From September 21 to 25, the Mextrópoli Festival + the XII Ibero-American Biennial of Architecture and Urbanism took place in Mexico City. As part of the event, ArchDaily sat down with 2014 Pritzker Prize laureate Shigeru Ban to discuss the theme "Inhabiting at the Margins." This topic seeks to explore solutions addressing the growing social, environmental, and economic demands at the fringes of the architectural system.
The Experimental Center for Affordable Housing (CEVE) is a research, experimentation, development, and transfer center for construction technologies and comprehensive management, focusing on the social production of habitat. Founded around 1967 by architect Horacio Berretta within the Faculty of Architecture of the Catholic University of Córdoba (UCC), CEVE is jointly affiliated with the National Scientific and Technical Research Council (CONICET) and the Affordable Housing Association (AVE).
Architecture and the spaces that surround us, much like art, fashion, food, and so many other aspects that support the physical and social construction of a society, play an essential role in maintaining the moral and cultural values established within it. Among built spaces, housing has perhaps played the primary role in producing and reproducing power relations both within and beyond the private sphere.
From a gender and sexuality perspective, it is within the domestic environment that we most explicitly observe the use of architecture as a moral vector, aiding in the construction of specific roles for female and male figures, and in establishing the nuclear family as the foundation of Western society.
A carbon-neutral concrete prototype has just won the 2022 Obel Award. The solution aims to mitigate the environmental impact of the construction industry, which is responsible for 38% of all energy-related CO2 emissions, according to a UN report.
Dubbed Seratech, the material was developed by two PhD students from Imperial College London, Sam Draper and Barney Shanks. They discovered a simple way to eliminate concrete's CO₂ footprint: replacing part of the concrete's cement content with a type of silica created from carbon dioxide (CO₂) captured from factory smokestacks.
What are the primary urban challenges facing African cities? What similarities do they share with the reality in Brazil? What role does UN-Habitat play in addressing these issues?
To address these and other questions, as well as share their experiences with African urbanism, the Caos Planejado podcast hosts Jeiza Barbosa, UN-Habitat National Officer for Cape Verde, and Evandro Holz, an international technical advisor for UN-Habitat.
The awards ceremony for the Preliminary Design Competition for the expansion of the Country Club Villa – Chorrillos branch in Lima has taken place. The Lima Region of the Peruvian Association of Architects was invited by the institution to organize the competition, the first to be held following the guidelines of the National Competition Regulations. With 489 registered proposals, 48 formal submissions, 3 finalists, and 2 honorable mentions, the competition sought to provide the institution with design proposals for its new gym, restaurant, and service areas, in line with the club's requirements and high standards of architectural quality.
The Tomie Ohtake Institute has announced the three winning projects of the 8th Tomie Ohtake Institute AkzoNobel Architecture Prize. The announcement was made via a video on the institute's social media platforms, marking the opening of the exhibition featuring the 13 selected projects of this eighth edition. A total of 178 projects were submitted from 18 Brazilian states and the Federal District, with five of them located abroad (Argentina, France, Italy, Madagascar, and Mozambique).
The International Competition for the Urban Design of the Core Area of Changping New Town East Zone was hosted by the People's Government of Changping District, Beijing, and the Beijing Municipal Commission of Planning and Natural Resources. Located on the east bank of the Dongsha River in Changping District, Beijing, the project encompasses a 9.1-square-kilometer planning study and ecological development plan, alongside a 1.5-square-kilometer urban design for the core area. Situated north of Beijing's city center, along the canal and at the foot of Mangshan Mountain, the East Zone of Changping New Town lies on a critical axis for northern Beijing's industrial expansion and ecological network integration. In addition to accommodating the specialized industrial clusters from southern Changping, the East Zone introduces the planning concept of "Green Spectrum," leveraging urban functions and spatial-environmental resources to maximize the synergy between ecological livability and industrial positioning.
For decades, the history of Brazilian architecture has crowned male figures as its primary representatives. In recent years, however, we have seen a growing body of work dedicated to identifying female figures in this field. “Where are the women in the history of architecture in Brazil?” was, and still is, one of the questions most frequently encountered by architectural and urban historians. Often, the answer points to Lina Bo Bardi and Carmen Portinho—fundamental references, to be sure, but we might still wonder: how many other figures built their careers in this field?
Ever since Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg renamed his company and announced a larger investment in the so-called “metaverse,” searches for the term have surged considerably. And while it is not a new concept, the technological topics surrounding the subject have exploded in recent years.
Cryptocurrencies, NFTs, and the overall creation of a virtual economy help illustrate how the metaverse is cementing its place in our daily lives. Yet, the opportunities extend far beyond financial shifts: the metaverse is also proving to be an important space for engineers and architects alike.
weico is a high-profile, emerging design practice founded by a group of highly experienced architects. Its scope of work encompasses architectural design, interior design, urban planning, project programming, and engineering consultancy, with a particular focus on the cross-disciplinary integration of design with technology, industry, economics, and the humanities. Led by principal architect Sun Wei (former partner of HENN China), weico, within less than a year of its inception, has secured and undertaken projects including the T3 Headquarters, Hengli International Headquarters, Hongqi High-End Customization Center, and the Phase II consultancy for the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (Guangzhou). It has also been shortlisted for the CGN Scientific Research Base and the Bay Area University projects, garnering significant attention within the domestic industry.
On Sunday, May 15, 2022, the closing ceremony of the second edition of BARQ – Barcelona International Architecture Film Festival was held at the Disseny Hub Barcelona. The event was also hosted as part of the recent MODEL - Barcelona Architectures Festival.
During the ceremony, the winning films in the two competition categories, feature films and short films, were announced. Learn more about each of them below.
In early 2015, the Regional Government of Santiago in Chile launched a public competition for the redevelopment of the Alameda-Providencia axis, an 11.3-kilometer-long avenue that serves as the most important mobility corridor in the Chilean capital.
The winning proposal was awarded in October of that same year to a team comprised of the firms Lyon Bosch, Martic Arquitectos, and Groundlab. Although construction was scheduled to begin two years later, in March 2019, the project was canceled by the administration at the time due to budget constraints. They announced that only a segment of the western end of the corridor would be renovated, though no progress has been reported since.
Three years later, on December 28, 2022, President Gabriel Boric, alongside local mayors and authorities, signed a public cooperation agreement to reactivate the recovery and transformation of the Alameda-Providencia axis in its original scope: from Pajaritos Street in the east to Plaza Baquedano, popularly known as Plaza Italia or Plaza Dignidad.
The planet is already 1.1°C warmer due to human-induced climate change, and millions of people are already facing the very real consequences of rising temperatures, sea level rise, more severe storms, and increasingly unpredictable rainfall. Rapidly reducing emissions is essential to limit temperature rise and ensure a safer future for everyone. Equally critical are investments to protect communities from the increasingly severe impacts that will continue to worsen over time.
To mark the tenth anniversary of ArchDaily Mexico, Rojkind Arquitectos + Think Parametric designed an installation for the celebration held at the LAGO/ALGO Cultural Center. Located in the Second Section of Chapultepec Forest, the 810-hectare urban park is divided into four zones and home to some of Mexico's most prominent tourist landmarks.
GLA Design was founded in 2010 and holds a Class-A qualification in architectural engineering approved by the Ministry of Construction. Over years of development, the firm has established a diverse team of professional designers. Upholding an unwavering commitment to "the ultimate pursuit of architectural quality," GLA emphasizes full-process involvement and control over its projects. Using high-quality, highly resolved design works as its benchmark, the firm rigorously controls every design detail.
Inspired by the waters of Brazilian rivers and mangroves, the Brazil Pavilion at Expo 2020 Dubai invites visitors to an interactive experience immersed in an atmosphere of sounds, projections, temperatures, and textures that evoke Brazilian landscapes. Designed by architecture firms JPG.ARQ, MMBB Arquitetos, and Ben-Avid, and curated by Guilherme Wisnik and Alexandre Benoit, the project won the 2018 competition to represent the country at the event, which runs through March 2022.
No País dos Arquitectos is a podcast created by Sara Nunes, who is also responsible for the architectural film production company Building Pictures. The podcast aims to introduce the professionals, projects, and stories behind Portugal's leading contemporary architecture. With just over 10 million inhabitants, Portugal is a highly compelling country when it comes to this professional field, boasting an architectural output that far exceeds its demographic or territorial scale.
In this episode of the fourth season, Sara talks with architects Filipa Guerreiro and Tiago Correia about the Environmental Education and Interpretation Center of the Corno de Bico Protected Landscape. Listen to the conversation and read part of the interview below.
The artistic work of the prominent Chilean architect Alberto Cruz (1917–2013), recipient of the National Architecture Prize in 1975, will be exhibited at the AA Gallery of the London-based Architectural Association. The exhibition will run from November 11 to December 10, 2022, and will showcase the graphic work of the architect and academic under the title “Observation, Act, and Form.”
Chilean valleys and their development around winemaking are a cultural heritage that currently lacks recognition, according to Pablo Lacoste, the historian leading the initiative to highlight the heritage dimension of Chile's vineyards and designate them as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
The Brazilian Trade and Investment Promotion Agency (ApexBrasil) has launched the design competition for the Brazil Pavilion at the Osaka World Expo, which will take place between April and October 2025. The official call for entries was released on October 3, marking the celebration of World Architecture Day. Registration is open until November 7 on the official competition website, and the results will be announced on December 5.
An increasing number of people live in urban areas. UN-Habitat's World Cities Report 2022 reveals that this share rose from 25% in 1950 to over 50% in 2020, with projections indicating it will reach 58% over the next five decades. The survey also indicates that by 2070, the number of municipalities in low-income countries will increase by 76%, while in high- and lower-middle-income nations, this growth will hover around 20%. Furthermore, the study notes that this scenario highlights the urgent need for cities to be designed and managed so that future growth does not overwhelm existing infrastructure, open spaces, and services—which would lead to unsustainable sprawl.
Escola da Cidade, through the Geography, City, and Architecture course of its Graduate Program, hosted architect Camilo Restrepo as a guest speaker to discuss how academic interests continue to drive professional development. During the lecture, in addressing the relationship between territory and design, Restrepo pointed to the Cordillera not as a border but as a compelling condition for architecture in the Tropics, where spatial relationships are almost never horizontal or limited to the floor plan.
Active design and speed reduction have been transforming cities that adopt this urban planning strategy into safer, higher-quality spaces for people to walk, cycle, practice outdoor sports, and enjoy themselves.
By designing infrastructure that encourages residents of all ages to lead healthier lives, changing how they move around and experience public spaces, active cities positively impact the physical and mental health of the population, increase the appeal of these places and their economic vitality, and reduce environmental and noise pollution.
