This week, we feature two firms currently hiring: a London-founded international practice and a studio led by a female architect with a global educational background. Both are active across diverse architectural sectors, each bringing a unique design ethos and seeking talented professionals to join their teams.

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This year marked the 10th anniversary of the release of the first episode of Black Mirror. A dystopian, character-driven science fiction anthology series that explores twisted, high-tech metaverses where, according to IMDb, “humanity’s greatest innovations and darkest instincts collide.” For this reason, the British series, created by Charlie Brooker for Netflix, sparked a wide range of reactions among viewers. While it presented future scenarios, their proximity ended up creating a distinct sense of paranoia, fear, and uncertainty.

Launched as part of the 1st International Architecture Biennial of Lima – BIALIMA 2021, the call for entries aimed to design public infrastructure that harmoniously integrates with its natural and built surroundings to rehabilitate the stairways connecting different areas within the settlement. The international jury, composed of Michael Smith (Costa Rica), Luis Rodríguez (Peru), and Marta Morelli (Peru), selected 4 winning proposals that stood out for addressing community needs through interventions on the stairways of the San Juan de Lurigancho locality.

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As part of the 2021 CNPP National Undergraduate Project Competition organized by Grupo Arquitectura Caliente and Graphisoft Archicad, a total of 127 proposals were submitted from 20 architecture schools across Chile. The jury highlighted three projects that, through their formal and conceptual diversity, achieved the highest recognition within their respective categories. Explore the winning proposals of this latest edition of the competition below.

“Public space expresses democracy in its territorial dimension. It is a space for collective use. It is the realm in which citizens can (or should) feel like citizens, free and equal; where society performs, represents itself, and shows itself as a community that coexists, displaying its diversity and contradictions, and expressing its demands and conflicts. It is where collective memory is built and multiple identities are manifested.” [1]

In the longest public hearing in the history of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, 97.23% of participating citizens spoke out against the approval of the bill that seeks to authorize the privatization and subsequent construction on a portion of land along the Río de la Plata waterfront (Buenos Aires, Argentina). The hearings, held between November 27, 2020, and January 28, 2021, featured 2,057 speakers, including members of various foundations, architects, landscape architects, environmentalists, political organizations, the project's authors, and, for the most part, Buenos Aires residents. Of these, only 55 participants spoke in favor.

This week's podcast tackles a topic that, as the saying goes, offers plenty of food for thought. For architects, representing a project is not only a form of artistic expression but also requires mastering a series of tools that must graphically translate the information needed to bring a building concept to life. In this sense, the history of architectural representation is deeply intertwined with the history of design itself, remaining a constant subject of reflection and evolution in our field. 

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The Proyectar a Conciencia competition aims to energetically modernize existing buildings through non-intrusive passive solutions, such as EIFS continuous exterior insulation technologies. This fourth edition was particularly special, adding the Chilean Chamber of Construction as a co-sponsor, tripling its prizes, and expanding the call for entries to the professional sphere.

Carlos Hevia Riera is a Chilean architect and photographer driven by highlighting the value of daily life in rural and isolated territories. In this context, his latest project, 'Esto también pasará. Taccone città effimera' (This Too Shall Pass: Taccone, Ephemeral City), is the result of his artistic residency in Taccone, in the municipality of Irsina, from August to October 2019. This residency enabled him not only to build a temporary museum made of straw bales but also to uncover a surprising and little-known history.

In the following interview, he shares an in-depth look at his work, from his initial impressions to each of the steps behind this collective construction of memory.

Archivo de Ideas Recibidas is an interdisciplinary research and dissemination project that seeks to document and connect the ideas of individuals contributing to the contemporary creative ecosystem through art, design, and architecture. It is built upon conversations between the team and various creators, exploring topics related to memory, academia, cultural context, key influences, and working methodologies. This time, they share an interview on cinema and architecture with Mauricio Freyre (Estudio Rien).

From September 8 to 10, the sixth edition of the International Architecture Congress, titled "The City We Want," will take place. For the first time, the event can be followed live via the Architecture and Society Foundation's YouTube channel.

The Spanish Biennial of Architecture and Urbanism BEAU 2021 has announced the finalists for its 'Research Exhibition', 'Thesis Projects Exhibition', and 'Photography Exhibition' categories. The winners will be announced on July 2, coinciding with the opening of the event at the Patio Herreriano in Valladolid.

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Querétaro is a state located in the north-central region of Mexico, bordering the states of Guanajuato, San Luis Potosí, Hidalgo, the State of Mexico, and Michoacán. Covering an area of 11,684 km², it is the fifth-smallest state in the country. Its capital and largest city is Santiago de Querétaro; other notable localities include Tequisquiapan, Cadereyta, Jalpan de Serra, San Joaquín, and Bernal.

Ad Urbis is a Cuban collective that navigates the unique challenges of integrating contemporary architecture into highly valuable heritage contexts—such as the capital city of Havana—by promoting architectural research, theory, and practice at the intersection of design and education.

We interviewed the group to discuss their reflections, design workflows, the relationship between professional practice and academia, their upcoming projects, and their outlook on the future of Cuban architecture.

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Since its inception, Chapman Taylor has grown from a London-based practice into a multi-award-winning international group operating globally, maintaining a steady pace of progressive growth. While adapting to changing times, the practice has refined its founding principles while upholding traditional standards—a philosophy that has driven continuous business expansion and sustained the firm through several challenging periods.

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In late May 2021, Puerto Escondido, Oaxaca, hosted the inaugural edition of MDF Mexico Design Fair, an emerging platform born out of a desire to discuss, exhibit, and celebrate the Mexican design scene. Its primary objective is to promote the acquisition of contemporary Mexican design, strengthening its position by understanding and transcending the goals of the international market.

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Argentine architect Daniel Silberfaden, founder of Estudio Silberfaden, passed away on October 29 at the age of 66, according to local media reports.

Solutions that improve usability while also being sustainable always deserve to be highlighted. Klabin, a Brazilian paper and packaging company, has developed the market's first cement packaging that can be integrated directly into the concrete mixing process. The water-dispersible packaging is made of 100% dispersible paper, meaning it can be incorporated during concrete preparation, streamlining production through direct use in a horizontal shaft concrete mixer. Simply place the closed packaging into the mixer, add sand, gravel, and water, and mix until it disperses and integrates into the final product, preserving the concrete's quality. This new packaging guarantees high performance and easy handling.

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As part of the annual collaborative efforts of the Design Week team in Mexico City, the "Inédito" exhibition opened on October 14 at the Espacio CDMX Arquitectura y Diseño gallery. This showcase is part of the seventh consecutive edition of the open call, which aims to support, promote, and disseminate utilitarian design projects in the categories of social impact, environmental impact, innovation, function, aesthetics, concept, user experience, materials, and processes. Divided into three categories—professional, student, and limited edition—the exhibition, rather than fostering competition, opens up opportunities in both the domestic and international markets for exceptional design with commercial and production viability.

The detection of gravitational waves is one of the most important recent discoveries. It is revolutionizing the way we observe and study the universe. 

El Equipo Mazzanti in association with Lino Cabras, Fabrizio Pusceddu, Eugenio Coccia, Massimo Faiferri, and Michele Punturo, designed an installation that showcases the latest projects on the subject. Titled 'Gravitational Wave Architecture', the exhibition is housed within the Italian Pavilion, curated by Alessandro Melis, at the Venice Biennale 2021.

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The project “Tequiocalco. Campa tlachializtli mozcalializtli in totlamatiliz huan toyuhcatiliz” –located in the state of Tlaxcala, Mexico– which translates to Spanish as the Autonomous Center for Research and Revitalization of Community Knowledge (CAIRSCO), is the “place where our wisdom and culture, ways of being, or what is lived in the community are observed, researched, and revitalized.”

What happens when more than 100 architectural proposals are called upon to support the residents affected by Hurricane Iota on the Caribbean islands of Providencia and Santa Catalina? The Colombian Society of Architects, through its Center for Innovation and Productivity (CIPSCA), selected 8 finalist projects for the housing typology architectural design competition—a comprehensive guide to repairing damage from an architectural design perspective.

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Since 2015, the Taller Vertical Proyectos de Incidencia (Vertical Workshop for Impact Projects) at the Department of Architecture of the Universidad Iberoamericana in Mexico—coordinated by Juan M. Casillas in collaboration with Daniela Luján and Karen Poulain—has operated as an academic space for reflection and action regarding the role of architects in today's context. This initiative will be part of the projects presented at the Mexican Pavilion during the 17th International Architecture Exhibition of the Venice Biennale 2021.

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Architecture firm Sordo Madaleno Arquitectos (now SOMA) has unveiled the design for the new Park Hyatt mixed-use development in Mexico City's Polanco district. Comprising a luxury hotel, residences, and offices, the project marks Hyatt Hotels Corporation's first such complex in the country.

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The following article is a contribution from Juan Pablo Aschner, PhD, architect, founding dean, and tenured professor at the new Facultad de Creación at Universidad del Rosario in Colombia, which offers undergraduate degrees in architecture, arts, creation, design, and musical theater. Below, the text explores the contribution of transdisciplinary creativity, accompanied by illustrations created for the school by Antoine Cosse, under the art direction of Tangrama.