To create a cozier scale in large open-plan spaces or accommodate diverse uses under a single roof, defining areas through custom furniture design has become a highly effective solution. Serving as functional storage or even display units, shelving systems that double as room dividers can generate new perspectives, guide circulation, and foster greater permeability between different spaces.
Beyond viewing the home as mere shelter and protection, there is now a much greater complexity of functions integrated into the elementary programs of dwelling. We no longer think only of spaces for sleeping, cooking, and bathing, but rather of a series of new programs that demand new spaces and configurations. Among these, leisure emerges as an activity integrated into living, in the form of backyards, swimming pools, and TV rooms.
Between the 1950s and 1960s, Lina Bo Bardi was the editor of Habitat magazine, known for publishing articles and research on the cultural and artistic expressions of Indigenous peoples. The publication, which remained in circulation until 1965, was a pioneer of the synthesis between universal modernism and local primitivism—a central element in the mythology of Brazilian modernity. Nearly six decades later, architect and curator Paulo Tavares undertakes a sort of "un-editing" of the magazine, putting this notion of synthesis into perspective in light of contemporary debates exploring the intersection of modernity and colonialism. Recently published by n-1 edições, Des-Habitat utilizes graphic and editorial devices to create a near-facsimile of the original publication led by Bo Bardi, overlaying a new layer—critical, revisionist, and necessary—onto a discussion that continues to reveal new ramifications.
With the goal of introducing 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 talks with leading figures of contemporary Portuguese architecture.
In this week's episode, Sara talks with Nuno Brandão Costa about the Campanhã Intermodal Terminal project in Porto. You can catch up on other interviews from the No País dos Arquitectos podcast and read the transcript of the interview with Costa below:
Everything built through human physical and intellectual labor carries meaning. It is within physical matter that we find the remains of ancient civilizations, and through these records, we understand their characteristics, the technologies involved, and their social organization. Cities and major urban centers hold layers upon layers of events recorded in their streets, buildings, plazas, and parks. Often, depending on the development of the place, this evidence is gradually erased, disregarded, and altered.
In the early hours of May 23, Paulo Mendes da Rocha, the Capixaba architect who earned the highest honors in world architecture, passed away. Defined by a sharp, critical mind, his entire career was a profound ode to the city and a humanist perspective. Fortunately, several of his inspiring talks were recorded, and here we have selected five videos made over the last decade that offer insight into how he reflected on the field of architecture and urbanism, as well as his own work.
