Old and compartmentalized plants, small openings, and lower floors receive scarce natural light. Improving natural lighting in an apartment can be challenging. However, some strategies can help maximize light entry into interiors and bring benefits such as comfort, spaciousness, well-being, and energy savings.
The simplest definition of a vaulted ceiling is a self-supporting arched structure to cover a space. This technique was used extensively during the Roman Empire and the Middle Ages but fell into disuse with the advance of other building solutions that became more practical. However, many contemporary projects still build these elements or highlight the original structures in renovations because of their powerful impact on the building design.
Designing a good chair is a much more challenging task than we might think. To begin with, several factors must be addressed, such as ergonomics, aesthetics, materials, functionality and durability. In addition, it is essential to define the purpose for which it will be used: an office chair has different requirements than a reading armchair or a dining chair, for example. Only when all these elements are carefully balanced and thought-out can you achieve a truly excellent chair. And often, a good design can end up triggering many other variations throughout the years.
The tropical climate is famous for its exuberant flora. It's no wonder that architectural projects in the region maintain a constant dialogue between nature and the built environment. Biophilia's benefits to users are not news, after all. However, high temperatures, frequent rains, and high humidity levels present unique challenges for reconciling the connection between the interior and exterior with the construction of houses that are comfortable and efficient over time. In the search for solutions that meet needs and demands, we have selected residential projects that appropriate the context to become unique in this environment.
Making a space more practical, facilitating daily tasks, creating unity in interior design, providing different possibilities for an area without modifying it, and adding beauty are not easy tasks. Still, some elements are essential for achieving them: cabinets and shelves.
How can a space that is no longer essential become valued again? The traditional office as we know it is disappearing with the changes brought about by technological advances and globalization, all of which was accelerated by the impositions of the pandemic. As living and working become inseparable activities and hybrid, flexible work arrangements are now the norm in many fields, offices will need to become increasingly sustainable, healthier, and also more comfortable. But how can architects and designers design workspaces so that people will continue to want to inhabit them? What solutions and furnishings can meet the needs of occupants, with flexible solutions that can adapt to a variety of activities and purposes?
Flexibility and open spaces are themes in contemporary house design. Multifunctional spaces and creative storage solutions are more than welcome when seeking easily adaptable environments to meet owners' constantly changing needs. To give you some fresh inspiration, we have selected ten projects that feature countertops that integrate different programs and serve more than one function in the home.
The transformation in the domestic spaces’ dynamics impacts the architecture inside and outside houses and apartments. Kitchens are the prime example of this transformation. Historically considered marginalized workspaces, they have gained more prominence as architectural spaces. This influences not only the size of the rooms and their organization but also the used claddings.
Several factors influence the architecture of contemporary stores, including the evolution of retail, changes in consumer expectations, and the rise of e-commerce. Creating the physical space of a brand is an opportunity to offer an experience that conveys the values and image that the brand wishes to be associated with.
Housing is one of the primary aspects of the architecture profession. There are many ways to explore it, from a subordinate program such as a religious cloister to the splendor of a single-family home. Luis Fernández-Galiano is torn between the "waste" of a low-density area in this type of housing and its seductive formal charm. He reminds us that high-density collective housing, such as apartments, makes more sense in an urban context.
To think about how we inhabit is to think about architecture. If the primal need for shelter gave rise to the discipline, today, housing remains one of architects' most significant concerns. Providing comfort, seeking innovative materials, respecting memory, transforming culture - multiple layers intersect in a residence's design. Therefore, imagining the synthesis of the contemporary home is a great challenge. In search of new perspectives, we collaborated with Ulises Design Studio to understand how Artificial Intelligence (AI) perceives the contemporary home in the context of 15 different countries. Among data that touches on facts of reality and fiction, the pictures that emerge can bring inspiration and important reflections on spatial practice and the creation of its images.
Throughout history, the functional essence of bathrooms has remained unchanged due to their design being shaped by biological parameters. Initially, the function of bathrooms was solely related to hygiene and waste management, resulting in the conception of bathrooms as unhealthy and merely utilitarian spaces. This led to their separation from the rest of the spaces designated for coexistence.
However, the implementation of water supply systems and general drainage networks has vindicated the role of bathrooms in living spaces. They have acquired a primordial role in design proposals for interior design and reflect the user's personality through the combination of colors, coverings, accessories and decorative elements. In the evolution of bathroom design, proposals that stand out for their formal cleanliness, multiple nuances, subtle coexistence of elements, and customization possibilities have emerged. Brands like antoniolupi have developed bathroom furnishings that integrate these proposals and take the limits of design much further by collaborating with renowned architects and designers like Paolo Ulian, Brian Sironi, Luca Galofaro, and Mario Ferrarini, just to mention a few. Continuing with this series of collaborations, Carlo Colombo was in charge of developing Borderline.
Art Deco is an artistic and design style that emerged in Europe in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, reaching its peak in the 1920s and 1930s. Although it's difficult to identify a single origin for Art Deco, it's believed that the style developed as a reaction against the Arts and Crafts and Art Nouveau movements, which emphasized craftsmanship and naturalistic ornamentation. The style quickly spread throughout the world and had a major influence on architecture, interior design, fashion, and visual arts during the first half of the 20th century.
One of the most common decorative objects in projects, mirrors have existed since the Badarian civilization, around 4,000 BC. With several transformations in its material and manufacture, the mirror is a decorative object and can also serve as a design strategy.
How narrow can a space become without losing its habitability? What are the minimum dimensions that a dwelling must have to ensure the comfort of its inhabitants and the correct performance of their daily activities?
Guest rooms, BBQ areas, party areas, and even libraries – a backhouse can have many uses. Common in many townhouses, this is a unique part of a residence that presents a certain freedom regarding the main program, which can be explored both with diverse uses and through the constructive solutions employed.
Light is part of various disciplines, shaping the world as we know it. In physics, it serves as a measure of speed and makes vision, and the recording of images by the eye and camera lens possible. Throughout art history, the representation of light - or its absence - has guided secular movements in various manifestations with equally different techniques and supports. This means that light - and its derivative shadow - can create environments, atmospheres and sensations, which can be perceived in objects and spaces. Light is also a part of architecture.
The first image that comes to mind when we think of an office is a place with a table and chair. But it was not always the case. In the Middle Ages, monasteries were the main places for study and knowledge, with private rooms designed to help monks concentrate when researching. However, records state that such spaces were uncomfortable since scholars remained standing most of the time.
