#Daylight Turkish Series

[turkish-dramas]

Daylight (Donence) Tv Series Cast

[turkishcelebritynews]

Daylight (Donence) Tv Series

[bluebeetle]

Two interesting things i found out today

An armenian man once killed one of the people behind the armenian genocide in broad daylight, let himself get arrested for it, and then used the court case to talk about the horrors of the genocide and show that the turkish man had it coming. The court found him not guilty after an hour and he lived a long life after that, while the group he worked for killed multiple other people who committed the genocide.

There is a danish stop motion childrens show (and book series) about a man with a really long prehensile penis named John Dillarmand (lit. John Penisman)

[sfarticles]

Kick the can — try these homemade soups to warm the soul Celebrate National Soup Month with these delicious recipes

Check out my latest column https://www.timesherald.com/2023/01/28/kick-the-can-try-these-homemade-soups-to-warm-the-soul/

Turkish Tomato, Bulgar, and Red Pepper Soup. A sprinkle of fresh mint gives the soup a final punch of flavor. For this recipe, please visit https://bit.ly/2QfmFde (Photo Credit: America’s Test Kitchen)

The holidays are over, and winter has set in. The good news is, we will see a couple of minutes of more daylight with each passing day.

My cold-winter night, quick dinner-go-to, is a piping hot and steamy bowl of soup. I imagine January’s cold weather is why it is National Soup Month. I thought back to childhood days when I would eat a bowl of Alphabet soup, trying to find all the letters in the alphabet. I bet some of you did this too! Today, I have a repertoire of favorites I tend to make again and again, but not from a can. Soup is so comforting, and a favorite for many.  Years ago, in a column I wrote for another publication, the most popular restaurant recipe requests that I received from readers were for soup. The red lentil soup served at the Turkish Kebab House in West Haven, CT was requested by many people. It is one of my favorites. The recipe is below for you to prepare and enjoy.

I’m always on the lookout for recipes to add to my standards. Every country, culture and family have their traditions. Mine? My grandmother’s matzo ball, mushroom and barley and her split pea soups. To this day – they are in my repertoire, her borscht, not so much.

There is a diner I stop at in New York’s Hudson Valley, purposely for their Manhattan clam chowder which appears on the menu every other Friday. They alternate with New England style, another favorite for so many.

Some of you might have an affinity for tomato soup from the iconic red and white can! By the way, it was John T. Dorrance who worked as a chemist, before he became president of Campbell Soup, and went on to invent condensed soup. His invention allowed the can to be smaller and sold at a lower price, since the shipping costs were lower. Just add a can of water at home.

Can you pass the “Soup 101” test?

• What is the name for beet soup?

• What is the name of the fish stew created in Marseilles, France?

• Where did Mulligatawny soup originate?

What soup is Cajun, popular in New Orleans, and made with meat, seafood and vegetables often served over rice?

• What artist produced pictures of soup cans?

• What is the Japanese soup made with fermented bean paste?

• What is the French word for a restaurant’s featured daily soup?

• What is the name of the book series where each title contains the word soup?

• What is the most popular soup variety in the United States?

Answers: Borscht, Bouillabaisse, India, Gumbo, Andy Warhol, Miso, soup du jour, Chicken Soup for the Soul, chicken noodle

It is the perfect time to celebrate National Soup Month.  So, get out the biggest pot you have, and to add to your repertoire of soups, pick up a copy of “Cook’s Illustrated All Time Best Soups,” by the editors at America’s Test Kitchen (2016, $22.95) The latter three recipes below are from the book.

After reading the it, you will realize that making a kettle of soup isn’t difficult. Their tips are helpful. You might have wondered why many recipes say to use a sturdy pot. It transfers heat evenly and prevents scorching. The editors give pot recommendations.  You’ll learn how to: sauté the aromatics, choose a good stock if you don’t make your own, cut the vegetables the right way, and learn why to simmer and not boil.

When I make soup, I make quite a bit. The section on storing, freezing, thawing, and reheating soup provides helpful ideas. Here is a hint for creamy soups and soups that have a pasta component that won’t freeze well. This works if you are making the soup in advance and immediately freeze it. “The dairy curdles as it freezes, and the pasta turns bloated and mushy. Instead, make and freeze the soup without the dairy or pasta component included. After you have thawed the soup and it has been heated through, either stir in the uncooked pasta and simmer until just tender or stir in the dairy and continue to heat gently until hot (do not let it boil).”

There are chapters on:

“Weeknight Workhorses” such as chicken and ramen, easy black bean with chorizo, and Turkish tomato, bulgar, and red pepper soup. For the latter recipe, visit https://bit.ly/2QfmFde

Soups from around the world: Matzo ball, Italian Wedding Soup, Russian style beef and cabbage, Thai-style chicken soup

Chowders: New England Clam; Manhattan, lobster and corn, celeriac, fennel, and apple

Modern vegetable soups: super greens soup with lemon tarragon cream, hearty cabbage soup, artichoke soup a la barigoule

Elegant purees: creamy cauliflower, sweet potato, and the recipe below for creamless creamy tomato soup

Rustic bean soups: Tuscan white bean, Moroccan-style chickpea, black bean with chipotle chiles

Stocks and broths: classic chicken stock, beef bone broth, vegetable broth base

Turkish Kebab House Restaurant Red Lentil Soup — The red lentil soup served at the Turkish Kebab House in West Haven, CT was requested by many readers in a column I wrote many years ago. It is one of my favorites. (Photo by Stephen Fries)

Turkish Kebab House Red Lentil Soup

1 pound                    red lentils

1 medium                 carrot, shredded

2 medium                 onions, chopped

9 cups                        water, divided

3 tablespoons          olive oil

1 tablespoon           butter

2 tablespoons          flour

1 tablespoon           tomato paste

¾ tablespoon           dried mint

¼ tablespoon           salt

¼ tablespoon           pepper

Lemon wedges

Put lentils, carrot onions and 4 ½ cups water in a large pot and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low until lentils are cooked. Put aside.

In a second pot, put olive oil and butter over high heat until butter is melted. Lower heat to medium and add flour tomato paste and mint, salt and pepper. Mix well.  Add 4 ½ cups water and bring to a boil.  Add the boiled lentil mixture to the pot and return to a boil.  Reduce to medium-low heat and cook for 20 minutes.  Continue to stir so soup does not become too thick.  Serves 6-8. Serve with lemon wedges for squeezing into soup.

Creamless Creamy Tomato Soup. A warm bowl of tomato soup brings out the kid in all of us. (Photo Credit: America’s Test Kitchen)

Creamless Creamy Tomato Soup

The headnote says: “Why This Recipe Works: A warm bowl of tomato soup brings out the kid in all of us. Our homemade version satisfies a grown-up palate with its creamy texture and fresh taste. We wanted a tomato soup that would have velvety smoothness and a bright tomato taste—without flavor-dulling cream. We started with canned tomatoes for their convenience and year-round availability. Sautéing an onion in olive oil ramped up the sweet notes of the tomatoes and a little brown sugar balanced the tomatoes’ acidity. A surprise ingredient—slices of crustless white bread torn into pieces and blended into the soup—helped give our tomato soup luxurious body without adding cream. Make sure to purchase canned whole tomatoes in juice, not in puree. If half of the soup fills your blender by more than two-thirds, process the soup in three batches. For an even smoother soup, pass the pureed mixture through a fine-mesh strainer after blending it. Serve with Classic Croutons (a crouton recipe provided in book).”

¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil, plus extra for serving

1 onion, chopped fine

3 garlic cloves, minced

1 bay leaf

Pinch red pepper flakes (optional)

2 (28-ounce) cans whole peeled tomatoes

3 slices hearty white sandwich bread, crusts removed, torn into 1-inch pieces

1 tablespoon packed brown sugar

2 cups chicken or vegetable broth

2 tablespoons brandy (optional)

Salt and pepper

¼ cup minced fresh chives

Heat 2 tablespoons oil in Dutch oven over medium-high heat until shimmering. Add onion, garlic, bay leaf, and pepper flakes, if using. Cook, stirring often, until onion is translucent, 3 to 5 minutes. Stir in tomatoes and their juice. Using potato masher, mash until no pieces bigger than 2 inches remain. Stir in bread and sugar and bring soup to boil. Reduce heat to medium and cook, stirring occasionally, until bread is completely saturated and starts to break down, about 5 minutes. Discard bay leaf.

Transfer half of soup to blender. Add 1 tablespoon oil and puree until soup is smooth and creamy, 2 to 3 minutes. Transfer to large bowl and repeat with remaining soup and remaining 1 tablespoon oil. Return pureed soup to clean pot. Stir in broth and brandy, if using. Return soup to boil and season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve, sprinkling individual bowls with chives and drizzling with oil. Serves 6 to 8

Manhattan Clam Chowder – This recipe uses more clams and homemade clam broth to balance the strong flavor of the tomatoes and other vegetables. (Photo Credit: America’s Test Kitchen)

Manhattan Clam Chowder

The headnote says: “Why This Recipe Works…Our Manhattan clam chowder is head and shoulders above most versions because it has a briny bivalve taste right up front. This soup has a reputation for being boring because it’s usually more about the tomatoes than the clams. Our secret? We use lots more clams and homemade clam broth to balance the strong flavor of the tomatoes and other vegetables. Medium-size hard-shell clams provided both the flavor for the broth and the clam meat for the chowder. We opted for canned diced tomatoes to let the clams take center stage. Smashing some of the tender potatoes released more of their starch and helped thicken the broth. When reheating, do not boil the chowder or it will toughen the clams. Use a Dutch oven or stockpot that holds 6 quarts or more and has a tight-fitting lid for this recipe.”

4 cups water

8 pounds medium hard-shell clams, such as cherrystones, scrubbed

2 slices thick-cut bacon, cut into ¼-inch pieces

1 large onion, chopped fine

1 small red bell pepper, stemmed, seeded, and chopped fine

1 carrot, peeled and chopped fine

1 celery rib, chopped fine

4 garlic cloves, minced

1 teaspoon dried oregano

½ cup dry white wine

1¼ pounds Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled and cut into ¼-inch pieces

1 (8-ounce) bottle clam juice

1 large bay leaf

2 (14.5-ounce) cans diced tomatoes

Salt and pepper

2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

Bring water to boil in Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add clams, cover, and cook for 5 minutes. Stir clams thoroughly and continue to cook, covered, until they begin to open, 2 to 7 minutes. As clams open, transfer them to large bowl and let cool slightly. Discard any unopened clams. Measure out and reserve 5 cups clam steaming liquid, avoiding any gritty sediment that has settled on bottom of pot. (If broth measures less than 5 cups, add enough water to equal 5 cups.) Open clams with paring knife, holding clams over bowl to catch any juices. Using knife, sever muscle that attaches clambelly to shell and transfer meat to cutting board. Discard shells. Cut clams into ½-inch pieces; set aside.

Clean now-empty Dutch oven, add bacon, and cook over medium heat until crisp, 5 to 7 minutes. Add onion, bell pepper, carrot, and celery. Reduce heat to low, cover, and cook until softened, about 10 minutes. Add garlic and oregano and sauté until fragrant, about 1 minute.

Add wine and increase heat to high. Boil wine until it reduces by half, 2 to 3 minutes. Add potatoes, clam juice, bay leaf, and reserved clam broth. Bring to boil, reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer until potatoes are almost tender, 8 to 10 minutes. Using wooden spoon, smash a few potatoes against side of pot. Simmer to release potato starch, about 2 minutes.

Add tomatoes and their juice, return to simmer, and cook for 5 minutes. Off heat, stir in reserved clams and season with salt and pepper to taste; discard bay leaf. Stir in parsley and serve. Serves 8.

To Make Ahead: Prepare recipe up through discarding bay leaf in step 4 and refrigerate for up to 2 days. To reheat, warm over low heat until hot then stir in parsley just before serving.

Thai-Style Chicken Soup – With this recipe in your arsenal, you can enjoy the addictive flavors of Thai soup any time, not just when dining out. (Photo Credit: America’s Test Kitchen)

Thai-Style Chicken Soup

The headnote says: “Why This Recipe Works…With this recipe in your arsenal, you can enjoy the addictive flavors of Thai soup any time, not just when dining out. For an authentic-tasting Thai chicken soup without all the hard-to-find ingredients, we began by making a rich base with chicken broth and coconut milk. Thai curry paste from the supermarket was an easy substitution for the assortment of obscure ingredients like makrut lime leaves, galangal, and bird chiles used in from-scratch recipes. Pungent fish sauce and tart lime juice contributed the salty and sour flavors. Although we prefer the deeper, richer flavor of regular coconut milk, light coconut milk can be substituted for one or both cans. The fresh lemon grass can be omitted, but the soup will lack some complexity; don’t be tempted to use jarred or dried lemon grass, as both have characterless flavor. If you want a spicier soup, add more red curry paste to taste. To make the chicken easier to slice, freeze it for 15 minutes.

1 teaspoon vegetable oil

3 stalks lemon grass, bottom 5 inches only, minced

3 large shallots, chopped coarse

8 sprigs fresh cilantro, chopped, plus whole leaves for serving

3 tablespoons fish sauce

4 cups chicken broth

2 (13.5-ounce) cans coconut milk

1 tablespoon sugar

8 ounces white mushrooms, trimmed and sliced thin

1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts, trimmed, halved lengthwise, and sliced ¼ inch thick

3 tablespoons lime juice (2 limes), plus wedges for serving

2 teaspoons Thai red curry paste

2 fresh Thai, serrano, or jalapeño chiles, stemmed, seeded, and sliced thin

2 scallions, sliced thin on bias

Heat oil in large saucepan over medium heat until shimmering. Add lemon grass, shallots, chopped cilantro sprigs, and 1 tablespoon fish sauce and cook, stirring often, until just softened but not browned, 2 to 5 minutes.

Stir in broth and 1 can coconut milk and bring to simmer. Cover, reduce heat to gentle simmer, and cook until flavors have blended, about 10 minutes. Strain broth through fine-mesh strainer. (Broth can be refrigerated for up to 1 day.)

Return strained broth to clean saucepan, stir in remaining can coconut milk and sugar, and bring to simmer. Stir in mushrooms and cook until just tender, 2 to 3 minutes. Stir in chicken and cook until no longer pink, 1 to 3 minutes.

Remove soup from heat. Whisk lime juice, curry paste, and remaining 2 tablespoons fish sauce together in bowl to dissolve curry, then stir mixture into soup. Ladle into bowls and sprinkle with cilantro leaves, chiles, and scallions. Serve with lime wedges. Serves 6.

Stephen Fries, is a newly retired professor and coordinator of the Hospitality Management Programs at Gateway Community College, in New Haven, CT. He has been a food and culinary travel columnist for the past 14 years and is co-founder of and host of “Worth Tasting,” a culinary walking tour of downtown New Haven, CT. He is a board member of the International Association of Culinary Professionals. Stephen@stephenfries.com For more, go to stephenfries.com.

[nev3rfound]

in another lifetime: part two - h.z / l.k

now stuck alone in 1896 you're left to navigate this version of new york. however, it isn't long until a familiar face offers aid. (1.9K)

masterlist / permanent taglist / etsy shop - requests open!

requested: part two was heavily requested so thank you for the support! warnings: elements of tfatws series and the alienist (so potential spoilers)

PART ONE / PART TWO / PART THREE / PART FOUR / PART FIVE / PART SIX

Riga, 2023

Aware of the silence through the walls of the apartment, Zemo takes the time he has alone to find the laptop hidden within the secret cupboard behind the Turkish delights.

As his hands grasp the heavy device, he blows the dust away and opens it up, thankful it is still functioning after the many years of absence.

Once it comes to life, he quickly gets to work, wanting to learn as much as he possibly can about the woman you became and the man you end up with, this strange Doctor Kreizler.

*

New York, 1896

The spiral of orange begins to reappear from the pit of darkness you've been falling through for god knows how long. Covering your face with your arms, you brace yourself for the impact that is about to hit.

With a heavy thud, you land on top of a pile of what seems to be rubbish which provides a slightly softer landing than the ground.

"Ow." You mutter, rolling off of the rubbish pile and lie on your back, still squinting at the bright daylight above you.

Slowly, you manage to sit upright. The sounds of people, horses, pigeons cooing above you all merge together as you rise unsteadily to your feet.

Grasping onto the wall, you look around. You're in an alleyway, that much is clear.

"It was improper, Margret!" Someone scoffs and looking up you sigh loudly at the sight of their dresses shortly followed by a carriage going by.

"1800's?" You question yourself, feeling your vision still blurring out of focus the closer you get to the entrance of the alleyway.

Standing tall, you can feel eyes watching you. Someone brushes past you with wide eyes. "Who let her out dressed like that?!" A gasp sounds from the lady in a period-appropriate dress finished with a handheld umbrella hooked on her forearm.

You'd visited the 1800's once when you were training with the Masters of Mystic Arts. No one noticed you that time, because you were hidden in the shadows, not intended to be seen. However, this time you don't have a choice nor a way out.

"She ought to be on Blackwell." A man comments, followed by a series of agreements from others as you remain still on the sidewalk, unsure where to begin.

Across the street, a carriage pulls up with a large man stepping down from the driver's seat.

Your curiosity peaks as one man exit the carriage, eyeing you immediately before motioning to his friend remaining behind the carriage doors.

"Laszlo, what an odd sight, don't you think?" The man with darker hair, a taller build and bright eyes motions to you as if you were unaware of his gaze.

Following John's view, Laszlo peers through the door ever so slightly, humming in response.

"Doctor" You breathe out, certain you've lost the plot. "Doctor," Stumbling over your muttered words, the man in question approaches you.

"Can I help you, madam?" The man asks, keeping his distance but keeps his eyes fixated on yours, choosing not to focus on your strange attire.

"Strange, Doctor," Your words trail off as you look up at his bright eyes. "I, I'm looking for a Doctor," Lifting your hand up, you wince at the wound on the back of your head- you must've hit your head harder than you anticipated during the fight with Emilie and the consequential fall.

Whilst John keeps a close watch on you, he too remains oblivious to the second man who had exited the carriage, holding onto a walking stick upon approaching you.

"Well, my name is Doctor Kreizler, some may think of me to be strange." He explains, running his hand over his groomed beard momentarily, noticing you stiffen when meeting his gaze.

"Many indeed do." John comments, smiling despite the disapproving glance from his friend.

Words fail to leave your lips as you blatantly stare at the Doctor in question. There wasn't a chance Zemo followed you here, you had saved him? "I'm sorry, you just, look like someone I kno- knew." You quickly correct yourself, wrapping your arms around your body feeling a chill spread through the air.

"Why don't you come with us?" Laszlo suggests, motioning over to his carriage where the large man stands beside the horses.

John spares Laszlo a glance of concern. "Are you sure that's wise, La-"

"I don't want to be a bother, Doctor. I can't imagine this is an everyday sight." You chuckle dryly, motioning to your attire as Laszlo nods curtly in response.

"But you are in need of a Doctor, yes?" He asks, noticing the blood on your fingertips from your concealed wound. Opening your mouth to respond, Laszlo simply nods before hearing your answer. "Well then, do join me in my carriage, Miss. Cyrus, take us back to the Institue please."

John simply looks over at you and motions for you to walk ahead of him, allowing you to catch up to Laszlo. "Doctor Kriezler, I do appreciate the sentiment, but I will be perfectly fine out here. I fear if I enter your institute you won't allow me to leave." You reason, leaning in the doorway of the carriage as Laszlo sits down, resting his walking stick by his side.

"There's something in your eyes, Miss," Laszlo starts, now leaning forward toward you. Even up close his resemblance to Zemo is uncanny, yet there is something softer behind his deep brown eyes. "you're lost, and I don't know where you came from, but I would like to provide you with assistance on how to get back." He explains calmly, hoping your hardened expression would soften, and to his joy it does.

"You promise you won't lock me up in the looney bin?" You step into the carriage, sitting opposite the Doctor.

"I can assure you, Miss." A smile tries to pull at his lips, but once again fails to fully form.

"It's Y/n, Doctor Kreizler., Y/n Y/l/n." You tell him, feeling the weight of the carriage adjust as John joins you both, taking the vacant seat next to you.

"Well, Y/n. This is John Moore, and please, call me Laszlo." Laszlo lifts his stick up and hits the ceiling of the carriage. Within seconds you stumble forward at the sudden movement before relaxing between the two men, wondering what on Earth you've gotten yourself into.

"I just have one last question, for now, Do- Laszlo." You speak up, feeling John's eyes on you before averting to Laszlo's once again. "What year is it?"

*

Closing the laptop lid, Zemo remains unphased by Bucky's presence on the other end of the open living room.

"Hello James," Zemo speaks up, leaning back as he lifts his whiskey glass to his lips.

"What're you doing, Zemo?" Bucky sternly questions, not daring to take a step closer.

Zemo lowers the glass to the table beside the laptop. "I was just researching about your friend," Your friend. Not his. "Seeing if there was anything about the life she had based on that newspaper Doctor Strange brought as a parting gift." He kept a close on Bucky's movements, noticing something flicker in the sea of blue of his gaze. "You must be curious about her. Aren't you, James?"

Pushing the laptop along the table, Zemo allows it to sit in the gap between the two of them.

Before Bucky can step forward, a voice calls out. "He's not." Sam announces, appearing in the room and marches over, taking the laptop, ignoring Zemo rising to his feet. "Because whatever it says about her, it won't matter once we figure out how to save her, alright?" Sam reminds them both, but moreso Bucky.

"Yeah," Bucky mutters. "I just want to know she's alright, Sam." He reasons quietly

"I can assure you, James, Y/n is perfectly content." Zemo states, which only further angers Bucky as he steps forward and throws Zemo's whiskey glass against the wall, his hot breath fanning on Zemo's face.

"Why're you doing this, Zemo? Did you forget the fact Y/n saved your ass?" Sam scoffs, but on the contrary, it is something Zemo cannot forget

"That is the reason why I am looking into her life, and this Doctor likewise." Zemo explains with a sigh. "She didn't deserve to sacrifice herself for me, I know this, Sam."

"So this is your way of making it up? That if you know she's happy you can carry on living just fine?" Bucky retorts, the metal plates in his arm beginning to whir at the clench of his fist.

Feeling his jaw tighten, Zemo tries to compose himself before facing the two before him once more. "I'll never be happy with this decision, Sam." He announces to their surprise. "I knew my fate was sealed the moment you helped me escape prison, but Y/n, she didn't deserve to have her life thrown into the balance like this."

"What do you mean, thrown into the balance?" Bucky picks up immediately, his eyes narrowing as he glances back to Sam.

"Zemo?" Sam speaks up, stepping closer whilst Zemo leans against the counter, gripping the sides tightly whilst avoiding eye contact. "Zemo, you better tell us what the hell you're on about or we'll get the Dora Mil-"

"Y/n is going to die." Zemo sadly states, now daring to lift his head up to meet your closest friends, possibly the only family you have left in the eyes.

"What?" Bucky breathes out, not wanting to believe it. "She, she can't, don't lie Zemo, not about this." He seethes, but Zemo nods his head with a frown forming on his face.

"In 1900, Y/n contracts Smallpox. She remains within Doctor Kreizlers care, but ultimately the virus consumes her." He didn't dare mention the relationship that is written between you and said Doctor.

Stumbling back, Bucky shakes his head. "We, we're saving her." He holds back tears that threaten the back of his eyes. "Y/n isn't allowed to die, not alone, not without her family by her side." He mutters before storming toward the staircase, unable to fight back his tears as he shuts the bedroom door behind him.

"You sure that's what it says?" Sam quietly asks, trying to remain calm whilst his heart begins to sink in his chest at the thought of you truly being gone.

It was one thing to lose you without saying goodbye, but he knew they could save you. But now, now there's a time restriction.

"Sadly yes, Sam." Zemo says. "I truly am sorry."

Sam just nods in response and waves the Baron off before taking his phone out and heads out from the apartment; leaving Zemo alone once more with his thoughts, with the never-ending guilt plaguing his conscience.

"We'll save you, Y/n." He whispers as he lifts the laptop lid up, seeing your bright smile illuminate the screen.

In the photograph displayed, you're standing beside your husband. One hand rests atop his shoulder, whilst the other resigns on your growing baby bump. "It'll all be okay again, I promise."

PART THREE

IALT SERIES TAGLIST: (if you would like to be tagged let me know!) @zemosbaroness @fillechatoyante @country-cowgirl-101 @kpopnena @telesynths @thebookisbtr @mybisexualheartbeatsforzemo

[ablegaming]

Cozy Grove accessibility review

Game title: Cozy Grove

Platform(s): Windows, Xbox One, iOS, Mac OS X, Playstation 4, Nintendo Switch

Languages: English, Arabic, simplified and traditional Chinese, Dutch, French, Italian, German, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, Turkish

Age rating: ESRB E10+, PEGI 3

Multiplayer: None

Genre/theme: Relaxing life-sim, collecting items, fishing, story progression, and helping others. Noticeably inspired by the Animal Crossing series, in Cozy Grove you play as a spirit scout who has washed ashore on a small haunted island. Thankfully the ghosts are all very nice cartoon animal spirits and aren’t the least bit frightening. Your task as a spirit scout is to help the ghosts out, as many of them are in a state of confusion, wanting, or are clinging to their past and are having trouble moving on. As you help the ghosts the island expands, giving you more land to explore and more ghosts to assist. You can also have various spirit pet companions on your island.

Violence: None

Maturity: No nudity, sexuality, swearing, or drug references. There are a couple brief references to drinking alcohol.

Difficulty modes: None

Complexity: Easy; can be enjoyed by gamers of all ages. Navigating and finding what you’re looking for in the Backpack, Badges, Quest Log, and Options menus is probably the most complex aspect, but isn’t too challenging.

Instructions, saving, story recap, menus, & waypoints: The initial tutorial is straightforward and easy to understand, and the game introduces you to a few new abilities over the first few days of playing. The heads-up-display at the bottom of the screen reminds you which button commands open each of the menus, as well as the button commands for throwing an item and running. Autosave is on by default, and saves often, this can be turned off in the Options menu. You can also save manually in the Options menu, choosing “Save and Continue” or “Save and return to Main Menu”.

Subtitles: Yes; relies entirely on subtitles.

Text customization: None. Text is medium-large, well-spaced, and clear to read. Character names and items are white text on a soft red background. Dialogue text and item information are black on a creme-colored window, and within the dialogue window the dialogue choices are white text on a blue-green background, with bright green signifying the currently selected choice. The heads-up-display button commands are white text on a dark gray background. The backpack and badges menu heading text is white on a light brown background, while the rest of the window is creme-colored. Inventory amounts are listed in light green text (I found this to be the most difficult text to read).

Voice acting: None

Volume settings: SFX volume, UI volume, and music volume can all be adjusted from 0–11.

Photosensitivity: At night the lanterns have a gentle flickering effect, and there is a small circle of light surrounding you that has a gentle flickering effect as well. Perpetual daylight can be turned on/off in the Options menu, allowing you to choose whether or not you want day and night cycles; there are generally less photosensitivity concerns with daytime lighting. Small bright-ish firefly sprites appear regularly during both daytime and nighttime. Rain appears as horizontally angled white streaks, this bothered me and may be too much for medium-highly photosensitive gamers, but rainfall doesn’t last long thankfully and you can look or walk away from the TV for a minute until the rain finishes.

These can be remedied a bit by playing in a well-lit room and adjusting screen brightness (TV & handheld), backlight (TV), contrast (TV), and color settings (TV). Additionally, wearing blue light lens glasses, tinted lens glasses, or even sunglasses may be helpful.

Motion-sickness and camera: The camera is angled diagonally downwards towards the island and moves with you, with your character always being in the center of the screen. The walking camera speed is fairly easy on the eyes, but running made me a bit motion-sick, thankfully it isn’t necessary. The framerate is a little bit faster/smoother on Windows and Mac PCs, Xbox One, and PS4.

Colorblindness mode: None, color settings can only be adjusted in TV settings.

Controller rumble: Yes; it’s only utilized during fishing though.

Remappable controls: None

Quick-time events: None

Physical impact: Light; can be played for extended periods of time, though as is the case with Animal Crossing, Cozy Grove is designed to be played small amounts each day, with items being delivered the next day and the story requiring some day-to-day progression. You can however spend as much time as you like collecting items and fishing, as foragable items and fish respawn every so often. Fishing is a bit button-mashy when reeling in a fish that’s on the line, but fishing can be spaced out in your gameplay to minimize pain and fatigue.

Adaptability and input: Controls are simple and well spaced-out. Can be played one-handed or with feet. The majority of the controls are thumb input, so gamers with thumb or thumb joint struggles may have to set the controller on their lap and play using their fingers but this is definitely doable.

Can be played with Switch Joycon controllers, controller-docked Joycon controllers, handheld-docked Joycon controllers, Switch Pro controller, Switch handheld touchscreen, Gamecube controller, Sony Dualshock 4 controller (adapter required to use on Switch), Xbox One Bluetooth Controller (adapter required to use on Switch), Wii U Pro Controller (adapter required to use on Switch), mouse + keyboard, Steam controller, Steam Deck, any controller that is compatible with Steam, iPhone touchscreen, iPad touchscreen, iPod touch touchscreen, and Apple TV remote. The Steam version has full controller support. No voice control functionality.

To read more about how you can pair different controllers with the Nintendo Switch and with PC, check out my post on the topic: https://medium.com/@AbleGaming/how-to-use-your-favorite-console-controllers-on-nintendo-switch-and-pc-and-how-to-use-your-switch-64d7a7bc7b7f

Overall accessibility score: 3.4/5.0 (Please note that this score does not reflect the entertainment or enjoyment value of the game, it represents the range of accessibility for gamers who have specific limitations.)

Cozy Grove is available in many languages on a wide variety of platforms and controllers to choose from, though controls are not remappable unfortunately. With light and simple gameplay, neither fatigue or pain are much of a concern, though fishing is a little button-mashy. The lack of both voice acting and text settings may be an issue for gamers with limited vision, though the default text is decently sized and mostly quite clear to read.

Running creates some motion-sickness but isn’t required, the game feels more relaxing at a walking pace anyway. The inclusion of the “perpetual daytime” option helps with a few of the photosensitivity issues that occur during nighttime, though the fireflies and the intermittent rain animation may still be a concern. Beyond these accessibility issues, if you’re looking for another game similar to the Animal Crossing series, Cozy Grove is a relaxing, cute, and heartfelt choice.

My review can also be read and listened to (text-to-speech) on my Medium page at: https://medium.com/@AbleGaming/cozy-grove-accessibility-review-6783c48920c3

[erzsebetrosztoczy]

Proto-Hungarian Deities

Before taking up christianity as other cultures hungarians had their own religous believes too. They took their believes with themselves to the Karpats from their previous homelands but it happened not long before the conversion to christianity. What is left for us are a mix of pagan shamanism and polytheism.

Here are some Gods and Goddesses:

Arany Atyácska - /Golden Father/ Probably the head of the hungarian pantheon, his other name is Tengri. Partner of Hajnal Anyácska and the father of Hadúr, Napkirály and Szélkirály. He made the World and protects the people. People honoured him in the winter solstices and before major wars.

Boldogasszony - /in literall translation: Happy Woman/ She is the Mother Godess probably her other name is Hajnal Anyácska. She is the Mother of the Earth as well. She made the humankind, she rules the mortal lands, protects the mothers, pregnant women,children and houshold. Her partner is Arany Atyácska. Later she was merged with the chritian Virgin Mary for the easier conversion.

Hadúr - /Warlord/ The short name for Hadak Ura /Lord of the War/. He is the god of fire and war, son of Arany Atyácska. It was a common practice to sacrifice a white stallion for him before wars and battles.

Hajnal Anyácska - Wife of Arany Atyácska, probably Boldogasszony is her other name.

Hold (Éj) Atya - /Moon (Night) Father/ Very similar to the turkish Moon God. Hold Atya is the God of the moon and night. Responsible for the moon cycle, he controls bith and death, ilness but he's not the one who brings death. Husband of Nap Anya. (His association with these are came from that most births and deaths happened at night or during full moons, as well as it was believed illnesses worsen at night.)

Tengri (Isten) - He is the main God, who made the world and mankind, also the God of the Sky, and Lord of all the Spirits and creatures. (Often associated with Arany Atyácska). The proto-hungaric religion often called tengrism, from the hierarchical system of the Divine deities whose ultimate head was Tengri.

Nap Anya - /Mother Sun or Sun Mother/ The Godess of the Sun and daylight, she brings warmness, hotness and joy. Wife and equal of Hold Atya.

Nap Király - /Sun King/ God of the Sun. He brings the light at the beggining of the day mounting his silver stallion from East to West, seeing all what happens below on Earth.

Ördög/Ördeg - /Devil/ God of death, illnes and wicked. He rules the Underworld.

Szélanya - /Mother Wind or Wind Mother/ She is the Godess of the wind. An elderly, wise woman who lives in a cave, on top of a huge mountain, somewhere in the end of the world. She plays in the wind creating storms and whirlwinds. The wife of Szélkirály.

Szélkirály/Szélatya - /Wind King or Wind Father/ God of the wind and rain, husband of Szélanya and equal of her.

Tűz Anya - /Fire Mother or Mother Fire/ She is the Godess of the fire, bringer of warm to the household. She chases away the cold and ice.

Tűz Atya - /Fire Father/ The God of fire, partner and equal to Tűz Anya.

Víz Anya - /Water Mother/ Godess of water and all the aquatic living beings.

Víz Atya - God of waters, partner of Víz Anya and equal to her.

In tengrism gods have hierarchy. The main and most honoured gods are: Tengri and Boldogasszony alias Arany Atyácska and Hajnal Anyácska. Lower gods/goddesses are mostly were seen as divine spirits.

If you want to know more about proto-hungaric mithology and religion i can do a series about the topic.

[aion-rsa]

Money Heist: What to Know About the International TV Phenomenon

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If you haven’t tuned into Money Heist yet, you’ve been missing one of the hottest series on Netflix right now. It’s sexy, absurdist fun, an action soap opera like no other, so addictively bingeable that it has stolen the hearts of a worldwide audience. But it’s more than escapist fare. Money Heist has also become a rallying cry of resistance that is changing the world. 

It almost didn’t happen. Netflix picked up Money Heist entirely by chance. If they hadn’t, the original series might have easily vanished into obscurity for English-speaking audiences. Once Netflix got it, it blew up and became their most watched non-English series.

Money Heist was originally broadcast on Spain’s Antena 3 channel in 2017 under its native title La Casa de Papel (The House of Paper). The first season was 15 episodes, told in two parts. The initial part garnered a healthy 45 million viewers but viewership plummeted when the second part was broadcast. With only half the audience remaining and the story complete, the show seemed at its end. Netflix acquired the series as part of an international catalog of titles, re-edited it into 22 shorter episodes, re-released it internationally later that year. The streamer didn’t even bother to promote it when they added to their queue. Nevertheless, it found a huge audience outside of Spain and viewership skyrocketed.

Season 1 is about a meticulously planned heist of the Royal Mint of Spain. The Professor (Álvaro Morte) is a criminal mastermind who assembles a gang of thieves. Each thief adopts the name of a city to conceal their true identities from each other, akin to the robbers in Reservoir Dogs. The story is told from the perspective of Tokyo (Úrsula Corberó), a brazen spitfire femme fatale who steals every scene she’s in. The thieves capture the Mint, taking dozens of hostages. Their plan is to print millions in unmarked bills. Meanwhile, the Professor plays a cat-and-mouse game with Inspector Murillo (Itziar Ituño) who is hot on his trail. 

Don’t Fall in Love During a Heist

Through Tokyo’s narration and copious flashbacks to the planning of the crime, Money Heist tells a gripping story of the ultimate anti-heroes. As tensions mount, the gang is at one another’s throats while navigating the Professor’s deceptive instructions. The Mint is surrounded by cops and time is running out. Gratuitous shots of ticking clocks increase the pressure, the same device deployed by original Mission: Impossible TV series to heighten suspense. Stockholm syndrome takes hold as the hostages fall for their captors. In classic Money Heist style, the main hostage who joins the gang adopts the name “Stockholm (Esther Acebo)”. The Professor and the Inspector engage in a deliciously dysfunctional romance. It’s all exceedingly sexy with the beautiful actors often scantily clad, and has a subversively sharp sense of humor. 

Despite its ludicrousness, Money Heist is so addictive in many ways. First off, it masters the cliffhanger. The suspense is relentlessly palpable and no matter how ridiculous some of the deus ex machina resolutions are, they’re still great fun to watch. Just like Game of Thrones, this show is merciless. Beloved main characters die in shockingly poignant death scenes. This keeps the suspense very real. You never know if your favorite character is going to make it. Of the seven thieves that enter the Mint with Tokyo – Berlin (Pedro Alonso), Denver (Jaime Lorente), Helsinki (Darko Perić), Moscow (Paco Tous), Nairobi (Alba Flores), Oslo (Roberto Garcia Ruiz) and Rio (Miguel Herrán) – three don’t make it out. 

Secondly, it’s about those characters. The ensemble cast delivers great performances across the board. Every role is rich, complex, and well-developed. Everyone has his or her strengths, weaknesses, and back stories and their emotional journeys resonate deeply. No one is entirely innocent. You can’t help yourself from rooting for them, even the villains. 

And third, Money Heist has style. Its passionate soundtrack has captured the ears of the world. The use of color, particularly red against darkly composed frames, is exquisitely captivating. Money Heist is a thrilling roller coaster ride that just has to be experienced. 

Enjoy It Until the Party is Over

The global following shocked the cast and crew. After season 1 wrapped, the show seemed finished. As the cast watched their social media following grow exponentially (an experience catalogued in Netflix’s documentary, Money Heist: The Phenomenon), they knew something was up. By 2018, Money Heist garnered several nominations and wins across the European awards circuit and even won the coveted Best Drama Series at the 46th International Emmys.

Consequently, Netflix reassembled the cast and crew for a second season, this time with a much bigger budget. Even though season 1 was self-contained, the show’s creator Álex Pina dreamed up a second season, one that was on a much grander scale, thanks to Netflix’s backing.

The second heist is in four parts. That may sound confusing because the upcoming season 5 will be split into two parts as well. Season 5 is actually parts 3 and 4 of the second heist story arc. “Heist 2” is already 16 episodes deep and it’s only the halfway point. 

For the second heist, the gang must reassemble to rescue one of their own after Tokyo makes another grievous mistake. And that rescue hinges upon robbing the Bank of Spain. New gang members join the survivors of the first robbery, and another more ruthless adversary, the pregnant Inspector Sierra (Najwa Nimri). Sierra is a more ruthless opponent than Murillo was for the first heist. When it comes to the Professor’s psychological chess game, Sierra flips the chess board upside down. Season 3 (Part 1 of the Bank of Spain heist) debuted exclusively on Netflix in the summer of 2019. Season 4 (Part 2) was released almost a year later in April 2020, and it was seen by 65 million households. That’s a million more viewers than watched Tiger King when it ran around the same time. 

Realizing they had a bankable hit, Netflix released Money Heist: The Phenomenon. The documentary showcases the astonishment of the cast and crew as they navigate their new found popularity from a show they thought was done. A season 2 opening scene, filmed in front of the historic Santa Maria del Fiore Cathedral in Florence, Italy, was almost ruined when rabid fans rushed the crew. However, do not watch Money Heist: The Phenomenon before seeing the show because it drops some major spoilers. 

We Are Dali

To hide their identities, the gang wears masks based on the famous Spanish surrealist artist Salvador Dali, replete with a red hooded jumpsuit. They force their hostages to wear the same costume to confuse the police. This Dali mask has become a new symbol of international rebellion, supplanting the Guy Fawkes mask from V for Vendetta on a global scale. Beyond Comic-Con cosplaying, the Dali mask has been appearing on protestors and in effigies around the world. Footage from these real life demonstrations appear in the show. 

Money Heist has had a profound effect on international football (“soccer” for we Yanks). Massive displays of Dali mask banners appeared at Saudi Arabia soccer stadiums. At the Karaiskaki Stadium, Greek soccer fans unfurled a huge Dali banner too. After their team won, they rushed the field wearing Money Heist costumes. Brazilian soccer superstar Neymar de Silva even makes a cameo in season 3 as a monk who wryly comments about his disdain for soccer. Silva claims Money Heist is his favorite show.  

There were even real life copycat heists. France fell victim to a shop hold-up and a hotel robbery where the perpetrators wore Dali masks. A 2019 daylight heist of the Mexican Mint was thought to have been inspired by the show. Perhaps the best one was when Justin Bieber’s five-billion-view music video ‘Despacito’ was hacked on YouTube. The hackers replaced it with an image of Money Heist in full Dali regalia with guns pointing out, accompanied by a call to ‘Free Palestine.’ 

Consequently, there has been some backlash. Cyprus banned Dali costumes for Carnival. Turkish journalists and politicians have admonished the show, describing it as rebel propaganda. The Professor describes it best in season 3. “The mask has become a symbol throughout the world of resistance, of indignations, of skepticism. It doesn’t matter. What matters is that it has inspired many people.” 

Ironically, Money Heist pilfered Dali’s image. The Gala-Salvador Dalí Foundation never gave the show its blessing for the use of the artist’s likeness. There’s no doubt that Dali is spinning in his grave for not getting paid royalties, but he must appreciate the surrealism here. 

Bella Ciao!

Beyond the now iconic Dali mask, Money Heist also revived a rebel ballad, the Italian protest song Bella Ciao. Bella Ciao means ‘Goodbye Beautiful’ and it was the anthem of anti-fascists of the Italian Resistance during WWII. Originally about toiling in rice fields under an oppressive boss, the lyrics evolved to describe the Resistance’s commitment to the cause with their lives. When translated from Italian, the lyrics end with “This is the flower of the partisan who died for freedom.” 

The Professor’s grandfather fought in the Italian resistance so he sings it with Berlin, his older brother, and teaches it to the gang. The song is frequently reprised throughout the series, most tellingly during the season 1 part 1 finale end credits. A montage of black-and-white footage decrying the evils of money fades to red as Bella Ciao plays.

Since Money Heist, over a dozen new versions of Bella Ciao have climbed the charts across Europe, with the Professor’s rendition placing first in Austria, second in Germany, and in the top twenty in Belgium, France, and Switzerland. It’s been covered by several EDM DJs like Steve Aoki and Hardwell. Bella Ciao has become a common chant at soccer matches, and was heard at the 2019 World Cup. When Open Arms rescued a boatload of fleeing immigrants docked in Lampedusa, the refugees sang Bella Ciao to celebrate their newfound freedom. 

The Last Times are Beyond Comparison

What might the finale hold? When we last left the gang, they were reunited in the Bank of Spain and determined to win ‘the war’ in honor of their latest fallen comrade. But Inspector Sierra got the drop on the Professor. With a gun to his head, she declared “Checkmate, son of a bitch.” Anyone who knows the show understands that it is volatile and unpredictable so it’s anyone’s guess what happens next. 

It’s clear that this is the end. When production wrapped on May 14th, Netflix tweeted “Thank you to all the fans for being part of La Resistencia! We can’t wait to show you how this story ends.”  However, Netflix is never one to kill a goose that lays golden eggs. 

Money Heist creator Álex Pina already launched another Netflix series, Sky Rojo. Season 1 premiered back in March 2021 and season 2 is slated for July. It’s the story of three women on the run, somewhat reminiscent of Thelma and Louise, only the threesome are prostitutes. It’s stylish and sexy, and received some critical acclaim. But it has nowhere near the impact of Money Heist. 

A Korean adaptation of Money Heist is in the works with Kim Hong-sun directing. Cast as the Professor is Yoo Ji Tae, who is most remembered for his mastermind role in Oldboy, and also had a part in a Korean TV adaptation of The Good Wife. Playing Tokyo will be Jeon Jong Seo, aka Rachel Jun, a newcomer with two feature films under her belt. 

This summer, an immersive event “Money Heist: The Experience” is set to tour London, Miami, Mexico City, New York, and Paris. Each city will get a different version of the experience, adapted to the venue, and the venues won’t be announced until just prior to the events open. This is another collaboration between Netflix and Fever, who previously staged “Stranger Things: The Drive Into Experience” in Los Angeles. 

Most of the cast of Money Heist were too engaged with filming the final season under pandemic restrictions to take on any new projects. The notable exception of Úrsula Corberó. Corberó is cast as the Baroness in the upcoming G.I. Joe Origins film, Snake Eyes. 

Money Heist held the title of Netflix’s most watched non-English series until a French show, ironically also about a heist, stole the crown. Lupin robbed Money Heist of the title in January 2021 racking up 76 million views. Lupin Part 2 debuted on June 11. When Money Heist returns, will it steal back Netflix’s most watched non-English series crown? Hopefully so. For Nairobi!

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Money Heist, Parts 1-4, are available on Netflix now. Season 5 Volume 1 debuts on September 3, Volume 2 arrives on December 3, 2021. 

The post Money Heist: What to Know About the International TV Phenomenon appeared first on Den of Geek.

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[antoine-roquentin]

The new troop deployment, which has not been previously reported, is part of an expanding series of military and diplomatic steps the United States has taken in recent weeks to defuse escalating tensions with Turkey, a NATO ally, over American support for Syrian Kurdish fighters. Those fighters led the ground war against the Islamic State, a shared enemy, but Turkey considers them terrorists.

The United States currently has just under 1,000 troops in Syria, mainly to help stamp out remaining pockets of Islamic State fighters.

Turkey threatened last month to invade northeast Syria to rout the Syrian Kurds from territory along the border they seized from the Islamic State. In response, the Pentagon in recent weeks has rushed to both set up joint reconnaissance flights and ground patrols with Turkish forces in a narrow buffer zone inside Syria, and destroy Kurdish fortifications near the border that Turkey considered threatening. Two senior American generals met this week with their Turkish counterparts in Ankara, Turkey’s capital....

The United States and Turkey agreed in principle last month to establish a jointly patrolled zone for refugees along the border, but they are still negotiating the details and major differences remain.

Mr. Erdogan wants the zone to be 20 miles deep and run for 300 miles along the Turkish-Syrian border east of the Euphrates. The United States has limited Turkey’s access to a few miles. Syria has already called the plan a violation of its sovereignty and Russia emphasized the need to preserve Syria’s territorial integrity.

Mr. Erdogan threatened last month to carry out a major cross-border operation into Syria to rout the Syrian Kurds who took control there from ISIS. Turkey conducted previous missions into Afrin and Jarabulus west of the Euphrates River.

American officials expressed skepticism that the Turkish military could sustain such an extensive and complicated operation into northeastern Syria, but worried that any Turkish invasion would wreak havoc with American counterterrorism goals and its relations with a NATO ally.

Led by James F. Jeffrey, the State Department’s special representative for Syria, and Gen. Joseph F. Dunford Jr., the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the two countries quickly worked out several steps to defuse tensions and focus on a 75-mile-long buffer zone between Tal Abyad and Ras al-Ayn, which the two sides agreed to and the Pentagon calls “the security mechanism area.”

The two militaries established a joint operations center in Ankara. They have conducted four joint reconnaissance flights over the area, including one on Thursday. And last weekend, American and Turkish troops conducted their first joint ground patrol.

In a sign of how diplomatic sensitivities are affecting the messaging behind these operations, the military’s news release about the first ground patrol showed one photograph with a Turkish vehicle in the lead and another with an American vehicle in the lead.

On Thursday, the Pentagon’s European command, which deals with Turkey, said that Lt. Gen. Stephen M. Twitty of the Army, the European command’s deputy commander, and Lt. Gen. Thomas Bergeson of the Air Force, Central Command’s No. 2 officer, had met with their Turkish counterparts to discuss future support for the combined joint operations.

“You can see the progress,” Col. Myles B. Caggins III, a spokesman for the American-led coalition overseeing operations in Iraq and Syria, said in a statement on Thursday, noting the delicate balance between addressing Turkey’s “legitimate security concerns” and the coalition’s efforts to combat ISIS.

But some political leaders on both sides characterized the measures as more akin to public relations than substantive steps, suggesting a difficult road ahead.

“There have been some joint patrols, yes, but steps taken beyond that … are only cosmetic,” Turkey’s Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu told reporters in Ankara this week.

Could Turkey use Syria safe zone to remake the area’s demographics? 

After Turkey seized the northwestern Syrian Kurdish district of Afrin in early 2018, its Syrian militia proxies, the Free Syrian Army, looted houses in broad daylight.

Throughout the ongoing occupation, Turkey has done nothing to prevent documented human rights violations, including the displacement of more than 100,000 native Afrin Kurds.

Turkey also oversaw the resettlement of displaced Arabs from elsewhere in Syria in vacated Kurdish homes. It has even given them residence permits to stay in the region. By doing so, it is creating new demographic facts on the ground in a region that has historically been overwhelmingly Kurdish.

The main regions of Syrian Kurdistan are situated east of the River Euphrates. After the Aug. 7 preliminary agreement between Turkey and the United States to create a safe zone in that area, the U.S. embassy in Ankara said, “that the safe zone shall become a peace corridor, and every effort shall be made so that displaced Syrians can return to their country.”

“The term peace corridor refers to two different animals: for Turkey, it’s the total elimination of PKK cadres in northern Syria; for the U.S., it is a workable solution to make both Turkey and the YPG/PKK avoid clashing,” Mustafa Gürbüz, a non-resident fellow at the Arab Center in Washington. “Unless a paradigm shift occurs on either side, it is impossible to have a long-term safe-zone agreement.”

Turkey frequently talks of its intention to send the majority of the 3.6 million Syrian refugees back to their homeland. This could mean resettling Syrian Arabs in Kurdish-majority areas, as it has done in Afrin, so as to destroy any contiguous Kurdish-majority region on Turkey’s border.

Turkey plans to resettle some 700,000 Syrian refugees in Kurdish-majority northeast Syria following the safe zone’s establishment. This is possibly part of a project to lessen the unpopular presence of Syrian refugees in Turkey and fundamentally change the demographics of northeast Syria in a similar fashion to the Syrian Baathist Arabisation drive of the 1960s and 1970s. That plan sought to repopulate Kurdish-majority areas on the Syrian border with Arabs to separate Syria’s Kurds from the Kurds of Turkey and Iraq, where Kurdish nationalism was on the rise.

The Syrian government planned to remove Kurds from a zone along the Syrian border with Turkey nine miles deep and 174 miles wide. It never fully materialised, though many Kurds were forcibly uprooted and their land resettled by some 4,000 Arab families.

Turkey may well see the safe zone as the first step to building a similar “Arab belt” along the border. The exact size and location of the safe zone is not yet clear. Turkey wants a 20-mile deep zone spanning the entire border while the United States has suggested a much smaller nine-mile deep zone. Turkey remains adamant that the zone should be no less than 20-miles deep and says it will launch a unilateral military operation if it does not get what it wants.

A zone that size would include all of Syrian Kurdistan’s major cities, many of which are close to the Turkish border, and would be unacceptable to the YPG and the multi-ethnic SDF umbrella force.

The United States may convince Turkey to instead settle for establishing the safe zone around the Arab-majority border town of Tel Abyad, where resettled Syrian Arab refugees may prove less contentious in Kurdish-majority areas.

“Kurds see Tel Abyad as a part of Syrian Kurdistan because it is one of the regions where the Arab belt project was implemented and the demographics there were changed decades ago,” said Mutlu Çiviroğlu, a Kurdish affairs analyst.

It is unclear whether the United State will be able to persuade Turkey to make significant concessions.

“The American team was convinced that Erdoğan was going to invade northern and eastern Syria,” said Nicholas Heras, Middle East security fellow at the Center for a New American Security. “There was an air of desperation from the American side during these talks that has not existed before.”

His party’s defeat in mayoral elections in Turkey’s biggest city and financial capital Istanbul shook the president, Heras said. Consequently, Erdoğan views the Syria issue “as a cornucopia that he can use to satisfy the Turkish body politic that he senses is turning against him”.

“The American team believed that Erdoğan was going to invade, push out the SDF from a large swathe of the border, and nearly simultaneously move refugees into the void,” Heras said. “What is really bothering the American side is a belief that there could still be a moment when U.S. and other coalition forces will need to fire on Turkish troops in order to protect the SDF.”

Heras said there had been a quiet war between the U.S. State Department that wanted to give the Turks more room to operate in SDF areas, and the U.S. military that was pushing back hard.

“Neither the Turks nor the Americans have agreed to much, except to keep talking,” he said. “But that is a win for both the U.S. military and the SDF, because the longer the Turks are kept at bay, the less likely Turkey can pull off an invasion.”

Heras doubted the Turkish-backed Free Syrian Army would be able to operate in any safe zone, noting that they had “no protection whatsoever from coalition forces”.

“U.S.-led coalition forces in northern and eastern Syria have almost no trust for Turkey’s Syrian rebel proxies,” he said. “If they try to operate in SDF areas, they will be shot.”

in addition to erdogan’s previous electoral troubles, turkey stands to see an influx of maybe over a million syrian refugees in the next year. the syrian government has been slowly but surely pushing into idlib with heavy use of bombings to clear cities and prevent casualty-heavy urban warfare that would be unpopular among syrian citizens. the advance has been slow, but nearly all of hama has been retaken and there’s now a desire to seize the economically important m5 highway between damascus and aleppo. idlib is now where the most hardcore syrian opposition supporters reside, and should it fall, most will flee across the border rather than stay in the area. by pre-emptively clearing space for resettlement, turkey hopes to take care of that problem as well as potentially push the boundaries of turkey into syria, appeasing nationalist sentiment.

[architectuul]

FOMA 29: Turkey’s Modest Brutalism

This FOMA will present the Brutalism in Turkey between the 1960s and 1980s. Born as a new esthetic tool and a strategy of form, has been according to Banham (1966) diversified and become widespread by different interpretation in different geographies. In this respect, what is the place of Brutalism in Turkish architecture, which has most of the time turned into a strong esthetically interpretation? 

Dosan Canning Factory became one of pioneers in reflecting the developments of the building technology sector into the architecture. | Photo by Reha Günay

It has been built with concrete carcass system. | Photo via Mimarlık Dergisi

I will answer this question with five buildings of varied scales and functions and so examine different variations of brutalism. The 1960s can be described as the heydays of Brutalism points at a period of versatile economic, political and social change in Turkey, which was triggered by some certain interior dynamics and exterior factors (Keyder, 2010) [1]. Development politic and industry were the determiners of architectural production in the country. According to Tekeli (2007) the establishment of the manufacturing factories built with the state and private initiative also affected the Turkish architecture in the 1960s. As Yücel (1984) states in the text “Pluralism takes command: the Turkish Architectural Scene Today” that the pluralism determined the character of the era, some factors such as developments of the building technologies and diversified building materials contributed to the variation of architectural attitudes [2].

The Lassa Tire Factory, the biggest industrial building under a single roof, was the largest brutalist buildings in Turkey. | Photo via Archive of Tekeli & Sisa

One of the most important changes has occurred thanks to the free market economy; it was the emergence of the new employers and, as a consequence, that of the new building typologies. While the most influential employer before the 1960s were public institutions, after the 1960s private sector was involved in the architectural production and brought some new demands along. Thanks to the changing profile there came also a change in the building materials. Architects enjoyed an opportunity for diversity thanks to the big holding buildings as well as the requirements of factories, which entailed new typological, structural and technical solutions.

The factories built in the 1960s in so called Turkey’s Industrial Revolution, refer to a specific architectural production through which architects played around with new structural opportunities. In their projects they created new design strategies and realized them with new building technologies and materials. Akcan (2010) is convinced that despite the scarcity of building materials, making architectural design thanks to the new building technologies has become one of the design motives of the period.

The important element of the 300-meter facade of the Lassa Tyre Factory are sectioned polyester skylights on the roof. | Photo via Archive of Tekeli & Sisa

The factories became pioneers in reflecting developments of the building technology sector into the architecture. In that period appeared a need for the new solutions of the structural and spatial constructions. The need for covering wide open spaces for instance entailed the use of industrialized building technologies. The practice of designing and building factories have helped the development of building technologies. According to Batur (2005) was important to gain experience in the utilization of prefabricated constructions. Modular systems were brought along by the industrialized building technologies and consequently repetitive roof and facade elements supported the tectonic expressions of the buildings. In this sense, the factories became the significant examples of brutalist architecture thanks to the bold exposure of their structural units and also to the aesthetics of the steel beams, foldable plates and shell structures.

A module of the Lassa Tyre Factory. | Photo via © Tekeli-Sisa Architecture

The factories built in the Marmara Region have been designed in brutalist style and they became subjects of some technological experiments in Turkish architectural practice. For instance, the Dosan Canning Factory, which has been designed by Aydın Boysan and constructed in a short period of time, is one of the qualified examples. The main idea was the creation of the architectural form by following the structural elements. The factory has been built with concrete carcass system; in the dining hall the folded plates shape the walls and are connected to each other with columns, which get thinner towards the floor. Comparing with the other spatial units, this structural solution has given the dining hall a stronger architectural expression. While steel beams have been employed for the roof structure, which expands over a big opening, fiberglass plates have been used for the light shaft. In his review of Turkish architectural production, Boysan points out the scarcity of building materials as a peculiar issue to the country. He also states that the required profiles for the steel structures were especially hard to find. The material crisis has been mentioned often by the other architects from the same period; they say that due to the conditions they had to employ creative solutions in order to have the aimed effect in their design and to compensate for this scarcity.

Dosan Canning Factory by Aydın Boysan (1971) in Yenisehir creates an architectural form by following the structural elements. | Photo by Reha Günay

Doğan Tekeli and Sami Sisa designed series of factories for the private sector. In the evaluation of this process, they have complained that the employers actually limited their designs and were not really committed to the process as their designs were found too experimental. It is safe to say that architects in general like to create a new and unique architectural language with the help of new building technologies, but it is hard to convince employers to use those new ideas in their buildings. Nevertheless, the architects somehow found a chance to develop ideas in factory projects since they were located out of the cities. The employers did not concern themselves with how the factories would look as much as they did when it came to holding buildings, which located in the city centers were considered as prestige buildings. 

Polyester skylights, brutal concrete facade and circle windows break the monotony of the facade. | Photo via Archive of Tekeli & Sisa

In the 1970s monumentalism stands out in the Turkish architectural production. Bearing the signature of Tekeli Sisa Architects, the Lassa Tyre Factory in Izmit has been designed in line with the zeitgeist of the era. It is known for its scale and was considered as the biggest factory built under one single roof. The most important element of the 300-meter facade is the semi-circle sectioned polyester skylights located on the roof. While they make a curve down on the side facades and create a rhythm, they provide daylight for the inner places. Those polyester skylights, brutal concrete facade and circle windows at the eye level are the main architectural elements. Those architectural elements break the monotony of the facade and bring a new identity to the building.

Tercüman Newspaper Office Building with its out of the box, unconventional design and bold structural expression. | Photo via Modern Turkish Architecture

The experimental approach, which was predominant in the factory designs gives way to a cautious aesthetical search in other building types. This certain kind of caution shows itself both in the ways of material use and also in the search of structural design. Compared with the brutalist architecture of the neighboring countries, it is rare to find bold and courageous architectural designs in Turkey, where the limits of structural elements were pushed. One of the boldest examples from this period is the Tercuman Newspaper Building in Istanbul. Its neighborhood was not developed and the building plot was not surrounded by any buildings. Thus the building had an idiosyncratic plastic effect which could be perceived from a distance. Located next to one of the main arterial roads in Istanbul, even from a moving car it catches the eye thanks to its alluding plastic effect. The main element, which creates this plastic effect is actually the structure of the building. Thanks to these towers it was possible to create a continuous space inside the building. 

General view from the motorway in 2018. | Photo by İdil Erkol Bingöl

Istanbul Advertisement Building has been located as to surround a small-scale historical building without coming into touch with it. | Photo by Omer Yılmaz

The 1970s developed two dominant buildings types for the private sector and for holdings. In both has been reflected brutalist approach with concrete surfaces and monumental aesthetic expression, which was brought along by segmented mass composition. One of the iconic building is the Istanbul Advertisement Building. The brutalism is expressed with the vertical concrete surfaces and virtual exposure of the structural elements. Located in an area full of historical references, the articulation of the volumes plays an important role in the formation of the sculptural expression of the building. Its segmented mass structure is one of the new characteristics, named as brutalist formalism.

Istanbul Advertisement Building. | Photo via Modern Turkish Architecture.

These buildings have a special importance thanks to the structural quest of the architects and the use of new technologies. However, in housing projects is not used industrialized construction technologies in the big scale as for the construction of the factories (Yücel, 2007). 

Brutalist Kamhi-Grünberg Twin Houses. | Photo by Idil Erkol Bingöl

The Kamhi-Grünberg Twin Houses is one of the examples of the brutalism. The building has been organized in two independent units under one roof. Separated by a garden, these twin houses have been built around two-story atriums, which connect the garden with the sea, thus provide a good airflow. The association of the inner and outer space is important for the design: the connection of the interior space and the garden is provided through the use of big glass surfaces and aluminum framed windows. 

The wooden frames at the top of the windows and wide canopies represents traces of traditional Turkish house. | Photo by Idil Erkol Bingöl

Known for his meticulous works for architectural details, Utarit Izgi searched for new solutions with the support of clients. The roof structure has been carried with steel beams instead of using load bearing columns in the terrace. The terraces upstairs have been carried by the roof, thus the continuous view is provided in the rooms and terraces. Considering the material scarcity of the era, it is striking that the architect pushed the boundaries and decided on using white cement. In the process of pouring concrete, with the help of two compartmented mold, the outer parts have been constructed with white cement-aggregate, and the inner parts with standard cement-natural aggregate. The wooden window frames accompany the concrete structure, steel roof and wide glass surfaces. 

As a part of the brutalist expression, all architectural elements have been exposed on the facade. | Photo by Idil Erkol Bingöl

The five buildings reviewed in the article, the Dosan Canning Factory, the Lassa Tyre Factory, the Tercuman Newspaper Building, the Istanbul Advertisement Building and the Kamhi-Grünberg Twin House, are considered as the different reflections of the brutalist approach. In spite of the technological developments and the transformation of local building practices, it was quite rare to come across with courageous architectural designs, which pushed the limits of the building technologies. Most of the attempts to build such projects unfortunately remained on paper. In this vein, when compared with the world scale, the architectural production in Turkey has been very cautious. Brutalism gave way to a new architectural expression, which emphasized the form through the usage of decorative elements. As Banham (1966) has indicated, the brutalism once was swiftly in the ascendant but lost most of its allure just in a decade.

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#FOMA 28: İdil Erkol Bingöl 

İdil Erkol Bingöl (1981) studied architecture at Mimar Sinan Fine Arts University and received her Master’s Degree in History of Architecture in 2009 at the Istanbul Technical University. In 2006 she began working as a research assistant at Istanbul Bilgi University, Faculty of Architecture, where is still teaching the history of architecture, history of cities and architectural design studio. She completed her Ph.D. thesis entitled “Revisions of Modernism in Turkey’s Architecture (1960-1980)” in History of Architecture program at Istanbul Technical University in 2016. Her works are concentrated on the local modernities and the research of the modern architecture history in Turkey.

Notes:

[1] On the other hand takes the victory of Democrat Party in the elections of 1950 as a turning point in the history of Turkey and mentions that the changing process has started in the 1950. In that period, a general growth in Turkish agricultural production, an increase in the gross national product and 50% increase in the export have been witnessed and between 1951-1955 the production of cement and cotton weaving doubled in size (Zürcher (2008): Modernleşen Türkiye’nin Tarihi, İstanbul : İletişim Yayınları, p.327)

[2] Yücel (2007) states that one of the main design issues of the era was the relation to be built between the new building technologies and local values, identity arguments and the architecture which was inspired by the vernacular. For further information: “Çağdaş Türkiye Mimarlığı: Tarihselciliğe Karşı Tarihsellik”. (ed.) T. Korkmaz, 2000’lerde Türkiye’de Mimarlık: Söylem ve Uygulamalar, (pp.165-173). Ankara : TMMOB Mimarlar Odası Yayınları.

[turkish-dramas]

Daylight (Donence) Tv Series

[turkishcelebritynews]

Daylight (Donence) Tv Series

[architectnews]

Kengo Kuma designs sculptural metal-mesh curtain for Gaudí's Casa Battló

Kengo Kuma and Associates has used 164,000 metres of aluminium chains to create this curtain that references the organic forms found inside Barcelona's renovated Casa Battló.

The intervention by Japanese architect Kengo Kuma's studio is part of an extensive renovation of the house designed by the famous Catalan architect Antoni Gaudí in 1904.

Kengo Kuma and Associates has created a metal-mesh curtain in Casa Battló

Casa Battló has recently been fully restored by the Bernat family, which has owned the house since the 1990s. The project also includes a series of contemporary interventions that aim to create a more immersive and engaging experience for visitors.

Kuma's contribution adorns the atrium and a new staircase connecting the ground floor with additional exhibition spaces created in a former coal bunker in the basement.

The installation forms part of a renovation of the Gaudí-designed house

The curtain was produced using Spanish firm Kriskadecor's aluminium chains and pays tribute to the symbolic use of light throughout the house's unique interior.

It also envelops an emergency staircase that extends across the building's eight floors. Within this otherwise dark space, lighting developed by designer Mario Nanni reflects off the metal links to enhance their shimmering quality.

The curtain references organic forms found inside the building

The curtain gradually changes from a lighter shade at the top to black as it descends into the old coal cellar, echoing the way daylight filters down through the building's central courtyard.

"We have imagined this space dressed in aluminium link curtains," said Kuma, "which with their meticulous materiality catch the light, as if they were fishing nets, and show it to us in all its forms: brightness, silhouettes, shadows."

It comprises 164,000 metres of aluminium chains

"This way, by omitting the use of any other materials, and erasing the presence of this blind box and its staircase using these chains, we are able to speak of light and light only."

The curtain is formed of individual chain-link strands that are suspended from the variously inclined ceilings and surfaces underneath the stairs.

The project is intended to create a more immersive experience for visitors

Computer software used to develop the scale-like pattern also ensured the precise positioning and length of each chain.

The staircase that descends to the newly accessible basement was designed by London-based firm Ancient & Modern. It is made from 13 tonnes of polished black marble that was carved on the underside to create an animalistic form reminiscent of Gaudí's own interventions.

The chains were produced by Kriskadecor

The new basement houses 2,000 square metres of additional exhibition spaces, forming part of what is now called the "10D Experience".

As part of this endeavour to provide an unprecedented insight into Gaudí's mind, audiovisual producer Miguel Alonso has created an installation comprising a dome with 1,000 screens showing films about the architect.

Turkish media artist Refik Anadol has also produced a cube-shaped installation displaying imagery and data about Gaudí that was collated using artificial intelligence.

Casa Batlló was originally designed by Emilio Sala Cortés and constructed on the newly formed Passeig de Gracia in 1877.

One of the curtains encloses an eight-storey staircase

The house was purchased in 1903 by Josep Batlló y Casanovas, who commissioned Gaudí to remodel the facade, interior and inner courtyard.

Gaudí collaborated with the best artisans of the time to transform the house into a work of art, using wrought iron, stone, wood, stained glass and ceramic tiles to decorate it in the modernisme style.

The curtain is formed of individual chain-link strands

Earlier this year, while the house was closed to the public due to the coronavirus pandemic, local designer Max Enrich was invited to create a series of sculptural lamps for the interior.

The first house designed by Gaudí, which is also located in Barcelona and is called Casa Vicens, opened to the public for the first time in 2017 following a major restoration project.

Another of Gaudí’s most famous projects in the city, the Sagrada Família basilica, has been under construction since 1882 and remains unfinished.

The photography is by Jordi Anguera, courtesy of Kriskadecor.

The post Kengo Kuma designs sculptural metal-mesh curtain for Gaudí's Casa Battló appeared first on Dezeen.

[mosqa]

by @bonelessnerd who is gonna read a freakin novel cause I write as much as I talk: too much.

Rules: tag 9 people you want to know better

Relationship status: Single

Chapstick or lipstick: lipstick. My drag name is Tapioca Lipse so...

Favorite colors: pale bright bluish green... I don’t know! I love the soothing green of forest in summer’s daylight and the turquoise of seashores, the deep dark green of seaweeds and the hills in long evening blue air. Guess growing up in Côte d’Azur’s countryside is the reason. I tend toward natural green(s).

Last movie I saw: this week end I’ve seen two movies in Paris’s legendary “Grand Rex“. First, “The Room”, with an actual visit of Tommy Wiseau onstage before the movie started and everyone lost it, threw spoons and scream “OH HI MARK”. The best worst movie ever (with Turkish Star Wars and the Hobbit III). Then I’ve seen Black Panther with my best friend. The movie suffers from all the flaws of recent Marvel movies, but it’s not enough to have a bad time. I enjoyed Shuri’s enthusiasm and Okoye’s “badassery”, and Killmonger is one of the best antagonist from the MCU. Plus Michael B Jordan’s flawless plastic. I’m just disappointed by Lupita Nyong’o character Nakia, which only existed as a love interest with a warrior make-up...

Top 3 TV shows: First, Doctor Who. Oh yes I’m not a “true” fan. I started with the ninth blablabla. Anyway. Donna Noble is the most important woman in the universe and I would cry instantly if I was to meet David Tennant. Steven Universe comes second. At first I was putting Adventure Time in first place, but this little weirdo of a show won my heart with Opale, and hasn’t let it go yet. Finally, it’s a hard choice (you’ve seen with “favorite colors” that I have trouble deciding my top whatever) but I will say the 90′s animated Batman series. I’ve grown with it, and I watch it again every two or three years. It may not be in my favorite at the moment but it has been so important to what I am that I can’t avoid it.

Top 3 Bands/Artists: My goddess, my queen, my cosmic mother is Kate Bush. She’s my gay icon and my beacon in the night. I love all of her albums, though Never Forever and the Dreaming stay my favorites. She’s also for me the soundtrack for Philip Pullman’s “His Dark Materials” book series. Second comes David Bowie. I have cried so much the morning I woke up and saw that. I grew up with Labyrinth. For me, Reality is the soundtrack of Leo’s “les Mondes d’Aldébaran”, a wonderful comics series which I would recommend anyone to read if you can find it in your language. Last I would say Camille. She’s a french singer with a pathologic creativity, her texts are poetry and she has album entirely conceived with human body as the sole instrument. “Pâle Septembre” is my favorite but she has made songs in english, particularly in her album Music Hole.

Books I’m currently reading: I am currently reading three books at the same time BECAUSE CHOOSING IS FOR PUSSIES (and I have a problem) (send help). I have started House of Leaves by Mark Z. Danielewski some times ago but I read it at my own pace. It’s great for people loving a faint teint of strange and an after taste of inexplicable horror lurking between the lines. Also, it’s freaking meta and a work of art in terms of editorial design (don’t buy the pocket version!) I am also reading Black Hammer. Started it today so I don’t really know if it’s good. It gives me a BPRD or Umbrella Academy vibe, so it should be good. I tag @nclm @arbitrary-stag @ocalui @theboymelancholy @fishhook-s and I don’t really have many others I could think of with whom I have had enough kinda discussion or interest (or which are not already tagged by Bonelessnerd) for me to tag here. PS: Sorry if I make mistakes in English sometimes.

[my-house-of-fashion]

Studio Vural brings hyper-sustainable design to the forefront with off-the-grid Dune House

https://designwanted.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/dune-house6-1600x900.jpg

Could the Dune House in Cape Cod be a template for off-grid holiday housing?

As the song says, ‘the times they are a changin’. Off-grid living, once seen as the preserve of a few ‘hippies’, is now an idea that is having to be taken more seriously by architects.

When a New York City real estate developer seeking to build a personal holiday house on the beach commissioned Studio Vural for the project, they saw the opportunity to follow a more radical path, which would produce both an exciting design proposal that embraces alternative methods of construction, building materials, and ‘smart’ technology.

So evolved The Dune House, a conceptual proposal for a un-plugged, two-storey, autonomous, energy-efficient and self-sufficient dwelling carved into the sand dunes.

Why Dune House? An alternative approach to house design in the battle against climate change.

Located in Cape Cod, Massachusetts, this house has an autonomous power network, it is energized by a solar field and miniature wind turbines, and it is designed to produce more clean energy than it consumes, proving that the technology that brought us to this point will also be our savior.  

The minds behind Dune House – Studio Vural

Studio Vural is a boutique architecture firm based in Brooklyn and founded in 2009 by Selim Vural, a Turkish architect with a Bachelor of Architecture degree from Mimar Sinan University in Istanbul and a Master of Architecture degree from Pratt Institute in New York.

Selim Vural who knew the Cape Cod area well from family holidays says the inspiration for the project came to him literally in a flash during a night-time fishing expedition, with the illuminated flash of a squid in the water. If a squid can ‘self-illuminate’ thought Vural, why not a house? 

Materials & Techniques – Super insulation, carbon ‘sponge’ concrete, and a range of eco power and smart energy systems

The Dune House evolved the concept for a two-storey, self-sufficient dwelling that is carved into sand dunes, which the architect calls “subtractive architecture”.

The un-plugged Dune House would be self-sustaining, autonomous dwelling with high capacity power generation; a solar panel array and mini wind turbines are intended to generate electricity for the home.

Extra power would be stored in the “the latest oxidized-zinc batteries designed to be replaced as the technology advances”. ‘Super insulation’ would help conserve energy mainly achieved by anchoring the building in the geothermal temperatures of the sand via deep steel piles and blanketed with earth on all sides.

The Dune House embraces technology through smart heat-recovery systems, and auto-climatic adjustment; for example, the anchoring sand piles also contain conductive fluid piping, which will keep the living spaces cool in the summer and warm in the winter. Theoretically, the house can produce more clean energy than consumed.

The concept also embraces the recent research on absorptive building materials such as walls constructed from fly-ash concrete and native plants for a sponge effect on carbon mass. Wedge-shaped windows designed to bring in daylight and offer views of the water are also designed to be storm-resistant, with large stretches of triple-insulated glass set within metal frames. 

Other eco-friendly elements include a rainwater collection and storage system for the supply of fresh drinking water. Sinks and showers would use filtered groundwater, of which there is an abundance in the area.

Style & Aesthetics – Subtractive architecture meets simplicity in plan and interior 

In plan, the upper level of the Dune House takes the shape of an octagon. This top floor consists of two wings that are linked by a central breezeway and accommodates public functions, such as the kitchen and dining area.

Stairs lead down to the lower level, and the plan becomes rectangular with a series of bedrooms and a den. 

Aesthetically the interior spaces feature white-painted concrete walls, polished concrete floors and blue clay tiles. Bamboo is used for cabinetry and paneling, while the decking of the breezeway is made of porcelain planks.

Construction despite criticism

The design has attracted its fair share of criticism, including some from locals with neighboring properties. Nevertheless, according to Studio Vural, the Dune House is scheduled to begin construction later this year (2020).

Design memento – A house that is part of the landscape

By burrowing the house under the dunes, 80% of the building envelope is covered, and as Studio Vural says “the shoreline silhouette remains unchanged – the house is immersed, not imposed.”

The writer’s opinion – A bold vision

Dune House brings sustainability talks to the next level, envisioning a solution that is not only 100% self-sufficient but also leaving a positive footprint.

Even if the actual feasibility from both technical and economical standpoints is yet to be seen, the project definitely leads us in the right direction, combining a forward-thinking vision with a captivating and futuristic design.

The post Studio Vural brings hyper-sustainable design to the forefront with off-the-grid Dune House appeared first on DesignWanted.

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