In Her, a 2013 film directed by Spike Jonze, a lonely writer develops a love affair with the virtual assistant of an operating system. Brave New World, a book written in 1932 by the English author Aldous Huxley, fabricates a dystopian society whose cult of efficiency and rationality creates a humanity that ignores hardship and pain but also represses love and freedom. In Mary Shelley's 1818 book Frankenstein, considered the first science fiction novel, a life is artificially created, producing a monster with human characteristics: wills, wishes, and fears. Whether describing the fear of artificial intelligence, the uncertainty produced by industrialization, or the limits of science, science fiction works reveal less about the future and much more about the moment in which they were created; they speak of the fears and hopes of their own time.

When we explore urban visions of the past anticipating the future, it is common to find exaggerated and even funny predictions. As for the promises of architecture and, consequently, of our cities, it is not an easy task to predict future developments clearly either. By looking at industry trends and using all of our imaginations, could we tell what cities will be like in tens or hundreds of years? Their materials, their appearance, their way of building and thinking? Will it be a more pristine and minimalist future or a more organic and complex future? How will new technologies and building materials affect the shape, aesthetics, and prosperity of the cities of tomorrow?

It is difficult to start any retrospective text on 2020 without sounding too cliché. While facing an invisible enemy that changed everyone’s lives, this past year has taught us that humanity is more fragile than we ever imagined. At Archdaily, it’s our job to synthesize how the buildings and the world we live in will be impacted by COVID-19 not only in the short term but in the distant future as well. Has our perception of the built environment changed this year? And has our relationship with the tectonics of buildings changed with all of the obstacles we’ve faced along the way?

"When I think about design in general, a story of families always comes to mind, especially in furniture design. Stories of people and families". Flexform has spoken with Antonio Citterio, Italian architect and designer, to delve into the design concepts that shape their 2020 Collection. Learn more here.

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Hydraulic tiles are tiles produced entirely by hand with cement-based raw materials. Created in the mid-1800s in Spain, and widely used in Europe and America, it is a versatile option that can not only be applied in public areas, such as squares and sidewalks, but also interiors, including floors, walls, and furniture. Their versatility stems from the fact that they are highly customizable, from their colors and patterns to their geometry and dimensions. Read below a mostly technical explanation of these tiles, their manufacture, and their installation.

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A lightweight material par excellence, zinc is a non-ferrous metal that provides an effective solution for coating buildings exposed to adverse weather conditions, while simultaneously delivering a creative response to the requirements of a project.

If you don't like a specific musical style, the theater bores you, or you're not attracted to works of art, you can almost always avoid them. Architecture, however, is different. A poorly thought-out project will affect the lives of many people consistently and for a long time. With interiors, this effect is even more amplified. Humanity is spending more and more time indoors, which directly impacts our well-being and health. In periods of compulsory retirement, as in the current pandemic of Covid-19, we gain a sense of how important interior spaces are for our well-being and even for the prevention of diseases. Designing an indoor environment is a huge responsibility for a professional. An interior designer must plan, research, coordinate, and manage these projects to obtain an adequately healthy and aesthetically pleasing environment for the people who use the space. But what, in fact, is interior design?

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Wood is a very easy-to-work material, allowing professional and amateur builders to manufacture simple objects and structures without major problems. However, when thinking about larger-scale housing or buildings, it's important to take certain precautions that ensure good quality and good construction behavior. To this end, it's essential to evaluate every project and analyze which connection system best suits its structural and aesthetic needs.

We spoke with the experts of Simpson Strong Tie, a leading company in structural connectors, anchors, and fastening systems, to learn more about these topics. Here are six important lessons and tips for building safer and more resistant wooden houses and buildings.

Materials, products, and construction systems are constantly evolving and following new technologies, discoveries, and market trends. Today, within the framework of our Monthly Topic “Innovation” we wonder: what products or materials could we use so that our projects make relevant contributions to the way we are inhabiting our planet?

Translucent facades are light glazing panels used on the exterior of buildings, protecting the structure from weather damage, dampness, and erosion. Its composition of polycarbonate microcells creates a soft, naturally diffused light with a wide range of possible colors, brightnesses, and opacities.

Open ceilings offer an opportunity for creative design and technical integration. They play a key role in forming interior spaces and add value by adding comfort through acoustics, finishes and other integrated solutions to the overall design intent. 

Once the construction of an architecture project is finished, it's time to install the claddings that will make up the visible faces of the interior spaces. Wallpaper –an efficient way to bring color and design into rooms – is generally specified according to the square meters we want to cover, so we must start by calculating the area of each surface with great precision.

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Funded by Norman Foster in 1967, Foster+Partners studio develops projects that integrate architecture and engineering with interior and object design. In a special collaboration with Porcelanosa – experts in the fabrication of furniture and accessories made out of stone, ceramic, brass, wood and KRION®–, they have designed a collection of bathrooms in simple and minimalistic ways, highlighting the essence of the materials and the trade of their fabrication.

The collection has been branded as TONO and its objects can be mixed and adapt to diverse typologies, from residential interiors to commercial spaces and offices.

Initially created for aerospace purposes, materials based on advanced fiber-reinforced thermoset technology are increasingly being considered not only to manufacture specific building elements but also to change the way buildings are conceived, designed and built. Despite being incredibly resistant –almost six times stronger than steel– fiber-reinforced materials are light and easy to handle, allowing the creation of complexly shaped but efficient architectural projects.

The ventilated façade is a construction solution that uses a double enclosure distanced from each other by a support structure to generate an air chamber for ventilation. This operation creates a chimney effect that activates air currents by convection, improving the acoustic and thermal insulation of the building, and increasing its energy efficiency.

Expanded polystyrene (EPS) is a plastic material widely used for thermal insulation (and in some cases, acoustics) in building envelopes.

Nowadays, new technologies for the treatment of glass provide new ways to use this material in architecture. Applied indoors, specifically in retail stores, glass in its different textures, colors, finishes and levels of transparency can allow the unobstructed view of certain products, hide more private areas without blocking the passage of light, and attract the attention of customers as focal points, among many other uses.

Review below a selection of applications in commercial projects.

Materials, products, and construction systems are constantly evolving and following new technologies, discoveries, and market trends. The question is: are we, as architects, evolving with them? We have heard about robots working on construction sites, responsive and intelligent materials and the continued rise of 3D printing, but is it all white noise at the moment of starting a new design? More importantly, could these new systems continue to progress without sensitively and effectively taking people's quality of life into account?

In any successful architectural project, it is essential to provide users with a comfortable outdoor space. At any time of the year, modular shade structures can create spaces that protect from wind, dust, sun, rain, snow, and noise in a light, flexible and aesthetically pleasing way.