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Yvonne Farrell and Shelley McNamara, directors of the 2018 Venice Biennale, define the theme 'Freespace'

The Venice Biennale appointed Irish architects Yvonne Farrell and Shelley McNamara (Grafton Architects) for the 16th International Architecture Exhibition. “Freespace” is the theme, resulting from a series of lectures previously referenced by both architects in publications, exhibitions, and biennales: Architecture and New Geography, Arena for Learning, The Physics of Culture, and Dialogue and Translation. For Farrell and McNamara, “Freespace,” as a compound word, means:

These are the 120 buildings you can visit during the 2018 edition of Open House Madrid

Under the slogan Madrid in October is Architecture, details have been announced for the fourth edition of the Open House Madrid architecture and city festival. Led by architects Paloma Gómez Marín and Pati Núñez, this year's event will feature the most extensive program of any edition to date. 

During the weekend of September 29 and 30, more than 120 buildings that are usually closed to the public will open their doors. In addition, over 30 activities have been organized throughout October, making this festival one of the most important cultural events of the year in the Spanish capital. 

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The Lutheran Church of São Paulo five months after part of its structure collapsed

Exactly five months ago, residents of São Paulo witnessed the tragic collapse of the Wilton Paes de Almeida Building. Following a massive fire, the structure of the iconic 24-story modern building came down, leaving dozens dead and injured, and hundreds homeless. Located at the intersection of Rio Branco Avenue and Largo Paissandu, the collapse also affected three other adjacent buildings, including the headquarters of the Lutheran Church of São Paulo.

Competition for the Kiss Nightclub Victims Memorial: Meet the Winners

The results of the National Public Architecture Competition for the Memorial to the Victims of Kiss were announced this Tuesday morning (April 10) in a ceremony held in Santa Maria. The project unanimously awarded first place was by the firm Motta e Zene Engenharia e Arquitetura, from São Paulo (SP), represented by architect Felipe Zene Motta. The ceremony also recognized the five ranked projects and the five that received honorable mentions.

According to the jury, the proposal stands out for its appropriate urban integration and placement at the average level of the terrain, its symbolic character, and the delicacy of placing its focal point in a flower garden at the center of the exhibition. The project reinforces the emotional significance of the site of memory, while offering the city a narrative of the event that contributes to healing. Ease and simplicity of construction and maintenance are supported by the spatial organization of functions on a single level.

See the full results below:

São Paulo City Hall plans property tax exemptions and discounts for landmarked properties

The São Paulo City Government has resumed discussions regarding property tax (IPTU) exemptions and discounts for landmarked buildings. Previously debated during the administrations of Gilberto Kassab and Fernando Haddad, the issue is currently the focus of a newly drafted bill. 

The proposal limits the IPTU exemption to landmarked properties located in downtown São Paulo, within a perimeter that is still being defined. It will not apply to properties subject to general zoning restrictions, such as those in historically preserved neighborhoods like Jardins and Pacaembu. 

UK’s 2018 Civic Trust Awards Announced! Tsinghua Ocean Center Designed by OPEN Architecture Wins

On the morning of March 10, 2018 (Beijing time), at the 2018 Civic Trust Awards ceremony held at Manchester's iconic Old Trafford stadium (home of Manchester United), OPEN's completed project, the “Tsinghua Ocean Center,” was honored with a Civic Trust Award!

Established in the UK in 1959, this prestigious award is highly regarded, because it recognizes not only outstanding project design but also its value to the public. From urban planning to public art, the awards consider the built environment within a broader context, driven by the belief that design must serve its users.

Casacadabra 2: Urbanism Book for Children Launches on Catarse

Alongside Tiê, an adventurous capybara, Lina sets off on a journey through ten public spaces around the world – such as the High Line in New York or Paulista Avenue in São Paulo – to discover the secrets of how cities are built. The two are the main characters of the book Casacadabra – Cidades para Brincar (Cities to Play), a new release from Pistache Editorial, which launches its crowdfunding campaign on April 16 on Catarse. The book features text by Bianca Antunes and Simone Sayegh, with illustrations by Luísa Amoroso. This is the second title in the Casacadabra series – the first, titled Invenções para morar (Inventions for Living), presented the architecture of ten houses around the world.

Listen to 'Fiesta de Arquitectos', an ArchDaily en Español playlist on Spotify

As you know, ArchDaily has joined forces with Spotify, the world's largest music streaming platform. From the start, we have been sharing our own playlists for those moments in the lives of all architects. We have also invited architects from Latin America and Spain to share the music that inspires them, or better yet, the sounds that have shaped their careers.

In this installment of ArchDaily en Español + Spotify, we share an ad hoc playlist to close out the year: Fiesta para Arquitectos. A constantly updated playlist to get the party started... while you edit your plans.

Part Two: 21 Projects That Will Represent Mexico at the 16th International Architecture Exhibition of the Venice Biennale

The 21 projects making up the Official Selection of the Mexican Pavilion at the 16th International Architecture Exhibition of the Venice Biennale converge across latitudes, geographical regions, and echoes of the territory, responding to the curatorial theme “Freespace.” In four installments, we will share the work and philosophy of each of the participants representing Mexico in Venice. Read on to discover the second part of these projects.

Francisco Mangado opens the V Congress of Architecture and Society: “the quality of the city is not a luxury, it is a right”

Yesterday, June 13, marked the opening of the 5th International Congress of Architecture and Society, an event presided over by King Felipe VI for the second consecutive edition. The President of the Government of Navarra, Uxue Barkos, and the Minister of Development, José Luis Ábalos, also participated in the official opening.

Architect Francisco Mangado was responsible for opening the event, which in its fifth edition will focus on cities and the challenges architecture faces in addressing urban demands. The architect from Navarra stated that “Architecture is not an isolated event of personal preferences; it is a profoundly cultural and social act, linked to the city as a reality that belongs to the common good,” adding that “the quality of architecture and the city is not a luxury, it is a right for all citizens.”

Francisco Mangado opens the V Congress of Architecture and Society: “the quality of the city is not a luxury, it is a right” - Featured ImageFrancisco Mangado opens the V Congress of Architecture and Society: “the quality of the city is not a luxury, it is a right” - Imagen 1 de 4Francisco Mangado opens the V Congress of Architecture and Society: “the quality of the city is not a luxury, it is a right” - Imagen 2 de 4Francisco Mangado opens the V Congress of Architecture and Society: “the quality of the city is not a luxury, it is a right” - Imagen 3 de 4Francisco Mangado opens the V Congress of Architecture and Society: “the quality of the city is not a luxury, it is a right” - More Images+ 1

This is how the 2018 Building of the Year Awards were experienced in Santiago, Chile

On Thursday, November 15, a new edition of the Obra del Año Awards took place—the competition that gathers votes from ArchDaily readers to determine the best architectural works built in Latin America over the past year.

UIA Names Rio de Janeiro as the First World Capital of Architecture

The Council of the International Union of Architects (UIA), meeting in Oaxaca, Mexico, unanimously approved on May 18 the nomination of the city of Rio de Janeiro as the UIA/UNESCO World Capital of Architecture for 2020. Securing this title is part of the program proposed by the City of Rio, with support from the Institute of Architects of Brazil (IAB), for 2020, when the city will host the 27th World Congress of Architects.

2018 MCHAP Prize for Emerging Architecture Announced!

Last month, the Mies Crown Hall Americas Prize (MCHAP) announced the four finalists for the MCHAP.emerging award: the Maria Montessori Mazatlan School by EPArquitectos and Estudio Macías Peredo, the Children Village by Rosenbaum and Aleph Zero, the Embodied Computation LAB by David Benjamin, and Common Unity by Rozana Montiel Estudio de Arquitectura.

Discover the winning proposal for the 2018 Kiosko Pavilion, an initiative by Alumnos 47

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Kiosko, the Alumnos47 initiative that explores publications outside of publishing, now has a winning design for its pavilion. Following the launch of the open call last year, forty-nine proposals were received from different states across Mexico, as well as one from abroad. After a lengthy and rigorous deliberation, the jury—composed of Chus Martínez, Daniel Garza Usabiaga, Tiago Pinto de Calvalho, and Fermín Espinosa—awarded an honorable mention and selected five finalists, from which a winner was chosen.

Paulo Mendes da Rocha will be the president of the UIA2020Rio Honorary Committee

Invited by the organizers of UIA2020Rio, architect Paulo Mendes da Rocha will chair the Honorary Committee of the World Congress of the International Union of Architects, which will take place in two years in Rio de Janeiro under the theme "All worlds. Just one world. Architecture 21."

'Proposals for a Plaza' by Fritz Haeg & Nils Norman at Museo Jumex

'Proposals for a Plaza' by Fritz Haeg & Nils Norman at Museo Jumex - Featured Image
© Abigail Enzaldo, Emilio García

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Museo Jumex presents 'Proposals for a Plaza,' a collaborative project by artists Fritz Haeg (United States, 1969) and Nils Norman (United Kingdom, 1966). This temporary installation, commissioned as part of the series 'Agora: A Blueprint for Utopia,' will invite the public to imagine and participate in an alternative vision of the museum's plaza.

Inspired by the outdoor spaces of Mexico City, the project draws elements from public parks and the wildlife areas surrounding the city, while also integrating informal uses of open space. It features seating and sleeping areas, a kiosk, a fire pit, bleachers, and outdoor spaces designed for contemplation, gathering, resting, and play.

120,000 Free AutoCAD, Revit, and SketchUp Blocks and Textures

Finding the right block for your project can be a tedious task; although websites offering blocks are becoming increasingly common, the sheer quantity does not always reflect the quality of the models and textures.

With this in mind, the creators of the platform Arq Online have made a package of blocks and textures available for free on their website, useful for both architects and students. With over 100,000 items available for download, the package caters to users of AutoCAD, Revit, SketchUp, 3D Studio Max, VRay, and Photoshop.

CAU releases manifesto in defense of a national policy for the recovery of urban centers with a focus on social housing

The tragedy of the fire and collapse of the Wilton Paes de Almeida building in downtown São Paulo prompts this statement from the Council of Architecture and Urbanism of Brazil on the social and urban challenges affecting not only the state capital but most of the country's major cities.

At the core of this tragedy is the social drama of the victims' families and the thousands of people living in other occupied buildings under precarious conditions across major Brazilian urban centers. The loss of a modernist building of cultural value adds another layer of loss.      

Iphan launches manual with guidelines for those living in heritage-listed houses

With the aim of promoting the care and recognition of cultural heritage, the Cultural Heritage Law Research Group of the Federal University of Ouro Preto (UFOP), the Technical Office of the National Institute of Historic and Artistic Heritage (Iphan) in Ouro Preto (MG), and the Public Ministry of Minas Gerais (MP-MG) have developed the Manual for Residents of Heritage-Listed Houses.

After 19S: Support Dellekamp Arquitectos' initiative to rebuild homes in Ecatzingo, State of Mexico

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© Dellekamp Arquitectos

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It is our duty to place human dignity at the center of the reconstruction process.
Telar Social México

On September 19, 2017, Mexico experienced one of the strongest earthquakes in its history. Measuring 7.1 on the Richter scale, it left more than 369 casualties and 150,000 homes destroyed across five states, with Oaxaca, Morelos, the State of Mexico, and Guerrero being the hardest hit.    

Ecatzingo, located southwest of the Popocatépetl Volcano in the State of Mexico, remains one of the municipalities most severely damaged by the earthquake, where 1,587 affected homes—601 of them uninhabitable—left entire families homeless. 

What is an ITO? The Case of Cero3 in Chile

Have you ever wondered what an ITO is or what they do? Broadly speaking, the Technical Works Inspector (ITO) is the professional responsible for overseeing quality and correct execution in a construction project, as well as managing its document and financial control. As a result, this is a crucial field for the successful completion of a project, and one in which many architects can build a career. Yet, it is often an overlooked professional field with limited available information. For this reason, we outline its functions below and examine how current market demands have pushed the role toward a more comprehensive approach, as seen in the case of the firm Cero3.

Mexicans Triumph in the Interior Design Category at the 2018 Archmarathon Awards

On October 13, the 2018 Archmarathon Awards concluded their fifth edition in Milan. Held at the impressive Palazzo Mezzanotte from October 11 to 13, 2018, the event featured 55 architecture and interior design projects across 16 categories, submitted by 55 studios from 23 countries and four continents. Selected by a prestigious international jury, the 55 firms were invited to present their projects to a large audience of architects, developers, and designers from around the world.

During the ceremony, the winners of each of the 16 categories and two overall winners—one for architecture and one for interior design—were announced. The selection was made by a main jury chaired by Luca Molinari, Gary Chang, Lesley Lokko, and Mexican architect Rozana Montiel, along with a guest jury comprising Massimiliano Cecconi, Cherubino Gambardella, and Evgeniya Murinets. Read on to discover the final winners in both categories.

10 Colombian Projects Adapted to Their Landscape

The close relationship between architecture and landscape in Latin America is undeniable. This is due not only to the region's geographical, climatic, and ecological diversity, but also to how these countries have built and shaped their cities amidst progress and setbacks. Among these ongoing achievements is a growing respect for the landscape, an architectural language tailored to its context, and solutions designed for its diverse climates.

For this selection, we have chosen 10 projects in Colombia that have successfully adapted to their landscape, both in form and construction, across both urban and rural contexts.

Arq.Futuro International Seminar - The City and Water

On September 12, Arq.Futuro and Insper will host the 2018 edition of the Arq.Futuro International Seminar - The City and the Water. As in previous editions, the event will present the Brazilian public with iconic success stories in the restoration of urban waterways and their surroundings. For this year's seminar, three cases were selected that stand out both for their urban quality and their explicit purpose of combating different forms of urban exclusion.

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