The Design Center Baden-Württemberg has opened the call for submissions for the 2023 edition of its Focus Open International Design Award. As a non-commercial design prize, the Focus Open offers particularly low barriers to participation thanks to its moderate fees, while providing a high level of visibility from which, in the event of an award, smaller agencies, design studios and companies, in particular, can benefit. Entries can be submitted in a total of 14 categories including Bathroom, Kitchen, Light, Mobility, Investment products, Sport and Mobility.
After two weeks of voting in our 14th edition of the Building of the Year Awards, our readers have narrowed down over 4,500 projects to just 75 finalists across 15 categories, casting over 100,000 votes. This year's awards celebrate the very best in design, innovation, and sustainability from around the globe, with the shortlist featuring an exceptional range of projects, from a house in a favela to cutting-edge cultural centers and innovative public spaces that are sure to impress. As a crowdsourced award, we are proud to say that your selections are a true reflection of the state of architecture, and this year's finalists are no exception.
On February 15, 2023, the Living Places / Simon Architecture Prize 2023 award ceremony was held in Barcelona. An initiative by Simon, with the support of the Fundació Mies van der Rohe, the prize seeks to recognize excellence in architecture from the perspective of the inhabitant. In fact, "it distinguishes those works which strengthen the ability of adaptability of spaces to reach comfort and well-being to its residents".
Within the scope of construction, a budget is a technical planning tool that forecasts project expenses, combining materials, labor, monthly overhead, and indirect costs. Nevertheless, many risk starting a build without a detailed budget, often falling into the traps of an unplanned project—which is invariably more expensive and time-consuming than anticipated.
In civil construction, a budget is a document that outlines all the services to be executed during the project, totaling the necessary materials and required labor. In addition, the budget can factor in fixed monthly operational costs, such as utilities, or include an extra percentage for contingencies.
Walking down the streets of cities like Hanoi and Saigon in Vietnam, you might encounter houses with surprisingly narrow facades in contrast to the stacking of three to five floors, with windows for ventilation and natural light only on the front facade. These are the famous traditional Tube Houses. According to ancient popular culture, this type of housing emerged due to property taxes being based on the width of the facade, but the true reason is to optimize land use, allowing a larger number of plots in the same square.
However, this legacy is now being recreated in contemporary designs by Vietnamese architects. Old facades give way to innovative solutions featuring atriums for natural lighting and ventilation, courtyards and interior gardens, greenery incorporated into different environments, split-levels, etc., allowing for high-quality spaces. With that in mind, we have put together a selection of Tube Houses, together with their respective section drawings. Check out below:
In a conversation with Louisiana Channel, the founders of the international practice Helen & Hard Architects reaffirm their insistence on community and sustainability. The use of wood, in their practice, has become more than a building philosophy, it has turned into a philosophy. “Trees have a life of their own, and you feel a deep respect for the time it has taken to grow. We work with something alive, an organic material. We can’t do as we please with it. We must interact with the material.”
In August 2022, Siv Helene Stangeland and Reinhard Kropf, the founders of Helen & Hard, were interviewed by Marc-Christoph Wagner at various locations in and around Stavanger, Norway. The area holds special importance for the architects, whose approach was influenced by the culture that permeates Stavanger and the west coast of Norway.
Courtesy of National Pavilion UAE - La Biennale di Venezia
Aridly Abundant is the title of the body of research being exhibited at the UAE National Pavilion at the 18th annual International Architecture Exhibition - La Biennale di Venezia. The Pavilion was curated by Faysal Tabbarah, Associate Dean and Professor of Architecture at the College of Architecture, Art, and Design at the American University of Sharjah. The exhibition explores the possibility of architectural possibilities in, with, and for arid landscapes.
I've been designing websites since 1997, and in that time, websites have changed quite a bit. With all the changes over the years, it's no surprise that I often find some firm owners don't understand how architecture website design really works. While you might know a bad website when you see one, you might not understand what makes a good site work. This article will change that.
Founded in 2002 by a group of architects with diverse academic backgrounds from both China and abroad, Verse Design has been deeply engaged in exploring various scales of design for over twenty years, including urban design, architectural design, community making, and residential product systems. Through years of practice, the firm has developed a systematic and continuous design logic and methodology. From programming and planning to urban design, and from schematic design to detail control, a "craftsman's spirit" permeates every phase of our work. We are dedicated to the process of identifying problems, refining solutions, and executing them, maintaining an exceptionally high standard for project implementation and completion. Our primary project types include cultural tourism resort towns, resort hotels, as well as cultural and community lifestyle amenities.
Verse Design maintains a boutique team size and a flat management structure, offering architects a highly autonomous working atmosphere. Here, you will engage in multi-dimensional, full-lifecycle projects ranging from early-stage programming and urban design to architectural design and detailing. We look forward to welcoming like-minded, exceptional architects to join us and grow together with Verse Design.
The firm's office is located in a historic garden villa at the intersection of Zhaojiabang Road and Wulumuqi Road in Shanghai. It is conveniently situated just 50 meters on foot from Zhaojiabang Road Station (Metro Lines 7 and 9), offering an easily accessible and comfortable working environment.
As if dealing with a culinary recipe, Cedric Price compared the evolution of cities to the multiple ways of cooking an egg, showing how the relationship between the yolk and the white (inherent to each preparation) resembled the configuration of different urban models that have emerged over the last couple of millennia. This evolutionary description moves from the almost perfect hard-boiled egg embodied by ancient cities (the result of walled settlements) to scrambled eggs, comparable to modern cities (sprawling shapelessly across the vast territory). It is a metaphor that exemplifies how, so often, the elements that make up the city resemble one another (like the yolk and the white) and yet, the way these ingredients intermingle is key to the final recipe—that which characterizes and explains them.
https://www.archdaily.com/1136054/unscrambling-madrid-describing-the-urban-mix-before-degrowthPablo Martínez y Mar Santamaria (300.000Km/s)
Envisioned by the architectural pioneers at Woods Bagot, the Sculptform Design Studio was the recipient of the prestigious Best Small Workplace Award at the recent World Architecture Festival 2022. The space is an immersive tactile experience and has become a gathering space for the wider architecture industry. The design evokes the bespoke timber and aluminium products, craftsmanship and the custom detailing they are known for.
Sculptform and Woods Bagot set a new standard for the reciprocity that can exist between client and architect and showcases the limitless potential when a design team is truly immersed in materiality. Blurring the line between retail space and installation, it is a brilliant ‘working showroom’ case study for just how impactful design can be when local manufacturing and quality craftsmanship come together.
The Zaha Hadid-designed Business Stadium Central has been granted approval by the City of Vilnius. In collaboration with Lithuanian developer Hanner, the project seeks to become a new gathering place for the city, creating a variety of new public spaces and amenities with flexible workplaces as well as health and wellness facilities for everyone in Vilnius. Construction is scheduled for the second quarter of this year.
BIG has won a proposal to design a 300 m tall residential tower and a 250 m tall office tower for the Guiwan district, located in the metropolitan city of Qianhai, what is most commonly known as the international finance city of China. Part of the new development plan for Qianhai Bay, the Prisma Towers aim to transform the greater bay area. The project will include workspaces, residences, and 20,000m2 of leveled public spaces.
Over 4% of deaths in European cities during the summer months are due to urban heat islands, and one-third of these deaths could be prevented if tree canopy cover reached 30%. These are the main findings of a study recently published in the journal The Lancet and conducted by the Barcelona Institute for Global Health (ISGlobal).
https://www.archdaily.com/1135853/trees-can-prevent-heat-related-deaths-in-cities-study-confirmsArchDaily Team
World Wetlands Day is celebrated every February 2nd to raise awareness of wetlands. This day also marks the anniversary of the Wetlands Convention, adopted as an international treaty in 1971. Its enactment is because nearly 90% of the world's wetlands have been degraded since 1700, decimated three times faster than the forests. However, they are essential ecosystems that contribute to biodiversity, climate mitigation and adaptation, freshwater availability, world economies, and much more.
Founder of the balanced-arm design, the Anglepoise lamp holds the weight of its head with attached springs. Image Courtesy of Anglepoise
"You’ve got a friend in me…" sings Randy Newman, in the Oscar-winning toy-box-fearing romp, Toy Story. But although the song refers to the relationship between a young boy and his favorite toys, it could equally apply to another of Pixar Animation’s most iconic characters, the loveable Luxo Jr, seen hopping around the studio’s production logo.
Combining a stable base with an independently moveable arm and head may make anthropomorphic desk lamps more functional, but while size, position, brightness, temperature, and the adjustability of all of the above are important features, what you really look for in someone to share a desk with, is a friend. Here are some of the friendliest desk light characters.
Castro Alves Square belongs to the people as the sky belongs to the airplane a new frevo, I ask for a new frevo everyone in the square and so many dull people in the ballroom (Um Frevo Novo - Caetano Veloso)
For Caetano, true joy lies in the appropriation of the square, not the ballroom. However, this interpretation of Brazil's greatest cultural manifestation is not unanimous.
https://www.archdaily.com/1123737/taking-your-block-to-the-streets-is-the-right-to-the-cityBeatriz de Paula e Danielle Klintowitz
“Bienvenidas las flores y los polinizadores” | Puerta de Leones del Bosque de Chapultepec | Primer Festival Flores y Jardines | 10 abril al 1 mayo 2017. Image Cortesía de coolhuntermx
If there is one defining characteristic of Mexican flora, it is its beauty and unique, vivid, and emblematic colors. Mexican culture and its indigenous peoples are known worldwide for their mastery and the outstanding talent of artists and artisanal communities.
With a simple flick of a switch, lighting has the ability to completely transform a space, define its ambiance and create a mesmerizing, multi-sensory experience. It can cast shadows and highlights, add depth and texture, and even has the power to stir emotions and influence our well-being. More than just a practical source of illumination, it’s a tool for sculpting spaces and making a bold statement. Lighting fixtures come in various shapes, sizes and styles, each with a unique character and purpose; from the ornate elegance of a chandelier hanging from the ceiling to the sleek minimalism of a recessed light installed into a wall. The possibilities for creative expression are endless. Innovating and breaking the boundaries of traditional lighting design, Tom Dixon’s sculptural luminaires are a testament to these possibilities.
NOW HERE THERE - Accelerator of Ideas, 100 Lateral Pedagogies. Image Courtesy of UAR
The Romanian Pavilion at the 18th International Architecture Exhibition – La Biennale di Venezia will showcase innovative, yet unusual ideas and past technological innovations as a source of inspiration for creating more enjoyable and resilient urban environments. Titled “Now, Here, There,” the project was chosen following a national competition. The curatorial team composed of Emil Ivănescu, Simina Filat, Cătălin Berescu, and Anca Păsărin suggests turning to forgotten early 20th-century inventions to open up the field of possibilities for future developments. The team also collaborates with a number of specialists and institutions, including the National Technical Museum in Bucharest, which will provide a series of original artifacts to be on display for the duration of the exhibition, from May 20 to November 26, 2023.
Perkins & Will has just begun construction on the Gateway Project for the University of British Columbia. The project will serve as the primary entrance point to the campus, as well as the new hub for the Nursing, Kinesiology, Language Science, and the university's health clinics. This project is inspired by the surrounding landscape and is informed by the Musqueam people, who have been occupying these territories for generations.
Students at the School of Engineering, RMIT University recently published a study experimenting with a new form of waste management and recycling. As they note in their research, cigarette butts are the most commonly discarded single waste item in the world, with an estimated 5.7 trillion having been consumed around the globe in 2016. However, the materials in cigarette butts—particularly their cellulose acetate filters—can be extremely harmful to the environment due to poor biodegradability. The RMIT study builds on a previous research study by Mohajerani et. al (2016) that experimented with adding discarded cigarette butts to clay bricks for architectural use. In their research, the RMIT students found that such a measure would reduce the energy consumption of the brick production process and lower the thermal conductivity of the bricks, but that other issues including bacterial contamination would have to be addressed prior to successful implementation. Below, we explore this research in more detail, investigating its relevance to the architecture industry and imagining possible futures of application.
https://www.archdaily.com/956164/is-it-possible-to-create-lightweight-bricks-by-recycling-cigarette-buttsLilly Cao
Stabilized Aluminum Foam is a unique looking material that combines the aesthetics of aluminum (its texture, shades and brightness) with a spongy, porous appearance. It is produced by injecting air into a cast aluminum alloy with stabilizing agents, which after curing, creates a porous and lightweight, yet highly resistant and rigid cellular structure. Because of its mechanical and thermal properties, it is particularly useful in applications in various industries, such as automotive, aerospace and marine, especially for energy absorption, thermal insulation, and sound dampening.
As 2023 begins, looking back at 2022 reveals a year of profound shifts, challenges, and boundary-pushing opportunities for architectural practices worldwide. Navigating these new unknowns, we have compiled our interviews from the past year with a diverse range of firms and practitioners. This retrospective explores how legacy firms with over two decades of practice continue to thrive, how the profession is adapting to technological frontiers like the metaverse and artificial intelligence, the challenges material experts are tackling, and how a new generation of architects is shaping the future of the discipline. Read on for our annual roundup of conversations.
