Valle de Guadalupe is a region in the state of Baja California, Mexico, with a climate ranging from arid to Mediterranean, which has allowed it to become one of the country's most important wine-producing areas. In recent years, however, it has been threatened by overtourism and real estate speculation.
Continuing the series of articles by Nikos A. Salingaros, David Brain, Andrés M. Duany, Michael W. Mehaffy, and Ernesto Philibert-Petit on the study of social housing in Latin America, this installment discusses labor processes and the operating system of construction. Review past publications and the new article below.
Malaquita is a project located on the terrace of the Hotel City Center in the heart of the Historic Center. Its design is conceived as an escape from the bustle of Mexico City, a place where the passage of time across the different eras that shape the territory is palpable: pre-Hispanic, colonial, modern, and postmodern coexisting in constant resilience.
In the article "trends that will influence architecture in 2019," we identified a digital future for the construction sector. Growing search volumes for both BIM systems, modular and prefabricated systems, as well as 3D Printing, Automation and Artificial Intelligence point to upcoming shifts in construction methods. Is architectural academia preparing for this future of human-free construction?
“In ancient Peru, textiles reveal the economic, social, political, and religious development of each culture. Their importance lies not only in their use as garments, but goes far beyond. The dimensions of some fabrics suggest they were used as canvases to cover walls—as is the case with painted textiles—or as funerary shroud wrappings,” reads an open book in the museum. This textile history, dating back to around 8000 BCE, is exhaustively preserved and narrated at the Amano Pre-Columbian Textile Museum, whose collection has been declared a national heritage.
Faced with the spatial challenge of housing such a treasure, how should architecture respond? Should museums be iconic infrastructures within the city? What is the best way to arrange spaces for this museological vision?
Last week, we announced the 15 finalists for the 2019 Building of the Year Award, which since 2008 has celebrated the best built architecture in Latin America and Spain, inviting our readers to select their favorite completed projects. Today, the time has come to announce the winners of ODA19.
We are pleased to present three architectural works from Peru, Chile, and Ecuador, where the winners not only showcase the architectural diversity of the region but also serve as examples of the public impact that architecture should deliver. Meet the three winners!
CityMakers is working alongside ArchDaily to publish a series of articles, conversations, and interviews with the diverse actors in city co-production behind the Barcelona CityMakers Lab 2019, an event taking place from October 14 to 20, 2019.
For this installment, we have compiled excerpts from a conversation with architect and urban planner Victor Torres, Creative Director of CityMakers, who invites us to reflect on the need to rethink traditional models of making and learning to build cities, and on CityMakers, a community that seeks to inspire change through on-site knowledge transfer in exemplary cities around the world.
The Spanish Architecture Prize (Premio de Arquitectura Española) has been awarded biennially by the Higher Council of the Colleges of Architects of Spain (CSCAE) since 1993 to promote the quality of architectural works built across Spain.
The award has recognized built works by architects such as Enric Miralles, Mansilla y Tuñón, Sara de Giles, and Francisco Mangado Beloqui, among others, with projects including the Royal Collections Museum and the Palma Convention Center and Hotel. Explore all the winning projects below.
It is true that designers, architects, and the general public share an endless fascination with abandoned architecture. Throughout history, shifting economies, disasters, regime changes, and sheer incompetence have forced the evacuation of striking architectural structures, which today serve as curious—and even haunting—monuments to bygone eras.
This fascination has led to the publication of several articles on our site exploring the mysteries of some of the most famous sites through text and photography. Yet, this curiosity has also driven individuals to venture out and document their experiences firsthand. Such is the case of Mike Corey, a YouTuber who, through his channel Fearless & Far, has dedicated himself (among other pursuits) to exploring some of Mexico's most famous abandoned buildings.
The Forêt Monumentale is a sustainable art and architecture exhibition featuring temporary works and pavilions designed as "site-specific" installations, created especially for a 4-kilometer trail in the Green Forest of Rouen, Normandy.
As part of an initiative by PienZa Sostenible, a group of architects comprising Alberto Kalach, Rozana Montiel, Tatiana Bilbao, and Manuel Cervantes joined forces with the design firm Pirwi to create a series of structures designed as bee habitats, thereby promoting population growth, care, and conservation. This project is supported by the work of Betsy de la Vega, who incorporates an interpretation of hand-woven textiles made by artisans from the León XIII Foundation, serving as a bridge connecting handmade craft with design requirements.
This reportage was originally published in issue 207 of Revista El Malpensante (Colombia), with Spanish translation by Andrés Hoyos.
Once subjugated by illegal armed groups and devastated by the largest urban military operation in Colombia's history, the Las Independencias neighborhood, located in Medellín's Comuna 13, is today an open-air graffiti gallery. Access and transit through the area are facilitated by an outdoor escalator system—the only one of its kind in the world installed in an informal settlement.
Global South, resilience, buildtech, and new materials: as 2019 comes to a close, we look back on a year rich in research and reflection, approaching architecture from different perspectives to support the millions of readers worldwide who visit ArchDaily every day.
Aiming to offer inspiration, knowledge, and tools, we have published hundreds of articles on topics as diverse as your views on the built environment. With this in mind, read on for our selection of the year. Goodbye 2019, hello 2020!
The following research by the Córdoba Urbanism Laboratory (LuCBA)—part of an agreement between the Faculty of Architecture, Urbanism, and Design of the UNC and the Municipal Planning Institute—explores the formative logic, physical structures, and reality of the Green Belt of Córdoba, Argentina.
"The Metropolitan Rural Landscape" is a compendium that presents diverse, intentional perspectives on metropolitan rural territory. These viewpoints aim to highlight and open a discussion on the challenges and potential of these spaces. Below are some excerpts from the project:
The family of José Antonio Coderch [1913-1984] has handed over the Catalan architect's significant archive to the Reina Sofía Museum in Madrid. With this acquisition, the renowned Madrid museum seeks to follow the path forged by other contemporary art institutions, such as the MoMA in New York or the Pompidou in Paris. Because these institutions already feature dedicated architecture departments, the Reina Sofía aims to expand its own holdings, incorporating both architectural movements and the individual professionals who shaped the art of building. This initiative has been promoted for several years under the leadership of the museum's director, Manuel Borja-Villel.
The archive, which was stored in a utility room at the home of one of Coderch's children, consists of 9,800 documents organized across 875 folders and dating from 1941 to 1978. It includes plans and sketches of his architectural projects; designs, photographs, and negatives of his works, alongside family photos; professional correspondence; invoices and receipts for each project; as well as magazines, books, publications, and scale models; portraits of the architect, several of his numerous awards, and personal belongings.
Do you have ideas on how to improve existing social housing to transform environmental conditions? That was the question posed by Proyectar a Conciencia 2.0, a competition open to students and faculty throughout Chile, aiming to intervene in the Family Heritage Protection Program (PPPF) of the Chilean Ministry of Housing and Urbanism (MINVU).
Since the mid-twentieth century, Latin American cities have undergone metropolization processes in which transportation has been heavily impacted by the exponential growth of private vehicle use. This is driven by rapid, unregulated urban sprawl that causes cities to spread extensively across the territory. This physical expansion is compounded by deficient public transit management and weak domestic socioeconomic conditions, both of which severely constrain the development of transportation systems.
Córdoba, Argentina's most populous city after Buenos Aires, is a prime example of this paradigm, featuring one of the largest urban footprints in the world at 576 square kilometers (excluding its metropolitan area). Its physical structure is radiocentric, with transport corridors converging in the city center, creating a dense core where services are concentrated and an ever-expanding periphery.
Today, when it comes to urban planning, the design and pursuit of inclusive cities is generally promoted. That is, fostering collective environments where all sectors of society can thrive.
How much easier would this task be if spaces were created where different segments of society could express their needs regarding how they live?
“Leo Leo! Que Ves? La ciudad contada por los niños y las niñas” is a project that originated in the city of Córdoba in 2017, within the framework of the artistic and cultural activities program of the Undersecretariat of Culture at the National University of Córdoba. It continues to develop activities such as “Ciudad niñez-ca,” led by Paola Antonietti and workshop facilitators Camila García Reyna, María Paz Pérez Roque, Rocío Maldonado, Gabriela Soto, and Matias Zanetti, alongside FAUD's Urbanism 1A department and the City and Territory Studies Workshop.
We explore this project through the words of its creators.
Campo Baeza asserted that “Light is the most beautiful, richest, and most luxurious material used by architects. The only problem is that it is given to us for free, is within everyone's reach, and is not valued enough” [1]. Today, many architects agree on the importance of lighting when creating architectural spaces, reflecting on its quality, quantity, nuance, and directionality. Despite this, when determining the characteristics of their building enclosures, many choose to work with materials that ensure a high degree of privacy, either by incorporating opaque elements or envelopes that screen views and diffuse contact with public outdoor spaces.
In certain cases where solar conditions permit, modern technological developments allow for the incorporation of translucent enclosure systems that ensure the entry of abundant, controlled natural light throughout the day without sacrificing privacy. These self-supporting treated glass panel systems offer the possibility of generating completely glazed, continuous, homogeneous, unobstructed, and translucent surfaces while simultaneously screening views into the spaces. Below, we present 6 projects located in Argentina that exemplify different ways of working with these systems.
Think of a courtyard, just a courtyard. Naturally, the first thing that comes to mind is a courtyard defined by its frame. Thus, the designers created this frame to establish the atmosphere of a “home of knowledge”—yachaywasi—, as they have named their project. Yet, once again, do not lose sight of the courtyard. They also conceived a frame that not only defines the courtyard but integrates it with the surrounding volume, allowing it to transform, stretch, adapt, and complete or create what the school is missing. Shade, seating, panels, ventilation, green areas, a garden…even the facade.
This is what can happen when facing a competition with clear and defined parameters, yet with the freedom to let the imagination run wild—participating not just to win, but to propose and innovate. The result is an inspiring school. This proposal took second place in the First Social Infrastructure Projects Competition, organized by PLAN PISE, whose ongoing goal is to leverage the natural condition of a courtyard as an educational space for the Villa de Jesús IE 7216 school, located in Villa El Salvador, south of Lima. The project description from the design team follows.
Alexandra Cohen presents her master's thesis on the systematic cartographic analysis of the morphological intersection between the Cerdà urban plan and pre-existing urban structures in Barcelona, Spain. Through her cartographic work, she aims to demonstrate how two highly distinct urban forms can integrate to bring immense value to the city, preserving history within a modern plan.
No physical barrier separates Veracruz and Boca del Río; yet, despite being adjacent municipalities, they remain deeply distinct. On one hand lies the historic city of Veracruz, the gateway to the Americas for the Old World; on the other lies Boca del Río, a young city with greater economic influence. The Port of Veracruz serves as a tangible landmark that weaves this contrasting urban tapestry together, extending from north to south with sweeping views of the Gulf of Mexico to connect these two urban centers.
Concéntrico is an International Architecture and Design Festival that, through a democratic approach open to all citizens and visitors, aims to reflect on the urban environment and the city.
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As a result of programmatic uncertainty, the diversity of individual lifestyles, and the impossibility of planning future ways of living, our architectural spaces have begun to call their own boundaries into question. The inability to confine contemporary activities to specific rooms, combined with new demands for adaptability and constant mutation in *micro-spaces*, has led to various architectural strategies in pursuit of flexible living.
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