Designed by the Mexican firm RA!, the HXQ Linear Park project is an urban intervention located on the eastern side of the municipality of Huixquilucan, State of Mexico, where three parks are currently fragmented by ravines, streets, and underutilized spaces. The park is divided into three distinct zones—Tecamachalco, La Herradura, and Bosques de Minas—all connected by the high-voltage power lines around which the parks were originally created. Over time, rugged topography and busy roadways have isolated these areas, turning them into desolate, unsafe, and neglected spaces.
Carla Juaçaba is an architect working in Rio de Janeiro, where she designs diverse spaces through a practice that emphasizes the unique and vibrant Brazilian context.
Have you ever heard of the term “hostile architecture”? Coined in June 2014 by reporter Ben Quinn in the British newspaper The Guardian, the article originally titled Anti-homeless spikes are part of a wider phenomenon of 'hostile architecture' [1] surprised readers worldwide, who began to notice these practices in their own cities. In the piece, Quinn discussed how urban design influences behavior and social interaction, criticizing how contemporary design approaches seek to exclude unhoused people from urban centers.
https://www.archdaily.com/1114732/hostile-architecture-is-the-city-for-everyoneEduardo Souza e Matheus Pereira
Last October, we published the winners of the third call for final graduation projects in Colombia, also known as undergraduate theses, receiving 94 submissions from more than 10 cities and 22 universities.
Our editorial team selected six winning projects, and for the first time, a jury composed of leading Colombian architects was tasked with choosing the 2018 Grand Prize Winner: Lina Toro, Carlos Cano (OPUS, Medellín), and Jorge Noreña (Ruta 4, Pereira).
The jury awarded the Grand Prize to the thesis project Rehabitar la ladera, designed by Daniela Núñez and Roger Escalante, graduates of the Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Medellín campus. "The project does not limit itself to describing and documenting a housing situation based on that built intuition as a testament to local dwelling; instead, it proposes an open design project that generously and simply outlines the guidelines for intuitive yet regulated growth," Toro noted in the jury's official statement.
In this piece, Daniel Morales Escudero offers a reflection on the Terminal 2 project in Valparaíso, addressing the proposal through the lens of Chile's three legal grounds for abortion.
The team comprising Giovani Valeria, Nitzy Vera, Sofía Vargas, and Stefanía Ruiz (Universidad San Sebastián) has been awarded third place in the XXXII CAP Chile Competition. Designed for Teja Island in Valdivia, the competition jury praised the greenhouse system's "innovative and well-thought-out steel structure, with exterior and interior pathways that highlight the flora. It must, however, pay close attention to the scale of the structural elements in the smaller spaces."
The stories of women in architecture are often less known than those of their male counterparts. Here, we focus on the biographies of women architects who form a crucial link in the chain of architecture, highlighting the most-read profiles we have shared courtesy of Un día | Una arquitecta.
Un día | Una arquitecta seeks to bring visibility—through an impressive catalog of over 700 biographies—to the contributions of women architects across various fields: architectural, urban, and landscape design, technology, curatorial work and publishing, artistic production, politics, social habitat management, theory, and education, sharing a glimpse into their stories, backgrounds, and inspirations.
Below, discover twelve stories of women architects who stand out in the field.
Under the title “La vida de los edificios” (“The Life of Buildings”), the latest book by Spanish architect Rafael Moneo—1996 Pritzker Prize laureate—was presented in late December. The volume represents an attempt to view architecture from “within, from its very core,” focusing on three structures: the Mosque of Córdoba, the Lonja of Seville, and the Carmen de Rodríguez-Acosta in Granada. These three buildings, located in three different cities, are considered by Moneo to be essential for anyone wishing to understand Spain and its architecture.
As such, the book is structured around three essays, each dedicated to one of these buildings. Written under different circumstances, they have been compiled to shape this volume by the renowned Navarrese architect and 1996 Pritzker Prize laureate.
The Chilean series Proyecto Habitar dives into the intimacy of homes to explore the reality of housing in Chile. Divided into 9 episodes exploring a range of housing-related themes, directors Joaquín Mora and Verónica Wüst aim to spark a discussion. "I think it is important that we start asking ourselves how we are living and how we want to live," Mora reflects.
During the filming stage, the filmmakers explored various ways to gain the protagonists' trust and tell the story of how they inhabit their spaces. "Throughout the process of working as a team, the opportunity and curiosity to use different formats arose, allowing room for exploration," Wüst comments.
Seventeen years ago, the world witnessed one of the most tragic events in history: the "September 11, 2001 attacks," leaving approximately 3,000 dead and more than 6,000 injured. Numerous other attacks had already occurred and continue to happen in various cities around the world. Because these are surprise events, scattered across territories but typically occurring in crowded public spaces, a wide range of actions has been taken to prevent them, challenging major powers and organizations focused on security strategies.
Designed by Sebastián Simonetti, the project Todo es cancha was chosen as one of the 10 winners in the Thesis Projects category of the Concurso Arquitectura Caliente 2018 (CAC 2018), a Chilean competition organized by Grupo Arquitectura Caliente and funded by the Ministry of Cultures, Arts, and Heritage.
Amateur soccer, through the architectural typology of the neighborhood pitch, serves as a means of social organization and local identity. Its significance lies in the edge of the field, where the entire neighborhood surrounding this public space expresses its identity.
Some of Santiago's 207 pitches are currently falling into neglect, turning into neighborhood liabilities. They have been enclosed along their perimeters with impenetrable walls, squandering their programmatic potential. The Todo es Cancha concept critiques this potential public space and proposes combining the soccer field with architectural interventions that transform these typologies into permanently active spaces.
Building your own home. This is perhaps one of the greatest aspirations for many people—not only architects, but anyone who wants to see the vision of their dream home come to life. Others, however, approach it from a perspective more focused on legacy: sentiments like “my great-grandfather built this house” serve as their driving force. It is about preserving memory in the form of a building.
Nevertheless, one must consider the challenges of being your own developer, of not relying on a real estate agency. It is a difficult path. Consequently, many people abandon this dream to avoid the complications, ultimately opting to buy an apartment or a house.
Corredor Cultural Binacional Laredo Nuevo Laredo - Proyecto destacado. Image Cortesía de XXXIII ELEA Santa Cruz
As part of the XXXIII Latin American Meeting of Architecture Students, the organizing committee launched an open call for students and young architects to participate in the XI Latin American Student Architecture Biennale, under the theme "Identity, Customs, and Traditions."
The selected projects were exhibited during the week of the ELEA event—from October 19 to 29—in the lobby of the main auditorium of the Private University of Santa Cruz de la Sierra (UPSA). The jury, consisting of four guest architects at the XXXIII ELEA, selected the grand prize winner of the biennale and recognized two projects out of the 16 finalists. Discover the projects below.
On the occasion of the third edition of the EA USS Workshop, of which ArchDaily is a media partner, Ernesto Silva, Director of the School of Architecture at Universidad San Sebastián, reflects on the origins of this initiative, which held its first session in 2016 with the international participation of Juan Herreros, and a year later with Alberto Veiga, founding partner of Estudio Barozzi Veiga.
During a meeting with Juan Herreros in 2015, the idea of hosting a workshop in Chile first emerged. While initially it seemed like an extremely difficult initiative to realize, the project soon began to take shape after Enrique Walker joined the conversation. The workshop finally came to fruition in October 2016 thanks to the support and generosity of the Faculty of Architecture at Universidad San Sebastián, when Juan Herreros and Enrique Walker led the first workshop of this series at EAUSS: Typological Corrections.
The modernization of Bogotá between 1940 and 1970, captured in urban and architectural photo essays, has been documented in various books, magazines, and photobooks of the era, as well as in images from the city's public and private archives. These images reveal an intentional, and even critical, approach to how modern architecture reconfigured city centers and positioned new buildings and urban spaces in relation to the existing urban landscape.
In analyzing the impact of aerial photography, Saúl Orduz and Rudolf Schrimpff are essential figures. While the subjects captured through the lenses of these two pilot-photographers were vast and varied, their aerial views of the city are highly numerous. Together, they form a consistent body of work documenting a modern city in transformation, offering insight into its urban development, as well as how different modern buildings and urban spaces were integrated into their surroundings.
Nueva Revista Arquitectura. Image Cortesía de COAM
The Official Association of Architects of Madrid and the COAM Architecture Foundation have presented the new phase of Arquitectura magazine, as well as its new editorial board, which will be responsible for editing the publication over the next two years and releasing a special issue to celebrate its centennial.
Arquitectura magazine was founded in 1918 as the publication of the Central Society of Architects under the direction of José Moreno Villa. Throughout its 100-year history, the publication has witnessed shifting contexts and circumstances, its trajectory shaped by diverse and independent editorial directions. Nevertheless, the magazine has remained one of the oldest active titles in the country, establishing itself as an enduring benchmark for debate, critical thought, and the practice of architects, urban planners, and professionals in closely related fields.
https://www.archdaily.com/1114854/a-new-era-for-arquitectura-the-coam-magazineJavier García Librero
An icon of Rio de Janeiro's landscape and a must-see destination for tourists from around the world, the fascination surrounding Christ the Redeemer conceals a compelling construction history. Standing 38 meters tall atop Mount Corcovado and weighing nearly one thousand tons, the monumental project was designed by engineer Heitor da Costa Silva and took approximately five years to build (1926–1931). Based on Silva's initial drawings, the project was finalized with contributions from artist Carlos Oswald and French sculptor Paul Landowski, who was responsible for modeling all the components that make up the statue.
The concept for the project began to take shape in 1921, following discussions among Rio de Janeiro's government officials. In 1923, a design competition was held, which was won by Costa Silva. Construction did not begin until 1926, after full funding had been raised to bring the monumental project to life, which was finally completed in October 1931.
The third edition of the EA USS Workshop, organized by the School of Architecture at Universidad San Sebastián (Chile), featured Belgian architect Kersten Geers, founding partner of OFFICE KGDVS. In addition to participating in a series of discussions with workshop attendees, Geers held a public conversation with Enrique Walker and delivered a keynote lecture presenting his work and architectural reflections.
The 2018 edition brought together 14 teams, 11 of which represented domestic architecture schools, while 3 came from international institutions in Peru, Argentina, and Costa Rica—totaling 96 participants, including students and faculty advisors. To foster the development of projects capable of driving debate, each day of the workshop addressed a distinct theme, beginning with strategies led by Ernesto Silva, Director of the Santiago campus of EA USS, followed by the materialization of the project, led by Albert Tidy, Dean of the USS Faculty of Architecture.
To conclude, on Friday, October 26, an exhibition of the work produced by the teams was held, alongside an engaging conversation between Enrique Walker and Kersten Geers. The event wrapped up with a social gathering to celebrate the meeting of the schools and the high quality of the projects.
Architecture reveals the realization of a society's cultural processes at a specific moment in history, reflecting in its elements both the modus operandi of an economy and the dominant values governing its organization. The conceptualization of an architectural project sparks an intense, interdisciplinary process of formal development and technical verification for each construction component and its execution procedures. Architecture is tasked with transforming these diverse languages into a gestalt, or a formal reality that articulates and tests vital properties of reality.
Numerous factors introduce distortions into the architectural process in different regions of the globe. The state of architecture depends directly on the quality of professional training, interdisciplinarity, and available resources. A given context's culture and economy determine what architecture can do—and how it can operate.
Designed by Andrea Fuentes Núñez, the project Mixed-Use Housing was chosen as one of the 10 winners in the Thesis Projects category of the 2018 Concurso Arquitectura Caliente (CAC 2018), a Chilean competition organized by Grupo Arquitectura Caliente and funded by the Ministry of Cultures, Arts, and Heritage.
Today, there is a pressing need for housing to move beyond domestic specificity. National and global economic shifts have driven individuals to seek new means of livelihood, meeting their needs by clinging to what they own and utilizing their only available land—their own property. By blending work and domestic life, the question arises: to what extent does housing yield to accommodate productivity?
The National Ideas Competition “Sustainable Housing Prototype Built with Wood,” promoted by the Cámara de la Madera, Mueble y Equipamiento de Córdoba (CAMMEC) and organized by the Colegio de Arquitectos de la Provincia de Córdoba (CAPC), was launched with the following premise: to develop a minimal housing prototype with wood as the primary material.
The jury awarded first prize to Agustín Berzero, Valeria Jaros, María Emilia Darricades and collaborators Maximiliano Torchio and Tomás Quaglia. Below, we present the winning project in the words of its authors.
Biomimicry in architecture does not prescribe form, nor does it strive for literal resemblance. Rather, the goal is to develop architectural solutions that execute strategies observed in nature. It is not about form for form's sake, nor is it about copying shapes; instead, it seeks a deeper reasoning behind those forms. Indeed, it goes far beyond merely drawing inspiration from shapes. It examines context, systems, and interrelations, and the true beauty of biomimicry lies in these connections. Architectural creation remains free, as it is guided by a design principle—the strategy of how nature achieves the performance a project requires for a specific demand. It is a process of co-creation between biology and architecture, making it truly transdisciplinary.
https://www.archdaily.com/1114787/inspiration-from-nature-far-beyond-form-biomimicry-in-architectureAlessandra Araujo, Pedro Lira, Manoela Machado e Julia Ximenes
Led by Cazú Zegers and GrupoTalca, AndesWorkshop 2017 took place last May and June in Patachoique, Lonquimay (Chile), in collaboration with the Arenales Mapuche community. The project aims to design the Mirador de la Corona alongside students and local communities, a structure that has already had a significant impact on Pehuenche communities, serving as a catalyst for the macro-project Ruta Pehuenche.
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