Tag Archives: April 2024

Los Angeles Design: Tour Of A ‘Modern Bungalow’

The Local Project (April 30, 2024): For an architects own home, Mark Motonaga, homeowner and creative director at RIOS pulled together a range of design elements that makes his home feel safe yet joyous. Located in Los Angeles, Modern Bungalow was once an original single-family residence.

Video timeline: 00:00 – Introduction to the Architects Own Home 00:41 – The Original Vision 01:35 – A Walkthrough of the Home 02:22 – Designing Your Own Home 03:32 – Ideating the Backyard Landscape 04:12 – Proud Aspects

From the start of the project, the architect envisioned a modern home that could fit the scale of the original structure while reimagining what a bungalow could be. By creating a jungle-like refuge in the back of the house, RIOS has established a juxtaposition to living in a city.

To do this, the architect reversed the typical bungalow layout by putting the public spaces at the rear of the house and the private spaces to the front. Moreover, featured in the backyard is a pool, which is different to the traditional backyard pools often designed in the city.

Built to feel like people were swimming in a pond, it is complemented with a jungle-inspired garden that grows right up to the edge. At the beginning of the house tour, two large grey doors open up to a side courtyard referred to as the home’s foyer.

News: Hamas Delegation In Cairo For Ceasefire Talks, Greece ‘Iron Dome’

The Globalist (April 30, 2024): Egypt and Qatar flex their mediator muscles as a Hamas delegation arrives in Cairo for ceasefire talks, Greece pledges €2bn to build its own ‘Iron Dome’, Germany’s far-right is on trial and we hear about the continuation of Ukraine’s global relief programme despite the ongoing war.

Plus: newspapers, aviation news and Madonnamania takes over Brazil.

News: Israel-Hamas Cease Fire Talks, Africa Heads Of State Summit In Nairobi

The Globalist (April 29, 2024): Hannah McCarthy joins us to discuss the latest from Gaza. Also in the programme: Tara O’Connor explores the IDA for Africa Heads of State Summit in Nairobi, where leaders are meeting to discuss the continent’s financing and security.

Also in the programme: we speak to Sebastian Conran, designer in residence at Habitat, as the company celebrates its 60th anniversary. Plus: a flick through the day’s papers.

Design: ‘Border Street’ Tour, Byron Bay, Australia

The Local Project (April 26, 2024): Nestled on the beach in one of Australia’s most serene coastal enclaves, Border Street is an expensive home and eloquent response to the pristine Byron Bay environment where it resides. Artfully conceived by Workroom, the residence shuts out the rest of the world in its contemplation of place, form and materials.

Video timeline: 00:00 – Introduction to Byron Bay’s Most Expensive Home 01:00 – A Unique Location 01:35 – A Walkthrough of the Home 02:23 – Framing the Surrounding Landscape 03:01 – The Opportunities and Constraints of the Site 04:16 – The Material Palette 05:22 – Workroom’s Design Approach

“I like the sense of calm that you feel when you walk into the house; it’s not busy, it’s not loud, it’s not contrived either – it’s very relaxed,” says John Bornas, architect and creative director at Workroom. Perched on a dune hugging a rainforest that falls straight onto Belongil Beach in Byron Bay, the expensive home taps into Byron Bay’s breezy state of slumber without neglecting a sense of refinement. From the street, the house is concealed by a series of screens. “The idea was to try and create a sense of wonder; you don’t really know what’s going on behind that screen,” notes John.

Walking through the front gate, there is a substantial walk to the front door, allowing one to really experience the landscape the home is set in, rather than “just simply walking through a front door,” says John. One then enters the main living and dining areas, which are bounded by the pavilions that open up to the dune and the rainforest. As with many expensive homes, designing it was not without challenges.

News: Dutch PM Mark Rutte Meets Erdogan In Istanbul, Lufthansa CEO

The Globalist (April 26, 2024): Monocle’s Hannah Lucinda Smith on Mark Rutte’s visit to Istanbul to meet Recep Tayyip Erdogan as he seeks to woo support to become the next Nato chief.

Also in the programme: Ed Stocker sits down with Lufthansa CEO Jens Ritter as the airline prepares to launch its new premium cabins known as Allegris. Plus: we discuss why the Indian city of Bengaluru is offering incentives for those who head to the polls and the latest news in film.

Research Preview: Science Magazine – April 26, 2024

Science Magazine – April 25, 2024: The new issue features ‘Born to Explore’ – Exploratory tendency leads to diversification; Can science address loneliness?; Vitamin D, microbiota, and cancer immunity; A safer version of a 140-year-old chemical reaction…

Microbes and vitamin D aid immunotherapy

Vitamin D modulates intestinal epithelial cell function to enhance antitumor microbes

The gut microbiome has been shown to modulate the response of cancer patients to therapy, but precisely how microbiota affect anticancer immunity is still being elucidated. Giampazolias et al. report that vitamin D bioavailability in mice influences the composition of the gut microbiome (see the Perspective by Franco and McCoy). After dietary manipulation, vitamin D levels were observed to affect gut bacteria, which in turn improved cancer immunotherapy and antitumor immunity. In humans, low vitamin D levels were correlated with tumor development, and gene signatures of vitamin D activity were associated with improved patient responses to immunotherapy. These findings highlight the connection between vitamin D and the immune system through gut bacteria and may have applications for improving cancer therapies.

The power of curiosity

Lake Tanganyika contains one of the most impressive adaptive radiations, with about 250 species of cichlid occupying a variety of niches. Much research has focused on understanding the drivers of this and other adaptive radiations. Trembo et al. looked in depth at 57 of these cichlid species with regard to their behavior, ecomorphology, and genomics. They found that one behavior in particular, a tendency to explore, was related to niche adaptation, and they identified a regulatory gene that is highly associated with this behavior. These findings suggest the existence of an adaptive syndrome driven in part by a tendency to explore what is new.

The Economist Magazine – April 27, 2024 Preview

How strong is India’s economy?

The Economist Magazine (April 25, 2024): The latest issue features ‘How Strong is India’s Economy?’; Campus Clashes and the Democrats; Where next in the Tech Wars; Ukraine – What $61bn will buy and Has Taylor Swift peaked?….

How strong is India’s economy?

Brechrit: another bad Tory idea

Why leaving the ECHR would be a bad idea for Britain

Where next in the tech wars?

America, China and the battle for supremacy

San Marino, Russia and spies

Intelligence sources are concerned about the country, which is surrounded by Italy

Has Taylor Swift peaked?

The musician is at the height of her commercial, but not her creative, power

Read full edition

Tour: Frank Lloyd Wright Architecture In Phoenix

Architectural Digest (April 24, 2024) – Today, AD travels to Phoenix, Arizona, to tour the David and Gladys Wright house—the home designed by architect Frank Lloyd Wright for his son.

When your father is America’s most celebrated architect, the greatest gift he could give you is a house, and this unique home uses many of the same ideas Lloyd Wright incorporated in the design of the Guggenheim Museum. The spiral structures, often symbolizing the infinite or longevity, are poetic, as David and his wife Gladys lived to be over 100 years old in this house.

After many years of neglect and threats of demolition, father-and-daughter duo Bing and Amanda Hu bought the house and have since been on a mission to restore it to its former glory, keeping its legacy alive.

News: Blinken Visits China; Gaza Humanitarian Crisis; Haiti Crisis ‘Catastrophic’

The Globalist (April 25, 2024): We discuss the state of relations between the world’s two most powerful countries as US secretary of state Antony Blinken visits China.

Plus: the current humanitarian situation in Gaza, the UN warns that the crisis in Haiti is “catastrophic” and Spanish-language music sweeps global charts.

Research Preview: Nature Magazine – April 25, 2024

Volume 628 Issue 8009

Nature Magazine – April 24, 2024: The latest issue cover features ‘ Switching Channels’ – Organoids and assembloids offer model way to test potential therapy for Timothy syndrome…

Detectors deep in South Pole ice pin down elusive tau neutrino

Antarctic observatory gathers the first clear evidence of mysterious subatomic particles from space.

A spa session for humpback whales

The gigantic animals have worked out an unusual way to exfoliate — a perfect way to deal with whale lice.

This water bottle purifies your drink with energy from your steps

Static electricity generated by the foot striking the ground can be captured to kill pathogens.

Burnt remains of Maya royalty mark a dramatic power shift

Finds in pyramid at Guatemalan site suggest that remains were disinterred and desecrated in a public ritual.