With the emergence of COVID-19, we have had to adapt to living differently than we were used to, which has been directly reflected in our working style. Where and how do we work today? A large portion of the workforce has transitioned to working from home, where feasible. While comfortable for many, for others it has meant a radical shift, bringing new spatial and resource requirements. For architects, engineers, builders, and contractors, this challenge has been particularly complex, as much of their work involves handling large, high-cost devices.

In this article, we present 3 innovative solutions that replace the traditional, bulky plotter, allowing us to print in large formats from our own homes.

The 2020 FAD Awards, one of the most important architecture accolades on the Iberian Peninsula, have announced the winning projects of their latest edition.

“The architectural configurations where the cultural development of a city takes place—workshops, recording studios, rehearsal rooms, factories, homes, and offices—are often private, invisible, and restricted to the general public.” Based on this premise, Urban Backstages—an exploration by the organization Theatrum Mundi that represents the first stage of the pilot project Making Cultural Infrastructure—seeks to reveal what the areas dedicated to the production of art, design, and crafts in the City of Buenos Aires are like, shedding light on how the region's cultural practices are conceived and developed “behind the scenes.”

It appears that the humanitarian crisis has triggered a myriad of actions, rarely seen under normal circumstances, where human life, health, and the economy are prioritized equally. As urban activities grind to a halt, we once again isolate and alienate ourselves; yet, this situation feels strangely familiar. Almost seamlessly, we turn our lives over to technology, detaching ourselves from the physical conditions of our existence to make quarantine more bearable within spaces of telecommuting, virtual classes, chats, and social networks.

While public awareness and regulations on how to reduce, reuse, and recycle municipal solid waste (MSW) on a daily basis have gained momentum, this is not yet the case for construction and demolition waste (CDW). This waste is primarily generated from the development of new projects; the rehabilitation, repair, and retrofitting of existing buildings; and site preparation and demolition processes, spanning from the scale of a single house to an entire city. This represents not only the loss of a massive volume of concrete, brick, steel, and manufactured products, but also the missed opportunity to salvage historic relics.

We want to offer our readers the opportunity to openly share their opinions and experiences regarding the recycling of this waste. If we were all fully aware of the environmental impact generated by the extraction, production, and commercialization of materials—only for them to ultimately end up as trash—would it change the way we design? Would our practices change?

+ 9

The Bamboo Pavilion, a project designed by Mexican architect Lucila Aguilar as part of Design Week 2020, is inspired by the search for spaces that connect directly with the earth. It consists of a series of bamboo structures that create a new space in the plaza of the 'Espacio CDMX' gallery. The pavilion's shape follows the flow of organic forms, combined with a 100% biodegradable, permeable material made in Mérida from natural rubber.

The ECOM Rosario (Metropolitan Coordination Agency) is a voluntary association of municipalities and communes, an institutional space for the planning, coordination, and promotion of public policies with regional impact, organized on the basis of a strategic partnership among 26 localities. It is essentially an organ for driving the formulation, development, and execution of projects at a metropolitan scale, established with the goal of supporting balanced and integrated territorial development in the Metropolitan Area of Rosario (AMR), Argentina.

Natural disasters, mass migrations, economic crises, or simply the passage of time can leave significant architectural works—and even entire towns—abandoned to decay, losing their habitability either partially or completely. Recognizing that these buildings form part of our recent history, a growing number of photographers, historians, and urban explorers (urbex) are venturing out in search of these modern ruins.

"I am interested in how we transition as people from one phase of life to another, and as cultures from one historical period to another. Transitions are often difficult, maybe even frightening." With this introduction, we can expect the work of artist-architect Jorge Otero-Pailos to offer a different perspective, particularly in how we understand the passage of time in architecture throughout history.

Below, he shares photographs of his series "The Ethics of Dust," which highlights the cleaning of dust and pollution residue from renowned historical buildings and monuments—making the invisible visible.

Intervening in buildings of historic value is one of the most delicate tasks facing architects. Today, preservation is no longer limited to restoring centuries-old buildings; it also encompasses the language of modern architecture.

+ 6

Videos

+ 14

In the past, people lived off their crops, built using materials available in their environment, and traveled great distances in search of the resources necessary for their survival. This led to a deeper understanding of the territory, close observation of nature's behavior, and the comprehension and use of local materials to construct their homes. It is from this close relationship between humans and their environment that the vernacular architecture of San Pedro de Atacama emerged, materially composed of earth, stone, tar, straw, and chañar and algarrobo wood. Today, urban growth driven by a steady rise in tourism, combined with a lack of regulations protecting the town's architectural identity, has led to new construction that threatens the area's built heritage.

Videos

Directed by Mexican filmmaker Fernando Frías and winner of the Morelia International Film Festival, “I’m No Longer Here” (“Ya no estoy aquí”) is a film that has been widely discussed across various disciplines. It highlights the specific values and struggles of a territory while transcending borders to showcase the most human and global aspects of our shared world.

+ 29

On Friday, September 25, the first Digital Event organized by ArchDaily took place, sponsored by Crest and Panel Rey for the Mérida-based architectural community. During the event, David Basulto (founder of ArchDaily) and Vanessa Vielma (Director of ArchDaily Mexico) gave a talk on the platform's history and shared relevant data specific to this context.

+ 16

From prefabricated modules that sit lightly on the landscape to projects built on-site and integrated into their surroundings, in Uruguayan projects, wood emerges as a highly capable resource for addressing the wide array of requirements associated with residential construction. Whether used as structure, cladding, or furniture, and paired with concrete, stone, brick, or metal, wood offers endless applications. These possibilities enable the materialization of diverse approaches to the projects' exterior language and expression, while also elevating spatial quality and generating distinct interior atmospheres.

Following the first lessons Thinking in Lines and Drawing the World, OSS (Office for Strategic Space), together with Professor Justo Isasi, Chair of Architectural Design at ETSAM (Technical Superior School of Architecture of Madrid, UPM), presents the third drawn lecture: "Stories in Lines."

The courtyard is an essential architectural element in many cultures. In Brazil, examples can be found both in historic buildings of Portuguese influence and in modern architecture of the last century. While its use is frequently associated with bioclimatic benefits—improving natural ventilation and daylighting in interior spaces—it can represent much more than that. The void it creates, a subtraction from the built volume, can establish unexpected geometric and visual relationships and foster cross-dialogues between different parts of the building.

Even as work arrangements, schedules, and environments become increasingly fluid, dedicated office buildings remain a fixture of zoning plans in most cities.

This article is part of a collaboration with the website coolhuntermx, and was originally published under the title "Decolonial Practice in Design."

If you have not read “Decolonizing Design: Towards an Inclusive Practice” by Ashby Solano, I recommend starting there to engage with a discussion that is gaining increasing resonance—though still not enough—across various design circles. But what exactly is decolonial thinking in design? Can we believe in the decolonization of design in Mexico and Latin America when its professionalization was established under the dogma of Eurocentric thought? In other words, we were taught what correct design is, what good design is, and what deserved to be professionalized.

This article by Paula Jaén Caparrós and Enrique Azpilicueta Astarloa was originally published in the 7th issue of rita magazine under the title "Reversible Architectures of Japan: The Houses of Shirakawa-go" as part of a joint publishing collaboration. The following text invites reflection on the design and construction principles found in these traditional Japanese houses, which could be recovered and applied to contemporary proposals that integrate disassembly, recovery, and relocation of the entire built object as key elements of sustainable architectural design.

This article is part of a collaboration with the website coolhuntermx and was originally published under the title "Julio de la Peña, the architect who built half of Guadalajara."

The moniker of having “built half the city” is often an exaggeration when discussing architects with a large volume of work. However, in the case of Julio de la Peña, the claim is not so far-fetched. This is true not only because of the sheer number of his projects, but also due to how iconic they are for Guadalajara.

In contemporary train stations, architectural pursuits associated with innovation and modernity tend to predominate. We often glorify designs with clean lines and gleaming glass buildings that showcase advancements in technology and engineering. Yet, classicism and styles that endure the passage of time—with their solid materials and sculptural details—possess a certain allure. Within their familiar forms, defined by order and symmetry, lies something that allows us to connect with the past.

As part of an initiative by architects and urban planners to mark the 50th anniversary of the founding of Cancun in Quintana Roo, Mexico, two comics have been released to portray the history of Cancun's Foundational Zone. Created by Pablo Landa of Landa + Martínez and David 'El Dee' Espinosa, this work explains the origins of the city's urban layout, as well as the history behind Cancun's Foundational Zone, to help understand its sustainable, pedestrian-friendly origins that promote community life.

+ 17

Tulum is a region located in southeastern Mexico, within the geographic boundaries of the state of Quintana Roo. Situated along the Caribbean coast, it forms part of the Riviera Maya. Historically, Tulum was a walled city, which is the origin of its name—meaning "wall" in Mayan, a term coined when the settlement was already in ruins.

+ 21

The state of Guanajuato is located in the north-central region of Mexico, bordering the states of Zacatecas, San Luis Potosí, Querétaro, Michoacán, and Jalisco. Covering an area of 30,607 km², it is one of the country's most populous regions. Its most prominent municipalities include León, Irapuato, Celaya, Salamanca, and San Miguel de Allende. The latter, designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2008, is characterized by its Baroque and Spanish architecture. Additionally, this city is home to the Parroquia de San Miguel Arcángel, built from the region's characteristic pink cantera stone.