Features

LOS ANGELES — Surreal sci-fi “Everything Everywhere All At Once” topped the Oscar nominations on Tuesday with 11, as Hollywood formally kicked off the race to the all-important Academy Awards.

It was followed by German anti-war movie “All Quiet on the Western Front” and Irish black comedy “The Banshees of Inisherin,” which each received nine nominations from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

As expected, Academy voters also rewarded blockbusters such as Tom Cruise’s “Top Gun: Maverick” and “Avatar: The Way of Water” for helping to bring audiences back to movie theatres after the pandemic.

Both were nominated for best picture, Tinseltown’s most coveted prize, although another crowd-pleaser — “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” — missed out.

The remaining best picture slots went to rock-and-roll biopic “Elvis”, Steven Spielberg’s quasi-memoir “The Fabelmans”, Cate Blanchett’s latest tour-de-force “Tar”, Cannes festival winner “Triangle of Sadness” and literary adaptation “Women Talking”.

Absurdist indie film “Everything Everywhere All At Once” portrays a Chinese-American immigrant family undergoing a tax audit, who are quickly drawn into an inter-dimensional battle to save the multiverse from a powerful villain. 

It became a huge word of mouth hit and has grossed over $100 million worldwide.

The film earned four acting nominations for its cast, including best supporting actor for Ke Huy Quan — who appeared as a child in “Indiana Jones and The Temple of Doom” almost four decades ago — and best lead actress for Michelle Yeoh.

Yeoh becomes just the second Asian woman ever nominated for lead actress in 95 years of Oscars history, and will compete with double Oscar-winner Blanchett for the prize.

But there was controversy elsewhere in the lead actress category, as no Black women were nominated, despite Viola Davis (“The Woman King”) and Danielle Deadwyler (“Till”) having been seen as frontrunners.

Instead the remaining slots went to Ana de Armas (“Blonde”), Michelle Williams (“The Fabelmans”) and Andrea Riseborough for tiny indie film “To Leslie”, which mounted an unusual, late celebrity-backed campaign for its star.

International voters

In the other individual categories, Brendan Fraser (“The Whale”), Colin Farrell (“The Banshees of Inisherin”) and Austin Butler (“Elvis”) are clear favourites for best actor.

The remaining nominations went to Paul Mescal in “Aftersun” and Bill Nighy in “Living”.

In the best supporting actress category, Angela Bassett became the first star in a Marvel superhero movie to ever earn an Oscar acting nomination with “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever”.

Spielberg made the best director shortlist, but no women were nominated in the category, sparking quick social media backlash.

Speaking before the nominations, Variety senior awards editor Clayton Davis told AFP this was one of the more unpredictable Oscars races, in part due to the recent massive growth in the number of international Academy voters.

Those members have been credited with surprises such as South Korea’s “Parasite” winning best picture in 2020.

This year they got behind “All Quiet on the Western Front,” which is distributed by Netflix. 

The World War I drama “All Quiet on the Western Front” has built major momentum, scooping a massive 14 nods last week for Britain’s BAFTAs.

‘Saved movies’

Actors Riz Ahmed (“Sound of Metal”) and Allison Williams (“Girls”) unveiled the Oscar nominations early on Tuesday morning from Los Angeles.

Television ratings for award shows including the Oscars have trended downwards, as Academy voters in recent years have veered toward honouring lesser-known indie hits like “Nomadland” and “CODA”.

Many in the industry were hoping for a healthy spread of nominations among 2022’s crowd-pleasing sequels, which were sorely needed as giants such as Cineworld, the world’s second biggest cinema chain, filed for bankruptcy protection.

James Cameron’s sci-fi epic “Avatar: The Way of Water,” which sailed past the $2 billion mark globally last weekend, earned four nominations including best picture, production design, sound and visual effects.

“Top Gun: Maverick”, Cruise’s long-awaited sequel to his huge 1986 hit which came out in May during highly uncertain times for movie theatres and earned around $1.5 billion, received six — best picture, editing, song, sound, visual effects and adapted screenplay.

“That’s the one that feels like it could actually win best picture”, said Davis, before the announcement.

“What better story the day after the Oscars air, than that the movie that saved movies was named the best movie? That’s a good story to tell.”

WASHINGTON — Half of the Earth’s glaciers, notably smaller ones, are destined to disappear by the end of the century because of climate change, but limiting global warming could save others, according to a rececnt study.

The findings, published in the journal Science on Thursday, provide the most comprehensive look so far at the future of the world’s 215,000 glaciers.

The authors emphasised the importance of restricting greenhouse gas emissions to limit the consequences from glacier melt such as sea level rise and depletion of water resources.

To help orient policy makers, the study looked at the impact of four scenarios on glaciers, where global mean temperature change is 1.5ºC, 2.0ºC, 3.0ºC and 4.0ºC.

“Every degree increase produces more melt and loss,” said Regine Hock of the University of Oslo and University of Alaska Fairbanks, a co-author of the study.

“But that also means if you reduce the temperature increase, you can also reduce that mass loss,” Hock told AFP. “So in that sense, there is also a little bit of hope.”

Even if global temperature rise is limited to 1.5ºC above pre-industrial levels — the most ambitious goal of the Paris Agreement — the researchers estimated that 49 per cent of the world’s glaciers would vanish by the year 2100.

That would represent about 26 per cent of the world’s glacier mass because the smallest glaciers would be those first impacted.

Global mean temperature is currently estimated to be increasing by 2.7ºC which would result in a near-complete loss of glaciers in Central Europe, Western Canada and the continental United States and New Zealand.

“Regions with relatively little ice like the European Alps, the Caucasus, the Andes, or the western US, they lose almost all the ice by the end of the century almost no matter what the emission scenario is,” Hock said. “So those glaciers, they’re more or less doomed.”

Under the worst-case scenario — global temperature rise of 4ºC — giant glaciers such as those in Alaska would be more affected and 83 per cent of glaciers would disappear by the end of the century.

Glacier loss would also exacerbate sea level rise.

“The glaciers that we are studying are only one per cent of all ice on Earth,” said Hock, “much less than the Greenland ice sheet and the Antarctic ice sheet.

“But they have contributed to sea level rise almost just as much as the Greenland and Antarctic ice sheet together in the last three decades,” she said.

Warming of 1.5ºC would lead to an increase in average sea levels of nine centimetres while temperatures 4ºC higher would cause 15 centimetres of sea level rise.

“It doesn’t sound very much, nine centimetres up to 15 centimetres,” Hock said, “but it’s not global sea level that is that much of a concern.

“It’s mostly associated storm surges,” she said, which have the potential to cause “a lot more damage”.

The disappearance of glaciers will also have an impact on water resources because they provide freshwater for some two billion people.

“The glaciers compensate for the loss of water in summer when it’s not raining much and it’s hot,” Hock said.

The study’s projections, which are more pessimistic than those of UN climate experts, were reached through observations of the mass of each glacier through the decades and computer simulations.

Despite the alarming findings, Hock said “it is possible to reduce the mass loss by human action.

“If it happens is of course a different question,” she said. “If that happens is of course up to the policy makers.”

The go-to car for plutocrats, politicians, potentates, the diplomatic corps and VIPs of various shades, the Mercedes-Benz S-Class is uniquely positioned even among its large luxury car competitors. Since its 1959 introduction, the S-Class built an image of a stern, stately and “serious” luxury car underpinned by a reputation for “bullet-proof” reliability and longevity, but none of overt and ostentatious trappings and associations often associated with many rivals. A car that made a statement associating power with responsibility rather than foppish frivolity, the S-Class is a standout car that remains discrete, if not quite austere.

Stately and subtle

Less likely to inspire the ire of the masses, the S-Class’s ability to better blend in the background than gaudier alternatives, was another big selling point. Still trading on many of the same qualities, the latest generation S-Class was introduced in 2020, and arguably better captures such classy conservatism than its previous three incarnations. With an elegantly long bonnet, rearwards cabin and short front overhang juxtaposed with a long rear overhang, its smoother design puts less emphasis on aggressive surfacing, and features a rakishly descending and tapered-in rear, which helps generate exceptionally low CD0.22 aerodynamic efficiency.

Assertive yet restrained with its more upright and almost arrogant fascia, high-set slim headlights and broad grille, the latest S-Class is even more luxuriously upmarket than its immediate predecessor. A “space age” machine next to historic models, its significantly enhanced technology features include a raft of new and improved comfort, connectivity, infotainment, driver-assistance and semi-autonomous systems too numerous to list here. In short, when fully equipped and enabled where legal, the current S-Class is capable of claimed Level 3 driving and level 4 parking autonomy on a scale of 0-5.

Smooth system

Notable for readopting inherently balanced in-line six-cylinder engines in lieu of its predecessor’s V6 configuration, the driven S450 4Matic (LWB) version’s twin-turbocharged 3-litre “straight six” is smaller, smoother and more efficient, yet more powerful than its predecessor. Developing 362BHP at 5,500-6,100rpm and ample 369lb/ft torque over a wide and accessible 1,600-4,500rpm torque band, the S450’s combustion engine is complemented by a 48V starter/generator mild hybrid system. Subtle and near imperceptible in operation, the un-intrusive 21BHP, 184lb/ft mild hybrid system is primarily concerned with running electric and ancillary systems, and improving efficiency.

With responsive quick-spooling turbos, the S450 accelerates through 0-100km/h in 5.1-seconds, and onto an electronically-limited 250km/h. Digging deep to eke out maximum thrust on steep inclines, the S450’s purring revs rise with subdued urgency as it reaches for its redline in a clean, consistent manner. Briskly athletic but no super saloon, the S450’s performance is pitch-perfect for an entry-level petrol model, providing muscularly confident driving. It also allows more opportunity to get better acquainted with its rev limit and full engine characteristics in such conditions, than is experienced with more abundant engine versions.

Sublime steering

Driven through a smooth shifting 9-speed automatic gearbox, the S450 4Matic’s rear-biased all-wheel-drive delivers rear-drive like handling, with power sent frontward for additional traction when needed. Tidy into corners with accurate steering, it is balanced through winding switchbacks, but over-cautious electronic stability controls tend to curb power at a hint of grip loss, even in “Sport” mode, and limit one from intuitively exploring handling and grip limits, and tightening cornering lines. Tauter and more responsive with steering, gearbox and suspension in “Sport” mode, the S450’s core characteristics remain consistent, but more focused. 

Equipped with all-wheel-steering turning rear wheels opposite to the front to effectively shorten its wheelbase and make it more nimble and manoeuvrable at lower speeds, the new S-Class’s agility belies its substantial length. Pivoting by 4.5° in Jordanian specification (and optionally by 10° for certain markets), the rear wheels turn along with the front at speed for increased lane-changing stability. A natural continent-shrinking high-speed luxury express with composed stability and refinement, the S450’s dynamic forte is its sublime ride comfort, even when fitted with larger, firmer AMG wheels, as driven.

Supple stability

Supple over road imperfections, the S450’s air suspension takes the edge off bumps and cracks, and wafts along with a gently nuanced and rippled ride quality, without feeling aloof or disconnected. Dispatching unevenly lumpy roads without shunting passengers side to side, the S450 is best in “Comfort” mode, where a lighter touch and less aggressive inputs persuade it to hustle through snaking roads with impressive poise. Well controlling cornering lean, its ride is meanwhile settled in vertical movements and reactions, but with a long wheelbase, its otherwise wonderfully forgiving suspension can compress slightly more than ideal over sharp, sudden road dips.

A reassuring and refined ride for long journeys, the S450’s luxurious, well-insulated cabin is comfortable, cosseting and finished with quality materials and quilted leathers. Tastefully styled, ergonomic and spacious, with highly adjustable front and rear seats, the S450’s equipment includes comprehensive convenience, comfort and sophisticated safety features, including a slim digital instrument panel and superb sound system. Its large infotainment screen accesses most functions, but is not as initially intuitive as buttons and dials. Generous at 550-litre capacity, the S-Class’s boot volume is, however, reduced by the above floor-mounted regional specification spare tyre.

TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS

Engine: 3-litre, twin-turbo, in-line 6-cylinders

Bore x stroke: 83 x 92.4mm

Compression: 10.5:1

Valve-train: 24-valve, DOHC, direct injection

Gearbox: 9-speed automatic, four-wheel-drive

0-100 km/h: 5.1-seconds

Maximum speed: 250km/h

Power, BHP (PS) [kW]: 362 (367) [270] @5,500-6,100rpm

Specific power: 122BHP/litre

Power-to-weight: 179BHP/tonne

Torque, lb/ft (Nm): 369 (500) @1,600-4,500rpm

Specific torque: 167Nm/litre

Torque-to-weight: 247Nm/tonne

Fuel consumption, combined: 7.8-8.4 litres/100km

Hybrid system: 48V starter/alternator

Electric power, BHP (PS) [kW]: 21 (22) [16]

Electric torque, lb/ft (Nm): 184 (250)

Length: 5,289mm

Width: 1,921mm

Height: 1,503mm

Wheelbase: 3,216mm

Track, F/R: 1,660/1,688mm

Overhang, F/R: 877/1,196mm

Aerodynamic drag co-efficiency: 0.22

Legroom, F/R: 1,051/1,115mm

Boot capacity: 550-litres

Kerb weight: 2,025kg

Steering: Electric-assisted, rack and pinion, four-wheel-steering

Maximum rear steering angle: 4.5°

Turning circle: 11.9-metres

Suspension: Multilink, adaptive air dampers

Brakes: Ventilated discs

Tyres, F/R: 255/40R20/285/35R20

By Shama Kaur
Kundalini Yoga Teacher 
and Wellness Mentor

I often tell my students that once they experience Kundalini Yoga, they will not remain the same: the very nature of Kundalini Yoga is to awaken the energy of consciousness.

The practice brings to our awareness our self-limiting beliefs and habit patterns that we inherited from the past. It invites us to process and release painful memories that are stored in our subconscious. It awakens our ability to become intuitive and sensitive, to understand a person or a situation even if no words are spoken- to realise the consequences of actions before they happen.

Confidence and pride

I love sports and many types of rigorous yoga like Vinyassa and Ashtanga. I see these practices as adventurous and challenging. By practicing regularly I’ve noticed improvement in my speed and performance. They give me a sense of accomplishment, confidence, even a little pride, when I see myself performing handstands and headstands.

My Kundalini practice has transformed me. The kriyas and meditations are pretty structured practices, but rather than focusing on the physical alignment, the kriyas are a specific set of exercises that generate energy, organise that energy and lead you to a specific energetic state — particularly one of greater awareness.

Also, within the practice, are built-in moments of stillness where we sit quietly and awaken to our Self. The breathwork within the kriyas is so powerful that it starts to strip away the layers that veil our consciousness and in the sweet moments between poses, we can sense the fullness of who we are.

I noticed over the years many subtle benefits to practicing Kundalini yoga such as: 

•Strengthening the nervous system: when you’re in a downward dog or plank pose for three whole minutes and your entire body is shaking, have no fear! Your nervous system is toning. And the stronger your nerves become, the more you will be able to act in a cool, calm and collected matter in the face of any situation, be it a car accident, big presentation or family drama

•Awakening your inner will-power right at the core of your solar plexus (3rd Chakra) at the navel point. What this means is that strong heat will build up in this area of your body, which helps in digesting not only food, but also past memories and self-doubt. We become able to process and digest events that happen and take necessary action immediately to eradicate things, people or situations that are causing us more harm than good

•Clearing the fog from your mind. When the mind becomes clouded with several thoughts, it feels a little like a cobweb of thoughts difficult to untangle. A few minutes of rapid breathing (breath of fire), or one-minute breath, the mind becomes crystal clear, you will feel more alert, focused, concentrated, with a better memory and the ability to make sound decisions

•Releasing worries and awakening your creativity: Breathing through alternate nostrils brings into balance the left and right hemispheres of the brain. We usually act and analyse more frequently than we feel, visualise and imagine. And that’s because the right side of the brain is usually under-stimulated. Kundalini yoga awakens our inner creativity by releasing our worries about little things and opening us up to the infinite possibilities that life has to offer

•Gaining an attitude of acceptance: Kundalini yoga opens the heart center (4th Chakra) and poses such as the Tree Pose provide us with security in the root Chakra. So, we feel like strong steady trees planted firmly in the earth and when our needs are not met, we don’t feel like it’s the end of the world. We remain open and trusting that God will provide us with what we need when the time is right. So, the world doesn’t collapse when we don’t get that job, fail that exam, or suffer from a breakup or a family death. Whatever it is, we gain an attitude of acceptance. Understanding that it’s all OK. It’s all good. We are open to whatever life has to offer

•Becoming compassionate: poses such as the shoulder stand open the throat centre (5th Chakra). Add this to an open heart and we become forgiving, compassionate and non-judgemental; our lips can bless, give gratitude and kindness to all those around us. Thus, don’t be surprised when you start addressing your boss, cousins or neighbour by dear, dearest, sweetheart, my love and so on. More so, when there is something bothering you, you will find the best way to express yourself is by gently saying the absolute truth

•Awakening your intuition. We spend so much time stuck in our minds, analysing the pros and cons of each decision when in reality the answer is within us. We always have a gut feeling about something, but we tend to ignore it. Yoga gives you the ability to pause and listen to the message behind that gut feeling. It enables you to quieten down your mind to the point that your thoughts become still and you can feel what your heart yearns for

•Making Wise Choices: All forms of yoga make us more conscious beings. So, don’t be surprised when you start refraining from behaviours that cause harm to you and the environment such as smoking, drinking, drugs, meat and dairy, water and electricity overuse. Instead, you will choose to consume fresh vegetables, fruits and whole foods to protect animals and the environment. You will find yourself serving others through charitable giving and taking up activities like singing, dancing and art, that remove you from the company of people and surroundings that no longer bring out the best in you

Kundalini Yoga is not to be taken lightly. It is like an express train that shakes and wakes you up. Some kriyas will leave you feeling high and totally blissed out. Other kriyas will really provoke and confront you. What’s important is to stay present and accept pleasure and pain as part of the same journey to health and balance. Our ego naturally leans towards pleasure and comfort. It takes concerted effort and discipline to begin to release the ego’s grip on our consciousness. This effort is the work required to begin to access the truth of who we are, to create a strong connection to our soul and therefore our Soul’s work on this planet. It is where we start to make great strides towards living as an enlightened being.

This 2023, I encourage you to embark on a journey of transformation that will most certainly deepen your connection to your true self, with the practice of Kundalini Yoga. Consider joining the Kundalini Yoga Teacher Training Programme in Amman that begins this February 2023!

Reprinted with permission from Family Flavours magazine

WASHINGTON — Light pollution is growing rapidly and in some places the number of stars visible to the naked eye in the night sky is being reduced by more than half in less than 20 years, according to a study released on Thursday.

The researchers, whose findings were published in the journal Science, said the increase in light pollution — skyglow — that they found was much larger than that measured by satellite observations of Earth at night.

For the study of the change in global sky brightness from artificial light, the researchers used stellar observations from 2011 to 2022 submitted by more than 51,000 “citizen scientists” around the world.

Participants in the “Globe at Night” project run by the US National Optical-Infrared Astronomy Research Laboratory were given star maps and asked to compare them to the night sky at their location.

The change in the number of visible stars reported was equivalent to a 9.6 per cent per year annual increase in sky brightness, averaged over the locations of the participants, the researchers said.

Over an 18-year period, given such star brightness change, a location with 250 visible stars would see that number reduced to 100.

Most of the naked-eye star observations came from Europe and the United States said Christopher Kyba, one of the authors of the study, but there was also good participation in Uruguay, South Africa and Japan.

“The global trend in skyglow that we measure likely underestimates the trend in countries with the most rapid increases in economic development, because the rate of change in light emission is highest there,” the researchers said.

The study coincided with the replacement of many outdoor lights with light-emitting diodes (LEDs), but the researchers said the impact on skyglow from the transition to LEDs is unclear.

“Some researchers have predicted that it will be beneficial; others, that it could be harmful because of spectral changes or a rebound effect, in which the high luminous efficacy of LEDs leads to more or brighter lights being installed or longer hours of operation,” they said.

According to the study, the global LED market share for new general lighting grew from under one per cent in 2011 to 47 per cent in 2019.

“The visibility of stars is deteriorating rapidly, despite [or perhaps because of] the introduction of LEDs in outdoor lighting applications,” the researchers said.

“Existing lighting policies are not preventing increases in skyglow, at least on continental and global scales.”

‘Confronted with 

the cosmos’

Kyba, a physicist at the German Research Centre for Geoscience, told AFP that while the team was able to evaluate erosion of star visibility due to skyglow, not a lot of research has been done on its ecological impact.

“There’s tons of research on light shining directly on animals and plants,” he said. “But it’s really hard to do experiments on the impact of skyglow.

“You’re not going to do something like just turn off New York City and see what happens in the East River.”

Science aside, light pollution has changed the character of the night sky.

“For all of human history, when people went outside at nighttime, they were sort of confronted with the cosmos, at least on clear nights with no moon,” Kyba said.

“You’d walk outside and there’s the stars, there’s the Milky Way. It’s there and it’s shining down on you,” he said.

“And now that’s like a really unusual experience,” he said. “It surely makes a difference to us as people that we don’t have this experience that used to be a very universal experience.”

The Globe at Night campaign hosts an interactive data map at globeatnight.org and is seeking volunteers to collect more observations in 2023.

LOS ANGELES — The huge success of “Avatar: The Way of Water”, James Cameron’s sequel which is approaching $2 billion at the global box office, proves that “movies are back with a resurgence” after the pandemic, the Canadian director said.

“We’ve had a year to see that this resurgence isn’t just a fluke, or just one film,” Cameron told AFP this week in Los Angeles, pointing to other recent mega-grossing blockbusters including “Top Gun: Maverick” and “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever”.

“You’ve seen a pattern”, added Cameron, after having his handprints immortalised in cement at Hollywood’s famous TCL Chinese Theatre.

“Avatar: The Way of Water” came 13 years after the original film, which remains the highest grossing movie of all time, amassing $2.9 billion at the global box office.

Even if the sequel — which transplants the 3D action to a new underwater setting — does not quite scale those heights, it is already the seventh biggest film of all time by ticket sales.

That remarkable success has helped to reinvigorate the movie theatre industry, which has been slammed by competition from streamers, and apathy about the movie-going experience since the pandemic.

In the United States alone some 500 theatres have disappeared since the arrival of COVID-19 forced costly closures, according to the National Association of Theatre Owners. 

Cineworld — the British group that owns America’s second-largest theatre chain Regal Cinemas — is in the midst of restructuring after filing for bankruptcy last year.

But Cameron, the director of “Titanic”, “The Terminator” and many more hits, remains firmly convinced about the viability and adaptability of cinema in the future.

“I don’t think movies are ever gonna die,” he said.

“We need this as culture, as a society. We need to go into these theatres into these big large spaces with hundreds of strangers.”

‘Pseudo-intellectual’ critics

At 68, the director nevertheless recognises that habits have changed.

While grand spectacle continues to draw younger crowds to giant multiplexes, auteur-driven and independent cinema is finding it increasingly hard to convince older audiences to leave their homes.

“I’m also seeing a pattern of the type of film that people will go to see in a movie theatre and the type that they won’t. And so streaming still has a very, very rich and important place,” said Cameron.

His “Avatar” sequel sees the blue Na’vi of Pandora fighting off yet another invasion of their homeland by resource-hungry humans.

The storyline allows Cameron, who is famously passionate about underwater exploration and is a vegetarian, to expand on the franchise’s themes: Protecting nature, and the threats posed to the environment by imperialism and capitalism.

But while it has torn audiences away from the comfort of their sofas, it has received a mixed reaction from critics.

It left this week’s Golden Globes empty-handed, unlike its 2009 predecessor which won best drama and best director for Cameron.

It was not even nominated by Cameron’s peers, the Directors Guild of America, for their own annual awards.

“That’s in the nature of art. You can’t please everybody,” shrugged Cameron.

Critics “think a certain kind of earnestness, where you wear your heart on your sleeve, is unsophisticated or naive”, he said.

“To me, that’s a little bit of a pseudo-intellectual perspective.”

‘Hope in Ukraine’

Cameron pointed to the film’s massive international appeal, citing data from its distributor that the sequel is “approaching being the number one film in the history of Ukraine”.

“That means that when the missiles stop and the power comes back on, people are going to the movie theatres,” he said.

“Giving hope in Ukraine right now, that made the whole thing worthwhile. Not the money. Not the awards.”

PARIS — It was used to build the Great Wall of China and Spain’s mediaeval Alhambra Palace — and now earth is back in vogue as a building material.

Climate change has spurred renewed interest in the ancient technique which sees polluting concrete swapped where possible for earth. 

For centuries, mud and clay were an abundantly available way to put a roof over one’s head, but earth’s environmental credentials are behind its modern-day resurgence.

“A kilo of cement emits a kilo of CO2. Whereas a kilo of earth emits none,” Xavier Chateau of the Navier Laboratory at the French National Centre for Scientific Research said.

“If we could reduce by 25 per cent the volume of cement consumed globally it would be equivalent to negating the impact on the climate of all air transport,” he estimated.

Known as rammed earth construction, the practice dates at least as far back as the Neolithic era.

It involves compacting certain soils into a mould, of sorts, to make building blocks or build up whole walls, layer by layer.

More than 2 billion people across some 150 countries live in buildings made of earth, according to a 2006 guide on earth building by French authors Hugo Houben and Hubert Guillaud.

Advocates say it can help reduce reliance on concrete, which accounts for about eight per cent of global CO2 emissions.

Earth also has a high thermal capacity by self-regulating its humidity, is fireproof, non-toxic and can be completely recycled.

But it has downsides too, not least the cost, given the need to find builders qualified in ancient techniques.

‘Earth concrete’ hybrid

Confronted with flooding, earth-constructed buildings need protection, as earth also has its weaknesses.

A four-storey rammed earth building crumpled in France’s southeastern Rhone region in November, while a house collapsed in the nearby department of Isere on December 22, according to local press reports.

Often substances such as lime or straw can be added to the earth to stabilise it and bolster its durability.

French building material firm Saint-Gobain is experimenting with a hybrid system of “earth concrete”, combining excavated earth from construction sites, steel industry waste and hemp.

But purists see it as verging on heresy, in a country due to complete a 9,000-seat concert coliseum north of Paris next year using recycled excavated earth.

“It’s not the same material at all,” complains architect Paul-Emmanuel Loiret, who manages La Fabrique outside Paris where blocks and bricks of compressed earth are made from construction rubble.

Urging a “complete and rapid decarbonisation” of construction, he complained that EU laws “impose on us materials 10 to 20 times more durable than those which we need”.

But, said Chateau: “In Africa, in Burkina Faso or Malawi, it’s become a kind of artisanal savoir-faire to stabilise raw earth with cement at the foot of the building to solve the problem of water” encroachment.

‘Huge demand’

Austria has Europe’s only factory to date making low-energy prefab homes using rammed earth methods.

The site, in the western village of Schlins on the Liechtenstein border, creates foundations, floors and walls using chalk, clay, chopped straw, lime or gravel.

A machine pounds the earth which is compacted into a vast casing to produce 40-metre long walls. 

Once dried and cut to size, the blocks are sent off to be assembled. 

“Given the ecological challenge and the problem of energy, huge demand is emerging for this material,” said environmentalist, entrepreneur and former potter Martin Rauch, who built the factory.

Architect Sami Akkach who works with Rauch said they use earth from the surrounding area, building and excavation sites.

“It must contain clay, gravel, angular rather than round so it really sticks,” Akkach said.

Rauch has several earth-constructed buildings to his name, including his home whose exterior walls include terracotta designed to act as a brake on rain and erosion, a throwback to ancient methods used in Saudi Arabia.

He says the factory boasts Europe’s longest earthen wall — at 67 metres — and he believes the demand is there for more projects using rammed earth.

“The problem is there are not enough artisans and people are still too afraid of this natural material,” he said.

He added that hopefully people will realise that “earth structures will last for centuries, if they are built correctly.”

MILAN — The return of Gucci to the menswear catwalk calendar, robust sales of Italian fashion and a farewell to the pandemic-imposed trend of virtual shows — it’s all systems go for men’s fashion week in Milan which opened Friday.

Promising spectacle and optimism after a year in which sales of Italian fashion showed the strongest growth of the last 20 years, presentations for Fall-Winter 2023/2024 men’s collections run until Tuesday.

Of the 79 shows, only four are digital, a holdover from the debilitating pandemic period that sent sales plunging and brought a halt to live runway shows. 

Nothing replaces “the live experience, the frenzy, the expectation, the applause, the top models parading on the catwalk and the powerful music”, fashion consultant Elisabetta Cavatorta told AFP.

Most anticipated was fashion powerhouse Gucci which put on a menswear-only show for the first time in three years and the luxury label’s first since artistic director Alessandro Michele’s surprise departure in November.

New direction at Gucci?

At its minimalist show Friday, Gucci said it was celebrating “the aesthetics of improvisation” with a collection inspired by the classic wardrobe of the gentleman, revisited in a subversive spirit. 

Combining faded jeans with sequined tops and green and red or pink boots with heels, the collection mixed genres and colours. 

Long oversized coats with ample shoulder pads and maxi skirts split to reveal bare legs peppered the collection, while wool hats and rectangular tote bags tossed carelessly over the shoulder added to Gucci’s accessory arsenal. 

With his colourful collections seeped in the 1970s, Michele provided a new lease on life after being tapped in 2015 to revive sales at the storied brand with the world-famous stripe logo in green and red.

While sales exploded by 44 per cent in 2018 for Kering’s flagship brand, growth has lagged competitors in the last two years.

“It remains to be seen whether Alessandro Michele’s departure initiates a change of direction for the fashion house,” Cavatorta said.

As to who will take over the reins at Gucci, the fashion world awaits news of Michele’s successor with bated breath.

Soaring revenues

Armani, Prada, Fendi, Dolce & Gabbana and Zegna are among the big labels set to unveil men’s collections in the Italian fashion capital.

But there have been defections including Versace, which plans to show its men’s and women’s collections together in Los Angeles on March 10.

Despite the war in Ukraine and the impact of the energy crisis on an energy-intensive fashion supply chain, sales of Italian fashion last year rose 16 per cent to 96.6 billion euros ($104.4 billion).

“This is the highest revenue in the last 20 years,” said Carlo Capasa, president of the Italian Fashion Chamber, at a presentation ahead of the shows last month. 

Inflation has had an impact, as Italian fashion prices rose by about nine per cent in 2022, but their increase is “a positive sign that closes a year marked by dramatic events and difficult times”, Capasa added. 

Exports of “Made in Italy” fashion climbed 18.7 per cent in the first nine months of last year, driven by demand in the United States and the Gulf countries where exports both soared by more than 50 per cent.

Sales to China grew more moderately, at 18.8 per cent, while exports to Russia fell by 26 per cent, in the wake of the invasion of Ukraine. 

But one area in which the impact of the COVID-19 crisis will still be felt in Milan is the absence of Chinese buyers.

Despite the lifting of coronavirus-related health restrictions by authorities in Beijing, the number of buyers who will travel to the city for the shows will be “limited”, Capasa said.