From cross-border movement to intra-urban displacement, the migrant population shapes and transforms the landscapes and dynamics of sociability established in the territories they inhabit. The city, a space where different perspectives meet and clash, intensifies this dynamic by receiving migratory flows and welcoming the various actors in this process in distinct ways. Latin American migrant women—a diverse group in terms of race, gender identity, sexual orientation, and class—challenge conservative logic as they move across national borders and urban territories. Within this reality, migrants organized in collectives assert their demands and claim their participation in the city through expressions of their cultures of origin. 

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Before we are drivers or cyclists, we are all pedestrians. Designing safer ways to navigate on foot, while also offering opportunities for leisure and contemplation for passersby, means conceiving a fairer city that offers a better quality of life—one that respects all its citizens and prioritizes their well-being. Accordingly, we have gathered here several parks, crossings, and pedestrian bridges designed exclusively for non-motorized use.

Every year, we host a call for submissions for final graduation projects from our audience, open to all Portuguese-speaking countries. In doing so, we aim to select the projects we find most compelling, presenting inspiring visions and sparking debates in the fields of architecture and urbanism.

The exercise of observing a space, taking into account its historical, social, and sensory complexities, is an act that should be part of the daily life of those who practice architecture. This act qualifies actions that engage with that spatiality. Consequently, using architecture as a tool to understand the dynamics of the environments we frequent becomes essential.

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As one of the primary modes of transport in history, rail transportation has helped move people, raw materials, and products since the Industrial Revolution. Widely used throughout the world, railways had their first trial in Brazil during the 1850s in Rio de Janeiro, expanding across the territory until they were gradually phased out over time. Today, we face a major challenge in keeping their memory alive. 

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Another year draws to a close, and with it comes another list reviewing the most memorable moments of the last twelve months. This time, we analyze the photos that garnered the highest engagement (likes, comments, shares, and saves) on ArchDaily Brasil's Instagram.

In Brazil, urban problems associated with urban growth and poverty, driven particularly by the informality of land occupation and the precariousness of infrastructure and urban services, have proved to be an insurmountable challenge for public authorities.

Despite past efforts, low-income housing access has largely been achieved through self-built housing and the relaxed enforcement of land subdivision, use, and occupation regulations.

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Architecture is one of the oldest professions in the world, with its origins, as we understand them today, dating back to the dawn of humanity. Historically, however, architectural education was initially passed down collectively through oral traditions and practical, hands-on learning from one generation to the next. With the rise of Fine Arts schools and universities, this training became institutionalized and evolved into the academic models we know today.

Play, as a human activity, is a multidimensional practice: it stems from biology, is socially transmitted, and is situated within the architectural realm. Within this interrelation, while play introduces dynamics and narratives that invite us to explore alternative ways of inhabiting the world, architectural projects provide the physical and sensory support needed to unlock these possibilities, with play structures serving as the medium connecting the two. Consequently, a defining relationship emerges between play, the built environment, and its evolution over time.

Contrast can be widely used in architecture as a tool to highlight what we want to showcase. Do we want to emphasize an entrance? Make the project stand out from its surroundings? Turn our architecture into a landmark in the urban—or rural—landscape? Do we need to create symbolism? Ensure legibility? How do we achieve this? How do we "shine a light" on something?

Whatever we want to highlight is amplified through comparison—by means of an exaggerated, antagonistic contrast. Intentionally, we can intensify the use of darkness to emphasize a single light source, framing a staircase in a dramatic and theatrical way. Or we can introduce solid, opaque walls to make a light, transparent entrance stand out.

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A bamboo structure rises as a space of convergence between technique, ancestry, and collective practice. OCO is the first work by Cambará Instituto, an organization that grew out of the Arquitetas Negras Project. Conceived during an artistic residency at Cerbambu, in Ravena (Minas Gerais), with support from re:arc institute, the project brought together ten black women architects who, over seven days of immersion in July this year, worked alongside master builder Lúcio Ventania to explore the constructive and symbolic potential of bamboo. The process culminated in the presentation of the work at the 14th International Architecture Biennial of São Paulo.

The experience sought to reconnect architectural practice with knowledges rooted in the body and the earth. The process encompassed every stage of production—from selecting and cutting the bamboo to curing and assembling it—resulting in a structure six meters high and five meters in diameter. Its design draws inspiration from the xossas of Benin and features straw from the African country at its top. The installation was also “clothed” with 220,000 beads, known as Our Lady’s Tears, handcrafted by forty elderly women in situations of social vulnerability who live in the same region where the residency took place—strengthening both community and economic bonds.

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Colors can define atmospheres, shape spatial perception, and translate ways of being, memories, and collective affects. Consequently, understanding them has become an essential part of contemporary creative and constructive processes. Behind every shade lies a field of research that bridges sociology, psychology, aesthetics, and technology, connecting color to broader cultural shifts and revealing how it can serve as a tool for reading and expressing the present.

An architectural award serves as a legitimizing mechanism, indicating which approaches, materials, and strategies are beginning to take center stage in the discipline's discourse. By bringing together projects with different programs, scales, and constraints, these initiatives bring to light emerging priorities and directions in the field. Within this context, the Shaw Contract Design Awards have established themselves as a global recognition platform for interior design and a barometer of the transformations reshaping the discipline, prompting reflection on the role of design in building more responsible, inclusive, and sustainable environments.

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Videos

Taking a deeper look at the interplay of light and shadow in architecture seems to be a recurring topic on the agenda of many professionals in the field. Spaces of light and darkness are conceived to enhance circulation and spatial directionality, as well as to highlight the colors, textures, and forms of specific architectural elements. That said, the impact of natural light on building facades reveals the need to develop strategies that support energy savings, improve the thermal and visual comfort of interior spaces, and promote the reduction of carbon emissions. Considering light as another material in architecture, in what ways could its power contribute to the architectural experience?

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At the helm of architectural discourse on sacred architecture, attention almost always settles on the monument. Temples, mosques, monasteries, and churches dominate architectural histories, design criticism, and photography alike, becoming the physical symbols through which faith is understood. For millions of pilgrims across India, the most consequential architectural experience begins long before the shrine comes into view. It unfolds across mountain roads, river ghats, shaded streets, temporary camps, queue systems, bridges, water kiosks, medical stations, and countless ordinary pieces of infrastructure through which pilgrimage actually takes place. The architectural work of pilgrimage may lie less in the shrine itself than in the environments that allow millions of people to reach it.

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Buildner has announced the results of its Re-Form: New Life for Old Spaces, second edition, an international ideas competition examining the adaptive reuse of small-scale existing buildings. The competition invited architects and designers to propose transformations of used, abandoned, or overlooked structures with an approximate footprint of 250 square meters, located anywhere in the world. With no fixed site or program, participants were encouraged to explore alternatives to demolition and new construction through reuse strategies grounded in contemporary social and environmental concerns.

Almost certainly, everyone has their own ritual when entering a pool. There are those who dive in without hesitation, those who start with their toes, those who swim for sport, and those who submerge themselves for pure pleasure. Private or shared, intense or contemplative, every experience with water takes place within an environment carefully constructed to receive it.

Architecture and water are of opposing natures. While one delimits and contains, the other insists on spreading, and it is from this tension between solid and liquid that aquatic centers emerge. In these buildings, the presence of water transforms everything around it. Light fragments into shimmering reflections, sound acquires a distinct reverberation, and temperature and humidity define the atmosphere of the spaces, while materials and structural systems are constantly put to the test. Yet their uniqueness is not merely technical.

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*This article is based on data from www.archdaily.cn. We apologize for any omissions.*

This project is the concept competition for the world’s only WorldSkills Museum. The goal is to renovate and renew an old warehouse on the banks of the Huangpu River, transforming it into a venue dedicated to skills competitions and vocational education for youth, while creating a vibrant urban public space.

Founded in Shanghai in 2001, Lacime Architects has always adhered to the architectural philosophy of "simplifying complexity and returning to the origin," aiming to root its practice locally while creating world-class architecture. Drawing on the design excellence of international practices, the firm prioritizes design innovation and independence. It is committed to utilizing new materials and technologies that reflect contemporary trends, integrating cultural concepts into its architectural works to honor cultural heritage while celebrating the spirit of the times.

This article curates Lacime Architects' portfolio of 2018, showcasing public buildings, demonstration zones, and residential developments through four thematic lenses: civic engagement, Neo-Chinese research, urban renewal, and contemporary living. (The following projects are listed in no particular order.)

Located on the west bank of Xiang Lake in Nanchang, the project sits in a new district whose large-scale block morphology contrasts sharply with the organic, "natural" fabric of the old town. The Fuhe River, flowing south from the Tengwang Pavilion Delta, preserves the city's natural landscape character, turning bridges into a key element of the urban landscape. The project seeks to capture the morphological memory of this contemporary city, anchoring itself to the edge of its cultural context.

Text by Henry Heng Lu

By Henry Heng Lu

The escalating use of air conditioning is pushing urban temperatures to unprecedented heights. In highly populated nations like India, China, Indonesia, Brazil, and Mexico, major urban centers are becoming virtual ovens. At the same time, heat absorbed by buildings is re-released into the environment, driving local temperatures even higher. This outdoor heat, in turn, triggers demand for more air conditioning, creating a vicious cycle that increases both energy consumption and atmospheric carbon emissions.

In response to this feedback loop, UNStudio partnered with Swiss paint specialists Monopol Colours to develop “The Coolest White”—an ultra-durable coating that protects buildings and urban structures from excessive solar radiation, thereby mitigating the urban heat island effect. Darker materials used in urban construction are a primary driver of urban heat accumulation. These materials absorb up to 95% of solar radiation, re-releasing it directly into the atmosphere, whereas standard white surfaces reduce this absorption to 25%. Now, The Coolest White lowers this absorption and emission value to a groundbreaking 12%.