The Latvian Ministry of Culture have announced Together and Apart: 100 Years of Living as the theme of the Latvian Pavilion at the 2018 Venice Architecture Biennale. Urbanist Evelīna Ozola, architect Matīss Groskaufmanis, scenographer Anda Skrējānem, and Director of the New Theatre Institute of Latvia Gundega Laiviņa will highlight "ideological turning points from the last one hundred years," presenting ways in which "architectural projects and processes of apartment blocks have embodied different ideas about living together and building a nation."

Following an open call, a selection committee coordinated by the Istanbul Foundation for Culture and Arts (İKSV) has revealed Vardiya (The Shift) as the theme of the Turkish Pavilion at the 2018 Venice Architecture Biennale. Curated by Kerem Piker, the exhibition will propose "a spatial organisation for meeting, encountering, and architectural production."

A Spanish tourist has been killed by a piece of falling masonry in the Basilica of Santa Croce in Florence, Italy. As reported by The Guardian, the 52-year old victim was hit by "a piece of decorative stone that fell from a height of 20 metres (66 ft) as he visited the religious building with his wife." Reports suggest that the fragment was around 15cm by 15cm (6 by 6 inches) in size; according to Yahoo, the fragment "had supported a beam in the right transept of the Basilica."

Following the incident, the attraction has been closed to visitors indefinitely.

The Israeli Ministry of Culture have revealed In Statu Quo: Architecture of Negotiation as the theme of the Israeli Pavilion at the 2018 Venice Architecture Biennale. In the exhibition architects Ifat Finkelman, Deborah Pinto Fdeda, Oren Sagiv, and curator Tania Coen-Uzzielli, will examine "the complex mechanism of the 'Status Quo' within shared holy places in Israel-Palestine, which functions as an informal—if controversial and fragile—system of coexistence between rivals."

The Naoshima Pavilion by Sou Fujimoto is one of the more recent additions to the world-renowned "Art Island," and is located only meters away from Naoshima's boat terminal (designed by SANAA). The lightweight, highly-transparent mesh-like steel structure was conceived and constructed for the 2016 Setouchi Triennial. Photographer Laurian Ghinitoiu has turned his lens to the project which, in spite of its modest size, casts a striking silhouette on the island's coastline.

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Architecture has been historically deployed as a tool to construct and concretize legacies. Whereas only a few built edifices have left a large enough impact on the world, or have been around long enough, to enter into the canon of architectural legend, the seven wonders of the ancient world have achieved both. With only one—the Great Pyramid of Giza—still standing, the others have all taken a unique position in the architectural imagination, with representations over the years of structures such as the Colossus of Rhodes and the Lighthouse of Alexandria changing according to the whims of artists of the time. Nevertheless, the spectacular stories behind each of these lost landmarks is worth revisiting – which is exactly what travel company Expedia has done in this series of illustrations.

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Have you ever spent hours calibrating the nozzle of a 3D printer or preparing a print-ready file – only to find that the model has failed because of a missed zero-thickness wall? With this in mind, the Platonics Ark—a 3D printer currently being developed in Helsinki, Finland—has one simple goal: to remove all unnecessary set-up and technical processes by means of intelligent automation and, as a result, almost entirely eliminate the wasted time that architects and designers spend calibrating printers, or working up print-ready files.

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Designs by Helsinki-based practice AOR have been selected following an open competition for the extension of Tampere Art Museum, in Finland. The existing building which the museum currently occupies was formerly used as a granary, designed by C. L. Engel and completed in 1838. Most believe it to be the third oldest building in the country. AOR's winning proposal seeks to create "a landmark for the museum" by articulating the urban landscape between nearby Pyynikintori square and adjacent parkland, connecting to and with the existing gallery spaces.

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According to Blake Zalcberg, president of OFM, when designing or redesigning a workplace, it is important to consider how the space will affect both the employees and clients. It has the power to encourage drive and manipulate communication within the office whilst being the first impression most people gain of the company.

The values of the company must be thought about to instill within the fabric of the workspace - the flow of people or choice of color and materiality says a lot about your ethos, whether it comes to the level of seriousness required or atmosphere expected.

This list sums up all the often-overlooked questions that are important to ask in order to effectively design an office whether you are ready to start a business, moving location or redesigning your existing workspace.

Learning doesn't have to formal, or expensive. As education becomes increasingly commodified the world over, here are four courses from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) exploring architecture and landscape, urbanism, photography, and the production of space that are—significantly—free of charge and available to all.

An optical illusion has been given a practical purpose in this mind-boggling floor at the headquarters of British tile company Casa Ceramica.

In addition to serving as an example of the company’s products, the floor is specifically designed to slow down people as they walk into the Casa Ceramica showroom. Thankfully, the forced perspective only works in one direction, so finding your way out is a much less stressful endeavor.

Some love them, some loath them: open-plan office spaces are either conducive to conversation and collaboration or nothing more than noisy environments defined by distractions. Much, for instance, has been questioned recently about the "innovative" open working environments in Apple's new Cupertino campus. In a new series by Vox, overlooked, misrepresented, and overrated phenomena are put under the microscope. By exploring the work of Frank Lloyd Wright, Herman Miller, and others, this episode posits that open office spaces are, contrary to popular assumption, "misunderstood for their role in workplace culture."

Where did open offices and cubicles come from, and are they really what we want?

Tristram Hunt—director of London's Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A)—has expressed concern about one of the city's most successful semi-pedestrianized zones: Exhibition Road in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. As reported by The Art Newspaper, Hunt has argued that the traffic arrangements are “confusing, dangerous and unsatisfactory”. His answer, following a traffic collision on October 7, 2017, which injured 11 people, is to fully pedestrianize the area.

The Pavilion d’Eau, designed by EPFL architecture student Alexander Wolhoff, was constructed in Lake Geneva, Switzerland. The pavilion is a product of six months of research, prototyping, and coordination with different local and academic organizations done in conjunction with LHT3 labs. The exterior of the octagon pavilion has a structural aesthetic, while the interior -- only accessed by wading in the water -- is ornamental, clad in handmade ceramic tiles.

The UNESCO World Heritage Site municipality of Saint-Saphorin en Lavaux allowed for the temporary pavilion in the waters of Lake Geneva. The project is designed to touch the landscape lightly, not affecting the natural lake bed. The pavilion is comprised of materials including lake stones, wood, and porcelain tiles. To ensure a minimal and reversible impact on the site, the footings of the pavilion are made of seven gabions, metal cages filled with stones collected from the lake.

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Rising sea levels, and the potential of extreme conditions globally, are threatening coastal cities around the world. While the Netherlands are often considered to be leading the engineering battle against the tides, Japan—with a renewed sense of urgency—are investing heavily in high-end systems and infrastructure to protect their largest metropoli.

Blade Runner 2049, the recently-released sequel to the 1982 sci-fi classic, has prompted a deluge of interest in the futuristic, dystopian world in which it is set. However, it seems that some architects may have a more direct interest in the film than usual, as images surfacing on Twitter show an uncanny similarity between some of the film’s concept art and a 2010 design by Spanish practice Estudio Barozzi Veiga.