Tag: resilient-architecture | ArchDaily

Function Follows Form: Designing Adaptive Buildings That Outlast Their Original Use

Eduardo Souza — Wed, 24 Jun 2026 04:00:00 +0000

With forty-eight psychogeriatric beds and sixty-eight wheelchair-accessible apartments, accommodation for informal caregivers, and space for bedside care, the De Keyzer building opened in Amsterdam in 2011. Its program had been conceived entirely for elderly people requiring assistance, but shortly after completion, the building was sold to an investment fund, and the apartments began to be rented to young families with children.

On Housing, Public Space, and Climate Resilience: In Conversation with the Winners of the 2026 UIA 2030 Award

Reyyan Dogan — Wed, 17 Jun 2026 06:30:00 +0000

Established through a collaboration between the International Union of Architects (UIA) and UN-Habitat, the UIA 2030 Award recognizes projects that demonstrate how design can contribute to the achievement of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Announced during the 2026 World Urban Forum in Baku, Azerbaijan, the third cycle of the biennial award honored projects that address issues ranging from water management and affordable housing to participatory planning, access to public space, and climate resilience.

Inside Homes that Last: Rethinking Residential Design for Climate Resilience

Agustina Iñiguez — Wed, 10 Jun 2026 01:30:00 +0000

What makes a home resilient? Extreme weather events are becoming increasingly frequent around the world. From power outages, hurricanes, and earthquakes to wildfires, floods, and droughts, the world is experiencing a process of transformation and adaptation that requires collaboration among diverse disciplines. The role of architecture in the built environment reflects an opportunity to rethink how homes perform under changing environmental conditions—not only by anticipating the unexpected. Designing for resilience means thinking holistically, considering material choices, energy systems, landscaping, and construction details that anticipate disruption and help homes recover quickly. It involves creating architecture that evolves with the environment, is worth preserving, and endures for years and generations.

Steel Architectural Awards ASEAN 2026: Open for Entries Across Southeast Asia

Rene Submissions — Thu, 14 May 2026 01:30:00 +0000

The Steel Architectural Awards ASEAN 2026 is a regional architectural awards program presented by NS BlueScope to recognize built projects that demonstrate architectural excellence through the use of coated steel solutions. Under the theme Shaping Resilient Futures: Timeless Design with Coated Steel, the program highlights projects across Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, and Vietnam, progressing from the Country Awards to ASEAN-level recognition. This article explains how the two-stage pathway works, what categories are included, and how projects are assessed through Design Excellence, Innovation, and Sustainability.

“Built Environment: An Alternative Guide to Japan” Exhibition in Montréal Examines Resilient Japanese Architecture

Antonia Piñeiro — Fri, 09 Jan 2026 06:30:00 +0000

The exhibition Built Environment: An Alternative Guide to Japan at the Université du Québec à Montréal's (UQAM) Centre de design will be on view until January 25, 2026. Curated by Shunsuke Kurakata, Satoshi Hachima, and Kenjiro Hosaka, it features a selection of 80 projects from Japan's 47 prefectures, including works by renowned Japanese architects such as 2014 Pritzker Prize laureate Shigeru Ban, Kengo Kuma, the designer of the Museum of Modern Art's renovation in New York Yoshio Taniguchi, celebrated landscape architect and sculptor Isamu Noguchi, and 2019 Pritzker Prize laureate Arata Isozaki. The selection aims to offer a renewed perspective on Japan through innovative buildings, civil engineering projects, and landscape designs. Organized in collaboration with the Japan Foundation and presented with the support of the Consulate General of Japan in Montreal, the exhibition is conceived as a traveling project exploring the resilience of Japanese architecture and infrastructure in the face of natural disasters and climate change.

From Housing Policy in Europe to Large-Scale Master Planning in Mongolia: This Week’s Review

Antonia Piñeiro — Thu, 25 Dec 2025 05:30:00 +0000

This week's review focuses on concrete responses to shared urban challenges, including housing affordability, long-term resilience, and the role of cultural and material innovation in shaping cities. The selection spans regulatory measures affecting housing markets in European cities, high-density residential and mixed-income proposals in New York, and major renewal and planning efforts in London, Barcelona, Ulaanbaatar, and Drammen. It also highlights research-driven and built projects in Chicago, Buenos Aires, Las Vegas, and Riyadh that explore circular construction, adaptive reuse, and new models for cultural and public infrastructure. Together, these worldwide projects offer a snapshot of how architecture and urban planning are addressing immediate pressures while laying the groundwork for more resilient and inclusive urban futures across diverse geographic and cultural contexts.

Elemental Shores in the Asia-Pacific: Concrete Recasts the Beach House

Jonathan Yeung — Thu, 20 Nov 2025 04:00:00 +0000

Living by the beach has long been a defining aspiration—drawn by the promise of tempered nature, privacy, and immediate access to the water. Historically, beach houses tended to be rustic and pared back: partly because servicing remote sites and delivering materials was difficult, and partly because their charm lay in being closer to the elements—simpler, rougher, more direct.

Khudi Bari: Architecture for Climate Displacement

Diogo Borges Ferreira — Sat, 08 Nov 2025 07:30:00 +0000

In the low-lying deltas of Bangladesh, water defines both life and loss. Every year, millions are forced to rebuild after floods wash away their homes, crops, and livelihoods. In these precarious territories, the act of building has become an act of resilience. It is here that Khudi Bari emerges as a modest yet radical proposal. Designed by Marina Tabassum Architects, the project provides a lightweight, modular, and affordable dwelling for communities displaced by climate change. Recognized as one of the winners of the 2025 Aga Khan Award for Architecture, it represents a form of architecture that empowers rather than imposes.

Building Knowledge, Not Just Structures: Redefining the Architect’s Role in Times of Uncertainty

Eduardo Souza — Sat, 01 Nov 2025 07:30:00 +0000

Aristotle is credited with the proverb "One swallow does not make a summer." In nature, the arrival of these migratory birds often announces the change of seasons, a universal symbol of renewal and hope. Yet it is only when many take flight that the true warmth of summer begins. The same can happen in architecture: an isolated project, however exemplary, rarely changes a reality on its own. When, however, a work teaches, inspires, and can be replicated, it becomes the harbinger of something greater.

Beyond Disaster Relief: The Evolution of Super-Adobe Into Permanent Structures in Hormuz, Iran

Moises Carrasco — Wed, 29 Oct 2025 04:00:00 +0000

Hormuz Island, located in Iran, was a strategically significant port in the Persian Gulf, characterized by its landscape of colorful mountains. Despite its tourist appeal, the island faces significant socio-economic problems, with the local population having historically faced economic hardship. In response, the Majara Complex by ZAV Architects was conceived not merely as a building but as a deliberate architectural intervention designed to give control, opportunity, and economic benefit directly to the local community. To do this, the project channeled investment into local human resources and prioritized accessible construction techniques, creating a pathway for localized wealth creation. This allowed the Majara Complex to be one of the recipients of the Aga Khan Award for Architecture in 2025.

Rising Architectural Voices and New Commissions: The Week’s Review

Reyyan Dogan — Thu, 09 Oct 2025 06:30:00 +0000

This week, architectural conversations were shaped by themes of resilience, equity, and cultural relevance, brought into focus by World Architecture Day. Across global contexts, the discipline continues to expand its understanding of strength, not only as structural endurance but as a framework for inclusive, adaptable, and environmentally conscious design. From strategies for gender-equitable public space to new commissions grounded in memory and reconciliation, recent developments reflect how architecture is increasingly positioned as a tool for social engagement and long-term stewardship in the face of ongoing global challenges.

World Architecture Day 2025: How We Design for Strength in an Age of Crisis

Maria-Cristina Florian — Mon, 06 Oct 2025 07:30:00 +0000

Today, on the first Monday of October, we celebrate World Architecture Day. This year, the International Union of Architects (UIA) has set the theme "Design for Strength," a powerful call to action that resonates deeply with the UN's focus on urban crisis response. In a world facing unprecedented environmental and social disruptions, this theme challenges us to move beyond temporary fixes. It asks: How can our buildings and cities not only withstand shocks but also foster equity, continuity, and resilience?

Longevity Through Renewal: The Enduring Wisdom of Hong Kong's Water Villages

Jonathan Yeung — Sat, 26 Jul 2025 07:30:00 +0000

While Hong Kong is widely celebrated for its iconic harbor view, glittering skyline, and fast-paced urban lifestyle, its origins tell a different story—one deeply rooted in its relationship with water. Before transforming into a dense, vertical metropolis, Hong Kong's architectural identity was closely tied to its maritime context. Today, the city is often associated with slender, glass-clad towers that symbolize modernity. While visually striking in their pursuit of height and form, many of these buildings appear disconnected from their immediate environment, often overlooking natural site conditions, ecological responsiveness, and contextual sensitivity.

Small Structures, Big Impact: 4 Rural Prototypes for a Changing Planet

Miwa Negoro & Susanna Moreira — Fri, 25 Jul 2025 07:30:00 +0000

Facing an interconnected planetary climate crisis, biodiversity loss, and resource depletion, regenerative design emerges as a pathway toward building resilient and ecologically attuned rural futures. At the intersection of architecture, agriculture, and local ecosystems, new models of resilient, self-sufficient agricultural practices are emerging. These projects are not grand industrial systems but small-scale, precise, and deeply contextual architectural interventions that create spaces that foster sustainable cultivation while respecting environmental rhythms, local materials, and community knowledge.

The Impact of Wildfires on Building Codes: Reflections on the Recent Los Angeles Fires

Jonathan Yeung — Mon, 27 Jan 2025 04:00:00 +0000

It has been nearly three weeks since one of California's most devastating wildfires began, triggering an immense effort to combat the blaze and mitigate further damage. As firefighters work to contain the remaining flames, the city braces for its first significant winter rainfall, raising concerns about flooding and landslides that may exacerbate the already extensive destruction.

Redefining Urban Domesticity: How SO-IL Transforms the Concept of Home

Christele Harrouk — Thu, 16 Jan 2025 07:30:00 +0000

SO-IL (Solid Objectives – Idenburg Liu) is an architectural design firm based in Brooklyn, New York, founded in 2008 by Florian Idenburg and Jing Liu. Known for an architecture deeply engaged with social, cultural, and environmental contexts, the studio focuses on exploring innovative materials, creating fluid spatial experiences, and prioritizing ecological sustainability. SO-IL's work spans various scales and program types, reflecting their versatile approach to design. In 2024, their housing project 450 Warren in Brooklyn was selected as ArchDaily's Building of the Year by the audience in the housing category.

From Patina to Purpose: 15 Projects that Explore Corten Steel as a Design Element

Diogo Borges Ferreira — Fri, 03 Jan 2025 04:00:00 +0000

In architectural design, materials convey narratives, shaping how spaces are perceived and experienced. Weathering steel, often known by its genericized trademark name, Corten steel, stands out for its ability to evolve, transforming into a medium that tells its own story. It represents a group of steel alloys that form a stable external layer of rust that replaces the need for paint to protect the steel while allowing it to develop in time. Its weathered patina serves as more than a functional shield; it becomes an aesthetic language, a testament to the interplay between architecture and nature. This ever-changing surface bridges the ephemeral and the enduring, offering architects a material that grows richer with age.

On Mountains: Architectural Designs Adjusted for High-Altitude Climates

Olivia Poston — Tue, 17 Dec 2024 05:00:00 +0000

Mountainous and high-altitude regions are considered to be among the most fragile ecosystems on Earth. From melting glaciers to land erosion, these environments face mounting threats from climate change, making it imperative to reimagine how architecture and its supporting infrastructure are designed for such places.