The Youtube channel Never Too Small boasts 2.25 million subscribers — a platform featuring the imaginative manipulation of space in tiny footprints. Videos of micro-apartments, in Paris, London, and beyond, get views in the millions. Clearly, there is a demand for content geared towards living small, as a global housing crisis has precipitated the ever-dwindling availability of affordable, larger-footprint residences in urban areas. Architects, working in this constrained contemporary reality, have been necessitated to make the most out of limited space, configuring sub-40 square-meter floor areas to create a non-claustrophobic spatial experience.
Animals measure distances and weight for their survival. On the other hand, stemming from their need to communicate to live in society, humans created languages and, later, established the standards of measuring. Whether for moving around, portioning food, making tools, or calculating the weight of objects and animals, measurement standards arise from this need that was already present in human activities in the age of chipped stone and has been with us ever since. Nowadays, most of the world's population uses meters and centimeters to measure distances. These standards come from the need to establish comparisons that allow trade between peoples and also from political and social disputes.
When Airbnb began nearly 15 years ago, it offered a new and innovative solution to book short-term stays without any hassle. By renting out a spare room or an entire apartment, it provided an alternative to traditional hotel models which were often overpriced and overbooked. Airbnb now faces many critics as the company quickly grew, offering hundreds of thousands of stays around the globe, but not without a handful of negative experiences. Now, planners and policymakers are beginning to see the effects of the abundance of Airbnb listings and how it impacts a growing housing crisis.
For two hundred years, New York City has been the largest metropolis in the United States and continues to outpace its competitors. The city is one of the oldest and most prosperous in the country. Its metropolitan area produces goods and services equivalent in monetary terms to half of Brazil's total GDP. Its urban structure, productive capacity, and high per capita income reflect its privileged global standing. One of the keys to understanding its rise lies in the very beginning of its history and its long developmental path. In 1624, the land of Manhattan Island was purchased from the indigenous Lenape people by Dutchman Peter Minuit of the Dutch West India Company, who founded New Amsterdam. The island is an extensive, flat 59-square-kilometer area situated at the mouth of the Hudson and East rivers. The bay allowed large ships to anchor and offered a strategic, easily defensible position.
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Paris, France. Photo by Lespinas Xavier, via Unsplash
Until a few years ago, the right bank of the Seine River in Paris was a high-speed thoroughfare carrying more than 40,000 vehicles every day. Despite being designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site, the roadway was routinely gridlocked during rush hours or used as a speedway for cars. Consequently, it contributed to the city's air pollution levels—which frequently exceeded European Union limits—and to thousands of premature deaths in the French capital each year.
https://www.archdaily.com/1136057/the-15-minute-city-the-paris-vision-that-has-inspired-a-global-movementSalome Gongadze e Anne Maassen
Photographs by Marcel Gautherot from the collection of the Instituto Moreira Salles (IMS), edited by the author
The Museum of Popular Art in Recife (MAP), opened in 1955, was one of the first museums dedicated to the genre in the country. It was organized and conceived by Recife-born lawyer and collector Abelardo Rodrigues (1908–1971) and designed by Rio de Janeiro architect Acácio Gil Borsoi (1924–2009). Although now defunct, the museum project adapted a former kindergarten into a space with modern features for the exhibition of popular art, located at the entrance of the Dois Irmãos Zoobotanical Park. The only records of this space were captured by French photographer Marcel Gautherot (1910–1996) in the year of the museum's inauguration. Despite their individual perspectives, these three figures shared a particular interest in the popular aspect of modern narratives; for this reason, analyzing the perspectives that fueled interest in the applications of this concept is essential.
Research by the Science Museum Group based on objects from different periods of UK history shows how their colors have transformed over time, leaving vibrant tones behind and becoming grayer every day.
Cat Sleeman examined more than seven thousand photographs of everyday objects from the Science Museum Group Collection in research funded by the Creative Industries Policy and Evidence Center (PEC). From cameras to lamps and other household objects, they were organized into 21 different categories according to their use. The analysis was carried out based on counting pixels of different colors and also addressed the shape of the objects.
Munich – Bavaria’s capital since 1506 – is a city with layers and layers of history. Its many years as a rising architectural epicenter have left an interesting and unique mix of buildings. From Middle Age churches and cathedrals to contemporary synagogues. From skyscrapers to small pavilions. Brutalism to Art Nouveau. Munich’s architecture is truly extensive and marvelous.
Though not acknowledging Munich’s beer wonders would be wrong, the only mention of this substance would be in the stunning buildings (like the new Paulaner HQ by Hierl Architekten) that contain them. Yes, other aspects of the city are grandiose, but let’s focus on Munich’s top attraction: its architecture.
Known as the state house, the presidential palace, and an assortment of other terms — the building that hosts a country’s seat of government is usually quite architecturally striking. Frequently opulent, grand, and sometimes imposing, the state house is intended to function as a visually distinct marker of a nation — an extension of a state’s identity. In the African continent, a landmass that had seen a significant part of it colonized by European nations, this identity of statehood, in an architectural sense, is complex.
As part of the exhibition program of the Museo Experimental El Eco, the call for entries for the Eco Pavilion 2023 was launched, inviting professionals involved in architectural practice in Mexico to engage in dialogue with the museum's space. This edition marks the 13th anniversary of the Eco Pavilion, a competition initiated in partnership with Buró-Buró with the mission of offering a platform for architectural production with an emphasis on experimentation and spatial reflection.
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.
LANO FRUITS Office / Laura Ortín. Image Courtesy of Laura Ortín
From assigned cubicles to open plan coworks, workspaces have been transforming their design strategies following society’s changing lifestyles. While traditional layouts encouraged more independent work (avoiding social distractions), adjusting to new technologies and ways of thinking has enhanced productivity while respecting communication, wellness consciousness and the benefits of feeling comfortable at work.
Architects have followed these changing trends, proposing diverse workspace typologies, adapting to multiple working styles, and organizing them to create optimal productive spaces. Among them, Spanish women-led architecture offices from different backgrounds and styles stand out for introducing layouts that redefine what is commonly known as a workspace. Below we present a selection of innovative refurbishment projects, all of which showcase flexible and dynamic workspace design.
Light is an essential element to perceive architecture and to live and work in buildings. Therefore architects, lighting designers, teachers, and researchers have written inspirational books about light. They have shared their valuable theories and turned their experience into guidelines to improve daylight design and the art of illumination.
This collection offers a useful source of the best lighting design books for students, professionals, and academics. The book list is grouped into categories: Daylight, illumination, urban lighting, media facades, landscape lighting, light collections, culture, monography, history, stage lighting, and light art. In each section, the volumes appear in alphabetical order with recent books in the beginning followed by classic publications. Discover fascinating publications that will enlighten your perception and understanding of light and space.
What is the 15-Minute City? It’s every city ever built by humans on this planet until a century ago, but with a catchy new name. If a city’s old parts haven’t been destroyed in the past century, it’s the areas that attract the most tourists. And people will travel across continents and oceans to experience the best of them.
Forty years ago, a few pioneers decided to start building 15-Minute Cities again. Actually, they built 5-minute cities because they didn’t think people would walk for 15 minutes—and, in the early 1980s, they were right, because people were so conditioned to driving everywhere back then. Seaside, Florida, is where it all began. Time magazine called it “the little town that changed the world.” For the first time in the modern history of sprawl, people could toss their car keys in a drawer or hang them on the wall and leave them there for days. When people returned from Seaside vacations, they came back asking, “Why can’t we build this way at home?” And soon, the New Urbanism was born.
Sir David Chipperfield has been awarded with the 2023 Pritzker Prize, the highest distinction in the architectural profession. Known for his well-crafted, precise, and sensible response to complex environments, the architect became initially recognized for the skillful restoration and renovation of existing buildings, often cultural institutions, before expanding the range of projects to include new structures. While his built body of works demonstrates many of the core principles of good architecture, the ongoing projects reveal an equally relevant narrative: that of his direction moving forward and the way in which his approach to these principles evolves.
Many of the ongoing projects continue Chipperfield’s interest in museological and cultural institutions, yet he continues to work across a wide array of building types. The latest major project announced tackles one of the most prominent institutions in Greece, the National Archeological Museum. This represents yet another opportunity for the architect to present museums as institutions that offer a transformation of the urban life of the cities where they are located, while also bringing forward the historical layers that define its architecture. Other projects, such as the Santa Giulia Arena in Milano or the Elbtower in Hamburg, expand the range of programs and typologies addressed by Chipperfield.
Culture reflected in a material. Portuguese tiles narrate historical themes, from the religious to the profane. They shape the Portuguese landscape and scenery when covering buildings, interiors and public spaces. In this way, its expression continues in constant change and adaptation to weave the Moorish ancestry with contemporaneity.
After the interruption of the 2019 edition due to the Social crisis in Chile, the Chilean Architecture Biennial returned to Santiago in January 2023 under the theme of 'Vulnerable Habitats', addressing issues such as "the emergence of the housing deficit in a context in which slums, informality, and illegal land takeovers have increased in recent years" and "the vulnerability and deterioration of public spaces; the urgent protection of tangible heritage; and environmental vulnerability in a context of a climate crisis."
The bed, as an indispensable element, is an essential consideration in these experiments. Its functions can be fulfilled without completely losing the valuable space it occupies, and the bedroom experience can be enriched with careful thought. How can we reinvent and take advantage of the opportunities of the traditional bed?
“Together we are stronger,” read the signs at the massive Latin American marches on International Women's Day. Women build networks across all their spheres of action: their families, communities, and workplaces. The world of architecture is no exception. Among women architects, these bonds foster connection, as seen in the nearly 30 networks of women architects in the region featured below.
In both cases, the reduced area, simple materials and modest budget were not impediments to a virtuous architectural project that took full advantage of the qualities of the surroundings and the terrain's orientation, proving that limitations can serve as an impetus for higher quality projects.
March 8th is celebrated as International Women's Day, a date remembered for years as a symbol of the fight for their rights. However, although many countries have laws establishing equal rights for men and women, gender inequality and all its consequences are still experienced every day by girls and women all around the world. The patriarchal system, rooted in many societies over the centuries, has been responsible for inequality of power between the genders which, in the most extreme cases, results in violence and femicide.
Lighting is often a numbers game — too much, and interiors lose their edge (literally), too little, and the dim atmosphere can make a space seem bland. Its importance in interior design cannot be overstated: done right, it not only accentuates a space's architectural features but also makes inhabitants feel at ease. As Carmelo Zappulla of Lighting Studio External Reference explains in a recent interview with Architonic, light is a crucial tool to add an emotional element and "animate a space." It follows that a lighting concept gone wrong can have catastrophic consequences for an otherwise perfectly designed room.
Data Feminism, as conceptualized by D’Ignazio & Klein (2020), introduces intersectional feminism in data science and invites us to examine power relations and dynamics of oppression that are built into data infrastructures that underpin society today.
