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The ancient Roman civilization was the first to propose a theater where the city itself served as the backdrop, viewing the city and its architecture as a permanent stage setting for fictional representations of reality.

Today, cinema has adopted the same stance as Roman theater. Cities and their architecture are present in every film, playing the role of a constant, vast backdrop that sometimes becomes an integral part of the narrative. What many consider to be merely the background of a story becomes an essential part of the fantasy, as fiction is spatialized within a reality to help the spectator connect with the story. - Lamizet, 2010 -

This update is required and must be completed by architects and urban planners whenever there is a change in their personal or professional details, whether it is a simple change of residential address and/or phone number, or a change in marital status.

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Héctor Esrawe and Ignacio Cadena are two internationally recognized Mexican designers working at E + C, an interdisciplinary design studio in Mexico City that promotes Mexican design and culture. In 2015, they created an installation exhibited at Discovery Green, Houston's prominent urban park, which occupied a section called the Sarofim Picnic Lawn and has since been presented twice in US cities.

The temporary installation, titled 'Los Trompos,' consists of large-scale, colorful elements inspired by a classic Mexican toy. Currently on display at the Galerías Atizapán shopping center in Ciudad López Mateos, Mexico, from May 24 to June 17, it will subsequently travel to Galerías Vallarta and Galerías Tlaxcala.

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Since 2014, the School of Architecture at the Universidad Iberoamericana (UNIBE) in the Dominican Republic has developed several editorial projects. For this fourth initiative, students, alongside professor and architect Alex Martínez, have produced the inaugural edition of 'Statu Quo,' a publication examining the advanced deterioration of the country's modern heritage buildings.

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Concéntrico 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, Concéntrico 04, took place between April 27 and May 1, 2018, in Logroño's Historic Center. The festival invites visitors to explore the city through installations, exhibitions, meetings, activities, and performances that establish a connection between the venues, squares, streets, courtyards, and hidden spaces that usually go unnoticed in daily life. Collectif Parenthèse gives a new meaning to the architectural space by reflecting the construction details of the Palacio Church.

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The Urban Space Intervention Competition was created to establish a tradition of developing innovative ideas on contemporary themes through temporary installations in the city of Tuxtla Gutiérrez, Mexico, as part of the Provincia Festival in April 2018.

The initiative aims to offer local residents, domestic visitors, and foreign tourists opportunities for new experiences and ways of viewing and reflecting on their daily surroundings. It also challenges designers to move beyond purely formal and aesthetic concerns, prompting them to address urban social realities and consider how the city itself can help achieve the program's objectives.

On Wednesday, November 21, the winners of the XXI Pan-American Architecture Biennial of Quito (BAQ2018) were announced in Ecuador.

Divided into six participation categories, the juries selected a series of projects and publications that stand out as meaningful contributions to their respective fields, offering relevant lessons for our discipline. The following are the winners in Category A (Architectural Design), Category B (Urban Design and Landscape Architecture), Category C (Social Habitat and Development), and Category D (Architectural Rehabilitation).

CODHAB has released the results of another one of its competitions. This edition sought design proposals for an Escola Classe (EC) elementary school located in the Crixá Neighborhood development in the Federal District. The facility aims to provide public educational services, as the first phase of the social housing project is already under construction.

The objective of the competition was to select the most suitable proposal to contract the responsible technical team, who will sign an agreement with the organizing entity to develop the Complete Detailed Design (Architectural Design and Complementary Projects). See the results of the competition below:

The Housing Development Company of the Federal District (CODHAB-DF) recently launched Accreditation Call No. 001/2018 which aims to accredit companies to provide temporary home renovation and minor repair services in areas of social interest. Registration must be completed online at www.codhab.df.gov.br/credenciamento/01-2018 by 6:00 PM on March 26.

A wealth of culture and exceptional natural beauty make Paraty and Ilha Grande in Angra dos Reis a unique destination. This is the premise supporting the nomination of Brazil's first mixed site for World Heritage status. Experts from the International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS) and the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), advisory bodies to UNESCO, visited Brazil from September 10 to 16 to evaluate the site for global recognition. 

On Friday, August 10, the community of Licantén, Chile, gave its final approval to a new project by Chilean architect Sebastián Irarrázaval. The Licantén Theater, built primarily of laminated timber, will span 2,500 square meters and require an estimated investment of approximately 3 billion Chilean pesos (USD 4.47 million).

The Licantén Theater is developed under the Cultural Donations Act, resulting from a public-private partnership involving the Fundación la Fuente —the organization behind the Arauco Cultural Center and the Constitución Public Library—, the forestry company Arauco, and the Municipality of Licantén. Following community approval, the next step is "to apply for regional funds to finance its construction," Irarrázaval explained in an interview with ArchDaily.

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Estudio Lamela has unveiled the design for the Torre del Río project in Málaga, Spain. The residential complex comprises three 21-story towers featuring apartments where the living rooms and master bedrooms enjoy direct views of the Mediterranean Sea.

“The project pays meticulous attention to the layout of public open spaces surrounding the towers, connecting them to the buildings' communal areas through different volumes,” the firm explains.

Cities are shapeless, changing realities that expand unpredictably, driven by socio-urban and socio-economic trends. But can we anticipate these growth trends? Here is a tool that allows users to analyze road networks and calculate the percentage of streets oriented in any given direction relative to the north. 

“Close your eyes and walk through the School of Architecture. Explore it, listen to the sounds, feel the textures, and try to mentally reconstruct the space.” I walked several yards blindfolded, and I still remember how my hearing sharpened, picking up the murmur of the people around me.

Although I knew the building's layout like my own home, I must confess those were perhaps the longest and most unsettling steps I have ever taken.

The Embraer Institute, in partnership with GRU Airport – São Paulo International Airport, unveiled the art installation “The First Breath” (“O primeiro sopro”) earlier this month. The piece celebrates both the 50th anniversary of the twin-engine Bandeirante aircraft's maiden flight and the creation of Embraer itself, which will mark five decades of existence in 2019.

Designed by Carmela Rocha and Marko Brajovic, who are responsible for the exhibition design of major showcases in Brazil and abroad, the piece will be on display until February in the Terminal 3 check-in area. Approximately 100,000 people pass through the space daily.

Arquitetura Soteropolitana is an open course of on-site architectural experiences led by the projects' designers, exploring the architectural production of the last 20 years in Salvador, Bahia. Organized by architectural photographer Manuel Sá, the course invites architects from the Bahian capital to discuss some of the city's most iconic and significant works built over the past two decades.

Yesterday, March 26, the Chamber of Deputies debated a bill that would make the unlicensed practice of architecture, urban planning, agronomy, and engineering a crime against public health. Currently, individuals practicing as architects and urban planners without a license are penalized under Article 47 of the Criminal Misdemeanors Act, which carries a sentence of 15 days to 3 months of simple imprisonment, or a fine.

Bill 6699/2002, which was on the agenda for debate and voting, proposes a detention sentence of 6 months to 2 years for anyone practicing Architecture and Urban Planning without professional registration. If the unlicensed practice is carried out for profit, the convicted individual will also face a fine ranging from 2 to 20 times the monthly minimum wage. The Brazilian Penal Code already criminalizes the unlicensed practice of medicine, dentistry, and pharmacy.

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Paparazza Moderna is a photographic project that emerged as part of the artistic work of the duo Lake Verea. Centered on the portraiture of modern architecture, the project began with Luis Barragán to showcase a perspective far removed from conventional architectural photography. If anything characterizes their approach to architecture, it is precisely this oblique gaze at space, which reveals the less obvious aspects of structures that have now become iconic.