The winners of the 2020 Wood Week Competition have been announced. The multidisciplinary open call invited participants to submit wood-focused projects in seven categories: Architecture, Design, Engineering and Construction, Innovation, Wood Startup Challenge, Built Works, and Photography. Wood Week (Semana de la Madera) is an annual event organized by Madera21, an association founded in 2001 by the Chilean Wood Corporation to promote and raise awareness about the use of this material in Chile.
This article by Paula Jaén Caparrós and Enrique Azpilicueta Astarloa was originally published in the 7th issue of rita magazine under the title "Reversible Architectures of Japan: The Houses of Shirakawa-go" as part of a joint publishing collaboration. The following text invites reflection on the design and construction principles found in these traditional Japanese houses, which could be recovered and applied to contemporary proposals that integrate disassembly, recovery, and relocation of the entire built object as key elements of sustainable architectural design.
We believe that the creative output of universities in Central America and the Caribbean is immense yet often overlooked. Therefore, we feel it is essential to launch a call for submissions to showcase the best graduation projects coming out of these institutions.
Academic proposals can be profound intellectual and critical works. This call aims to prevent them from remaining tucked away, gathering dust on shelves, and losing the opportunity to spark real change in our cities and in how we live and think.
If you believe your 2019 graduation project is compelling enough to be featured on our site, and that your hard work deserves recognition from the wider community, do not hesitate to submit it using the form at the end of this article.
This article is part of a collaboration with the website coolhuntermx, and was originally published under the title "Decolonial Practice in Design."
If you have not read “Decolonizing Design: Towards an Inclusive Practice” by Ashby Solano, I recommend starting there to engage with a discussion that is gaining increasing resonance—though still not enough—across various design circles. But what exactly is decolonial thinking in design? Can we believe in the decolonization of design in Mexico and Latin America when its professionalization was established under the dogma of Eurocentric thought? In other words, we were taught what correct design is, what good design is, and what deserved to be professionalized.
Tulum is a region located in southeastern Mexico, within the geographic boundaries of the state of Quintana Roo. Situated along the Caribbean coast, it forms part of the Riviera Maya. Historically, Tulum was a walled city, which is the origin of its name—meaning "wall" in Mayan, a term coined when the settlement was already in ruins.
The National Social Distancing Campaign (Jornada de Sana Distancia) in Mexico began on March 23, 2020, but a couple of weeks prior—even as the Federal Government recommended continuing normal activities—social media users were already opting to replicate the European model and self-isolate. Right away, some architecture firms made the decision to close their physical offices and transition to a remote work model, while others took a few more weeks to do so. However, this period of social and physical (spatial) distancing is experienced differently in every household. Over the months that this pandemic has unfolded, it has exposed not only the inequality regarding basic needs in dense urban areas, but also the fragility of our established social order. Whether at a macro or micro scale, all these experiences occur within and are influenced by the built environment, making architecture both arbiter and active participant in this equation.
In contemporary train stations, architectural pursuits associated with innovation and modernity tend to predominate. We often glorify designs with clean lines and gleaming glass buildings that showcase advancements in technology and engineering. Yet, classicism and styles that endure the passage of time—with their solid materials and sculptural details—possess a certain allure. Within their familiar forms, defined by order and symmetry, lies something that allows us to connect with the past.
Critic Jorge Figueira interviews Brazilian architect Alvaro Puntoni in the second episode of Studio Casa, an interview series produced by Casa da Arquitectura - Portuguese Center for Architecture.
The Bamboo Pavilion, a project designed by Mexican architect Lucila Aguilar as part of Design Week 2020, is inspired by the search for spaces that connect directly with the earth. It consists of a series of bamboo structures that create a new space in the plaza of the 'Espacio CDMX' gallery. The pavilion's shape follows the flow of organic forms, combined with a 100% biodegradable, permeable material made in Mérida from natural rubber.
In collective housing projects, apartments, and residential complexes, design intentions regarding spatial qualities and atmospheres typically focus on the spaces where residents spend most of their time: the interiors of the housing units and, when available, common areas like gyms or multipurpose rooms. Circulation spaces, by contrast, are often treated merely as “transitional areas,” meaning they frequently address functional requirements rather than spatial experiences.
On May 28, the results of the national architectural ideas competition for the Three Faculties Educational Complex and University Campus were announced, a call inviting professionals in Argentina to develop an educational master plan in the Tigre district, Buenos Aires. The University Campus was to include a Law and Social Sciences Faculty, a Faculty of Medicine with a University Medical Research Center, and a Faculty of Architecture to house technical and humanities disciplines. Meanwhile, the Educational Complex was required to include a high school, a primary school, and a preschool, which had to be connected to the university cloisters to support educational continuity.
Mexico's National Social Distancing Campaign began on March 23, 2020. However, a couple of weeks earlier, even in the face of the federal government's recommendation to continue normal activities, social media was already filled with people opting to replicate the European model and self-isolate. Right away, some architecture firms decided to close their physical offices and transition to a remote work model, while others took several weeks longer. However, this period of social and physical (spatial) distancing is experienced differently in every home. The months of this pandemic have exposed not only the inequality in accessing basic needs in dense urban areas, but also the fragility of the established social order. Whether at a macro or micro scale, all of these experiences occur within and are influenced by the built environment, making architecture both judge and jury in this equation.
The results of the design competition for the restoration and expansion of the Bengolarra building complex (Spain) have been announced. Organized by the Zigoitia City Council, the competition invited architects to develop proposals to renovate the area's sports facilities and improve accessibility, accommodating new uses and creating a more sustainable, modern, open, and accessible space for everyone.
The courtyard is an essential architectural element in many cultures. In Brazil, examples can be found both in historic buildings of Portuguese influence and in modern architecture of the last century. While its use is frequently associated with bioclimatic benefits—improving natural ventilation and daylighting in interior spaces—it can represent much more than that. The void it creates, a subtraction from the built volume, can establish unexpected geometric and visual relationships and foster cross-dialogues between different parts of the building.
São Paulo-based firm Estúdio Módulo, led by Guilherme Bravin and Marcus Vinicius Damon, was named a finalist in the international competition Hope Dental Center: Rwanda Clinic and Training Institute. Organized by Archstorming in partnership with His Hands On Africa (HHOA), the competition aimed to select the design that will be built to house a dental clinic and training institute in Kigali, the capital of Rwanda.
Bulla is an Argentine landscape design, urban, and territorial planning studio that has dedicated over a decade to "inserting a landscape agenda into the public and intellectual scene." To explore their beginnings, purpose, methods of working, reflecting, and exploring, as well as their vision for the future of landscape architecture in Argentina, we interviewed Ignacio Fleurquin, founding partner.
On this occasion, Víctor Feingold, President of Contract Workplaces, shares his perspective on how working from home is shaped by the environment, organizational culture, and the drive for innovation.
The letter “I” in the acronym BIM (Building Information Modeling) stands for Information, which is manifested through parameters and the customization they enable within Autodesk Revit, thereby building intelligent BIM Objects. This article outlines the different parameters within this modeling tool, focusing specifically on family parameters. Parametric families arise from customizing these parameters, offering a wide range of possibilities for the BIM Model.
Fungi are everywhere—in the air, in water, on our bodies, on trees, on bathroom ceilings, and underground. They can manifest as mushrooms (including edible, medicinal, psychedelic, or highly toxic ones) or in other simple forms like mold. They can trigger illnesses, but they also produce life-saving antibiotics like penicillin and help ferment excellent cheeses and breads. Could they, then, also become the packaging and construction materials of the future?
As part of the annual collaborative efforts of the Design Week team in Mexico City, the "Inédito" exhibition opened on October 9 at the Espacio CDMX Arquitectura y Diseño gallery. It marks the sixth consecutive edition of this open call, which aims to support, promote, and showcase utilitarian design projects across several categories: social impact, environmental impact, innovation, function, aesthetics, concept, user experience, materials, and processes. The exhibition is divided into three categories—professional, student, and digital—where, far from competing, participants gain exposure to opportunities in both national and international markets for outstanding design with commercial and production viability.
Intervening in buildings of historic value is one of the most delicate tasks facing architects. Today, preservation is no longer limited to restoring centuries-old buildings; it also encompasses the language of modern architecture.
The documentary Vilanova Artigas: The Architect and the Light, written by Laura Artigas and co-directed with Pedro Gorski, was produced to mark the architect's centennial and released in 2015. The film won the "Lusophony Award" at the Portuguese film festival Arquiteturas Film Festival Lisboa 2015 and is now available online to watch from home.
Today, during the award ceremony, the Colombian Society of Architects (SCA) announced the winners of the 27th Colombian Biennial of Architecture and Urbanism (XXVII BCAU) in each category. The National Architecture and Urbanism Prize was also announced.
As a consequence of the COVID-19 health emergency, the way we understand urban transportation is likely to change. While concerns regarding fossil-fuel vehicles already carried significant weight before the outbreak—primarily due to their environmental impact—and sustainable transportation had already become a key issue on the urban agenda, the need for social distancing to halt the spread of the coronavirus has accelerated debates around mobility. As a result, the bicycle quickly emerged as a viable alternative for safer transit during the COVID-19 pandemic in cities worldwide.
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