Architecture News

We believe that the work produced by Argentine universities is immense and valuable, which is why we once again see the need to launch a call to showcase the best thesis projects coming out of them. Many of these proposals raise compelling issues and can be truly intellectual and critical works. Unfortunately, the vast majority end up archived, gathering dust on shelves, missing the opportunity to drive real change in our cities and in the way we live and think.

If you believe your 2017 thesis project is compelling enough to be featured on our site, and that your hard work deserves recognition from the wider community, do not hesitate to submit it using the form at the end of this article. 

After analyzing 94 projects by undergraduate students from 20 architecture schools across 8 regions of Chile, the jury of the 2018 Arquitectura Caliente Competition has announced the winning projects of its latest edition in the categories of Degree Project (formerly CNPT) and Undergraduate Coursework (formerly CNPP).

Organized by the Chilean group Grupo Arquitectura Caliente and funded by the Ministry of Cultures, Arts, and Heritage, the competition has highlighted projects from all over the country across various typologies, ranging from urban planning to student housing, landscape architecture, and structural emergency initiatives.

Discover the winning projects below:

“Other nights, like so many others, you bring color to the city, constantly turning a corner into a work of art, but it is a true artist sharing their vision,” sings Skool 77 in Color en la ciudad. Indeed, the graffiti route has become a major tourist attraction, helping to address various social issues in vulnerable areas of different Colombian cities and municipalities.

This initiative not only offers the opportunity to appreciate beautiful murals and innovative urban renewal projects but also seeks to foster an entrepreneurial spirit among the children, youth, and adults who create this street art. Through color, they are restoring hope to their communities, leaving differences behind and demonstrating that everyone is equal.

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"Repression is a horrible thing. A horrible dimension, still untold. One where even the idea of revenge is out of place. The idea is to imagine building a world where this is impossible." This powerful statement by Paulo Mendes da Rocha is part of a testimonial given to the group Arquitetxs pela Democracia. This group also features testimonials from key figures such as Angelo Bucci, Guilherme Wisnik, Marcelo Rosenbaum, Márcio Kogan, Ermínia Maricato, Guto Requena, and Stephanie Ribeiro.

The eighth edition of the 2018 Premios Mayor in Chile has awarded its top prize to Chilean architect Teodoro Fernández, designer of metropolitan projects such as Bicentenario Park in Santiago and the Kaukari Urban Park in Copiapó. 

During the ceremony held at the Universidad Mayor School of Architecture in Santiago on November 8, the 2014 National Architecture Prize winner reflected specifically on open space. "Projects undergo processes of growth and decay that are much longer and deeper than in other fields. Understanding this is fundamental, and there are examples in art, such as when Marcel Duchamp allowed dust—which is ultimately the passage of time—to become part of his work *The Large Glass*. That is the balance of ideas we must find space for in cities," Fernández commented.

The jury of the Oscar Niemeyer Prize has announced the 20 finalist works for the second edition of the award. The organizers aim to biennially highlight the best of architectural production "at a time of an unquestionable strengthening and presence of Latin American architecture on the international stage."

Established under the umbrella of the Network of Architecture Biennials of Latin America (REDBAAL), the 2016 edition of the award recognized a built work for "its values as an architectural and technological proposal; and for its relationship with the context, as well as social, cultural, and environmental aspects." The winner was The Place of Remembrance, designed by Barclay & Crousse (Peru), while second place went to the Brasiliana USP Library, designed by Eduardo de Almeida + Mindlin Loeb + Dotto Arquitetos (Brazil), and third place went to the San Bernardo Chapel, designed by Nicolás Campodónico (Argentina).

"We must recognize the value of the local and enrich it with the global, embracing everything that enriches us as peoples and societies. Architecture protects and communicates; it is a public reality from which we cannot detach ourselves. The city is also composed of architectural elements, meaning that architecture must be conceived from and toward the city," the organizers explained in the official press release.

The jury—composed of architects Carla Juaçaba, Carlos Jiménez, Fabián Farfán, Jean Pierre Crousse, and César Shundi—evaluated all the submissions and selected the twenty finalists:

The Maison d'Architecture of Geneva is celebrating ten years of activity, and to mark the occasion, it has organized a lecture series titled "10 Years/10 Perspectives" running from 2017 to the present. Renowned architects such as Steven Holl, Kengo Kuma, and Elizabeth Diller were part of the select panel of speakers.

To conclude the celebrations, a previously unseen and exclusive exhibition of the work of Brazilian architect Paulo Mendes da Rocha will be held with the support of the Brazilian Consulate in Geneva.

Following the two-year struggle to revitalize the Museum of Modern Art of Bogotá (MAMBO) and establish it as a hub for the city's cultural scene, new opportunities are opening up for the capital's landmark institution with the upcoming arrival of a new curator.

To mark its 55th anniversary, the Rogelio Salmona-designed museum is launching a search for a new curator to lead its exhibition programming. MAMBO has not had a permanent curator since María Elvira Ardila's departure in 2016. Since then, the museum has relied on guest curators to develop its exhibitions, working alongside a small internal team to maintain its full roster of shows.

Casa Mirador at Viña Casas del Bosque won the “Architecture and Landscape” category at the International Best Of Wine Tourism 2019, awarded by Great Wine Capitals, competing against wineries from the world's ten most important wine-growing regions.

The Biobío Regional Theater, designed by Smiljan Radic, Eduardo Castillo, and Gabriela Medrano, has been nominated for the Beazley Designs of the Year 2018 award, presented annually by the Design Museum in London.

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On Thursday, February 1, Solid Red opened, marking multidisciplinary artist Shuli Sade's first solo exhibition in Mexico. The show features various digitally altered photographic pieces and will remain open to the public until April 26, 2018.

Summer break can be an excellent opportunity to pick up a new read or update a space in your home. With this in mind, we present a curated selection of books to inspire and deepen your understanding of wood.

Spanning architecture, games, and novels, this selection is geared toward both children and adults, with wood as the central theme. Additionally, all of these titles are available for purchase online.

A project centered on children as agents of change in the neighborhoods of Lima is the winner of the fifth CAF Urban Development and Social Inclusion Competition. The competition seeks proposals in Latin American cities that offer comprehensive improvements to community habitats—specifically enhancing the quality of life for residents and integrating informal settlements into the city through the conception and design of innovative, relevant, justified, and feasible proposals.

This competition is an initiative of CAF's Cities with a Future Program, which aims to support Latin American authorities in creating cities that are increasingly inclusive, connected, and spatially, economically, and socially integrated, offering universal access to basic services, training opportunities, and environmental responsibility.

These are the winning projects:

The Eco Pavilion 2018 is the eighth edition of a competition that, since 2010, has served as a space for reflection on architecture through temporary construction inside the courtyard of the Museo Experimental el Eco. This year's edition was framed around the concept of "pure architecture," based on a premise proposed by architect Isaac Broid.

The DOCOMOMO SP Chapter has just launched its new official website, which will feature information on events, debates, meetings, seminars, and workshops organized by the group, as well as news relevant to the institution's core focus: the documentation and preservation of Modern Movement works in the architecture and urbanism of the State of São Paulo.

Undoubtedly, the infographic presented by La Nación, "Buenos Aires, under construction: the projects that will transform the city," highlights significant upcoming changes in the port city.

As the article points out, as these projects move forward, a key question arises: are these designs suitable for a city of the future? 

The upcoming opening of the 16th International Architecture Exhibition of the Venice Biennale—taking place starting May 26—is the perfect occasion to begin unveiling the layers of the Peruvian pavilion. Curators Marianela Castro, Janeth Boza, and Javier Lizarzaburu share new images in this feature to offer a closer look at their vision. Meanwhile, commissioner José Orrego, who has led Peru's participation since 2012, highlights the great enthusiasm sparked by the originality of the national competition's winning proposal, chosen from among 40 entries.

The focus of this international exhibition highlights issues central to local architectural discourse, opening the door for these reflections to become proposals that enrich the understanding of our cities. Under the curatorial direction of Yvonne Farrell and Shelley McNamara, the main theme of the Venice Biennale is "Freespace," defined as "architecture's ability to find additional and unexpected generosity in each project." Through this collection of images and ideas, we explore what the curatorial team reveals about this concept.

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Conéntrico is an International Architecture and Design Festival that proposes to reflect on the city of Logroño (Spain) through the revitalization of undervalued public spaces. Its latest edition, Conéntrico 04, takes place between April 27 and May 1, 2018, in the Historic Center of Logroño. The festival invites visitors to explore the city through installations, exhibitions, meetings, activities, and performances that connect venues, plazas, streets, courtyards, and hidden spaces that usually go unnoticed in daily life. Fernando Cruzado, Julia Días, Francisco Javier Fernández, and Ane Villaverde bring meaning to the landscape of La Rioja, highlighting its textures and rhythms to raise awareness of the territory.

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