The book Sustainable Tropical Cities, published by the Institute of Tropical Architecture (San José, Costa Rica) in 2006, gathers the conclusions its authors compiled over years of observation and study. Bruno Stagno and Jimena Ugarte, both architects and immigrants enamored with the tropics, aimed to demonstrate the specific characteristics that cities located in the tropical belt possess—or should possess—while introducing an unprecedented topic.
The recent tragedy that resulted in the partial destruction of the Notre-Dame Cathedral has prompted reflection on the value of our architectural heritage. Stirring events such as this bring highly relevant issues to the fore, inviting us to consider the role of architecture in shaping a city's collective memory.
As part of an initiative to restore and reactivate the cultural spaces of the city of Oaxaca in Mexico, the Ministry of Cultures and Arts (SECULTA) has announced the winners of the competition for the Conceptual Design of the Álvaro Carrillo Cultural Center: architects Mauricio Rocha + Gabriela Carrillo, Alberto Kalach, and Tatiana Bilbao. The project will provide green spaces and adapt to the city's environment, complying with all regulatory specifications.
The concept of sustainability dates back to the 1980s, when the chairperson of the United Nations World Commission on Environment and Development, Gro Harlem Brundtland, authored the report titled “Our Common Future.” This document questioned the negative environmental consequences of development and globalization, raising the need to advance toward “Sustainable Development.”
On Monday, the Paseo del Bajo was officially inaugurated: one of the most highly anticipated—and expensive—infrastructure projects in Buenos Aires in recent years.
The College of Architects of Mexico City invited all Mexican architects to participate in the IV Mexico City Architecture Biennial 2019. The event aimed to identify the country's best architectural works, publications, research, and theses, recognizing their authors and sharing the most outstanding works to foster reflection on responsible contemporary architecture and sustainable solutions through analysis and critique. During this biennial, 106 projects and 18 publications were submitted, resulting in 1 Gold Medal, 14 Silver Medals, 2 Special Mentions, and 27 Honorable Mentions across 23 categories. Read on to discover the winners.
The iconic ESSO building (now the CAR Building), designed by New Yorker Douglas Lathrop alongside Martínez Cárdenas, and the Pan American building (now the Teusacá building) by Colombian architect Germán Samper—both located across from Bogotá's National Park—are included in the "CAR- Universidad Libre" Partial Urban Renewal Plan, which proposes their demolition.
The Conservation and Restoration Service of the Alhambra in Granada is working on the wall of the Fuentepeña ravine, located in the sector known as ‘Cuesta del Rey Chico,’ to stabilize a section that collapsed in the early hours of Friday, February 8.
The Board of the Alhambra and Generalife announced this on its official Twitter account. According to the director of the Board, Reynaldo Fernández Manzano, the wall was built in 1915 by the architect and conservator of the Alhambra, Modesto Cendoya. The wall was constructed using poor materials that gradually deteriorated over time, and plans were already in place for its demolition and reconstruction. Following the sudden collapse, the Conservation and Protection Service will rebuild it with the original materials in a first phase before undertaking the comprehensive project.
On November 9 and 10, the seventh consecutive edition of Open House will take place in Buenos Aires. This international architecture and urbanism festival highlights works of significant architectural, cultural, and heritage value, opening them to the public to build a bridge between residents, professionals, enthusiasts, and their city. The project's first edition in Buenos Aires was held in 2013, making it the first Latin American city to host the event, which drew 300 volunteers and around 10,000 visitors. This seventh edition is expected to attract approximately 45,000 people.
The following story takes place during the twenty-seventh edition of the Latin American Encounter of Architecture Students (ELEA) in Ciudad del Este, Paraguay, where nearly 800 students from Latin America gathered for a collective experience of participation, integration, and learning. Among other activities was the construction of two wooden structures in two distinct locations: the "Lake Pavilion" in the backyard of the Virgen de Fátima school—separated from a private school by a polluted creek—and "The Cloud" in an unmaintained public square in the Don Bosco neighborhood on the outskirts of the city.
ArchDaily is working with CityMakers to publish a series of articles, conversations, and interviews with the key figures in urban co-production behind the Barcelona CityMakers Lab 2019, an event taking place from October 14 to 20, 2019.
On this occasion, we feature Jokin Santiago Elorriaga, director of Leku Studio, who will lead a masterclass at the Barcelona CityMakers Lab 2019. Jokin is the founding architect of Leku Studio and was responsible for the design and transformation of the Sant Antoni Superblock.
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Grigri Projects defines itself as a platform dedicated to cultural research, creation, and production, focusing its work on participatory design, urban intervention, and transdisciplinary community processes through collaboration with other collectives and agents at local and international levels.
Among its various projects—such as Cocinar Madrid, Pincha tu Deuda, Templete Fantástico, Haciendo Plaza and Fuencarral Experimenta—they develop the residency, workshop, and seminar program Grigri Pixel in collaboration with Medialab-Prado, aimed at exploring practices of cultural cooperation and citizenship between Africa and Europe by creating objects through artistic, collaborative, and experimental practices.
As part of a series of articles developed by Nikos A. Salingaros, David Brain, Andrés M. Duany, Michael W. Mehaffy, and Ernesto Philibert-Petit on the study of social housing in Latin America, this installment reviews examples of design strategies for its construction. Read all previous publications and the new article below.
The traditional brickmaking technique is fundamentally based on molding a mixture of clay and water, placing it in a kiln, and firing it to achieve its characteristic strength. Architect Octavio Mendoza Morales decided to employ this technique to build a unique home, constructed not from individual bricks but as a single, 500-square-meter ceramic piece designed to withstand weathering.
In an official statement issued on May 8, 2019, the Board of Directors of Real Madrid C.F. decided to award the contract for the remodeling of the Santiago Bernabéu stadium to FCC Construcción. The company is owned by one of the world's most prominent business magnates: Mexican billionaire Carlos Slim, who has been involved in major international projects such as the controversial New International Airport of Mexico.
The long-standing debate over the future of the João Goulart Overpass—the famous Minhocão, which cuts through downtown São Paulo toward the city's West Zone—has finally come to an end. Current mayor Bruno Covas has decided to transform the massive structure into an elevated park, modeled after several others around the world that followed the example of the High Line in New York City.
The daily routine of psychologist and CAPS* (Psychosocial Care Center) coordinator Antoniella Santos Vieira centers on listening and walking: during the day, she listens to the stories of people experiencing homelessness, those struggling with alcohol and drug abuse, among other challenges. It is this challenging territory – half urban, half rural – that she traverses, showing that the center offers a range of services – such as yoga and pilates – in addition to psychological support.
In the book “Order Without Design”, Alain Bertaud mentions that indicators are crucial in urban management to give cities a real-time view of what is happening within them. One interesting indicator related to housing affordability is the so-called “Price/Income Ratio.” This is essentially the average home price in a city divided by the average resident's income. It is a highly generic indicator that does not account for differences between properties, such as location, nor does it address rental housing (still a minority in Brazil). Nonetheless, it provides a general overview of housing affordability in a city.
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.
As awareness grows regarding the importance of using BIM technology for project development, many companies in the construction industry have struggled to find a BIM Manager. Much uncertainty arises, primarily because recruiters or the companies themselves often do not know exactly what they are looking for, how and where to look—let alone which candidate is best suited for the task.
Although some projects conceal it, structure is always a primary concern in architectural design. Defining the structural system is among the first crucial decisions to be made, and it will likely shape a series of other aspects of the building. There are, however, extreme cases where architecture is seen and read simply as structure—projects whose character and image are largely defined by the chosen structural solution.
Conceived and directed by British artist Isaac Julien, the video installation A Marvellous Entanglement portrays the life of Lina Bo Bardi and stars actresses Fernanda Torres and Fernanda Montenegro, who play the architect at two different stages of her life. The nine-screen installation opens today at the renowned Victoria Miro art gallery in London.
The Armando de Arruda Pereira Housing Complex, known as the Japurá Building, submitted to the IAPI in 1945 by architect Eduardo Kneese de Mello, stands out as a pioneering experiment in affordable housing in the central area and represents one of the earliest applications of the Corbusian unité d’habitation concept in the country.
From domestic rooms to public infrastructure, the library is an architectural typology that must address various specific requirements tied to its core responsibilities: preserving books and publications, and providing spaces for reading, study, and research. Regardless of scale, libraries must efficiently manage natural light and ventilation, since they often combine leisure and work activities that require distinct qualities of environmental comfort.
