Designing a bathroom requires careful attention to detail to remain beautiful and organized. The amount of hygiene and health products typically stored in this environment requires functional cabinets and other strategies. Increasingly, we see the solution of using niches to create a recess in the wall. This allows optimizing the available space and, as a bonus, makes the environment more aesthetically pleasing. That's why we bring you some examples of bathroom niches and tips for their installation. In addition, we bring you other examples beyond traditional soap dishes.
Biophilia, or love for life and nature, inspires architects around the world to create spaces that deeply connect with natural elements. These architectural projects seek to reintroduce nature into built environments, resulting in spaces that promote well-being, health, inspiration, and even productivity. In Brazil, the possibilities are even broader, given the country's exuberant climate and the vegetation found in various biomes. In this article, we will explore seven projects from different programs that embrace this concept and allow for a symbiosis between architecture, humans, and nature.
The Escuela Guaraní Mbya, designed by the Brazilian firm Studio Guimarães Rosa, was selected as a finalist in the 5th edition of the Prêmio Félix Candela, one of Mexico's premier design competitions. The contest centered on the concept of the "man of maize"—the human returning to the land. The firm proposed a rural school that equips people to return to the countryside. The guiding question for the designers was: how to return without destroying? Their answer was to learn from Indigenous peoples.
https://www.archdaily.com/1136033/brazilian-firm-is-a-finalist-in-the-5th-felix-candela-award-with-a-rural-school-project-based-on-indigenous-knowledgeArchDaily Team
The Triennale Milano and Fondation Cartier pour l'art contemporain present the exhibition Siamo Foresta, inaugurated in June and open until October 29, 2023. Curated by Bruce Albert and Hervé Chandès, the exhibition features works by 27 artists from different countries and cultures, mainly from Latin America and indigenous communities.
The exhibition is the result of a partnership between the two institutions — which has already produced six projects over eight years — and seeks to reach diverse audiences and promote artists from different geographical contexts. Designed by Brazilian artist Luiz Zerbini, the exhibition highlights the importance of the forest as a central theme and provides an emotional connection between the works.
https://www.archdaily.com/1003303/siamo-foresta-exhibition-at-the-milan-triennale-addresses-the-future-of-the-planet-through-indigenous-artistic-perspectivesArchDaily Team
Foodscapes: Spain's Pavilion for the Venice Architecture Biennale 2023, curated by Manuel Ocaña and Eduardo Castillo-Vinuesa, explores the Spanish agro-architectural context to address global issues. It analyzes the past and present of food systems and the architectures that construct them, in order to look towards the future and question other possible models that are capable of feeding the world without devouring the planet.
https://www.archdaily.com/1003304/foodscapes-a-journey-into-the-architectures-that-feed-the-worldArchDaily Team
The 18th International Architecture Exhibition of the Venice Biennale, inaugurated on May 20th, is truly embodying its theme: "The laboratory of the future". Presented by the main curator Lesley Lokko, it invited "architects and professionals from an expanded field of creative disciplines to draw examples from their contemporary practices that would pave a path for the audience to move forward, imagining for themselves what the future may hold."
The Chilean pavilion, curated by Gonzalo Carrasco, and Alejandro Beals, as well as Loreto Lyon (Beals Lyon Arquitectos), was centered on "Moving Ecologies." The exhibition presented the current challenges regarding ecological repair and restoration, focusing on the study of soil recovery processes using endemic seeds.
https://www.archdaily.com/1003230/moving-ecologies-the-future-will-not-only-be-built-but-also-sown-and-plantedArchDaily Team
With an academic background in biological sciences, psychology, environmental engineering, and energy management, Salvador Rueda speaks with ArchDaily in Costa Rica about sustainable mobility, urban planning, and the implementation of superblocks in Barcelona.
https://www.archdaily.com/1136533/salvador-rueda-in-the-city-the-public-and-the-private-must-work-togetherArchDaily Team
We are about to enter the coldest season of the year in the Southern Hemisphere: winter. When considering how to heat a home, one of the first solutions that comes to mind is the fireplace. After all, the fire brings warmth and provides a cozy gathering space. In addition, its design and placement can be key to the spatial composition of a room.
Colors directly influence space perception. Through them, it is possible to stimulate the user's mood - making the environment calmer or more dynamic - and also change our perception of space without changing a centimeter of any wall. Dealing with them is not always easy. In a time when we want rooms with more personality (or more "instagrammable"), learning to compose with different shades and textures is essential.
Environments that inspire, promote well-being and stimulate a connection with nature. Biophilic landscaping in education spaces recognizes the importance of this bond for student development, as it benefits well-being, academic performance, and people's health. We have selected eight projects that bring natural elements to the classroom or that place students directly in nature to illustrate the qualities in these spaces.
Courtesy of Recife Street Design Manual; graphic design by Bicho Coletivo.
The Recife Street Design Manual (MDR) emerges as a significant milestone in the city's urban mobility planning and design, focusing on active and collective modes of transportation. Developed as an integral part of the Recife Mobility Plan, which was approved in 2021, it represents an innovative approach to street circulation, establishing new design parameters that benefit all users. With its goal of promoting broad, safe, efficient, sustainable, resilient, and democratic access to the city, the manual seeks to transform how we think about and design streets.
https://www.archdaily.com/1136298/recife-street-design-manual-inclusive-and-sustainable-guidelines-for-allArchDaily Team
When designing buildings, attention often focuses on residential units, prioritizing apartment comfort and functionality. However, it is equally important to consider common areas, which play a fundamental role in residents' quality of life and in building a community that shares the same space. In addition to their social benefits, these communal spaces can also play a significant role in promoting sustainability and user well-being. After all, the integration of green areas and spaces dedicated to leisure and sports reduces stress and provides new activities for residents.
Old and compartmentalized plants, small openings, and lower floors receive scarce natural light. Improving natural lighting in an apartment can be challenging. However, some strategies can help maximize light entry into interiors and bring benefits such as comfort, spaciousness, well-being, and energy savings.
Buildings consume natural resources. Whether in their construction or during their operation, architecture can have a significant impact on the environment. Promoting sustainable practices to minimize energy, water, and material consumption is essential to reduce carbon emissions and help mitigate the climate crisis. With the ongoing debate surrounding sustainability, environmental consciousness has not only become vital, but it has also started to add value to properties built with this focus. Therefore, moving beyond mere greenwashing, we must look for solutions that make a real difference.
Social Housing is a principal element for a more democratic city. These housing structures provide decent dwellings for all citizens in urban areas and connect them to the rest of the city and its services.
Unfortunately, in many countries, the term "Social Housing" still has a negative connotation. It is often seen as a project that seeks to build the largest number of units with cheap materials, and little-to-no concern for the quality of life of its residents. Often times, it is designed for monetary reasons, as opposed to a project that serves the city and its people. Although this fact is recurrent, there are several examples that portray the opposite, in which architects manifest their political point of view through exceptional projects with innovative solutions that improve the urban experience.
Preserve, disseminate, and create cultural expressions. When we visit museums, galleries, libraries, and various cultural centers, we understand other worldviews. This is how we broaden our subjectivity and empathy and gain new knowledge. In Portugal, a country with a millennial history that crosses various cultural layers, from food to the arts, there is constant investment in equipment that helps share and reinforce its past and present. And, as expected, architecture is fundamental to lace these narratives.
At our offices in Zurich, Berlin, Milan, Santiago de Chile, and Mexico City, DAAily platforms comprise a team of around 200 architects, designers, sales experts, communications specialists, and IT experts.
As inspiring and valuable curated platforms for the architecture and design community, Designboom, Architonic, and ArchDaily share combined online traffic of in excess of 270 million visits per year. Moreover, as one entity, DAAily platforms share a common mission: to empower everyone who makes architecture and design happen to create a better quality of life.
https://www.archdaily.com/1001548/account-management-supporter-opportunity-for-an-architectArchDaily Team
Architecture reconciles the sense of belonging and dignity of space. In addition to designing residential or cultural facilities, addressing public space in communities that inhabit vulnerable areas is also urgent and necessary to provide a dignified infrastructure that provides quality of life for the population. Therefore, we have gathered seven interventions in marginalized territories that show the potential for transformation from the space itself.
