Throughout the history of architecture, representation has always played a vital role; it is the very birthplace of a project. Over time, prominent architects have stood out precisely because of their style of representation. Examples include Viollet-Le-Duc, whose drawing style brought to light the restoration of several historic buildings in Europe, and Le Corbusier, whose famous sketches were anything but beautiful yet managed to convey the essence of his projects.
Horizontal Monuments is a participatory intervention carried out at Plaza Juárez in Guadalajara, Mexico. The project began with the construction of a 1:1 scale replica of the obelisk located in the plaza, placed on the ground and shifting its materiality, turning this monument into a malleable and accessible object. This shift sparked a central question: what should be done with it? This question triggered a series of discussions that transformed into actions; students and local community members gathered to give voice and form to the ideas emerging from the transformation of the object. The work was conceived as an educational project to imagine alternative models of monuments capable of addressing the demands and possibilities of specific sites. Its development led to a series of collective actions described below.
Originally published as "Caminando hacia la descolonización urbano-arquitectónica" in the third edition of Revista CLEA—an annual publication of the Coordinadora Latinoamericana de Estudiantes de Arquitectura (CLEA)—this article presents an introduction to the decolonization of spaces as a political, social, and methodological critique of the territorial, urban, and architectural praxis that has become established in our cities.
This article is part of a collaboration with the website coolhuntermx. It was originally published on February 2, 2020, under the title "Un parque moderno para Guadalajara" and written by David Lozano Díaz.
In 1971, architect Fernando González Gortázar, at 29 years of age, was commissioned to build González Gallo Park. This commission served a dual purpose: to commemorate the late former governor José de Jesús González Gallo and to provide a substantial new public space for the developing neighborhoods in eastern Guadalajara.
Recent floods in Belo Horizonte and other cities in Minas Gerais have alarmed residents. Videos showing the force of the torrents dragging cars and toppling structures shocked the entire country. This state of emergency was not confined to Minas Gerais. Much of the Southeast faced heavy rains, causing widespread disruption. In Espírito Santo, for instance, more than 5,000 people were forced to leave their homes, while São Paulo was placed on high alert for flooding. Meanwhile, in Rio de Janeiro, an algae bloom in water sources led to the opposite extreme: a water crisis triggered by the poor quality of the water reaching people's taps.
Roma 212 is a multidisciplinary studio dedicated to architectural design, ephemeral installations, interiors, and urban planning. Its philosophy centers on experimenting with new materials, forms, and processes, aiming to renew and rethink architecture as a cultural catalyst.
In recent days, a series of reports and articles correctly diagnosed the cause of the recent floods in the state capitals of Belo Horizonte, São Paulo and Porto Alegre, as well as in smaller cities such as Iconha, in Espírito Santo. The primary cause of these disasters was the urbanization of our cities—both planned and unplanned—which amplified the potential damage.
To disseminate the history of Argentina's socially-grounded popular architecture, Moderna Buenos Aires - CPAU presents the documentary “Movimiento Nac&Pop”, a film that compiles testimonies from various Argentine architects—including Jorge Moscato, Alfredo Garay, Rodolfo Sorondo, Jorge Hampton, Emilio Rivoira, Roberto Frangella, and Mario Sabugo—who formed the collective known as Nac&Pop. This professional group emerged during the final years of the military dictatorship, fueled by democratic fervor, and was responsible for, among other achievements, driving the transformation of Palermo Viejo and designing the master plan for Puerto Madero.
“Where the city ends should not be the question,” Alejandro Aravena has repeatedly stated in various lectures, “where it begins is the question we should try to understand.” In many Latin American countries, the concentration of wealth in urban environments has led to the explosion of cities and “metropolitan areas,” giving rise to complex challenges.
Mais Vida nos Morros is a public policy for citizenship and sustainable development in Recife's communities, conceived by the Executive Secretariat for Urban Innovation of the City of Recife. In partnership with the private sector, the program already serves residents across 49 areas in 27 communities in Recife, directly benefiting 25,000 people. Lagoa Encantada is one of the chapters in this story, shaped by a model of social cooperation.
Located in the Ibura neighborhood of Recife, Pernambuco, Lagoa Encantada developed across both flatlands and hillsides. The area's topography directly impacted its urban conditions: while the flatlands enjoyed leisure spaces and infrastructure, the hillside lacked these amenities. This contrast directly influenced how residents interacted with one another and with their territory, serving as the starting point for the intervention process.
Given its diverse climate and geography, Mexico's wine production has steadily gained recognition in states such as Aguascalientes, Baja California, Baja California Sur, Chihuahua, Coahuila, Durango, Guanajuato, Nuevo León, Puebla, Querétaro, Sonora, and Zacatecas. In these regions, vineyards are increasingly in the spotlight, alongside wine festivals and curated experiences that offer visitors an immersive look into the various stages of production.
“Interiores: Conversaciones en línea” is the title of the series of virtual encounters organized by the Faculty of Architecture, Art, and Design at Universidad Diego Portales (UDP). In this first season, Professor Alberto Sato hosts meetings between renowned architects, including Álvaro Farrú and Enrique Walker, Alejandra Celedón with Cecilia Puga; Mardones with Pezo von Ellrichshausen; Solano Benítez with Mathias Klotz; Smiljan Radic with Alberto Sato; and Fernando Perez with Francisco Liernur.
You can watch these conversations below.
The use of concrete as a construction material offers distinct advantages in terms of structural strength and construction timelines. These benefits, combined with its plasticity, versatility, and aesthetic value, have led many architects to choose this system to bring their projects to life. The resurgence of trends surrounding exposed concrete applications—that is, without additional coatings—has simultaneously sparked numerous explorations of its expressive qualities, giving rise to new projects that experiment with the material's finishes in interior spaces.
From my hotel room, it was possible to see the roofs of the Forbidden City, though only as a faint shape through the haze blanketing the landscape. Beijing (or Peking, depending on the language or spelling) is one of the most polluted cities in the world, covered by a constant smog produced not only by automobiles—which account for 70% of the city's air pollution—but also by factories, coal-fired power plants, and sandstorms from neighboring regions. It looked like a cloudy day, but in reality, there was not a single cloud in the sky.
While virtual reality is not a new tool, its adoption across various industries has been gradual. In the architecture and cultural sectors, virtual tours have become increasingly common, offering a much broader perspective of spaces and—in the case of art—their relationship with the exhibited works. Various efforts have been made to promote this spatial mapping, closing the gap between cities, countries, and continents. A prime example is the Google Arts & Culture project, which features a library of 4,500 institutions that can be explored virtually.
On June 17, Mexico's Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation (SCJN) issued a landmark ruling ordering the National Institute of Statistics and Geography (INEGI) to generate disaggregated statistical data on populations in informal or precarious settlements across the country. This resolution brings to the forefront the discussion on the role that judges can and should play when making decisions that directly impact urban planning, land management, our cities, and our housing.
Children are often overlooked or entirely deprioritized in urban planning. Globally, it is estimated that up to 500 children die every day in traffic accidents. Thousands of others are injured in collisions or develop psychological trauma that can last for years. Whether on the streets or in public spaces, feelings of insecurity or discomfort discourage children from physical activity outdoors—at a time when 80% of children between the ages of 11 and 17 are not physically active, and another 38 million under the age of five are overweight or obese.
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As the philosopher Byung-Chul Han states: every age has its signature afflictions. These illnesses have represented some of the most significant challenges in human history, bringing drastic changes not only to the healthcare sector but also to economic and political spheres, revealing humanity as a complex network negotiating its daily existence through actions that have reshaped our ways of living and relating to one another.
On World Environment Day, we ask you: Do you know where your household "trash" goes? How do cities deal with the tons of materials discarded daily? Should everything you throw "away" be wasted by being sent to landfills?
The coronavirus crisis has shown us that certain attitudes, policies, and practices must be abandoned if we want a different future—both socially and environmentally. However, this responsibility is not solely individual. To discuss the future of waste in cities, we must shed light on the thread of recent history: the formulation of the National Solid Waste Policy (PNRS), approved in 2010, and the challenges of its implementation.
This article is part of a collaboration with the website coolhuntermx, and was originally published under the title "La Bauhaus Tapatía."
"A sort of Bauhaus" is how Mathias Goeritz, in short, tried to convince Italian architect and theorist Alberto Sartoris to come to Mexico. In 1950, through letters, he invited him to teach at the very project that had drawn Goeritz in and excited him so much: the first School of Architecture of Guadalajara, founded in 1948 by Ignacio Díaz Morales.
The Brooklyn-based design firm Territorial Empathy, which has Colombian roots, presented a proposal for the UN-Habitat Global Public Space Programme, rethinking the temporary nature of aid for Venezuelan migrants in Colombia by utilizing the capital district of Bogotá's most iconic public space.
Rarely do we encounter an open-air fine arts museum like the Garden of Fine Arts, designed by Tadao Ando in 1994 for the city of Kyoto, Japan. Reproductions at various scales of renowned masterpieces appear among concrete columns, beams, and walls, along with ramps and glass bridges, interacting with cascading waterfalls and the background vegetation from the adjacent Botanical Gardens.
Pancho Gallardo, the Chilean architectural photographer now based in Madrid, has long admired the Japanese architect's work, particularly for, as he explains, "the use of concrete as an element that creates spaces, textures, angles, and shadows which, above all, in spaces like this open-air museum, establish a direct relationship with sunlight, where every corner becomes a dramatic composition of visual angles."
Below, he shares a series of photographs taken on-site, accompanied by more of his thoughts.
Residents of the city of Punta Arenas collectively developed—in collaboration with writer Víctor Hernández and architect Alejandro Parada—a literary and graphic reconstruction documenting the heritage icons that represent the founding and evolution of the 18 de Septiembre neighborhood. The project, titled "Rutas Patrimoniales Barrio 18 de Septiembre, Punta Arenas", is framed within the Regional Cultural Identity Strengthening program of the Magallanes Region's Regional Ministerial Secretariat of Cultures, Arts, and Heritage, and is part of the 2017-2022 Public Policies for Cultural Promotion.
The lobby, also known as the entrance hall or vestibule, is a reception space adjacent to the entrance of a residential building or private home, serving as a transition zone between the public urban environment and the private program.
Typically located on the ground floor of buildings and closely linked to the street, the lobby acts as the project's "public face" to the outside world. Consequently, its design, material qualities, aesthetics, and component elements are of great significance. Its function remains highly flexible, serving as a space for gatherings, receptions, or waiting.
.jpg?1593472562 "Housing improvement programs in the Maya zone. Motul. Image © Onnis Luque")
.jpg?1593472682 "Soy de Azteca: peripheral aesthetics in Mexico. Image © Zaickz Moz")
