This week, architecture platform Architizer announced the winners of the 2026 A+Awards, celebrating the best architecture and design from around the globe. The unifying theme among the honorees: thoughtfulness. “This year felt like a welcome return to thoughtful, human-scaled architecture that puts place, craft, and environmental sensitivity first instead of chasing spectacle,” said juror Ismail Seleit. Explore the designs.
Must Reads
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Culture
John Lennon’s Drawings for Beatles’ Pioneering Music Video Go on Display
Peter Byrne—PA Images/Getty Images
In the mid-1960s, over a decade before MTV hit the airwaves, John Lennon and artist Stephen Verona collaborated on what some consider the world’s first rock ’n’ roll music video. The duo completed 240 drawings together at Verona’s dining table, each representing a lyric from what would become a Beatles hit, “I Feel Fine.” The drawings were then sequenced into an accompanying lyric video titled “She Said So.” Now, the public can view 10 of those original sketches in a temporary exhibit at the Liverpool Beatles Museum. The pieces were loaned by Joseph O’Donnell, an art collector who purchased them at an auction. “I’m a big Beatles fan, and I spotted these at an auction in London, where they weren’t really made a big deal of. I thought I would have a go at bidding on them, although I thought it might go a bit crazy, and I managed to get them at a reasonable price,” O’Donnell told PA Media. “Each artwork features a different word from the song and I was able to piece them together to make a full sentence.” See some of the drawings up close and watch the original video.
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A Clever Solution to Keep Agricultural Workers Hydrated
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It’s common for agricultural workers to work in hot conditions that leave them overheated and dehydrated — or even force them to work overnight shifts instead. To tackle the hydration problem, North Carolina nurse and professor Elizabeth Mizelle came up with a practical solution: putting water right on workers’ backs. Inspired by the hydration backpacks her brothers wore while serving in the military (which are also often used by bikers and hikers), Mizelle collaborated with farmers to test similar packs in the fields. The backpacks — which cost around $20 — feature an inner water bladder that holds 2-3 liters and a connected mouthpiece for drinking. The goal is to put hydration right at hand. Although the law requires employers to provide access to water, Mizelle explained to Yale Climate Connections that the supply is sometimes quite far away in large fields. She added some workers don’t take breaks out of fear of losing their jobs and often ignore symptoms of heat exhaustion and heat stroke. When she studied the hydration levels of outdoor workers in 2020, Mizelle concluded that 46% were dehydrated before their shift, and all were dehydrated by the end. Compare that to her first study on the backpacks, conducted two years later: She distributed them to 47 male workers and determined that most of the participants found them useful and comfortable, and 90% said the packs helped them stay hydrated.
Sports
Here’s How Scientists Created the Same World Cup Turf Experience Across 3 Countries
AP Photo/Bernat Armangue
This article was written by John N. Trey Rogers, Jackie Lyn A. Guevara, John Sorochan, and Ryan Bearss, for The Conversation. With 104 matches in 16 stadiums across Canada, the United States, and Mexico, the 2026 FIFA World Cup will be soccer’s biggest event ever. It’s our job as turfgrass researchers hired by FIFA, the game’s governing body, to make sure those pitches feel the same for players and that the grass thrives. That’s not so simple. In fact, it seemed like an impossible challenge at first. The scale of this job was unprecedented: three distinct climatic zones, over 3,100 miles between the farthest stadiums, and venues ranging from stadiums open to the heat of Mexico City and Miami to enclosed NFL stadiums in Dallas and Atlanta, to the cooler climates of Boston and Toronto. Despite the unique situations of each stadium, FIFA has a long list of rules for how the fields must be built. The grass has to be real but reinforced so it can handle a lot of games and ceremonies. Each field needs an automatic irrigation system, good drainage, built-in vacuum, and vents to keep the grass and soil aerated, and artificial grow lights to keep the grass healthy. Here’s how we created a seamless playing experience.
In Other News
Sweden is set to ban cell phones in schools starting in the fall, part of a broader shift away from screens (read more)
A holistic wetland restoration method is making a splash in Oregon’s McKenzie River (read more)
The aptly named Crystal Ball Nebula shines bright in a new photo captured by a telescope in Hawaii (read more)
Engineers developed a wearable pacemaker that could serve as a surgery-free alternative to cardiac implants (read more)
One of Africa’s rarest mammals was spotted by trail cameras, a glimmer of hope for the nearly extinct species (read more)
Inspiring Story
Pies the limit
When Travis Gilmore cooks, he uses his chin, wheelchair, and a slew of other creative workarounds to bring his recipes to life. The 24-year-old has limited hand function due to a spinal cord injury, but he doesn’t let that stop him from doing what he loves in the kitchen — hence the adaptive cooking techniques he documents on TikTok. “My biggest goal with my cooking videos has been to inspire others and show them that no matter your circumstances, there’s always a way to adapt,” Gilmore said. Watch him bake.
Photo of the Day
Adam Davy—PA Images/Getty Images
And just like that, the queen of tennis is back at the Queen’s Club in London! Yesterday, Serena Williams made her return to the court in the doubles bracket during day two of the HSBC Championships, alongside partner Victoria Mboko. “I don’t need to win,” Williams told reporters ahead of the match. “I’ve won more than most people have in their whole lives, so it’s not that important to me, and it’s important that I keep reminding myself of that, because I don’t have anything to prove.” Unsurprisingly, she won anyway. Read her interview with Nike about why she was drawn back to the sport after nearly four years away.
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