Architecture News

The results of the Saint-Gobain Architecture Award – Sustainable Habitat have just been announced. The award is one of the most prestigious in the Brazilian construction industry, having recognized over 150 projects for excellence in comfort, innovation, and sustainability. A total of 25 awards were presented across the "Professional" and "Student" categories, in addition to highlights in "Comfort," "Innovation," and "Sustainability." The Best Project award of this edition was presented by Saint-Gobain's global CEO, Pierre-André de Chalendar, and awarded to the Children's Villages project by Rosenbaum® and Aleph Zero. Dal Pian Arquitetos, Vigliecca e Associados, and Estúdio 41 Arquitetura were highlighted in Comfort, Innovation, and Sustainability, respectively.

"The Award is already a benchmark in the Brazilian architecture market, having highlighted hundreds of projects by students and professionals who, in line with Saint-Gobain's values, promote sustainability and respect for the environment," said Thierry Fournier, CEO of Saint-Gobain for Brazil, Chile, and Argentina. "Through this award, we encourage the market to increasingly prioritize the concepts of comfort and people's well-being in buildings," the executive concluded.

Discover the winning projects of the 5th Saint-Gobain Architecture Award – Sustainable Habitat below:

As part of our 2018 Venice Architecture Biennale coverage we present the proposal for the Greek Pavilion. Below, the participants describe their contribution in their own words.

Xristina Argyros and Ryan Neiheiser have been selected to curate the exhibition of the Greek Pavilion in the 16th International Architecture Exhibition – La Biennale di Venezia - under the general theme “Freespace,” commissioned by Yvonne Farrell and Shelley McNamara. Entitled “The School of Athens,” the project will examine the architecture of the academic commons - from Plato’s Academy to contemporary university designs. The selection was made by The Greek Ministry of Environment and Energy and the Secretary-General of Spatial Planning and Urban Design, Eirini Klampatsea.

This article was originally published by The Architect's Newspaper as "Cutting-edge 3-D-printing pushes construction boundaries in an Oakland cabin."

The 3D-printed Cabin of Curiosities is a research endeavor and “proof of concept” investigation into the architectural possibilities of upcycling and custom 3D-printed claddings as a response to 21st-century housing needs.

This exploratory project is an output of Bay Area-based additive manufacturing startup Emerging Objects, founded by Ronald Rael and Virginia San Fratello, who are professors at the University of California Berkeley and San Jose State University, respectively. They also co-founded the architecture studio Rael San Fratello, whose work primarily focuses on architecture as a cultural endeavor.

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John McAslan + Partners and Woods Bagot are the architectural partners delivering the Sydney Metro upgrade to Central Station, a key component of Australia’s largest public transport project. The multi-disciplinary, international design team have revealed a design that will preserve heritage qualities of the 112-year-old station while adding contemporary and innovative touches to create wider civic and commercial renewal within the space.

As part of our 2018 Venice Architecture Biennale coverage we present the proposal for the Turkish Pavilion. Below, the participants describe their contribution in their own words.

Curated by Kerem Piker and coordinated by Istanbul Foundation for Culture and Arts (İKSV), the Pavilion of Turkey will present Vardiya (the Shift) at the 16th International Architecture Exhibition of la Biennale di Venezia, taking place from May 26th to November 25th, 2018. Co-sponsored by Schüco Turkey and VitrA, the Pavilion of Turkey is located at Sale d’Armi, Arsenale, one of the main venues of the Biennale.

Conceived in response to the theme of Freespace, the title of the Biennale Architettura 2018, Vardiya offers a programme of public events with the Pavilion of Turkey, providing an open space for encounter, exhibition and production.

Amorepacific, Korea's largest beauty company, occupies a site in the centre of Seoul, Korea. Their headquarters was designed by David Chipperfield Architects as a single clear volume, with large urban openings and a central void. In the middle of a bustling downtown landscape, the building strikes a bright, open figure.

The Amorepacific HQ took three years to complete and opened in 2017. The firm described the building as "abstract and gestural," with hanging gardens that provide dramatic views over the city and the mountains in the distance. The design echoes aspirations of mediating between local and global, private and public, collective and individual, formal and informal. Laurian Ghinitoiu captures the identity of this dynamic headquarters.

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The history of Mexican photography has contributed to highlighting Mexico's presence in the world. Photographers like Elsa Medina, Lola Álvarez Bravo, Graciela Iturbide, Maya Goded, and Juan Rulfo have masterfully portrayed the life of the buildings, houses and the streets of a rapidly built, nineteenth-century Mexico. 

Since 2016, we have joined forces with Spotify, the world's largest music streaming platform. Since then, we have created our own playlists for those moments in every architect's life. At the same time, we have invited architects from Latin America and Spain to share the music that inspires them, or even better, the sounds that have shaped their careers.

To mark Women's Month, we have prepared a series of special articles: we highlighted 15 Mexican women architects who are building the future of their country, featured 5 outstanding Colombian women architects in design, research, and teaching, and presented a selection of the best biographies published by Un día | Una arquitecta.

A project developed for the Rio 2016 Olympic Games has been awarded Gold in architecture at the 2018 iF Design Award. The Dancing Pavilion, designed by architect and designer Guto Requena for the Olympics in Brazil, has just received the Gold Award, the highest architectural category of the iF Design Award. The trophy was presented to the designer during a ceremony in Munich, Germany, in March. According to the jury:

As part of our 2018 Venice Architecture Biennale coverage we present the proposal for the Nordic Pavilion. Below, the participants describe their contribution in their own words.

Finnish architect Lundén Architecture Company has been chosen to design the Nordic contribution to the 2018 International Architecture Exhibition in Venice. Eero Lundén’s proposal, entitled Another Generosity, explores the relationship between nature and the built environment.

The goal is to explore new ways of making buildings that emphasise the delicate but often invisible interactions between the built and natural worlds.

For students of architecture, few things are as thrilling as seeing one of their designs physically built. For a group of Polish and Norwegian-based students, this dream has become a reality.

Having won the 120 Hours student competition in 2017, the Warsaw University of Technology team behind the “In ‘n’ Out Village” winning proposal has combined with students at the Oslo School of Architecture and Design to realize the design, constructing 19 pavilions in a Chinese schoolyard.

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Steven Holl Architects has won an international competition for the design of the Angers Collectors Museum and adjacent hotel in the historic city of Angers, France. Working in collaboration with developers Compagine de Phalsbourg, Holl’s scheme draws inspiration from the nearby 9th century Chateau d’Angers fortress, and seeks to form a new cultural gateway to the city.

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Alfred Willer, a Czech architect who built his career in Brazil, has his story told in the feature-length documentary Red Trees [Red Trees], directed by his daughter, designer Marina Willer. After making its world premiere at the 2017 Cannes Film Festival and opening in theaters in New York, Los Angeles, and Miami, the documentary will have its national premiere on March 29.

In 2018, the MEXTRÓPOLI Festival of Architecture and City presents its fifth edition, consolidating itself as a key event in the cultural agenda of Mexico City and as an important architectural event on a global scale. With its high curatorial quality MEXTRÓPOLI promotes the voices of architects, artists, mayors, and humanists who are globally recognized in their respective disciplines while offering affordable prices to students and anyone interested in the present and future directions of cities. MEXTRÓPOLI is a platform that allows you to experience the city, as well as to reflect on its political, civilian and aesthetic aspects.

The Lucas Museum of Narrative Art, designed by MAD Architects, has broken ground in Los Angeles, California. Founded by “Star Wars” creator George Lucas, and standing at the gateway to the city’s Exposition Park, the scheme is envisioned as a “futuristic spaceship” landing on the site’s natural environment.

The building’s interior has been designed as an expansive, open cave, flooded with natural light from skylights above. At least $400 million worth of art will be housed in the museum, including over 10,000 paintings, illustrations and movie memorabilia. The first floor and roof will be designated as public areas for visitors to exercise, relax, and “directly experience nature in the urban environment."

Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG) has released images of its bow-shaped National Theatre of Albania, responding to a thriving performance art scene in the nation’s capital. Situated in the cultural heart of downtown Tirana, the scheme seeks to create new urban gathering places for a pedestrian-focused district, while casting the theater as a performer in its own right.

Situated on a cultural axis, adjacent to public landmarks such as Skanderbeg Square, the National Opera, and the National Art Gallery, BIG’s scheme will replace the existing theater while adding three new performance spaces, a rooftop amphitheater, and a covered public space underneath the building.

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With its Mies Crown Hall Americas Prize, the Illinois Institute of Technology College of Architecture seeks to recognize the most distinguished works of architecture in the Americas. Every two years, the Prize is awarded at an event that takes place in the masterpiece of Mies van der Rohe, the S.R. Crown Hall, the home of the Chicago-based school.

The jury, comprising Ricky Burdett, Jose Castillo, Ron Henderson, Rodrigo Pérez de Arce, and Claire Weisz, has announced four finalists in the prize's latest version of the MCHAP.emerge award, which covers architecture built in 2016 and 2017. MCHAP.emerge award aims to recognize outstanding built work by emerging practices, offering a prize of $25,000 to the winner.

On a prominent, highly visible site within Harvard University’s Allston Campus, a celebration of the beauty of infrastructure is beginning to take shape. Designed by Boston-based Leers Weinzapfel Associates, the 58,000 square foot Allston Campus District Energy Facility (DEF) represents a new, highly efficient infrastructure typology, delivering electricity and water for the campus, whilst simultaneously showcasing the intricate complexity of engineering and design.