Author: Susanna Moreira | ArchDaily

From Tradition to Modern Living: The Versatility and Elegance of Timber in 12 Japanese Interiors

Susanna Moreira — Fri, 08 May 2026 07:30:00 +0000

Contemporary Japanese architecture continues to demonstrate how to adapt the evolving needs of modern residents to a rich building tradition and artisanal legacy. Wood has always been the soul of Japanese architecture. In many recent residential projects, this material transcends its structural role to become the primary finish for various surfaces — ranging from floors and ceilings to furniture and architectural elements. These environments strike a delicate balance between elegance and coziness.

Arquivo: Deconstruction and Material Reuse for a Circular Architecture

Susanna Moreira — Thu, 09 Apr 2026 04:00:00 +0000

The construction industry today faces an unavoidable paradox: the urgent need for sustainable solutions for the future of cities collides with the exhaustion of the term "sustainability" itself, often reduced to a hollow commercial label. In this scenario, Arquivo – one of the winners of ArchDaily's 2025 Next Practices Award – emerges as a facilitator and mediator between different stakeholders in the construction field through disassembly – or rather, de-construction – and the reuse of building elements. Etymologically, if "construction" derives from the Latin construere (to heap up, assemble), the prefix "de-" imposes a conceptual inversion: it is not about destroying, but about disassembling with intelligence to understand the logic of the parts.

Archiving the Technosphere: How Museum Architecture Mediates Human-Made Systems

Susanna Moreira — Fri, 06 Mar 2026 08:30:00 +0000

Far from the perception of the exhibition space as a sterile and untouchable, almost sacred place, the contemporary technology museum has emerged as a performative participant in the systems it seeks to document. The architecture of these institutions has become increasingly fluid and bold, often mirroring the velocity and complexity of the systems it houses. They operate as mediators between the human, the ecological, and the technological realms, transforming from encyclopedic warehouses into active educational engines. By spatializing complex scientific data through immersive rooms, these structures make the technological networks of our world accessible, engaging, and tangible.

The Chromatic Canvas: 10 Vibrant Courts Activating Community Space

Susanna Moreira — Fri, 23 Jan 2026 08:30:00 +0000

Unlike most popular sports, the origin of basketball has a precise year and creator: it was invented in 1891 in the United States by Canadian physical education instructor James Naismith as an indoor sport for athletes at Springfield College during the winter, after the end of the football season. The sport quickly expanded beyond U.S. borders, being included in the Olympic Games in 1936 and achieving international popularity after the Second World War. As basketball became more widespread, it also left the controlled environment of gymnasiums and began occupying a wide range of locations: playgrounds, public plazas, school courtyards, driveways, and backyard patios became informal courts for play and community life, reinforcing the role of physical activity as a catalyst for social interaction and neighborhood regeneration.

From Legal Constraint to Local Craft: Four Adaptive Projects by messina | rivas in Cunha

Susanna Moreira — Fri, 28 Nov 2025 07:30:00 +0000

The municipality of Cunha, located in the state of São Paulo, Brazil, is a region known for its inland landscape, hilly terrain, and, especially, a major production of nationally renowned ceramics. It is within this context that the office messina | rivas has been working since 2017, with a set of projects located on a farm. Their work, which integrates design and construction in an indissociable manner, results in interventions that reveal a sensitive approach to pre-existing conditions and their surrounding environment.

Beyond Private Dining: Exploring the Communal Table as Public Space Infrastructure

Susanna Moreira — Fri, 10 Oct 2025 07:30:00 +0000

The habit of sitting at the table and sharing a specific moment with other people has been present for centuries in the most diverse cultures. The Greek Symposium, Roman Convivium, Medieval Feasts and Banquets, and Parisian Salons are just a few examples of how this custom was historically built and has been relevant in social and political negotiations, intellectual discussions, and philosophical debates.

Bridging Disciplines, Connecting Cities: The Interdisciplinary Approach to Urban Mobility in Portugal

Susanna Moreira — Fri, 19 Sep 2025 07:30:00 +0000

An architecture degree may provide a vast curriculum, but many of the skills needed for a project lie outside the discipline. This is especially true for urban-scale projects. They demand expertise in areas like traffic studies, structural calculations, landscape design, and technical installation forecasting. These are often seen as "complementary" but are, in fact, fundamental to the overall design.

Designing with Kids: 5 Participatory Projects that Empower Young Users

Susanna Moreira — Fri, 08 Aug 2025 07:30:00 +0000

A good design should be adapted to the user's needs, and participatory design aims to reduce the distance between architects and those for whom the project is made. In this sense, projects for children that welcome them as central actors in the design process demonstrate how the potential of active listening and co-designing is reflected in spaces adapted to a smaller scale and to an audience in a phase of intense learning.

Crossing Hemispheres: Thatched Roofs from America to Asia

Susanna Moreira — Fri, 27 Jun 2025 07:30:00 +0000

Thatching is a traditional building technique that has been reinterpreted in different ways in contemporary projects, allowing its value to continue to endure over time. As well as being a culturally and historically valuable technique, given its presence in humanity for centuries, it also has a number of other constructive advantages, such as its great environmental value, as it is an accessible renewable material.

Extending Roofs from Brazil to India: Parallel Residential Design Elements as Seen in 10 Projects

Susanna Moreira — Sat, 05 Apr 2025 07:30:00 +0000

It shouldn't be too surprising that architectural concepts were traveling around the globe long before the online spread of information. While many regions share certain historical events and hence references (such as colonization and the mid-20th-century independence movement/ turn of political systems), others might have simply developed parallel solutions to similar climates and material availability. Additionally, it was only natural that with the dissemination of a more uniform architectural pedagogy acquired while studying abroad, followed by the internet boom, we would find almost twin projects from every corner of the world. While these might look nearly identical from some angles, they might bear different layers and stories. Then again, they might also display the same reasoning and prompts shared by counterparts from across the seas.

Sharing the Table: 9 Projects Showcasing Innovative Communal Table Designs

Susanna Moreira — Fri, 03 May 2024 07:30:00 +0000

Humans are social beings.The interaction between individuals is an essential part of the human experience and helps improve society as a whole. While architecture plays an important role in promoting spaces for people to meet, exchange and socialize, furniture can be a strategic tool for achieving this goal.

Hypostyle: Contemporary Interpretations of an Ancient Concept

Susanna Moreira — Fri, 12 Apr 2024 07:30:00 +0000

Many ancient Egyptian, Greek and Islamic religious buildings share a common feature known as hypostyle. Defined as rows of columns that support a roof, this solution has developed in different cultures in different periods of time, which can explain the variety of materials, shapes, sizes and distances between the columns that can be found around the world. Famous examples of the use of this concept are Great Hypostyle Hall (c. 1290–1224 BC), part of the Karnak Temple Complex and one of the most visited monuments of Ancient Egypt, and the Wooden Hypostyle Mosques of Medieval Anatolia (c. 13th and mid-14th centuries), World Heritage Site located in present-day Turkey.

"One Step at a Time": An Interview with Coletivo LEVANTE

Susanna Moreira — Tue, 05 Mar 2024 06:00:00 +0000

Centered on the development of architectural projects in favelas and peripheries, the work of Coletivo LEVANTE showcases a deep sensitivity to the unique characteristics and nuances of these environments. According to the group, "the recognition of what already exists and is attributed with values lived and earned by the favela residents — landscapes, constructions, identities, and relationships" is what they seek as the raw material for their projects. This approach is evident in projects such as Centro Cultural Lá da Favelinha and House in Pomar do Cafezal, winner of the 2023 Building of the Year Award by ArchDaily.

The Best Architectural Drawings of 2023

Susanna Moreira — Tue, 12 Dec 2023 08:00:00 +0000

As another year draws to a close, ArchDaily's team of curators is pleased to present a selection of the best architectural drawings published throughout 2023, without which the projects' appreciation would certainly not be the same.

Colorful Architecture: 7 Cities with Vibrant Colors Seen from Above

Susanna Moreira — Tue, 16 May 2023 04:00:00 +0000

Fascinating and photogenic, colorful cities often catch the eye not only of the thousands of tourists visiting every year but also of many architects around the world. From an aerial viewpoint - which happens to be how many visitors get their first glimpse of these cities from the window of an airplane - one can see the colorful picture created by the many different shades of roofs and rooftops.

13 Architecture Projects Dedicated to Sheltering, Caring and Gathering on International Women's Day

Susanna Moreira — Wed, 08 Mar 2023 04:30:00 +0000

March 8th is celebrated as International Women's Day, a date remembered for years as a symbol of the fight for their rights. However, although many countries have laws establishing equal rights for men and women, gender inequality and all its consequences are still experienced every day by girls and women all around the world. The patriarchal system, rooted in many societies over the centuries, has been responsible for inequality of power between the genders which, in the most extreme cases, results in violence and femicide.

Landscaping in Cafes: 10 Projects That Integrate Greenery Into Architecture

Susanna Moreira — Sun, 18 Dec 2022 07:30:00 +0000

Whether it is for a break, relaxation, or even free wifi, coffee shops tend to host a series of situations that involve more than just enjoying a cup of coffee. A quiet and pleasant place, which in addition to everything else offers a good hot drink, is a great attraction for those looking for a coffee shop to spend a few hours.

Brazilian Houses: 10 Residences Using Recycled Materials

Susanna Moreira — Sun, 04 Dec 2022 05:30:00 +0000

According to a survey by the Brazilian Association for Recycling of Construction and Demolition Waste (ABRECON), there has been an increase in the recycling of construction and demolition waste (C&D) in Brazil in recent years. According to the 2015 report, 21% of the total C&D was recycled in the country that year, while in 2013 the rate was 19%.