Architecture does not feed upon itself. Unlike Francisco de Goya's painting, Saturn Devouring His Son, architecture looks to other arts, sciences, and technologies for nourishment before turning upon its own kind. Without these fundamental tributaries, it could not exist. Its richness is directly proportional to the presence of these supporting contributions.
Since its origins, architecture has maintained a close relationship with measurement—an obsession that represents the transition between creative art and construction technology. Art and technique, united by measurement. First came the body, then proportional and regulatory elements, and finally, complex metrics of various kinds. Historically, the treatises of Vitruvius, Leonardo da Vinci, and Leon Battista Alberti taught us the mathematical relationships between art and nature as the fundamental basis of architecture.
https://www.archdaily.com/1123529/the-new-metric-reflections-on-norms-and-measures-in-times-of-social-distancingManuel Amaya D.
As part of an initiative by Makers México, a group of nearly 300 creative professionals from various fields continues to come together to address the COVID-19 pandemic. Architects such as Juan Carlos Baumgartner and Michel Rojkind, along with designer Ariel Rojo, have joined this effort to contribute in various ways, creating 3D-printed parts to be donated to hospitals across the country. Currently, they are working on a splitter—which allows two patients to be connected to a single ventilator in the event of a shortage—protective masks for doctors and patients, as well as other components to complement their operation.
On August 20, the landmarking process began for the scale model of Salvador, which is currently on display at the Associação Comercial da Bahia in the state capital [1]. The model, which will remain open to visitors by appointment until September 18, 2020 [2], was first conceived in the early 1970s by architect Assis Reis. Since then, it has been continually updated by a team of craftspeople from the Salvador Municipal Government to represent the city's urban changes, thus preserving the original vision behind its creation.
The government-mandated lockdowns in response to the COVID-19 pandemic—and, in some cases, the fear of going outside—have recently underscored the value of domestic space, transforming it into the stage for the most evident and characteristic human actions and reactions within a capitalist and patriarchal system.
"The hardest thing in architecture is building in the desert. It is terrible, there are no references," Álvaro Siza once remarked. Paradoxical as it may seem, complex site constraints are often the starting point for architectural reasoning. Dealing with steep slopes, significant pre-existing structures, or endemic vegetation might initially seem like an obstacle to the creative process, but in many cases, this very confrontation is what makes a project unique and anchors it to its site.
Brick stands as one of the defining materials of Latin American architectural culture. The diversity and versatility of this masonry unit have led to a wide array of uses and applications. Whether chosen for economic or aesthetic reasons, exposed brick—left unfinished and without exterior cladding—is widely used across the region's designs, showcasing the rich textures and tones inherent to the material.
Located in the country's northwestern region, the state of Baja California Norte borders California (in the United States), Sonora, and Baja California Sur (in Mexico). Along with Baja California Sur, these are the only two Mexican states flanked by the Pacific Ocean to the west and the Sea of Cortez to the east, harboring some of the most breathtaking landscapes and coastlines in the country.
What is architecture's share of the blame for climate change?
It was with this very serious question that we decided to open the debate with our readers, and the volume of responses received was impressive. After reading and compiling the comments sent by construction industry professionals, students, and interested individuals, we concluded that architecture schools rarely discuss the physical properties and characteristics of materials, let alone their embodied energy.
The use of concrete as a construction material offers distinct advantages in terms of structural strength and construction timelines. These benefits, combined with its plasticity, versatility, and aesthetic value, have led many architects to choose this system to bring their projects to life. The resurgence of trends surrounding exposed concrete applications—that is, without additional coatings—has simultaneously sparked numerous explorations of its expressive qualities, giving rise to new projects that experiment with the material's finishes in interior spaces.
From my hotel room, it was possible to see the roofs of the Forbidden City, though only as a faint shape through the haze blanketing the landscape. Beijing (or Peking, depending on the language or spelling) is one of the most polluted cities in the world, covered by a constant smog produced not only by automobiles—which account for 70% of the city's air pollution—but also by factories, coal-fired power plants, and sandstorms from neighboring regions. It looked like a cloudy day, but in reality, there was not a single cloud in the sky.
Soumaya Museum / FR-EE / Fernando Romero Enterprise. Image
While virtual reality is not a new tool, its adoption across various industries has been gradual. In the architecture and cultural sectors, virtual tours have become increasingly common, offering a much broader perspective of spaces and—in the case of art—their relationship with the exhibited works. Various efforts have been made to promote this spatial mapping, closing the gap between cities, countries, and continents. A prime example is the Google Arts & Culture project, which features a library of 4,500 institutions that can be explored virtually.
If quarantine has brought anything positive to the lives of many people around the world, it is the opportunity to shift our daily routines and immerse ourselves in new activities for which we previously had neither the time nor the energy. Learning and gaining deeper knowledge in topics that interest us or relate to our professional work is one of these opportunities.
Many organizations and companies linked to the architecture and construction industries are enhancing their digital presence through webinars that offer in-depth insights into their tools and products, allowing them to stay connected with their professional communities. We invite you to explore this list of free webinars available over the coming weeks. With any luck, you will find one that fits your latest project!
LIFE CERSUDS (which stands for Ceramic Sustainable Urban Drainage System) is a proposal developed within the framework of the LIFE program—the European Union's funding instrument for the environment and climate action. It is a sustainable urban drainage system (SUDS) that utilizes low commercial value ceramic material as a filtering paving system to improve cities' adaptive capacity to the climate crisis.
This initiative was implemented as a demonstrator project in the town of Benicàssim, Spain, by architects Eduardo de Miguel and Enrique Fernández-Vivancos of the Valencia Ceramic Chair. They present the project in detail below.
Vaulted structures make it possible to build homes affordably and with minimal infrastructure—relying solely on the catenary arch as a design foundation, a formwork-free construction system, and the human body as a morphological reference. Beyond material cost savings—should financial benefits not offer enough incentive—vaulted structures are characterized by their humanized quality and their potential to create organic spaces imbued with identity.
Seeking to gather ideas and reflections from professionals, students, and collaborators amidst the local and global health emergency, the Colegio de Arquitectos de la Provincia de Santa Fe has called upon architects to collectively contribute ideas to address the current issues associated with the spread of COVID-19. As such, the open call serves as an impetus to create a space for design development fueled by disciplinary thinking, aiming to offer responses to the ongoing health crisis while reclaiming and rethinking the role of architects in society.
To showcase the valuable work emerging from Peruvian universities, we held the second edition of our open call for students, inviting them to submit their graduation projects completed in 2019.
Architectural firms have been deeply questioning the future projections reshaped by lockdown and the new dynamics of how the city and territory are experienced. On this occasion, ruta4 taller from Pereira, Colombia, presents their perspective on how the profession is practiced in the country and their shift toward a more participatory practice for the benefit of local communities. The Pereira-based architecture studio has built exemplary collaborative projects, such as the taller de Urbanautas and the Casa Ensamble Chacarrá, demonstrating through experience that empathetic architecture is a highly viable approach.
In buildings dedicated to workplace activities, proper spatial design plays a fundamental role. Considering variables such as lighting, acoustic insulation, the relationship between workstations, or ceiling heights often optimizes business performance while simultaneously ensuring user comfort. Specific requirements depend on the building's purpose: while certain activities demand greater concentration, others require interaction among team members, fostering collaborative processes. Architecture must be able to provide solutions to these requirements, even considering how these activities might evolve over time.
When it comes to housing typologies, the term duplex –lends itself to multiple interpretations, often leading to ambiguous applications and uses. The definition of the concept depends primarily on the country or region in which it is used, generally allowing for two main interpretations. First, a duplex can refer to a two-story housing unit with levels connected by an internal staircase. This definition usually applies to apartments and residences in countries like Spain or Canada, which are typically found in urban centers. Alternatively, a duplex can describe a specific type of project where two homes are joined side-by-side, each having its own individual entrance but sharing a central wall. Generally, the design of these houses is defined by an intentional axial symmetry, functioning as twin homes with the same features and floor plan layout. This type of duplex housing is particularly common in Argentina, Bolivia, the United Kingdom, Australia, and parts of the United States.
Seeking to design an immersive indoor environmental experience, design studio Aqua Creations created Manta Ray lighting. In this light installation, responsive RGB LED technology mixes red, green, and blue to produce over 16 million different hues. Programmed with a customizable color spectrum, the system is dimmable from 0.1% to 100% brightness and can even load images and videos directly onto its internal memory. This allows users to infuse expressive spaces with dynamic color and movement, or conversely, cultivate a warm, focused atmosphere for private, intimate settings.
BIM, the acronym for Building Information Modeling, utilizes information-rich 3D models to create the built environment and extract the data necessary for the documentation and construction of architectural projects. This is achieved by modeling various components—such as doors, windows, columns, and walls—which together make up an architectural project. Materials, however, are not 3D components in BIM; instead, they are part of the composition of these components. In this article, we will look at how materials behave in BIM, using the products offered by Melón Hormigones as an example.
Any 3D component created in Revit can have a Material parameter. Whether configured in the project or within the specific family, this material contains a series of default, customizable, and modifiable settings to provide technical and graphic data, as well as physical properties, to the 3D component.
In the following article, José Javier Alayón González, PhD, Architect, and full-time assistant professor in the Department of Architecture at the Pontificia Universidad Javeriana, shares his perspective on exhibition venues and how they adapt to changing circumstances.
https://www.archdaily.com/1123614/exhibition-spaces-how-flexibility-helps-tackle-virusesJosé Javier Alayón González
Shortly after the World Health Organization declared the outbreak of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19)—which began in Wuhan in December 2019—a pandemic, highlighting the disease's high rate of transmission and exposing global deficiencies in containment methods, most Latin American countries began implementing public health emergency measures to minimize spread and strengthen the response capacity of their healthcare systems.
