In 2014, a group of friends from Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua, eager to contribute to their city's resilience and recovery process, came together to discuss and share ideas for reclaiming streets, plazas, and parks through sociocultural projects and urban interventions in public spaces. This is how Nómada Laboratorio Urbano was born. Ciudad Juárez is an industrial city located on the northern border with the United States, directly across from El Paso, Texas. Over the years, Juárez has been economically dominated by the “maquiladora” manufacturing industry and was once considered one of the most violent cities in the world due to a wave of crime between 2008 and 2012.
MASA is a gallery founded in Mexico City by Héctor Esrawe, Cristobal Riestra, Agé Salajõe, Brian Thoreen, Roberto Díaz Sesma, and Isaac Bissu. The space was designed by Savvy Studio, a design and architecture firm based in New York, Mexico City, and Monterrey that works across various typologies worldwide, including boutique hotels, restaurants, retail spaces, art galleries, and museums.
Buenos Aires, Argentina. Image via Gobierno de Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires under CC BY 2.5 AR license
The Global Power City Index (GPCI) is an annual report that evaluates the conditions of the world's major cities and urban centers, ranking them according to their "magnetism," or their comprehensive power to attract people, capital, investors, and businesses from around the globe. In 2019, the index included three Latin American cities—Buenos Aires, Mexico City, and Sao Paulo—among the world's 50 most attractive for investment and talent.
“I decided to call it Silos because this building used to store food, which is, of course, essential for life. For me, just like food, clothing is also part of life” [1].
Built in 1950, the 4,500-square-meter grain storage facility Armani Silos by Giorgio Armani has been expanded and transformed into Armani/Silos, a unique four-story space housing an astonishing collection and selection of some of the designer's creations, organized by themes, color palettes, and textures where each tells a different story.
“You don't have to arrive first, but you have to know how to get there,” goes the song. In architecture, this path is often envisioned as a perfectly straight line, but in reality, it is more of a zigzag with the precision of an electrocardiogram.
Starting a degree, then dropping out, later returning to it; graduating only to travel and see the world; entering competitions relentlessly; crossing the ocean in search of a mentor or a job; following your heart even when the world tells you otherwise. All of these decisions served as the compass for several Argentine architects. Let's look at their first steps below.
The spirit of the women participating in housing rights movements in Brazil is remarkable. Predominantly active in land occupations, they vigorously coordinate the organizational and political practices of the settlements and the construction of popular housing. It is no coincidence that many occupations of the MST (Landless Workers' Movement) or the MTST (Homeless Workers' Movement) bear the names of women, such as Dandara, a leader from the colonial period.
The artwork Corolla by artist Inés Esnal is inspired by the rich and vast natural landscape of Colorado, where it is currently on display at The Coloradan building in Denver. The installation interprets Colorado's state flower, “the blue columbine,” as a network of vibrantly colored cords, where warm central tones and cool hues at the outer edges evoke the flower’s pollen and petals. Viewers are invited to explore the piece through their own movement, which triggers and unfolds multiple perspectives and optical effects.
The Bubble Creation is a collection presented by Herman Miller at the MAIA gallery, located in Mexico City's Roma neighborhood. The exhibition brought together 14 Nelson Bubble Lamps—one of the brand's most recognized products—reimagined by Mexican architects, designers, and interior designers.
The history of Cine Ópera dates back to 1949, when the iconic venue—designed by architect Félix T. Nuncio with interiors by set designer Manuel Fontanals—held its first screening, quickly becoming one of Mexico City's most popular movie theaters. Located at 9 Serapio Rendón Street in the San Rafael neighborhood, the Art Deco building features a facade framed by a large window with two stone-carved sculptures depicting the comedy and tragedy masks.
As part of the cultural program of the Abierto Mexicano de Diseño, which opened in October 2019, the Franz Mayer Museum and Nouvel present InVisible: Glass Design, an exhibition featuring over 500 pieces that offers a focused look at the technical, formal, and stylistic possibilities of glass, one of the most fascinating materials. The exhibition features pieces conceptualized by artists such as Jan Hendrix, Perla Valtierra, Edgar Orlaineta, Julie Richoz, Mauricio Lara, Brian Thoreen, and Frida Escobedo, among other prominent designers.
The Latin American Coordinator of Architecture Students (CLEA Latinoamérica) has confirmed on social media that the 2020 edition of the Latin American Social Workshop (TSL) will be held in San Felipe del Progreso, Mexico.
1989 is a digital illustration project founded in 2015 by Chilean architect Fabiola Morcillo. Her work has been exhibited at the Casa Gris Architecture Gallery and Galería Cima, and is also part of the group exhibition "Lights of Chile," on display until May 13 at 193 Gallery in Paris. Her projection mapping work and ephemeral architectural creations earned her a nomination for the next YAP Constructo 2020 pavilion, the results of which will be announced at the opening of the 2019 pavilion.
At first glance, the title of this article might seem difficult to grasp, given that the vast number of visitors to this prominent city—the country’s primary tourist destination—are active walkers and urban catalysts. Why then the demand for a city designed for people? Those who do not just pass through, but actually live there, understand this reality best. Cars are increasingly being prioritized over pedestrians, threatening and endangering the city, its conservation, and its heritage.
I remember experiencing the magic of walking there amid drizzle, stone-paved streets, narrow alleys, colonnades, and cathedrals. It must be one of the most unique places in the world, where walking is a mystical and immersive experience.
Cusco is the historical capital of Peru, declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1983. It was once the capital of the Inca Empire and later one of the most important cities of the Viceroyalty. It preserves a vast number of monuments from those eras, reflected in its churches, palaces, and plazas. The Plaza Mayor, majestically flanked by two cathedrals, is one of its main draws due to its centrality, architecture, and cultural activity, drawing large crowds—but also heavy vehicle traffic. This is the crux of the debate: Should it be pedestrianized? What is the current state of urban mobility?
via Government of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires under CC BY 2.5 AR License
Just two months ago, the final phase of Parque de la Estación was inaugurated in Buenos Aires, a project that reclaimed underutilized land at the Sarmiento Railway's 11 de Septiembre station to create a public park. One of the most significant aspects of this urban revitalization project was the active role citizens played in the design and planning process, serving as a clear example of how public participation and co-creation can be powerful tools for designing high-quality public spaces that provide real solutions for local residents.
In October of last year, in an exclusive interview with ArchDaily, we spoke with architect Alberto Kalach about the role of the architect and land-use planning in Mexico. During our conversation, he strongly emphasized the need to reinvent the architect's role to develop much more holistic projects integrated with their territory.
Based on this premise, Alberto Kalach's firm, Taller de Arquitectura X, presents an ambitious project centered on integrating the park with the city and vice versa. This initiative addresses the more than 70 neighborhoods surrounding the forest—an area home to 800,000 people living less than 1 kilometer from the Chapultepec Forest, 560,000 of whom reside behind Avenida Constituyentes, which severely limits their mobility to the park.
It is best to remember a diverse Lima, rather than the centralized capital. To remember that this very centrality has turned it into a meeting ground for Peru's diverse cities. Everyone comes to the capital, yes, but in this city, the three regions (coast, highlands, and jungle) blend while preserving their essence like nowhere else. "Todas las sangres" (All Bloods) is the title of the most ambitious novel (1964) by Peruvian writer José María Arguedas—an attempt to portray the whole of life through the representation of geographical and social settings from across the country. This expression, which remains relevant today, points to the racial, regional, and cultural variety of our society. Speaking of "all bloods" unites and blends us: it contains and integrates our diversity. Speaking of "all colors" evokes this colorful and intercultural nature.
On June 5, 2019, the College of Architects of the State of Oaxaca, a member of the Federation of Architects of the Mexican Republic (FCARM), officially launched the call for entries for the First Oaxacan Architecture Biennale 2019. The initiative aimed to showcase and promote architecture developed within the state, elevating Oaxacan architecture to a national stage. For this inaugural edition, the jury consisted of architects Aldo Paul Ortega Molina, Victor Sánchez Ruz, Prometeo Alejandro Sánchez Islas, Miquel Adriá, and Andrea Griborio.
Fernando Higueras (1930-2008), a leading figure of late-modern Spanish architecture in the 1960s, was, like many others of his generation, an Icarus-like youth obsessed with reaching the sun. Far from conforming to the rigid standards of his time, his architecture rose above the earthly plane with a single goal: to conquer the unknown. Even then, he concluded that modern architecture was misguided, that none of it made sense. Looking at contemporaries like Le Corbusier and Mies van der Rohe—with their flat roofs and obstinate obsession with lightness—nothing added up for him. His undeniably reactionary attitude drove him, from an early age, to boldly rebel against the hypocrisy of the triumphant establishment.
In the context of the XI Ibero-American Biennial of Architecture and Urbanism (XI BIAU), held for the first time in Paraguay, we spoke with Manuel Blanco, a Spanish architect and director of ETSAM since 2017. Blanco has an extensive international career in curating and design, including serving as curator of the Spanish Pavilion at the 2006 Venice Biennale and as the first director of the National Museum of Architecture and Urbanism in 2007.
What little we know about the architectural profession is broken. It is no longer applicable to the second millennium, as evidenced by the unsustainable reality facing the vast majority. The experiences of previous generations were unique, tied to a specific historical moment. Today, we must learn to read our own historical moment and reprogram our vision to find the paths forward that currently remain hidden.
https://www.archdaily.com/1119689/tips-for-practicing-architecture-independentlyCaterina De La Portilla
The conventional city model establishes very clear and concrete boundaries between the public and the private. Within this model, what is defined as “urban” has always corresponded to the public realm, whereas “domestic” defined the boundaries of the private. Yet societies are not immune to change and evolution, and neither is urbanism. Those traditional concepts of the urban and the domestic are becoming obsolete, transformed into expanded and more updated understandings. It is precisely around this blurred boundary—between what appears urban and what appears domestic—that the new public sphere is being constructed.
This is the leitmotiv driving the ‘Dom Project’ intervention: to establish a gradient of spaces where the urban and the domestic are not clearly demarcated, but instead colonize one another, bringing certain public uses and programs to the surface within the ‘Housing Block.’ The project was submitted to the international architecture competition ‘Open International Competition for Alternative Layout Designs in Standard Housing’, organized by the Ministry of Construction, Industry, Housing and Infrastructure of Russia alongside the Unified Development Institution in the Housing Sector and the firm Strelka KB, winning second prize.
The Architecture MasterPrize celebrates the best in design excellence and innovation in architectural, interior, and landscape design. The award program is dedicated to showcasing and promoting exceptional talent, and highlighting the value of the art and science of architecture in enriching our lives. A jury of esteemed architects, industry professionals, and academics evaluates entries across 41 categories in the disciplines of architecture, interior design, and landscape design. The AMP honors and rewards the talents of those who push boundaries and set new standards, turning the ordinary into the truly extraordinary and inspiring others today and for generations to come.
As part of the 16th edition of the MUTEK Festival, which has been held in Mexico City since 2003, the participation of the 404.zero collective has been announced. This duo of audiovisual architects is dedicated to designing immersive experiences that blend A/V installations with live performances, driven by an uncontrollable fascination with the unknown, the cosmos, and death.
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