The following publication by Gehl titled 'Masterplan Framework with ecology at its heart' is an interesting case study in Huechuraba, Chile. In it, the team consisting of David Sim, Esben Neander Kristensen, Alexander Spitzer, and Tamara Kalantajevska showcase their work in the region through the creation of a specific framework for an urban master plan that puts ecology at its heart:

To understand how communities are confronting the COVID-19 crisis, the Caos Planejado podcast hosts Eliana Sousa Silva, director of the NGO Redes da Maré and coordinator of the campaign “Maré Says No to Coronavirus.”

Born in Serra Branca, Paraíba, Eliana holds a master’s degree in education and a PhD in social work and public security from PUC-Rio. She is a researcher in public security and a visiting professor at the Institute of Advanced Studies at USP.

As a member of the Urban Design Expert Committee of the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development, I strongly urge an immediate increase in architectural and urban design fees. This is a matter of utmost urgency, for several key reasons:

 1. The current fee structure is a relic of China’s era of rapid, large-scale incremental construction, when design work focused primarily on spatial capacity and fees were strictly tied to project scale. Today, however, almost all cities have entered the era of existing urban stock. Moving forward, as the focus shifts to urban renewal, design work can no longer be mass-produced. Instead, architects must tackle an immense volume of bespoke, custom-tailored projects. Consequently, traditional fee metrics are completely out of sync with the actual workload;

 2. The flaw in traditional fee calculation methods is that when project scales shrink and design complexity increases, the upward adjustment coefficients for fees remain far too low. This is especially true for small-scale projects and renovations, which are incredibly time- and labor-intensive. Architects are essentially working at a loss, driven solely by passion. This leads to the absurd reality where years of design fees might not even equal the cost of a single tree. It is truly tragic when human value is deemed worth less than material objects;

 3. While the state encourages urban design—the essence of which is fostering urban diversity—achieving diversity requires architects and urban designers to invest significantly more time and labor into custom, site-specific solutions. Without a fee mechanism adapted to this level of customization, how can we support their creative work? While passion might sustain a single project or a brief moment, only a proper mechanism can ensure fair and sustainable practice. The so-called "cookie-cutter" urban landscape is, in reality, the product of a cookie-cutter fee structure.

In short, transforming Chinese cities begins with raising design fees!

Choosing high-performance BIM software is key to developing efficient projects by automating tasks that traditionally consumed time in conventional design workflows—such as documentation, calculations, analyses, and other repetitive processes.

At the time of writing this article, Brazil is facing the most severe humanitarian crisis in its history—not merely a “health crisis,” as is commonly described. By April 30, 2021, the COVID-19 pandemic had claimed 411,854 lives in the country, and only in recent days has the moving average of deaths begun to cool down once again—after reaching a peak of 3,125 in April.

Epidemiologists, microbiologists, and infectious disease specialists note that the impact of the pandemic on Brazilian cities is highly idiosyncratic: each has unique conditions to consider before we can attempt any generalizations. Furthermore, underreporting is estimated to be high (with actual cases potentially being ten times higher), a figure that also varies from city to city. Nevertheless, with these caveats in mind, what does the overall picture reveal? 

CLOU architects is an award-winning international design studio specializing in architecture, interiors, and landscape design. CLOU's diverse design team is comprised of approximately 65 creative talents from around the world.

How do we design spaces that are healthy for both our minds and our bodies? That is the core question we will address this March by exploring our monthly theme, “Well-Being in Interior Spaces.”

ArchDaily is working with CityMakers to publish a series of articles, conversations, and interviews with the various actors in urban co-production behind the Barcelona CityMakers Lab 2021, an event taking place from November 8 to 12.

On Tuesday, July 27, it was announced that Eladio Dieste's Atlántida Church, one of his most renowned works in Uruguay, has been added to the UNESCO World Heritage List.

Videos

"Albañilas, construyendo sin patrones" (Women Masons, Building Without Bosses) is a short documentary released on May 5, 2021, produced by the Front of Organizations in Struggle #FOL. Active in more than ten Argentine provinces, the film gathers the deeply personal testimonies of Brenda, Natalia, Claudia, Isabel, Nora, Ana, and Moni, who share how they took up the bricklaying trade to construct the #FOL community hall.

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Receiving architectural recognition typically reflects best practices. This is the case for Niro Arquitectura + OAU, who have won the Building Of The Year 2021 award in the commercial architecture category with the Gramalote Market Square. This demonstrates that this pair of young Colombian practices is on par with internationally renowned firms such as Álvaro Siza, MVRDV, Heatherwick Studio, or Foster + Partners.

Around the world, both architects and designers are speculating on post-COVID spaces, offering diverse proposals championed by the utopia of advanced technology and Wi-Fi for all, alongside genuine concerns: How can we design spaces that require no physical contact? Will this mean the end of coliving or coworking spaces? How do we design for isolation? But what is happening in Mexico, considering that more than 56% of the population works in the informal economy and there is a digital divide leaving over 40% of residents without an internet connection?

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As part of a collaborative project created by creative women, "Ostras & Burbujas" emerged—an event that took place on August 28 at Cucina, Mexico City. This event was conceived around the idea of creating an immersive space that plays with visual perception, featuring lighting design and control by Paola Jose, founder of SOMBRA, powered by Lutron - Ketra technology. By altering the atmosphere through light, this was paired with a culinary experience led by chef Montserrat Garza, who brought together taste, smell, and touch through a multi-course dinner paired by Cavanegra Natural Wine Club.

Videos

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The city of Puebla—located in Mexico's central highlands—is particularly known for its street layout and predominantly Baroque architecture. A UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1987, it hosts a broad cultural dynamic centered on preserving its built heritage and appreciating it from a distance, as if it were a museum piece. Consequently, on our daily commutes we notice the monumentality of its facades, while often failing to realize that behind the massive wooden doors lies what we call “the heart of the Poblan home.”

Pablo Salazar shares his research project titled "Commercial Stand Design in the La Floresta Neighborhood, Quito, Ecuador." The study addresses key issues such as the urban-scale environmental footprint of this activity, solar radiation, wind, and heliographic analysis, alongside the design and material specifications of four commercial stand models.

This week, we feature job openings at two Shanghai-based design firms: ARIZON Design and atelier tao+c. Specializing in different scales and themes, both practices are active across various architectural sectors and are looking to recruit like-minded architects to join their teams.

Since ArchDaily launched its recruitment services, we have received job postings from architectural practices of various scales across China, from Beijing to Shenzhen and Hangzhou. Highly active across diverse architectural fields with their distinct styles, these firms are looking for talented architects to join their teams. Below are six curated openings for May, along with a showcase of their representative projects. Interested candidates are warmly invited to apply.

When selected by the Biennale di Venezia to direct the 17th International Architecture Exhibition, Hashim Sarkis challenged national curators to answer an urgent and far from easy question: how will we live together? Neither he, nor the curators, nor indeed anyone, expected what was to come. After a year and a half of a global pandemic, the question takes on new meanings, opening up further implications that far exceed anything the organizers could have previously envisioned.

Against this backdrop of global uncertainty, and informed by a country deeply marked by social inequality, Utopias of Common Life – the title of the Brazilian contribution developed by Arquitetos Associados in collaboration with visual designer Henrique Penha – seeks to establish a dialogue between the modern past and a possible (and better) future for Brazilian cities. We had the opportunity to speak with architect Carlos Alberto Maciel about the exhibition that will occupy the Brazilian Pavilion at the Venice Architecture Biennale. Read the interview below:

Marcos Parga, director of the Madrid-based studio MAPAa, presents a speculative essay titled "Everyday Rebellions." This is a series of reflections on new domesticities and some considerations regarding the challenges we face in architecture following the COVID-19 pandemic, focusing primarily on how to reimagine and update domestic groupings in our cities.

One of the key questions of Parga's research: What if we were provided with a new type of "retroactive" tools to recalibrate and unlock our domestic life and community interactions, exploring the hackable potential of today's housing blocks?

Organized by the Association of Architects of the Province of Buenos Aires – District I – and promoted by the Municipality of La Plata, the Provincial Ideas Competition “La Plata Technology District Convention Center” aims to stimulate the urban transformation of a highly potential area of the city, creating a space for creativity, technological innovation, and connection between government, academia, businesses, and institutions. Sponsored by the Argentine Federation of Architecture Organizations (FADEA), it seeks to improve citizens' quality of life, foster the competitiveness of small and medium-sized businesses, and enhance the efficiency of public administration.

The jury awarded first prize to architects Valentín Ayala, Rodrigo Ballina Benites, Luciano Del Valle, and Agustina Ronconi, members of the firm Paralelo Colectivo. Read more about the project below.

This article by Ana López Ortego (Colectivo Arquitectura Expandida) is a collaboration with Colectivo RE and was originally published on August 2, 2020, in the second edition of Huevo de pato, a publication that aims to share thoughts and experiences as a strategy toward democratizing knowledge and action.

What is a render? Is it merely an image to win competitions and clients? Or is it an effective tool for a building's development?

We asked our readers, "What are the limits of rendering in architectural design?" and the volume of responses was immense. After reviewing and compiling all the feedback received from construction professionals, students, and architecture enthusiasts alike, there is a clear consensus: rendering should be viewed not just as a sales tool, but as a key element for design verification.

The results of the National Preliminary Project Competition "New Provincial Administrative Center in the City of Rawson" have been announced. Organized by the Association of Architects of the Province of Chubut (CACH), promoted by the provincial Ministry of Infrastructure, Energy, and Planning, and sponsored by the Argentine Federation of Architects' Organizations (FADEA), the call invited architects nationwide to design urban and architectural proposals for the development of public office infrastructure (institutional buildings for the various provincial government agencies) to revitalize the former Zoo site, an urban vacancy in Rawson with high development potential.

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While the work of Mexican architect Luis Barragán is globally recognized and studied for its invaluable commitment to the architecture of his time and context—and, above all, built upon deeply harmonious and poetic foundations that connect with a deeply personal quest in "cosmic solitude, with Mexico as the temporary home he lovingly accepts," as the Pritzker Prize Jury described it when honoring him in 1980—until recently (and even before the launch of the Barragan Foundation website), understanding the full spectrum of Barragán's place in architectural history was somewhat difficult, as several of his works have remained private (or difficult to access) for years.