Articles

Some symbols transcend language barriers, easily recognized and understood across different cultures—such as restroom icons, the medical cross, and, more recently, the universal Wi-Fi symbol. Among these ubiquitous graphics is the "recycling" logo, conceived in 1971 by architect and designer Gary Anderson while he was a student at the University of Southern California. The symbol features three clockwise arrows forming a triangle, representing industry, consumers, and recycling, respectively.

Reintegrating what is typically discarded as waste back into the production cycle is a core tenet of the circular economy. This concept is particularly relevant to the construction industry, which has historically relied on resource extraction and destruction to sustain itself. Because the brick is synonymous with building anew, nothing embodies the circular concept quite like it. Innovators have risen to the challenge, devising solutions that transform waste into high-value resources, producing building blocks from raw waste materials ranging from seaweed and plastic to human hair. These innovations not only address pressing environmental concerns but also fundamentally redefine how we construct and inhabit our spaces. In this article, we highlight seven initiatives turning waste into valuable building blocks.

On a recent trip to the United States, looking out the airplane window while taking off from Tampa, Florida, I was struck by the pristine green landscape of the American suburb. Neatly organized rows of seemingly identical trees blanketed the flat terrain like a green carpet. To some, this abundance of green might look like a dream of environmentally integrated sustainability.

Nothing could be further from the truth. The American suburb, based on the outdated concept of the “garden city,” was designed to favor the automobile, low-density single-family housing, and single-use zoning. This model virtually rules out active transportation (walking or cycling) and makes mass transit—which relies on density and walkability—wholly unviable.

Navigating certain cities around the world is remarkably easy to grasp, just as finding an address without GPS is not particularly difficult, even for first-time visitors. Urban design explains this ease of navigation. Urban spaces designed on a grid, such as Barcelona (Spain), New York, Chicago, and Phoenix (US), and Toronto (Canada)—where streets intersect at right angles to form a gridiron pattern—make orientation intuitive and optimize spatial utility.

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There are many reasons why some urban areas deteriorate while others thrive, including economic, planning, social, and cultural factors, as well as sheer chance. Understanding these dynamics—and, more importantly, minimizing the risk of decay while fostering vitality in urban areas—is a recurring theme in urban planning, driven by the shared and legitimate desire to live in beautiful, pleasant, and prosperous environments.

Today, February 17, the exhibition "Urban Transformation: Sordo Madaleno Arquitectos" opens at the Palacio de Cultura Citibanamex - Palacio de Iturbide in Mexico City. Organized in collaboration with the Banco Nacional de México, through Fomento Cultural Citibanamex, A.C., and the Fundación Sordo Madaleno A.C., the exhibition chronicles the firm's 85-year history. It constructs a narrative drawn from more than 450 projects, presenting a curated selection of 62 architectural works built in Mexico and abroad to serve a variety of programs.

This article by Antonio Giráldez López was originally published in the 17th issue of revista rita under the title "Making the City Through Soft Architectures." Through excerpts from conversations with the Usina de Innovación Colectiva, it reconstructs an experience of ephemeral urban transformation in the former Mercado Modelo of Montevideo, Uruguay. In this intervention, actions and programs take precedence over rigid, permanent structures, allowing us to imagine new possibilities for disused infrastructure. This interdisciplinary proposal arises from the principle of fostering communities, citizen laboratories, and "in-between times" to counter the private management dynamics that increasingly threaten these types of spaces.

Neuroarchitecture can be highly valuable in helping people with dementia maintain their autonomy. Creating stimulating, supportive, and safe environments helps them remain engaged and independent for longer. Designing a practical, supportive home that promotes cognitive function, emotional well-being, and social interaction is essential.

Given the rapid growth of the global elderly population, studies show that more than one-third of older adults live in their own homes despite declining cognitive and physical abilities. However, not all can be considered fully autonomous, as they often require assistance to perform some of their daily activities.

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Over the centuries, the history of architectural visualization has undergone numerous shifts. Its intrinsic relationship with architecture itself has sparked movements and critiques that, beyond serving as tools to represent the inhabited world, directly shape our perception of it and influence the production of the built environment. At ArchDaily, we have explored the history and evolution of post-digital representation through various articles, a subject that has been deeply explored in Mexico specifically.

Addressing the climate crisis urgently requires transforming urban lifestyles, as cities are major polluters and energy consumers. Re-evaluating motorized vehicle use, particularly individual transport, is one of the necessary shifts in urban centers. Cities that offer safety for pedestrians, cyclists, and an efficient public transit network are increasingly essential.

Encouraging the development of urban centers where people can move actively—on foot and by bicycle—for their daily activities is the path promoted by the Instituto Caminhabilidade. To this end, it established the Walkable City Award, which highlights and inspires initiatives for walkable cities in Brazil.

Jundiaí (SP) has implemented its first pilot complete street project as part of the creation of an Early Childhood Area. The intervention redistributed space on Lacerda Franco Street more democratically among its various users, incorporating a bike lane, sidewalk extensions, and other traffic-calming measures. As a result, it expanded communal spaces and increased safety for children from several local schools in the area.

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Habitat X is part of an ongoing research initiative developed over more than 12 years, led by Argentine architect Alejandro Borrachia, involving over 100 professors, students, and graduates from the University of Morón – School of Architecture and Design (UM-ESAD) alongside multidisciplinary actors and strategic partners from both the private and public sectors. Focusing on theoretical inquiry and the physical realization of a series of prototypes, the project engages with a specific program based on contemporary societal concerns and needs, connecting with processes, hypotheses, and case studies that spark unprecedented disciplinary shifts.

A resident of Vitória might not think of the Jucu River Basin forests when pouring a glass of water. Uruguayans likely do not think of the Amazon Rainforest when they watch rain fall on city parks. And residents of Addis Ababa are probably not thinking of the Congo Basin when they eat injera, a traditional Ethiopian staple made from teff grain.

Yet, forests near and far affect the daily lives of these people more than they realize.

Composed of extremely fine mineral particles and formed through the long-term weathering and erosion of rock, clay possesses unique properties that make it highly versatile. When wet, it becomes highly plastic and malleable, allowing it to be molded into virtually any shape. Once dried and fired, it becomes hard and durable, leading to its widespread use in construction and ceramics. In outdoor applications, clay pavers are particularly common, favored for their durability, resistance to weathering and traffic, natural earthy tones, and ease of installation.

This research on cultivable components as a replacement for petroleum derivatives in products used to manufacture materials from waste is carried out within a UBACyT Project directed by architect Marta Yajnes, within the framework of the Centro Experimental de la Producción (CEP) of the School of Architecture, Design, and Urbanism at the University of Buenos Aires.

Over the last two decades, the reach of public transit and ridership in one of the world's largest cities, São Paulo, have grown, reducing the share of trips made by car. Yet, despite exceptionally strict restrictions on certain cars and trucks during business hours, congestion—as conventionally understood—remains virtually unabated.

Adequate housing, and everything it encompasses in a broader sense, is one of the essential principles of humanity, established by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. However, according to statistics from the United Nations (UN), 150 million people experience homelessness worldwide, and 1.6 billion live in inadequate housing conditions. The housing crisis is a multifaceted issue faced in different ways and on different scales by many cities across various countries and continents. One of its most difficult and complex aspects is precisely the deprivation of this basic right, affecting people in diverse ways and for different reasons.

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OTROCAFÉ is located on the ground floor of the iconic YWCA building, in the heart of Mexico City's Historic Center—a space steeped in over a century of history. The project was conceived as an integrated architecture and design proposal, a vision reflected in its creative framework. The cafe's design combines several key elements: subtle red accents, wood featured in both the custom furniture and as a continuous envelope wrapping the space, raw walls pigmented with a lime-based plaster, and soft, warm lighting that completes the atmosphere.

'Ecological Design: Strategies for the Vulnerable City' is a publication series produced by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) to assess the impacts of the climate crisis on the most underserved areas of our cities, while exploring initiatives to improve their spatial and environmental quality. The first volume, launched in early 2021, recognized the challenges of adapting vulnerable areas of Latin America and the Caribbean to climate change, and the second, released in late 2022, built upon this by presenting urban policies, strategies, and case studies to enhance public space through green infrastructure and nature-based solutions.