How to visualize architectural concepts in SketchUp using D5 Lite for faster design exploration.

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In these times of change, the AOA proposes an optimistic approach to the challenges facing cities and their citizens in both local and global contexts. We aim to highlight existing opportunities for positive change during and after crises, fostering more resilient cities in both the immediate and long term.

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There are no two ways about it—life is better by the beach. The smell of salty sea breeze, the sound of crashing waves, and the feeling of release that encircles coastal living are altogether mesmeric. This lifestyle of respite also transcends into local architecture and interior design through the use of traditional techniques, natural materials, and eclectic decor. From humble beach cottages to breathtaking cliff-top perches, Life’s a Beach takes readers into remarkable coastal dwellings around the world—each one characterized by its particular location, climate, and culture. Whether it’s the Anglo-American charm of classy East Coast beach houses, offering both a sense of spaciousness and intimate hideaways for cocooning, the bright white walls and pale wood flooring of Scandinavian seaside homes, the Mediterranean approach to interiors that mixes stark reduction and a deep understanding of the materials used, South East Asia’s beach abodes that celebrate centuries-old craftsmanship, or Latin America’s ‘tropical brutalism’: the homes featured here have found new and inventive ways to interpret classic design vernaculars.
What unites and also differentiates them is a commitment to reflecting their owners’ individual personalities and lifestyles. Each is a canvas for creative expression which seeks to avoid seaside decorating cliches and aims instead to reflect and preserve meaningful stories about its local surroundings and the permanent community that lives there.

PANEL DISCUSSION AND EXHIBITION PREVIEW
Wednesday 16 June 2021 at 17.00 (BST)

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As cliché as it may sound, there are two things that architects really like: exposed concrete and the color black. While concrete offers a distinctive rough aesthetic, emphasizing the tones, textures, and surfaces that shape the concrete mixture, the sobriety that the color black provides allows the architect to highlight specific characteristics precisely. Combining the two seems natural. But black pigmented concrete is not as common as we might imagine. Below we talk a little about the black concrete production process and some projects that use it.

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Safdie Architects have released the images of 'ORCA Toronto', a mixed-use urban development with an integrated park in the heart of downtown Toronto. The project covers 6.5 hectares (65,000 sqm) west of the CN Tower, 4.5 hectares (45,000 sqm) of which are dedicated to the publicly-accessible urban park, while 2 hectares (20,000 sqm) are for residential, commercial, retail, and transit facilities. The proposed project reconnects the downtown area to the city’s waterfront, promising to become a vital hub that animates the underutilized parts of the city.

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Across the globe, tall wood structures have begun transforming the world of skyscrapers and high-rise buildings, ushering in an important shift to an architectural practice that has traditionally been dominated by steel and concrete. Typically defined as wood-constructed buildings over 14 stories or 50 meters high, the past six years have seen over 44 tall wood buildings built or underway around the world. Notable examples include Michael Green Architecture and DLR Group’s T3 and Team V Architectuur’s upcoming 73 meter residential tower HAUT.

Tadao Ando’s transformation of the historic Bourse de Commerce interweaves past and present, introducing the minimalist aesthetic of a contemporary art venue within the prestigious heritage building whose history spans four decades. The defining architectural gesture in the building’s refurbishment is a circular concrete wall, a new space within the glass-domed rotunda of the former exchange building, which now displays the private collection of notable art collector François Pinault. Images by photographer Cyrille Weiner and photography atelier Think Utopia highlight Tadao Ando’s vision of “architecture within architecture”, showcasing an exemplary restoration accompanied by a highly contemporary yet timeless intervention.

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Architecture can be many things, also queer. Alongside many other transgressing words that carry different meanings and perspectives, this term triggers new insights into society and questions how we create architecture and urban planning projects, including their programs and activities. If there is any statement about how architecture should be done, if there is any conviction about what it represents, we wish here to avoid knowing what it is and be able to question its traditions to broaden the profession, its meanings, and social representation.