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.
Countries with a predominantly tropical or equatorial climate, such as Brazil, allow homes to foster a more fluid relationship between the indoors and outdoors, with little to no need, across most of the country, for architectural features that restrict this connection to retain heat. In regions marked by warmer temperatures, integrating indoor and outdoor spaces is particularly beneficial, promoting greater natural ventilation and daylighting within the home, alongside its inherent aesthetic appeal.
In early October, a new space opened in Mexico City under the name Design House at Público Coworking, showcasing a series of interventions that integrate disciplines such as design, architecture, and interior design. Over the past ten years, Design House has presented cutting-edge concepts from more than one hundred participating firms across various venues, collaborating with showrooms on the Design Route (Ruta del Diseño) that provide the pieces and accessories featured in the diverse installations.
Currently, most global citizens have been directed into lockdown due to COVID-19. After spending more than two months under these circumstances, two broad reflections emerge—regardless of the personal challenges faced by each household. The first is that we might adapt and live in relative harmony within our living spaces; the second is that our living space may not be adequate for our comfort. We will delve into this second point to empathize with vulnerable populations who choose to abandon their lives in one place to migrate toward better opportunities, and to examine how architecture addresses—or fails to address—the migration emergency.
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.
As part of the cultural programming of the Mexico City-based art gallery, MASA presents the exhibition Recover / Uncover, a space featuring unique and limited-edition pieces by designers and artists whose work seeks to challenge labels. In doing so, MASA celebrates contradiction as a reflection of an ongoing process of self-definition and evolution over time, presenting objects as tools for life and contemplation.
"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.
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.
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.
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.
The Mexico City-based design studio, founded in 2017 by Manu Bañó, Age Salajõe, and Héctor Esrawe, has launched its new piece titled “Aura,” a lighting fixture that continues the studio's exploration of religious elements, objects, and places of worship in Mexican culture. Following this approach, the piece emerges as an aura built from four geometric, half-moon shapes that evoke the arches of colonial-era altars and churches.
As part of an initiative by ArchDaily and the Abierto Mexicano de Diseño, a call for entries was launched this year, inviting architects, urban planners, landscape designers, industrial designers, graphic designers, floral designers, and any creative discipline that understands public space as a place for fostering collaborative encounters in cities. Published in September, the call sought unpublished or previously published projects in the form of written essays, research papers, visual essays, lectures, or other digital communication formats that offered a personal or collective reflection aligned with the theme 'Public Space.'
Beginning this April 30, a series of talks, workshops, forums, exhibitions, conferences, and other events will explore the legendary Bauhaus school and, in particular, its impact on Latin America. Due to current circumstances, several of these sessions have been redesigned to take place online.
Corporate logos of the six architecture collectives, taken from https://arquitecturascolectivas.net/, http://www.recetasurbanas.net, http://zuloark.com, http://www.boamistura.com, http://www.eeestudio.es, https://enormestudio.es, and https://assemblestudio.co.uk/. Image via Revista rita_
This article by Alberto Bravo de Laguna Socorro was originally published in the 12th issue of revista rita_ under the title "Transgression, experimentation and communicability of the graphic in collective architectures: Indices of an engaged graphic expression."
https://www.archdaily.com/1123405/transgression-experimentation-and-the-communicability-of-the-graphic-in-collective-architecturesAlberto Bravo de Laguna Socorro
Finishes are the skin of the projects we build, serving as the canvases and frames that contain the atmospheres of the spaces we inhabit. As Pritzker laureate Peter Zumthor expresses in his book Atmospheres, it is through the consonance of materials—by joining, mixing, or altering their formats—that a harmonious effect is created in relation to the spatial atmosphere.
Infraestructuras del agua / Estrategias para el buen manejo de los recursos hídricos. Image Cortesía de Juan Pablo Zuleta Álvarez
Within the framework of the 27th Colombian Biennial of Architecture and Urbanism (BICAU XVII), the Colombian Society of Architects (SCA) has announced the winners of the parallel IV Colombian Biennial of Architecture Students. For these awards, the proposals were selected across four categories: Architectural Project; Research, Theory, and Criticism; Urban, Rural Design, and Territory Planning; and Architects as Agents of Change. Meet them below:
Brutalisim is an architectural movement that emerged in Europe in the 1960s and became one of the most controversial yet popular styles worldwide. This was due to various factors, including its use of raw concrete and, more broadly, its ideals focused on public service through monumental works. Furthermore, it became a new medium for expressing contemporary political stances through functional public spaces.
Mixed-use buildings are urban devices characterized by a diversity of uses. Sharing an existence fraught with obstacles and setbacks, those that manage to get built endure as true survivors of a vigorous species that thrives in areas of opportunity, carving a path through real estate speculation.
Continuous trial and error. Architects draw and redraw lines, shapes, objects, and images on napkins, tracing paper, or black CAD backgrounds. Discarding, restarting, and repeating the cycle. The path between the initial idea and the final project is long and arduous. The challenge lies at the core of design: an endless decision-making process where a single change impacts countless other elements, turning the exercise into a series of trade-offs and concessions. These choices range widely, from determining how much site coverage minimizes environmental impact, to maximizing desk capacity in an office while maintaining fluid circulation. Every decision requires extensive research or calculation to yield an optimal solution. For example, a window placement that looks elegant on the facade might leave no room for a bed inside, or inadvertently spike the building's energy consumption.
In any project, pressing deadlines and tight budgets mean clients are often in a rush, leaving little time to explore every possible combination or calculate the exact impact of each decision. It is at this juncture that the concept of generative design is increasingly coming to the fore in architecture.
Mapas Sonoros is a project by the Usted no está aquí Archive that documents Latin American cities and towns in a non-traditional way. Functioning as a “map of maps,” the website compiles more than 40 independent sites with sound archives from countries such as Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Mexico, Peru, and Uruguay, creating a comprehensive log of georeferenced audio documents that offer an alternative way to map and understand Latin America.
Spending significant time at home has made us realize that the interior spaces of conventional commercial housing are ill-suited to accommodate work, domestic life, and leisure. This situation is further exacerbated in peripheral areas far from urban centers. On Cascajal Island in Buenaventura, Colombia, the relationship between coastal housing and the sea is essential for local cultural and economic development.
.jpg?1592235861 "Jungle House / Studiomk27 - Marcio Kogan + Samanta Cafardo. Image: © Fernando Guerra | FG+SG")
.jpg?1592952477 "© Pilar de Ario")
