Each day digest: Germany shutters half of its nuclear energy crops, Pantone crowns Very Peri its colour of 2022, and extra

Good afternoon and welcome back to yet another survey of what’s going on today.

Here’s what you need to know:

Germany closes three of its six nuclear power plants for good

Germany is continuing the transition away from nuclear power, and on the last day of 2021, followed through with its pledge to close its six remaining plants by beginning the decommissioning process for three of them. Starting this year, the plants in Brokdorf, in Schleswig-Holstein, Grohnde, in Lower Saxony, and the Gundremmingen Nuclear Power Plant in Bavaria will begin the 20-year, $1.25 billion (each) process to close for good.

H/t to DW

Pantone’s color of 2022 is Very Peri

Pantone has named its color of 2022, predicting that the hot new trend in interior design, fashion, and furniture will be “Very Peri,” a deep shade of periwinkle. According to Pantone, the shade combines “blue and reddish violet, thus creating a new color that has never existed before” (although it also cites lavender flowers as already being Very Peri, and not lavender, so take that with a grain of salt). More than just the color itself, Very Peri, in Pantone’s words, is about transformation and the “before” and “after” of life and global culture during the pandemic, represented in its blending of blue and red.

A Bay Area battle pits a school district against a community garden

The Jefferson Union High School District is looking to boost revenue after being battered by the pandemic, but plans to develop a massive mixed-use complex in Daly City, California, is running into opposition. The problem? Residents are rallying and signing petitions to prevent the destruction of the two-decade-old community garden that sits on the site.

The school district wants to bring office space, retail, market-rate apartments, and subsidized housing for teachers on the plot, which it already owns. The Mercury News reports that the City Council looks likely to approve the project given the housing shortage (especially for educators) facing the Bay Area, but opponents have vowed to fight on.

H/t to The Mercury News

Little Rock, Arkansas, will get a new home for the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra

The Arkansas Symphony Orchestra will get a new 20,000-square-foot headquarters in Little Rock. The Stella Boyle Smith Music Center, slated to rise in the city’s East Village neighborhood, has already raised $5.4 of the total $9 million needed through private donations and will go after public funding to raise the rest. Once funds are secured, it’s estimated that construction will take 18 months and the music center could open by July of 2023. Once complete, the new center will include offices, a music library and educational facilities and outreach programs, a streaming studio, and rehearsal spaces.

H/t to the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette

In Liverpool, a design competition for a Slave Museum overhaul seeks bold proposals

It’s been a big week for high-profile English design competitions, from the RIBA headquarters revamp to the Barbican Centre overhaul shortlist announcement yesterday. Now, you can add another to the list, this time in Liverpool: The International Slavery Museum and the Maritime Museum, both of which sit in the same former waterfront warehouse, is searching for a team to transform events, education, and gallery spaces throughout both institutions. The brief also includes creating a new community space and linking the Grade I-listed Hartley Pavilion where both museums currently sit with the neighboring Martin Luther King Jr. Building via a pedestrian bridge.

Interested parties have until February 7 to apply.

H/t to the Architects’ Journal

The Louvre and Grand Palais team up for an immersive Mona Lisa exhibition

Paris isn’t immune from the wave of immersive art rooms sweeping the planet. The newest one, however, has some big sponsors. The Louvre and Grand Palais are teaming up to present an immersive Mona Lisa room at Palais de la Bourse in Marseille from March 10 through August 21, where the two institutions are hoping to cash in on the popularity of similar Van Gogh rooms that have proven so successful that they’ve actually spawned rival companies who are battling for market share.

H/t to Artnet News