Arturo Arrieta

The new report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) paints a troubling picture: climate change is already affecting every corner of the world, and far more severe impacts lie ahead if we fail to halve greenhouse gas emissions this decade and immediately scale up adaptation measures.

Within the framework of the project "Inclusive Preparation, Effective Response: Strengthening community preparedness and protection systems through an inclusive and gender-sensitive approach in the communities of the Cantagallo area in Lima," developed by the consortium of Plan International, COOPI - Cooperazione Internazionale, and Humanity Inclusion, the studio Arquitectura del Medio, led by Alejandro Merino and Gianella Díaz, seeks to implement a demonstration project in the Shipibo-Konibo Community of Cantagallo in the district of Rímac, Lima, taking environmental considerations and replicability into account.

The desire to simplify and find new ways to bring more greenery to buildings and cities motivated agricultural engineer Sérgio Rocha to create Kaatop, a hydroponic roof tile designed for cultivating various plant species. The inspiration for the tile came from his professional experience developing green roofs and suspended gardens. Working in the field for over a decade, Rocha noticed that existing market systems and techniques struggled to gain traction in construction projects.

"Domingos Libro" is presented by Carmelo of Enorme Studio, delving into forgotten architectural publications, books, and architecture magazines from the '60s, '70s, and '80s that harbor the most fascinating backstories.

Architecture is a broad field offering diverse opportunities for practice. Increasingly, young architects are striving to carve out new paths and explore alternative professional domains. Ephemeral architecture, with its experimental and artistic nature, plays a significant role in this pursuit, prompting practitioners to observe and discuss urban, social, landscape, and environmental issues. Here, we present examples of temporary installations that highlight these concerns and transform their surroundings. 

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Browsing ArchDaily's 3D printing tag reveals the incredible progress this technology has made over recent years. While once considered a distant, futuristic concept or a tool limited to small-scale objects, 3D printing has matured to produce increasingly complex spaces and even fully printed buildings. More recently, researchers have been experimenting with concrete and other construction materials, though developing a highly efficient 3D printing technology viable for widespread adoption remains a challenge. The 3D-printed pavilion by Huizenprinters serves as a compelling case study.

Sponsored by the Argentine Federation of Architects' Associations (FADEA), the College of Architects of the Province of Buenos Aires District 5 (CAPBA D5) organized the National Preliminary Design Competition for the renovation, expansion, and restoration of the CAPBA D5 delegation headquarters in the city of Lobos, province of Buenos Aires. As a binding competition, the first-prize winner will develop the executive project and oversee construction supervision under separate contracts.

No País dos Arquitectos is a podcast created by Sara Nunes, who also runs the architectural film production company Building Pictures. The podcast aims to introduce the professionals, projects, and stories behind leading contemporary Portuguese architecture. With just over 10 million inhabitants, Portugal is a fascinating country when it comes to this professional field, and its architectural output far exceeds what its small population or territorial scale might suggest.

In this week's episode, which closes the second season of interviews, Sara talks with architect Manuel Aires Mateus about his design for the EDP Headquarters in Lisbon. Listen to the interview and read the transcript of the conversation below:

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Following nearly 50 years of rapid urbanization, urban renewal has transitioned from an era of incremental growth to one of existing stock. Urban planning has shifted from expansion toward the high-quality renovation of existing assets to reactivate spaces. Looking back at recent adaptive reuse projects by Pritzker Prize laureates, we examine how these masters respond to today's challenges of urban stock renewal.

The layout of the Heliópolis neighborhood is the result of a history of informal settlements and complex urbanization. Over the last few decades, public authorities have taken varied approaches to the area, yet they have been unable to overcome the territory's informal nature, particularly regarding the complete, coordinated implementation of urban infrastructure. It was to address this context that the firm Vigliecca & Associados was invited to design the housing complexes for Glebas A and H, developed in 2004 and 2013, respectively.

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Is it possible to photograph time through transformations in urban space? To accumulate past and present in a single image, inviting the viewer into a visual and archaeological investigation? The Betoneira Podcast spoke with German photographer Michael Wesely about photography and cities. A pioneer of long-exposure photography, Wesely developed a technique that allows a single negative to be exposed for hours, days, or even years. The result is the condensation of the entire exposure period into a single photograph, producing poetic images of profound visual impact.

During the conversation, Michael explains that his interest in long-exposure photography began early, just as he started his studies. In his view, photography is closer to invention than to truth. His goal is not to produce a faithful record of reality, but rather to capture the movement and transformation brought about by the passage of time. Early in his career, Wesely quickly abandoned the concept of the “decisive moment” to focus his research on long-exposure photography.

In the early twentieth century, artist Luigi Russolo presented his work “Dinamismo di une Automobile” (Dynamism of an Automobile), which depicted the power and force of automotive speed. Russolo was an enthusiast of the future and a leading voice of Futurism, an artistic avant-garde that celebrated technological development and innovation.

Santander, Hábitat Futuro is a model made by the city for the city. Designed during 2022 based on a public citizen consultation conducted in 2020, "it is not a general urban development plan, but rather its preliminary draft, a necessary step prior to its preparation."

Bringing together citizens' aspirations and providing a technical response, this new model for Santander in northern Spain, projected toward the year 2055, was drafted by the architecture and planning offices Landlab and Paisaje Transversal after winning the 2021 ideas competition for the project.

Below, the authors present this new model in detail, grounded in regenerative urbanism and built on inclusion, connectivity, prosperity, and resilience.

It is common to find the concept of Created Land (Solo Criado) in Master Plans (PD) and Land Subdivision, Use, and Occupation Laws (LPUOS). This concept enables the implementation of certain urban planning instruments, such as the Onerous Grant of the Right to Build (OODC) and the Transfer of Development Rights (TDR). But what exactly is Created Land?

Within the context of the comprehensive recovery of the Historic Center of Lima, the Rímac River Special Landscape Project (PEPRR) is developing a proposal for the regeneration of the iconic Alameda and Plazuela de Acho. This project—together with the other 50 interventions proposed in the PEPRR master plan—aims to spark a multidimensional recovery of the riverfront and heritage environment, while simultaneously defending and strengthening the civic qualities of Lima's public spaces through a systemic approach that coordinates mobility, the urban environment, heritage, and landscape.

Brazil has steadily advanced the implementation of public-private partnership initiatives. The Radar PPP platform currently monitors more than 3,400 PPP and concession projects across various sectors, compared to just 625 in 2015. While public-private partnerships typically bring to mind PPP and concession contracts for public services, they are not limited to these models. A prime example is the Business Improvement District, or simply BID.

An eco-friendly autonomous vessel will begin transporting passengers through the waterways of Rio de Janeiro in December 2022. The new urban mobility project is the result of a partnership between travel platform Hotel Urbano – Hurb and TideWise, a Latin American autonomous boat company.

The new partnership will explore several of the city's water routes to connect tourist attractions and major hubs, such as Sugarloaf Mountain and downtown Rio, as well as the Península in Barra da Tijuca and the Jardim Oceânico subway station.

There are various ways to accentuate and breathe life into a space, from adding furniture or a decorative piece to painting a wall a bold color. Yet, when it comes to elevating an interior simply, quickly, and with added texture, depth, and warmth, a grooved wood-look finish emerges as a compelling, cutting-edge solution. Indeed, it has established itself as a major trend in contemporary furniture and interior wall design, even taking center stage at the renowned Salone del Mobile Milano 2022.

On September 23, LIGA celebrated 10 years of supporting and empowering young Latin American architects with a dinner held at its main space in Mexico City. LIGA is housed within a former textile factory (La Laguna) that originally opened in the first decade of the 19th century. Now transformed into a collaborative multi-use space designed by the architecture firm PRODUCTORA, the venue hosts independent Mexican initiatives ranging from a coffee shop and an architecture studio to a ceramics workshop.

While the construction industry has been advancing for years in emerging fields like nanotechnology and 3D printing, it remains one of the most lagging in terms of technology adoption. Many innovations never progress past the experimental stage, and while there is a constant push to reverse this trend, we are simultaneously faced with a troubling fact: the construction industry is one of the world's largest producers of pollutants and waste. 

A new title from Edições Sesc SP, Oswaldo Corrêa Gonçalves arquiteto cidadão, highlights the main contributions of the engineer, architect, and urban planner across the various fields in which he worked. Born in Santos in 1917, he designed residential projects, sports facilities, schools, and institutional buildings, including the first Sesc/Senac units. Organized by architects Gino Caldatto Barbosa and Ruy Eduardo Debs Franco, the book also highlights his role in founding the School of Architecture and Urbanism at the University of São Paulo (FAU-USP), FAU Santos, and the Institute of Architects of Brazil in São Paulo (IAB-SP).

No País dos Arquitectos is a podcast created by Sara Nunes, who is also behind the architectural film production company Building Pictures. The podcast aims to profile the professionals, projects, and stories behind leading contemporary Portuguese architecture. With just over 10 million inhabitants, Portugal is a fascinating country when it comes to this professional field, and its architectural output far exceeds what its population or territorial scale might suggest.

In this episode, Sara talks with Sofia Couto and Sérgio Antunes of Aurora Arquitectos, curators of the Open House Lisboa 2022, which is themed "The Rebellion of the Invisible.” Listen to the full interview and read an excerpt of the conversation below:

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History shows that when struck by crises and disasters, cities generally recover and emerge stronger and more resilient than before. The Great Chicago Fire famously gave rise to skyscrapers. Contagious disease outbreaks contributed to public health policies and modern sanitation practices. The devastation of World War II catalyzed unprecedented investments in housing and infrastructure.

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