When examining the world of African cinema, there are few names more prominent than that of Senegalese director Ousmane Sembène. His films ‘La Noire de…’ and ‘Mandabi’, released in 1966 and 1968 respectively, are films that tell evocative stories on the legacies of colonialism, identity, and immigration. And whilst these two films are relatively slow-spaced, ‘slice-of-life stories, they also offer a valuable spatial critique of the setting where the films are based, providing a helpful framework to understand the intricacies of the post-colonial African city, and the contrast between the African and European metropolises.

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An icon in architecture and design holds a certain degree of widespread recognition, admiration, and originality, whether it be a famous building, an artwork or a popular piece of furniture. However, it must also be capable of remaining relevant through the years and never go out of style, constantly attracting an audience without having to entirely reinvent itself. In an era dominated by social media and the need for instant gratification, the design industry has become more trend-driven than ever, creating products that die just as fast as they’re born. That is precisely where the value of timelessness lies; classic, high-quality, and long-lasting functional products will rarely become a thing of the past.  

As a room everyone needs to visit, no matter what their social standing (or sitting), bathrooms can be one of the best ways to add character to a project. Used when we are at our most vulnerable, bathrooms are calm, solitary arenas, giving a few minutes of peace in an otherwise hectic environment. So the originality of the user experience can really stand out.

Whether they bring relaxation to hospitality, individuality to residential or drama, and culture to public space, bathrooms can both surprise and delight users, while allowing them to rest. Here are eight projects where a designer bathroom is an integral part of interior architecture.

Sustainable architecture begins with designing for longer lifecycles and reuse. Looking to create more inclusive and viable  futures, architects are exploring adaptive reuse as one of the best strategies to address the climate crisis and promote social justice. Reuse keeps the culture of an area alive, bridging between old and new as projects push the boundaries of circular and adaptive design.

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Four emerging architecture studio profiles from Greece, Lithuania, Italy, and Denmark have been chosen by New Generations, a European platform that analyses the most innovative emerging practices at the European level, providing a new space for the exchange of knowledge and confrontation, theory, and production. Since 2013, New Generations has involved more than 300 practices in a diverse program of cultural activities, such as festivals, exhibitions, open calls, video interviews, workshops, and experimental formats.

SPLACES brings together Interstuhl's products and services to create aesthetic, functional and flexible working environments.

As cities grow in scale, dimensions, and amplitude, taking in 60% of the world population, the United Nations has designated the 31st of October as “World Cities Day”, an opportunity to talk furthermore about global urbanization, addressing challenges, encouraging opportunities across borders and highlighting responses. Focusing this edition on the theme of “Adapting Cities for Climate Resilience”, this day, part of Urban October, seeks to raise awareness about the climate crisis and its repercussions on the built environment.

Cities, at the center of the global challenges, are hubs for institutions, society, economy, commerce, and transportation. Understanding the importance of “Thinking the City”, we have compiled in this roundup, articles published by ArchDaily’s editors that offer planning tools and guidelines, tackle the different components of the urban realm and highlight worldwide as well as contextual questions and responses. 

Cities have always been a stage for transformations. The directions, the flows, the different ways of using the spaces, the desires, all change and give way to new places and needs. Such richness provides the city with an innovative and mutable character, but it also implies demand for more flexible architecture in terms of the functional program and structure. Especially during the past year, we have witnessed - at breakneck speed - great changes in the cities and urban spaces. The pandemic brought new paradigms that suddenly disrupted long-established norms. Houses became offices, offices became deserts, hotels turned into health facilities, and stadiums turned into hospitals. Meanwhile, architecture has had to reveal its flexibility to support purposes that could not be foreseen. This adaptability seems to have become the key to creating spaces that are coherent with our current lifestyle and the speed of modern times.

If you haven't seen Respect, I highly recommend it. The Liesl Tommy-directed biographical film based on the life of American singer Aretha Franklin visually takes us back to the 1960s through a successful set work. Here, Production Designer, Ina Mayhew had the job of creating a series of locations where color palettes undoubtedly evoke more than emotions: Her suburban home from her childhood in Detroit, the sassy jazz clubs of New York City, her luxurious Upper West Side apartment, and finally her ultramodern home in Los Angeles.

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The original house is where we return in times of crisis. It is a mobile fiction, almost like an inverted utopia—the perfect mirror of an unattainable future, not because it belongs to the past, but because it is a starting point created to give meaning to that very utopian future. The original house can be many things: the womb, the cave, the cabin, clothing, the tent, the earth. But above all, it is the story we tell ourselves to feel less lost after being cast out of this first site of identity. Thrown into the world, we remain in a constant search for a place that makes sense—a home. 

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There are countless ways to approach children's environments in architecture: from designing at a scale different from the standard adult dimension to more playful endeavors like designing toys and playthings. The architectural perspective on childhood focuses on creating a spatial quality that not only provides safer environments from an urban standpoint but also represents an investment in the future of society, given that architecture can play a vital role in childhood development.

Out of necessity, buildings change uses over time. Churches become libraries, and abandoned warehouses are transformed into cultural centers. Although much has been written on the subject since N. John Habraken's concept of open building in the 1970s, a fascinating global debate is currently underway. Do we really need so much square footage dedicated to offices when the pandemic proved that much of our work can be done remotely?

The 2021 Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report left many of us wondering whether the world can indeed keep global warming below 1.5°C, the threshold scientists consider safe to avoid the most dangerous impacts of climate change. New research from WRI and Climate Analytics shows that G20 countries, which account for about 75% of global greenhouse gas emissions, can steer the world toward this goal – if they significantly increase their ambition.

What is an architecture critic? And what makes a critic in the 21st century? Throughout history, critics were the select few who were chosen to describe and evaluate architecture while we waited for their rave reviews or disappointments before we validated our own opinions. Their thoughts and words became design canon and heavy-handedly shaped our profession. This mindset and culture only further contributed to the idea that architecture is an “elitist” practice where a few set the rules and the rest must learn them. While architecture will always have named critics, just as other forms of art and culture have theirs, there’s recently been a push for architecture to transform itself into a profession that designs for the masses and is equally critiqued by the masses.

One of the most important theorists of the twentieth century, Brazilian educator Paulo Freire would have turned 100 on September 19, 2021, had he not passed away in 1997. A month later, Brazil celebrates Teachers' Day on October 15, even as public education faces massive federal budget cuts, continuing a long-standing process of systemic decline in the country's educational system. Against this backdrop, Freire has become one of the world's most widely read and cited theorists in the humanities. Despite this global recognition, his theory has yet to be fully integrated into the literature of architecture and urbanism. Here, we propose a brief reflection on how architectural practices can engage with Paulo Freire's theory.

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Located at 852 Leandro N. Alem Avenue in the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, the Mercado de los Carruajes originally housed the “Presidential Carriage Garage,” serving as a storage and maintenance facility for horse-drawn carriages. Over time, the building was repurposed to accommodate the vehicular fleet of the Presidency of the Nation. Following a series of interventions and expansions, the historic heritage building began its conversion process in 2017, which is now complete with only the final details being finalized. A gourmet market concept featuring food stalls, fresh food vendors, retail spaces, and an event terrace eagerly awaits its grand opening, which was delayed due to the pandemic.

The project for the reconversion of the ruins of the former warehouses at the Chillán Railway Station, led by architects Cristóbal Tirado and Alberto Moletto, was selected by the jury as the winning proposal in the preliminary architectural design competition. Organized by the Directorate of Architecture of the Ministry of Public Works on behalf of the Ministry of Cultures, Arts, and Heritage, the competition aimed to rehabilitate this infrastructure and transform it into a cultural space, ultimately defining the program and general layout of the future Ñuble Regional Museum. In addition to strengthening regional heritage identity, the project aims to contribute to the urban regeneration of Chillán, specifically the surrounding area and the future Ultraestación Intercommunal Park, whose industrial structures are part of the city's modern architectural legacy. The Ministry highlighted the winning proposal's ability to "breathe life into this iconic city space and, in doing so, establish a new urban landmark for Chillán."

All over the globe, countries are facing a housing crisis. United Nations statistics put the number of people who live in sub-standard housing at 1.6 billion, and 100 million of the world’s population are without a home. As conflicts and climate change forces refugees to move to new countries, and as housing prices around the world continue to rise, cities are having to grapple more and more with how to provide safe and affordable housing for their residents.

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Concurso como Prática: A Presença da Arquitetura Paranaense is the title of the documentary featured in the eponymous exhibition on view at the Oscar Niemeyer Museum (MON) until December 12th. Available on YouTube, the feature-length film produced and directed by architects Isabela Maria Fiori and Luiz Gustavo Singeski, in collaboration with Felipe Santos Gomes, presents a comprehensive overview of the participation and awards won by teams from Paraná in architectural competitions.

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Growing up in the rolling coastal countryside of Dorset in West England, Fred Rigby drew creative inspiration from natural elements—a passion that ultimately shaped his design philosophy. Characterized by organic forms, natural symbolism, and earthy materials, his work fosters a deep connection to nature within indoor environments. Premium Scandinavian design brand MENU collaborated with Rigby to develop their latest office furniture collection as a response to the pandemic-induced shift toward working from home. By integrating the warm, soft, and nature-centric qualities of his work, the collection aims to bring a sense of calm to the anxieties of our time.

At Architects, not Architecture, we believe it’s safe to say that almost everyone who has studied architecture in the last 50 years has come across The Salk Institute designed by architect Louis Kahn. While it does not always reflect in their works, our speakers have shared their little stories on how this modernist gem built in1963 played a role in their life. And since we just started our second Virtual World Tour on October 13th, 2021 we thought we’d share a few stories from last events.

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The city of Puebla—located in Mexico's central highlands—is particularly known for its street layout and predominantly Baroque architecture. A UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1987, it hosts a broad cultural dynamic centered on preserving its built heritage and appreciating it from a distance, as if it were a museum piece. Consequently, on our daily commutes we notice the monumentality of its facades, while often failing to realize that behind the massive wooden doors lies what we call “the heart of the Poblan home.”

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Models are useful to architects for all sorts of things, from the earliest parts of the design, all the way to marketing a building after it's built. But, what is it about models that makes them such an important and powerful tool? And, how do different architecture firms incorporate them into their own and unique design process? This video explores these questions by surveying three firms: Morphosis, MVRDV, and Herzog and de Meuron. Often firms have model shops and dedicated model teams who are responsible for everything from early design decisions to critical client presentations and even marketing the building. We hear from the folks who work in these model shops and breakdown how the three case study firms approach models in their own unique way.

Urban environments are in a constant process of social evolution, political and economic transformation. Attached to the idea of urban renewal is gentrification, a complex phenomenon circumscribing a variety of issues, from the improvement of the built environment and strengthening the local economy to displacement and demographic change. On the one hand, redevelopment means revitalizing neighbourhoods, improving the built environment and infrastructure and boosting the local economy, and on the other hand, gentrification drives up property prices and cost of living, forcing out low-income communities. Is the displacement of local communities a "collateral damage" of urban development? Does redevelopment intrinsically drive gentrification, and can urban environments be revitalized more ethically?

In this Editor's Talk edition, editors from Argentina, Lebanon, Brasil, Chile, Tanzania share their views on gentrification.