Can architecture foster better relationships between people, creating an equalized and respectful use of space? Can tools be designed that strengthen the bonds between humans and objects? BAAG (Buenos Aires Arquitectura Grupal) studio explores the architectural elements that mediate between people and objects, the natural and artificial, public and private, individual and collective, and humans and other living things.
Practice for Architecture and Urbanism (PAU) has shared new details of its proposal to reimagine Niagara Falls in New York. Attracting millions of annual visitors, the region has become a global tourist destination, while the downtown area has yet to experience the same level of interest. Now PAU is leading an urban design and economic development strategy, in partnership with Forsyth Street Advisors and a community advisory group, to imagine a more lively future.
Mexico's Federal Ministry of Culture has announced that renowned Italian architect and 1998 Pritzker Prize laureate Renzo Piano will develop the conceptual design for the Mexican Contemporary Pavilion. The project will be built in the First Section of Chapultepec Forest as part of the "Chapultepec Forest: Nature and Culture" master plan, and will be funded by businessman Agustín Coppel and the Probosque México Trust.
The 8th edition of the Arquiteturas Film Festival explored the theme Bodies Out of Space through an exploration of the social construction of space, connected by a thread running through its own narratives of domination. These are also narratives of identity, which is often stripped away or forced to represent our bodies.
Global design firm Sasaki has announced the launch of Density Atlas, a new online platform for planners, urban designers, developers, and students immersed in the public realm, to have a better understanding about density. The platform explores the limitations of density and defines a more standardized set of metrics for understanding and comparing density across different global contexts, such as in urban centers, college campuses, or community under development.
Swedish practice Tham & Videgård Arkitekter has won a competition to design a new cadet mess building for the Karlberg Military Academy in Stockholm. Establishing a dialogue with the historical context and the 17th-century park, the project is conceived as a clean square volume with concave facades that embrace the surroundings. Through its rhythm and proportion, the design echoes the classical architecture of the nearby palace, showcasing a rigorous aesthetic that establishes a timeless image.
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How does systemic thinking and generative design contribute to new forms of convivence? Can they become tools to connect tradition and identity in a modern way? Can they help to design customizable architectural strategies that offer locally accessible solutions? Can they contribute to the creation of dignified spatial experiences that can be replicated on a mass scale?
Designed by Foster + Partners, with landscape architect Mark Rios, One Beverly Hills puts in place a unifying vision for Beverly Hills’ western gateway. Proposing two residential buildings, a new ultra-luxury hotel, a casual dining, and retail pavilion, and expansive publicly accessible botanical gardens, the development, expected to open in 2026, aims to become a striking and dynamic mixed-use project.
The Chicago Architecture Center (CAC) has announced it will be holding an exhibition of one of Chicago's renowned architects Helmut Jahn, an architect who "melted and fragmented the mid-century modern grid into post-modern designs" in projects like the United Terminal at O'Hare, the James R. Thompson Center in Chicago, and many others around the world. The event will take place on July 23rd until October, and will be the first major limited-run exhibition in the new CAC Galleries since their inauguration in August 2018.
In an effort to reinvent an iconic American fast-food brand, McDonald’s U.S. has announced a new direction for the corporation, beginning with rethinking the restaurant’s current archetypal design both in its interior eating spaces and exterior urban landscape. A primary example of this commitment can be seen in the recently completed design for McDonald’s Global Flagship in Chicago by Ross Barney Architects.
The structure, which fills an entire city block in the heart of Chicago, was envisioned as a hallmark example of both the architect and the corporation's shared commitment to environmentally sustainable design. Cross Laminated Timber (CLT), an essential material for the project, replaced many of the commonly-used building materials such as steel, concrete, and plastics that have a larger environmental footprint.
Recently, a series of cities and government entities worldwide have announced various plans to either fight climate change or combat its effects. From New York’s investment in carbon-capturing technologies to Miami’s Stormwater Masterplan, or EU’s target to reduce emissions by 55% by 2030, the issue begins to take centre stage in urban design and politics. The measures come at a time when the consequences of climate change are becoming more apparent in extreme weather events, and the scientific forecast is less than optimistic.
Live stream of a panel discussion organized by Milan-based studio untitled architecture as part of Triennale di Milano's summer public program. TOPOTEK 1, Openfabric and Project for Public Spaces, three leading firms in the world of public spaces, will address the issues of the post-pandemic cities and share their views on how to approach them.
The Global Challenge has launched a call for entries for architectural initiatives with a high social impact. Finalists will have the opportunity to win an award and connect with A - D partners to bring their community projects to life.
Submit your proposal by July 25 at https://architectureindevelopment.org/
“Edificios de Madrid” is a new 10-episode micro-series presented by Open House Madrid. A new episode will premiere each week on their YouTube channel, featuring ten renowned architects who explain and share previously unseen details of iconic works like the Zarzuela Racecourse, the Hotel Puerta de América, and the Liria Palace, while rediscovering lesser-known sites like the Frontón Beti Jai and the Francisco Giner de los Ríos Foundation.
With 3 months to go until the opening of Expo 2020 Dubai, on October 1st, the organizing committee has released updated images highlighting ready and completed pavilions. With officially 191 participating nations, the expo is seeking to “explore the power of connections in shaping our world”. Showcasing architecture, culture, and inspiring innovations, the world expo has been, for the past 170 years, the leading platform to introduce great inventions and architectural revolutions, most of which shaped the world we live in today.
Designed by architect Renée Gailhoustet in 1972, the Cité Spinoza residential complex is part of the master plan created for downtown Ivry-sur-Seine, France. The project is a rendition of the Unité d'Habitation de Marseille by Le Corbusier, a major architectural reference for architects at that time. Architectural photographer Anthony Saroufim took the streets of the Parisian Banlieue and captured the modernist architecture's distinct concrete geometry.
UNStudio and Bjarke Ingels Group have partnered up with Squint/Opera to develop SpaceForm, a virtual, cloud-based platform that facilitates design, review and collaboration processes for architects and developers. The new virtual workspace explicitly developed for the architecture and construction industry aims to fill a gap by creating a viable and sustainable way of collaborating and designing remotely across global teams, thus reducing the need for travel.
Located 60 km from Belo Horizonte, Caeté is the latest Brazilian city to adopt free public transportation. The initiative took effect on July 1 and will undergo a six-month trial period, with the potential for permanent implementation. Approved by the City Council, the bill allows residents to use the municipality's six bus lines free of charge. Previously, the fare was R$4.
The program is funded through a monthly subsidy of R$90,000 paid to Transcol Caeté, the transit concessionaire operating in the city, which had previously considered suspending services due to financial difficulties.
Herzog & de Meuron’s first realized project in Korea is completed and is set to open to the public in September 2021. Situated in the heart of Cheongdam Dong, one of the most commercial areas of Seoul, the ST International HQ and SongEun Art Space will offer non-commercial art spaces, a variety of new exhibition spaces, and offices for ST International both above and below ground, creating an inviting space for the public to engage with contemporary art. The first inaugural exhibition is expected to be on the 28th of September, and will be curated by the Swiss architecture firm in collaboration with SongEun Art and Cultural Foundation.
C+S Architects and Citizenstudio are among the winners of the Face of Renovation competition, an initiative to redesign the architectural image of housing stock across 31 sites in Moscow. The competition sought to improve the experience of the urban environment through the renovation of urban blocks, fostering a sense of identity through individuality. In redesigning the Metrogorodok area (lot no. 13), the two architecture studios focused on overcoming the uniformity and repetitiveness of the prefab housing estate while also enriching the public space through the plasticity of the facades, the use of colours and the creation of intermediate spaces.
They are architects, but they do not believe architecture alone can fully address the complexity of urban life. Rahul Mehrotra, from India, and Zulu Araújo, from Brazil, came together for the debate on Migrations and Diasporas, part of the June programming for the 27th World Congress of Architects. They shared their experiences and both argued that architecture, in dialogue with other fields of knowledge, must encompass movements of a social and cultural nature. The debate was moderated by engineer Daniella Abreu, Executive Secretary of International Affairs for the State of Santa Catarina.
The Level Building, an eight-story corporate building constructed in downtown Tubarão, Santa Catarina, took just 100 days to complete, with 20 of those days dedicated exclusively to on-site assembly. This was made possible by using off-site construction methods, meaning it was fabricated in a factory. Due to its scale and rapid timeline, the off-site building is being hailed as a milestone in Brazilian construction. “It is the largest volumetric off-site building in Latin America,” says Ricardo Mateus, CEO and founder of the construction tech company Brasil ao Cubo, the firm behind the project.
São Paulo-based firm Hiperstudio has been named the winner of the national competition to redevelop Senac Belo Horizonte, organized by the Institute of Architects of Brazil. With a proposal that emphasizes the spatial quality of the ground floor, characterized by the presence of pilotis, the studio convinced the jury, which was looking for projects capable of "dialoguing with the historical and cultural contexts in which the unit is inserted, while respecting the urban and architectural configuration of Belo Horizonte's downtown area."
Are Brazilian cities ready to adapt to climate change? Driven by this question, scientists at the University of São Paulo (USP) have developed an index to measure the adaptive capacity of urban centers to the impacts of climate change. The index, called the Urban Adaptation Index (UAI), is described in an article published in the May issue of the scientific journal "Climatic Change".
Developed by researchers from the CiAdapta project, which studies the interactions between climate transitions, cities, and decision-making processes, the UAI aims to evaluate the presence or absence of legal and regulatory frameworks supporting urban interventions related to climate adaptation.
