Zaha Hadid, Kengo Kuma, Daniel Libeskind, Nieto Sobejano, Denise Scott Brown and Philip Treacy reveal the childhood recollections that have shaped their outstanding visions and work.

For a recent article in The New York Times, Derek Watkins examines "what China has been building in the South China Sea." Employing high resolution satellite imagery and diagrams, his article investigates why—and how—China have been dredging and dumping sand in a bid to construct inhabitable artificial islands. Political and diplomatic concerns aside, the article also touches upon the technical requirements necessary to reclaim land from the oceans.

On the 25th and 26th September The Gallery on the Corner in Battersea is opening its doors for the first solo exhibition of the Architectural Artist Minty Sainsbury.

Studying Architecture at Cambridge has not only influenced her choice of subject matter but has also taught her to draw with an eye for detail and a spatial understanding of composition.

Part of the exhibition will be a series of street views in which the building in focus is drawn in rich detail and the contextual surroundings are left as silhouettes. By concealing the focal building behind the faceless structures, Sainsbury references a visual experience that you would experience yourself walking in the city streets.

With no end in sight to the current residential building boom in New York City, 2016 looks to be another busy year for the A/E/C industry. Join Simpson Gumpertz & Heger (SGH) and a slate of industry experts to discuss current trends in new residential design and construction, as well as opportunities for investigation and rehabilitation/adaptive reuse of existing buildings.

Research grants of up to $15,000 will be awarded to one or two mid-career professionals who have an academic background, professional experience and an established identity in one or more of the following fields: historic preservation, architecture, landscape architecture, urban design, environmental planning, architectural history and the decorative arts. The James Marston Fitch Charitable Foundation will consider proposals for the research and/or the execution of the preservation-related projects in any of these fields. Applications for 2016 funding are now being accepted. Applications must be submitted by October 15, 2015, 11PM EST. More information here.

The International Architectural Education Summit (IAES) will take place during September 9-11, 2015. The 4th IAES summit will take place at The Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) Centre in Singapore. The registration for this upcoming event is now open.

It's no secret that most architects who are also parents want their children to follow in their footsteps. But how can we encourage our children to think like architects – critically, spatially and creatively? For parents in Manhattan, for the past five years Rockwell Group's Imagination Playground has provided an answer. The educational play system consists of large-scale blocks of varying sizes and uses, allowing children to build whatever they can imagine – without the long hours and deadlines. Now, with the release of Imagination Playground 3D Builder, the creative platform is now available digitally, for free.

You have until September 1 to apply for the American Institute of Architect's (AIA) Upjohn Research Initiative. The Upjohn program funds up to six research grants of $15,000-$30,000 per recipient annually for projects completed in a six to 18 month period. Proposals should address the value of design, practice issues, or novel materials and methods of construction. The research should relate to architectural knowledge that can readily be applied/transferred within the discipline. Read on for 2015's preferred themes.

Update: The competition deadline has been extended to September 11, 2015. 

London-based architects Aukett Swanke, in partnership with the Royal Exchange and Oxford Properties, has announced its new competition for recent graduates to design six new market barrows located at The Royal Exchange in London:

Panelists: Sou Fujimoto, Japanese architect, renowned for his synthesis of nature and architecture & Walter Hood, landscape architect, specializing in the public realm and urban environment

Moderator: Reed Kroloff, architect and urban designer, former director of Cranbrook Academy of Art

Exhibition, “Anthony Ames: Object-Type Landscapes” is presented and curated by New York-based non-profit Curatorial Project in collaboration with Anthony Ames Architect of Atlanta, Georgia. The exhibition focuses on Ames’s unique work, which is deeply inspired by modern vocabulary of Le Corbusier. Ames’s work is a continuation and adaptation of Le Corbusier’s visual and spatial discoveries, and design strategies. In addition to primarily built residential works the architect experiments with reductive poetic paintings, three-dimensional sculptural compositions, rugs, as well as furniture and porcelain pieces, exploring infinite possibilities in the aesthetics of modern domestic architecture. While it is often the objective of ambitious contemporary architects to define their signature style in architecture, the work of Ames focuses on such important issues as continuity, traditions, and creating a sense of balance and comfort by operating within the familiar. The exhibition gathers his paintings, sculptural compositions, and porcelain pieces within the entire setting of Le Corbusier-designed Casa Curutchet (La Plata, Buenos Aires, 1948-53) that itself can be described as an exploded purist painting. The exhibition will coincide with the XV Buenos Aires Architecture Bienal; it is part of the official program of the Bienal.

Join the CTBUH New York City Chapter for a discussionon on Facades Design and Contsruction in New York. With an increased reliance on technology and specialization, and the need for speed and innovation, the Facade Talks Series aims at a new type of open and focused conversation to bring together different sides of the spectrum of the facade industry. The Talks are focused on building enclosure systems and the challenges in designing and building facades, where Industry leaders in architecture, facade design, engineering and construction will present and discuss new ideas, innovative technologies, and challenges in both design and construction based on a specific theme.

Head-spinning funfair rides are part of the attraction of Drawn To The Future, an exhibition of new approaches to architectural visualisations at The Building Centre in London.

“We explore how digital media is changing the way we create built forms,” says the show curator, Lewis Blackwell, executive director of strategy at The Building Centre.

The most popular exhibit looks likely to be the virtual rollercoaster developed at the Centre for Advanced Spatial Analysis at the Bartlett School of Architecture. Viewed on an Oculus Rift headset, it simulates a rollercoaster journey around the skyscrapers of a fantasy city.

In a recent article for The New York Times Antanas Mockus, the former Mayor of Bogotá who served two terms in office between 1995 and 2003, discusses what he learnt to be "the art of changing a city." Mockus, a professor of philosophy by vocation, was at times pressured to wear a bullet-proof vest — which he wore with a heart-shaped hole cut over his chest as a "symbol of confidence, or defiance, for nine months." His article discusses how his government tackled Bogotá's "chaotic and dangerous" traffic through a thumbs-up, thumbs-down card system performed by mimes, how they dealt with water shortages, and how they persuaded 63,000 households to voluntarily pay 10% more tax.

"Moscow as a dynamic megacity: flexible management practices" is the working name of the Moscow Urban Forum which will be held on 16-17 October 2015 in Manege Central Exhibition Hall.

In a recent article for The Observer, Rowan Moore discusses what he describes as the "quiet revolution in British housing." In compiling a list of practices and collectives from the recent past and present, he has created a compendium of people and organisations who he believes are creating exemplary dwellings in the UK. Noting that the British housing stock is not necessarily in the best shape (a symptom of the 1970s), Moore ultimately offers an optimistic message tinged with words of caution.

SPF: architectsis proud to sponsor an exclusive Southern California exhibition of Lucas Blok’s large format paintings in the SPF:a Gallery. Like many artists featured in the gallery, Blok’s work intuitively explores the spatial relationship common to both art and architecture. His paintings emanate and pulse with a lyrical complexity that usher the viewer into a world of color relationships that play on both optical mechanics and the emotions alike.

The National Conference on the Beginning Design Student (NCBDS) to be held at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, February 25-27, 2016, is seeking abstracts, paper and tinyTED submissions for peer review. Submissions are due October 5, 2015. Please see ncbds2016.org for more information.

NCBDS is a national scholarly gathering dedicated to the study and practice of beginning design education. For over thirty years, the NCBDS conferences have hosted a dedicated community of educators interested in pedagogy and curricular strategies associated with beginning design. Faculty, students and practitioners are invited to submit papers, abstracts and project presentations focused on introductory levels of education in all areas of design.