In today’s chaotic world, simplicity grows virtuous. As an operational directive, simplicity forces the pursuit of the essential, where what matters is retained and what doesn’t is tossed overboard. Simplicity is at once classic and trending; ambitious and naive; utopian and pragmatic. A decade after 2008, the feeling is baked into current trends of austerity, with economic realities influencing aesthetics and ethics within architecture in deep ways. The value of simplicity lies not just in the luxury of a representational project, but more powerfully in methods of practice—in understandings of how architects make decisions in realizing their work. Simplicity in communication matters, as related professionals require information, clients want to know what they’re paying for, and various publics are curious about what architects do. Lately, simplicity is a conceptual survival tactic: A sharable, legible understanding of a piece of architecture, even as image, is needed if it is to endure in our fast-paced, media-soaked environment. PLAT suspects that this conciseness leaves work open for continued engagement, and that simplicity is not the opposite of complexity, but instead exists as its complement: Complexity is built out of simplicities, and vice versa.

The Asian city grows denser by the day.

Green projects — defined as new, restored, rehabilitated or converted — must be completed before 31st December 2018.

What will Glasgow be like in 150 years?

The Ken Roberts Memorial Delineation Competition (KRob) has celebrated the best in architectural delineation for 44 years. A Dallas classic that has received international recognition, KRob honors hand and digital delineation by professionals and students throughout the world. Averaging over 400 entries from 25 countries in the past several years, the competition’s visibility continues to grow.

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The City of Poznań invites to participate in an open international architectural competition on development of architectural conception for seat of the Musical Theatre in Poznan.

The BCI Asia Interior Design Awards seeks to recognise great interior architectural designs that stand out aesthetically, functionally and ergonomically.

The City of Philadelphia’s Department of Public Property is requesting qualifications for the redesign of the Municipal Services Building’s Paine Plaza.

The 9th annual IIDA Global Excellence Awards honor and celebrate outstanding originality and excellence in the creation of international Interior Design/ Interior Architecture projects in 15 categories.

In the spirit of Virgil Abloh we put quotation marks around the word "vernacular." Then we replace the word with a blank and ask you to fill it in. What do they build with where you're from? What do indigenous houses look like? What methods do they prefer and who actually uses them? This issue of Paprika!, a weekly journal at the Yale School of Architecture, will probe the architectural vernacular, a concept increasingly in vogue but equally undefined.

ITSLIQUID International Contest - 6th Edition 2018

This exhibition celebrates The Irwin S. Chanin School of Architecture's experimental and influential pedagogy by presenting undergraduate Thesis projects completed at the school over the past 50 years.

The design and construction community is revolutionizing the way we think about wood in construction. Growing pressure to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, coupled with a desire for aesthetically appealing designs, have resulted in a wood momentum that is being celebrated by architects and engineers around the world.

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Are architects really turning to real-time rendering for visualization? Epic Games, the creators of Unreal Engine, decided to find out with an independent survey.

The results confirmed what many of us have suspected—real-time rendering is on the rise in architecture, media and entertainment, and manufacturing. But the survey also revealed a few surprising details about real-time rendering and its uses.

Terrazzo flooring, with its mosaic style of pieces of marble or granite set in polished concrete or epoxy resin, is known for its flexibility and remarkable durability. So it’s no wonder the method has been around for centuries.

With proper care during installation and use, it’s also possible for terrazzo floors to last a number of decades. “There are terrazzo floors that were installed in the early 1900s that are still nice looking jobs,” says James Bateman, terrazzo division manager of Terrazzo & Marble Supply Companies. Indeed, the style is known to some as ‘forever floors,’ a nod to its history and longevity.

Sofia Municipality announces an open competition for the restoration, renovation and construction of Sveta Nedelya Square and its adjacent public spaces, aiming to create a network of public spaces while preserving their identity.

Dedicated to advancing education by conducting research regarding architecture and design within the urban environment, Calgary’s Design Talks Institute (d.talks) has launched a ‘Call for Ideas’ to ‘improve the human aspect of mobility’ as part of the d.talks ‘2018 Movement’ program. The 2018 Movement Call for Ideas seeks ideas on the human connection to place. Using the new Green Line Light Rail Transit (LRT) project in Calgary as a platform for new ideas, the call aims to rethink the present and future of transportation.

SPACE10 and Urgent.Agency present IMAGINE, a publication and podcast exploring the brave new world of shared living. To celebrate the release, we’re launching IMAGINE at Co-Liv—the world’s first international co-living conference, taking place in Paris in mid-October.