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On November 26, ArchDaily Brasil received the FNA 2022 Award (Prêmio FNA), a prize that recognizes initiatives in favor of architecture and Brazilian cities. In its 5th edition, the award was presented during the 46th National Meeting of Architects and Urbanists Unions (46th ENSA), in Brasilia, and recognized the non-profit organization Comunidades Catalisadoras (ComCat) and the Fab Social project as well. On the same occasion, the architect, teacher, and activist Cláudia Teresa Pereira Pires was awarded the Architect and Urban Planner of the Year Prize.

Annually, 13% of the waste generated by humans is recycled, but where does the remaining 87% go? The combination of different types of waste is gradually filling the Earth’s oceans and landfills, leading to a negative impact on wildlife, the natural environment and human health. Within the large amounts of solid waste produced in developed cities, used electronics are a clear example of how materials can be efficiently managed after their life cycle ends. Understanding the behavior of these materials and resources before, during and after their useful life cycle has guided the search for new solutions, such as the Cradle to Cradle (C2C) methodology.

C2C proposes the design of products or processes that function as a healthy ecological system, where resources are efficiently managed in a cyclical way. By applying this methodology to electric appliances, JUNG has developed circular design strategies for their most-used switches and plugs for conventional and smart building technology, allowing them to be dismantled and reused when the product is no longer fit for use.

Much has been said about the power of artificial intelligence and how its rise could transform the architectural profession. This topic has already been explored in previous articles here.

The primary tool causing concern among industry experts is DALL-E, a machine learning-based software that generates images from text prompts entered by the user. Other platforms offer similar capabilities, such as Midjourney and Stable Diffusion.

For nearly a century, the areas of urban sprawl where every single-family home has its own yard, garage, and white picket fence represented the peak of life aspiration. Homeownership and the idea of claiming space away from the hustle and bustle of the city core was once considered the ideal lifestyle and the pinnacle of the American Dream. But as time went on, and socio-economic conditions shifted, cities that were once filled with these single-family homes realized that perhaps these zoning regulations were outdated, and new solutions needed to be created to prevent the current housing crisis from growing even more out of control.

The 2022 Chile Brick Architecture Award is organized by Cerámica Santiago and the Faculty of Architecture at the Universidad del Desarrollo. Held biennially, the event recognizes and promotes the use of ceramic brick in Chilean architecture, highlighting its wide range of applications and widespread adoption nationwide.

From October 29th to 30th, 2022, the Final Review Meeting, Award Ceremony and Cross-border Forum of the 「Beyond YUE｜Jianhu Revival」Shaoxing Jianhu Planning and Design Competition were successfully held at Jianhu in Keqiao. After 11 months of international competition, gathering talents from all over the world and global wisdom, the design and cultural event was held in October to kickstart the transformation of Shaoxing's Jianhu.

According to a survey by the Brazilian Association for Recycling of Construction and Demolition Waste (ABRECON), there has been an increase in the recycling of construction and demolition waste (C&D) in Brazil in recent years. According to the 2015 report, 21% of the total C&D was recycled in the country that year, while in 2013 the rate was 19%.

The outlook is promising but not yet ideal, and the growth of recycled C&D materials is still considered small. In Brazil, construction waste can represent between 50% and 70% of the total municipal solid waste. This means, we still need to advocate for a more common practice of material recycling and reuse in architecture, especially in Brazil.

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The urgent need to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in the transportation sector presents both a challenge and an opportunity for local governments. This is particularly true for Zero Emission Areas (ZEAs)—urban zones where pollutant emissions are neutralized. This measure primarily benefits citizens, who enjoy healthier urban spaces and more vibrant commercial activity. However, ensuring success—or at least mitigating public backlash—requires deep social engagement and effective communication with the population.

Various studies have indicated that, to prevent temperatures from rising more than 1.5°C, there must be a major drop in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. To achieve this, it is necessary to develop compact cities designed for pedestrians, cyclists, and transit users, as well as rapidly and strategically adopting electric vehicles, with a focus on public transportation.

The city of Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt, hosts the 2022 United Nations Climate Change Conference, COP27, from November 6 to 18. The conference builds on the negotiations of COP26 in Glasgow, Scotland, in 2021, with the expectation that countries will demonstrate climate ambition and urgency to limit the rise in global temperature to 1.5°C.

What is good architecture? More than two thousand years ago, Vitruvius would have answered that good architecture is that which contemplates three basic principles: firmitas (firmness), utilitas (utility), and venustas (beauty), as he described in his treatise De Architectura, and probably no one would have questioned it. Today, this broad question is capable of eliciting hundreds of answers, all personal and subjective, which have to do with the experience of each person.

“All the physical spaces that we (architects) design – buildings, interiors and cities are born as metaspaces, and we call them 3D models”. With this statement Brian Jencek, director of planning at San Francisco-based architecture firm HOK, narrows the boundaries between the current way of designing and the future of architecture in the metaverse. According to him, we are not that far from this technology, since we already use the same tools that visual designers use to create realistic environments, such as Unity, Twin motion and Blender.

Quay Quarter Tower (QQT), designed by 3XN has been declared the World Building of the Year 2022 at the fifteenth annual World Architecture Festival (WAF), held in Lisbon.

The 206-meter tower, located close to the Sydney Opera House, is an office building arranged as a vertical village, creating a sense of community and providing spaces that focus on collaboration, health, well-being and external terraces.

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Talking to architect Marta Maccaglia about her work is not just talking about architecture. Each of her projects derives from a participatory way of working, based on the approach and deep understanding of its users in their social and local context, their needs, the territory and the available resources, resulting in works that acquire a meaning beyond that of the function itself.

To meet daily needs and ensure domestic routines function smoothly, the interior and exterior spaces of a home require certain fixtures and furniture—no matter how minimal or essential they may be. In many cases, selecting and designing the furniture that will complement the architectural project is relegated to a post-construction phase and, typically, left to the clients themselves.

However, for some architects, furniture design is considered an integral part of the project. Capitalizing on the plasticity and malleability of certain materials, they choose to integrate interior furniture directly with the architecture. In their designs, benches, shelves, and countertops merge with the spatial language, unfolding sculpturally to extend the surfaces of floors, walls, and partitions.

Brazil is currently the sixth country in the world most affected by climate disasters, according to the United Nations. The primary issues are waterlogging and flooding, as they bring windstorms, landslides, and flash floods. One in three disasters in Brazil falls into this category — with more than 10,000 official occurrences recorded between 1991 and 2010.

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Prefabricated systems have become an effective option for completing projects that require standardized modular solutions, such as hotels, hospitals, residences, and residential buildings. The primary advantages of using ready-made modules are reduced labor time, optimal control, and project traceability. While the functional value of these systems—in terms of their quick and easy execution—is significant, the use of quality materials provides additional value. However, to understand how these modules function and are applied, it is first necessary to understand their origin and process.

Unlike classical architecture, characterized by a series of rooms with very defined functions and spaces, the current architectural design seeks to integrate spaces to achieve high degrees of adaptability and flexibility. In this way, the boundaries of the enclosures are blurred and new solutions appear that are worth analyzing. In the case of bedrooms, bathrooms are often no longer a small and secluded adjoining room – instead, they are now integrated to form a multifunctional space that is subtly concealed. Just like Mies van der Rohe, who used to group services in strategic areas to create open floors, let's review some cases that have adopted the specific solution of the hidden bathroom just behind the bed.

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"Life, space, buildings - in that order". This phrase, from the Danish urban architect Jan Gehl, sums up the changes that Copenhagen has undergone in the last 50 years. Currently known as one of the cities with the highest levels of quality of life satisfaction, the way its public spaces and buildings were and are designed have inspired architects, government authorities and urban planners around the world. What we see today, however, is the result of courageous decision-making, much observation and, above all, designs that put people first. Copenhagen will be the UNESCO-UIA World Capital of Architecture in 2023 as well as host of the UIA World Congress of Architects due to its strong legacy in innovative architecture and urban development, along with its concerted efforts in matters of climate, sustainability solutions and livability.

Meinhard von Gerkan, founder of von Gerkan, Marg and Partners Architects (gmp), and one of the most influential German architects, passed away in Hamburg at the age of 87, on November 30, 2022. With a worldwide contribution to the field of architecture, in his 50 years of career, von Gerkan has created one of the largest practices in Germany, with 600 employees in seven locations. University professor and critic, the architect together with gmp, has completed more than 500 projects all over the world.

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Foster + Partners has been announced as the winner of the competition to design the new King Salman International Airport in Riyadh. Saudi culture and identity drive the airport's architectural design to ensure a unique travel experience for visitors and transit travelers. The master plan will boost Saudi Arabia's capital as a global logistics hub, stimulate transport, trade, and tourism, and act as a bridge connecting 180 million passengers from East to West.

Atelier TAO+C, Weston Williamson + Partners, OHLAB and JC Architecture are among the award category winners announced on the second day of the World Architecture Festival in Lisbon. The festival’s judges recognized a diverse array of completed, future and interior projects across over 20 categories.

In recent years hair salons and barbershops have begun to incorporate different activities - a programmatic hybridization almost necessary in today's service economy. 

Several architects have been commissioned to propose alternatives to the standard beauty salon/barbershop to not only address an efficient configuration but stunning interior aesthetics.

Take a look at 10 barbershops and beauty salons with their plan and section. 

This article was originally published on Common Edge.

Authenticity seems impossible today, with places and the buildings in them assembled with products from the Industrial Development Complex that could be assembled almost anywhere else on Earth in a debauchery of placelessness, disharmony with nature, and meaninglessness that doesn’t age well. So how is authenticity in the built environment achieved?

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