Kiev, Ukraine / Statue of Berehynia on the top of Independence Monument on the Maidan Nezalezhnosti. Image via Shutterstock
On the 24th of February 2022, Russia launched a large-scale invasion of Ukraine. Set to become Europe’s largest refugee crisis and armed conflict in this century, so far, this war has mobilized people across the world in order to exert pressure on authorities and put a stop to the armed hostilities. Individuals, as well as institutions in the architectural field, have taken part in these acts of solidarity, issuing statements, condemning actions, and even halting their work in Russia. From the UIA to MVRDV to Russian Institutions such as Strelka, the architecture world is denouncing the acts of violence and supporting an immediate cease of fire.
Tsz Yan Ng is a Michigan-based firm principal, professor, researcher, and artist whose interdisciplinary and collaborative work seeks to challenge and improve upon modern fabrication and manufacturing practices. “We haven’t changed the way we build in so long,” Ng said. “We need to think of it more productively—not just economically—but as a collection of different voices. Architecture is a global ecosystem of people, where the sum is greater than the parts.”
The new biennial event Architekturwoche Basel (AWB) will debut this May as a platform for discussing architecture and urban development through the lens of sustainable construction and the circular economy. The inaugural edition also marks the launch of the first Basel Pavilion, a temporary structure meant to showcase new possibilities for environmentally-friendly building practices. The winning design, “Loggia Basileana”, created by architecture practice isla, is made of reused building components and features a series of modules that form a continuous pedestrian passageway along the train tracks on the Dreispitz site.
Serpentine Pavilion 2022, Black Chapel, designed by Theaster Gates. Design render, interior view. Image Courtesy of Theaster Gates Studio
American artist Theaster Gates unveiled his design for the 21st Serpentine Pavilion. Curated for the first time by a non-architect, the 2022 edition named Black Chapel, “will pay homage to British craft and manufacturing traditions”. Realized with the architectural support of Adjaye Associates, the pavilion will open to the public on Friday 10 June 2022, in Kensington Gardens.
Bernard Tschumi's HyperTent, a hyperbolic paraboloid structure, is the latest addition to the iconic Parc de la Villette. Prompted by the opening of L'Espace Chapiteaux, a space for contemporary circus performances, the new ticket booth located on the podium of Folie L4, originally a music venue, carefully negotiates its presence within the context. The morphology of the project allows for the two structures to coexist without interfering. At the same time, the materiality of the HyperTent makes for an iconic presence in juxtaposition with the adjacent folie.
The ColombiaPavilion at Expo 2020 Dubai is thought of as an artefact with the ability to tell the past, present and future stories of the country's culture through its music. Supported by its geography and its cities, the pavilion designed by Pacheco Estudio de Arquitectura intersperses dense vegetation with water, representing the great biodiversity of its plant and animal world, and is composed of a reticular structure in three dimensions symbolising the urban centres that are constantly growing.
By proposing a route from the vegetable and aquatic floor to the open ceiling, the artefact is quickly identifiable from a distance and seeks to remain in the memory of those who visit it as a fresh, open space that reveals itself to all and finds itself in constant development.
In 1929, Ludwig Mies van der Rohe and Lilly Reich design the German National Pavilion for the 1929 Barcelona International Exhibition. The official reception for the exhibition was held there, presided over by King Alfonso XIII and the German authorities. From then on, the story is well known to everyone. A symbolic work of the Modern Movement, the Pavilion has been extensively studied and interpreted, and has inspired the work of several generations of architects.
Over the past year, NFTs have entered the realm of architecture, prompting conversations over the role of the profession in the future digital economy. From the design of digital real-estate to exhibitions and architecture events exploring its value for the practice and established architecture firms embracing the new medium, NFTs have been embraced by the profession as the promise of a new form of creative production. Discover a round-up of architecture's experiments with NFTs so far, together with a series of Archdaily articles shedding light on the topic.
Due to unexpected circumstances, The Tallinn Architecture Biennale announced a new winning proposal for its Installation Programme Competition: Fungible Non-Fungible Pavilion by iheartblob, a new "decentralized and systematic" approach towards architectural design which allows the community to be both designers and investors, contributing to a structure that evolves over time. TAB 2022 will take place during September – October 2022, with the opening week on the 7th–11th of September.
In collaboration with architecture practice Hassell, Architectural Association's Association's Emergent Technologies and Design (EmTech) programme created a reclaimed wood pavilion, exploring the convergence of computational design, new construction technologies, and material reuse. Titled Re-Emerge, the project addresses the issue of limited material resources, exploring the architectural potential of material recycling in the context of generative design.
EU Pavilion, a research practice exploring the relationship between architecture and European institutions, presents eight proposals for the first European Pavilion at the Venice Biennale. European architectural and artistic practices were invited by curators Anna Livia Friel, Marco Provinciali, Benjamin Gallegos Gabilondo, Nicolò Ornaghi and Francesco Zorzi to reimagine the national pavilion, the defining spatial and symbolic paradigm of the Biennale. The speculative project aims to explore architecture’s potential in supporting the European project and helping define the identity of this culturally diverse transnational organization.
Bamboo is a very resistant, versatile, and sustainable natural building material, which can be used to build structures and decorative elements. This article explores its diverse applications in a selection of projects for public spaces.
The Build Better Now virtual pavilion opened to the public during COP26, showcasing seventeen sustainable projects that demonstrate the built environment's opportunities for addressing the climate crisis. The initiative, run by UK Green Building Council, comes as a global call for climate action, highlighting the AEC's industry's commitment to sustainable practice on a worldwide stage, particularly since this year the COP26 dedicated a day to buildings and cities.
A "symbolic interpretation of the flow of movement", Calatrava’s design for the UAE Pavilion at the 2020 Expo Dubai is a 15,000 square meters immersive and multisensory experience. Images recently shot by Stephane Aboudaram highlight a structure of 28 automated cantilevered wings, that open and rotate at a range of 110 and 125 degrees. Moreover, these photos also show a central skylight, that mimics the logo of this year’s expo.
Under the motto of 'Intelligence for life', the Spanish Pavilion at the 2020 Expo in Dubai seeks to synthesize "our ingenuity, our creativity and our innovative capacity as essential tools to preserve life and biological diversity as well as to build a sustainable future". The architectural project entrusted to the studio Amann-Cánovas-Maruri is located in the "Sustainability" thematic area, close to what will undoubtedly be one of the largest meeting points: Al Wasl Square and the UAE Pavilion designed by Santiago Calatrava.
Designed by AGi Architects, Mission Possible, Expo 2020 Dubai's Opportunity Pavilion offers social and cross-cultural engagement through a universal and urban platform. Opportunity is one of the three main themes of this year's expo, alongside Sustainability and Mobility, which explore how we can "unlock the potential of individuals and communities, highlighting that each of us has a role to play in creating positive change". The structure resembles a large public plaza with a universal architectural identity since the feature has transcended generations, cultures, and eras.
The SingaporePavilion for Expo 2020 Dubai illustrates the city's aspiration towards a sustainable future that merges architecture, nature, technology and culture. Under the title "Nature.Nurture.Future", the pavilion designed by WOHA Architects and landscape design practice Salad Dressing showcases a sample of Singapore's urban environment that epitomizes its City in Nature vision. The multi-layered green space creates a self-sufficient ecosystem highlighting ideas of sustainability and resilience through the marriage of technology and nature.
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