Every year, ArchDaily's curatorial team publishes thousands of new architectural projects. From this experience, we know that no one builds alone and that these projects would not have been possible without the collaboration of many other professionals that are as much involved as the architects and designers themselves.
Another year comes to an end and with it, another round up that explores the most important events that took place over the past twelve months. In this article, we look into the photos that received the most interactions (likes, comments, shares, and saves) on ArchDaily's Instagram.
The early stages of practicing architecture are often met with what many explain as "the slippery slope of being an architect", where expectations do not at all meet reality of the profession and gets worse as the experience progresses. With constant burnouts as a result of working overtime and on weekends on the account of “gaining experience”, extraordinary expectations, low wages, and physical and mental strains, the prestige of being an architect has evidently vanished with modern-day work conditions. So how can architects fight for their labor rights after years of exploitation and what is currently being done to ensure them?
The word commensality refers to the act of eating together, sharing a meal. Much more than a mere function of essential human need, sitting at the table is a practice of communion and exchange. An article by Cody C. Delistraty compiles some studies on the importance of eating together: students who don't eat regularly with their parents miss school more; children who do not have daily dinner with their family tend to be more obese and young people in families without this tradition can have more problems with drugs and alcohol, in addition to poorer academic performance. Evidently, all these issues raised are complex and should not be reduced to just one factor. But having a suitable place to have meals, free from distractions, is a good starting point for at least one moment a day that is focused on conversation and food. This is where dinner tables come in. In this article, we review some projects to classify the most common ways to deploy these important pieces of furniture.
Steeped in history, culture, and tradition, Switzerland is a country with a lot of pride. The famous Swiss exports of watches, financial services, chocolate, and cheese are all synonymous with ‘quality’, but perhaps Switzerland’s greatest export of all is its landscape.
Communal living is nothing new. Throughout history, housing has long been tied to both shared needs and a concentration of resources. Today, between population growth and an increase in urban density and real estate prices, architects and urban planners have been pursuing alternatives for shared living. These new models explore a range of spatial and formal configurations with a shared vision for the future.
ArchDaily continues a seven-year-long tradition of celebrating the best architecture drawings of the year. From painting to collages to blueprints, the 2021 edition highlights a carefully-curated collection of architectural drawings and visualizations with a wide variety of techniques and representations.
Born in the corridors of FAU-USP, FGMF Arquitetos began as a wish of Lourenço Gimenes, Rodrigo Marcondes Ferraz and Fernando Forte, three young friends. It became a reality in 1999, when they formalized the office and began the award-winning career they have established.
On a cold winter day, if you’re craving a fresh hot pizza, a stack of warm pancakes, or a juicy cheeseburger, it’s easy to turn to an app on your phone to quickly place an order and have it delivered right to your door. But if you’ve ever wondered how restaurants keep up with the demands of diners, those who take food-to-go, and those who order through delivery apps, especially over the last two years of the COVID-19 pandemic, the solution might lie in the rapidly expanding new trend of Ghost Kitchens.
Reform and adaptation of spaces represent a significant parcel of projects ordered to architecture firms, and reuse of preexisting structures is not newness. Functions and needs change over time, therefore adaptations are required to meet new demands. However, no matter how much the maintenance of a building is, in most cases, preferred in economic and ecological sense to its demolition and a new construction from the beginning, the logic of the reuse of a space does not usually extend to its parts that become, thus, rubble.
The climate crisis has been one of the focal points of 2021, both within political discourse and the architectural field, accompanied by a newfound acknowledgement of the issue's severity. Over the past year, the IPCC report revealed the severe consequences of inaction, while COP26 and G7 summit resulted in an insufficient commitment to immediate and palpable measures. The AEC sector, responsible for a staggering 39% of global greenhouse gases, can bring a significant contribution to curbing climate change and the following looks at the decarbonization efforts of 2021 that target this industry.
Valuing formal simplicity and delicate attention to details and finishing, Studio MK27 was founded in the late 1970s by Marcio Kogan and currently has more than 30 members based in São Paulo and other collaborators around the world. Its work, as described on its website, seeks to fulfill the task of rethinking and continuing Brazilian modernism.
Payette is a studio reimagining what it means to practice today. While primarily an architecture firm, the firm is rooted in an interdisciplinary approach encompassing landscape architecture, interior design, building science, space strategies, design visualization, fabrication, computation and research. For Principal Leon W. Drachman, Payette is an office that moves across a broad range of scales to reimagine design, from a campus master plan to facade details.
When designing an architectural space, it's necessary to think about how to satisfy the needs of each user, looking to achieve an adequate level of comfort and a pleasant experience. Auditoriums, cinemas, and theatres are spaces that involve large masses of people, so special attention must be paid to factors like isoptics, acoustics or accessibility so that when witnessing an event, everyone is able to receive the same information.
More than 5000 new projects published throughout 2021 make ArchDaily the largest online architecture library in the world. ArchDaily Curatorial Team researches, contacts offices, prepares, and delivers the built projects in the world on a daily basis, with the objective of providing inspiration, knowledge, and tools to our users who take part in the creation of better built environments.
Even though white minimalism remains the norm, retro trends are making a serious comeback in modern bathroom designs, with homeowners incorporating pops of color, classic fixtures, and patterned surfaces. Despite often being static and traditional spaces in homes, bathrooms have certainly undergone significant transformations throughout the years. While those of the outspoken 1970s brought vibrant colors like avocado green and mustard yellow, the ‘80s introduced ceramic tiles in more muted, pastel shades. On the other hand, this century has set the ideal on white and marbled surfaces, slick gloss finishes, and silver fixtures. However, even as this all-white look continues to be the protagonist, bold retro enhancements are reviving and blending in with contemporary elements to create elegant, yet lively atmospheres with a strong character.
Circulation spaces are often challenging for designers as they are intended—as the name implies—for moving from one room to another. While many take advantage of these areas by using them as storage spaces, Mies van der Rohe at the Farnsworth house reduced circulation to a minimum, creating an open floor plan completely free of hallways. When faced with vertical circulation, the issue is similar. Stairs fulfill the purpose of overcoming the height between one floor and another, but rarely constitute indoor living spaces. Bleachers, in turn, play this role in several projects. Until recently, they were only found in sports spaces or amphitheaters; now the use of bleachers has become widespread and is seen in office spaces, public buildings, schools and even homes.
Architecture, to materialize as a constructed and functional building, requires the collaboration of a series of disciplines. During the design stages, these complementary areas are added to the architectural design, attaching systems that help in the construction's functionality, known as complementary projects.
