Architecture News

Ennead Architects has been selected to design the new headquarters of electronics designer and manufacturer Xiaomi in Shenzhen. The winning design, which was a competition entry held in celebration of the company’s 10th anniversary, reflects the relationship between technology and daily life by integrating a digital interface into the fabric of the building. The structure resembles a Rubik's cube with a 360-degree LED screen surrounding the building’s podium, representing Xiaomi’s success and aspirations for the future.

The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) has announced the winners of the 2021 President's Medal and Awards for Research, highlighting the best research concerning architecture and the built environment. The President's Medal was awarded to John Lin and Sony Devabhaktuni from the University of Hong Kong for their research project As Found Houses, which explores vernacular practices in rural China. Two more awards were granted to the development of an ethics guide for architectural practitioners and a study of thin-tile vaulting in Cuba.

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The public architectural design competition for the Velodrome in Gibraltar Metropolitan Park in Bogotá, D.C., was organized by the District Institute for Recreation and Sport (IDRD). Located in the Kennedy locality, the competition—with advisory support from the Colombian Society of Architects (SCA)—aimed to select a preliminary architectural proposal for the design, technical studies, architectural and technical coordination, and related design tasks.

The jury comprised architects Leonardo Álvarez Yepes (representing SCA Bogotá D.C. and Cundinamarca), María Elvira Madriñan Saa and Fernando Montenegro Lizarralde (representing the SCA National Presidency), and Nelson Yovany Jiménez and Felipe Alberto Morales Sánchez (representing the District Institute of Recreation and Sport). Out of 17 submissions, three prizes and several honorable mentions were awarded. Read on to learn more about the winning projects.

Marcelo Villafañe (1951), an architect from Rosario, passed away on Wednesday, January 26, as announced on social media by the Colegio de Arquitectos Distrito 2.

Bloomberg Philanthropies has announced the 15 winning innovations of its 2021-2022 Global Mayors Challenge. Hailing from six continents, the chosen projects "seek improvements in the areas of economic recovery and inclusive growth, health and well-being, climate and environment, and gender and equality". The winning cities include Istanbul, Rotterdam, Butuan, and Wellington, and will all receive $1 million and external support to develop their programs.

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Earlier this month, a series of cities worldwide have revealed various initiatives that would help them better understand the effects of climate change and shape a more environmentally conscious environment. From several American cities creating digital twins to help curb carbon emissions to the city of Brighton mandating bee bricks to foster biodiversity and Central Park becoming a laboratory for studying climate change adaptation in urban parks, cities take on a multidisciplinary and multi-scalar approach to environmental issues.

The United States Artists Fellowship Award is an annual grant that recognizes the "most compelling artists working and living in the United States, in all disciplines, at every stage of their career". Every year, individual artists are anonymously nominated to apply by a diverse group of scholars, critics, producers, and other arts professionals. Among the 63 recipients of 2022, 5 were selected from the fields of architecture and design with the aim of strengthening and enriching the industry and their communities.

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Recently opened in December 2021, the Plaza de Toros Real de San Carlos has been restored and repurposed to become a multi-purpose performance venue with a capacity for around 2,500 spectators in the stands and over 2,000 in the arena. Located in Colonia del Sacramento, Uruguay, this work, originally built by architect Josip Marković and engineer Dupuy, adopted a Neo-Mudéjar style, echoing the Spanish bullrings of that era.

Lluís Comerón Graupera passed away on Tuesday, January 25, at the age of 61, as announced by the Superior Council of the Colleges of Architects of Spain (CSCAE), where he had served as president since early 2018.

The New Municipal Swimming Pool of La Calera project in the Valparaíso Region is about to begin construction, as announced by the firm Gubbins Polidura Arquitectos on social media.

Continuing its long-lasting collaboration with Prada, OMA’S research and design branch AMO created a cinematic scenography for the brand’s 2022 Fall Winter Menswear show. Yellow carpeting envelops the hall of Deposito at Fondazione Prada, reimagined as a theatrical setting with olive-green theatre chairs and stage lighting. In juxtaposition, sci-fi looking metal-clad tunnels bathed in neon lights emphasize “the uncanny relationship between the theatrical and technological atmospheres”.

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The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) has named Friendship Hospital in Bangladesh, designed by Kashef Chowdhury/URBANA as the winner of the 2021 RIBA International Prize, the biennial award highlighting worldwide projects that "demonstrate design excellence and social impact". The remote community hospital set within a riverine landscape translates the site's conditions prone to flooding into the central theme of the design, crafting a serene environment around the water element. The jury commended the project's thoughtful and innovative design within a modest budget, its use of local craftsmanship, and its climate-resilient response.

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The 16th edition of the Europan awards, launched in the spring of 2021 under the theme "Living Cities: Metabolic and Inclusive Vitalities," has announced its results. “The Incredible Story of the Seasonal Worker Who Found His Home in Almendralejo” is a Spanish project selected as one of the seven winners within Spain.

New York City is under the threat of several geographical and social crises, most notably the rising sea levels, floods, storm surges, as well as the need for affordable housing. While previous and current New York mayors have announced several action plans to tackle the housing and climate crisis of the city, none of them were able to tackle these issues on a big scale, particularly after the pandemic worsened the situation as many citizens found themselves without a job and unable to pay rent. As a response, world-renowned architects and academics have proposed new urban developments and master plans that provide long term solutions to these crises.

Early last week, the European Commission and the Fundació Mies van der Rohe announced the 40 shortlisted projects of the EU Mies Award, a prize that commends excellence in architecture, highlighting its contribution to sustainable development. In this context, and two years after the European Parliament voted to support the Green Deal, we review the steps taken by the EU in 2021 towards achieving its sustainability goals and shaping a resilient built environment.

The firm EArquitetos was awarded second place in the national design competition for the Casarão Gallotti Historical Center in Tijucas, Santa Catarina. Organized by the Institute of Architects of Brazil – Santa Catarina Department and the Tijucas Department of Culture, Youth, and Tourism, the competition aimed to "stimulate the preservation of the city's landscape and urban heritage" and "humanize the open spaces of the historical center." 

Below, discover the proposal, accompanied by the project description provided by the design team.

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It’s a truth universally acknowledged that BIM is booming. It’s the future, and the AEC industry’s definitive move into complete digitization. In fact, in just four years from now, by 2026, the BIM market is projected to be valued at a jaw-dropping 10.7 billion USD. It’s no surprise then that young architecture professionals are looking to BIM for both financially and intellectually rewarding career paths.

Severiano Porto was honored today with the 2021 Global Award for Sustainable Architecture, organized by the Cité de l’Architecture et du Patrimoine, a French institution dedicated, among other things, to organizing events focused on heritage and architectural education. Porto, who passed away in 2020, had his work represented by Professor Marcos Cereto, a professor at the Federal University of Amazonas, and is the first Brazilian to receive the honor.