The 2022 Chile Brick Architecture Award is organized by Cerámica Santiago and the Faculty of Architecture at the Universidad del Desarrollo. Held biennially, the event recognizes and promotes the use of ceramic brick in Chilean architecture, highlighting its wide range of applications and widespread adoption nationwide.
A floating solar farm capable of tracking the sun's rays is being tested in the Netherlands. The prototype, dubbed Proteus, was selected as a finalist for the European Inventor Award, which celebrates the best and most innovative inventions.
Although it was not chosen for the European award, the plant demonstrated its technological potential. Its panels rotate slowly on two axes, using mechanical, geospatial, and light sensors to precisely track the elevation of the sun's path as it moves from east to west. This increases the farm's energy production capacity, allowing it to generate around 73 kilowatts of power.
CAU Brasil has launched its campaign for the 2022 Architect and Urbanist Day. To mark the occasion, celebrated on December 15, a variety of content is being published featuring real-life stories of architects who have overcome various challenges in both their careers and personal lives. The goal is to promote professional appreciation by showing how architecture and urbanism improve people's quality of life.
Marking nearly 30 years since the inauguration of Mendoza's Founding Area, the National Preliminary Project Competition was held to enhance the Historical Fountain in the Founding Plaza and propose ideas for the city's urban environment. Sponsored by the Municipality of the City of Mendoza in collaboration with the provincial Association of Architects, the competition aimed to restore and showcase the Site Museum. This heritage complex includes Pedro del Castillo Plaza, the underground chamber housing the remains of the 19th-century historical fountain, the Museum, and the Jesuit Ruins of the San Francisco Church.
Following the open call for the Eco Pavilion 2023, 172 entries were received from 16 Mexican states and three countries. After reviewing all first-phase portfolios, the Technical Committee announced the selection of seven teams to develop a specific project based on the guidelines of the curatorial proposal “ZERO TIME. A reflection on time, the Anthropocene, and tangential resistance,” curated by architect Gabriela Carrillo.
The Association of Architects of the Province of Santa Fe - Superior Board (CAPSF DS) and District 1 (CAPSF D1), alongside the Municipality of the City of Santa Fe, launched the call for entries for the 2023 Paseo de las Tres Culturas National Ideas Competition. The initiative aimed to revitalize and reinforce the identity of the promenade as a space where public areas, historic buildings, and the riverfront landscape coexist. Through proposals that foster synergy among these elements, the competition sought to promote interaction and establish a new, highly representative public space for the community.
Sponsored by the Santa Fe de Bogotá Foundation (Bogotá), the Tatamá Foundation, and the Santo Domingo Foundation, the Tatamá Hospital Architectural Competition aims to improve the quality of healthcare services in western Colombia. With advisory support from the School of Architecture and Design at the Universidad de los Andes, the project involves constructing a healthcare complex covering approximately 36,000 m2 in an expanding area of the municipality of Pereira, Risaralda.
Yesterday, December 15, the ceremony for the 24th IABsp 2022 Awards—a traditional and prestigious honor in the field of architecture and urbanism—was held to announce the winners. The event brought together participants and guests for a cocktail reception at Unibes Cultural in São Paulo.
The experimental architecture and design consortium named Monoambiente is a curatorial project that aims to promote new perspectives on the discipline through thematic research across the different strategies that shape it. Founded 10 years ago as an exhibition gallery, it is defined by the involvement of numerous contemporary architects, designers, and institutions worldwide, where exhibitions have served as a testing ground and support for design research.
The Pontifical Catholic University of Chile held an internal architectural competition to design a new pavilion and park to house the sculptures of artist Mario Irarrázabal on UC grounds in San Carlos de Apoquindo. Previous efforts to build this exhibition space had targeted San Borja Park, where BBATS + TIRADO won first place in 2014.
For this new iteration, the jury selected the winning project by B+V Arquitectos (Eloy Bahamondes + Lucas Vásquez), Marcelo Cox, Francois Jullien, and Sebastián Zarhi, alongside landscape architects Camila Romero and Francisca Salas, and exhibition designer Elena González García del Bello. The design concept revolves around the idea of a museum and garden, featuring specific strategic proposals for soil restoration and programmatic activation.
The architecture firm Vaillo + Irigaray Architects has won the competition to design the new building for the Donostia International Physics Center Foundation in San Sebastián, Spain. The proposal aims to expand existing activities by creating an emblematic, iconic, and recognizable building to enhance the DIPC's image as a leading research center at the forefront of physics.
Following over 10 months of restoration and preservation work, Bisman Ediciones decided to set up its Architecture Gallery and Residency in two spaces of the renowned Casa de Estudios para Artistas in Buenos Aires. In August 2022, the first monographic exhibition, "La trama infinita," was inaugurated here alongside the residency of guest exhibitor Josep Ferrando. A new series is now underway to showcase notable works of the Modern Movement in Argentina, starting with an exhibition of the building itself.
From January 14 to 22, 2023, the XXII Chile Architecture and Urbanism Biennial will finally take place in the area surrounding Palacio de La Moneda, Santiago. The theme of this edition, "Vulnerable Habitats," seeks to address the country's urgent challenges surrounding the housing deficit and access to housing, along with the vulnerability of cities and territories reflected in their public spaces, heritage, and environmental issues.
The Architects Association of Chile along with the Ministry of Cultures, Arts, and Heritage, organizers of this event—which held its previous edition in 2019—have recently announced the results of their open calls: 50 works and projects will be part of the National Architecture Exhibition, and 36 initiatives will join the Meetings and Debates Program. See the complete list below.
The firm Apparatus Architects, led by Brazilian architect Gabriella Gama and Portuguese architect Filipe Lourenço, was invited by the Portuguese Red Cross Health School (ESSCVP) to develop a rehabilitation and expansion project for the new school in the Alcântara Valley, Lisbon. Initially, the project consisted of creating a space for a vocational clinic, but it expanded in scope when the architects proposed renovating the entire tower.
In commemoration of the International Year of Glass, VASA (Vidriería Argentina SA) commissioned the Central Society of Architects (SCA) to organize, run, and promote a national preliminary design competition for the construction of an Urban Pavilion. Sponsored by the Argentine Federation of Associations of Architects (FADEA), the initiative aimed to design a VASA Urban Pavilion that uses glass as its predominant material and is situated in a green public space, either urban or waterfront, within the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires (CABA).
Jointly organized by the Central Society of Architects (SCA) and Clarín ARQ, the call for entries for the 2022 Clarín-SCA National Award for Architecture Students has concluded. Year after year, this award aims to establish a launching pad to boost the development of future architects, accepting preliminary projects developed either individually or in groups during the final two years of the degree (on this occasion, 2021 and 2022).
On October 10, 2023, more than 200,000 Brazilian architects and urban planners will choose their representatives for CAU Brasil and CAU/UF for the 2024–2026 term.
Activities related to the 2023 CAU Elections begin on January 1, starting with a campaign to update professional registration data, ensuring everyone can vote and run for office. The deadline to complete the update is May 31.
The "Public Spaces in the City of Hope" competition in José Carlos Mariátegui - San Juan de Lurigancho has announced its winners. Promoted by the CENCA Urban Development Institute in partnership with Ocupa tu Calle, the initiative is part of the project "Promoting sustainable, fair, and participatory social and environmental transformation processes on the hillsides of San Juan de Lurigancho, Lima, Peru," led by CENCA and supported by the German Ministry and the "City of Hope" institutional strategic proposal.
In April 2021, French lawmakers voted to ban short-haul domestic flights on routes that can be traveled by train in under two and a half hours. The measure aims to help reduce the country's carbon emissions.
Reducing emissions is one of the commitments made under the Paris Agreement to curb global climate change. Among the various measures countries must implement, the aviation sector stands out: air travel is estimated to account for 2.5% to 3% of global CO2 emissions.
Scottish startup Kenoteq has launched the K-Briq – a more sustainable building brick that is unfired and made of 90% construction waste. Developed by engineering professor Gabriela Medero at Heriot-Watt University in Edinburgh, the K-Briq generates less than a tenth of the carbon emissions during manufacturing compared to a standard brick.
On the east side of Puerto Madero in the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, the monumental structure of the Silos stands as one of the few port buildings still remaining in the area. To creatively reimagine the rehabilitation of the General Grain Board Silos, TerraViva Competitions organized this non-binding ideas competition, proposing the revitalization of the building through original concepts capable of enhancing both its interior spaces and its image within the city.
From the outset, several questions were raised regarding what type of intervention could be developed: what program could adapt to the building, how an obsolete structure could be transformed into a mixed-use space open to the community, and what functions could enrich the neighborhood and enhance its surrounding public space.
On December 29, 2022, the regional governor of the Metropolitan Region, Claudio Orrego, announced an investment of 7.7 billion Chilean pesos (9.4 million USD) for the construction of the Mapocho Pedaleable y Caminable Urban Promenade. The announcement is part of a public space recovery initiative and the master bike path plan promoted by the Chilean capital's regional government.
Starting in February, Instituto Inhotim will offer free admission on the last Sunday of every month. This promotional initiative is sponsored by B3 (the Brazilian Stock Exchange) and will run through 2024.
The first free-admission Sunday will be February 26. Currently, free admission is offered on the last Friday of every month, except holidays.
On Saturday, January 14, the latest edition of the Chilean Architecture and Urbanism Biennial opened in the area surrounding La Moneda Palace in Santiago. The theme explored through the exhibitions, lectures, and panel discussions is 'Vulnerable Habitats,' addressing the country's pressing issues surrounding the housing deficit and access to housing, alongside the vulnerability of public spaces, heritage, and the environment in Chilean cities and territories.
