The São Paulo Association of Art Critics (APCA) announced yesterday the list of winners for the 2019 APCA Award. The awards are divided into ten categories, encompassing architecture, visual arts, cinema, literature, fashion, popular music, radio, theater, children's theater, and television.

Since 2010, APCA has included architecture critics, who this year presented seven awards: best architectural work; environmental resistance; promotion of architecture in public debate; appreciation of architectural heritage; career dedicated to public university and academic research; urbanity; and urban appropriation.

On display through December 8 at CCSP, the 12th International Architecture Biennale of São Paulo is organized by the IAB - São Paulo Department. This Saturday, December 7, the institute marks the close of this edition with discussions on the outlook for the new management cycle. The event takes place at the IABsp headquarters and is free of charge.

Growing concern over the use of natural resources in architecture has drawn increasing attention from professionals and researchers, pointing toward a future where architects must not only design but also facilitate the decommissioning and recycling of buildings. Against this backdrop, raising awareness about water waste on construction sites has become a major priority—an issue addressed in a recently launched guide by the São Paulo State Construction Industry Association (SindusCon-SP), Caixa Econômica Federal, and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).

Artist Patrícia Golombek celebrates some of the most iconic pillars of modern Brazilian architecture in her series of acrylic on canvas paintings titled Brazilian Columns of the 20th Century, on display at the Espace Meyer-Zafra gallery as part of Art Miami.

The safety app Malalai, created by architect and urban planner Priscila Gama to make cities and various modes of transportation safer for women, was the main honoree of the GOL Novos Tempos award. The award celebrates initiatives aimed at democratizing mobility.

Lina Bo Bardi (December 4, 1914 – March 20, 1992) was one of the most important and expressive architects of 20th century Brazilian architecture. Born in Italy as Lina Achillina Bo, she studied architecture at the University of Rome, moving to Milan after graduation. In Milan, Bo Bardi collaborated with Gio Ponti, and later become editor of the magazine Quiaderni di Domus.

With her office destroyed in World War II Bo Bardi, along with Bruno Zevi, founded the publication A Cultura della Vita. As a member of the Italian Communist Party, she met the critic and art historian Pietro Maria Bardi, with whom she would move permanently to Brazil.

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The Tomie Ohtake Institute has announced the 15 projects selected for the 2nd Tomie Ohtake Institute Leroy Merlin Design Award. This edition's theme, CIRCULAR, prompted proposals and discussions on the word as a form, and as a synonym for displacement, movement, communication, exchange, renewal, and sustainability, among other interpretations.

The Institute of Architects of Brazil - São Paulo Department has announced the winners of the IABsp 2019 Awards. Divided into 17 categories that cover social housing, commercial and cultural projects, urban design, and restoration—both built and unbuilt—as well as publications, photography, ephemeral architecture, and student projects, the IABsp 2019 Awards aim to identify the advancements and challenges in contemporary national architecture and urbanism. The initiative recognizes ingenious and significant proposals, particularly those that effectively contribute to the development of technique, knowledge, and the built environment in dialogue with nature, society, economy, and culture.

The broad scope of the term Right to the City can make it difficult to grasp, as its complexity demands a broader perspective on urban issues, going beyond the scope of architecture to necessarily encompass social, historical, cultural, economic, political, gender, and racial aspects. The overlapping of these—and several other—variables within the urban landscape can serve as the starting point for understanding the notion of the right to the city.

The magazine Solidarity Housing Production: An International Overview was launched on Monday, November 25, at the opening of the National Seminar on Technical Assistance for Social Interest Housing. The publication compiles the main contributions from the event of the same name, held in July 2018. Organized by architects and urban planners Luciana Ximenes and Thais Velasco, the magazine was produced by CAU/RJ and the Observatório das Metrópoles (Ippur/UFRJ).

The Federal Senate has made a free e-book on the design of sustainable public buildings available on its official website. Written by Mário Hermes Stanziona Viggiano, the book presents a cultural, economic, environmental, and architectural approach to the conception and design of public-use buildings.

The Brazilian student team, comprising Luiza de Souza Santos, Marcus Barbosa, and Gabriel Thomé de Oliveira from UFMG, was awarded an honorable mention in the SkyCity Challenge 2019 international competition, which aimed to "explore sustainable ways of living, working collectively, and having fun." Learn more about their proposal below.

Paulo Mendes da Rocha, the most prestigious Brazilian architect currently in practice, will deliver a lecture as part of the program for the 12th edition of the São Paulo International Architecture Biennial.

The Alto Minho region in northern Portugal had its landscape transformed by a series of site-specific artistic interventions that were part of the DESENCAMINHARTE program. The initiative aimed to promote artistic creation in the region through a collaborative network designed to foster recognition of its local identity.

Architecture theorist, historian, and curator Beatriz Colomina talks about our discipline and its difficulty to accept the work as the result of a collaborative effort. When asked about sexism and gender issues within architecture, Colomina broadens the discussion and tackles the historical myth of architecture as the product of one single, brilliant - and always masculine - mind. A fiction that has obscured the role of a number of women, and whole teams, committed to the design process.

Brazil's most famous architect, Oscar Niemeyer, kept his office active until his death in 2012 at the age of 104. One of the last projects he designed is nearing completion in Leipzig, Germany. The project is a 12-meter-diameter sphere embedded in the corner of a 19th-century brick building, which will house a cafe and bar for employees of the HeiterBlick and Kirow Ardelt AG railway companies.

The adaptability of architectural professionals in Brazil is indisputable. Confronted in recent years with crises of various kinds that have hindered the execution of work and, perhaps even worse, immersed in a structure that systematically undervalues the profession, the professional, and the project, the vast diversity and high quality of current production is remarkable. 

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NAPPE is a permanent art installation designed by Portuguese studio FAHR 021.3 and built next to the Nangang Exhibition Center, in a redeveloped area of Taipei, Taiwan. Drawing on the country's culture and geography, NAPPE is inspired by Jade Mountain, the island's highest peak and a symbol of purity, honesty, and national values. The outdoor pavilion seeks to draw citizens into a new urban experience.