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In architecture, choosing the right construction materials is crucial to improve efficiency, ensure structural integrity and maximize performance, ultimately setting the standard for the finished product. But because any building – from its outer skin to its framing system – consists of many layers and parts, understanding how these fit and work can be just as important during design and manufacture. Technical specification of materials and constructive systems plays a key role in conveying this information, providing all of the necessary knowledge, properties and characteristics for any successful project. After all, the more you know about what lies between walls and behind finishes, the better your architecture will be.

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Choosing the appropriate working elements –such as furniture, lighting, flooring, and other equipment– is key for creating an optimal workplace environment. With a positive impact on productivity, as well as the comfort and well-being of team members, designing workplace elements that integrate sustainable, wellness and aesthetic qualities implies a deep understanding of the interactions between these three areas. Minimizing the environmental impact and prioritizing well-being throughout the design process, while also considering the resulting aesthetics, Boss Design’s Sia Task Chair defines a new standard for workplace design.

Architect William (Bill) Hellmuth, the chairman and CEO of HOK, passed away on April 6, 2023, after a long illness. Hellmuth was elected president of HOK in 2005, then CEO in 2016. He accepted the new role on the condition of remaining design principal for HOK’s Washington D.C. studio, as he enjoyed having a hands-on approach and working directly with clients and HOK project teams. One year later he was also named chairman of the firm, helping the office to raise its profile as an innovative and influential company within the design community.

The São Paulo Biennial Foundation has just announced details of the Terra project that will occupy the Brazil Pavilion at the 18th International Architecture Exhibition, La Biennale di Venezia. With a curatorial effort by Gabriela de Matos and Paulo Tavares, the Brazilian exhibition will feature a diverse group of collaborators, comprising Mbya-Guarani indigenous peoples, Tukano, Arawak and Maku indigenous peoples, weavers from Alaká (Ilê Axé Opô Afonjá), Iyá Nassô Oká (Casa Branca do Engenho Velho), Ana Flávia Magalhães Pinto, Ayrson Heráclito, Day Rodrigues with collaboration from Vilma Patrícia Santana Silva (Etnicidades Group FAU-UFBA), Fissura Collective, Juliana Vicente, Thierry Oussou, and Vídeo nas Aldeias.

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Biophilic office design is not just a passing trend. It rather represents a seismic shift in how we design and build our office spaces and work environments, with every employer from multi-national giants of the industry to two-person bedroom startups getting on board. But this weighed-down bandwagon of empathetic, wellness-focused workspace still has plenty of room on the back.

Sevince Bayrak and Oral Göktaş, founders of the Istanbul-based studio SO? Architecture and Ideas, were selected as curators for the Pavilion of Türkiye in the 18th International Architecture Exhibition, La Biennale di Venezia 2023, with an exhibition project titled Ghost Stories: Carrier Bag Theory of Architecture. The installation questions the accepted perceptions of unused buildings in order to discover more hopeful proposals for the future. The exhibition will be open from May 20th until November 26th, 2023, under the coordination of the Istanbul Foundation for Culture and Arts (İKSV). The project team consists of Aysima Akın, Kevser Reyyan Doğan, Merve Akdoğan and the research team includes Taylan Tosun, Doğu Tonkur, Hatice Bahar Çoklar Berke Şevketoğlu, Duygu Sayğı.

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Foster + Partners has developed a provisional concept design for a Vertiport terminal, located next to Dubai International Airport, in collaboration with Skysports Infrastructure, the leading designer and operator of Vertiport technology for advanced air mobility.

Skyports Infrastructure and Dubai's Highways and Transport Authority are now considering four initial locations, with the DXB vertiport being one of them (RTA). The locations are envisioned as part of an electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) infrastructure network that will link Dubai's most populated and well-known places and offer high-speed, zero-emission transportation. The RTA's Dubai Metro network and Dubai International Airport are just two existing transportation hubs with which the vertiport network will interact. By 2026, the RTA and Skyports Infrastructure intend to have a network of vertiports ready for use for air taxi services.

Over the past years, collective living has become a solution many city dwellers turn to. It is usually a stand-alone structure or a group of buildings that include both individual, private dwellings and common areas. Their main use is residential and they are often located in the center of the city, giving residents full access to a wide range of services. In today’s economy, many people prefer living in collective housing schemes where maintenance of the common areas is taken care of, while also having their individual spaces. 

This week’s curated selection of Best Unbuilt Architecture highlights visionary collective housing schemes submitted by the ArchDaily community. From a housing complex in Zurich that explores the boundaries of privacy, a pre-sale property development situated in the “Garden City of Buenos Aires,” and a suburban residence in Athens, this round-up of unbuilt projects highlights how architects are moving forward from conventional residential architecture, pushing the boundary of community, collaboration, and participation.

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The first image that comes to mind when we think of an office is a place with a table and chair. But it was not always the case. In the Middle Ages, monasteries were the main places for study and knowledge, with private rooms designed to help monks concentrate when researching. However, records state that such spaces were uncomfortable since scholars remained standing most of the time.

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Videos

The Second Studio (formerly The Midnight Charette) is an explicit podcast about design, architecture, and the everyday. Hosted by Architects David Lee and Marina Bourderonnet, it features different creative professionals in unscripted conversations that allow for thoughtful takes and personal discussions.

A variety of subjects are covered with honesty and humor: some episodes are interviews, while others are tips for fellow designers, reviews of buildings and other projects, or casual explorations of everyday life and design. The Second Studio is also available on iTunes, Spotify, and YouTube.

This week Architect Rick Joy, Founder and Principal of Studio Rick Joy joins David and Marina of FAME Architecture and Design to discuss his background; transitioning from his career as a percussionist to architecture; his philosophy and practice; the pros and cons of design-build; his process and thoughts on architectural style; and more.

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Subscriptions are quickly becoming an integral part of everyday life. For example, streaming platforms have completely replaced the need to own video cassettes, while ride-sharing services partially cover the need to own a private car. Subscriptions have been largely understood as digital services, but a new trend suggests that the same concept could be transferred to physical objects in the near future. Instead of owning a fridge, a washing machine, or even light bulbs, one could acquire a subscription to ensure the freshness of produce, clean clothes, and a well-lit home.

The concept is known as the “subscription-based economy,” a variant of the “circular economy” notion. It postulates that instead of owning some of the objects used every day, one could subscribe to a service to gain access to the same benefits, but without the need to own, maintain or dispose of the object in question. Consumers no longer buy products; they buy access to services. Sometimes, it would mean simply leasing the object instead of purchasing it, but the model goes one step further. It inscribes a shift of responsibility and mentality. Because consumers no longer own the objects, the responsibility to reuse and recycle falls to the producers, who are now in charge of the entire life cycle of the objects they create.

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Architects have always considered the positive influence of natural light on the health and mood of a building's occupants, but measuring its actual benefits was a challenge for a long time. However, the past few decades have seen significant progress in this area, with research such as the comprehensive study conducted by the Heschong Mahone Group, which analyzed more than 21,000 student tests in three school districts in California, Washington, and Colorado. The results showed that students in classrooms with more natural light had a 20% faster learning progress in math tests and 26% on reading tests, compared to students in classrooms with less natural light. Many other studies reinforce that including natural light in spaces has immense long-term benefits for societies, especially during a child's valuable formative years, who spend about 90% of their time indoors and about 200 days a year in classrooms.

Francelle Cane and Marija Marić have been selected to curate the Luxembourg Pavilion was unanimously selected by the jury to create at the 18th International Architecture Exhibition - La Biennale di Venezia with an exhibition project titled "Down to Earth." The project explores the "wild imaginaries of extraction-driven growth," such as the development of human settlements on the Moon or the asteroid mining of rare minerals and metals. As the starting point for the exhibition, the team questions the impact of this new space race that promises endlessly available resources beyond the limits of Earth. The commissioner of the pavilion, the Ministry of Culture Luxembourg, has appointed Kultur|lx—Arts Council Luxembourg to produce the exhibition in cooperation with LUCA—Luxembourg Center for Architecture. The Pavilion will be open from May 20th until November 26th, 2023.

The Canadian Wood Council has announced the winners of the 39th annual Wood Design & Building Awards program. The awards program honors and recognizes the remarkable contributions of architects worldwide who excel in wood design and construction. This year, the program attracted a record 181 nominations from 25 different countries, and 24 winning projects were chosen from the excellent pool of submissions.

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Cemeteries are among the architectural programs with the greatest symbolic value. They suggest rituals, rigor and solemnity while offering some comfort or hospitality, if not for those who bid farewell to their loved ones, at least to "guarantee" a dignified afterlife for those who have passed away. The San Cataldo Cemetery, designed by Aldo Rossi and Gianni Braghieri, fulfills the first part of the previous statement. Partly because the project was not entirely built, austerity and empty spaces predominate. But when considering the proposed project, perhaps the aridity would remain, and the harshness would be felt more forcefully. Composed of buildings with almost abstract, pure shapes, without noble details or cladding, the cemetery project is a good example of Aldo Rossi's production at the time of its conception, around 1970.

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Richard Kelly illuminated some of the twentieth century’s most iconic buildings: the Glass House, Seagram Building and Kimbell Art Museum, to name a few. His design strategy was surprisingly simple but extremely successful.

Lighting for architecture has been and still often is dominated by an engineering viewpoint, resigned to determining sufficient illuminance levels for a safe and efficient working environment. With a background in stage lighting, Kelly introduced a scenographic perspective for architectural lighting. His point of view might look self-evident to today’s architectural community, but it was revolutionary for his time and has strongly influenced modern architecture.