Payette is a studio reimagining what it means to practice today. While primarily an architecture firm, the firm is rooted in an interdisciplinary approach encompassing landscape architecture, interior design, building science, space strategies, design visualization, fabrication, computation and research. For Principal Leon W. Drachman, Payette is an office that moves across a broad range of scales to reimagine design, from a campus master plan to facade details.
As part of the new Tirana 2030 master plan, Stefano Boeri Architetti has created a new model for schools, transforming them into a place for people of all ages, open every hour of the day and every day of the year. The newly-inaugurated project in Tirana serves as a "new epicenter for life in urban neighborhoods", used by students during the day as a school campus and by the whole community on weekends and public holidays as recreational and meeting places, as well as potential places for shelter during emergencies.
KCAP revealed its competition-winning design for the Keflavík Airport Area Strategic Masterplan in Iceland, comprising an area of 55 square kilometres around the country’s global aviation hub. Developed together with Felixx Landscape Architects & Planners, Kanon Arkitektar and a multidisciplinary team of professionals across a wide range of fields, the masterplan proposes a “collaborative development between public and private sectors”, seeking to transform specific areas around the airport into the hallmarks of the country’s sustainability and economic strategies.
When designing an architectural space, it's necessary to think about how to satisfy the needs of each user, looking to achieve an adequate level of comfort and a pleasant experience. Auditoriums, cinemas, and theatres are spaces that involve large masses of people, so special attention must be paid to factors like isoptics, acoustics or accessibility so that when witnessing an event, everyone is able to receive the same information.
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Control of concrete strength and maturity in large-scale projects has traditionally been recorded and measured manually. Nowadays, there are new technologies that allow builders to melt sensors directly into the concrete, which –connected to a transmitter– show continuous data on the material's temperatures, sending this data wirelessly to the cloud platform. The software then automatically calculates maturity and strength based on historical data, so the concrete mix and strength development process can be followed from any device and in real-time.
These sensors, based on 0G technology from Sigfox –one of the main IoT (Internet of Things) operators worldwide– have facilitated the construction of one of the most innovative architectural projects in Europe, the Cactus Towers (Kaktustårnene) in Copenhagen, helping calculate the exact moment to remove the formwork that shapes its characteristic façade.
Organized by the Central Society of Architects (SCA) and the Chamber of the Red Ceramic Industry (CICER), this award aims to recognize architectural production focused on the use of ceramic masonry, as well as the work of architects in projects utilizing these materials. Featuring projects where hollow brick is the predominant material, the award seeks to promote its use as a sustainable, long-term solution in both urban and rural settings.
More than 5000 new projects published throughout 2021 make ArchDaily the largest online architecture library in the world. ArchDaily Curatorial Team researches, contacts offices, prepares, and delivers the built projects in the world on a daily basis, with the objective of providing inspiration, knowledge, and tools to our users who take part in the creation of better built environments.
After more than two years of ongoing conversations with residents, stakeholders, and entrepreneurs, the New York City Council has finally approved the River Ring master plan of the Williamsburg waterfront project. The revised proposal, developed by Two Trees Management with designs by Bjarke Ingels Group and James Corner Field Operations, includes more than 150 additional units of affordable senior housing, an environmental benefits fund, and dedicated YMCA community space "to enhance the connectivity of the public waterfront, reinstate natural habitats, elevate the standard for urban waterfront resiliency, and transform the way New Yorkers interact with the East River".
MVRDV revealed its design for a temporary intervention that takes tourists and city dwellers on a walk across several rooftops in Rotterdam, highlighting an untapped potential for expanding the public realm. Created in collaboration with Rotterdam Rooftop Days, the project will feature an aerial bridge from the roof of The Bijenkorf department store to the top of the World Trade Centre plinth and will be available to the public from May 26 to June 24 2022, during Rotterdam Architecture Month.
.jpg?1640166431 "Stairs of Kriterion, temporary rooftop intervention. Image © Laurian Ghinitoiu")
Back in 2019, Japanese architect Kengo Kuma won the contest to design the expansion of the gardens of the Gulbenkian Foundation and the new entrance of the Modern Collection of the Museum in Lisbon, Portugal. According to the architect, the museum can be a "wise example of the future as coexistence with the Earth and us", taking inspiration from nature and its relationship with architecture. In a recent No País dos Arquitectos podcast, Sara Nunes interviews Kengo Kuma and Rita Topa, architect at Kengo Kuma Associates, to talk about the expansion of the gardens and museum, along with the mission of architecture and the role of the architect, processes, and work references developed for the project.
Even though white minimalism remains the norm, retro trends are making a serious comeback in modern bathroom designs, with homeowners incorporating pops of color, classic fixtures, and patterned surfaces. Despite often being static and traditional spaces in homes, bathrooms have certainly undergone significant transformations throughout the years. While those of the outspoken 1970s brought vibrant colors like avocado green and mustard yellow, the ‘80s introduced ceramic tiles in more muted, pastel shades. On the other hand, this century has set the ideal on white and marbled surfaces, slick gloss finishes, and silver fixtures. However, even as this all-white look continues to be the protagonist, bold retro enhancements are reviving and blending in with contemporary elements to create elegant, yet lively atmospheres with a strong character.
Circulation spaces are often challenging for designers as they are intended—as the name implies—for moving from one room to another. While many take advantage of these areas by using them as storage spaces, Mies van der Rohe at the Farnsworth house reduced circulation to a minimum, creating an open floor plan completely free of hallways. When faced with vertical circulation, the issue is similar. Stairs fulfill the purpose of overcoming the height between one floor and another, but rarely constitute indoor living spaces. Bleachers, in turn, play this role in several projects. Until recently, they were only found in sports spaces or amphitheaters; now the use of bleachers has become widespread and is seen in office spaces, public buildings, schools and even homes.
Due to unexpected circumstances, The Tallinn Architecture Biennale announced a new winning proposal for its Installation Programme Competition: Fungible Non-Fungible Pavilion by iheartblob, a new "decentralized and systematic" approach towards architectural design which allows the community to be both designers and investors, contributing to a structure that evolves over time. TAB 2022 will take place during September – October 2022, with the opening week on the 7th–11th of September.
Henning Larsen revealed its proposal for an International Conference Center in Pujiang, China, that would help define a vibrant city centre with sustainability as its hallmark. Featuring a circular structure with an urban park at its core, the project is articulated around ten design strategies to achieve carbon neutrality and meet high well-being standards. The proposal is one of the winning projects of an international competition whose shortlist includes designs by Zaha Hadid Architect, GMP Architects, MVRDV and Swooding Architects.
Architecture, to materialize as a constructed and functional building, requires the collaboration of a series of disciplines. During the design stages, these complementary areas are added to the architectural design, attaching systems that help in the construction's functionality, known as complementary projects.
Today, bathroom and sanitaryware design is witnessing a concerted move away from the mild-mannered minimalism and washed-out pastel accents of the turn of the millennium. Bathrooms increasingly feature either bolder colors or more pronounced textures and patterns, and these are found in ceramics as well as fixtures and accessories, providing a more layered, multi-sensory experience.
With the goal of getting to know the architects, projects, and stories behind landmark Portuguese architecture, Sara Nunes, from the architectural film production company Building Pictures, launched the podcast No País dos Arquitectos, where she speaks with leading names in contemporary Portuguese architecture.
In this week's episode, Sara speaks with architects Susana Rosmaninho and Pedro Azevedo, from the studio Rosmaninho + Azevedo, about their project for the Tua Valley Interpretive Center, located in Carrazeda de Ansiães. Catch up on other interviews from the podcast No País dos Arquitectos and read the transcript of the interview below.
Bakeries are timeless. While industrialization and commercialization have transformed the art of baking and baked goods, bakeries remain important community spaces for gathering and defining neighborhood identity. These iconic spaces are still defined by a common programmatic understanding that combines areas to gather, socialize, shop, and work. Found across cultures, they are diverse as they are functional and expressive.
Sergei Tchoban (b. 1962, Saint Petersburg, Russia) graduated from the Repin Institute for Painting, Sculpture and Architecture at the Russian Academy of Arts in Saint Petersburg in 1986. He started his practicing career in Russia but left for Germany in 1991, becoming a managing partner of nps tchoban voss in Berlin in 1995. Since 2006, he also heads SPEECH, one of the leading architectural offices in Moscow. Apart from building his successful career of a practicing architect, he is a collector of architectural drawings, publisher, and museum owner.
In describing the process of spatial structuring in the city of São Paulo, Professor Flávio Villaça notes that its growth between the construction of the São Paulo Railway in 1867 and the early 20th century was predominantly geared toward the bourgeoisie. At the time, the working classes did not yet constitute a significant market for urban land.
Del Libertador Avenue—which starts in the Retiro neighborhood of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires and ends 35 kilometers later at the San Fernando Canal, north of Greater Buenos Aires—is set to become a pedestrian, cyclist, driver, and public transit-friendly space. The proposal aims to reclaim pedestrian spaces, incorporate one-way bike lanes on each side of the avenue, install bus boarding platforms, integrate new tree species along the route, and implement new technologies to improve vehicular circulation.
On December 13, the groundbreaking ceremony was held for the new Vall d’Hebron Research Institute (VHIR) building, one of the first projects to kick off the transformation of the hospital campus into a new "research city" concept, designed by architecture firms BAAS Arquitectura and Espinet / Ubach.
Imagine if a few years ago you woke up to the news that someone paid more than one million dollars for three plots of digital land next to famed rapper Snoop Dogg’s digital mansion. You’d probably ask yourself, “What is digital real estate, and why would someone pay for that?” Over the past year, there’s been a rush to buy properties, art, and land- but all of it exists in a virtual world called the metaverse. Although this world existed long before the pandemic, lockdowns propelled the online world to a new level, catching the attention of private buyers and brokerages alike who began to funnel tier money into this augmented reality. But how did this world emerge, what does the future hold, and can anyone join the virtual world?
This article was written by Julia Mingorance, Senior Workplace Consultant at CBRE and alumn from the Master in Strategic Interior Design at IE School of Architecture and Design.
More than 500 days ago, our whole world was turned upside down and our way of life changed overnight. We were forced to stay at home and work away from the physical office, in a purely virtual collaboration. In general, companies were surprised to maintain the same levels of productivity and results during these months—many even predicted the end of the office. As the health situation has started improving, a lot of companies have returned to the office, experimenting with different flexible models combining remote work and in-office days. The normalization of remote work means that many organizations see it as an opportunity to reduce office space and therefore, save costs.
The classic concept of estimating m2 for an office is being challenged completely. New variables are appearing in the equation and these are increasing uncertainty about just how much office space is needed.
