Trend, style, and movement are some of the most common classifications used in attempts to define Brutalism—a term used to describe a body of architectural work produced between the 1950s and 1970s that shares certain characteristics, most notably the raw, exposed use of building materials. Defining Brutalism precisely, however, remains a difficult task, even though (or perhaps precisely because) the term has achieved such widespread currency, sparking numerous attempts to conceptualize it.
Natural disasters, whether or not compounded by human activity, are becoming increasingly frequent in today's world.
Chile has a long history of natural disasters, many of which have occurred in recent years, underscoring the dramatic and disheartening toll on its population. It is as if the country lives in a permanent state of reconstruction.
Stairs vs. Escalators. Until the beginning of the 20th century, vertical circulation was carried out through stairs. Without the apparatus of electricity, vertical circulation demanded physical effort and the attention of users, relying solely on human strength. The escalator emerged "with the rush of industrial inventions together with the science fiction desires of the 1800s, presented in 1915 as an object of entertainment at the great exhibitions of Paris and Coney Island" (KOOLHAAS, 2014, p. 1303). Soon after, it began to be used as a functional element of circulation. Initially, its use was intended to replace common stairs; however, the new technological apparatus failed to fulfill this function, becoming a complementary element and acquiring a new meaning. With larger steps to accommodate a standing, stationary body, the escalator enables a more intense flow of people, connecting steeper spaces within a smaller footprint. Compared to stairs, escalators demand different rhythms, sensations, and physical conditioning from those who traverse them.
Water is an essential resource for human life. Ensuring basic sanitation and clean drinking water is one of humanity's greatest challenges. In both urban and rural areas, access to water is critical for the health and well-being of communities and for the success of a wide range of human activities.
This is why the water crisis is such an alarming threat. Rising global temperatures and natural disasters associated with climate change contribute to this scenario. Studies suggest that by 2025, approximately 1.8 billion people will face water scarcity.
Today, March 22, marks World Water Day. According to data from the UN, the organization responsible for establishing this commemorative date, by the year 2050, between 3.5 billion and 4.4 billion people will have limited access to this resource, the use of which increased sixfold over the last century and currently grows at a rate of approximately 1% per year.
In light of such concerning figures, the concept of sustainability and the importance of solutions aimed at water conservation and reuse become even more critical.
Twelve thousand years ago, our ancestors noticed that wherever a seed or fruit fell, a plant grew. Realizing they could intentionally plant seeds and harvest them later, they stopped migrating in search of food and settled permanently where they could cultivate. In doing so, they began establishing the world's first cities and inventing what we now call agriculture.
Through its Seminar on Culture and Contemporary Reality course, Escola da Cidade, in collaboration with the Carmen Portinho Feminist Collective, hosted seven women to discuss architectural production in today's context and how gender issues intersect with this field.
We have curated a selection of online exhibitions on urbanism—available for free on Google Arts & Culture—exploring the history of development in major cities around the world. Discover them below:
In today's global landscape, bridging architectural studies and public health is highly critical. The year 2020 brought the world to a standstill, underscoring the urgent need to focus on the most vulnerable areas. How can we guarantee high-quality public services equally to an entire population when the urban environment of one segment is so deeply compromised? Finding answers to this question is essential to planning a sustainable future for humanity.
To this end, this article reflects on spatial socioeconomic inequality, positioning architecture as a tool for transforming these spaces. It presents data on the housing and urban conditions of substandard settlements (referred to by the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics - IBGE as "subnormal agglomerations") and analyzes the neglected diseases affecting these communities.
The 27th World Congress of Architects launched its online program this week, preceding the in-person events scheduled to take place between July 18 and 22. Social inclusion, the periphery, and architectural interventions in favelas were the topics of debates featuring Fabienne Hoelzel, Maria Alice Rezende de Carvalho, Alfredo Brillembourg, Jorge Mário Jáuregui, Alejandro Echeverri, and Adriana Levisky.
Imagining and experiencing alternative ways to understand the relationship between the human body, space, and the ideas that connect it to the world was one of the central themes that Hundertwasser brought to light. The Austrian artist and architect, born in 1928, dedicated much of his work to environmental issues, expressing his perspective through the theory of the five skins: the epidermis, clothing, the home, social identity, and the world. Due to its universality, this concept retains a contemporary relevance.
Pier Luigi Nervi is a curious case in architectural history. He designed large reinforced concrete buildings—and was even responsible for technical developments related to this material—defined by their bold, expressive, and heroic structural concepts. His design method was similar to Le Corbusier's during his so-called "Brutalist phase," which "(...) approached the architectural program starting from general principles, subsequently adapting them to the real situation. The project was defined by the structural concept [partido], which was organized from the general to the particular" (Acayaba, 1985). This is evident in the Italian's buildings, which are largely pavilion-like structures in which a massive structural roof spans the specificities of the program.
The construction of streets throughout the twentieth century was largely based on the premise that more infrastructure eases traffic. Evidence shows, however, that instead of reducing congestion, building more roads actually increases traffic. Reducing drive times makes driving more convenient; consequently, coupled with the status-symbol appeal of private vehicles, people tend to make more trips by car. A recent study by researchers at the University of Barcelona analyzed data from 545 European cities between 1985 and 2005, confirming that two decades of efforts to expand road capacity led to an increase—rather than a decrease—in vehicle traffic, failing to alleviate congestion.
The book “The High Cost of Free Parking,” by retired University of California professor Donald Shoup, demonstrates that parking can impose a significant social cost. Shoup argues that the car-centric city model is irrational, allocating increasingly more resources and space to a machine that goes unused 95% of the time.
Last week, we announced the 15 finalists for the 2021 Obra do Ano, an award celebrating the best of Lusophone architecture by inviting our readers to select their favorite projects built in Portuguese-speaking countries. The day has come to find out the winners of ODA 2021.
In the face of contemporary changes, architects and urban planners must revisit their roles. In contrast to planning approaches that produce increasingly massified and generic cities, establishing practices of resistance to reclaim the city for pedestrians is paramount. To be effective, these practices must foster connections between the people who experience the city daily and the urban space itself, moving away from technical definitions that treat public participation as fragmented. Instead of fueling collective paranoia that builds insurmountable walls in search of excessive security, the city should align with technology to promote openness, open-source models, collaboration, and collective creation. Beyond its practical connective function, the street must enhance lived experiences, becoming a space for chance encounters, reflection, and, above all, appropriation.
Madrid will demolish the M-30 highway overpass, located between the Puente de Vallecas and Retiro neighborhoods. This was the unanimous decision of the councilors of the Plenary of the Ayuntamiento de Madrid—the city's elected municipal council—who met on March 30. According to the author of the proposal, councilor and member of the Más Madrid party Francisco Pérez Ramos, the decision is crucial because the overpass has turned “into a wall.”
From using linguistic theory as an analytical methodology in architecture to understanding buildings as mediums of communication, the intersections between language and architecture are closer than they might first appear.
Understanding the building as a medium of communication can occur in various ways—such as integrating paintings, engravings, sculptures, and ornamentation into the architecture—but also through the literal incorporation of letters and symbols as architectural elements.
Designing spaces below ground level is always a major challenge, particularly regarding lighting and ventilation. However, creative solutions make it possible to create welcoming, airy subterranean spaces, such as the use of perforated panels to bring light into Casa K or even the strategic implementation of a glass-bottomed reflecting pool on the ground floor, allowing natural light to reach the basement of Jardim do Sol House.
Designed to allow light to pass through spaces while ensuring greater privacy for users, the use of reeded glass expands the possibilities of applying glass in architectural projects.
The grooves that characterize reeded glass are produced through the drawing process of flat glass, fragmenting the image passing through the surface into vertical or horizontal bands, depending on its orientation.
While working on Raid on Bungeling Bay—a game about bombing cities—legendary game designer Will Wright discovered he had more fun designing the cities than destroying them. He then wondered if players would enjoy having that same opportunity.
Four years later, the result was SimCity, a game that broke away from traditional gaming conventions by swapping levels for open-ended gameplay and clear objectives for a sandbox—a blank slate for creativity. Players were given an empty plot of land, a pile of cash, and a few basic planning tools, and then left to do as they pleased.
In primitive huts thousands of years ago, humans used animal skins and tree branches to build their shelters—the very same materials used to protect their bodies from the elements. From clothing to housing, these textile elements have accompanied human history, evolving alongside technology and securing a place in architectural production that goes far beyond membrane structures made of polyester/PVC and canvas. Today, they can be seen in other applications such as facade panels, interior partitions, openwork canopies, and more.
Art Nouveau, or new art, was an artistic movement that emerged in Belgium in the late 19th century and rapidly spread across several European countries and the United States. It was "new" art because it rejected academic canons and marked a break with the past. Spurred by the developments and societal changes brought about by the Second Industrial Revolution, the movement's artists sought to create a visual language that aligned with the advancements of their time, transcending antiquity, academicism, and aesthetic conservatism. Consequently, their works combined classical elements with contemporary details, merging different styles to form an original whole.
Throughout the 20th century, road construction was primarily based on the premise that more infrastructure eases traffic. However, evidence shows that instead of reducing congestion, building more roads actually increases traffic. When driving times are reduced, convenience increases. Consequently, alongside the appeal of private vehicles as status symbols of wealth and social standing, people tend to make more trips by car. A recent study by researchers at the University of Barcelona analyzed data from 545 European cities between 1985 and 2005. It confirmed that efforts to expand road capacity over those two decades led to an increase rather than a reduction in vehicle traffic, and failed to ease congestion.
_corpo-máquina.jpg?1616617933 "Escalators in the expanded downtown area. Image © Marina Schiesari")
.jpg?1616416482 "Majamaja Wuorio Eco-Cabin / Littow Architectes. Image: © Marc Goodwin")
.jpg?1617308349 "Photo: Martin Abegglen from Bern, Switzerland, CC BY-SA 2.0 , via Wikimedia Commons")
.jpg?1617308454 "Main facade of the KunstHausWien Museum by Friedensreich Hundertwasser (Vienna, Austria). Photo: Jules Verne Times Two / www.julesvernex2.com, CC BY-SA 4.0 , via Wikimedia Commons")
.jpg?1617841545 "Geminada House / CR2 Arquitetura. © Alessandro Guimarães")
.jpg?1617841649 "Jardim Paulistano Residence / Perkins+Will. © Daniel Ducci")
