Popular culture is an imprecise concept that lends itself to various definitions. To grasp the traits characterizing the different meanings of popular culture, one must trace the dynamics of how this term has evolved throughout the studies dedicated to the field. 

Emerging in 1981 with the publication of the essay “The Grid and the Pathway” by Alexander Tzonis and Liane Lefaivre, it was Kenneth Frampton's 1983 essay “Towards a Critical Regionalism: six points for an architecture of resistance” that brought the term “critical regionalism” wider recognition. The essay was published in the anthology “The anti-aesthetic: essays on Postmodern culture,” edited by critic and historian Hal Foster, initiating a debate later revisited in "Prospects for a Critical Regionalism," also written by Frampton that same year for the journal Perspecta.

Only recently in Brazil has "cultural landscape" emerged as a new category for the preservation of cultural heritage. Understanding its meanings requires, on the one hand, evoking the preservation experience in two different spheres—both international institutions and the work developed in Brazil. On the other hand, this understanding also requires highlighting the specific academic origins of the cultural landscape concept.

Color can be an element that contributes significantly to the quality of architectural projects. Its efficient use can completely transform the atmosphere of indoor and outdoor environments, signal specific uses in spaces with different characteristics, redefine rooms, and highlight architectural elements. This has proven to be a highly successful feature, even becoming a trademark of prominent architects, such as Mexicans Luis Barragán and Ricardo Legorreta.

Over the past week, thousands of active fires in the Brazilian Amazon captured global attention in the press and on social media, where the hashtag #PrayForAmazonia was mentioned more than 150,000 times in a single day. But what can satellite data tell us about what is actually happening in Brazil's forests?

Invited by Air Wick Bom Ar®, designer and architect Marko Brajovic presents Oásis Air Wick, a multisensory art installation built in Largo da Batata, São Paulo.

The competition challenged participants to design a kindergarten that could serve as many children as possible, aged 2 to 5, in an underprivileged neighborhood of Santa Cruz de la Sierra, Bolivia, as part of a charitable initiative organized by Teto and Archsharing.

Brazil's recent political and social crisis—exemplified by the results of the latest election—is concerning and has been undermining citizens' trust in the decision-making processes that affect our lives and cities. One of the reasons for this is the absence of public spaces where people of different social classes, races, ethnicities, perspectives, and worldviews can meet, exchange, and represent who they are.

Public spaces are fundamental to democracy and citizenship. Modern planning and unequal urban development have led Brasília to become a segregated, fragmented, and deeply unequal city. The deteriorated public sphere and the resulting individualization of lifestyles worsen the situation, leaving us increasingly disconnected, intolerant, and civically disengaged.

Marking the centennial of its founding, Arquicast #72 discusses the Bauhaus School and its influence on shaping a generation of architects, as well as its impact on the structuring of architectural and urban planning education in various programs worldwide. We invited architect Caio Dias, from Portal Projetar, and architect and ArchDaily editor Romullo Barato for an informal yet informative conversation that delves into the history of the school, its founders, and the broader context that continuously shaped the institution's trajectory.

The designer of large-scale projects such as the Sociedade Harmonia de Tênis club in São Paulo, the Centro de Convivência Cultural in Campinas, and Parque Cecap in Guarulhos, São Paulo architect Fabio Penteado (1929-2011), who would have turned 90 this coming June, will have his work revisited in an exhibition in Portugal. 

Curated by Francesco Perrotta-Bosch, Irradiações opens on February 23 at Casa da Arquitectura, located in Matosinhos, a city in the Porto region. The exhibition will feature five radial-patterned projects developed by the architect in the 1960s, highlighting his attention to the collective and public dimensions of space.

There is no doubt that preserving historical, artistic, and architectural heritage is a fundamental goal for building a just city. It is the right of all citizens, both present and future generations, to know and enjoy our collective memory and culture. However, for this to actually happen, both a discerning eye and a comprehensive vision of the city are essential.

One of the most prevalent themes in current discussions about the city is gentrification. Broadly defined as "when someone different from you moves into your neighborhood," this urban phenomenon is far more complex than that, involving issues of land use, real estate speculation, public and leisure spaces, and urban planning.

One of the most controversial topics regarding professional ethics in architecture and urbanism is the so-called "technical reserve" (reserva técnica). This widespread practice refers to the payment of commissions to design professionals by construction industry suppliers and companies as compensation for client referrals or project specifications. Despite its questionable nature, this practice is adopted by many architects and has become increasingly common. 

Alejandro Aravena was in Florianópolis last week, invited by the 2019 NCD Summit to speak on Social Architecture. Founder of the "do tank" ELEMENTAL, the 2016 Pritzker Laureate gave an overview of his work, spanning diverse project typologies, while highlighting the processes that led to the adopted solutions. Before his lecture, Aravena spoke exclusively with ArchDaily Brasil. Read the interview below:

Cities that absorb rainwater and allow it to follow its natural course. It should be simple, yet we chose to channel our waterways, preventing nature from doing its part: absorbing and purifying. For Chinese architect Kongjian Yu, this is the key to solving one of the greatest challenges facing contemporary major urban centers: flooding. 

At Casa da Arquitectura, the sounds of Brazil are heard every day at the exhibition “Infinito Vão – 90 Years of Brazilian Architecture,” but in April, this intersection of music and architecture will be further strengthened. Zuza Homem de Mello—a leading figure of jazz in Brazil, musicologist, journalist, radio host, and music producer—is the central figure of this programming, which includes the Illustrated and Musical Lecture “90 Years of Brazilian Song – 1928 to 2018,” the concert “Brazilian Music, Portuguese Musicians,” the presentation and screening of the documentary “Zuza Homem de Jazz,” and a poetic performance inspired by Clarice Lispector starring actress Camila Pitanga.

In the new episode of the Architecture and Cinema series, we talk with Janaina Pereira, a journalist specializing in cinema, and Laura Carone, an architect, set designer, and art director, about the film Inception, by British director, screenwriter, and producer Christopher Nolan. Released in 2010, the film features a stellar cast including Leonardo DiCaprio, Ellen Page, and Michael Caine, and received several awards, including Academy Awards for Best Cinematography, Best Sound Mixing, and Best Sound Editing.

Plans by the São Paulo City Hall to build a park along a section of the Presidente João Goulart Elevated Highway have been temporarily suspended. Minhocão Park, which would have occupied a 900-meter stretch between Praça Roosevelt and Largo do Arouche, was announced in May of this year and underwent a public consultation process via the Gestão Urbana SP portal.

Scooters are the latest trend in the new mobility landscape. You have likely seen someone riding one of these small yet agile two-wheeled vehicles in a major city. Following the explosive growth of ride-hailing apps and bike-sharing systems, it is now the turn of scooters, which logged 38.5 million trips in the United States in 2018 alone.

In this doctoral thesis, architect Luciano Margotto, advised by Prof. Dr. Mônica Junqueira de Camargo, presents five lessons from architecture: Austerity, Generosity, Freedom, Public, and Spatiality. In his work, the author investigates the works of architects such as Carlos Millan, Marcello Fragelli, Eduardo Souto de Moura, Oscar Niemeyer, Vilanova Artigas, Fábio Penteado, Lucio Costa, Lina Bo Bardi, Paulo Mendes da Rocha, Brasil Arquitetura, Gabriel Guarda, Martín Correa, and Alvaro Siza. Below is the abstract of the thesis defended at FAUUSP in 2016.

You have probably heard the term “tactical urbanism.” Though relatively recent, this approach to public space has gained visibility over the last decade, and today there are numerous examples of how to intervene in the city through a short-term, low-cost, and highly socially engaged lens. In episode #70, we chat with Rio-based architect and PhD in Urbanism Adriana Sansão, whose extensive practical work is backed by deep research on the subject. Click here to learn more!

The Municipality of Conde has announced the results of the Architecture and Urban Design Competition for the New Gurugi Basic Health Unit (UBS). More than 160 projects from across the country competed to develop an intervention proposal for an area of approximately 600 square meters, with the subsequent commissioning of the Complete Executive Project.

The edícula, also known in some regions of Brazil as a meia-água, é a small outbuilding usually constructed at the back of residential lots to provide an extra bedroom within the domestic program. Generally speaking, this space typically includes—with some variations—a bathroom, service quarters, and occasionally, integrated space at the end of a garage, in addition to the bedroom.

Architects are increasingly incorporating translucent materials into their facade designs to help control interior light levels, as options like polycarbonate and U-glass, for example, allow only a percentage of natural light to penetrate the building. At nightfall, however, these materials yield an entirely different, striking effect: when illuminated from within, the buildings transform into true lanterns in the urban landscape.