Call to Architects: RSA Annual Exhibition 2024

For architects, planners and designers, cities have turned into testing canvases for solutions that lead to both short and long-term changes. The paradigm shift in the built environment switches the narrative of how the public realm approaches complex challenges related to climate, urban sprawl, mobility, housing, among others.
The goal of this competition is to experiment with site-specific case studies that can work as open laboratories to test novel approaches on urban transformation. Participants have complete freedom to outline the program, the overall output and the extents of their proposal. Likewise, the size and complexity of the intervention will be defined by each team according to the needs of that specific neighbourhood, plot, city or community.

𝐈𝐧 𝐚 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐥𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐜𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐛𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐬 𝐝𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐲, 𝐥𝐞𝐭 𝐮𝐬 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐢𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐥𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐯𝐢𝐭𝐲!

Traces the evolution of midcentury houses and demonstrates how they are experienced and lived in today

Artists and designers have recorded places, people, and life in drawings and sketchbooks for centuries. Over the past fifty years, Laurie Olin, one of America’s most distinguished landscape architects, has recorded aspects of life and the environment in Italy: its cities and countryside, streets and cafes, ancient ruins, art, architecture, people, villas, and gardens—civic and domestic, humble to grand, things of interest to his designer’s eye— taking the time to see carefully. Rome in its seasons, agriculture in Umbria and Tuscany, trees, food, and fountains, all are noted over the years in watercolor or pen and ink. Originally made in the personal pleasure of merely being there as well as self-education, this selection from many sketchbooks and drawings is accompanied with introductory notes and remarks for different regions including Rome, Turin, Venice, Tuscany, Umbria, Lazio, Campania, and Sicily.

Our buildings become symbolic of the times we live in, reflecting the spirit of a given era, attending to different needs, lifestyles and functions. “Architecture should speak of its time and place, but yearn for timelessness,” says one of the most prominent architects of our time, Frank Gehry. For architectural innovators, exploring new technological potentials and envisioning ways to enrich people’s lives have long been driving forces, shaping responses to contemporary challenges. Today, sustainability stands as a key challenge, adding new dimensions to the debate, bringing together form, function, the responsible choice of materials and long-term thinking. Adapting to these demands has never held more significance.

Attention art and design lovers! The DesignTO Festival returns January 19-28, 2024! Celebrate art and design online and in-person at venues across Toronto.

The Arq.Futuro Cities Laboratory launches a course on housing policies in Brazil

Labi is proud to announce the launch of our second ideas competition for the Bixiga Park and Zé Celso Theater School, located in the Bixiga neighborhood of São Paulo.

With the goal of disseminating knowledge about walkability and inspiring other cities and public administrations, the Instituto Caminhabilidade is launching three mini web documentaries and a three-part podcast series detailing the winning projects of the 2023 Walkable City Award: Rua da Gente, in the municipality of Benevides, Pará; the Novo Horizonte and Region Neighborhood Plan, in the municipality of Jundiaí, São Paulo; and the Infrastructure in Education and Sanitation Program (Proinfra) in Fortaleza, the capital of Ceará.

The Minergie basic course offers the opportunity to understand the building as an interdisciplinary project and to navigate the comprehensive certification process, from planning through execution to building operation.

This week, the Lisbon Architecture Triennale will be hosting the first Annual Summit of Open House Europe, an international cooperation project co-funded by the European Union. The summit will feature a public programme on December 15–16 related to this year’s theme, Building Futures Together, focusing on sustainable practices in our built environment.

The rendez-vous of International interior designers and décoration editors

Pivot door design has evolved significantly in the past years, skillfully uniting design innovation and precision engineering to create a new type of door. In light of this, FritsJurgens' Best Pivot Door Contest awards the best designs in the field, which has just wrapped up its 2023 edition. With over 130 submissions worldwide and an esteemed jury panel, the following winners have been selected.

Vila Plural, the country's first creative entertainment hub, is hosting its first Belca Collage Art Workshop on Thursday, December 14, from 6:00 PM to 9:00 PM. Tickets are R$350.00 and are available for purchase on the Sympla platform. The activity is an immersive, hands-on experience led by the artist, with a focus on each participant's creative journey and personal interpretation of art.

Videos

At the center of the new edition of the biennale svizzera del territorio (October 4th and 5th, 2024), to promote its participatory spirit, have been launched two important calls:

Young architects and designers are invited to submit work to the 2024 Architectural League Prize competition. Projects of all types, either theoretical or real, and executed in any medium, are welcome. The jury will select work for presentation in lectures, digital media, and an exhibition in June 2024. Winners will receive a cash prize of $2,000.

The MICROHOME Kingspan Edition invites participants to conceptualize an off-grid modular dwelling that would accommodate a hypothetical young professional couple. This scenario serves as the benchmark family size for the competition. The total floor area of the structure should not exceed 25 m2, thereby encouraging participants to push their creativity and innovate within these parameters.