Many buildings often fall into disuse due to our cities' constant economic, social, and technological changes. The programmatic inconsistency of current times demands great versatility and adaptability from our infrastructures, increasingly leading projects to become uninhabited, and left to abandonment and decay.

Next, we present a series of 20 Latin American projects in which old warehouses, homes, prisons, mills, and markets were recovered and transformed into Cultural Centers, Museums, and Galleries.

At first glance, Dorte Mandrup's design for the Wadden Sea Center seems to mimic the landscape. Its low height, its horizontal lines and, above all, its materiality make it a modern building in perfect harmony with the local nature. But its connection also encompasses the built heritage of the region, more specifically because of its covering with straw, harvested and dried close to the land. This is an extremely traditional and historic building technique, but which is rarely attributed to contemporary buildings. In this article we will rescue some of the history of this natural material, its constructive characteristics and some examples of use.

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Polyvinyl chloride (PVC) plastic –commonly known as vinyl– is everywhere. In fact, chances are you are sitting close to (or on) something containing PVC in some way, shape or form. It’s used in packaging, automobile parts, children’s toys, clothing, accessories, wires, furniture, medical supplies and hundreds of other everyday items. This year alone, global production exceeded 51 million metric tons, solidifying its rank as the third-most produced plastic in the world. It is particularly in the architecture, engineering and construction industry that the material stands unchallenged, accounting for 60-70% of its total consumption. So much so that it has indisputably become the most used plastic for building materials worldwide, often found in pipes, fittings, flooring, roofing, window profiles and more. It’s not hard to understand why: PVC is durable, highly versatile, cost-effective and easy to maintain. But nothing comes without a cost, they say…