In August, the city of Ouro Preto, in Minas Gerais, signed a public-private partnership for a "smart city" project, setting in motion plans to become Brazil's first historic smart city. The contract entails an investment of R$ 10 million and establishes an administrative concession for the Ouro Luz consortium to operate Ouro Preto's public lighting network and telecommunications infrastructure for 25 years.

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When imagining a building's roof being put to use, single-family homes are rarely the first thing that comes to mind. Utilizing the top level of a building is not always considered or prioritized; as a result, the opportunity to create spaces for contemplation and gathering—which foster a stronger connection to the outdoors and the climate—is often missed. Here, we gather 13 examples of terraces in Brazilian houses that demonstrate how this space can be utilized, regardless of its size.

Last week, Paulo Mendes da Rocha announced the donation of his entire project archive to the Casa da Arquitectura, a Portuguese institution based in Matosinhos dedicated to preserving and exhibiting architectural collections. The news was published at the time by ArchDaily and caused a stir among Brazilian architects, educators, researchers, and institutions—especially the FAUUSP, which expressed regret over Rocha's decision.

Downtown São Paulo will receive a statue honoring Joaquim Pinto de Oliveira, an enslaved Black 18th-century architect known as Tebas. The announcement was made yesterday, September 10, by Mayor Bruno Covas at the São Paulo City Council. 

What does the home of the future hold for us? And for whom will it become a reality? These questions served as the guiding principles for The Future of Living - Contrasts. With a keen eye on identifying the emerging movements that shape how we will live tomorrow, the research team at the Istituto Europeo di Design used the world during the COVID-19 pandemic as their primary backdrop. Drawing from this context, rather than simply discussing housing trends, the researchers address the challenges that must be resolved to make these trends a reality for everyone, rather than a mere set of forecasts that segregate rather than create opportunities.

Following the donation of Paulo Mendes da Rocha's complete archive to the Casa da Arquitectura in Portugal, a major debate arose in Brazil, with many expressing regret over seeing the physical documentation of his intellectual and built work leave the country. Through an open letter released today, Nuno Sampaio, Executive Director of the Casa da Arquitectura, proposes institutional collaboration protocols with Brazilian entities.

The winners of the 2nd Tomie Ohtake Institute Leroy Merlin Design Award have been announced. Originally scheduled to take place in person at the Tomie Ohtake Institute alongside an exhibition of the projects, the awards were instead announced via video due to the novel coronavirus pandemic.

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The donation of Paulo Mendes da Rocha's archive to Casa da Arquitectura, an institution based in Matosinhos, Portugal, has sparked intense debate among architects and academics since its announcement early last week. Both opposing and supportive opinions were widely shared on social media and news outlets, and an institutional collaboration agreement between FAUUSP and Casa da Arquitectura was even proposed.

In light of the debate surrounding the preservation of architecture and urbanism collections in Brazil, IABsp published an open letter calling for a national network of archives. Read the full letter below:

Launched last month, the Fortaleza Mais Verde program aims to create a network of micro-parks in the capital of Ceará and implement tree-lined bicycle corridors. Execution of the plan began in August.

"The purpose of the proposal is to preserve, secure, and progressively expand the green cover of the City of Fortaleza, making these areas usable for the population to enjoy," said the city's mayor, Roberto Cláudio. "We have several landscaping and urban planning initiatives underway. We expect to receive suggestions regarding this new pilot project. We want to ensure it is implemented and made irreversible," he added.

In its 7th edition, the Saint-Gobain Architecture-Sustainable Habitat Award seeks projects and buildings that offer comfort and innovative solutions while preserving the environment and promoting sustainability within the Brazilian construction industry.

To maintain the flow of reliable information about Covid-19, facilitate hand hygiene for users, and pay tribute to the victims of the pandemic, the city of São Paulo has installed a series of multipurpose urban fixtures called “Totens Urbanos – Memorial Pró-Saúde”.

The project came to fruition following a meeting between architect Leonardo Fernandes Dias—whose design proposal won the popular vote in the international Coronavirus Design Competition by the GoDesignClass platform—and the organizers of the Rede Nacional de Apoio às Famílias e Vítimas da Covid (National Support Network for Families and Victims of Covid), an independent, voluntary civil society initiative providing specialized support. Temporary and emergency-focused in nature, the series of totems will occupy 17 high-traffic locations across the city until November.

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Situated on a suburban lot in Gallarate, in Italy's Lombardy region, the latest project by Álvaro Siza rises in two travertine marble blocks: a 20-unit residential complex developed in partnership with the Portuguese firm COR Arquitectos. Facing the busy Via Roma and the quiet Via Postporta, the development reinterprets two local typologies—the Lombard courtyard and the isolated villa—in a play of volumes that recalls the geometries of another Siza masterpiece, the Porto School of Architecture.

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The first monument to the victims of the novel coronavirus in Brazil has been inaugurated. Named In-finito, the memorial was installed at the Penitência Cemetery and Crematorium, in Rio de Janeiro's port area, designed by architect Crisa Santos, of the collective of the same name.

The initiative came from the architect herself, who developed the project with the goal of donating it to public and private cemeteries, as well as municipalities, companies, or other institutions wishing to pay tribute to Covid-19 victims anywhere in the country.

Design is more than product design. It is also the construction of personas, with their bodies and souls. The natural state is just one of the design parameters. We are the design of ourselves, in permanent transformation.

Guilherme Wisnik talks with Ivana Wonder, a persona created by designer Victor Ivanon. Possessing a powerful voice and breaking down the boundaries between masculine and feminine, Ivana leads a multisensory experience of emotion and longing. From the central spotlight of a damp cabaret, this haunting and ethereal figure emerges.

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Part of the archive of the architect Hans Broos has been cataloged, treated, and digitized, and is now available for online and in-person consultation at the Ingo Hering Memory Center of the Hermann Hering Foundation.

Architect and urban planner Maria Elisa Baptista is the new President of the National Board of the IAB. She succeeds Nivaldo Andrade, whose term ended on September 26 of this year. In nearly a century of existence, this is the first time a woman has held the position.

The leadership team also includes Rafael Pavan dos Passos (National Vice President, IAB-RS), Cláudio Listher Marques Bahia (Secretary General, IAB-MG), Rosilene Guedes Souza (Administrative-Financial Director, IAB-MG), Luiz Eduardo Sarmento Araújo (Cultural Director, IAB-DF), Fernando Túlio Salva Rocha Franco (Extraordinary Vice President of Institutional Relations, IAB-SP), and Luiza Rego Dias Coelho (Extraordinary Vice President of Affirmative Action, IAB-DF).

In August 2019, Eternit presented its photovoltaic solar tile at Intersolar South America. This first-of-its-kind product in the country has just received Inmetro certification for production. The model had already been approved by the institute, and with this certification, the first concrete tile capable of generating energy—developed in Brazil—can now be marketed.

Those who install these tiles on their homes will be able to capture sunlight to produce electricity—without the need for additional panels. This technology became globally known through Tesla's solar tiles.

The IAB-SP, organizer of the São Paulo International Architecture Biennial, following a public consultation on the open call guidelines from October 10 to 25, is launching a competition on November 4 to select the co-curatorial team for the 13th Biennial, which will take place in 2022. Proposals can be submitted through the Biennial's website until January 24, 2021. This edition features a 12-member committee, which includes IAB representatives from other Brazilian states to ensure a diverse perspective in overseeing the event, which has both national and international reach.

Organic urban agriculture, renewable energy, and a breathtaking landscape. All of these elements come together at Thammasat University in Bangkok, Thailand. TURF (Thammasat University Rooftop Farm) is the largest green roof in Asia, spanning over 70,000 square meters. Designed by the architecture and urbanism firm LANDPROCESS, the area was envisioned as a solution for green urban development.

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Cities around the world are welcoming the colors and benefits of murals painted with photocatalytic paint, which is known for helping to clean the air. The murals are part of the Converse City Forests project, developed by the brand behind the famous All Star sneakers. The goal is to paint more than 14,000 square meters of murals worldwide by the end of this year. Together, they are equivalent to planting approximately 40,000 trees.

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The Covid-19 pandemic has brought unprecedented consequences for the global economy. In Brazil, it hit an economy that had barely recovered from the 2015–16 recession. However, responding to the crisis requires not only easing budget rules, but rethinking the very role of the state to address historical deficiencies that the pandemic has laid bare.

Guilherme Wisnik talks with Laura Carvalho, professor at the School of Economics and Administration of the University of São Paulo and holder of a PhD in economics from the New School for Social Research. She writes biweekly for the newspaper Nexo and is the author of "Valsa Brasileira: do boom ao caos econômico" (Todavia, 2018) and "Curto-Circuito: o vírus e a volta do Estado" (Todavia, 2020).

The COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated various sanitary and infrastructural deficiencies in developing nations, particularly Angola, which already bears the burden of successive economic recessions.

The outskirts of major urban centers, with Luanda as a paradigmatic case, are critical territories for the spread of the disease. Home to nearly one-third of the country's population—80% of whom live in highly precarious urban conditions—a combination of factors creates an incredibly complex scenario. These challenges include a lack of basic sanitation, high built and population densities, overcrowded housing (averaging three people per room), inaccessibility for urban services (such as firefighters, waste collection, and police), a lack of public spaces and green areas, unsanitary indoor conditions, heavy reliance on the informal sector, and limited access to food security and healthcare services.

The struggle for the right to the city is deeply tied to the right to decent, permanent, and accessible housing. This involves downtown building revitalization projects driven by broad social participation, particularly by women who are heads of households—initiatives that serve as scalable models across the city. Guilherme Wisnik speaks with Carmen Silva, a Black woman from Northeast Brazil and an activist for the right to the city. A leader of the Movimento Sem-Teto do Centro (MSTC), she served as a Municipal Housing Councilor for two terms, and during the same period, she coordinated the Participatory Council of the Sé region.

The jury of the Maré-City International Competition, organized by the 27th World Congress of Architects – UIA2021RIO, has selected the three winning projects and three honorable mentions. The choice was not easy: out of 180 entries from places as diverse as Germany, China, Egypt, Brazil, Russia, Poland, Turkey, Colombia, France, Portugal, Oman, and Ukraine, the jury shortlisted 28 finalists before deciding on the winners. Chinese entrants represent the majority of the awardees, securing first and second place, as well as the Roberto Burle Marx and Demetre Anastassakis honorable mentions. Third place went to a project by Brazilian students from São Paulo, while the Luiz Paulo Conde honorable mention was awarded to a project by students from Bogotá, Colombia.

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