The First Islamic Arts Biennale, artistically directed by Sumayya Vally, opened on January 2023 and is still ongoing until May 23, 2023, in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. The inaugural event was commissioned and produced by the Diriyah Biennale Foundation and was curated by Vally alongside Dr. Julian Raby, Dr. Omniya Abdel Barr, and Dr. Saad Al-Rashid. The biennale re-imagines the Western Hajj Terminal at King Abdulaziz Airport, designed by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill and winner of the 1983 Aga Khan Award, as a cultural space to redefine Islamic Arts from "within, in a way, that connects some of these art forms and forms of artistic expression to the experience and rituals" of those that live it.

Sumayya Vally is a South African architect, founder, and director of the Johannesburg-based collaborative architectural studio Counterspace. Designer of the Serpentine Pavilion in 2020/2021, she was the youngest architect to get this commission. Part of Time’s 100 emerging leaders who are shaping the future, in 2021, the only architect to make the list at that time, Sumayya started her career as a curator and teacher, and recently she was appointed as artistic director of the first Islamic Arts Biennale in Jeddah. ArchDaily had the chance to talk with Vally about her contribution to this biennale, her vision of the exhibition, the venue, the scenography, and the participating architects. Sumayya also shared some exclusive info about her entry for the 2023 Venice Architecture Biennale, starting on May 20th, in Venice, Italy.

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Every year since its establishment in 1970, Earth Day aims to bring into focus not only the increasingly threatening effects of climate change but also highlight the effective measures and adaptation efforts that can improve the quality of our environment. This year’s event comes after a report from the United Nations’ Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) in March, which presented another warning on the magnitude of changes produced by human-induced global warming and its impact on people and ecosystems. The same report does offer some hopeful prospects as well, showing that adaptation measures can build resilience, but those urgent systemwide transformations are needed to secure a net-zero future. In response to these findings, the 2023 Earth Day is focused on the theme of “Investing in Our Planet,” as an encouragement for governments, institutions, businesses, and civil society to accelerate the change. Read on to discover several citywide initiatives aligned with these objectives of building resilience and a more sustainable future through legislation, civic involvement, and innovative systems.

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The 18th International Architecture Exhibition, curated by Lesley Lokko, is set to open in just one month's time with a focus on "The Laboratory of the Future", casting the African continent as a leading force in shaping the world to come, and challenging conventional notions of what the future can hold and what a laboratory can be. Featuring 63 National Pavilions, 89 Participants, and 9 collateral events in the city, the 2023 Venice Architecture Biennale invites practitioners from a wide range of disciplines and backgrounds to explore new possibilities.

Founder and Director of the African Futures Institute (AFI) based in Accra, Ghana, Lesley Lokko, is a Ghanaian-Scottish architect, educator, and novelist. With a career that spans Johannesburg, London, Accra, and Edinburgh, she has held several teaching positions and is widely recognized in her field. Professor Lokko was appointed as the curator of the 18th International Architecture Exhibition, La Biennale di Venezia in December 2021, after serving as a jury member for the Golden Lions Awards for the previous edition of the Venice Biennale. In her first interview with ArchDaily, after she was appointed curator of the 2023 Architecture Biennale, Lesley Lokko shares insights about the preparations, the theme, and this 18th edition.

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Dwellings can be understood as the most significant and primary form of architecture, as the house is intimately related to the idea of shelter, one of humanity’s basic needs. In the words of architect Mario Botta, “As long as there is a man who needs a house, architecture will still exist.” Yet, in spite of its ubiquity, or perhaps because of it, an exact definition of a home is difficult to find. Throughout history, different functions and spaces have been added and subtracted from this unit, reflecting directly the character of the society that produced it.

The list of expectations that a house has to fulfill is long and ever-evolving: to provide intimate and safe spaces where one can recharge their energy, but at the same time to allow for interaction, welcoming friends and family to join in; it is the purveyor of leisure and relaxation, but also the site of most labors of care, while also providing a small incubator for starting entrepreneurs. This tendency to demand a residential unit to fulfill multiple roles was heightened to unprecedented levels during the pandemic. Health concerns led to the closing of most workspaces, the second place where people spent most of their time, and of cafes, restaurants, cinemas, and malls, the “third places.” Suddenly, the home had to become an all-purpose space.

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Yasmeen Lari’s Pakistani Chulah - an outdoor stove used by women in South Asia- is a powerful intervention that highlights the architect's commitment to feminist and environmental activism. The project synchronically tackles issues of deforestation, pollution, and health hazards faced by women in rural areas. Her design is systemic, locally specific, and conscious of the needs of society’s most vulnerable - women and nature. Her vast body of humanitarian work elaborated on in Yasmeen Lari: Architecture for the Future, opens up a dialogue for viewing architecture through an eco-feminist lens.

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When approaching the design of cultural spaces such as museums, performance venues, or places of research and study, architecture and design professionals often have to assemble pieces of a uniquely challenging puzzle in order to make the structure resonate with a variety of visitors and occupants. Hitting the right chord can be difficult, especially when trying to combine forms into a whole that pays respect to a building's intended use while being timeless in its universality.

One way of making sure a sense of culture is omnipresent: adaptive reuse. The practice of breathing life into historic structures has been on the rise in recent years and is particularly well-suited to creating spaces that address and embody contemporary issues while connecting their inhabitants to the past. But it's not just a sense of updated heritage that makes them stand out; adaptive reuse buildings can fight urban sprawl and unsustainable building practices simply by way of existing.

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The remodeling and expansion of the Anahuacalli Museum in Mexico City by Taller | Mauricio Rocha is the 2023 recipient of the Mies Crown Hall Americas Prize (MCHAP), the biennial prize that recognizes a built work in the Americas that best embodies architectural excellence. The winner announcement was made by MCHAP Director Dirk Denison and Jury Chair Sandra Barclay at the MCHAP Symposium and Gala Awards Benefit Dinner that took place in Chicago at S. R. Crown Hall on the Illinois Institute of Technology’s historic Mies campus this Friday, March 24, 2023.

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Hulking, imposing, and utilitarian, silos are an enduring urban feature, structures typically used for the storage of materials in bulk. They are important physical elements of the agricultural industry, storing grain, fermented feed, and other foodstuffs. These tall, typically cylindrical forms remain the subject of architectural fascination — from being symbols of technological progress for Modernist architectural figures of the early 20th century, to in contemporary times, instigating inventive approaches to adaptive reuse.

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David Chipperfield, laureate of the 2023 Pritzker Prize, has designed over a dozen museums throughout his career, with some still under construction. As a typology that has significant urban and social impact, Chipperfield and his team have skillfully leveraged each commission to transform neighborhoods and cities while still honoring the essence of the place and what was there before. His museums make powerful statements without being obtrusive, and this is reflected in the choice of materials and the construction solutions used.

Like an oversized minimalism, Chipperfield gives the materials space to unfold and be understood. In his galleries and museums, the materials appear exposed, clean, and highlighted through contrast. They give character to the space while giving prominence to the art on display, generating suitable atmospheres for its proper appreciation. Regularity, continuity, and repetition help shape this background, while the filtered light finishes building the right scene.

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The significance of daylight in volumes of space exceeds its function of illumination. Light is a creative tool manipulated by architects to infuse a space with a metaphysical spirit, influencing the emotional states of its occupants. Having a phenomenological effect on the human psyche, light and shadow have been played with to invoke a sense of divinity and spirituality into the character of religious buildings. The interplay between architecture and light is a powerful one, shaping a deeper experience of spirituality.

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Sir David Chipperfield has been awarded with the 2023 Pritzker Prize, the highest distinction in the architectural profession. Known for his well-crafted, precise, and sensible response to complex environments, the architect became initially recognized for the skillful restoration and renovation of existing buildings, often cultural institutions, before expanding the range of projects to include new structures. While his built body of works demonstrates many of the core principles of good architecture, the ongoing projects reveal an equally relevant narrative: that of his direction moving forward and the way in which his approach to these principles evolves.

Many of the ongoing projects continue Chipperfield’s interest in museological and cultural institutions, yet he continues to work across a wide array of building types. The latest major project announced tackles one of the most prominent institutions in Greece, the National Archeological Museum. This represents yet another opportunity for the architect to present museums as institutions that offer a transformation of the urban life of the cities where they are located, while also bringing forward the historical layers that define its architecture. Other projects, such as the Santa Giulia Arena in Milano or the Elbtower in Hamburg, expand the range of programs and typologies addressed by Chipperfield.

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Looking back at 2022, last year had seen major female-led stories. Kimberly Dowdell was chosen as AIA’s First Black Woman President, Carol Ross Barney has received the 2023 AIA Gold Medal, Jeanne Gang won the 2023 Charlotte Perriand Award, Frida Escobedo was selected among the 100 Emerging Leaders by TIME 2022, Renée Gailhoustet was presented with the 2022 Royal Academy Architecture Prize, "Infinite Freedom, A World for a Feminist Democracy" opened at the 2022 Biennale of FRAC in France, and ArchDaily presented SkyFrame’s Women in Architecture’s documentary, following Toshiko Mori, Gabriela Carrillo and Johanna Meyer-Grohbrügge, three architects in three different countries, in different contexts, at different stages of their life and career, but with a lot in common. And that's just to name a few...

After arguing in 2021 “why is it still important to talk about "female architects"? and contributing to “rebalancing forces and adjusting narratives” in 2022, for its 3rd edition of the annual International Women’s month coverage, ArchDaily will focus on the achievements of female architects working specifically on global challenges, and finding innovative approaches to the problems of today. Fitting partially with the theme selected by the United Nations for the 2023 International Women’s Day, centered on Innovation and technology for gender equality, ArchDaily will reflect on what is innovation in the face of global challenges.

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When streets lay empty, sidewalks untouched, and shutters hung heavy, the city seems lost of life. When businesses close, offices go remote and economic activity declines, the mechanisms that operate a city are idle. Vacant space and land are often perceived as “failed”, reflecting urban decline and economic blight. Emptiness, however, holds hope for possibilities and change. When urban voids are at the brink of transformation, what happens in the meanwhile?

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