In its 7th edition, the Saint-Gobain Architecture-Sustainable Habitat Award seeks projects and buildings that offer comfort and innovative solutions while preserving the environment and promoting sustainability within the Brazilian construction industry.
Situated on a suburban lot in Gallarate, in Italy's Lombardy region, the latest project by Álvaro Siza rises in two travertine marble blocks: a 20-unit residential complex developed in partnership with the Portuguese firm COR Arquitectos. Facing the busy Via Roma and the quiet Via Postporta, the development reinterprets two local typologies—the Lombard courtyard and the isolated villa—in a play of volumes that recalls the geometries of another Siza masterpiece, the Porto School of Architecture.
Frequently used in wet areas, such as bathrooms and kitchens, as well as outdoor spaces like plazas and sidewalks, cement tiles are increasingly being incorporated into other rooms in interior design projects. This is due not only to their beauty, but also to their ability to adapt to the specific demands of different uses, along with practical benefits like easy cleaning.
The 2018 discovery of nine skeletal remains in São Paulo's current Liberdade neighborhood brought to light physical evidence of the city's first public necropolis, the Cemitério dos Aflitos (Cemetery of the Afflicted), also known as the Cemitério dos Enforcados (Cemetery of the Hanged). According to municipal archival documents, between 1775 and 1858, the cemetery was primarily the final resting place for the marginalized: enslaved Black men and women, the poor, the destitute, and those condemned to the gallows. While the Cemitério dos Aflitos was a scattered territory of those cast out of São Paulo society, the Irmandade do Rosário (Sisterhood of the Rosary), founded in 1720, was established as a demarcated Black territory in the city, where enslaved, freed, and free people lived together, held funerals, celebrated festivals, and practiced religious devotions, "when this segment of São Paulo's population would burst onto the streets together, with their characteristic attire, adornments, and sounds" (WISSENBACH, 1988: 206-7).
Part of the archive of the architect Hans Broos has been cataloged, treated, and digitized, and is now available for online and in-person consultation at the Ingo Hering Memory Center of the Hermann Hering Foundation.
Although the urban fabric of Buenos Aires is characterized by a heterogeneous and constantly changing morphological condition, within the range of low-density housing, it is possible to detect certain recurring typologies that emerged from the interplay of successive historical variables—such as block subdivision strategies, urban regulations and their subsequent updates, or the building traditions of those who built the city. One of these identifiable typologies is the PH, whose name derives from *Propiedad Horizontal* (Horizontal Property), a regulation that allowed the development of individual homes within a single plot.
Considered one of the world's oldest construction techniques, structural masonry in Brazil was first used during the colonial period with stone, adobe, and rammed earth. Since then, the method has evolved, finding renewed viability through contemporary materials such as modular concrete blocks or load-bearing ceramic blocks.
In this construction method, where the structure and enclosure are built simultaneously, columns and beams are unnecessary. Consequently, the walls serve a dual purpose: they define the spaces while functioning as the load-bearing structure of the building.
Architect and urban planner Maria Elisa Baptista is the new President of the National Board of the IAB. She succeeds Nivaldo Andrade, whose term ended on September 26 of this year. In nearly a century of existence, this is the first time a woman has held the position.
The leadership team also includes Rafael Pavan dos Passos (National Vice President, IAB-RS), Cláudio Listher Marques Bahia (Secretary General, IAB-MG), Rosilene Guedes Souza (Administrative-Financial Director, IAB-MG), Luiz Eduardo Sarmento Araújo (Cultural Director, IAB-DF), Fernando Túlio Salva Rocha Franco (Extraordinary Vice President of Institutional Relations, IAB-SP), and Luiza Rego Dias Coelho (Extraordinary Vice President of Affirmative Action, IAB-DF).
The first monument to the victims of the novel coronavirus in Brazil has been inaugurated. Named In-finito, the memorial was installed at the Penitência Cemetery and Crematorium, in Rio de Janeiro's port area, designed by architect Crisa Santos, of the collective of the same name.
The initiative came from the architect herself, who developed the project with the goal of donating it to public and private cemeteries, as well as municipalities, companies, or other institutions wishing to pay tribute to Covid-19 victims anywhere in the country.
The Industrial Workers' Retirement and Pension Institute (IAPI) commissioned the prominent Rio de Janeiro architect Paulo Antunes Ribeiro, national president of the Institute of Architects of Brazil (IAB) in the 1950s, to design this project in the industrial neighborhood of Mooca, an area already highly consolidated by the 1940s. Occupying a large urban void, the housing complex consists of seventeen blocks arranged to follow a rational layout, though without the same geometric rigor that Attilio Corrêa Lima had adopted at Várzea do Carmo. Within Mooca's fragmented urban fabric, Ribeiro introduced a modern urban design that eliminated traditional subdivision lots, creating a large public space where the blocks are integrated into green areas.
In August 2019, Eternit presented its photovoltaic solar tile at Intersolar South America. This first-of-its-kind product in the country has just received Inmetro certification for production. The model had already been approved by the institute, and with this certification, the first concrete tile capable of generating energy—developed in Brazil—can now be marketed.
Those who install these tiles on their homes will be able to capture sunlight to produce electricity—without the need for additional panels. This technology became globally known through Tesla's solar tiles.
Design is more than product design. It is also the construction of personas, with their bodies and souls. The natural state is just one of the design parameters. We are the design of ourselves, in permanent transformation.
Guilherme Wisnik talks with Ivana Wonder, a persona created by designer Victor Ivanon. Possessing a powerful voice and breaking down the boundaries between masculine and feminine, Ivana leads a multisensory experience of emotion and longing. From the central spotlight of a damp cabaret, this haunting and ethereal figure emerges.
On this October 4th, National Landscape Architect Day, it is worth reflecting on the following question: What is the importance of landscape design? A seemingly simple question, yet one with a surprising answer. Landscape architecture is the tool with the greatest potential to transform our cities and, consequently, how contemporary society relates to nature.
Architecture and urbanism are ways of materializing what is to come. Yet, how can we design a common future while keeping this future open to new meanings and in constant motion, driven by the subjects who appropriate it? How can architects understand themselves as part of the movement to revalue collective spaces? How can we use this tool to distribute power—building direct democracy and free behavior through participation in everyday life? How can we recognize relationship as a tool for constructing an architecture of freedom?
The 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) were established by the United Nations (UN) in 2015 as part of a global agenda aimed at implementing public policies to guide humanity toward a sustainable future by 2030.
According to the organization, the goals are a universal call to action to end poverty, protect the planet, and ensure that by 2030 all people enjoy peace and prosperity. They address a wide range of issues, including health, education, gender equality, reduced inequalities, sustainable consumption and production, the protection and sustainable use of oceans and terrestrial ecosystems, and inclusive economic growth.
Organic urban agriculture, renewable energy, and a breathtaking landscape. All of these elements come together at Thammasat University in Bangkok, Thailand. TURF (Thammasat University Rooftop Farm) is the largest green roof in Asia, spanning over 70,000 square meters. Designed by the architecture and urbanism firm LANDPROCESS, the area was envisioned as a solution for green urban development.
While there is a certain lack of theoretical definition regarding the limits and scope of the term "Brutalist," there are certain constants in its aesthetic parameters that allow us to establish a relatively concrete line of analysis. In this context, Brutalist buildings—a style of the Modern Movement that experienced its boom between the 1950s and 1970s—are characterized by their tectonic honesty, exposing the materials of construction along with their structural and building logic, geometric forms, and rough surfaces. Reinforced concrete emerges as the primary material of choice; both the textures left by rough timber formwork and the imperfections of the concrete itself are no longer concealed by plaster or paint, but are deliberately displayed to highlight the building processes.
The original plan for the Várzea do Carmo Housing Complex, developed by a team from the Industrial Workers' Retirement and Pensions Institute (IAPI) and coordinated by the architect and urban planner Attilio Corrêa Lima, is one of the most avant-garde proposals of the period discussed in this book. Its urban planning, radically modern and rationalist, goes beyond established models of residential neighborhoods: it proposes creating an urban centrality with a working-class housing complex as its starting point.
The IAB-SP, organizer of the São Paulo International Architecture Biennial, following a public consultation on the open call guidelines from October 10 to 25, is launching a competition on November 4 to select the co-curatorial team for the 13th Biennial, which will take place in 2022. Proposals can be submitted through the Biennial's website until January 24, 2021. This edition features a 12-member committee, which includes IAB representatives from other Brazilian states to ensure a diverse perspective in overseeing the event, which has both national and international reach.
Historically, bamboo has been used as a raw material in traditional low-income construction, serving as a substitute for other woods to build structures, cabinetry, and even furniture. Today, due to its numerous advantages regarding durability, strength, versatility, and low environmental impact, it has earned the moniker "vegetal steel," securing a privileged place in the construction industry. The current search for sustainable development materials has generated new construction fusions that bring contemporary materials and techniques into play with traditional elements, merging and highlighting the unique qualities of materials from each region.
The video game industry is one of the most profitable in the world, driven by a constant search for innovation and creativity. The field of game design involves creating and planning the elements, rules, and dynamics of video games. Part of this process involves conceptualizing the virtual environments where the game's action unfolds, placing players within detailed and character-rich virtual contexts. Whether replicating real, recognizable cities in meticulous detail or creating entirely new worlds, architecture and urban planning are vital tools for the game designer.
Just like us, words have a history. The word cure comes from Latin and is linked to the act of caring. This same root gives rise to the word *curator*, the person responsible for a collection or an institution, for example. Meanwhile, care, in the medical sense, was perhaps first described by Celsus: In hoc casu medici cura esse debet, ut morbum mutet (In this case, medical care is indicated to change the course of the disease) [1]. Today, when we think of a cure, we often speak of it as an isolated event within a given treatment. A cure for the flu. A cure for cancer. A cure for the novel coronavirus. A finish line that ends a journey. However, it is important to think of healing as a process that depends on multiple factors.
With a land area of over 8.5 million square kilometers, Brazil is a country of immense geographic diversity, with climates that vary from region to region. Consequently, natural ventilation strategies in architecture must be analyzed based on local specificities, requiring an analysis of topography, climate, surroundings, and wind patterns, alongside the study of the architectural design itself.
Cities around the world are welcoming the colors and benefits of murals painted with photocatalytic paint, which is known for helping to clean the air. The murals are part of the Converse City Forests project, developed by the brand behind the famous All Star sneakers. The goal is to paint more than 14,000 square meters of murals worldwide by the end of this year. Together, they are equivalent to planting approximately 40,000 trees.
.jpg?1602591397 "Dos Cajueiros House / Terra Capobianco + Galeria Arquitetos. Image: © Nelson Kon")
.jpg?1602591657 "B+B House / Studio MK27 - Marcio Kogan + Renata Furlanetto + Galeria Arquitetos. Image: © Fernando Guerra | FG+SG")
.jpg?1602591386 "Delta House / Bernardes Semi-detached House / CR2 Arquitetura. Image: Architecture. Image: © Ruy Teixeira")
