Tag: exteriors | ArchDaily

A Picture Worth a Thousand Pixels: Turning Disneyland Paris into a Canvas

Kiana Buchberger — Thu, 09 Apr 2026 06:45:00 +0000

In highly-curated environments such as Disneyland Paris, architecture operates under a different set of expectations. Buildings are not only required to perform, they must also communicate, often instantly. Within this context, the facade becomes a visual marker that can serve as a threshold, mediating light, air, and perception. One strategy that has gained traction in this setting is the use of semi-opaque envelope systems. Neither fully transparent nor entirely enclosed, these facade systems introduce depth and variability.

How Can Hidden Niches Transform Walls into Functional Architecture?

Kiana Buchberger — Wed, 10 Dec 2025 01:30:00 +0000

The niche has been a space of visible intention throughout the history of architecture. In ancient Roman architecture, it served as a formal device carved into masonry to display statues, vases, or other objects. These recesses animated the walls of temples, bath complexes, and civic buildings, adding rhythm, depth, and focal points to otherwise massive structures. The interior spaces of the Pantheon framed statues of gods, and the Baths of Caracalla used similar voids to structure expansive halls. By the Renaissance, the niche evolved into a refined architectural frame. In Florence, the external cavities of Orsanmichele held guild-commissioned statues, while the Uffizi Palace's recesses displayed sculptural works. Whether filled or intentionally left empty, these openings articulated internal and external walls and facades, introduced hierarchy, and provided visual interest, serving as deliberate gestures meant to be seen.

Redefining and Sustaining Architectural Aesthetics with Inspirational Finishes

Rene Submissions — Fri, 15 Aug 2025 06:45:00 +0000

In contemporary architecture, façades have evolved beyond their traditional role as protective exteriors—they now serve as powerful expressions of identity, creativity, and sustainability. As the visual gateway to a building, façades play a dual role: safeguarding structures from environmental stressors while enhancing their aesthetic appeal and architectural character.

Trahan Architects Completes the USA Pavilion at Expo 2025 Osaka

Nour Fakharany — Fri, 11 Apr 2025 06:30:00 +0000

Trahan Architects has just completed the USA Pavilion for Expo 2025 Osaka-Kansai in Japan. As the public opening date, April 13, approaches, the USA Pavilion is finalizing preparations to host visitors. During the six-month expo, the proposal aims to showcase American architecture, innovation, culture, and industry. The display will be focused on celebrating contemporary American achievements in various fields, featuring exhibitions focused on sustainability, space exploration, education, and entrepreneurship.

Open-Air Chapels: Integrating Nature and Landscape into Religious Architecture in Latin America

Agustina Iñiguez — Sun, 16 Mar 2025 07:30:00 +0000

At a global level, contemporary architecture continues to explore tools and design methodologies to integrate nature into habitable spaces, given its proven benefits and contributions to improving people's quality of life. While there are diverse religious beliefs around the world, religious architecture generally expands beyond its uses and functions to connect with the sacred. Senses, memories, and emotions are transmitted in these spaces through the use of certain materials, spatial organizations, and even sounds and aromas that enhance experiences in atmospheres of spirituality, divinity, and reflection. In Mexico, Chile, Ecuador, Brazil, and Uruguay, projects for places of worship open to the outdoors reflect an architecture that adapts to different natural environments while maintaining the premise that each religion is tied to a social identity and requires a particular connection with its community and surrounding landscape.

The Power of Harmonious Inspiration in Transforming Façades

Rene Submissions — Thu, 06 Mar 2025 06:45:00 +0000

The façade of any building is more than just its exterior; it serves as a canvas that not only enhances the structure's appearance but also reflects its inner essence and character. The exterior façades category encompasses a broad variety of finishes and systems, including renders, and decorative coatings, designed to protect buildings while adding aesthetic value, blending functionality with visual appeal in perfect harmony. These finishes are crucial in defining the architectural character and energy efficiency of residential, commercial, and industrial structures.

Reflecting on Architectural Details and Construction Systems in 2024

Jonathan Yeung — Mon, 16 Dec 2024 04:00:00 +0000

In 2024, a diverse range of topics have been comprehensively explored, some focusing specifically on architectural details and construction systems. These articles provide valuable insights into architecture's often-overlooked technical and functional aspects. By shifting attention away from aesthetics, materials, and spatial massing, they reveal the importance of intricate details and the construction systems underpinning contemporary projects' larger architectural vision.

Art Galleries that Draw You In: 5 Artistic Spaces in Brazil Connecting Indoors and Outdoors

Agustina Iñiguez — Sat, 09 Nov 2024 07:30:00 +0000

Art and architecture go through a series of interpretive processes before their creation that involve recognizing a capacity for wonder, experimentation, communication, and imagination. Sharing sensitivities and creative quests, they can transform the experience of the world by responding to a collective set of ideas that, at times, design, paint, and write about themes related to the connection with nature, the role of society in the built environment, the sensations conveyed by spaces, and more.

Courtyards, Gardens, and Terraces for Seniors: Residences that Integrate Community Life into the Natural Environment

Agustina Iñiguez — Tue, 01 Oct 2024 04:00:00 +0000

Faced with the aging of the global population, one of the most significant social transformations of the 21st century is anticipated. The design of patios, gardens, terraces, and other green areas in facilities for the elderly presents an opportunity to foster interaction, participation in various collective activities, and the establishment of gathering spaces aimed at reducing loneliness among older adults while enhancing well-being and social interaction in connection with nature. How can built environments be created to adapt to the needs of older adults?

Infrastructure and Landscape: 12 Projects Redefining Natural Environments in Spain

Paula Pintos — Fri, 27 Sep 2024 07:30:00 +0000

Spain, with its vast territory and notable diversity of landscapes, has been a reference point in the development of external infrastructures, both in urban and rural areas. Tourism has played a key role in this process, focusing on creating spaces that maximize the enjoyment of the natural environment and integrating local landscapes into urbanized areas. The construction of these infrastructures has had two main aspects: the adaptation of cities for both their residents and tourists and the development of rural or coastal areas, where nature is the main attraction. This has led to interventions ranging from creating waterfront promenades, viewpoints, and natural parks, to urbanization projects in previously untouched areas. Furthermore, urban growth has driven the creation of green infrastructures such as botanical gardens, ecological trails, and reserves that aim to protect the environment while being sustainably open to the public.

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

Agustina Iñiguez — Tue, 27 Aug 2024 04:00:00 +0000

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.

Pushing Boundaries: 11 Exteriors That Use Fabric For Protection, Shape, and Longevity

Claire Brodka — Sun, 10 Mar 2024 07:30:00 +0000

Architecture – once it moved out from under its cavernous beginnings – started off largely nomadic. For a long time, the shade of trees and moveable tents made from animal skin were utilized instead of more permanent dwellings to meet nomadic lifestyles and basic survival needs. These early portable structures were primarily supported by wooden frames and were used by various ancient civilizations, including the Bedouins in the Arabian Peninsula and the Native American tribes in North America. The advent of woven cloth some 40,000 years ago made the dwellings even lighter and easier to transport, a boon to nomadic cultures around the globe.

Hassell Unveils Lunar Habitat Masterplan, Aiming to Revolutionize Interstellar Living

Nour Fakharany — Mon, 05 Feb 2024 05:30:00 +0000

Last week, Hassell revealed the Lunar Habitat Masterplan, a modular concept for a moon base. Developed in collaboration with the European Space Agency (ESA) and Cranfield University, the project aims to contribute to the formation of the first permanent human settlement on the moon. Various renowned architects have previously contributed to space exploration through architecture. From Buckminster Fuller to Foster + Partners, BIG, and SOM, the architectural catalog in outer space has seen many advancements. Representing a significant set forward in interstellar exploration, this masterplan by Hassell hopes to support the development of a community on the moon.

Brazilian Houses: 10 Designs with Rustic Stone Flooring

Equipe ArchDaily Brasil — Tue, 30 Nov 2021 05:00:00 +0000

Nowadays, many architects have been looking for inspiration in traditional techniques, adapting them to more contemporary designs. In this sense, floors with rustic stone such as quartzite and sandstone are becoming more and more popular in residential architecture. Although this material was usually used for external areas, to build traditional stepping stone garden paths, for example, today it is also used in interiors, as an element that disrupts the hardness of rectilinear layouts and, in some cases, creates a connection between interior and exterior, which is something many professionals seek to achieve.

SOM Presents Vision of Lunar Settlements at the 2021 Venice Architecture Biennale

Andreea Cutieru — Fri, 02 Jul 2021 04:30:00 +0000

Invited to participate in the 17th International Venice Architecture Biennale, Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM) exhibits Life Beyond Earth, a vision for a Moon Village. Developed together with the European Space Agency (ESA), the installation presents a proposal for a sustainable ecosystem that would support human presence on the Moon, exploring the opportunity of expanding the scope of architecture. The project reaffirms the importance of space exploration while also highlighting its potential to advance knowledge that would help address issues on Earth.

World’s First Space Hotel to Open in 2027

Eric Baldwin — Mon, 15 Mar 2021 05:30:00 +0000

The first ever commercial space hotel, Voyager Station, aims to open by 2027. Accommodating 280 guests and 112 crew members, the project is being planned by Orbital Assembly Corporation, a construction company run by John Blincow. The station will be OAC's first major project, and the first commercial space station with artificial gravity.

Outer Space 2020 Winners Announced

Eric Baldwin — Tue, 19 Jan 2021 05:30:00 +0000

Blank Space has announced the winners of the second annual Outer Space competition. The competition asked architects and designers to leverage real scientific advances in robotics, AI, rocketry and autonomous spacecraft to create visions for the near future in outer space.The competition attracted thousands of participants, with winning entries showcasing narratives and images of architecture beyond the planet Earth.

Open Call: Outer Space 2020 by Blank Space

Rene Submissions — Tue, 02 Jun 2020 15:30:00 +0000

We are on the cusp of the second great age of space exploration.

Outer space has always captured the imaginations of the public. New advances in technology (including comet landings, the Orion Spacecraft, and large scale social experiments leading to exploration of Mars) mean that outer space is no longer a place only astronauts will get to experience – but something you and I can experience within our lifetimes

For a long time, the fantastical visions of space exploration have been rooted in the scifi proposals of the 50s, 60s and 70s. Ring worlds, death stars and space colonies conjure vibrant, psychedelic