The world's most visited architecture website

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The practice of frequenting public baths was common in civilizations such as the Greeks, Persians and Byzantines, but it was the Romans who popularized their use as places of socialization and purification. These bathrooms were communal and people sat side by side in a collective latrine. The modern bathroom, more similar to what we know today, began with Sir John Harington and his invention of the first flush toilet in 1596. Another crucial advance occurred with Alexander Cummings in 1775, which included a siphon within the toilet to retain gases and odors. But it was only when houses were equipped with running water and effective drainage in the second half of the nineteenth century that the modern private bathroom emerged: a bathroom, a sink and a bath place, which can be a shower or a bathtub. The basics have remained almost unchanged since then, with a few cultural variations in different parts of the world.

These days, the bathroom is a space that goes far beyond its function. With numerous options on the market, it can be designed with the most diverse aesthetics in mind, become a space for relaxation or a design statement in an interior design project.

On the occasion of UNESCO’s International Day of Light, The Daylight Award has announced the 2022 Laureates; Yvonne Farrell and Shelley McNamara of Grafton Architects for their architecture, and Anna Wirz-Justice for her research. The winners were commended for their continuous exploration and prominent humanistic spirit regarding the celebration of daylight in their respective practices, allowing it to celebrate and enhance the quality of life.

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Architecture firm HENN has broken ground on the new Zoomlion Headquarters. The building is envisioned as the central feature of the Smart Industry City, an industrial park in the High-tech Zone of Changsha City, Hunan Province, China. HENN has envisioned the construction machinery manufacturer’s headquarters as a gathering place that will concentrate most of the social activities happening on the site. The building will house office spaces, a museum dedicated to the company’s history, a canteen, a data center, training and research areas, and sports facilities.

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Addressing themes involving memory, oblivion and gender, the Argentinean visual artist and muralist, Mariela Ajras, displays her art on the walls of numerous cities around the world such as Los Angeles, Las Vegas, San Diego, Barcelona, Valencia, Salamanca, Mexico City, Bogota, Montevideo, Buenos Aires, among many others. With a background in psychology, she has participated in different urban art festivals, exhibitions, fairs and public art projects, one of the largest murals in the city of Buenos Aires being the one she developed for the project "Corredor de la Memoria", commemorating the 25th anniversary of the AMIA bombing.

With José Antonio Corrales and Ramón Vázquez Molezún, a situation quite common in Spanish architecture post-1950 is repeated: the lack of international projection of talented architects, largely due to the absence of theory. Apart from that, an intrinsically mysterious and enigmatic character pervades their work, deeply reinforced by the attitude of these architects towards it. They never stopped to explain it. They were never interested in providing it with a theoretical foundation. All this makes it extraordinarily difficult to understand their architecture, leaving many questions unanswered, open only to the interpretation of those who pause to reflect on them.

Corrales and Molezún have collaborated together on numerous projects sine 1952. They were very different people. José Antonio used to define himself as a "more rigorous person", while Ramón was closer to the "gaie", with a lighter, almost romantic touch. Their duo could be incarnated, respectively, as the two lobes of the brain: the left hemisphere, visual, verbal, linear, controlled, dominant, quantitative, etc. in Corrales; while the right, spatial, acoustic, holistic, contemplative, emotional, intuitive ... perhaps more accurately represents Molezún. One more couple to the long history of creation: Don Quixote and Sancho Panza, Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson, ...

The planning and design of mixed-use neighborhoods and individual mixed-use developments are on the rise. Many of the places we frequent most feature a variety of programs, bringing many of life's daily conveniences to one place. But mixed-use spaces do more than just create a diverse array of experiences in cities- they might also help contribute to lower crime rates.

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Museums play a key role in the preservation and dissemination of culture and knowledge. They can exhibit works of art, documents, photographs, historical artifacts or even plants and trees. Although today there are entirely virtual exhibition spaces, the primary functions of traditional museums are the conservation and protection of objects, which are invaluable due to their historical relevance, rarity or market value. From simple “Do not touch” signs to tape, security guards, or glass displays, each object receives a type of protection that is in accordance to its needs. These types of protection, in turn, must consider both the safety of the object, whilst also allowing for its appreciation and conservation, creating a controlled environment for the exposed object that preserves it indefinitely.

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