The relationship between architecture and its various mediums of representation, reproduction, and publicity is nothing new. Drawings, blueprints, and photographs published in books, magazines, and newspapers have historically been an integral part of the profession's trajectory. Over the last decade, with the rise of social media—particularly platforms centered on visual communication—architects have adopted these tools in myriad ways, incorporating them into their professional practice. Yet while these networks can produce and popularize content for diverse audiences, does architecture risk becoming a hostage to its own representation in this era of engagement?

Founded in 2002 by a group of architects with diverse academic backgrounds from both China and abroad, Verse Design has been deeply engaged in exploring various scales of design for over twenty years, including urban design, architectural design, community making, and residential product systems. Through years of practice, the firm has developed a systematic and continuous design logic and methodology. From programming and planning to urban design, and from schematic design to detail control, a "craftsman's spirit" permeates every phase of our work. We are dedicated to the process of identifying problems, refining solutions, and executing them, maintaining an exceptionally high standard for project implementation and completion. Our primary project types include cultural tourism resort towns, resort hotels, as well as cultural and community lifestyle amenities.

Verse Design maintains a boutique team size and a flat management structure, offering architects a highly autonomous working atmosphere. Here, you will engage in multi-dimensional, full-lifecycle projects ranging from early-stage programming and urban design to architectural design and detailing. We look forward to welcoming like-minded, exceptional architects to join us and grow together with Verse Design.

The firm's office is located in a historic garden villa at the intersection of Zhaojiabang Road and Wulumuqi Road in Shanghai. It is conveniently situated just 50 meters on foot from Zhaojiabang Road Station (Metro Lines 7 and 9), offering an easily accessible and comfortable working environment.

Can we construct buildings using less water? Throughout June, ArchDaily opened the debate on water resources in architecture, inviting our readers to join the discussion.

Global water use data is discouraging, and the construction process accounts for a significant portion of this consumption. It was time to think about how to reduce this impact. The need to design buildings that do not require water offered a unique opportunity to explore innovative and sustainable alternatives to minimize or even completely eliminate water use in construction.

With 55% of the world's population living in cities, the concept of circular economy is increasingly prominent in discussions on architecture and urbanism. The goal of circularity is to reduce the environmental impact of the current production and consumption model through the efficient use of material resources and waste reduction. But how can this idea actually be applied to cities?

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This February 2 marks another World Wetlands Day, held under the theme revitalize and restore degraded wetlands. The 2023 theme highlights that "if done correctly, these sites can offer the same benefits as the original natural wetland."

As part of the XXVI Arquisur Congress “Turns of Architecture,” held from October 11 to 13 at the Faculty of Architecture, Design and Urbanism of the University of the Republic of Uruguay, the winners of the 2023 edition of the Arq. José Miguel Aroztegui Award for Architecture Students, the Arquisur Research Award, and the Arquisur Outreach Award were announced.

Bringing greenery and, in many cases, vegetable cultivation into urban areas yields countless benefits for city dwellers. Green roofs offer a solution for transforming underutilized areas into true natural oases, helping to mitigate urban heat islands, absorb rainwater, improve air quality, control noise levels, and attract biodiversity.

Jundiaí (SP) has implemented its first pilot complete street project as part of the creation of an Early Childhood Area. The intervention redistributed space on Lacerda Franco Street more democratically among its various users, incorporating a bike lane, sidewalk extensions, and other traffic-calming measures. As a result, it expanded communal spaces and increased safety for children from several local schools in the area.

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Habitat X is part of an ongoing research initiative developed over more than 12 years, led by Argentine architect Alejandro Borrachia, involving over 100 professors, students, and graduates from the University of Morón – School of Architecture and Design (UM-ESAD) alongside multidisciplinary actors and strategic partners from both the private and public sectors. Focusing on theoretical inquiry and the physical realization of a series of prototypes, the project engages with a specific program based on contemporary societal concerns and needs, connecting with processes, hypotheses, and case studies that spark unprecedented disciplinary shifts.

A resident of Vitória might not think of the Jucu River Basin forests when pouring a glass of water. Uruguayans likely do not think of the Amazon Rainforest when they watch rain fall on city parks. And residents of Addis Ababa are probably not thinking of the Congo Basin when they eat injera, a traditional Ethiopian staple made from teff grain.

Yet, forests near and far affect the daily lives of these people more than they realize.

Composed of extremely fine mineral particles and formed through the long-term weathering and erosion of rock, clay possesses unique properties that make it highly versatile. When wet, it becomes highly plastic and malleable, allowing it to be molded into virtually any shape. Once dried and fired, it becomes hard and durable, leading to its widespread use in construction and ceramics. In outdoor applications, clay pavers are particularly common, favored for their durability, resistance to weathering and traffic, natural earthy tones, and ease of installation.

This research on cultivable components as a replacement for petroleum derivatives in products used to manufacture materials from waste is carried out within a UBACyT Project directed by architect Marta Yajnes, within the framework of the Centro Experimental de la Producción (CEP) of the School of Architecture, Design, and Urbanism at the University of Buenos Aires.

Over the last two decades, the reach of public transit and ridership in one of the world's largest cities, São Paulo, have grown, reducing the share of trips made by car. Yet, despite exceptionally strict restrictions on certain cars and trucks during business hours, congestion—as conventionally understood—remains virtually unabated.

A few days ago, on a beautiful, sunny Sunday in the middle of winter, my wife and I decided to take our two young children to visit Villa-Lobos Park, in the far west of the city of São Paulo, nearly on the border with Osasco.

It is not a park we visit often nowadays, but it undoubtedly holds a special place in our personal history. She grew up in Cotia; I, in Osasco. Both cities lie in the western part of the São Paulo Metropolitan Area, and the park was perhaps the main public space relatively close to our homes during our childhood and youth. We even have photos from when we first started dating in 2013, capturing idle moments—sometimes stretched out on a broad green lawn, other times embracing under a blossoming tree.

As if dealing with a culinary recipe, Cedric Price compared the evolution of cities to the multiple ways of cooking an egg, showing how the relationship between the yolk and the white (inherent to each preparation) resembled the configuration of different urban models that have emerged over the last couple of millennia. This evolutionary description moves from the almost perfect hard-boiled egg embodied by ancient cities (the result of walled settlements) to scrambled eggs, comparable to modern cities (sprawling shapelessly across the vast territory). It is a metaphor that exemplifies how, so often, the elements that make up the city resemble one another (like the yolk and the white) and yet, the way these ingredients intermingle is key to the final recipe—that which characterizes and explains them.

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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.

Barco gallery is located in downtown Santiago, right next to Santa Lucía Hill. It occupies an apartment in the homonymous building designed by Sergio Larraín, celebrating a pioneering work of Chilean modern architecture. It is a curatorial practice dedicated to the debate, research, and development of critical and innovative ideas concerning the discipline through exhibition cycles. Its most recent exhibitions include 1972: Cities for Downtown Santiago, You Will Only Have Stones and Additive Manufacturing Shelf.

In partnership with the Embassy of Brazil in Chile, they organized a tribute to the leading figure of Brazilian modern architecture: Lina Bo Bardi. The exhibition "Sirena" by artist Jessica Briceño, curated by Matías Allende Contador and Anton zu Knyphausen, places Bo Bardi's disciplinary work at the center of reflection through an immersive installation that brings together five pieces abstracting her most recurring motifs.

Yesterday, November 8, as it does every year, Diez Company presented the fifth edition of the Maison Diez Company project to both Mexican and international audiences. This space, dedicated to lighting design, brings together designers, creatives, architects, interior designers, business partners, lighting experts, and international brand representatives to celebrate light. Following the success of its previous annual editions since 2018, Maison Diez Company is showcasing its latest offerings in a historic mansion in the San Miguel Chapultepec neighborhood.

Since the first architecture programs were established in the late 19th century, little has changed in their core curricula. Most programs worldwide are geared toward a neoliberal university model, increasingly designed and defined by the production of relentless success and the demands of the construction industry.

Little is discussed regarding error and failure, and design output remains heavily geared toward training stararchitects—a term used to describe architects whose celebrity and critical acclaim have turned them into idols of the architectural world, creators of major projects and master plans.

A new space has opened its doors in a 1930s house in the San Miguel Chapultepec neighborhood of Mexico City. This cultural enterprise, named ARCO, merges art, design, and architecture to create a collaborative venue housing the architecture firm WORC and the furniture-focused design studio VETA.

The construction of urban highways continues to expand worldwide. In Latin America, major projects are underway in Santiago (Américo Vespucio Oriente), Lima (Línea Amarilla), Quito (Solución Vial Guayasamín), São Paulo (Rodoanel Mário Covas), and Mexico City (Segundo Piso a Cuernavaca), to name just a few.

In Colombia, the national government announced a new program to improve access to urban areas during the 18th Congress of the Colombian Chamber of Infrastructure. In the words of Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos, “Our goal is also to transform access to cities. It is of little use to save time on intercity trips if that time is then lost within urban areas.”

It is increasingly common to observe how current generations, characterized by greater respect and awareness of the environment, seek new ways to interact with nature while assuming a deep responsibility to protect it. Accordingly, the future of architecture is closely tied to the ability to balance these desires and obligations, particularly in the design of natural public spaces.

By integrating subtle paths and walkways, public space design can open up access for people of all ages and abilities. Combined with a natural material palette, architects and designers can create spaces that complement their surroundings. Yet, however beautiful these natural areas may be, making them safe and suitable for visitors can have detrimental effects on the environment. Consequently, design and material selection must be approached mindfully and with care.

goa is one of China's leading architectural design firms. Over 25 years of practice, goa has consistently represented the benchmark of quality in the Chinese architectural industry, serving as a pioneer and creator of human environments and lifestyles in Asia. With an elite multidisciplinary team and an integrated, interdisciplinary approach, the firm holds a leading position in high-end residential, resort hotels, corporate headquarters, urban renewal, and cultural tourism and rural reconstruction. As of the end of 2022, more than 200 of goa's projects have won over 400 architectural design awards from authoritative domestic and international industry organizations and media, including the World Architecture Festival (WAF), MIPIM, the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat (CTBUH), the Leading European Architects Forum (LEAF) Awards, the European Centre for Architecture Art Design and Urban Studies, The Architectural Review (AR), Architizer A+, the China Exploration and Design Association, and the Architectural Society of Shanghai. Driven by its mission to "shape vibrant human habitats," goa continues to create unique spatial experiences for future cities and communities through high-quality design services.

A rigorous, objective, diverse, and open corporate culture forms the brand DNA of goa. The firm offers professionals an attractive working environment and rewarding career development, supporting the autonomous growth of outstanding talents while fostering an innovative atmosphere of interdisciplinary collaboration. With its unique vitality, goa is committed to providing every employee with a stage to realize their professional aspirations.

Open Positions

In a context where cultural expressions are increasingly valued, and their presentation and representation are vital to conveying diverse content, the design of exhibition spaces becomes particularly relevant when projecting and establishing different perceptions and narratives, both in daily life and during specific events.