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Bogotá is a city where urban life is nourished by the experience of inhabiting its public spaces. The urban planning of most colonial Latin American cities is structured around a foundational plaza; in the case of Bogotá, the urban grid is guided by *carreras* running north-south and *calles* running east-west. Over time, key recreational areas have established themselves across the urban landscape, gaining prominent significance within the city.
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An unexpected social uprising in Chile reached its peak this weekend following the declaration of a constitutional state of emergency across several regions and the first curfews imposed in Santiago since 1987. In response to the crisis in the South American country, the XXI Chilean Biennial of Architecture and Urbanism has decided to "pause" all event activities, as announced by the curatorial team on October 19.
The spire of the San Lucas Parish rises serenely over an expansive green canopy of blooming jacarandas and tipu trees. Behind it, the massive School of Medicine of the University of Buenos Aires and a dense cluster of gray buildings contrast with this permeable green lung. A paved plaza climbs from the street, navigating the site's topography with winding paths, underground connections, parking, and a cultural center: this is the new project for Plaza Houssay, currently under construction.
Valle de Guadalupe is a region in the state of Baja California, Mexico, with a climate ranging from arid to Mediterranean, which has allowed it to become one of the country's most important wine-producing areas. In recent years, however, it has been threatened by overtourism and real estate speculation.
Casa Besign is a temporary project born out of the need to showcase the talent of interior designers, mostly from Puebla, as part of Besign México—a platform created to honor Puebla's 2015 designation as a “Design Capital” by UNESCO, connecting disciplines, key players, and companies in the fields of design, creativity, and innovation.
Recently, Airbnb has begun to approach the architectural field, both by offering unique experiences in world-renowned buildings and by creating Archibnb, a platform that offers hosts the option to create architectural floor plans.
Through these initiatives, guests from various locations have had the privilege of spending a night in places like the Great Wall of China, the Louvre Museum, or the LEGO House.
But if your destination is Latin America, specifically Argentina, you can now stay in exemplary works by architects including Norman Foster, Clorindo Testa, Jorge Ferrari Hardoy, Juan Kurchan, Fermín Bereterbide, and Luciano Kruk. Explore below the list of works available for booking in the country.
The armed conflict in Colombia has left a mark through the experience of every Colombian—each one unique, none more or less significant than the other. The National Museum of Historical Memory commissioned Antonio Yemail and an interdisciplinary team to physically manifest its narrative through the impact on land, water, and the body.
In each edition of the Ibero-American Biennial of Architecture and Urbanism (BIAU), the event honors masters of Ibero-American architecture with the Ibero-American Architecture and Urbanism Prize.
The Ibero-American Architecture and Urbanism Prize recognizes work "directly related to architecture and/or urbanism, highlighting its aesthetic, functional, technical, social, economic, and environmental aspects. This may include built work, planning, heritage conservation and restoration, knowledge production, or social commitment," as outlined in the competition guidelines.
Continuing our series on social housing in Latin America, Nikos A. Salingaros, David Brain, Andrés M. Duany, Michael W. Mehaffy, and Ernesto Philibert-Petit present a reflection on the unrealistic image people have of a desirable home and the importance of taking their aspirations seriously. Read the previous installments and this new article below.
Atlantes is the new monumental installation by Mexican artist Bosco Sodi, presented by Galería Hilario Galguera, Blain | Southern, and Kasmin. Situated on the coast of Oaxaca, near Casa Wabi, in the largely uninhabited area near Puerto Escondido, Mexico, Atlantes is described as "the region's most ambitious land art project in recent years."
Villa Fantasía Park is a space where several key community areas converge, featuring children's play zones and a wildlife sanctuary for confiscated, rescued, or donated animals. Designed by architects Kei Arao Takahashi, J. Abraham Lara Ramiro, and Héctor García Ventura, the project is also an Environmental Management Unit located in Jalisco, Mexico, spanning an area of 16,900 square meters.
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Palacio Salvo is an iconic, 100-meter-tall building located in the city of Montevideo. Inaugurated on October 12, 1928, and declared a National Historic Monument in 1996, it has now regained its light after almost 90 years in darkness. Thanks to the Gran Salvo project, and following a year of planning, production, design, and construction, a new beacon has completed its silhouette, crowning a historic dome that had been empty for years.
Construye Solar 2019 will exhibit eight sustainable social housing units in Santiago, designed and built by universities from across Chile. The initiative, according to the organizers, aims to "spark innovation in social housing construction, addressing the inherent challenges of pursuing sustainable innovation on a limited budget."
In 2014, a group of friends from Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua, eager to contribute to their city's resilience and recovery, came together to discuss and pitch ideas for reclaiming streets, squares, and parks through sociocultural projects and urban interventions in public spaces. This gave rise to Nómada Laboratorio Urbano. Ciudad Juárez is an industrial city located on the northern border with the United States, directly adjacent to El Paso, Texas. Over the years, Juárez's economy has been dominated by the "maquiladora" manufacturing industry, and the city was once considered one of the most violent in the world due to a wave of crime between 2008 and 2012.
Siting a building in a city is no easy task. The quest for isolation and privacy within a complex, heterogeneous, and constantly changing urban space creates a dual condition during the design process. How can an urban building offer privacy and openness at the same time? Consequently, there arises a need for various control mechanisms to mediate between exterior and interior spaces, filtering sound, screening views, managing intimacy, and ensuring anonymity without losing the connection to the city.
The new and growing demands for change driven by urban population growth mean that, when designing, we face a highly heterogeneous and constantly transforming fabric.
Increased urban density directly impacts the open space available for new, standalone construction, leading to a juxtaposition of buildings where the simultaneity and coexistence of individual pursuits result in a varied fabric.
An entire day of the XXI Chilean Biennial of Architecture and Urbanism was dedicated to the guest city, São Paulo. The program opened with a presentation of the architectural works, student projects, research, and publications representing the city that were selected through the event's open call.
The Architectural Design Workshop "Single-Family Housing", organized by the architecture firm Cota Paredes Arquitectos, concluded its eleventh edition, inviting graduate architects and senior architecture students to develop a single-family home over four weeks, in either in-person or online formats.
Along with the 17 winning projects of the Panorama of Works section, the XI Ibero-American Biennial of Architecture and Urbanism (XI BIAU) has announced the winners in the publications, research papers, and academic works categories.
SKALAR is a large-scale art installation designed by light artist Christopher Bauder and musician Kangding Ray. Following its resounding success in Berlin, the work arrives in Mexico City for the first time as part of a collaboration between MUTEK MX, Noiselab, and the German studio WHITEvoid. The installation lasts approximately 45 minutes and is open to the public Monday through Sunday. Additionally, it will feature special shows with live performances by its creators, offering attendees an artistic and audiovisual experience distinct from the continuous loop.
Ecuadorian firm URLO Studio has been selected as the winner of the ideas competition for the southern articulating axis of Quito, a contest aimed at urban renewal in the Ecuadorian capital through the development of micro-centralities along the 13-kilometer tourist route.
The Urban Agriculture Laboratory is designed by Transversal / Arquitectura Paisaje Urbanismo, located at the Semilla Museum in Chihuahua, Mexico. This project is the result of a civic initiative that combines landscape, architectural, and exhibition design elements centered around urban agriculture, permaculture, and the observation of natural phenomena. In doing so, it redefines the traditional "white box" exhibition space, transforming it into a hands-on pedagogical space, civic gathering point, and laboratory.
In this installment, Nikos A. Salingaros, David Brain, Andrés M. Duany, Michael W. Mehaffy, and Ernesto Philibert-Petit present a new article in their series on the study of social housing in Latin America. Here, they share recommendations on how to work with future residents, based on extensive experience in practical projects. Read the previous posts and the new article below.
Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) presented the 2019 edition of its annual ranking of the world's best universities in the field of architecture, in which UCL (University College London) dethroned the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in the United States, which had led the list for four consecutive years.
Within the Ibero-American region, the list has not changed significantly compared to 2018: Spain maintains a strong presence, while Chile leads Latin America. Discover the top-ranked institutions below!
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