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.
Students from the Barcelona School of Architecture are organizing a live-streamed architecture lecture series, featuring both local and international guests, to reflect on quarantine, confinement, freedom, repression, and viruses.
When we think of architectural visualization, sketches, drawings, and 3D renderings usually come to mind. This association is natural, as "visualization" is typically equated with imagining a project before it is built—whether to validate aesthetic and functional decisions or to communicate concepts to clients unfamiliar with technical drawings. However, beyond superficial elements like materials, layouts, textures, and colors, architects must also address highly technical, invisible factors that directly impact a building's performance.
We may still have a long way to go when it comes to addressing the diversity of flora and fauna in urban habitats, yet it is incredible how fast, easy—and even fun—the architecture that makes this possible can be.
In practice, how are we promoting spaces for animals and plants in our cities?
Climate Care – A Curriculum for Urban Practice was a 10-day public program curated by Gilly Karjevsky and Rosario Talevi for the Floating University in Berlin. Climate Care explored the correlations between the environment, urban practices, and education, constructively addressing not only environmental climate challenges but also scrutinizing the complex social, political, and economic climates that surround us today.
Solar tiles work on the same principle as the photovoltaic panels widely used in architecture. The main difference lies in their installation: while photovoltaic panels are mounted on top of an existing roof, solar tiles are integrated into the roof structure from the very beginning, replacing conventional roof tiles.
These tiles are composed of photovoltaic cells. When they absorb sunlight, they generate an electric field that provides electricity to the building's interior. Each tile is connected by cables to a power distribution board.
The following article proposes rethinking architecture in social housing in Colombia. Natalia Carrero Rojas and Pablo González delve into the subject as educators and through their practice 57Uno, where they constantly balance high-quality housing with real estate viability.
In the architecture of Peru, concrete took center stage during the development of the Modern Movement. In pursuit of a new urban geography, many architects set out to renew their architectural languages. As a result, new concrete buildings—residential, office, and commercial towers—began to emerge across the city, leaving behind the Neocolonial and Republican styles that had long characterized Lima's architecture. Today, the structural advantages, versatility, expressiveness, and aesthetic value of concrete continue to make it a preferred choice for many architects, keeping exploration around the material highly relevant.
This article is an excerpt originally published in Revista Cadernos de Pesquisa #7 of the Associação Escola da Cidade. It stems from the final graduation project “Three Bathrooms, Three Dances” by Manuella Ferreira Leboreiro, completed at Escola da Cidade in 2018, under the supervision of Professor Yuri Fomim Quevedo. This essay was also featured in the selection of works exhibited at CCSP as part of the 12th International Architecture Biennale of São Paulo.
It is 12:11 PM on November 7 (2018). An "S" on the door indicates who this bathroom is supposedly for. I am in a bathroom located in a small building designed in the 1950s by Vilanova Artigas, the Brazilian modernist architect, in the Santa Cecília neighborhood. This is my second time inside, and to me, it is still a space slowly revealing itself. At first, what really caught my attention was the almost-purple blue cast by the blacklight, which tints every tone in the room toward that color. It brings a deep sense of serenity during the day.
Originally published as "El espacio público en asentamientos de origen informal: una construcción colectiva del espacio social" in the third edition of Revista CLEA —an annual publication of the Latin American Coordinator of Architecture Students (CLEA)—, this article argues that the most important aspect of public space is the opportunity it offers to build ourselves as citizens.
The production and meaning of public space in informal settlements are driven by the people who inhabit them. Consequently, the process of forming the concept of publicness is forged from the moment of occupying a void that lacks municipal services (Hernández, 2011). This stems from the fundamental need for shelter, which shapes this void through housing as the primary objective of the individual.
One thing that unites all human beings is that during the first years of our lives, we absorb our surroundings to develop as we grow. Consequently, education plays an irreplaceably important role. In early childhood, however, learning differs from more theoretical methods, as young children assimilate knowledge through continuous experience, developing their motor skills and their sense of dimension and space in relation to their own scale and body.
Historically, stone materials have offered ancient cultures the ability to build robust structures by interlocking stones of various shapes and sizes. The simplicity of the technique and its ability to deliver efficient, durable results have sustained the transmission of this construction method over time, enabling multiple contemporary architectural variations and reinterpretations.
Cultural customs may vary infinitely across countries, but family life always brings celebrations and conflicts, regardless of origin. The pandemic has magnified these dynamics, particularly the challenges of sharing the same spaces for extended periods. What is the minimum square footage allowed in Latin American countries? Is this area truly sufficient?
In Latin American countries, the most common method for distinguishing rural areas from urban spaces is based on analyzing the number of residents in a given zone, classifying as "rural" any locality with a population under 2,000. In these contexts, low density and scattered development typically allow the natural landscape to predominate over the built environment.
La serie titulada Agua, minería y éxodo forma parte de una investigación visual llevada adelante por el fotógrafo Marcos Zegers que explora las tensiones culturales y las alteraciones territoriales derivadas de las actividades mineras y extractivas en el desierto de Atacama.
Bamboo is a building material that has been used since antiquity in various structures, demonstrating its superiority over modern materials like plastic and steel due to its myriad benefits—not to mention an incomparable aesthetic appeal that has positioned it as one of today's leading architectural trends.
The Belo Monte Hydroelectric Power Plant, the fourth largest hydroelectric plant in the world and 100% Brazilian-owned, was inaugurated in November 2019 in the Xingu River basin, in northern Pará. The project, operated by the Norte Energia S.A. Consortium, was part of the PAC (Growth Acceleration Program)—a federal government initiative established in 2007 aimed at implementing large infrastructure projects to boost national development, mirroring past initiatives.
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.
The state of Puebla is located in the central highlands of Mexico, bordering the states of Tlaxcala, Hidalgo, Veracruz, Oaxaca, Guerrero, Morelos, and the State of Mexico. Covering an area of 34,251 km², it is one of the country's most densely populated states. Its capital is Puebla de Zaragoza, and it is one of the leading landlocked states for tourism, featuring 9 "Pueblos Mágicos" (Magical Towns) and 3 UNESCO World Heritage Sites.
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.
