What is it about the work of Joaquín Vaquero Palacios that still surprises us after all this time, making it worthy of an exhibition at the Museo ICO and so many visits by specialists? I have often been called upon—a role I gladly accept—as the local point of contact for those coming to Asturias to see Vaquero's work. The willingness of Hidrocantábrico, and now EDP (I still speak with the same people; many thanks to Nicanor Fernández and his team), is always absolute, stoically accommodating last-minute adjustments. After all, outsiders often fail to realize, for instance, that traveling to Grandas de Salime remains a major trek that takes up—and fills with joy—an entire day, and that security protocols are paramount.

On one occasion, we brought a busload of students from the Universidad Internacional Menéndez Pelayo, and by the end of the day, they were applauding on the bus as if they had just witnessed an opera. And indeed they had: Vaquero's grand formal opera. This year, in fact, I served as a guide for the Master of Advanced Architecture program at the Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, directed by Juan Herreros—a passionate admirer of Vaquero who has joined us on many occasions—with students from five different countries who were left awestruck upon seeing the power plants. We also crossed paths in Proaza, in the offices, and in Veriña with the young team of architects designing this exhibition, who were meticulously reviewing every element and archive they found in the buildings.

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The social housing model currently seems like a utopia in Spain—ruled by developers and real estate firms, and mired in national policies that fail—and have always failed—to address the housing problem.

Over the years, the idea has been promoted that renting a home is almost a crime, throwing away money that could otherwise go toward purchasing property. Welcome to the wonderful world of real estate speculation. Driven by exorbitant rents set by real estate agencies or landlords with absolutely no state or provincial regulation to control them, the system itself pushes the population to take out mortgages and participate in private development. While over 50% of housing in Spain was rented back in the 1950s, those figures are a far cry from the progressive decline that brings us to the present day: nearly 80% of current housing is owner-occupied, while rentals have shrunk to just 20%.

The lives of 32 families took a turn —quite literally— when the homes they occupied in the 1980s became a designated tourist attraction in 2009. Some of the residents decided to capitalize on this by offering small tours of their homes. Yet, despite the crowds of tourists that have flocked here since, the community remains as tightly knit as the cubes themselves. 

As the year comes to a close, we look back... what captivated us most? After presenting the best architecture of the year, we now focus on identifying representative projects. Among the wide range of Peruvian works published in 2018, those that had the greatest impact on our platform span various scales and typologies. Below, you will find everything from a private house to a public library, by both established and emerging architects—reflecting architecture for everyone.

May the work continue.

Dear architects, thank you for your dedication and hard work this year!

Thank you for your commitment to architecture: for considering human life from every angle to create better living environments; for integrating technology and innovative design to push our era to higher aesthetic heights; and for every effort, big and small, that helps write the epic history of Chinese architecture.

Based on website traffic data, here are the most popular projects in China in 2017 (ordered by publication date; click each link to view more details). In 2018, ArchDaily will continue to support and walk alongside architects every step of the way!

Late last November, we published the winners of the second open call for graduation projects in Colombia, also known as theses, receiving 70 entries from 14 cities and 29 universities. Ultimately, nine projects passed the three stages of evaluation, standing out for addressing pressing systemic issues, developing deep research analyses, and posing both urban and rural challenges, just like in 2016.

In this feature, we take an in-depth look at "BHP: Bioclimatic Multi-Family Housing Prototype," developed by Natalia Carrero and Juan Celis (Universidad Santo Tomás, Bucaramanga campus) and selected for the 2017 edition of Archiprix International.

Few names fit the label of “cult writer” as perfectly as Raymond Queneau, who boasts a fanatical following of near-militant devotees of the cause: literature as a very serious game. From the outset, and even upon the most cursory reading, Exercises in Style, written by the French author in 1949, is radically different from conventional literature. The book positions itself—or pretends to—in a kind of no-man's-land between literary theory and practice, giving the impression of having been crafted based on the chapters of a style manual. Queneau rejects any preconceived schema that might have grouped the “exercises” by theme, gradual complexity, or simple alphabetical order. He does not even work from a single baseline text. At times, he opts for a purely mechanical game of textual transformation to produce a sense of sheer nonsense.

It is no wonder that this seven-decade-old book still feels revolutionary and remains an essential manual in literary programs. What Queneau showed us then—that playful, mocking creative freedom—remains difficult to match today. For this reason, such an exercise in variation, of refusing to set limits on the imagination, is and must be compatible with the craft of architectural model-making. What Queneau demonstrated, starting with an unremarkable text and transforming it 99 times, is precisely what any architect should attempt to translate into their model-making. It is the art of variation and accumulation—“difference and repetition,” as Gilles Deleuze would say. It means working 99 times on the same idea, watching it transform until, at some point, we are able to recognize its ultimate synthesis.

In just over three months, Érica Oiticica and Sâmyla Souza, students at the School of Architecture and Urbanism (FAU) of the Federal University of Juiz de Fora (UFJF), designed a Complete Street project that earned them an award and the opportunity to present their ideas to a global audience at a conference in Tanzania. The “As Cidades Somos Nós” (Our Cities Ourselves) competition inspired the duo to put their best urban planning ideas onto paper to transform a street in Belo Horizonte.

Museums are vital sources of knowledge, housing some of the most significant works of architecture in history and bringing learning closer to the curious minds who experience them. On May 18, International Museum Day was celebrated with various activities taking place across some of Mexico's most representative venues. Because the country's cultural wealth deserves ongoing celebration, we have compiled a selection of iconic museums where art and architecture merge to define unique spaces. What are your favorite museums in your city?

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Shifting the street design paradigm that has been applied for decades in Brazil is challenging. Viewing every road through the eyes of someone who thinks first of people, rather than automobiles, is an increasingly necessary and urgent exercise in urban planning. Against this backdrop, the Complete Streets concept seeks to build safer, healthier, and more equitable streets.

To help professionals from various fields understand and implement the principles of Complete Streets, WRI Brasil and the National Front of Mayors (FNP) created the Complete Streets Online Seminars. Eight webinars were held throughout 2018, exploring various topics related to the stages of project development. Hundreds of people from 150 Brazilian cities attended presentations by 17 specialists representing ten different organizations.

While the founding of Spanish-American cities has always been linked to the availability of water sources, they have not always successfully integrated their urban development with the rivers that run through them. In the case of Córdoba, this is evident in its relationship with the Suquía River, which the city turned its back on during the twentieth century, treating it as an industrial boundary.

Conversely, the partial channelization of the La Cañada stream is perceived almost as an inherent element of the city, becoming a defining feature of the urban landscape both as a structuring, organizing axis and as a major scenic and tourist attraction.

The modernization of Bogotá between 1940 and 1970, captured in urban and architectural photographic reportages, has been documented in various books, magazines, and photobooks of the era, as well as in images from the city's public and private archives. These photographs reveal a deliberate, even critical, approach to how modern architecture reconfigured city centers and put new buildings and urban spaces in relation to the existing urban landscape.

When analyzing the impact of photography on architecture, it is essential to discuss Paul Beer and Germán Téllez. While both captured a wide spectrum of subjects, these two photographers dedicated themselves more specifically to architectural photography. Commissioned by the most prestigious architectural firms of the era, their photographs reveal distinct yet complementary values, relationships, and aspects of modern architecture and the city.

In this edition of Bogotá in the Eyes of 10 Photographers we explore the legacy of Germán Téllez:

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Projects from Uruguay, Argentina, Chile, and Brazil have been selected as winners of the 2018 CICOP Chile Award. This is the fourth national—and second international—edition of the Latin American competition open to graduation projects that develop interventions on buildings, built complexes, or areas of heritage value.

"Acting with sensitivity and technical expertise regarding built heritage helps unite efforts toward conservation and reinforces the contribution that the professional field can make to transmitting heritage values to future generations," explained the organizers of the competition, which received 92 submissions in this edition.

The competition director was Nicolas Iza, while general coordination was led by Marco Antonio Orellana. The jury comprised Arturo López Bachiller and David Avila, representing the firm Luis Vidal + Arquitectos, along with María Inés Arribas, Mabel Briceño, Antonino Pirozzi, and Carolina Vergara, representing CICOP Chile.

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Celebrated globally every year, World Car-Free Day was established to encourage reflection on the excessive use of private cars for daily commutes and its environmental impact. The initiative encourages drivers to leave their vehicles behind for a day, improving air quality and urban life while promoting walking and non-polluting modes of transportation, such as cycling.

The event was officially launched in France in 1997 under the title "Car-Free Day," later spreading across Europe and, eventually, the world. Building on this momentum, European Mobility Week was launched in 2002, featuring an agenda dedicated to discussions and activities aimed at raising public awareness about the negative impacts of car dependency on air quality, the environment, human health, and cities. Urbanists and researchers such as Jane Jacobs, Jan Gehl, and Jeff Speck, among many others, have long demonstrated that the indiscriminate use of automobiles has severe consequences for urban environments.

The modernization of Bogotá between 1940 and 1970, captured in urban and architectural photographic essays, has been documented in various books, magazines, and photobooks of the era, as well as in images from the city's public and private archives. These photographs reveal a deliberate, and even critical, approach to how modern architecture reconfigured city centers, juxtaposing new buildings and urban spaces with the existing urban landscape.

To analyze the impact of street photography, one must look to Leo Matiz, Armando Matiz and Hernán Díaz. These three photographers captured the people, events, and urban life of Bogotá. From their extensive bodies of work, we have selected and highlighted images of streets, plazas, intersections, and landmark buildings. Whether capturing iconic or anonymous locations, these photographs cement modern heritage in the collective memory, casting architecture and urban spaces as the main protagonists.

In this edition of Bogotá through the Eyes of 10 Photographers, we explore the legacy of Hernán Díaz:

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Córdoba is one of the pioneer cities in the implementation of landscape architecture as we know it today.  Moving beyond the paved plazas of the colonial era, it was the first city in the country where the renowned French architect and landscape designer Carlos Thays designed a major urban park: Parque Sarmiento. Inaugurated in 1911 along the ravines that then marked the city's limits, the park became an integral part of the Nueva Córdoba neighborhood.

Similar initiatives followed over the years, creating highly characteristic green corridors such as the canalization and urban development of La Cañada. Later, during the 1970s and 1980s, the creation of pedestrian streets in the downtown area featured the incorporation of green pergolas, paved surface treatments, and plaza designs—such as Plaza Italia and Plaza España—led by architect Miguel Ángel Roca.

Today, this same emphasis on public and green space is no longer evident. The city currently has only 8 square meters of green space per inhabitant, falling short of the 10 to 15 square meters recommended by the WHO.

The modernization of Bogotá between 1940 and 1970, captured in urban and architectural photo essays, has been documented in various books, magazines, and photobooks of the period, as well as in images from the city's public and private archives. These shots reveal a deliberate, even critical, approach to how modern architecture reconfigured city centers and positioned new buildings and urban spaces in relation to the existing cityscape.

When analyzing the impact of aerial photography, one must consider Rudolf Schrimpff and Saúl Orduz. Although the subjects captured through the lenses of these two photographer-aviators were broad and varied, their aerial views of the city are extensive. Together, they form a consistent body of work documenting a modern city in transformation, offering insight into its urban development, as well as how various modern buildings and urban spaces integrated into and related to their surroundings.

In this edition of Bogotá Through the Eyes of 10 Photographers, we explore the legacy of Rudolf Schrimpff:

We are close to the announcement of the world's premier architecture prize. Here, we open the discussion on which architects from Portuguese-speaking countries deserve this honor. What is your take? 

Designed by Nicolás Moraga, the project Chambeque Ruins Cultural Park was selected as one of the 10 winners in the Thesis Projects category of the 2018 Arquitectura Caliente Competition (CAC 2018), a Chilean contest organized by Grupo Arquitectura Caliente and funded by the Ministry of Cultures, Arts, and Heritage.

A ruin does not only signal the end of a cycle; it is also the first stage of a long process of change. Based on this premise, the project proposes the progressive recovery of the Chambeque area through a series of architectural interventions that will shape a new public, cultural, and educational park for the city of Lota and the region.

As part of the 11th São Paulo Architecture Biennial, Ooze Architects was invited to develop Água Paulista, a project investigating the potential for decentralized, nature-based water treatment in the city and its informal settlements. The initiative builds on the experience of its parent project Água Carioca, winner of the 2017 LafargeHolcim Award for Latin America (Bronze).

When faced with a growing population, a city's first response is often to sprawl, expanding its territory. Unfortunately, this expansion is highly costly for the municipality itself and contributes to socio-spatial segregation and inequality. Cities must find a path that establishes them as prosperous places for both people and the economy. A recent study suggests that the key to achieving this may lie in “good density.”

Defining an area as having “good density” goes far beyond having a high number of people living or working in a specific space. Key factors such as mixed-use zoning, connectivity, and sustainable transportation infrastructure are fundamental.

Intervening in historic buildings is always a highly delicate matter. In architecture, whether through restoration or spatial adaptive reuse, intervention projects are often necessary to breathe “new life” into abandoned or altered structures, modifying or upgrading their use.

Alongside the challenge of preserving existing structures without abruptly altering their original design, there is also the task of introducing annex buildings or elements capable of meeting the intrinsic needs of each program without “harming” or compromising the character of the original buildings.

After receiving more than 70 submissions from various Argentine universities and cities, our editorial team selected 10 of them, focusing on projects that demonstrated critical thinking regarding contemporary issues, formal execution, and representation. The selection not only highlights projects that delivered the best possible architecture through simple design tailored to their context, program, and users, but also those showing significant attention to human scale, mediation, transition, and new ways of approaching urban architecture.

Discover our 10 highlighted projects below.

THE NEIGHBORHOOD AS A CULTURAL CENTER: Alejandro Asens - Victoria Carbonin - Juan Cardozo Sánchez - Italo Parietti