for retaining its stake in 5G standards. And if the first implementations of 5G NR rollouts proceed worldwide, with Huawei being perceived to play fairly -- without leaving open exploitable backdoors to countries' telecommunications infrastructure -- the less likely the chances of damage to any 5G vendor's implementation plans, perhaps as late as 2026, should Huawei be prohibited from participating later.
It's a ray of hope for the holidays. Enjoy it while it lasts.
What is 5G? The definitive guide to next-generation wireless technology
5G hackers: These eight groups will try to break into the networks of tomorrow
These five tech trends will dominate 2020
Why all the 6G wireless talk before we even have 5G? (ZDNet YouTube)
5G: Your Next Big Upgrade (CNET)
5G mobile networks: A cheat sheet (TechRepublic)
Government - UK
More from Scott Fulton III
5 ways technology progressed us in 10 years: The story so far
Down an invisible road: Service mesh's unpaved path to practicality
IBM paid $34B for this: Where Red Hat is taking OpenShift
The 10 best smartphones of 2020: 5G powers the top contender
With last month's 5G network rollout we had to give a capable 5G smartphone the top spot. Stay tuned for many more 5G-capable phones during the year -- with a shakeup of this list coming ...
Middle East tech's biggest trends in 2019? Startups, 5G – and internet shutdowns
It was the year of unicorn sales, the launch of 5G, and enthusiasm for e-commerce, amid government crackdowns.
After all the help Apple gets from the Trump White House on trade, the US President has called on Cupertino to unlock the phone, presumably as some form of quid pro quo. ...
Samsung acquires TeleWorld Solutions to bolster 5G network support
TWS specializes in radio frequency and network design services, as well as installation, testing, and optimization services.
Thanks to a handful of pictures that leaked over the weekend, we now have a better idea of what to expect from Samsung's next flagship phone.
Telstra hit 100,000 5G devices using its network
Australian telco now has 800 sites capable of serving up 5G.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


The findings of the Global Military Support in Service (SIS) Platforms Market Assessment research service indicate that despite the financial crisis, the military SIS market is relatively immune to austerity measures, which were implemented in many countries across the globe. However, due to economic constraints, Western countries prefer to finance military platform life extension/modernisation programs, which do not only provide more financial flexibility than new platform procurements, but also bridge a technological gap between current and future platform enhanced capabilities. From military end users' point of view, the defence platform modernisation seems to be the way forward at lesser costs than new platforms acquisition for the next decade.


text:
Triodia lanigera är en gräsart som beskrevs av Karel Domin. Triodia lanigera ingår i släktet Triodia och familjen gräs. Inga underarter finns listade i Catalogue of Life.

Källor

Gräs
lanigera

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


The number of individuals in a population will increase and decrease due to natural and human factors. Natural fluctuations in population size occur due to factors such as food availability and the number of predators.
Humans can cause population sizes to change by introducing invasive species, hunting or changing the environment. A healthy ecosystem, with high biodiversity is important in helping reduce the effects of these factors on a particular species.
Density-dependent factors have varying impacts according to population size. Different species populations in the same ecosystem will be affected differently. Factors include: food availability, predator density and disease risk.
Density-independent factors are not influenced by a species population size. All species populations in the same ecosystem will be similarly affected, regardless of population size. Factors include: weather, climate and natural disasters.
High biodiversity can help to stabilise an ecosystem and reduce the overall impact of density-dependent and density-independent factors. Biodiversity is a measure of the difference between the living organisms within an ecosystem.
With many endemic species and a great range of wildlife, Galapagos has a high level of biodiversity. This is due to the number of very different habitat zones found in Galapagos, and also due to more acute environmental differences between the habitats of each island.
Biodiversity is an important factor in ensuring a healthy ecosystem. For example, an ecosystem with a wide range of producers will provide the primary consumers with a stable and varied food supply. Each species also plays a unique role in servicing the ecosystem, ensuring that it operates smoothly. Ecosystems with a high level of biodiversity are more able to recover from disasters, whether natural or man-made (anthropogenic).
A fluctuation in the size of one species population can impact on other species within the ecosystem. A species that will have a large impact on the ecosystem is known as a keystone species. The more biodiverse an ecosystem, the less vulnerable it will be to fluctuation in keystone species populations.
The Galapagos giant tortoise is a keystone species and its population has declined as a result of human activity. During the 18th and 19th centuries, whaling ships would stop at the Galapagos Islands and hunt giant tortoises to feed their crew.
Giant tortoises continued to be targeted as the Islands' settlements expanded and the human demand for food increased. Their population was estimated to be around 250,000 in the 1500s, when they were first discovered. However, a 1974 census recorded just 3,060. Research suggests that 13,000 giant tortoises were taken from the Islands between 1831 and 1868 by whaling crews.
The decline of the Galapagos giant tortoise population impacted on Galapagos ecosystems. Even plant and animal species directly unaffected by human activity began to experience great population change.
Galapagos giant tortoises shape their habitats by grazing on plants, dispersing plant seeds and trampling areas of vegetation. They therefore play an important role in germinating seeds, as well as in thinning out and opening up new areas of ground for different types of vegetation to grow.
Without the giant tortoises constantly changing the environment, a few fast-growing plant species could dominate a much less biodiverse ecosystem.


text:
Q: React Native, from ListView to FlatList I want to do an app with React native and firebase, with a feed. With new posts, modified posts, and infinite scroll. After trying with no success to do it with FlatList, I managed to do it with ListView :
<ListView
      automaticallyAdjustContentInsets={false}
      initialListSize={1}
      dataSource={this.state.dataSource}
      renderRow={this.renderItem}
      renderFooter={this.renderFooter}
      onEndReached={this.onEndReached}
      onEndReachedThreshold={1}
/>

with
ComponentDidMount() { firebase.database().ref(`/posts/${this.props.auth.group}`)
.limitToLast(this.state.counter)on('value', async snapshot => {
   if (snapshot.val()) {
     this.setState({
       dataSource:
       this.state.dataSource.cloneWithRows(_.reverse(_.toArray(snapshot.val()))) })
   }

and
onEndReached = () => {
   this.setState({ counter: this.state.counter + 7 });
   this.setState({ isLoading: true });
   firebase.database().ref(`/posts/${this.props.auth.group}`).off();

  firebase.database().ref(`/posts/${this.props.auth.group}`).orderByChild('updatedAt').limitToLast(this.state.counter+7).on('value',
 (snapshot) => {
   if (snapshot.val()) {
     this.setState({ isEmpty: false });
     this.setState({
       dataSource: this.state.dataSource.cloneWithRows(_.reverse(_.toArray(snapshot.val()))),
     });
   }
  }
}

Is it possible to do the same thing with FlatList?
I don't succeed to update the this.data (which I give to flatList) correctly without making all the posts rerender (and blink) and getting the new posts updated at the same time.

A: You can achieve the same with the extraData prop of FlatList.
https://facebook.github.io/react-native/docs/0.56/flatlist#extradata

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


text:
Studio Bell, National Music Centre
Allied Works Architecture
Studio Bell National Music Centre EN
Calgary || Canada
Edited By Allied Works Architecture - 13 February 2017
Allied Works Architecture | North America | Cultural | Glass | Reinforced Concrete | Steel | Terracotta | Terracotta cladding | Glazed Façade | Reinforced Concrete Structure | Steel Structure | Canada | Calgary | Jeremy Bittermann |
Clyfford Still Museum: Architecture that Enhances Art | The Clyfford Still Museum | A cedar box of surprises | Clyfford Still Museum | National Veterans Memorial and Museum |
In October 2016, the National Music Centre (NMC) of Canada celebrates the completion of Studio Bell, its new home and the latest cultural project designed by Allied Works Architecture (AWA), winning of the architectural competition sponsored by the NMC itself. The new, state-of-the-art cultural center is at once a performance hall, recording facility, broadcast studio, live music venue and museum—the first facility of its kind in North America and the first to be dedicated to music in Canada in all of its forms. Located in Calgary, Alberta, at the site of the legendary blues club in the historic King Edward Hotel, Studio Bell connects visitors with Canada's rich musical history through live performances, exhibitions, and interactive education programs.
Local audiences have been able to preview the new center through a phased launch of exhibitions and programs beginning in July, culminating in the institution's programmatic and architectural completion this month.
Marking Allied Works' most ambitious building project to date, Studio Bell rises in nine, interlocking towers, clad in glazed terra cotta. Its subtly curved design references acoustic vessels, while allowing for sweeping views of the Stampede Park, Bow River and surrounding cityscape. The project encompasses 160,000-square-feet of new construction, including a 300-seat performance hall and 22,000-square-feet of exhibition space.
The masonry building of the "King Eddy" has been fully refurbished and integrated within the NMC's program in Studio Bell's west block, which features a radio station, recording studios, media center, Artists-in-Residence spaces, and education classrooms.
"The design for Studio Bell has been a truly collaborative process, and it has been thrilling to see our vision come to life," said NMC President and CEO Andrew Mosker. "With the completion of Studio Bell, the NMC is poised to become one of Canada's most significant national institutions, inspiring new generations of musicians and music lovers and catalyzing the redevelopment Calgary's East Village as a core urban district."
"In its many diverse spaces, Studio Bell echoes the variety of musical performance," said AWA Principal Brad Cloepfil. "Uniting audience and performer, student and teacher, the building creates instances of immersion, when the visitor is transported from daily life, and moments of transition between spaces, providing an opportunity for quiet contemplation. In our designs, we seek to create transformational spaces. For the National Music Centre, Studio Bell's nine towers are modeled by gravity and acoustics, and together create a silent and powerful instrument that emanates music and light."
Entering Studio Bell's East Block, visitors are welcomed into a central lobby that opens upward through the building's five levels. In the lobby, interactive exhibitions and live performances provide visitors with an introduction to the building's many resources. Two helical staircases flank the lobby and fill the interstitial space between the towers. The main performance hall overlooks the lobby from the second floor, and serves as the building's programmatic and structural center. With flexible seating and a movable acoustic wall, the 4,000-square-foot, 300-seat space can be closed for more intimate performances or opened fully to the lobby and circulation spaces to fill the entire building with music.
Exhibition galleries—called "stages" to reflect NMC's music festival–themed visitor experience—are spread across Studio Bell's five floors, showcasing highlights from NMC's collection of over 2,000 musical instruments, artifacts, and artist memorabilia, which span more than 450 years of technology and innovation. Each stage is envisioned as a place for interaction, appreciation and performance, where Canada's music story—past, present and future—can be further explored, encouraging visitors to engage in an ever-evolving discussion around music. Between each is a pause of space that allows the visitor to reflect and reconnect to the building and prepare for the next encounter.
Visitors begin their journey on the first floor with Canada Music Square, a live music performance space and a drop-in zone, where digital interactives provide an overview of the center's attractions. The iconic Rolling Stones Mobile recording studio, a seminal and iconic piece of music technology, is situated in the buildings' West Block and will be activated as part of the Centre's artist residency program.
The second floor of Studio Bell is a mosaic of Canada's music history and identity, and a celebration of the country's diversity. Including the groundbreaking stories that have defined music in Canada—stories about inventors, industry pioneers, broadcasters, musicians and more—this level illustrates how Canada's identity is reflected through music.
Using both interactive elements and collection highlights, the third level stages explore the physiological and emotional dimensions of music and its power to affect our mood and environment. The fourth floor offers visitors opportunities to play different instruments through a range of interactive displays—where professional or novice music-makers can create.
Ascending to the fifth floor, visitors arrive at "The Cloud" lounge, an open space that invites reflection and offers stunning views of the interior space. The fifth floor is also home to the Canadian Music Hall of Fame, the Canadian Country Music Hall of Fame Collection, and the Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame. To the east, a large special exhibition space can be adapted to house traveling exhibits, workshops, and group performances. To the west, the East Village Skybridge spans 4th Avenue SE and connects back to the King Edward Hotel, binding the institution together.
Client: National Music Centre of Canada
Gross Floor Area: 14,865 m2
Architects: Allied Works Architecture
Design Principal: Brad Cloepfil
Principal in Charge: Kyle Lommen
Project Manager: Chelsea Grassinger
Project Architect: Dan Koch
Design Team: Daniel Richmond, Brent Linden, Kyle Caldwell, Björn Nelson, Thea von Geldern, Philip Balsinger, Emily Kappes, Keith Alnwick, Brock Hinze
General Contractor: Cana Construction
Structural: Read Jones Christoffersen
Civil: D.A. Watt Consulting
Mechanical: Stantec Consulting
Electrical: SMP Engineering
Lighting: Arup
Landscape: Carson McCulloch Associates
Exhibit Design: Haley Sharpe Design
Theater: Fischer Dachs Associates (FDA)
Sustainability: MMM Group
Cost Estimator: AECOM
Steel Structure: Walters
Exterior Cladding: Thermal Systems
Glass: Ferguson
Doors: Ferguson, Pella
Interior Finishes: Mantei Woodcraft, StoneTile, Interface, Camino, Kaswell, Heavy Industries
Elevators: Fujitec Elevators
Photography: © Jeremy Bittermann
Allied Works Architecture | North America | Cultural | Glass | Reinforced Concrete | Steel | Terracotta | Terracotta cladding | Glazed Façade | Reinforced Concrete Structure | Steel Structure | Canada | Calgary | Jeremy Bittermann | Allied Works Architecture |


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Katy Perry reaches out to Taylor Swift
When asked in a Twitter Q&A if she would work with Taylor, Katy replied: 'If she says sorry, sure!'
FILE: Katy Perry. Picture: AFP.
BANG Showbiz | 1955 days ago
LONDON - Katy Perry has held out an olive branch to her rival Taylor Swift by announcing she will collaborate with the singer if she "says sorry".
The Dark Horse hitmaker seems happy to end her ongoing feud with the Blank Space singer and has held out an olive branch by announcing that there is a chance they could work together in the future.
When asked in a Twitter Q&A if she would work with Taylor, Katy replied: "If she says sorry, sure!"
However, the 31-year-old star's family are less positive about the chance of a peace offering as Katy's father previously claimed her feud with Taylor "ain't over yet".
Mary said: "Katy released Rise. It says, 'My feet have been put to the fire but I will rise.' That's what she's about right now."
Whilst Keith added: "You know it ain't over yet."
Katy and Taylor's spat was highlighted recently when the I Knew You Were Trouble hitmaker's ex-boyfriend Calvin Harris slammed the singer in a rant.
In a series of tweets, he wrote: "Hurtful to me at this point that her and her team would go so far out of their way to try and make ME look bad at this stage though. I figure if you're happy in your new relationship you should focus on that instead of trying to tear your ex bf down for something to do
"I know you're off tour and you need someone new to try and bury like Katy ETC but I'm not that guy, sorry. I won't allow it. Please focus on the positive aspects of YOUR life because you've earned a great one. God bless everyone have a beautiful day (sic)".
Katy and Taylor have had an ongoing feud ever since the 26-year-old star claimed the Unconditionally singer nicked three of her backing dancers from her RED tour in 2012.
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