Happy Monday! This edition of our regular news roundup features an apology from Fox Sports, Tony Hawk skating into the metaverse, a guide for young architects, and other noteworthy-architecture news.
Here’s what you need to know today:
Pro-skateboarder Tony Hawk is designing the largest skatepark in the metaverse
Professional skateboarder Tony Hawk is going digital. The pro-athlete announced this week, in a partnership with The Sandbox and Autograph, he will design what is slated to become the largest skatepark in the metaverse.
Sandbox, a metaverse platform, will host the virtual pipe, rails, and ramps, and Autograph, an NFT production company will design avatars, including Hawk, as well as equipment and accessories for the digital environment, including some Hawk’s most famous paraphernalia, such as the board he used at the X Games in 1999.
“Tony Hawk embodies the perseverance of constantly striving for improvement while never giving up, and it forged him into a skateboarding legend and successful entrepreneur,” said Co-Founder of The Sandbox Sebastien Borget in a press statement. “We share his passion for innovation, creativity, and the drive to constantly create something: this is the energy that powers our entertainment metaverse. There’s no better way to bring skateboarding culture to The Sandbox than by following the example of the greatest skateboarder of all time, whose legacy stretches from the sport and lifestyle’s early days to the present and beyond.”
H/t to CNBC
Welcome to the Grind is a professional guidebook for young architects
Architecture Twitter legend The Hustle Architect (@VitruviusGrind) launched a new project last month, Welcome to the Grind, a guide for young architects. Its illustrated pages, filled with wisdom, don’t teach about the nitty gritty of building design, but rather offer advice on how to land a job, how to grow professionally in the industry, what books to read, and even which famous architects you share a horoscope with.
Vitruvius first got the idea for the guide following a panel event on Guest Crit, a Twitch series focused on architecture, in which audience members were seeking answers and help surrounding first jobs and work-life balance.
The project aims to embody architecture’s “communal spirit”. Vitruvius corolled a number of industry friends and colleagues to help out, to offer advice, and to design the media for the guide, including Marianela D’Aprile, Anjulie Rao, and Quilian Riano.
The opening statement of the guide reads: “This is a guide about architecture, but not one about designing buildings. There’s nothing in here about the right way to detail a foundation wall for a cold climate or the most useful keyboard shortcuts for Revit. Instead, this guide is focused on the grind of it all: getting a job, showing up day after day, surviving, learning, and growing in the profession.” The full 132-page guide can be read online or (coming soon) purchased as a hard copy.
Fox Sports apologizes after airing logos on 9/11 memorial
Saturday’s New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox game concluded with a 14-1 Yankees victory; but what ended up being the talk of social media afterward was Fox Sports’ choice in graphics, which has been called “insensitive” and “horrible.”
So what was this egregious on-screen faux pas? The broadcasting company used the The National September 11 Memorial Museum as a backdrop for its flashy graphics display: The New York Yankees logo was superimposed on the square reflecting pool where the North Tower once stood, with the Red Sox logo on the South; in between was “Baseball Night in America” inscribed in all caps.
“Can someone tell @FOXSports never to do this again? Beyond offensive,” tweeted journalist and NBC News alumn Carol Eggers.
Can someone tell @FOXSports never to do this again? Beyond offensive. pic.twitter.com/Jf7D8DXLKf
— Carol Eggers (@ceggersmidwest) July 17, 2022
“Of all the NYC aerial shots Fox Sports could have used, they decided to superimpose their baseball logo over the 9/11 Memorial? Horrible,” tweeted WCBS 880 anchor Steve Scott.
Of all the NYC aerial shots Fox Sports could have used, they decided to superimpose their baseball logo over the 9/11 Memorial?
Horrible. pic.twitter.com/aM8XtGpACU
— Steve Scott (@SteveScottNEWS) July 17, 2022
Fox Sports has since apologized in a statement emailed to USA TODAY: “During last night’s telecast, we used poor judgment on the use of a graphic,” a spokesman said, “We sincerely apologize and regret the decision.”
H/t to USA TODAY
Roof collapse in Worchester apartment displaces 100 residents
Last Friday, firefighters answered a call from an apartment in Worcester, Massachusetts; upon arriving on the scene, they found that the roof of the building had collapsed inward. Fortunately, there were no injuries and all residents (approximately 100) were able to evacuate.
Officials attributed the cause of the crash to the heavy bundles of construction materials, which had been lifted onto the roof in preparation for roofing work that would begin on Friday. Residents were notified in advance about the scheduled work, but nothing could have prepared them to wake up to falling torrents of water and debris and a gaping hole in the ceiling.
“As I was coming out of my bedroom, I heard the ceiling from the living room fall through, and then the floor fell through to the next apartment below,” resident Rachel Storey told CBS News Boston.
A crane already started removing the remaining construction kits on Friday, but it remains uncertain as to when the approximately 100 residents will be able to return. The property manager recommended that residents stay with relatives, but that isn’t possible for everyone.
H/t to CBS Boston
