Pastures, farmlands, mining, or urban areas. As the Amazon ecosystem approaches an irreversible tipping point of devastation, LABVERDE — a cultural and environmental activism project that promotes the production and democratization of knowledge about the world's largest rainforest — is launching a new edition of the "Speculative Ecologies" residency. Now in its eighth call, the initiative invites artists to actively participate in the discourse on nature conservation through the production of works resulting from research, experimental artistic languages developed during unique experiences in environmental reserves, and dialogues with indigenous communities facilitated by experts. Applications are open until May 8. Brazilian artists residing in Brazil are invited to apply through the website. LABVERDE covers travel, lodging, expeditions, and training, and provides a R$3,000 stipend to each selected participant to produce content.

At the 18th International Architecture Exhibition – La Biennale di Venezia, Qatar Creates will present the documentary exhibition "Building a Creative Nation”, at the ACP - Palazzo Franchetti, from May 14 through November 26, 2023. This will be the first time that Qatar's newest cultural institutions are highlighted outside their home country.

ELEMENTAL, Herzog & de Meuron, Office for Metropolitan Architecture (OMA), Philippe Starck, and UNStudio are just a few of the internationally renowned architectural firms working with Qatar Museums to establish five new cultural facilities in Qatar. The new constructions will be overseen by Qatar Museums, tasked with maintaining and expanding Qatar's cultural assets through managing the nation's expanding network of museums, heritage sites, festivals, and public art installations.

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Dismantling the system of slave and child labor in the architecture and construction industry does not seem like a simple task, especially on a global scale. However, this is precisely the mission of the Design for Freedom (DFF) initiative, created by CEO and founder of the Grace Farms Foundation, Sharon Prince, along with Bill Menking, professor and editor-in-chief of The Architect's Newspaper.

Through events and freely available tools, Design for Freedom seeks to "raise awareness and inspire responses to halt forced labor in the construction materials supply chain," offering paths to ensure transparency and ethics in the architectural production process.

The architecture firm MAD Architects, based in Beijing, China, has presented the design of its first project in South America, the mixed-use "Qondesa" tower in Quito, Ecuador, which will soon become the tallest building in the city.

Following findings from a study published in the Nature Ecology & Evolution journal this April, it has become public knowledge that the phenomenon dubbed the Great Pacific Garbage Patch (an area of 620,000 square miles between California and Hawaii) is serving as host to an entire coastal ecosystem. Marine wildlife is using the massive area compiled of human plastic waste as a floating habitat, and scientists are shocked at the number of species that have managed to establish life in this otherwise hostile environment.

The news once again brings into sharp focus not only pressing issues of climate change and ocean pollution but also the question of environmentally-induced migration, even at a microbial level. Architecture is moving into more and more experimental realms when it comes to considering locations for the communities of our future – and rising sea levels have promoted water to the top of the list. But these deliberations are not as recent as one might think: floating cities have been around for centuries and individual homes on water are common in areas of Benin, Peru or Iraq, among others.

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It is the contrast between the beach and forest walks that are so important, and the vibrant city with its multicultural influences that informs Nathalie Deboel's style. The interior designer lives in Ukkel, just outside Brussels, but runs her studio in the Belgian seaside town of Knokke – where she finds the tranquility that's reflected in her projects. "Comforting Homes" is the title of her monograph, published by Stockmans Art Books, which features some of her well balanced projects. To understand how she does it, Markus Hieke and Bette interviewed the designer on perpetuating stories of buildings and making them –with a view towards the sustainability of bathroom spaces– their inhabitants' favorite place.

As part of the exhibition program of the Museo Experimental El Eco, the call for entries for the 2023 Eco Pavilion was launched, inviting professionals involved in architectural practice in Mexico to dialogue with the museum's space. This edition marks 13 years of the Eco Pavilion, a competition launched in partnership with Buró-Buró with the mission of offering a platform for architectural production focusing on experimentation and spatial reflection. The winning project belongs to the team composed of OCIO taller + Bianchi Majer + Nicolás Guzmán + Angélica M. Pena + Andrés Lira.

Towers, walkways, decks, cabins and tree houses. Since 2010, the Hello Wood Festival has erected dozens of temporary constructions, with one common denominator: wood. The initiative aims to make knowledge about this material more accessible to everyone, as it has immense potential for the future. However, despite its potential, wood still faces various prejudices within the construction industry. Through the connection between designers and artists from different cultural, academic and professional backgrounds, the event uses construction as a platform for innovation, discussion and knowledge. It offers participants the unique opportunity to experiment with sustainable design and construction methods, encouraging learning through experience, held in a forested area near Budapest, Hungary.

Verticality in architecture conveys aesthetic, symbolic and cultural meanings, representing concepts such as elegance, sophistication, modernity, progress and technological advancement. In religious buildings, for example, it symbolizes greatness and a connection with the divine. These strategies are very common in Gothic architecture, as well as Art déco buildings or even the skyscrapers of Mies van der Rohe. But these elements need not be restricted to grandiose constructions. Even in single-family homes, working with elements that refer to verticality can be just as useful, playing with volumes and facades or working with openings, such as windows and doors.

For the 18th International Architecture Exhibition – La Biennale di Venezia, The Albanian Pavilion set out to respond to the theme “The Laboratory of the Future” with the exhibition “Untimely Meditations or: How We Learn to Live in Synthesized Realities.” The project seeks to introduce and understand new typologies of civic spaces by repurposing the rendering engine as a mechanism for exploration. The curatorial team is composed of architects Martin Gjoleka, and Era Merkuri, exhibiting together with architect Ani Marku and 3D digital artist Geraldo Prendushi.

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The Federal Aviation Administration has chosen the New York-based Practice for Architecture and Urbanism (PAU) studio to design the country's newest air traffic control towers. I.M. Pei's iconic mid-century towers will be replaced by PAU's adaptable and highly sustainable prototype, which offers a unique architectural solution that combines form and function for the twenty-first century. The new towers are vital to U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg's goal to reach net-zero greenhouse gas emissions from the U.S. aviation sector by 2050. They have been updated to reflect aviation technology, safety development, and changing environmental and climatic conditions.

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The use of light in religious constructions as an element of association with the divine has been present throughout the history of humanity. Historically, a series of temples from various religions have used this technique as an attempt to visually and perceptibly approach humans to a sacred and intangible dimension. Light is often given a spiritual connotation and significant symbolic force, capable of modifying people's relationships, perceptions, and experiences with their surroundings. Thus, it is an element that has been, and still is, used by architecture to create scenarios and effects in many religious spaces, especially churches.

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In the world of contemporary architecture and design trends, the topic of biophilia is ruthlessly spreading itself across floor plans, mood boards, and finished interiors like butter on hot toast. So talk of outdoor spaces with natural materials, fresh air, natural light, and expansive views may seem like a broken record, but sometimes you just want to keep on pressing repeat. Also like butter on hot toast, you can never have too much of a good thing.

These outdoor bathroom spaces open themselves up, both figuratively and literally, to outdoor environments in a variety of worldwide climates, without forgetting their main purpose: to provide a sanctuary of comfortable calm, in a stressful world.

“Can you help me design my residential tower? It's 30 stories and located in Brooklyn, New York.” ChatGPT’s response may be surprising. Given that the bot has no architectural experience, and is certainly not a licensed architect, it was quick to rattle off a list of considerations for my building. Zoning codes, floor plan functionality, building codes, materiality, structural design, amenity spaces, and sustainable measures were just a few of the topics ChatGPT shared information about.

Videos

Visualization and technology have long gone hand in hand. It is, after all, a means of representing architecture that has relied on technological developments to keep up with the demands of a growing audience across multiple industries. But the fact that the two are inseparable does not mean that technology should dictate the way in which visualization is used. As technology advances, so too does its ability to become less obtrusive, allowing technological know-how to take a back seat in favor of the creative process and design exploration.

The new version of Lumion has entered into a visualization landscape that has changed dramatically over the past decade. The pursuit of photorealism that dominated much of visualization’s technological development has, for the vast majority of its users, been largely accomplished. Effective visualization is now no longer an exception to the norm, but increasingly an expectation. As Remko Jacobs, Lumion Founder and Chief Technical Officer, explains, “photorealism is there, particularly when it comes to imaging the exterior of buildings. It’s much easier to make something that looks good.”

Within the framework of the Local Land-Use Planning and Sustainable Development Plan of Ciudad del Plata and its area of influence, a competition for preliminary architectural designs was launched to develop the Ciudad del Plata Civic Center. The goal is to transform the city, thereby establishing and strengthening a new urban-territorial centrality.

Rising living costs are relevant hurdles to young people, seeking a place to live, while much older generations might find it more difficult to settle into comfortable post-retirement settings. These general issues have been pushing forth a recurring solution, namely a return to multigenerational family living. 

While communal living concepts and developments had been adopted in recent years, familial involvement is proving to be a financially, legally, and emotionally viable alternative. 

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National Museums Liverpool (NML) has revealed a revised version of the redevelopment of the city’s waterfront, led by architect Asif Khan and artist Theaster Gates. The plans include the redesign of the public spaces at Canning Dock, a historical area central to the Liverpool docks. As part of the Waterfront Transformation Project, the interventions aim to create accessible public spaces to better serve the community and to create a link between the surrounding museums. The preliminary proposal is now open for public consultation.

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Playful cities promote play, leisure, and creativity in their public spaces and architecture. It offers opportunities for gatherings that help develop communities socially and culturally, improving the quality of life and providing essential elements for healthier and more balanced habits. They directly influence citizens' cognitive and emotional development by stimulating creativity and imagination through spaces designed for fun.

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Milan Design Week is an annual festival that returned to Milan this April, with as a main event, The Salone del Mobile, which runs from April 18 to 23, 2023, at the Fiera Milano exhibition venue. Over 370,000 people attended the furniture fair this year, while thousands of design studios presented furniture, lighting, appliances, kitchen, bathroom, outdoor and workstation products. To highlight furniture and object design and the broader context of Milanese architecture and culture, many architectural offices collaborated with various businesses to make architect-designed items and construct architectural installations.

Reputable architects participated in the week-long event as they do every year, using products, furniture, and installations to share their expertise, address some of the most pressing issues facing the field, and demonstrate how their work can benefit the environment and society. Many firmly established architecture studios, from Foster + Partners, Mario Cucinella, and Hassell, designed various products. Furthermore, architects such as The New Raw, Snøhetta, and Studio Etienne Bastormagi have designed products focusing on efficient and sustainable systems that can inform future decision-making.

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A solar power plant built on top of the Caximba landfill, which was decommissioned in 2010, is the new symbol of Curitiba. Nicknamed the “solar pyramid” due to its shape, the plant has an installed capacity of 4.55 megawatts (MW) and was inaugurated last Wednesday (29) during the city's 330th anniversary celebrations.

The project is part of “Curitiba Mais Energia,” one of the city's initiatives to combat and mitigate climate change by producing renewable energy. The municipality will reduce the emission of 2,000 tons of CO2 into the atmosphere, helping meet the city's greenhouse gas reduction targets.

Temporary pavilions and installations, such as those used in events, exhibitions, or festivals, present themselves as a great challenge when addressing the circular economy in architecture due to their ephemeral condition. It seems contradictory to address resource management and try to extract the maximum value from the materials and minimize waste and pollution while designing a structure that is meant to be used for a limited period of time. However, there are several strategies to rethink the way we are designing these structures in order to promote circularity.

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Architecture has the power to transform cities. Whether through the innovative use of materials, collaboration with other architecture firms to realize neighborhood master plans, or transforming public transportation for an entire population, design can significantly influence and impact how we interact with the places we live. In an exclusive interview with ArchDaily, Alan Pullman of Studio One Eleven talks about his firm’s vision for the future of Los Angeles and its approach to architecture and urban planning.

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No País dos Arquitectos is a podcast created by Sara Nunes, who also heads the architectural film production company Building Pictures. The podcast aims to profile the professionals, projects, and stories behind contemporary Portuguese architecture. With just over 10 million inhabitants, Portugal is a fascinating country when it comes to this professional field, and its architectural output far exceeds what its small population and territorial scale might suggest.

In this episode of the fifth season, Sara talks with architects Marta Brandão and Mário Sousa about the Mima housing system. Listen to the conversation and read an excerpt of the interview below.

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