Jasper Architects has recently won a competition to design an immersive hotel experience within the desert landscape of Kuwait. Featuring a curved structure echoing the surrounding dunes, the project is intended to recreate an oasis where visitors can fully observe the natural environment. Through its colors, textures, use of wood, and rammed earth, the concept emulates the surrounding. Reiterating the local topography, a circular roof rises and touches the ground, creating an array of alternating interior and exterior spaces.
Through its Seminar on Culture and Contemporary Reality course, Escola da Cidade hosted professor Alfredo Bosi to discuss the notion of culture—or cultures. In the conversation, drawing on personal experiences that touch on various spatial encounters, the professor interrogates and exposes the multiple facets of the word culture.
With a total of 80 entries submitted, the awards and honorable mentions have been announced for the National Preliminary Project Competition for the Technology-Educational Hub and Park, to be built on the ArcelorMittal Acindar site in the city of Villa Constitución, in the southern province of Santa Fe, Argentina. Conceived as an educational space open to the community, the Technology-Educational Hub and Park aims to boost interest in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) and technology in society. The goal is to promote engineering skills and vocations among youth, while showcasing the materials and construction methodologies used by ArcelorMittal Acindar.
Bjarke Ingels Group has collaborated with NASA and ICON to create Mars Dune Alpha, a 3D-printed research habitat that will provide long duration habitation for astronauts on missions to Mars. The 1,700 sq.ft. structure, which is currently located at the Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas, is designed by the award-winning architecture firm, 3D printed by construction developers ICON, and will soon be home to NASA's future crew.
Four years later, Chile's Ministry of Social Development has given the green light to the 33,000-square-meter (355,200-square-foot) project after reviewing the technical requirements, as local media reported on August 3.
EXMURO arts publics and the Ville de Québec have inaugurated the the 8th annual PASSAGES INSOLITES art event, the annual Quebec City art walk that showcases over 20 unusual urban interventions by local and international artists. The event will run from June 26 to October 11, 2021, and will focus on reimagining the urban fabric and transforming how we see the city and its historic landmarks.
UK-based practise Alison Brooks Architects has recently won the competition to design the new Entrance Building and Children’s Literature Resource Centre for Homerton, the biggest college in Cambridge. Described by the architects as a “lantern”, the proposal is a three-storey mass-timber framed pavilion which will welcome visitors to the grounds while also providing additional study and exhibition space. Through its morphology and copper-clad facades of the upper floors, the new building establishes a dialogue with its context and provides a flexible space that can accommodate the College’s future spatial needs.
UK-based architecture firm AL_A has collaborated with Canadian energy firm General Fusion to develop the world's first magnetized target fusion facility on the UK Atomic Energy Authority (UKAEA) campus in Culham, United Kingdom. The energy firm wanted to "transform how the world is energized by replicating the process that powers the sun and stars". AL_A's design proposes a first-of-its-kind facility with open spaces and see-through partitions that provides innovative carbon-free energy solutions.
Shenzhen Natural History Museum. Image Courtesy of 3XN
The latest news and reports on China’s construction sector redefine the country’s future architectural landscape. A Cultural Infrastructure Index reflecting the data from 2020 places China and, more specifically, Shenzen as the world leader in investments regarding cultural facilities. Last year saw the announcement of 10 new cultural projects, all designed by world-renowned architects. At the same time, the Chinese authorities announced last month that buildings taller than 500 metres would no longer be approved, marking the end of an era that made the country home to 10 of the tallest 20 buildings in the world.
Wandenkolk Tinoco. Image Cortesia de Bruno Firmino
Architect Wandenkolk Tinoco passed away today, August 4, 2021, at the age of 85. Born in Recife in 1935, Tinoco graduated in architecture from the School of Fine Arts of Pernambuco in 1958, and in 1960 began teaching at the same institution, which later became the Federal University of Pernambuco.
Imagen objetivo. Montaje . Image Cortesía de Alexis Olivares Valencia
The team comprising Alexis Olivares Valencia, an architecture graduate from the Universidad Tecnológica Metropolitana (UTEM), and Gonzalo Mazzey, a student at the same institution, won first place in the "A Bench in Venice" competition with their project titled “La Banca del Mundo” (The World's Bench). Within the framework of the 17th Venice Architecture Biennale, the National Pavilion of the United Arab Emirates curated by Wael Al Awar, in collaboration with the Curators Collective, launched an international open call for students. The competition challenged participants to design a bench made from recycled materials, which will be installed during the upcoming summer inside the Arsenale.
For Design and the City's sixth episode - a podcast by reSITE on how to make cities more liveable, the team interviewed Christele Harrouk, Archdaily's Managing Editor and Salim Rouhana, Senior Urban Governance and Resilience Task Team Leader at the World Bank Group. The two Beirut natives talk about the devastating explosion in August last year and share their perspectives on what rebuilding the city could look like.
"We all have to change our way of thinking now. I want to change my architecture to be even more kind to nature," says Kengo Kuma in this Louisiana Channel interview, where he shares his thoughts on the pandemic's impact on architecture and the environment. The architect discusses the collective responsibility towards nature and the importance of designing buildings and cities that allow for and encourage outdoor activities.
The Women’s House in Africa design competition aimed to promote the involvement and empowerment of the female community in Senegal. The competition was organized by Kaira Looro International, a non-profit organization that hosts contests open to students and young architects to foster humanitarian projects in developing countries and spotlight emerging architectural talent.
The competition, which challenged participants to design a “women’s house” featuring symbolic, ecological architecture inspired by local traditions, selected a Brazilian team among its finalists, composed of students Marcela Luana Sutti and Adenir Filho. Read more about the featured proposal and its project description below.
ArchDaily, Strelka Institute, and Strelka KB announce the second edition of their jointly curated award and are accepting applications from the territories of Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Estonia, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Lithuania, Moldova, Russia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, and Uzbekistan. Submit your project by August 8th.
On July 28, the Azcapotzalco Borough opened the exhibition “O’ Gorman O’ Gorman 1905 - 1982” at the Casa de Cultura Azcapotzalco in Mexico City, curated by Sofía M. Provencio and Juan José Kochen. This exhibition is the result of an open call held in July 2020, which invited visual artists, designers, and architects to submit works and perspectives offering a contemporary view of the renowned Mexican artist and architect's work.
Business planning is similar to creating design iterations and drafting drawings before starting construction, in the sense that it is the blueprint for a firm's future success. Having a strategic plan provides a basis to evaluate what is happening in real-time against what was expected, make adjustments as necessary, and have a guide to help make better business decisions. Without a plan, how can you coordinate all of the elements and timing required to achieve the desired result? How can you navigate an unpredictable business environment?
Let's review how the business plan with a whole-systems approach can guide us to successful results, as developed by Charrette Venture Group (CVG).
Designer and art director Serena Confalonieri, along with a team of students and volunteers have created “Quadra”, a graphic installation that is part of the initiative “Piazze Aperte” promoted by the Municipality of Milan. The urban intervention is a graphic art project in a former parking lot in the Quarto Oggiaro district that aims to enhance and characterize tactical urban interventions in all cities.
Curtains can provide a freer and more dynamic flow in architecture. These elements are usually intended to protect the interior from sunlight or create visual privacy, but they are also used as decoration or as room dividers. Since they are very movable and flexible, curtains are becoming a popular choice for architects and interior designers, creating layers between interior and exterior spaces that transform the environment through light and shade. Here, we have gathered some examples of projects that use curtains, particularly in the facades, showing how this solution can affect the overall impression of the design.
Courtesy of CHYBIK + KRISTOF Architects & Urban Designers
CHYBIK + KRISTOF architects & urban designers and DÍLNA have created a new design for Brno's historic Mendel Square. Part of a large revival plan for the city, the design pays homage to the city's rich cultural past. Partnering with local practice DÍLNA, landscape architect Zdenek Sendler, and engineering firm PK Ossendorf, the team exposed the square’s core functional and historic role to drive change in the urban fabric.
Construction recently commenced on a prominent internet company's industrial park in Hangzhou. Serving as a central hub in the enterprise’s digital ecosystem, the project will offer a one-stop office and commercial park experience for its network partners. Guided by a deep understanding of the client's vision, the design team took the corporate spirit of "shared connectivity" as their starting point, reflecting seamless partnership and brand identity through a unique master plan and architectural form.
https://www.archdaily.com/1128534/china-united-star-fang-yes-high-end-industrial-park-for-an-internet-company-breaks-ground-a-flowing-cloud-valley韩爽 - HAN Shuang
CRA-Carlo Ratti Associati and Italo Rota have designed the new MAE museum dedicated to carbon fiber. Made of the same material, the museum is designed to showcase its ecological potential. As a material that is central to the future of manufacturing, the project will be built largely out of carbon fiber, both new and recycled, pursuing a circular approach to design.
