Studio Libeskind has unveiled details of Ngaren: The Museum for Humankind, a museum dedicated to the story of humans to be situated in the Great Rift Valley, Kenya. Commissioned by paleoanthropologist Richard Leakey, the museum will be the culmination of Dr. Leakey’s work, whose fossil discoveries have helped to reveal how humans evolved. The Museum will be the first center of its kind to present research, discovery, and exploration of more than two million years of human history and the origins of our universe from evolution, biodiversity, overpopulation, to war, disease, and climate change.

In recent days, Mexico City has experienced pollution levels reaching 150 points on the Air Quality Index in various areas, such as Nezahualcóyotl in the State of Mexico. On May 13 of this year, Mexico City Mayor Claudia Sheinbaum reported that while hazy conditions and low visibility prevailed in the nation's capital, an environmental contingency had not yet been declared.

Volume Zero has announced the winners of their House of Santa competition, challenging participants to design a new place of residence for Santa Claus. The competition called for an inventive solution for Santa and his guests in a rapidly changing world, hosting a Toy Workshop, house, office space, post office, visitor accommodation for 10 guests, garage space, and a stable area for nine reindeers.

DnA has released images of its Music Studio By The Sea project, situated in Hebei Province, China. The studio building for a music foundation stands directly next to a long sandy beach, with a dune landscape in the background. On a square ground floor plan, the volumes ascend over three stories and conclude with a roof terrace.

Though only the Italian screenings have officially been announced, for May 20-22, international screenings of the upcoming 97-minute docu-film are promised to be announced soon. Created by Giacomo Gatti together with Scientific Director and Co-author Gregorio Carboni Maestri, “Palladio” features well-known scholars and aficionados of Palladian architecture, including Kenneth Frampton and Peter Eisenman, discussing the great architect’s legacy.

The Casa da Arquitectura - Portuguese Centre for Architecture has reached an agreement with Pritzker laureate Eduardo Souto de Moura to deposit his archive at the Portuguese institution. Signed on May 6, the agreement adds approximately 8,500 drawings and all textual and photographic documentation detailing the projects from the architect's 40-year career to the 604 models already housed at the institution since 2009.

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Netflix has published a new show on its streaming service on the subject of tiny houses. “Tiny House Nation” follows renovation experts John Weisbarth and Zack Giffin across America, as they help design and construct tiny homes in spaces under 500 square feet. The seven episodes from the 2014-2017 series feature homeowners from all walks of life, from Florida to Hawaii, seeking to join a Tiny Houses Movement that prioritizes smart living.

Herzog & de Meuron have released images of their proposed University Hospital Basel, Perimeter B in Switzerland. The 68-meter-tall building, with a footprint of over 5000 square meters, exhibits the firm's familiar clean, crisp aesthetic while paying respect to the surrounding historic context. Designed in collaboration with Rapp Architekten, the 12-story scheme will facilitate the hospital’s outpatient and nephrology centers.

AI SpaceFactory has been awarded first place in the NASA Centennial Challenge. The multi-planetary architectural and technology design agency’s Mars habitat MARSHA was awarded the overall winner in the long-running competition series, which saw 60 challengers in total. The MARSHA habitat offers a glimpse into what the future of human life could look like on Mars, with a 15-feet-tall prototype 3D printed during the final phase of the competition, including three robotically-placed windows.

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A crowdfunding campaign is now open to fund the creation of the "Mulheres na Cidade" guide. Conceived by Carmen Guerreiro and Fernanda Carpegiani, communicators and founders of Formiga-me, the guide will map locations in São Paulo that value, welcome, and bring together women's learning and experiences in the capital.

A’ Design Award & Competition, the world’s largest and most diffuse international design awards, has announced results of their 2018–2019 design awards, 2437 winners from 106 countries in 98 different design disciplines. Entries were evaluated by an internationally influential jury panel composed of established scholars, prominent press members, creative design professionals and experienced entrepreneurs who carefully analyzed each entry.

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The Arquiteturas Film Festival (AFF) is returning to Lisbon soon and has already set its dates. From June 4 to 9, the 7th edition takes over Cinema São Jorge, centering the debate around the theme "Human Nature." Over the course of six days, the 2019 program will feature 62 films—90 percent of which are Portuguese premieres, alongside several world premieres. There will also be various parallel activities, including workshops, masterclasses, children's workshops, guided tours, collective meetings, and more.

Ahead of the Bicentennial of Peru's Independence, the Ministry of Culture, the Municipality of Lima, and Grupo Centenario launched an international architecture and landscaping competition for the design of a metropolitan park surrounding the Pachacamac Sanctuary in Lima. The call sought ideas to create a new public space featuring cultural programming and public services, aimed at protecting the sanctuary and connecting it more closely to surrounding communities. The brief proposed a circuit connecting the area's most important cultural projects: the National Museum, the Pachacamac Sanctuary Site Museum, and the Urpi Wachaq wetland restoration initiative. Discover all the winning projects below.

The new São Paulo Cycling Plan, recently presented by Mayor Bruno Covas, outlines the implementation of 173.3 kilometers of new bike lanes and paths in the capital. The proposal, which is part of adjustments to the municipal administration's Target Plan, also includes the upgrading of 310.6 kilometers of existing lanes. 

In an official statement issued on May 8, 2019, the Board of Directors of Real Madrid C.F. decided to award the contract for the remodeling of the Santiago Bernabéu stadium to FCC Construcción. The company is owned by one of the world's most prominent business magnates: Mexican billionaire Carlos Slim, who has been involved in major international projects such as the controversial New International Airport of Mexico.

TAB 2019, Tallinn’s 5th Architecture Biennale, will commence with its Opening Week from September 5-11, 2019. Earlier this week, the Biennale announced its programme of events for this year’s festival, which bears the theme “Beauty Matters: The Resurgence of Beauty”. TAB is an international celebration of architecture, organized by the Estonian Centre for Architecture and curated this year by Head Curator Dr. Yael Reisner. The Biennale consists of five main events, to take place in various venues in the heart of Tallinn, as well as a Satellite Programme hosting other events around the city.

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Transformation of 530 Homes – Grand Parc Bordeaux by Lacaton & Vassal architectes, Frédéric Druot Architecture and Christophe Hutin Architecture has been awarded the 2019 European Union Prize for Contemporary Architecture – Mies van der Rohe Award. The innovative renovation of three large blocks of social housing in Bordeaux was praised for “radically improving the space and quality of life of its occupants” and for optimizing their economic and environmental cost of living.

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The author of more than 30 books and a champion of cities for people, Danish architect Jan Gehl and his team of around 50 professionals have worked to free the centers of cities as diverse as Moscow, Melbourne, Shanghai, and New York from cars.

Iconoclast, painter, musician, photographer, visionary, genius… and architect. Fernando Higueras [Madrid, 1930-2008] left his mark on the history of Spanish architecture in an emotional way, showcasing architecture in its most essential quality.

Born in Madrid on November 26, 1930, Fernando Higueras was, like many others, a key exponent of late architectural modernism in 1960s Spain. Far from being merely novel or exceptional, his approach reiterated the timeless lesson of the creative process: talent and grace were not enough; they had to be accompanied by immense perseverance and, above all, passion. 

Applications are now open for Dubai Design Week in the United Arab Emirates. Applicants are encouraged to submit ideas and proposals to host an event, showcase a product or stage a creative project during the region’s largest creative festival. Much of Dubai Design Week’s program is made up of partner events and activities, held both at Dubai Design District and at locations across the city and the UAE.

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Eight of Sweden's leading architects have created new visions for the future of Stockholm in Boxen at the Swedish Centre for Architecture and Design. Called Architecture Projects: Skeppsbron, the exhibition at ArkDes features visionary ideas for Skeppsbron in Gamla Stan. The exhibition celebrates the agency of the architect in thinking about the future city and aims to imagine new uses for Skeppsbron – one of the Swedish capital’s most symbolic inner-city sites.

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Architect Aleksandra Jaeschke has been named the winner of the Harvard Graduate School of Design’s 2019 Wheelwright Prize. Jaeschke receives a $100,000 traveling fellowship to fund her research proposal UNDER WRAPS: Architecture and Culture of Greenhouses. The fellowship and grant are designed to support investigative approaches to contemporary architecture, with an emphasis on travel-based research.

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Designed by Diller Scofidio + Renfro, the new linear park running along the river Thames is opening its doors on Greenwich Peninsula, London, this July. In collaboration with Neiheiser Argyros, the New York-based office has created the next culture and leisure destination in the UK's capital, offering an evolving collection of free-to-view public art by emerging and world-renowned artists along a landscaped route for running, walking and meditation. The 5 kilometers-long landscape features 9 meters-high elevated walkways flowing through trees and giant sculptures.

Bosske Architecture has designed a new dairy farm facility with a robotic creamery in Northcliffe, Australia. Made for Bannister Downs Dairy, the project creates a ‘grass-to-gate’ facility for the family run, vertically integrated producer. The project was designed to showcase innovation in dairy production and ethical milking practices by opening its doors for public viewing and education.

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