In the 1960s, as the verticalization of Avenida Paulista intensified with the construction of large commercial buildings and headquarters for corporations, companies, and banks, the most notable addition to the landscape was the construction of MASP, designed by Italian-Brazilian architect Lina Bo Bardi (1914-1992).
The orchid, or Cattleya trianae as it is scientifically known, is one of the most beautiful flowers. Its texture, combined with the variety of colors and species, makes this flower truly unique. It is estimated that Colombia has more than 3,500 species growing across nearly the entire country. Furthermore, the country has become the second-largest exporter of orchids in the world, behind only the Netherlands.
Colombia's first virtual herbarium of living orchid collections is a research project led by the Colombian Orchidology Society (SCO) with the support of the Humboldt Institute and the Corporation for Biological Research (CIB). The main objective is to establish and develop the virtual herbarium, backing it with a tissue bank. This initiative aims to promote and conserve the species through sustainable use as established in Colombia's orchid conservation plan.
Following several months of research to identify works in Latin America and the Caribbean, an international curatorial committee of architects has selected 20 built works to be featured in the third edition of the Rogelio Salmona Latin American Architecture Prize.
The curatorial committee was composed of architects Silvia Arango (Andean Region), Felipe Leal (Mexico, Central America, and Caribbean Region), Alexandre Ribeiro Gonçalves (Brazil Region), and Fernando Pérez Oyarzún (Southern Cone Region), who reviewed 53 Latin American projects to make their final selection. This coming September, the prize will be awarded to the winning work during a ceremony in Bogotá, Colombia.
These are the 20 works selected to participate in the third edition of the prize:
UN-Habitat Executive Director Maimunah Mohd Sharif and Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Prime Minister of the United Arab Emirates and Ruler of Dubai, presented David Penchyna, Director General of Infonavit, with the Dubai International Award for Best Practices to Improve the Living Environment yesterday.
Established in 1996 to recognize global initiatives that excel in their contribution to sustainable urban development, this year's award was presented to the work led by INFONAVIT, within the framework of SEDATU's activities, carried out in collaboration with the UN-Habitat office in Mexico and with invaluable data contributions from local municipalities.
As you know, ArchDaily has joined forces with Spotify, the world's largest music streaming platform. From the start, we have been sharing our own playlists for those moments in the lives of all architects. We have also invited architects from Latin America and Spain to share the music that inspires them, or better yet, the sounds that have shaped their careers.
In this installment of ArchDaily en Español + Spotify, we share an ad hoc playlist to close out the year: Fiesta para Arquitectos. A constantly updated playlist to get the party started... while you edit your plans.
The results of the National Public Architecture Competition for the Memorial to the Victims of Kiss were announced this Tuesday morning (April 10) in a ceremony held in Santa Maria. The project unanimously awarded first place was by the firm Motta e Zene Engenharia e Arquitetura, from São Paulo (SP), represented by architect Felipe Zene Motta. The ceremony also recognized the five ranked projects and the five that received honorable mentions.
According to the jury, the proposal stands out for its appropriate urban integration and placement at the average level of the terrain, its symbolic character, and the delicacy of placing its focal point in a flower garden at the center of the exhibition. The project reinforces the emotional significance of the site of memory, while offering the city a narrative of the event that contributes to healing. Ease and simplicity of construction and maintenance are supported by the spatial organization of functions on a single level.
See the full results below:
Alongside Tiê, an adventurous capybara, Lina sets off on a journey through ten public spaces around the world – such as the High Line in New York or Paulista Avenue in São Paulo – to discover the secrets of how cities are built. The two are the main characters of the book Casacadabra – Cidades para Brincar (Cities to Play), a new release from Pistache Editorial, which launches its crowdfunding campaign on April 16 on Catarse. The book features text by Bianca Antunes and Simone Sayegh, with illustrations by Luísa Amoroso. This is the second title in the Casacadabra series – the first, titled Invenções para morar (Inventions for Living), presented the architecture of ten houses around the world.
The São Paulo City Government has resumed discussions regarding property tax (IPTU) exemptions and discounts for landmarked buildings. Previously debated during the administrations of Gilberto Kassab and Fernando Haddad, the issue is currently the focus of a newly drafted bill.
The proposal limits the IPTU exemption to landmarked properties located in downtown São Paulo, within a perimeter that is still being defined. It will not apply to properties subject to general zoning restrictions, such as those in historically preserved neighborhoods like Jardins and Pacaembu.
An unprecedented initiative for Brazil's representations at the International Architecture Exhibition of the Venice Biennale, the Muros de Ar exhibition allocated one month for submissions and evaluations of public projects to be included in the curatorial selection occupying the Brazilian pavilion starting May 26. The open call selected 17 projects in Brazil that use architecture as an instrument to mediate conflicts, transition between public and private domains, and connect distinct urban fabrics.
Collectively curated by architects Gabriel Kozlowski, Laura González Fierro, Marcelo Maia Rosa, and Sol Camacho, who were selected by the Fundação Bienal de São Paulo to organize the exhibition, the open call received 289 projects from more than 60 Brazilian cities.
One of the most representative houses by Mexican architect José Díaz Infante that served as an experiment to study urban processes was the 'Earthquake-Resistant House' located at Ámsterdam 270. Also known as 'Kalikosmia,' this house addressed themes that broke with the purist forms common at the time, making it highly controversial. Furthermore, it was the result of an analysis based on the aftermath of the 1985 earthquake in Mexico City.
The Mexican architect defined himself as a "spatial designer," saying, "(...) I am timeless, I am not in history because I am more in science than in style. I do not belong to an era. My work has evolved in accordance with the different structures I have built. I treat each program differently, and in each project, I contribute something that I deny in the next." This was reflected in his career: in addition to being an architect, he collaborated with NASA and studied under Buckminster Fuller. As the designer of major works like the TAPO terminal and the Mexican Stock Exchange, he is today among the forgotten.
Registration is now open for the 1st National Public Photography Contest organized by the Council of Architecture and Urbanism of Goiás (CAU/GO), under the theme “Historic Heritage in Architecture and Urbanism.” Submissions will be accepted until 4:00 PM on September 24 at the CAU/GO headquarters.
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On the morning of March 10, 2018 (Beijing time), at the 2018 Civic Trust Awards ceremony held at Manchester's iconic Old Trafford stadium (home of Manchester United),
Established in the UK in 1959, this prestigious award is highly regarded,
Designed by Rogelio Salmona, the Bogota Museum of Modern Art (MAMBO) appeared on Monday morning with a "For Rent" sign on its facade, drawing the attention of local media outlets like Dinero and La W.
The latter contacted the phone number listed on the sign and spoke with a Carlos Muñoz, an alleged real estate agent who confirmed that "the museum's spaces, totaling 4,200 square meters, have been put up for rent for 120,000,000 pesos a month" (equivalent to approximately 43,200 USD). The alleged agent provided details about the building's program as if marketing any other real estate listing. Furthermore, as the newspaper Dinero confirmed, calls to the MAMBO communications office went to a recorded message confirming that Salmona's building was indeed for rent.
Yesterday, Monday (September 10), the 3rd Latin American Landscape Architecture Biennial announced the finalists for the competition, which will take place in Mexico City on September 26 and 27. Organized since 2014 by the Mexican Society of Landscape Architects (SAPM), the biennial seeks to highlight the role of landscape architecture in shaping the habitat in Latin America, with a particular emphasis on the environmental and social challenges facing the region.
"We seek to encourage participation in landscape construction to showcase the broad and diverse panorama of local interventions that ultimately help define a region sharing common challenges and solutions," the organizers state in the biennial's guidelines.
The 19 built works, unbuilt projects, and research papers meet the biennial's criteria, focusing on projects that respect the landscape and its values, demonstrate a commitment to sustainability, and integrate and address social issues, among other criteria.
Discover the finalists below:
What is the difference between sustainable architecture and bioclimatic architecture? Both terms are frequently used within the profession, though their underlying principles were discovered centuries ago (referring to the vernacular tradition of architecture) and the terms themselves were derived from the concept of “sustainable development,” first proposed by Norwegian Prime Minister Gro Brundtland at the 42nd session of the United Nations in 1987:
But what is the difference between the two? They are highly similar concepts, varying only according to the intentions of the architect using them. To clarify: terms like sustainable architecture, green architecture, eco-architecture, or environmentally conscious architecture are often used by architects attempting to reflect a basic climatic awareness in their work, but whose actual “gestures” have little impact on energy efficiency. Their primary focus often ends up being to make the building appear “eco-friendly” through a green facade or a green roof. In most cases, these designs lack a real climatic foundation. By contrast, the second term, bioclimatic architecture (without any qualifiers), bases its entire raison d'être on the climate. The building's final appearance is secondary, as all design decisions stem from a preliminary study of the climate—treating it as a fundamental tool—and aim to understand and leverage it.
This gives rise to the concept of the “healthy building,” recently proposed by Harvard University's prestigious school of public health, the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. Focused on “building healthier communities around the world,” the school has launched the Healthy Buildings program at the Harvard Center for Climate, Health, and the Global Environment (C-CHANGE). One of its main goals has been to synthesize 30 years of public health science to identify what makes a building “healthy.” The result: the 9 Foundations of a Healthy Building. This 36-page study identifies key factors and details how they relate to human health. In addition to defining these factors, the study provides simple recommendations for each, including the regular assessment of both the factors and occupant needs. In short, it is a straightforward study—still far from frameworks like the Well Building Standard—but well-targeted and a step in the right direction.
The Dolmen Collection is based on an exploration of balance between elements of different materialities. This exercise highlights the physical properties of stone and wood, creating tension between the suspended and supporting elements. Designed by Héctor Esrawe, Manuel Bañó, Federico Stefanovich, and Alejandro Ramírez, it comprises a dining table with chairs and a cabinet.
'Alta Densidad' (High Density) is a project by architect Jorge Taboada comprising a series of aerial photographs that depict the stories of a city. This series is presented as an "archaeological vestige" where "people lose their face and identity and become invisible."
The history of social housing in Mexico has come a long way, undergoing transformations that concern not only architecture, but also the organizations leading their construction and the government.
The official results for the National Competition for the Requalification of the Public Space of the Monumental Axis of Maringá have been released. This central urban area lies between Cathedral Square (Praça da Catedral) and the Vila Olímpica sports complex. Totaling approximately 169,000 square meters, the Monumental Axis includes gardens, public spaces, parking areas, and perimeter paving along the building facades. Due to the site's vast scale, proposals had to be presented in seven sectors to facilitate phased bidding and construction. The winning project was designed by a team comprising Pedro Paes Lira, Manoela Muniz Machado, Julia Marini, Laura Figueiredo, and Juliette Tellier from the firm Natureza Urbana, with landscape consulting by Bianca Vasone, Gabriella Ornaghi, and Lilian Dazzi, and engineering consulting by Alexandre Horiye Ferreira and Felipe Macedo Barbosa.
The jury, composed of architects and urban planners Haroldo Pinheiro, José Gilberto Purpur, Mario Figueroa, Orlando Busarello, and Renato Leão Rego, selected the following winners:
On November 24, 2016, the Superior Council of Colleges of Architects of Spain (CSCAE) awarded the Gold Medal of Spanish Architecture to architects Guillermo Vázquez Consuegra and Víctor López Cotelo. This would have been routine, were it not for the complete absence of women architects among the winners, nominees, finalists, jury members, and the presenting panel.
This discrepancy was highlighted in a petition on Change.org addressed to Jordi Ludevid, then-president of the CSCAE, in which the signing architects called for greater active participation of women at all stages of the process, seeking equal representation with their male colleagues.
Open House, the international festival that invites the public to visit iconic landmarks in various cities such as London, New York, Barcelona, and Buenos Aires, launched its first edition in Mexico City with a press conference. There, Mariela Martínez, Victoria Escalante, and Mar Tomás, the festival's organizers, presented the buildings that will be part of OHCDMX, which the public can visit on April 21 and 22 of this year.
Earlier this week, the mayor of the municipality of Recoleta (Chile), Daniel Jadue, announced the creation of a municipal real estate agency. The initiative, unprecedented in the South American country, consists of the construction of two 5-story buildings with a total of 38 apartments of 55 square meters, available for rent to vulnerable families in the municipality.
According to a report by 24 Horas, the newscast of Chile's state-owned television channel, one out of four families in the municipality shares a home with another household, a common phenomenon in Chile known as allegamiento (cohabitation). At the same time, Recoleta is experiencing rapid residential densification due to saturation and rising costs in neighboring municipalities such as Santiago Centro and Providencia.
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An inseparable figure from Brasília, Athos Bulcão is responsible for works that bring color and geometric patterns to the purity of the federal capital's architecture. To promote the artist's work, the National Institute of Historic and Artistic Heritage (Iphan) launched the book Athos, Colorindo Brasília, the first volume of the Patrimônio para Jovens collection, an initiative by Iphan's Federal District office and the Federal District Department of Education (SEDF).
Studio davidpompa is a project founded in 2013, dedicated to creating contemporary objects with a strong commitment to Mexican identity and craftsmanship, using specific materials transformed into innovative shapes to create simple, elegant objects.
Based in the heart of Mexico City with a showroom in Roma Norte—a neighborhood built primarily in the early 20th century featuring French-style buildings—they have reinvented themselves to create a new space.
Cities are living testaments to the cultural, social, economic, and political transformations of society. In a state of constant evolution, superficial traces of the past fade away, while deeper scars overlap with the multiple layers of the present that unfold across cities over decades and centuries.
Throughout history, a combination of factors has allowed some cities to remain better preserved, offering vivid glimpses of colonial Brazil. In contrast, in other cities, the traces of early urbanization have been erased or swallowed by subsequent eras.
