ArchDaily is working with CityMakers to publish a series of articles, conversations, and interviews with the various city co-production stakeholders behind the Barcelona CityMakers Lab 2021, taking place from November 8 to 12.

CityMakers is a global platform of experts in city co-production best practices, aiming to connect city co-producers and influential leaders from around the world to inspire one another and drive transformation in their cities.

For this installment, Velislava Simeonova presents her article "The Return to the Post-COVID City: Reflections Toward Sustainable Urban Tourism."

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As part of an investigation prompted by the September 19, 2017 earthquake in Mexico City, Mexican photographer Onnis Luque presents the book “Undercover,” published by the imprint The Velvet Cell (TVC) América Latina. The book features a series of photographs depicting damaged buildings shrouded in a kind of black veil, which was installed to prevent structural debris from collapsing. These images, in turn, are accompanied by texts that guide the reader, revealing diverse issues that extend beyond architecture to address social and political aspects from this unique vantage point.

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Published in book format by Wustavo Quiroga and Juan Ruades, “Intermitencia. Diseño Mendocino” (Intermittence: Design from Mendoza) is an investigation that explores the development and trajectory of both architecture and other design disciplines in the province of Mendoza, Argentina. Spanning from the 1930s to the present, the book incorporates political events, pivotal moments, and intersecting histories that shed light on the evolution and cross-cutting connections linking industrial, graphic, product, and architectural design in the province, serving as a key resource for consolidating a federal narrative of Argentine design.

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Nayarit is a state located in western Mexico, bordered by the states of Sinaloa, Durango, Zacatecas, and Jalisco, and facing the Pacific Ocean. With an area of 27,815 km², it is the country's ninth-smallest state. Its capital and most populous city is Tepic. Other notable localities include Nuevo Vallarta, Valle de Banderas, Ixtlán del Río, San Blas, Santiago Ixcuintla, Acaponeta, Compostela, Jala, Santa María del Oro, Rosamorada, Xalisco, San Pedro Lagunillas, Tecuala, and Huajicori.

Responsibly sourced, wood is a renewable, low-emission resource that, in addition to storing carbon within its composition, features low thermal conductivity and high acoustic absorption, creating comfortable, well-insulated spaces year-round. A well-designed timber building will not only enhance these properties but will also be aesthetically pleasing for its occupants and highly energy-efficient.

Fangcheng Design (FCHA) is an architectural design studio dedicated to the research and practice of Chinese urbanization. Driven by a pace, density, and development model unique in the world, China's urbanization is reshaping the built environment. Composed of a design team with international backgrounds, Fangcheng Design studies and researches Chinese cities to design contemporary architecture tailored to the Chinese context.

The 14th Bolivian Architecture Biennial 2021 took place between January 18 and 25, a cultural and academic event organized by the Departmental College of Architects of La Paz (CDALP) and the College of Architects of Bolivia (CENA CAB) through its Organizing Committee. The goal of this gathering was to celebrate and promote completed works, projects, and intellectual contributions related to the urban and architectural environment of recent years, both nationally and internationally.

In this edition, 169 projects were submitted from Bolivia's nine departments, as well as from the 12 countries participating in the international categories. Discover the winners below in the categories of Completed Work, Project Category, Research and Intellectual Production, and Student Graduation Projects. 

The firm of Francisco Burgos and Ginés Garrido was awarded first prize in the competition promoted by the Cabildo of La Palma to design a senior residence and day care center in Los Llanos de Aridane, a municipality in the province of Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Canary Islands. Located on the west side of the island of La Palma, the proposal is conceived as a meeting point between architecture and nature, where its residents can enjoy the final stage of their lives supported by an optimistic architecture that fosters communal living.

What role does space play in education? How can we incorporate new learning methods that foster environmental stewardship and introduce sustainability principles to new generations? Located in the Parque Donado-Holmberg neighborhood of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, the Siglo XXI School draws on educational facilities in Finland, the Netherlands, England, and the United States as benchmarks, aiming to integrate the school into the community and maximize the use of open spaces and new technologies.

SLT- STUDIOLITE is a design consulting firm specializing in the evolution of commercial spaces. Founded in the United States in 2013 by Chen Ling, it is currently headquartered in Shanghai, with branch offices in Hong Kong and Seattle. SLT’s services encompass commercial interior design, dynamic retail SI iteration, strategic commercial complex upgrades, and brand identity renewal. The firm is dedicated to championing avant-garde ideologies and innovative business thinking, while actively fostering integrated collaborations with avant-garde artists, cutting-edge technology providers, and innovative material R&D laboratories.

The Sensory Landscapes project is part of the Biennial of the Mediterranean Garden (Biennale del Giardino Mediterraneo) and is located in the Radicepura Botanical Park on the island of Sicily, Italy. Nestled between Mount Etna and the Ionian Sea, Ivan Juarez conceived this research laboratory and educational initiative to focus on experiencing the landscape through conceptualization and the discovery of innovative methods. The concept centers on understanding the environment through sensory experience; therefore, it pays tribute to this landscape through a walkable, educational, and sensory garden featuring a plant collection that represents Mediterranean culture.

It is interesting to reflect on the events of a few days ago in Pamplona, which hosted the 7th Latin American Architecture Biennial (BAL) at the Civican Cultural Center. At first, it might seem striking that a Spanish city like Pamplona hosts an event focused on Latin American architecture—a practice that over the years has developed a distinct identity deeply rooted in its own continental context, and which one might think has little in connection with Iberian architecture today. Nevertheless, during these days, the city takes pride in serving as a bridge between Latin America and Spain. It welcomed emerging architecture firms that brought a fresh, driven energy to present work full of potential and promising ideas for the future of the Latin American architectural scene.

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Established in 2009, PRAXiS d’ARCHITECTURE has undertaken a diverse portfolio of projects across various scales—ranging from office buildings, artist studios, and exhibition spaces to installations and furniture.

Videos

Through its Seminar on Culture and Contemporary Reality course, Escola da Cidade hosted sociologist, professor, and researcher Jessé Souza to discuss social classes in contemporary Brazil, exploring the challenges of overcoming inequality and the impact of these issues on the city.

Anyone who enjoys growing food or cultivating plants knows that a greenhouse can be invaluable in many scenarios. Whether to protect plants from the cold, shelter wind-sensitive species, or nurture sprouts and seedlings before they are transplanted elsewhere.

Having your own greenhouse requires space. While there are plenty of ready-made options and professional builders available, you can also use your creativity, time, and dedication to construct your own greenhouse.

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Archivo de Ideas Recibidas is an interdisciplinary research and dissemination project that seeks to record and connect the ideas of figures contributing to the contemporary creative ecosystem from the fields of art, design, and architecture. It is built upon conversations between the team and various creators, exploring themes related to memory, academia, cultural context, key influences, and working methodologies. On this occasion, they share their interview with architect and urbanist Manuel de Rivero, co-founder of 51-1 Arquitectos, an architecture studio based in Lima, Peru, and Supersudaca, an international urban research collective.

"Earthen construction is an ancient technique, a sustainable alternative, almost always a community effort, and, in a very high percentage of cases, carried out by women." This is how the video for “Paula Pacha Patrimonio” begins—a project by Nidia Bellene that we are presenting on the occasion of World Photography Day (August 19).

The work is the result of an exchange between the artist and women earthen builders from different parts of Argentina, who shared their daily records of work and experiences. Sourced through an open call on social media, the project gathered over 100 images that are now on display in a video installation at the Museo Casa Natal de Sarmiento.

The Ministry of Cultures, Arts, and Heritage, in collaboration with the developer Constructora Presidente Riesco, has signed a historic agreement to launch the restoration and preservation of the remains of Block 14, where the new museum will be located. The project will maintain the complex's original height of 10.62 meters, with a floor area of up to 800 square meters. It will be accompanied by a landscaping project across the 1,000-square-meter surrounding protected zone in the eastern sector of Santiago.

The shortage of affordable housing is an issue that, when combined with challenges like gentrification or touristification, creates a highly volatile mix. ATRI (Tactical Groupings for Inclusive Repopulation) is a strategy that uses public or public-community co-produced housing as a tool for urban improvement to protect established urban fabrics from gentrification. It achieves this through the joint and simultaneous management of a constellation of small-scale developments that are faster, more affordable, fairer, and more sustainable to implement than conventional public housing systems.

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Due to COVID-19 pandemic restrictions, global tourism ground to a halt for over a year, yet the desire to seek the inspiration that comes from traveling and experiencing new places remained. While experiencing spaces firsthand is undoubtedly one of the best ways to study architecture, reconstructing these structures through drawings and visualizations serves as another valuable educational tool, fostering a deeper awareness of the intricate details that compose them.

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The tension between architectural form and structural feasibility is long-standing; the bold, avant-garde visions of architects often remain on paper due to structural requirements and technical constraints. How can projects that break traditional architectural forms be realized? How do we translate these imaginative concepts into reality?

In this feature, ArchDaily introduces Eckersley O’Callaghan, a structural and facade engineering design firm. The practice has collaborated successfully with many of the world’s leading architects. Notably, their long-standing partnership with Foster + Partners has yielded several of Apple’s iconic, minimalist "all-glass" retail stores worldwide. They have also established strong collaborations with Zaha Hadid Architects, SOM, Gensler, KPF, Snøhetta, and Heatherwick Studio. Through numerous innovations and breakthroughs in glass manufacturing technology and structural design, Eckersley O’Callaghan has demonstrated world-leading capabilities in structural innovation and project execution.

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Generally, termoarcilla blocks are ceramic bricks made from clay and secondary aggregates (typically expanded polystyrene beads or other granular materials). These secondary aggregates play a key role in manufacturing: during firing (at temperatures exceeding 900 °C), they undergo a gasification process that creates pores in the material, reducing the block's density and making it lightweight (hence why in some countries they are commonly called lightweight clay blocks). This porous structure enhances the block's thermal and acoustic insulation performance, offering significant advantages over similar materials.

When the city of St. Paul, Minnesota, proposed the development of apartment buildings and commercial spaces on an empty industrial site, an op-ed in Growler Magazine compared the proposed development to a metal shredder. “Rather than conserving and enhancing the qualities and character of the neighborhood,” writes Charles Hathaway, “the redevelopment endorsed by the city's plan disregards the unique characteristics of the neighborhood and diminishes its quality.”

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The Arctic covers one-sixth of the Earth's surface. Much of its territory is covered by water, with the rest comprised of vast expanses of land. It is home to approximately 4 million inhabitants, including more than 30 Indigenous peoples. Eight states (Canada, Denmark/Greenland, Finland, Iceland, Norway, the Russian Federation, Sweden, and the United States) possess territories in the Arctic region. Its significance lies, among other things, in its role as the planet's air conditioner—reflecting sunlight and regulating global temperatures.