TEN Arquitectos is a practice based in Mexico City, New York, and Miami. Founded by Mexican architect Enrique Norten, the firm has 33 years of experience designing with a global perspective that yields a consistent international sensitivity when creating new spaces. This trajectory has been recognized with various national and international awards, including the Mies van der Rohe Award for Latin American Architecture, honors from the national American Institute of Architects (AIA) and several US chapters, Architectural Record, Architect Magazine, Architizer, Biennials in Mexico, Argentina, and Ecuador, and the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA), among others.
Paste Up, a festival that brings the selected works of six local visual artists to the streets of Santiago, Chile, launched an outdoor route in early December hosted on a series of iconic buildings in the municipality of Vitacura. Renowned urban artist and photographer Caiozzama, whose artistic interventions became icons of the 2019 social uprisings, curated and edited the pieces. The process of translating various sizes and techniques into large-format works also includes the subsequent recycling of the large-scale prints, which will be on display until the end of February. The artists who participated in this edition of the festival are Fab Ciraolo, Bruna Truffa, Juana Gómez, Cecilia Avendaño Bobilier, and Santiago Ascui. Learn more about the works and the urban art route below.
Out of necessity, buildings change uses over time. Churches become libraries, and abandoned warehouses are transformed into cultural centers. Although much has been written on the subject since N. John Habraken's concept of open building in the 1970s, a fascinating global debate is currently underway. Do we really need so much square footage dedicated to offices when the pandemic proved that much of our work can be done remotely?
Image: javarman. Shibam, Hadramaut Governorate, Yemen. The buildings' construction method is rammed earth. Image via Shutterstock
The construction sector's contribution to today's climate crisis is deeply concerning: between material production, construction, and building operations, the sector is one of the largest emitters of greenhouse gases. Meanwhile, as urban populations grow at historic rates, we find that in the development of major energy-intensive cities, reducing the discipline's environmental impact seems to rely on niche interests and individual initiatives rather than large-scale actions from academia, the profession, or policymakers.
History has shown us numerous construction techniques and applications of local materials that have proven sustainable over time—relying on the efficient use of resources that require no intensive industrial processing and eliminate the need for long-distance transportation. In some cases, at the end of their life cycle, these materials can even be returned to the environment, as is the case with adobe and wood.
“Arquitectos” is a micro-documentary series produced by AvantVisual and directed by Mauro Alfaro on the life and work of prominent Chilean architects. The series was originally scheduled to premiere at the XXI Chile Architecture and Urbanism Biennial, “The Common and the Everyday.” However, due to the suspension of the Biennial in the wake of the 2019 social uprising, the premiere could not take place.
Out of necessity, various building types have changed their use. Churches converted into libraries, abandoned warehouses turned into cultural centers—and while much has been written on the subject, from N. John Habraken's 1970s Open Building concept to Adamo Faiden's contemporary From Mixed-Use to Diff-Use, today we have, more than ever, an engaging global debate surrounding adaptability in housing. Is it truly necessary to dedicate so many square feet to office space when the pandemic proved that most work can be done remotely? This was one of the central questions during the lockdowns of recent years.
Educational master plan designed by OMA in Dubai. Courtesy of OMA
In any planning process, a series of documents—comprising both graphic and textual materials—establishes a framework for future development. In urban planning, the master planstands out as one of the most common instruments for this purpose.
Today is the day to announce the finalists for ODA2021. Our expert jury—meaning you, our readers—has selected 15 favorite projects from nearly 1,000 works of architecture across Latin America and Spain.
Now in its thirteenth year, this award has become a true tradition. We invite all of our readers to recognize the projects published during 2020 that inspired them and represent the identity of their local contexts in a globalized planet, shaping architectural practice in Latin America and Spain within an increasingly heterogeneous and multicultural world.
Starting today and until next Wednesday, March 31, at 11:59 PM (GMT -3), you can explore each of the finalists in detail and vote for the work that best represents the "Spanish-language" architecture that inspires us, defines us, and leaves its mark on us.
This year was filled with far too many "unexpected" and "unforeseen" events. The pandemic transformed our external environment, shifting our psychological landscapes and behaviors in tandem. As an architectural observer and critic, I have found that the most profound change the pandemic brought to the profession is in our very way of seeing. "Lockdowns" have increasingly forced us to experience culture and space through images. This mode of observation traps us within digital platforms—relying on translated texts, edited photographs, and curated videos. Consequently, our sensory understanding of space (encompassing sight, hearing, smell, and touch) has been reduced to sight alone, leaving our critique of the built environment as a mere synthesis of fragmented impressions.
When the channels of intellectual nourishment shift, the evaluation systems of space inevitably change as well. But how does this affect design? Physicist Carlo Rovelli once noted, "Sometimes, a crazy perspective sees further than our usual blurry vision." Through the lens of the COVID-19 pandemic, I hope to expose issues and provoke collective reflection rather than mere complacency. In this year-end review, we attempt to respond to these shifts. Below are the ten most-discussed articles of the year, categorized into ten themes, offered in the hope of sparking further response and dialogue.
With the opening of the 17th Venice Architecture Biennale, projects from around the world showcased unique responses to the question, "How will we live together?" Neither the pandemic nor its repercussions hindered the curators. Instead, they took it as an opportunity to explore how the notion of "living together" has shifted over the past year, and how it can help reimagine better built environments. ArchDaily had the opportunity to sit down with architect Alejandro Aravena of ELEMENTAL to discuss the Koyaüwe project and its significance for the future of architecture.
The 2021 Spanish Biennial of Architecture and Urbanism (BEAU) has announced the finalists for its "Panorama of Architecture and Urbanism Works" category. Out of 581 submissions, 100 projects were initially shortlisted, with 70 now selected for the final round. Of these, 20 will ultimately be recognized as the most outstanding works of Spanish architecture and urbanism from the last three years.
CROX was founded by architect C.R. Lin. The name CROX represents "cross over" (interdisciplinary design), with a portfolio spanning urban planning, architecture, interiors, furniture, curation, and artistic creation. Guided by an "Avant-garde Natural" design philosophy and deep humanistic sensitivity, CROX expands design from mere art into a dialogue between culture and nature, continuously exploring the fluid and organic potential of the imagination to leave a contemporary mark. In recent years, the firm has participated in the 2016 Milan Triennale, as well as the 2016 and 2018 Venice Architecture Biennales. Its projects have been recognized with numerous prestigious international honors, including the World Architecture Festival (WAF) Awards, the Architecture MasterPrize (AMP), the Andrew Martin Interior Design Award, DNA Paris Design Awards, K-Design Award, and the JCD Design Award.
The results of the National Ideas Competition for the Development of Housing and Complementary Spaces for Urban Habitat / “Ex Pediátrico Urban Development” have been announced. Organized by the Professional Association of Architecture and Urbanism of the Province of Chaco (CPAUCH), promoted by the Provincial Institute of Urban Development and Housing (IPDUV), and sponsored by the Argentine Federation of Architect Associations (FADEA) and the Social Security, Insurance, and Loan Institute of the Province of Chaco (INSSSEP), the competition invited the country's architects to design urban and architectural proposals for dignified living, while also revitalizing an urban void in the city of Resistencia within a residential area with high development potential.
A School to Educate with Dignity is an intervention at the Juan H. Álvarez Intercultural Bilingual Primary School in Xochistlahuaca, Guerrero, Mexico. Led by Judith Meléndrez Bayardo (M.Urb.), Arch. Antonio Plá Pérez, and Gabriel Konzevik Kabib (M.Arch.), the project arose from a request for expansions and improvements at twenty-three indigenous schools in the mountainous region of Costa Chica, Guerrero, which are affiliated with the Guerrero 50-50 Project. This program seeks to reinforce the identity of indigenous communities by preserving their native languages. Consequently, in this particular community, the native ñomndaá language carries significant weight within the educational system, and above all, in shaping cultural identity and understanding the environment. Therefore, transforming the space became essential for the architecture to contribute to this project of cultural resistance.
Housing blocks, Estadio Housing Complex, BVCH. Image via Archivo Histórico Vicente Dagnino, Universidad de Tarapacá
For more than three decades, Chile's Norte Grande region positioned itself as an important modern laboratory and a hub of development on both a national and international scale. It embodied the potential to decentralize access to services and infrastructure, as well as territorial management itself. Driven by an economic boom, a project of modernity was promoted, spanning comprehensive investment plans to the management and construction of modern architecture projects. However, following the coup d'état and the subsequent militarization of the border, resources were once again concentrated in Santiago, bringing this regionalist momentum to an end. Below are details of some of these hybrid works which, shaped by both the desert climate and European influence, responded to a local context defined by an incomplete project of modernity.
Camino anillo de cintura. Image Cortesía de Cristian Boza
With the project Monte Trenzado, Cristián Boza Wilson was named a finalist in the Cerro Calán Observatory Park competition, a call for proposals seeking the best designs for the architecture, landscape, and technical disciplines of a new urban natural park in Santiago, Chile. Organized by the Municipality of Las Condes in collaboration with the Universidad de Chile and the Cerros Isla Foundation, the project will reclaim 45 hectares (111 acres) to construct a new metropolitan park open to the general public.
The Government of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires has submitted a bill to the Legislature to create the Sustainable Urban Development Fund (FoDUS), aiming to carry out plans, programs, and projects designed to incentivize urban development in several of the city's neighborhoods through public, private, or mixed initiatives.
Archivo de Ideas Recibidas is an interdisciplinary research and dissemination project that seeks to document and connect the ideas of people contributing to the contemporary creative ecosystem through art, design, and architecture. It is built on conversations between the team and various creators, exploring themes related to memory, academia, cultural context, main influences, and working methodologies.
According to 2018 data from INEGI's National Survey of Demographic Dynamics (ENADID), the child population under fifteen in Mexico represents 25.3% of the overall total, which stands at 125 million people. The reality is that this population, despite representing just over a quarter of the total, has few to no spaces dedicated to their entertainment and development. With this figure in mind, this article reflects on public space and childhood in Mexican cities.
On October 5, Design House opened in Mexico City. As in previous years, the event showcases a series of installations integrating disciplines like design, architecture, and interior design. For nine years, across various venues, it has presented cutting-edge proposals from more than one hundred participating firms in collaboration with the showrooms of the Design Route, which provide the furniture and accessories that make up each space.
For the eighth time, the MEXTRÓPOLI Architecture and City Festival held the Arquine No. 23 | MEXTRÓPOLI 2021 Pavilion competition, a platform where architecture, urbanism, and art meet to reflect on and celebrate Mexico City. The event also aims to engage citizens by occupying public spaces with architectural interventions that can be activated by visitors. Celebrating public space and offering a fresh perspective on everyday pathways is precisely why MEXTRÓPOLI showcases these ephemeral works of architecture.
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