With a canal network spanning over 100 kilometers, Amsterdam has just unveiled a fully electric, autonomous boat. Designed to operate as a water taxi, the vessel can transport up to five people at a time.
Named Roboat, the vehicle can operate uninterrupted for 10 hours without a pilot on board. Charging is done wirelessly, via proximity and without human intervention. Other integrated technologies include sensors and 360-degree cameras powered by artificial intelligence.
Since the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic, cycling has become an even more popular, resilient, and reliable alternative for daily travel, and temporary (or pop-up) bike lanes are increasingly common in major cities around the world. Between March and July 2020, 394 cities, states, and countries reallocated street space so people could walk and bike with greater ease, efficiency, and safety.
A type of garden roof tile has been developed by a Dutch company. This “two-in-one” product promises to transform any conventional roof into a green oasis, bringing several benefits to residents.
Unlike traditional green roofs, where plants must be installed on top of the structure, these tiles come with the vegetation already “built-in.” Each unit is covered with a mix of sedum and substrate. Best of all, they require very little maintenance.
As summer approaches, so does the desire to enhance our homes' outdoor spaces. Whether for sunbathing, enjoying the breeze, or gathering with friends, areas like patios, backyards, and balconies can be highly versatile depending on how they are occupied. With this in mind, we have compiled some essential tips to help you make the most of these spaces.
Natural elements, people, and their culture—as assertions of architecture and social organization, alongside an incisive relationship with the river—shape an architecture with an Amazonian character. This research encompasses the study of the social and symbolic knowledge acquired over the years by the riverine communities of Marajó Island and its consequences on the materiality of local constructions, which have undergone changes over the last few decades.
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.
With the aim 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 key figures in contemporary Portuguese architecture.
In this week's episode, Sara speaks with architects Pedro Domingos and Pedro Matos Gameiro about the design of the Grândola Municipal Library and Archives in southern Portugal. Revisit previous interviews from the podcast No País dos Arquitectos and read the transcript of the interview with Domingos and Gameiro below.
From cross-border movement to intra-urban displacement, the migrant population shapes and transforms the landscapes and dynamics of sociability established in the territories they inhabit. The city, a space where different perspectives meet and clash, intensifies this dynamic by receiving migratory flows and welcoming the various actors in this process in distinct ways. Latin American migrant women—a diverse group in terms of race, gender identity, sexual orientation, and class—challenge conservative logic as they move across national borders and urban territories. Within this reality, migrants organized in collectives assert their demands and claim their participation in the city through expressions of their cultures of origin.
The Education and Training Commission (CEF) of CAU/RJ is conducting the survey Impacts of Remote Learning on the Training of Architects and Urban Planners. The goal is to analyze the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on undergraduate education and professional training during the pandemic and its future ramifications, considering the implementation of remote classes and restrictions on curricular and extracurricular activities in architecture and urban planning schools across the state of Rio de Janeiro.
Within the span of a year, Brazil saw two of its greatest architectural archives leave the country: that of Paulo Mendes da Rocha in September 2020, and that of Lucio Costa in October 2021. Both were donated to the Casa da Arquitectura in Portugal. Together, they total around 20,000 items. These announcements sparked a heated debate regarding the preservation of such documents, the role of the Portuguese institution, and what must be done to keep remaining archives in Brazil.
Before we are drivers or cyclists, we are all pedestrians. Designing safer ways to navigate on foot, while also offering opportunities for leisure and contemplation for passersby, means conceiving a fairer city that offers a better quality of life—one that respects all its citizens and prioritizes their well-being. Accordingly, we have gathered here several parks, crossings, and pedestrian bridges designed exclusively for non-motorized use.
Every year, we host a call for submissions for final graduation projects from our audience, open to all Portuguese-speaking countries. In doing so, we aim to select the projects we find most compelling, presenting inspiring visions and sparking debates in the fields of architecture and urbanism.
The incredible architectural drawings of Marion Mahony, the first registered female architect in Illinois (United States), were featured in many of Frank Lloyd Wright's projects—though he never credited her for them. Sophia Hayden, the first woman to graduate with an architecture degree from MIT, won the competition to design the Woman's Building, earning at least three times less than her male colleagues. Mayumi Watanabe was part of the first group of professors at UnB. Carmen Portinho, who was instrumental in introducing the concept of social housing to Brazil, fought for women's suffrage. Ruth Glass coined the term "gentrification." Rosa Kliass has more than 300 built projects. Zaha Hadid was the first woman to receive the Pritzker Prize (2004) and the RIBA Royal Gold Medal (2016).
Founded in 2004 by then-architecture students Carlos Maia, Débora Vieira Mendes, and Igor Macedo, Tetro Arquitetura boasts a portfolio that spans projects across much of Brazil, yet maintains a remarkably cohesive approach. In the view of some architectural critics, the formal and conceptual identity defining the firm's work is driven in part by the influence of the Brazilian modernist tradition. But is this actually the case? This and other questions are explored in this casual conversation with the unconventional trio from Minas Gerais.
