Divided between their admiration for the modern architecture of Brasília, the city where they are based, and their respect for the Cerrado biome, in which they are embedded, architects Daniel Mangabeira, Henrique Coutinho, and Matheus Seco—partners at BLOCO Arquitetos—have developed a practice grounded in the rationalization of resources, formal simplicity, and attentiveness to the natural or urban context. Their projects span from small to large scales, encompassing commercial interiors, houses, residential buildings, clubs, and urban design proposals.

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Juliana Terra, Fernanda Sakano, Danilo Terra, and Pedro Tuma are not typical Paulistano architects. At least, not to the extent that the recognition of the firm they lead—Terra e Tuma Arquitetos Associados—might suggest. Rejecting the figure of the genius and dispensing with that of the entrepreneur, the quartet runs the firm as craftspeople shaping the object. "We see ourselves as a craft-based practice," says Danilo, who explains the design process as a continuous remaking, free of hierarchy, involving four heads and eight hands.

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Itaipu Binacional, a company owned by Brazil and Paraguay that manages the Itaipu Hydroelectric Power Plant, has launched a national architecture competition for the design of the EcoParque Itaipu in Foz do Iguaçu. The competition brief, published in December 2022, called for the creation of an urban park that "will contribute to the conservation of one of the most significant green areas in Foz do Iguaçu, combining public and sustainable use."

The submitted architectural proposals had to be prepared to integrate a wide range of technologies, whether digital or nature-based solutions, aiming to transform the park into a living laboratory for solutions to address everyday challenges in a more joyful and effective way.

Four years after receiving the archive of Espírito Santo-born architect Paulo Mendes da Rocha, Portugal's Casa da Arquitectura is opening two exhibitions dedicated to the Brazilian winner of the Pritzker Prize (2006) and the Golden Lion at the Venice Biennale (2016). The larger of the two, featuring 138 original drawings, dozens of photographs, and other documents, is dedicated to the architect's built work and seeks to expand the notion of geography that runs through Mendes da Rocha's production.

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The firms Effect Arquitetura, from Brazil, and Ben-Avid, from Argentina, have partnered to design a multi-sport and events arena with a capacity of approximately 3,000 spectators. The building was designed to serve as the main venue for the 2021 Central American Games in Santa Tecla, El Salvador.

Located on a plot of land approximately 260 meters long by 60 meters wide, the building is bordered by a creek, a main avenue connecting it to the rest of the city, and a small local street. The topography features three stepped levels, sloping down toward the rear of the site along the avenue.

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African countries have issued a stark joint declaration calling on major polluting nations to help poorer countries develop without further destroying the planet's climate and ecosystems, as wealthy nations did. They advocate for a global carbon tax as the primary mechanism to enable sustainable investment in vulnerable countries.

No País dos Arquitectos is a podcast created by Sara Nunes, who also runs the architectural film production company Building Pictures. The podcast aims to profile the professionals, projects, and stories behind landmark contemporary Portuguese architecture. With just over 10 million inhabitants, Portugal is a highly compelling country within this professional field, and its architectural output far exceeds what its population and territorial scale would suggest.

In this episode of the sixth season, Sara talks with architect and curator Pedro Gadanho about the exhibition Generation Proxima: Emerging Environmental Practices in Portuguese Architecture. Listen to the conversation and read part of the interview below.

On the first of this month, São Caetano do Sul (SP) implemented free fares on municipal buses through its "Zero Fare Program." Far from an isolated initiative, the measure aims to encourage public transportation use, providing direct savings to residents while improving air quality.

While the first edition's theme was SHARE, and the second was CIRCULATE, the 3rd Tomie Ohtake Institute Leroy Merlin Design Award proposes REVIEW as its core concept—an opportunity to look at our social and environmental context, critically analyze it, and ask: how can a project contribute based on what is already in place? 

Dia a dia is a three-part mid-length film miniseries developed by the Urban Policy Commission (CPU) of CAU/RJ. Each episode is dedicated to one of the three pillars proposed within the theme of the right to the city—sanitation, mobility, and housing—through the perspectives and daily lives of three women living in completely different areas of Rio de Janeiro: Realengo, Barra da Tijuca, and the Santo Amaro community (Catete). The first episode, which premiered on August 21 and addresses housing, is available online.

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Architecture is one of the most beautiful professions—there is an undeniable romance in building the spaces where human beings dwell. It is also one of the oldest: if considered as an activity that organizes space, some form of architectural thinking can be identified dating back at least hundreds of thousands of years. Its beauty, however, is partially eclipsed by widespread frustration within the professional field in Brazil. A general lack of awareness regarding its importance to society, difficulty securing contracts, fierce competition, scarce opportunities in public projects, low-paying jobs, and a willingness to work without fees all contribute to the precarious state of architecture and urban planning.

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. 

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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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.

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).

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.

A watercolor-illustrated tourist map, a mobile application available for Android and iOS, and two books gathering stories from the neighborhoods of Rio da Luz, in Jaraguá do Sul, and Testo Alto, in Pomerode—both in Santa Catarina—comprise the Projeto Lumiar. The initiative will launch these products online at 7:00 PM this Thursday, the 8th. The result of two years of research with local communities, the launch event is supported by the National Historic and Artistic Heritage Institute (Iphan).

Geared toward Latin American architecture students, the Acero Prize aims to promote and encourage initiatives that complement pedagogical models, fostering innovative architectural ideas that use steel as a raw material. This year's edition, themed "Sustainable Cities and Communities," awarded first place to a team of two Brazilian students from FAUUSP.

“Architecture that does not touch the ground” is the name of the proposal developed by Augusto Longarine and Luiz Sakata, advised by Professor Luciano Margotto. With the same project, they won the 13th CBCA Competition (Brazilian Center for Steel Construction), the national stage preceding the Alacero competition. See the project below, accompanied by the project description written by the students.

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