The Best Architecture of the Week: Natural Construction

Read the original version in Spanish here.

Published on November 27, 2023

Discover the best architecture from the fourth week of November according to our readers and editors, featuring a selection of the most-viewed articles, standout projects, and popular products on ArchDaily en Español.

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Editorial Selection

"Guatemala's Contemporary Architecture Is Under Construction": In Conversation with Taller ACÁ
by Fabian Dejtiar

"Architecture, city, and activism" are the words that define Taller ACÁ, an emerging practice led by Jorge Villatoro and Hans Schwarz in Guatemala City. Their projects include the Tiny House Quinn and the Plantando Semillas Community Center, which were recently selected as winners of the Danta Awards at the 2023 Guatemala Architecture Biennale. In the following conversation, Villatoro and Schwarz share details about their inspirations, work processes, and future outlook for architecture, both in Guatemala and Central America.

Articles: Most Viewed

Building with Earth in Latin America: 12 Examples in Contemporary Architecture
by Agustina Iñiguez

With its low environmental impact and versatility across a wide variety of techniques—such as rammed earth walls—this material offers the potential to provide not only aesthetics but also thermal comfort, insulation, and other benefits. To discover the different ways it has been utilized, we selected 12 projects across Latin America, including Argentina, Brazil, Bolivia, Chile, Mexico, Paraguay, Peru, and Ecuador.

The Economic Case for Biophilic Design
by Martin Pedersen

A simple walk in the park will relax even the most stressed individual. But what about the places where people spend much more of their time, such as schools, office buildings, and hospitals? What role can design play in bringing nature into these environments? And at what additional cost? Bill Browning has published a book, "The Economics of Biophilia: Why Designing With Nature in Mind Makes Financial Sense, 2nd Edition" (co-authored with Catie Ryan and Dakota Walker), arguing that the cost of incorporating nature into construction projects is not prohibitive, but additive.

The Unsustainable Green of the American Suburb
by Anthony Ling

On a recent trip to the United States, I looked out the airplane window while taking off from Tampa, Florida, and was struck by the picture-perfect green landscape of the American suburbs. Organized sequences of trees that all looked identical, covering the flat landscape like a green carpet. To some, this greenery might seem like a dream of environmentally integrated sustainability. Nothing could be further from the truth. American suburbs, based on the outdated concept of the "garden city," were designed to promote car dependency, low-density single-family housing, and single-use zoning. This model makes active transportation (walking or cycling) and mass transit—both of which require density and walkability—practically impossible.