Throughout the month of May, Unibes Cultural, in partnership with the Cânions Paulistas association, will host a series of panels to reflect on and propose paths for the preservation and appreciation of cultural heritage, focusing on the Angra Doce tourist region and its 15 municipalities surrounding the Chavantes reservoir.
As part of Model: Barcelona Architectures Festival—an event that promotes experimental architecture to reflect on the future of collective life within new metropolitan models and imaginaries, organized by the Barcelona City Council and the Association of Architects of Catalonia (COAC) through the Mies van der Rohe Foundation—various activities took place from April 20 to 30, 2023. This edition featured the participation of Mexican architect Lesly Noguerón Maldonado and architects Diego González Albarrán, Omar Uziel Granados Alejandre, and Zabdiel Ramos Banda, who were internationally selected and awarded in the +Model category for their project “Arca Sonora: entrelazando el paisaje.”
The Gustavo Capanema Palace, located in Rio de Janeiro and recognized as a benchmark for Brazilian architecture and arts, is scheduled to reopen to the public in 2024. On the 15th of this month, the National Institute of Historic and Artistic Heritage (Iphan) presented a new proposal for the building's use. From the ground floor to the rooftop terrace, the building will be transformed into a series of spaces dedicated to exhibitions on art and the formation of Brazilian society, while also hosting administrative operations for agencies linked to the Ministry of Culture.
Spanning a 12-hectare site, the Innovation Park (Parque de la Innovación) located in the Núñez neighborhood of Buenos Aires recently inaugurated its public areas, opening free access to a project that integrates businesses, universities, scientific institutions, housing, service areas, and gathering spaces. Aiming to develop an innovation ecosystem, the development is expected to house around 6,000 residents and accommodate approximately 18,000 students.
The 49th AsBEA Annual Convention is fast approaching, celebrating the association’s 50th anniversary while fostering a debate on the future of architecture and the evolving role of the architect in today’s context.
Singapore, China, Dubai (United Arab Emirates), London (England), Toronto (Canada), Hong Kong, New York (USA), and Paris (France) are examples of locations that have been verticalizing more intensely in recent years, adopting a series of measures to curb urban sprawl while seeking to meet the demand for more housing and infrastructure. Consequently, these regions have seen a growing number of skyscrapers—or tall buildings, as they are also called—being constructed in their neighborhoods, including central and historic areas.
As part of an initiative by the Federation of Associations of Architects of the Mexican Republic, a national competition was launched to design an affordable housing prototype in Los Pirules, Celaya, Guanajuato. The Municipal Housing Institute of Celaya (IMUVI) currently holds a land reserve in the northeast of the municipality, where it plans to develop a social housing complex. In collaboration with FCARM, they launched this competition to spark architectural reflection on the potential of social housing and the city. The prototype had to adapt to the post-2022 economic reality and living patterns, focusing on providing constructive alternatives and solutions responsive to the housing complex's urban, sociocultural, and environmental context.
According to recent data, Brazil's housing deficit stands at 5.876 million households: 5.044 million in urban areas and 832,000 in rural areas. In percentage terms, this figure corresponds to 8.1% of the country's total stock of private, permanent, and improvised dwellings. Aiming to address, either fully or partially, this massive social debt, the Minha Casa Minha Vida (MCMV) program, launched in 2009, began offering affordable housing to low-income families.
This article by Mónica Bustos Peñafiel was originally published in issue 113 of ARQ magazine. It reflects on the Emergency Housing Plan, tracing the history of the deficit and the challenges posed by the various government plans designed to address it.
Four years after receiving the archive of Espírito Santo-born architect Paulo Mendes da Rocha, Portugal's Casa da Arquitectura is opening two exhibitions dedicated to the Brazilian winner of the Pritzker Prize (2006) and the Golden Lion at the Venice Biennale (2016). The larger of the two, featuring 138 original drawings, dozens of photographs, and other documents, is dedicated to the architect's built work and seeks to expand the notion of geography that runs through Mendes da Rocha's production.
Water scarcity is seasonal in many regions, and harvesting and storing rainwater is an effective way to prepare. Another approach is to reuse domestic graywater. Gardens and green roofs can be used as cisterns for this purpose.
João Manuel Feijó, an agronomist and specialist in biophilic design, explains that graywater is wastewater from showers, sinks, bathtubs, washing machines, and dishwashers. It accounts for a large percentage of residential wastewater: between 50% and 80%.
The satisfaction of living longer is closely tied to opportunities to lead an active life, stay engaged, and feel integrated into society. To this end, the built environment must support these goals through flexible structures that adapt gradually to users' needs, regardless of age.
The real estate sector is beginning to realize the immense potential of architecture focused on health quality and increased human life expectancy. As we look to the future of real estate, we can expect a smarter use of technology, along with innovations and new metrics to establish a better understanding of well-being and its relationship with both the natural and built environments. This quality standard will drive an exponential increase in sales by making properties flexible and adaptable throughout the different stages of their residents' lives.
It could be a parklet, a mini-plaza, or an asphalt painting to redesign a street and repurpose a public space. Cities around the world—including in Brazil—are using temporary interventions to catalyze long-term projects that make streets safer, creating inclusive, high-quality public spaces.
These initiatives employ a technique known as tactical urbanism, which promotes the reclamation of urban space by and for its primary users: people. This movement is gaining momentum amid an urban crisis in which governments struggle to provide a growing population with basic urban services such as housing, quality transport, and adequate open spaces that enable safe, active mobility.
