Thought you had already seen, read, and heard everything about the Week of '22? The Betoneira Podcast, however, approached the topic through a different lens: architecture. Guest Guilherme Wisnik explained how Oswald de Andrade's *antropofagia* underpinned Lúcio Costa and Oscar Niemeyer’s relationship with Le Corbusier in the design of the Capanema Palace, Brazil’s first public modernist building.

The Glass House, located on Ponus Ridge Road in New Canaan, Connecticut, was designed and built in the late 1940s as the home of its architect, Philip Johnson. Considered an icon of modern architecture, the house explores the boundaries between interior and exterior. One year after its completion, its mimesis, the Brick House, was built 25 meters in front of it, sharing the same length but only half the depth of the glass house.

Peru, a country of rich heritage and ancestral wisdom, won two awards at Expo 2020 Dubai for the Peru Pavilion, which captivated visitors through the concept of "Timeless Peru." First, the trade publication Exhibitor presented the pavilion with the World Expo Award in the People’s Choice Awards category, following an online vote where people from around the world selected their best overall experience from the expo.

Additionally, on March 30 of this year, the Peru Pavilion won the Gold Award at the BIE Day Awards in the Self-built pavilions – Category B (between 1,750m2 and 2,500m2) category. The award recognized three key aspects: architecture and landscape, exhibition design, and theme interpretation.

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This week's curated selection of Best Unbuilt Architecture highlights designs submitted by established architecture practices, featuring conceptual works, competition entries and projects in different stages of development. From the transformation of a former mall into a healthcare facility in the United States, a masterplan for the redevelopment of a zoo in Canada to a brewery regeneration in China, the following explores a variety of designs by global architecture offices.

Featuring firms like Perkins +Will, Henning Larsen Architects, URBANUS or Mandaworks, this week's selection of unbuilt projects highlights worldwide interventions that illustrate a variety of ideas, from adaptive-reuse strategies, interventions in heritage sites and new models for public buildings.

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Pricing architectural project work is a complex issue that is not usually addressed during one's formative school years, and it usually takes time for professionals to develop a good system that works for them and their clients. Issues such as scope of work, hours worked, project area and project complexity will influence the final cost of a job. In addition, another thing that can keep project professionals awake at night is how to charge clients in a way that is sustainable for the business and comfortable for future users of the designed space.

PLP Architecture has unveiled plans for Tokyo Cross Park, an upcoming redevelopment of an entire district set to become the largest development site in the metropolitan area of Tokyo. The new 230-hectare "green heart of the city" will include four towers, two of which to be designed by PLP, a 31-metre-tall podium with an elevated green public realm, and a 2-hectare public plaza.

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New images have been released by Studio Gang showcasing the construction progress of the firm's American Museum of Natural History Expansion in New York. Dubbed as the Richard Gilder Center for Science, Education, and Innovation, the project will link together 10 museum buildings, improving circulation and creating one monumental campus of exhibition galleries, state-of-the-art classrooms, an immersive digital theater, and a redesigned library.

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One of the first elements used by humans to build shelters, wood is a versatile material that, along with technological advances, remains a protagonist in the construction industry, being used in different ways and moments in a work.

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The immensity of China leads to the diversity of customs and climatic conditions. Each area has its own unique materials, construction methods, and climate adaptation measures. The regional characteristics of Chinese architecture are generally preserved in rural buildings. But we cannot overlook how contemporary technology may considerably improve the living and use conditions of rural buildings. What is the best way to create a balance between classic or inherent technology and new ones? How would the construction of rural architecture provide inspiration for the development of Chinese architectural cultural symbols?

2022 Pritzker Architecture Prize winner Diébédo Francis Kéré reported the great solutions of Burkina Faso. Kéré insists to build comfortable buildings at a reasonable price; to make users happy and inspire them to dream of a better life. The pride of the local culture is reinforced by the use of local materials and traditional techniques. And then Kéré‘s works in other countries show cultural emblems of Burkina Faso, which are the consequence of his own cultural accumulation.

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This article was originally published on Common Edge.

Compared to that of the West and East, awareness and knowledge of the architecture of sub-Saharan Africa—Africa south of the Sahara Desert—is scant. A new book intends to mitigate this oversight, and it’s a significant accomplishment. Architectural Guide Sub-Saharan Africa (DOM publishers, 2021), edited by Philipp Meuser, Adil Dalbai, and Livingstone Mukasa, was more than six years in the making. The seven-volume guide presents architecture in the continent’s 49 sub-Saharan nation-states, includes contributions by nearly 340 authors, 5,000 photos, more than 850 buildings, and 49 articles expressly devoted to theorizing African architecture in its social, economic, historical, and cultural context. I interviewed two of the editors—Adil Dalbai, an architectural researcher and practitioner specializing in sub-Saharan Africa, and Livingstone Mukasa, a native Ugandan architect interested in the intersections of architectural history and cultural anthropology—about the challenges of creating the guide, some of its revelations about the architecture of Africa, and its potential impact.

As the hospitality sector begins to reemerge after the global pandemic, fresh thinking, new strategies and innovation will be key – and all on show at HD Expo + Conference in Las Vegas, 26 to 28 April.

The earliest mosaics date back to the 8th century BCE. Indeed, they were already used as decorative elements and paving in Ancient Greece and the Roman Empire. Yet, despite this long history, they remain as relevant as ever, continuing to set trends in contemporary design. Furthermore, in recent years, mosaic techniques have evolved alongside new technologies and advanced manufacturing methods, giving rise to various types of coverings with diverse formats, styles, colors, and properties adapted to a wide range of functions. Among these, glass systems stand out particularly for their beauty, versatility, and physical properties.

A week ago, we announced the 15 finalist projects of the 2022 Building of the Year award —the prize for the best architecture in Spanish. Our jury of experts—you, our readers—made an initial selection of 15 from nearly 1,000 architectural works built in Latin America and Spain to proceed with the final vote for 3 projects that represent the best of the architecture that inspires, defines, and shapes us.

Today is the day to announce the winners of ODA2022!

We are pleased to present three projects located in Colombia, Cuba, and Chile that demonstrate the relevance of thinking of architecture as a solution to specific and local needs in order to improve the quality of life, at any scale or program. 

The 2022 Building of the Year Award is presented to you by Dornbracht, renowned for its leading designs in architecture, which can be found internationally in bathrooms and kitchens. See the selected projects below.

Last week, we announced the 15 finalists for the 2022 Obra do Ano, an award celebrating the best of Portuguese-speaking architecture by inviting our readers to vote for their favorite projects built in Portuguese-speaking countries. The day has come to announce the winners of ODA 2022.

The 2022 Obra do Ano Award is presented by Dornbracht, an internationally renowned brand for kitchen and bathroom products.

The Transamerica Pyramid, a landmark in the skyline of San Francisco, is undergoing a revitalization project led by Foster + Partners and luxury real estate developers SHVO. Built in 1972, the 48-story Brutalist-style project was designed by American architect William Pereira, and was the tallest building in San Francisco for nearly half a century. The renovation will be the largest in the building’s 50-year history, will also see the expansion and upgrade of the adjacent Three Transamerica (545 Sansome).

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During the past two years spent photographing Expo 2020 Dubai, I was often asked by friends what exactly it was. To align with its closure on the 31st of March, I would like to address that question from two angles. Most readers will be aware that the expo is part of a tradition dating back to the 19th century - a Showcase for companies and countries, a tourist attraction, a testing ground for technical innovation. But it is also a collection of paradigm studies on opportunity, sustainability, and mobility, as well as a lucrative building project creating a new neighbourhood in the Emirates and a future means of dwelling. Perhaps this last frame of reference is the most interesting for it is what most distinguishes this expo from others.

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To honor the losses caused by the pandemic over the past two years, a temporary national memorial will be built in Bedworth’s Miners' Welfare Park in England on May 21st until May 28th. Designed by artist David Best, Sanctuary will serve as a powerful symbol of catharsis and rebirth for the whole community, giving them the chance to grieve the losses caused by the pandemic by writing messages or leaving mementos on the walls of the installation, which will then be burned on its last day.

You may have heard an architect colleague say that he chose to study architecture because of the numerous possibilities of action that this degree allows. The field of architecture is, in fact, very extensive, through which it is possible to embark not only on the most “traditional” attributions, but also to venture into various specificities that comprehend the role of the architect and urban planner.

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The 8th March is a date set by the UN in 1975 to remember the struggle for equal rights and universal suffrage. This commemoration brings together the efforts of women who demanded their right to vote, work, professional training, hold public office, and fight discrimination in the workplace. This struggle is the fruit of the work of women who sacrificed themselves for the cause. Various events that we experience on a daily basis show that the social situation has changed. However, it is essential that both men and women commit themselves to progress and justice in order to make things happen.

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Videos

After water, concrete is the second most-consumed material on the planet and its production is substantially growing, expected to increase from 4.4 billion tons, reaching production up to 5.5 billion tons by 2050. Unfortunately, this comes at a huge environmental cost, accounting for almost eight percent of the global carbon emissions. With this estimated expected growth, stakeholders in the construction industry must work on integrating sustainable building materials and innovative processes. 

This past January, the Municipal Government of São Paulo, one of Latin America's largest cities, released the results of its Census of the Homeless Population, presenting its socioeconomic characterization and a territorial profile. Recent GDP data, along with the census findings, demonstrate the impacts of the pandemic and the economic and political crisis on society, confirming what is being reflected across major Brazilian cities.

Once reserved for hospital environments or highly controlled laboratories, biosecurity has become a shared concern for many of us, especially considering that we spend most of our time indoors. With new outbreaks of the Covid-19 Delta variant detected in various states—driving a 9% increase in the epidemiological curve—families continue to seek the protection and resources needed to safeguard their spaces, ensuring sanitary safety against constant exposure to infections, viruses, and bacteria that pose potential health risks.

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As part of the activities at the Casa del Lago cultural center, located in Mexico City's Chapultepec Forest, the installation "Ephemeral Bubbles" by Plastique Fantastique will be on display in the venue's gardens from March 24 to April 2. Based in Berlin, Germany, the creative laboratory experiments with temporary interventions and carries out artistic projects worldwide.

To promote the key, transformative role of architecture in improving quality of life and contributing to a better world, the Higher Council of Colleges of Architects of Spain (CSCAE) is revamping the awards it has presented since 1981 with the launch of the first edition of the ARQUITECTURA Awards.