Aiming to propose “ordinary” solutions that meet the needs of the majority of people in Chile, the open call for the Feria Libre de Arquitectura—as this year's XXI Chilean Architecture Biennial is known—received 543 registrations, “a historic figure for this type of event,” according to the organizers.
For its 66th edition, the Progressive Architecture (P/A) Awards recognize unbuilt projects that demonstrate overall design excellence and innovation. The evaluations took place in December 2018, and the winners will be honored at a ceremony in New York in February 2019.
Over the next five years, Bogota will inaugurate a series of public and private projects across the city, from skyscrapers to Felicidad Centers, highlighting those resulting from public architectural design competitions, legally managed by the Colombian Society of Architects.
Below, explore the main projects set to open:
On August 27, 2019, the awards ceremony and academic symposium of the first Bogota Public Space Biennale (BEPBOG) took place. The event was the first of its kind in Latin America and the third worldwide, highlighting the value of public space in the Colombian capital and the importance of recognizing best practices regarding the spaces to which everyone is entitled.
Great architecture continues to decentralize. After presenting the results of the Satipo competition in the Central Jungle a few weeks ago, we are pleased to continue our journey across Peru, this time highlighting a competition in the Central Highlands. Interestingly, both reflect the geographical diversity within the same region of Junín. Huancayo, capital of the department of Junín, is the most important city in the central highlands of Peru, located south of the Mantaro Valley. Recognized for its landscapes, history, and crafts, it is, above all, a major commercial hub. In recent years, it has also been officially recognized as Peru's sixth metropolitan area (the sixth most populous city in the country), a growth reflected in its constantly modernizing urban landscape.
Within the framework of the Interinstitutional Cooperation Agreement signed with the Asociación de Artesanos Sumaq Wuasi, the Colegio de Arquitectos del Perú – Regional Junín (CAP Junín) organized the National Competition for Preliminary Architectural Designs of the Sumaq Wuasi Commercial Building in Huancayo. Currently, the site is occupied by a precarious one-story structure covering the entire lot, which is used for commercial purposes. The goal is to modernize the services, uses, and urban context of the current commercial space through spatial renovation and the design of a new infrastructure that meets the current needs of both users and vendors. This will be developed into a technical dossier for construction during the 2017–2020 administration.
On November 23, Mexican artist Pedro Reyes presented projects from his architectural and design practice for the first time. The exhibition features chairs, tables, bedroom furniture, tiles, and small-scale architectural models that showcase a distinct architectural language that has evolved in recent years.
In January, more than 10,000 citizens in Chile voted to select the first, second, and third places of the Paseo del Mar ideas competition in Valparaíso, a new public space at the Barón Pier that will transform the coastal city's waterfront. "This area was the engine of the country's railway industry during a significant part of the 19th and 20th centuries. Today, however, these grounds lack the vitality of yesteryear and have been abandoned over time," the competition guidelines state.
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.
On August 28, the results of the International Ideas Competition for the design and renovation of the existing Mini-Stadium and International Pavilion at Tecnópolis were announced. Organized by the Central Society of Architects (SCA) and the Association of Architects of the Province of Buenos Aires (CAPBA), and sponsored by the Argentine Federation of Architect Entities (FADEA), this second of six international competitions launched in recent months for Expo 2023 addressed the intervention of the two buildings and their connecting foyer.
As part of the activities for Design Week, which took place from February 4 to 10 in Stockholm, architects Lyndon Neri and Rossana Hu were the guests of honor at this edition of Scandinavia's most important design fair. Neri&Hu Design and Research Office created an exhibition addressing and highlighting social issues unique to China. The Unfolding Village is the name of the installation representing the traditional Chinese village, which is disappearing at an alarming rate. The installation utilizes six kilometers of sawn pine timber and 150 square meters of laminated pine boards. The timber, stained black, is sourced from Swedish forests.
Contemporary educational architecture has moved away from replicating closed buildings that resemble prisons or hospitals more than environments designed to foster the academic development of younger generations. Whether a university, high school, elementary school, or preschool, educational infrastructure must encourage free and creative thinking, moving past the obsolete notion that students should be trained like soldiers who cannot question authority. This is where the architecture of these spaces plays a leading role, serving as the setting where students spend a significant portion of their lives.
In the heart of the southern Ecuadorian Andes, near the city of Cuenca—a UNESCO World Cultural Capital—PPAG Architects is building the Stiehle German School, having won the invited competition.
Keeping up with the software used in architecture is not only a massive task but a necessary one to showcase the diverse skill set of anyone involved in design and construction. With today's wide range of available programs, which of these could be the "best"?
Fortunately, TechRadar, the tech-focused online publication, gives us a clue with its announcement of the best architecture software of 2019. While this list may rank the software from "best to worst," it is important to remember that each program is designed to serve a different purpose, not necessarily to perform better than the others.
During the first half of this year, the XXI Chile Biennial of Architecture and Urbanism invited students, architects, firms, institutions, publishers, and collectives to participate in one of the most important architectural events in Chile and Latin America, which this year will focus on proposals geared toward the "everyday" public.
Founded in 2013 and based in Mexico City, David Pompa is a studio made up of designers, engineers, and makers established in Mexico and Austria. David Pompa grew up in both countries and studied product design in London. Over time, the studio has shown a strong interest in traditional materials and techniques. Since its founding, it has remained committed to Mexican culture, which is reflected in the creation of aesthetic and accessible design objects.
In November of this year, the latest edition of the Minsk International Biennale of Young Architects was held in Belarus. The event featured the Leonardo Awards, which recognize completed projects from around the world across six categories: urban planning, public buildings, multi-family housing, single-family homes, landscaping, and interior design.
Among the award-winning projects, the prestigious "Great Grand Prix Leonardo" was awarded to the Municipal Toy Library of Dólar in Spain, designed by Carquero Arquitectura.
Architects Ignacio Urquiza and Bernardo Quinzaños present "ESSAYS: The Architectural Process of 2008-2018," a monograph that celebrates and concludes the first stage of their careers, offering a critical and retrospective look at the projects and collaborative processes they have developed over the last 10 years.
On Monday, November 18, the National Institute of Fine Arts and Literature (INBAL), through its Department of Architecture and Conservation of Built Artistic Heritage, announced the official selection that will represent Mexico at the 17th International Architecture Exhibition of the Venice Biennale 2020. Chosen from 153 submissions across 14 Mexican states, the final selection of 12 proposals features the following participants:
Argentine architect César Pelli, known for designing some of the world's tallest buildings, such as the Petronas Towers in Kuala Lumpur, the Torre de Cristal in Madrid, and the Costanera Center building in Santiago, Chile, passed away today at the age of 92, as confirmed on social media by Juan Manzur, governor of the province of Tucumán.
Semana de la Madera (Wood Week) is an annual event organized by Madera21, an association founded in 2001 by the Corporación Chilena de la Madera (Chilean Wood Corporation). Its goal is to promote and disseminate the use of this material in Chile, offering a unique opportunity to highlight architecture, design, engineering, and innovation using wood, while encouraging future project development and research by professionals and academics.
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The ICO Museum (Madrid) has extended Francis Kéré: Primary Elements, the first exhibition in Spain dedicated to the Burkina Faso-born, German-trained architect. Originally scheduled to close on Sunday, January 20, the museum has pushed the closing date back to Sunday, February 3.
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The winners of the International Preliminary Project Competition for the design of the “Education of the Future Building” have been announced. The project will be built based on the Master Plan designed for the Innovation Park in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Organized by the Central Society of Architects (SCA) and sponsored by the Argentine Federation of Architecture Organizations (FADEA), the competition sought architectural proposals that would foster entrepreneurship, science, and technology, generating and attracting knowledge and talent to the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires.
As part of its annual awards program, Tamayouz Excellence Award announced the winners of the Rifat Chadirji Prize, organized in partnership with the Barjeel Art Foundation for its 2019 cycle. This year, the award sought proposals for a modern Arab art museum in Sharjah, UAE, to house Barjeel's extensive collection of art from across the Middle East.
The Rifa Housing Competition is a historically celebrated event in Uruguay that gives new generations of architects from the Faculty of Architecture, Design, and Urbanism (FADU – UdelaR) the real opportunity to design and build a project. Every year, the Arquitectura Rifa travel groups organize this competition to reflect the state of the discipline, offering a perspective on contemporary living and how it is conceptualized within the school.
On Thursday, October 3, a new space called Design House opened in Mexico City, showcasing a series of interventions that integrate disciplines such as design, architecture, and interior design. Over the past nine years, the initiative has presented cutting-edge proposals from more than one hundred participating firms across various properties. These projects are created in collaboration with showrooms from the Design Route (Ruta del Diseño), which provide the design firms with the pieces and accessories that make up their diverse proposals.
