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Grupo Finca in Cuba: "We Found in the Informality of Our City a Legal Void Where We Can Operate"

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Resisting an adverse context and navigating its restrictions, Grupo Finca emerges, a collective that explores the practice of architecture from an artistic and pedagogical dimension in Havana, Cuba. Given the complexity of the country's political and social situation, informal architecture is common: low resources, difficulty in obtaining materials, high costs, and a lack of skilled labor, among other challenges, are some of the obstacles faced by independent architecture professionals. Coupled with the absence of a regulatory legal framework that would allow them to work formally in the labor market or acquire materials and supplies, the construction of contemporary architecture in Cuba is relegated to independent processes that can somehow overcome these barriers.

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Building Outdoor Learning Spaces: 5 Community Projects by Semillas in Peru

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How is it possible to open educational spaces to the outdoors, and what are the appropriate conditions for their development? What bioclimatic strategies can be implemented to contribute to environmental comfort and the cultural preservation of communities? By conceiving outdoor learning spaces and blurring the boundaries between indoors and outdoors, the educational infrastructures projected by the Semillas association in the Peruvian jungle invite reflection on the opportunities for gathering, meeting, and community participation among students, families, and local residents. Linked to the site's uses and customs, this conception of space represents a way of living where the implementation of bioclimatic strategies, along with the use of local materials and construction techniques, come together to create an architecture connected to its environment and history.

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LaBoqueria: “We Propose New Models of Cooperative Relations”

LaBoqueria: “We Propose New Models of Cooperative Relations” - Featured Image
Vivienda cooperativa la Balma / Lacol + Laboqueria. Image © Fabian Dejtiar

LaBoqueria is an architecture studio in Barcelona that has the experience of multiple local and international collaborations. This global, multidisciplinary and participative perspective allows them to have a renewed and different vision of architecture.

Focusing on social, economic and environmental aspects, they seek to approach their projects in a comprehensive way, bringing together the different people involved in the process. Among their works are the housing building La Balma carried out together with the architects' cooperative Lacol; the Reformation of premises together with Marta Peinado Alós; and the Ca's Bouer House together with Jordi Queralt.

ArchDaily, interested in collaborative and participatory processes through the theme Democratization of Design, conducted an interview with LaBoqueria to learn about their main inspirations, challenges and visions.

Community Kitchens: The Challenge of Generating Roots in Displaced Communities

Displacement implies uncertainty, uprooting, and instability, in addition to the loss of community, privacy, and physical and emotional orientation. Addressing these needs through appropriate architectural responses can help displaced communities regain social, economic, and environmental well-being. In this context, community kitchens are designed to help generate a sense of belonging and "normality" in domestic lives.