Architecture News

Twelve finalist projects, one honorable mention, and five winning works were announced yesterday in Barcelona, marking the results of the 4th edition of the AADIPA European Award for Architectural Heritage Intervention.

Brick is, without a doubt, the building material most widely validated by the collective imagination; from children's fables to the most experimental narratives, many have drawn inspiration from the diverse meanings shaped by its distinctive character.

So begins "Arquitecturas Argentinas con Ladrillo" (Argentine Brick Architecture), a book edited by Bisman Ediciones and co-published by the Universidad de Morón and Grupo UNICER, with the participation of the Universidad Católica de Córdoba. Conceived as a compendium, it features a meticulous selection of recently built projects in Argentina sharing a clear common denominator: the study and use of brick as a fundamental building material to create architecture.

Through various graphic resources such as floor plans, photographs, and unprecedented construction details, the book functions as a true catalog of typologies, exploring the diversity and versatility of masonry applications in the region. The volume compiles history, technique, and contemporary reference projects, demonstrating how brick has inevitably established itself as a characteristic and defining material of Argentine and Latin American architecture.

The 2019 Architecture Prize was a call for entries launched by the National Endowment for the Arts (FNA). Geared toward young architects, it aimed to highlight and showcase cultural projects built in Argentina, including museums, theaters, auditoriums, concert halls, art galleries, radio studios, cinemas, libraries, bookstores, art studios, production workshops, rehearsal spaces, and community, private, or public cultural spaces.

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During June, Mexico City hosted one of the world's most famous workshops for the first time: Porto Academy. Held annually at the Faculty of Architecture of the University of Porto—designed by 1992 Pritzker Prize laureate Álvaro Siza—this event is the result of a deep passion for architecture and for those who believe that practice, as the exercise of the profession, is fundamental to the future of the discipline.

At a time when micro-housing has moved to the center of debate—driven by rapid urban densification and emerging social needs—the proliferation of micro-units such as capsule hotels in Europe has sparked conversations about the future of our cities, offering new ways to adapt to contemporary living. Against this backdrop, the MUGAK Basque Country International Architecture Biennial presented an installation titled "Nakagin 1:1," a full-scale replica of one of the capsule units from the Nakagin Capsule Tower by Kisho Kurokawa in Tokyo, Japan. Located next to the San Sebastián Royal Yacht Club, the installation overlooks one of the Basque Country's most iconic spots, La Concha Bay, allowing visitors to experience firsthand what it feels like to inhabit these micro-housing units of just 10 m² at a 1:1 scale.

Tomorrow, Chile celebrates Cultural Heritage Day, marking two decades since its inaugural edition. This year, a wide range of buildings will open to the public, featuring free tours and activities on Saturday, May 25, and Sunday, May 26.

Below, we highlight 10 unique initiatives that promise a distinct experience.

Through the Urban Development Corporation (EDU) and the Colombian Association of Architects (SCA), Medellín launched an international competition to design a space of memory and reflection on the period between 1983 and 1994, one of the most violent eras in the Colombian city. The competition jury awarded first prize to the design team of Taller Alterno, Pequeña Escala Arquitectura, and Luis Felipe Zapata Flórez.

Read more about the project below, in the words of its designers.

Inflection. Def. A change of direction in a process or movement / A bend or angle in a flat or straight object

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The Flower and Garden Festival FYJA is an event held in Mexico City that brings together landscape architects, architects, artists, designers, artisans, gardeners, and students. In each edition, participants create a route featuring various activities and exhibitions, offering everyone—from experts and enthusiasts to the curious—the chance to engage with horticulture and experience the benefits of plants.

Aiming to propose “ordinary” solutions that meet the needs of the majority of people in Chile, the open call for the Feria Libre de Arquitectura—as this year's XXI Chilean Architecture Biennial is known—received 543 registrations, “a historic figure for this type of event,” according to the organizers.

For its 66th edition, the Progressive Architecture (P/A) Awards recognize unbuilt projects that demonstrate overall design excellence and innovation. The evaluations took place in December 2018, and the winners will be honored at a ceremony in New York in February 2019.

Over the next five years, Bogota will inaugurate a series of public and private projects across the city, from skyscrapers to Felicidad Centers, highlighting those resulting from public architectural design competitions, legally managed by the Colombian Society of Architects.
Below, explore the main projects set to open:

On August 27, 2019, the awards ceremony and academic symposium of the first Bogota Public Space Biennale (BEPBOG) took place. The event was the first of its kind in Latin America and the third worldwide, highlighting the value of public space in the Colombian capital and the importance of recognizing best practices regarding the spaces to which everyone is entitled.

Great architecture continues to decentralize. After presenting the results of the Satipo competition in the Central Jungle a few weeks ago, we are pleased to continue our journey across Peru, this time highlighting a competition in the Central Highlands. Interestingly, both reflect the geographical diversity within the same region of Junín. Huancayo, capital of the department of Junín, is the most important city in the central highlands of Peru, located south of the Mantaro Valley. Recognized for its landscapes, history, and crafts, it is, above all, a major commercial hub. In recent years, it has also been officially recognized as Peru's sixth metropolitan area (the sixth most populous city in the country), a growth reflected in its constantly modernizing urban landscape.

Within the framework of the Interinstitutional Cooperation Agreement signed with the Asociación de Artesanos Sumaq Wuasi, the Colegio de Arquitectos del Perú – Regional Junín (CAP Junín) organized the National Competition for Preliminary Architectural Designs of the Sumaq Wuasi Commercial Building in Huancayo. Currently, the site is occupied by a precarious one-story structure covering the entire lot, which is used for commercial purposes. The goal is to modernize the services, uses, and urban context of the current commercial space through spatial renovation and the design of a new infrastructure that meets the current needs of both users and vendors. This will be developed into a technical dossier for construction during the 2017–2020 administration.

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On November 23, Mexican artist Pedro Reyes presented projects from his architectural and design practice for the first time. The exhibition features chairs, tables, bedroom furniture, tiles, and small-scale architectural models that showcase a distinct architectural language that has evolved in recent years.

In January, more than 10,000 citizens in Chile voted to select the first, second, and third places of the Paseo del Mar ideas competition in Valparaíso, a new public space at the Barón Pier that will transform the coastal city's waterfront. "This area was the engine of the country's railway industry during a significant part of the 19th and 20th centuries. Today, however, these grounds lack the vitality of yesteryear and have been abandoned over time," the competition guidelines state.

Ahead of the Bicentennial of Peru's Independence, the Ministry of Culture, the Municipality of Lima, and Grupo Centenario launched an international architecture and landscaping competition for the design of a metropolitan park surrounding the Pachacamac Sanctuary in Lima. The call sought ideas to create a new public space featuring cultural programming and public services, aimed at protecting the sanctuary and connecting it more closely to surrounding communities. The brief proposed a circuit connecting the area's most important cultural projects: the National Museum, the Pachacamac Sanctuary Site Museum, and the Urpi Wachaq wetland restoration initiative. Discover all the winning projects below.

On August 28, the results of the International Ideas Competition for the design and renovation of the existing Mini-Stadium and International Pavilion at Tecnópolis were announced. Organized by the Central Society of Architects (SCA) and the Association of Architects of the Province of Buenos Aires (CAPBA), and sponsored by the Argentine Federation of Architect Entities (FADEA), this second of six international competitions launched in recent months for Expo 2023 addressed the intervention of the two buildings and their connecting foyer.

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As part of the activities for Design Week, which took place from February 4 to 10 in Stockholm, architects Lyndon Neri and Rossana Hu were the guests of honor at this edition of Scandinavia's most important design fair. Neri&Hu Design and Research Office created an exhibition addressing and highlighting social issues unique to China. The Unfolding Village is the name of the installation representing the traditional Chinese village, which is disappearing at an alarming rate. The installation utilizes six kilometers of sawn pine timber and 150 square meters of laminated pine boards. The timber, stained black, is sourced from Swedish forests.