On the 30th of November, we received news of the death of Oriol Bohigas Guardiola (Barcelona, 1925), architect, urbanist, and one of the main drivers of Catalan's modern transformation.

During his Fellowship at Civitella Ranieri / WOJR Architecture Prize, Alejandro Haiek unveiled images of "Industries of Nature", the award-winning artistic narrative that explores Civitella castle's context and environment and observes how nature and industry work in parallel to form the traditional Umbrian landscape. The intervention was presented not as an art object, but as a documentation of the dynamic exchange between narratives, topographies, and shared resources, overlapping the Civitella Ranieri artist community with local farmers, automobile robotics technicians, engineers and producers.

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International acoustic solutions provider Autex Acoustics’ latest net-zero policy gives the green light to mega-construction projects, without giving up on sustainability.

The National Public Competition for the Basic Scheme and Urban, Landscape, and Architectural Preliminary Design outlines the development of the “Water Landscapes” project for the Rio Negro Linear Park, located in the municipality of Rionegro, Antioquia. Organized with the advisory of the Colombian Society of Architects (Antioquia Chapter), the competition aims to gather urban, architectural, and landscape design proposals for the urban stretch designated for the park.

The jury comprised architects Giovanna Vittoria Spera Velasquez, Jorge Pérez Jaramillo, Martha Cecilia Fajardo Pulido, John Octavio Ortiz Lopera, and Paola Catalina Castro Gomez. Out of 17 submissions, three prizes and two honorable mentions were awarded. The winning entries are presented below.

Paste Up, a festival that brings the selected works of six local visual artists to the streets of Santiago, Chile, launched an outdoor route in early December hosted on a series of iconic buildings in the municipality of Vitacura. Renowned urban artist and photographer Caiozzama, whose artistic interventions became icons of the 2019 social uprisings, curated and edited the pieces. The process of translating various sizes and techniques into large-format works also includes the subsequent recycling of the large-scale prints, which will be on display until the end of February. The artists who participated in this edition of the festival are Fab Ciraolo, Bruna Truffa, Juana Gómez, Cecilia Avendaño Bobilier, and Santiago Ascui. Learn more about the works and the urban art route below.

Architectural photographer Paul Clemence has released a new photoseries of Riken Yamamoto's The Circle project, a mixed use development at the Zurich Airport. The design was a competition entry that asked architects to create a program that offers visitors: Swissness, Surprise, and Connections to the World. Yamamoto's winning design, with its inclined facade and combination of linear and curved outlines, linked the airport to the park physically and visually, creating an architecture that highlights the Swiss identity.

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The RIBA House of the Year Award, which highlights the best new architect-designed house in the UK, was given this year to House on the Hill, designed by Alison Brooks Architects. Located in Gloucestershire, the house represents a contemporary extension to an 18th-century farmhouse that functions both as a home and repository of art. Over ten years in the making, the project creates a rich spatial experience while establishing a strong connection between the dwelling and the landscape. The jury commended the house for the “amalgam of architecture, landscape, inhabitation and art” that aptly manages to create a light and calm atmosphere.

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Organized by the Central Society of Architects (SCA) together with Clarín Arq and sponsored by the Argentine Federation of Architecture Entities (FADEA), the Clarín-SCA National Prize for architecture students aims to foster the development of future architects. The competition received individual and group projects completed during the final two years of study in 2020 and 2021.

The NextGen International Taskforce is a collaboration between IE School of Architecture & Design and CPA NextGen, acting as a forum to exchange international talent and learn from discussions on the real estate industry and the built-environment. The group of NextGen professionals, which includes IE University alumni, meets bimonthly to discuss issues such as sustainability, inclusivity, technology, cities and wellbeing.

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The Naomi Milgrom Foundation has unveiled the 2021 MPavilion program, offering over 250 free events over the span of 152 days, its longest to date. Now in its 8th season, the event welcomes design enthusiasts from Australia and across the globe to celebrate the important contributions of the design community to cultural landscapes. This year's pavilion, titled 'The LightCatcher' is designed by Venice-based MAP studio, and will be installed in Melbourne’s Queen Victoria Gardens from the 2nd of December until the 24th of April 2022.

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The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) has revealed the 2021 President’s Medals, recognizing the world’s best architecture student projects and dissertations.  The award, now at its 185^th edition, represents a record of academic results, providing a comprehensive image of contemporary architectural preoccupations. This year’s edition saw the greatest number of entries in the history of the award, with 338 entries nominated by 102 schools of architecture from 31 countries.

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Zaha Hadid Architects has announced the creation of its Employee Benefit Trust and the transition to employee ownership. Established by Zaha Hadid in 1980, the practice with studios in London and Beijing now comprises over 500 professionals taking forward the legacy of the renowned architect. The organizational shift will ensure that profits are reinvested back into the business, into facilities and equipment, benefiting the entire staff while allowing the practice to prioritize visionary architectural endeavours.

El Garaje by Nomos has been announced as the winner of the 2021 AR House Awards 2021. Selected from a shortlist of 15 global practices, the jury praised the project for how it "rethinks the housing typology as an element to reactivate underused spaces in cities and transform rigid and obsolete infrastructure into lively solutions". House Hamburgö by Manthey Kula and House in Kanazawa by Shota Nakanishi Architects also received highly commended recognition, along with honorable mentions to Beaconsfield house by Simon Pendal Architect, Weekend House by AREA (Architecture Research Athens), and Hlöðuberg artist studio by Studio Bua.

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World Architecture Festival has revealed the winners for this year’s categories, highlighting buildings and landscapes completed across the world between 2019 and 2021. Chosen from almost 500 shortlisted projects from 62 countries, the winning projects showcase exemplary contributions to the built environment reflecting this edition’s theme: ‘Resetting the City: Greening, Health and Urbanism’. In addition to the completed buildings categories, the annual award also announced Copenhill, designed by Bjarke Ingels Group, as the 2021 World Building, while SLA was awarded Landscape of the Year for its design of Al Fay Park.

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With a canal network spanning over 100 kilometers, Amsterdam has just unveiled a fully electric, autonomous boat. Designed to operate as a water taxi, the vessel can transport up to five people at a time.

Named Roboat, the vehicle can operate uninterrupted for 10 hours without a pilot on board. Charging is done wirelessly, via proximity and without human intervention. Other integrated technologies include sensors and 360-degree cameras powered by artificial intelligence.

Glass specialists Sovet’s furniture pieces blend together an expansive palette of colours, materials and textures, combining ceramics, woods and metals with a trademark smooth glass finish.

Between November 26 and December 4, the Trienal Sur del Mundo: 'Human Cities' took place in the city of Concepción, Chile, under the general curatorship of Sergio Baeriswyl. The event was an invitation to take an in-depth look at architecture and urban design at the scale of intermediate cities, and to rethink how our habitats are built in the face of today's changing scenarios.

Following years of federal review, the National Capital Planning Commission has finally approved Hiroshi Sugimoto’s Sculpture Garden renovation proposal. Sugimoto’s redesign, which was proposed in Spring of 2019, transforms the Hirshhorn Museum into an accessible and inviting structure welcoming more than 30 million annual visitors. The design features flexible venues to welcome large-scale sculptures and time-based performances, and includes work on long-overdue repairs in the infrastructure.

David Adjaye was announced as the lead designer of the Barbados Heritage District, dedicated to documenting and recounting the impact of slavery on Barbados as well as cultures and nations in the Western hemisphere. The project will comprise a memorial, a museum and a research institute, the latter in charge of presenting Barbados’s pivotal role within the slave trade history as the place of departure for millions of enslaved Africans towards the Americas. The Heritage District, whose announcement closely follows Barbados’ transition to a parliamentary republic, marks a cornerstone in the development of the country’s identity more than five decades after declaring its independence from Britain.

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18 shops and stores, 16 shopping malls, 18 hotels, and 18 restaurants have been selected as continental winners of the 2021 Prix Versailles awards across six regions: Africa and Western Asia; Central America, South America, and the Caribbean; North America; Central and Northeast Asia; South Asia and the Pacific; and Europe. The selected projects will now compete for the world titles, which will be announced on December 15, 2021.

As in previous years, the selection criteria focused on innovation, creativity, the reflection of local, natural, and cultural heritage, and ecological efficiency, as well as the values of social interaction and participation. Discover all the continental winners below.

Cora Coletivo, a transdisciplinary Brazilian group, developed a project in the city of Dongguan, China, for the Urban Greenhouse Challenge II (UGC2) competition. The proposal for an iconic timber-structured vertical farm houses culture, leisure, and the entire food production and distribution chain. In addition, the site features landscape design in its open spaces and an Agroforestry System (SAF) for food production.

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The Education and Training Commission (CEF) of CAU/RJ is conducting the survey Impacts of Remote Learning on the Training of Architects and Urban Planners. The goal is to analyze the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on undergraduate education and professional training during the pandemic and its future ramifications, considering the implementation of remote classes and restrictions on curricular and extracurricular activities in architecture and urban planning schools across the state of Rio de Janeiro.

More than 20 spaces and buildings of high architectural, cultural, and heritage value will open their doors, allowing the public to rediscover the architecture and urbanism of Buenos Aires. In its ninth edition, this in-person festival will take place on December 4 and 5, offering unique tours with innovative and accessible activities for all.

Bjarke Ingels Group and A-Lab have unveiled their design of Oslo Science City, a new innovation district in Norway's capital that aims to create a physical framework for Norway’s innovation environment of estimated 150,000 scientists, students, entrepreneurs, and contribute to the country’s transition to renewable energy. The district aims to be a net zero emission area that operates on renewable energy and circular economic principles, as well as zero emission solutions during development and operation.

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