On October 26th, 2019 the jury of the Second Russian Architecture Biennale for Young Architects announced the winners of this year’s competition. The jury members chose the best four of 30 projects by the finalists for the Gold and Silver Prizes. Special prizes were presented by the Russian Ministry of Construction and Housing and Communal Services and the Government of the Republic of Tatarstan; there were also two special mentions awarded by the jury.
Bjarke Ingels Group has been working on the Mars Science City project after the United Arab Emirates announced the initiative in 2017. The $140 Million USD (AED 500 million) research city aims to serve as a “viable and realistic model” for the simulation of human occupation of the martian landscape. The project is designed with a team of Emirati scientists, engineers and designers from the Mohammed bin Rashid Space Center.
The results of the international student competition to design the Czech Republic Embassy in Addis Ababa, the capital of Ethiopia, organized through a partnership between the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic and the Department of Architecture at CTU (Czech Technical University) in Prague, were recently announced. The Brazilian team, comprising Augusto Longarine, Luiz Sakata, and Teo Butenas Santos from FAU USP, was named a finalist among 281 proposals from 38 different countries.
The following project, commissioned to architect Sebastian Castro Aedo alongside Bowlpark, proposes seven new interventions and a series of repairs to the skatepark originally designed by Plan Rampa in Parque Araucano. Located in a public park in the eastern sector of Santiago, in the commune of Las Condes, the project demonstrates various ways to activate specific areas, enabling new, more fluid ways of navigating the circuits.
Photographer Rafael Schimidt has shared with us a recent series of photographs of the Prudência Building, designed by Rino Levi in 1944. Located on Higienópolis Avenue, near central São Paulo, "this apartment building presented, for its time, a high standard of comfort due to its dimensions—four bedrooms and large living rooms—the materials used, and central hot water and air conditioning systems, representing an initiative without parallel in its time," comments Simone Barbosa Villa in an article on Rino Levi's buildings.
Since 1979, the Colegio de Arquitectos de Nuevo León has organized the Bienal de Arquitectura de Nuevo León, one of Mexico's longest-running events recognizing and promoting regional architectural production. To celebrate this year's milestone twentieth consecutive edition and the 40th anniversary of the Colegio de Arquitectos, the organization partnered with CONARTE, Parque Fundidora, and Cultura de San Pedro to present activities centered on the theme *Urgent City, Alternative City, and Possible City* (Ciudad Urgente, Ciudad Alterna y Ciudad Posible), reflecting on the motivations driving different urban stakeholders. This year's jury—composed of Aarón Seward, Arch. Carlos Rodríguez Bernal, Dr. Daniela Frogheri, Eugenia González Gómez, Dr. José Manuel Prieto, Lorenzo Díaz Campos, and Arch. Marcelo Espinosa—selected one Overall Gold Medalist, 17 Calli Medals, and 24 Honorable Mentions across 21 professional categories. Read on to discover the winning projects.
Hello Wood Argentina, the creative, professional, and social program focused on teaching how to "think with your hands" and learn through experience, has opened its open call for students. It invites university students and recent graduates of Architecture, Design, and Art programs—as well as anyone who simply wants to be part of Hello Wood—to join the festival's fourth edition, which will take place in March 2020 in the Municipality of Ceibas, Entre Ríos Province.
Design practice ONOFFICE environmental architecture was awarded first prize in the competition to restore Germanina Estate in Western Cyprus. The competition aimed to rehabilitate the estate and incorporate a listed 19th century agricultural complex into the contemporary urban life of Gerospikou.
Starting November 5, bus riders in Vargem Grande Paulista will be exempt from paying fares. The city is the first in the São Paulo metropolitan area to offer free public transit.
Tokat Sulusaray Thermal Facilities designed by the Istanbul-based office Studio Vertebra commemorates the region’s historical background and enhances the touristic aspect. In harmony with the natural and archeological landscape, the project aims to regenerate the city.
Designed by MCA - Mario Cucinella Architects, engineered and built by WASP, TECLA is a prototype of an on-site 3D printed habitat, launched near Bologna, Italy. The innovative model creates future housing solutions and re-questions the idea of living in the city. It provides a shelter for everyone, through a sustainable, low-cost and efficient method.
Nike has announced that the latest building in its World Headquarters (WHQ) campus expansion will be named after LeBron James. The new building is designed by Olson Kundig and will be home to Nike’s Beaverton-based Advanced Innovation team. The project will include a state-of-the-art Sport Research Lab and explore the future of sports science.
All space must be attached to a value, to a public dimension. There is no private space. The only private space that you can imagine is the human mind.
– Paulo Mendes da Rocha, May 26, 2004
Paulo Mendes da Rocha is one of Brazil's greatest architects and urbanists. Born in Vitória, Espírito Santo in 1928, Mendes da Rocha won the 2006 Pritzker Prize, and is one of the most representative architects of the Brazilian Paulista School, also known as "Paulista Brutalism" that utilizes more geometric lines, rougher finishes and bulkier massing than other Brazilian Modernists such as Oscar Niemeyer.
The Ministry of Culture, through the National Institute of Fine Arts (INBA), invites submissions for the 17th International Architecture Exhibition at the Venice Biennale 2020. Applications are open to select the works that will represent Mexico at the exhibition, which will take place at the historic "Arsenale" naval and military complex in Venice, Italy, from May 23 to November 29, 2020.
Have you ever been curious to see inside someone else's home? With this tagline, Open House Buenos Aires has announced the details of its seventh edition, an invitation and a unique opportunity to rediscover both the architecture of Buenos Aires and its stories and residents. Like every year, this festival offers free admission to numerous architecturally significant buildings that are normally closed to the public. Over the weekend of November 9 and 10, more than 140 buildings will open their doors, making the festival one of the year's most important cultural events.
Blue Crow Media has released its latest map exploring brutalist concrete architecture in Seoul, South Korea. The map is edited by Korea University-based architectural historian Professor Hyon-sob Kim, with original photography by Yongjoon Choi. The guide offers a unique look at Seoul’s unsurpassed history of concrete architecture from the 1960s to today.
This November, Mexico City cements its status as one of the most exciting creative capitals in the world, featuring a circuit of activities designed to highlight the avant-garde, experimentation, and new digital art models that the city attracts and inspires. After 16 years of continuous work, MUTEK Mexico is proud to be part of this circuit, collaborating with other organizations to offer the public one of the year's most intense and stimulating weeks dedicated to digital art and sound.
The Association of Sabesp Engineers (AESabesp) has launched a competition to select the best architectural designs for the future São Paulo Water Museum. The goal is to find the best architectural concepts and alternatives for the restoration and expansion of the former water and sewage department building—currently known as the França Pinto Reservation Center—and the implementation of the cultural venue.
The Tamayouz Excellence Award revealed the winners of its Women in Architecture and Construction Award 2019, a prize that honors the achievements of female architects in the Near East and North Africa, under 2 categories: Rising Star and Woman of Outstanding Achievement.
Building certified sustainable public buildings is now a viable reality. At least, that is what the Hassis Daycare project in Florianópolis, designed by architect Rachel Braga, demonstrates. The 1,182-square-meter building is the first of its kind in the world and the first public building in Brazil to receive the highest Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) rating: Platinum.
South Africa’s architecture is defined by a multicultural history. Located at the southernmost tip of the continent, the county has built upon past traditions and building techniques in a range of modern architecture and cultural projects. These structures showcase new design approaches in South Africa and experiment with diverse formal and spatial strategies.
The Midnight Charette is an explicit podcast about design, architecture, and the everyday. Hosted by architectural designers David Lee and Marina Bourderonnet, it features a variety of creative professionals in unscripted conversations that allow for thoughtful takes and personal discussions. A wide array of subjects are covered with honesty and humor: some episodes provide useful tips for designers, while others are project reviews, interviews, or explorations of everyday life and design. The Midnight Charette is also available on iTunes, Spotify, and YouTube.
This week David and Marina discuss software in design and architecture. It's not as boring as it sounds! The two cover the more pragmatic and specific issues and the more conceptual ones: everything from what programs you need to know to design and to get hired different offices; how to learn programs; balancing technical skillsets with conceptual thinking; why working in the computer is both advantageous and dangerous; 2D drafting versus 3D modeling; things to consider when choosing a software; the failures of successes of BIM programs for employers and employees; key issues to consider before transitioning to BIM; what BIM programs are best (Revit or ArchiCAD) for small and large offices and which project types (the more office-focused and BIM-focused conversation starts at 37:30) and workflows between different programs. If you have any questions or advice about portfolios or any other design-related topics, leave a voicemail at The Midnight Charette hotline: 213-222-6950.
The current social crisis in Chile prompted the curatorial team of the XXI Biennial of Architecture and Urbanism of Chile a few days ago to "pause" all of its activities in solidarity with the country's situation. Ultimately, after a day of deliberation on Wednesday, October 23, the organizers and curators decided to cancel all of the event's activities, according to an official statement.
The 12th São Paulo International Architecture Biennial, on view at the Centro Cultural São Paulo until December 8, includes in its program the screening of two documentaries and a performance that reveal the struggle for housing in São Paulo, focusing particularly on the history and tragic fate of the Wilton Paes de Almeida Building, which collapsed after a fire on May 1, 2018.
