Romullo Baratto is an architect with a PhD from FAUUSP and Managing Editor of ArchDaily. He previously coordinated the editorial team of the 11th São Paulo Architecture Biennial and served as Managing Editor of ArchDaily Brasil, where he led the platform to win the FNA Award—the first time the honor was granted to a media outlet. He collaborated on the editing of the book "Concrete Jungle", published by gestalten, and has curated architecture exhibitions in Brazil, Chile, Denmark, and Italy, as well as delivered lectures and moderated debates in Spain, the United States, and Portugal. His doctoral thesis investigates the urban landscapes of São Paulo through cinema. His work spans academic research and editorial practice, communicating architecture through texts, interviews, lectures, curatorship, and photography. Follow him on Instagram @romullobf.
The Lisbon Architecture Triennale has revealed the five finalists for the 2025 Millennium bcp Début Award, celebrating emerging practices that are redefining the role of architecture across diverse geographies and realities. Spanning three continents, these studios will present their work during the opening days of the Triennale (October 2–4, 2025), in a public event where the winner will be announced.
Sixteen years ago, we launched the ArchDaily Building of the Year Awards with a simple yet powerful idea: to let our readers choose their favorite buildings from our ever-growing library of projects. Thanks to your engagement, this award has grown into one of the most democratic and influential recognitions in architecture. Year after year, your collective insight has highlighted architectural excellence across cultures, economies, and landscapes worldwide.
This year was no exception. The 75 finalists have already showcased an outstanding range of spatial solutions, reflecting the power of collective intelligence in crafting a snapshot of today's most compelling architecture. Now, it's time to unveil the winners.
Rio de Janeiro, often called the "Marvelous City," is a vibrant tapestry woven from diverse cultural, historical, and social threads. Its story begins with the indigenous Tupi, Puri, Botocudo, and Maxakalí peoples who originally inhabited the region. The city's name, translating to "River of January," originates from Portuguese explorers who arrived at Guanabara Bay on January 1, 1502, mistakenly believing it to be the mouth of a river.
After two weeks of open voting in the 16th edition of the Building of the Year Awards, our readers have meticulously narrowed down a pool of almost 4,000 projects to a select group of 75 finalists spanning 15 categories. This year's awards honor the pinnacle of design, innovation, and sustainability on a global scale, showcasing an exceptional range of projects within the shortlist. As a crowdsourced award, we take pride in affirming that your selections authentically mirror the current state of architecture, and the caliber of this year's finalists further underscores the excellence and diversity prevalent in the field.
Architecture has long been framed as the work of singular visionaries, yet Beatriz Colomina, a leading theorist, historian, and curator, challenges this notion, arguing that architecture is inherently a collaborative endeavor. She critically examines how the myth of the lone genius—almost always depicted as male—has erased the contributions of countless women and entire teams involved in the design process. For Colomina, rethinking architecture means recognizing the complexities of collective work and dismantling the historical biases that have shaped the discipline's narratives.
A journey through the legacy of Eileen Gray and her most famous house in the French Riviera, "E.1027 – Eileen Gray and the House by the Sea," by directors Beatrice Minger and Christoph Schaub, invites viewers into the layered legacy of the pioneering Irish architect and her unique vision of modernism. Designed in the late 1920s, the villa not only embodies Gray's architectural genius but also bears the shadow of an uneasy narrative involving Le Corbusier and Jean Badovici. Through their docufiction, Minger and Schaub illuminate Gray's groundbreaking work and critique the prevailing narratives of male dominance in modernist history.
The residents of the historic city of Congonhas (MG) are invited to plan their future and participate in the development of the National Urban Development Policy through the Municipal Conference of Cities, scheduled for Saturday, June 29, at the City Council.
Designed to welcome input from different sectors of Congonhas' society, the Municipal Conference will address solutions to make the city even more inclusive, democratic, sustainable, and socially just.
"Every time I describe a city I am saying something about Venice”, said Marco Polo to Kublai Khan in Italo Calvino’s seminal book, Invisible Cities. Once the heart of a powerful maritime republic, Venice indeed houses many cities inside its intricate network of canals, alleys, bridges, and squares. Renowned for its unique architectural beauty, Renaissance history, and cultural significance — and, of course, for being built in the middle of the water — over the past decades, Venice has become one of the most notable victims of overtourism, receiving an estimated 30 million visitors per year.
The figures are astonishing, far outnumbering the 50,000 residents that call Venice home — 120,000 less than its population in the early 1950s, when city dwellers started to drive away, bothered by the permanent noise and overcrowded walkways.
“The human invention par excellence.” This is how French sociologist Claude Lévi-Strauss described the city back in the first half of the 20th century. Although his idea can be seen as outdated by more recent narratives, one cannot deny that cities exist because of human action in the landscape. In that sense, Tokyo is perhaps the “most human” expression one can find, as its metropolitan population of 37 million people assures it the top spot among the world’s biggest cities.
As part of our yearly tradition, we have asked our readers who should win the 2024 Pritzker Prize, the most esteemed accolade in the realm of architecture.
Established by Jay Pritzker and administered by the Hyatt Foundation in the United States, the Pritzker Prize honors living architects, irrespective of nationality, whose architectural contributions "have produced consistent and significant contributions to humanity through the art of architecture."
No País dos Arquitectos is a podcast created by Sara Nunes, who is also responsible for the architectural film production company Building Pictures. The podcast aims to get to know the professionals, projects, and stories behind leading contemporary Portuguese architecture. With just over 10 million inhabitants, Portugal is a highly intriguing country when it comes to this professional field, and its architectural output far outstrips its population or territorial scale.
In this episode of the sixth season, Sara talks with architect Helena Roseta about the future of housing. Listen to the conversation and read part of the interview below.
Born in Brazil and educated in Paraguay, Gloria Cabral is an architect who early on learned that home can be many places—or none at all. Guided by a comprehensive understanding of the geography, culture, and social conditions of the places she designs, she has left her mark on buildings and artistic installations constructed in various locations, from Asunción to Venice.
Besides her interest in the specificities of the places where she operates, Gloria focuses on resource economy and material reuse — a trending theme that Gloria has championed for over fifteen years. We had the opportunity to speak with the architect about her experiences in Paraguay and Brazil, some of her works involving recycled brick, and her insights into architecture and sustainability.
No País dos Arquitectos is a podcast created by Sara Nunes, who is also responsible for the architectural film production company Building Pictures. The podcast aims to profile the professionals, projects, and stories behind leading contemporary Portuguese architecture. With just over 10 million inhabitants, Portugal is a fascinating country regarding this professional field, and its architectural output punches far above its population or territorial scale.
In this episode of the sixth season, Sara talks with architects Susana Leite and Luís Barbosa e Silva, from the firm Arquitectos Aliados, about the design for the Hotel Apartamento e Sala Espetáculos - M.OU.CO. Listen to the conversation and read an excerpt of the interview below.
No País dos Arquitectos is a podcast created by Sara Nunes, who also heads the architectural film production company Building Pictures. The podcast aims to profile the professionals, projects, and stories behind leading contemporary Portuguese architecture. With just over 10 million inhabitants, Portugal is a highly fascinating country within this professional field, and its architectural output punches far outstrips what its population or territorial scale might suggest.
In this episode of the sixth season, Sara talks with architects Matilde Cabral and Francisco Adão da Fonseca, from the firm Pedrêz, about the studio's experimental practice. Listen to the conversation and read an excerpt of the interview below.
In a moment in history when some seek alternatives on other planets and others find refuge in virtual worlds, paradoxically, the future seems to be Earth. This may be one of the significant lessons that 2023 has taught architecture. Understanding this also implies becoming aware that our planet is depleting before our eyes—and a generous portion of this responsibility belongs to the production chains involved in architecture and construction.
If there is still something that can be done to mitigate the climate and environmental crisis in which we find ourselves, it will necessarily involve a revision of all the paradigms that define the industry. It is necessary to change focus and seek other narratives on which to sustain the ways of making architecture on a planetary scale. These ideas resonated in many voices this year, and, at the same time as the possibility of a future for the planet was debated, equal attention was given to the scale, values, and local cultures. The selected interviews here tell stories about the community, environment, cities, practices, and new narratives for architecture in 2023 and beyond.
As tragic as they may be, crises often foster adaptability and resilience. In architecture, they challenge professionals to adapt their production to smaller and less frequent orders. That is the case of Diogo Aguiar Studio, a Portuguese studio based in Porto founded in 2016, in the recovery from a profound economic crisis, which, since its emergence, has been forced to reinvent ways of operating within the field of architecture.
Interested in varied scales and typologies, the studio works between the fields of architecture and art, carrying out small-scale architectural projects and spatial installations, temporary or not, for public spaces. Formed by Diogo Aguiar, Daniel Mudrák, Adalgisa Lopes, João Teixeira, Cláudia Ricciuti, and Marta Bednarczyk, the studio bases its practice on the belief that "there are no small projects and, above all, that there are no smaller projects." The ability to respond inventively to diverse demands and contexts earned the studio a place on ArchDaily's 2023 Best New Practices list.
Architect, researcher, and architectural theorist Anthony Vidler passed away last night, on October 20, 2023, at the age of 82, according to Princeton University School of Architecture. Vidler had a distinguished career at the prestigious institution, where he served as the inaugural director of the Doctoral Program in History and Theory. His passion for architecture, nurtured in Essex, England, led him to earn both an undergraduate and a master's degree in architecture at the University of Cambridge. Later, he obtained a doctorate in Architectural History and Theory from Delft University of Technology. His influential career spanned over 50 years, leaving a profound impact on architectural research and education.
Ailton Krenak is a renowned environmentalist, philosopher, writer, and poet who holds honorary doctorates from the Federal University of Minas Gerais and the Federal University of Juiz de Fora. As an Indigenous leader, he played a pivotal role in advocating for Indigenous Rights, which were eventually enshrined in the 1988 Constitution of Brazil. His profound ideas have been disseminated through lectures, educational courses, and books, including notable works such as Ideas to Postpone the End of the World, Life is not Useful, and Ancestral Future.
Krenak has a unique talent for transforming his life experiences into profound concepts, which he conveys through oral and poetic language. His worldview blurs the boundaries between landscapes, human beings, animals, rivers, and mountains. He strongly advocates for a reassessment of our lifestyle, emphasizing the importance of 'breaking up the ground to allow the channeled waters to resurface.' On September 5th, he participated in a discussion in São Paulo during the Archtrends Summit 2023, organized by Portobello. During this event, he shared his insights on topics such as cities, forests, and the future of our planet.
