Luis Barragán’s legacy lies in the way he uses light and color. Tadao Ando's sensitive approach to natural light established his own architectural language. James Turrell's dramatic interior transformations explore a unique perception of visual experiences where "light is not a tool to enable vision but rather something to look at itself". Olafur Eliasson's immersive installations play with the psychology of viewers using just light, water, and air. These architects and designers, among others, have reimagined how light is perceived, inspiring generations of architects to follow suit with the way they understand and employ light.
Bathroom accessories serve various functions, especially when it comes to hygiene, organization and practicality. Previously thought of as purely functional components, designed only to perform their intended use, today they are seen as compositional tools that contribute to the overall aesthetics of a bathroom. Careful consideration in the choice of pieces makes it possible to create a functional and pleasant space. As bathroom accessories have become more advanced and complex, designers have begun to explore the potential of incorporating aesthetic elements into their design, resulting in creating smarter, safer, and more beautiful accessories.
Moving away from the decorative and ornate approaches of the past, contemporary designs now seek minimalism and more simplified aesthetics –clean lines, essential elements, with a focus on geometric shapes and a well thought out color palette. This approach has been particularly successful in creating sophisticated spaces, but also in providing a sense of space and openness in smaller bathrooms, where the absence of clutter and unnecessary decoration can make the room seem more spacious.
Demas Nwoko. Image Courtesy of La Biennale di Venezia
Nigerian-born artist, designer, and architect Demas Nwoko is the recipient of the Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement of the 18th International Architecture Exhibition of La Biennale di Venezia entitled The Laboratory of the Future. The decision was taken at the recommendation of the exhibition curator, Lesley Lokko, and was approved by La Biennale’s Board of Directors chaired by Roberto Cicutto. The awards ceremony will be part of the inauguration of the 18th Exhibition and will be held on May 20th, 2023, at Ca’Giustinian, the headquarters of La Biennale di Venezia.
Action program Metropolis Ruhr. Image Courtesy of berchtoldkrass
The Republic of Kosovo will present Transcendent Locality at the 2023 Venice Architecture Biennale, exploring the significant role migration plays in the social development of Kosovo. The pavilion also dives into the migratory process and its different phases, including returning home after migration: temporary, seasonal, or permanent. However, at its core, it celebrates the connections to the Homeland and its relationship to the Host Land. The Pavilion poses that trans locality, connected to more than one place simultaneously, has become a prevalent model of life. In fact, maintaining the connections between the Host land and Homeland should become a form of communication, transfer of knowledge, information, and material and immaterial goods.
Although the circular economy involves other principles such as the regeneration of natural systems, the reuse or recycling of materials plays an important role in contributing to the reduction of waste generation by giving a second useful life to elements that could be considered waste. Wood, metal sheets, bricks, and stones, among others, can be reused, bringing sustainability and efficiency criteria to the projects, helping to consolidate this concept that still has a long way to go.
Within the Latin American territory, many architecture professionals have proposed to apply in their design and construction processes the implementation of strategies that collaborate with the use of resources, either by reusing, recycling, or restoring different materials and elements in search of satisfying the needs and concerns of those who inhabit the spaces.
A rising number of studies suggest that well-considered lighting affects and boosts consumer behavior. Add to that the new Instagramability and promotional requirements, and the role of lighting becomes pivotal to achieving a filtered and commercially appealing visual. The latter has encouraged the implementation of new technology lighting panels and fixtures that offer a range of colors and dimmability, modifying the mood and even the overall color palette of a space. The results are some fun, sometimes almost cartoonish, settings that suggest the best backdrops and inviting venues.
Arquitectonica has refuted Koolhaas’ accusation that “Modern architecture had never achieved the promised alchemy of quantity and quality,” and Alistair Gordon’s enormous compendium of the firm’s work certainly disproves it.
But what of Rossi’s backhanded praise: “In America … quantity is quality!”? Although absolutely deserving of praise, the quantity of the work is not the basis for Arquitectonica’s achievement—even when associated with the virtuosity of design. The importance of Arquitectonica derives from certain specific contributions to modern architecture in the United States.
In the heart of the Recoleta neighborhood in Buenos Aires, the building designed by Clorindo Testa, Héctor César Lacarra, and Elena Acquarone stands on a lot with an 8.66-meter frontage and a 42-meter depth. Designed between 1975 and 1978, following the enactment of the horizontal property law, the building's facade reveals a series of terraced balconies, voids, and accessible walkways. These elements create an alternating play of double-height spaces, providing abundant natural light and ventilation to the residential interiors.
Today is the day to meet the finalists of ODA2023, the award celebrating the best architecture in the Spanish-speaking world. Our expert jury—you, the readers—has selected 15 of your favorite projects from nearly 1,000 architectural works built across Latin America and Spain.
Now in its fifteenth year, this award has become a true tradition. It is an open invitation to all our readers to recognize the projects published in 2022 that inspired them and that represent the identity of their local contexts in a globalized planet—shaping how architecture is made in Latin America and Spain within an increasingly heterogeneous and multicultural world.
The simple activity of taking a walk in the evening can easily turn from a relaxing leisurely activity to a dangerous endeavor by removing just one element from the streetscape: public lighting. While not often recognized as defining aspect of urban environments, artificial illumination has played an essential role in defining the character of modern cities. Crime control, the appeal of nightlife, the rise of the shop window, revolutionary movements, utopias, and ideals of social equity are all concepts whose development is tightly linked to the history of public lighting. Technological advancements over the past centuries have continuously shaped the appearance and symbolism of streetlamps. Still, the this element has remains a constant throughout its history.
The project “Ball Theater” has been chosen to represent the French Pavilion at the 18th International Architecture Exhibition of La Biennale di Venezia. As a response to the world of thought and experiment proposed by Lesley Lokko’s theme of “The Laboratory of the Future”, the French team aims to create a place of celebration and collective experiment by transforming the pavilion into a performance space. The curatorial team is composed of Muoto, an architectural practice founded in Paris by Gilles Delalex and Yves Moreau, in partnership with Georgi Stanishev and Clémence La Sagna for the scenography, associate curator Jos Auzende, and Anna Tardivel for the programming. The pavilion will be open from May 20th until November 26, 2023.
We are pleased to present the finalist projects for the 2023 Obra do Ano Award. After two weeks of nominations, our readers have chosen their favorite projects from hundreds of works built across Portuguese-speaking countries. Our jury of experts, made up of our very own readers, has once again done an outstanding job of selecting these 15 finalists.
From today until April 3 at 11:59 PM (Brasília time, GMT-3), you can vote once a day for the projects you consider to be the best examples of contemporary Portuguese-speaking architecture. The winners will be announced on April 4.
https://www.archdaily.com/1136002/2023-obra-do-ano-award-meet-the-15-finalists-of-the-largest-award-in-lusophone-architectureArchDaily Team
Ramadan Pavilion. Image Courtesy of Victoria & Albert Museum
Ramadan Tent Project and V&A present the Ramadan Pavilion 2023, an architectural installation inspired by the holy month of Ramadan, which starts today. The Ramadan Pavilion 2023 is designed by architect Shahed Saleem and will be open to the public at the Exhibition Road Courtyard of the V&A South Kensington until May 1, 2023. As part of the annual festival, the pavilion is accompanied by a series of events, performances, and workshops curated by the Ramadan Tent Project.
INES Centro de innovación / Pezo von Ellrichshausen. Image Cortesía de Pezo von Ellrichshausen
While colors can accentuate architectural designs, there is no single color that is "best". The choice depends on the style and purpose of the architecture, as well as the effect you want to create. However, colors that contrast with predominant tones can help highlight important details - and yes: red tones here can create an intense visual contrast.
Acoustic Divider Vario / Création Baumann. Image Courtesy of Création Baumann
Beyond their features in the world of fashion, fabrics can also be an essential part of an interior design’s creative possibilities. While enhancing the aesthetic appeal of a space, these versatile materials –made from fibers or yarn that have been interlaced, knitted, or bonded together– also provide functionality to space. As part of a holistic architectural strategy, these natural and synthetic elements are essential for designing upholstery for furniture, curtains and drapes, space divisions and wall coverings. Changing the traditional notion of fabrics –known as stain collectors, bug homes and easily catching fire– the latest design innovations are exploring properties which take the use of fabrics one step further. Diving into Architonic’s fabric catalog, we take a look at different products with distinctive acoustic, fireproof and repellent properties.
To us, architectural practice is an organic process of construction. Within this framework, we emphasize three dimensions of practice: research, design, and execution. Rather than being strictly sequential, these three aspects are parallel and intersecting. Refined through both built works and speculative projects, our daily collaboration has become increasingly grounded and stable. Consequently, our practice has crystallized around three main pillars: historical context, community placemaking, and a smart future. In recent years, guided by a diverse, multifaceted, and open-minded architectural perspective, we have strived to create vivid scenarios and spaces tailored to the unique narrative of each project, seeking enduring poetry and value. Our ultimate goal is to create dignified human habitats for society through precise and poetic architectural design.
Since 2021, to provide more specialized services for local projects in Hangzhou and the Yangtze River Delta region, ALYA established its Hangzhou studio and formed an urban design team. Over the years, the firm has received widespread international media attention, numerous awards, and exhibition invitations, including the ARCASIA Gold Medal, the UK's Dezeen Awards (Hotel Building of the Year), the UK's BUILD Award for Architecture and Sustainable Design, the DFA Design for Asia Awards, the Venice Architecture Biennale, Wallpaper* Design Awards, WA China Architecture Awards, and the IDEAT Future Award. In 2021, Yuyang Liu, founder of ALYA, was appointed by the Hangzhou Canal Group as the Chief Planning and Design Advisor for the Cultural and Tourism Integration of the Hangzhou Grand Canal. Following three challenging years of the global pandemic, ALYA will celebrate a series of project completions in 2023, while systematically launching high-quality, meticulous, sustainable, and highly creative projects aligned with future trends.
For those who are passionate about the healthy development of premier Chinese architectural practices, value a pioneering spirit and precision, enjoy exploring the unknown, and seek to grow with us into a world-class professional design team based in the Yangtze River Delta, we warmly invite you to join ALYA.
Besides providing external protection, natural ventilation, insulation and energy efficiency, the presence of façades enhances the building’s personality and character. Among the different types of façade systems, cladding strategies stand out for their variety of materials and textures –such as metal, glass, stone, wood and composite– all of which build durable, low-maintenance and visually appealing structures. Innovating with textures, forms and technologies, BŌK Modern has developed different metal panels for creating functional and aesthetic façade cladding systems. Showcasing six architectural projects, we delve into the practical and visual attributes of rainscreens and wallscreens.
Following two exciting weeks of nominations, ArchDaily’s readers have evaluated over 700 projects and selected 10 finalists for the Building of the Year Award China. Architects and enthusiasts participated in the nomination process, choosing projects that exemplify what it means to push architecture forward. These finalists are the buildings that have inspired ArchDaily readers the most, which also reveal the growing trend of Chinese architecture.
Figura 4. Modelo Abierto Valentín del Río MVD LAB IM. Image Cortesía de Revista rita_
This article by Antonio Giráldez López was originally published in the 17th issue of revista rita under the title "Making the City Through Soft Architectures." Through excerpts from conversations with the Usina de Innovación Colectiva, it reconstructs an experience of ephemeral urban transformation in the former Mercado Modelo of Montevideo, Uruguay. In this intervention, actions and programs take precedence over rigid, permanent structures, allowing us to imagine new possibilities for disused infrastructure. This interdisciplinary proposal arises from the principle of fostering communities, citizen laboratories, and "in-between times" to counter the private management dynamics that increasingly threaten these types of spaces.
The renovation project for the Pacaembu Complex was named among the winners of the AR Future Projects awards, organized by the British magazine The Architectural Review. The announcement was made on March 14, and the official awards ceremony will take place in London in early June. Featured in the “New and Old” category, the project was among the three “highly commended” entries among this year’s winners.
'Ecologías en movimiento', tema del pabellón de Chile en la Bienal de Venecia 2023. Image Cortesía de Ministerio de las Culturas, las Artes y el Patrimonio de Chile
The Chilean Ministry of Cultures, Arts, and Heritage selected architect Gonzalo Carrasco and Beals Lyon Arquitectos as curators of the Chilean pavilion at the Venice Biennale 2023 with their proposal themed "Moving Ecologies" ("Ecologías en Movimiento").
"Moving Ecologies" will address how "architecture and science made it possible to imagine the future of a country that was entering modernity" in the XIX century in such a project as the Quinta Normal park, according to the organizers. Moreover, the proposal parallels the current challenges around ecological repair and restoration with the study of soil recovery processes with endemic seeds.
Hidden in plain sight, ceilings are often the final surface interior designers and architects think about, but the expansive plane of unobstructed plaster or concrete offers mar more creative freedom than we realize. Modern design rules demand that the ceiling is kept clean. Not with a telescopic mop attachment, but by stripping off the popcorn spray, wood-chip wallpaper, or plaster patterning that haunt my own memories of ceilings-past.
While many clients greet this contemporary need for clean lines with acquiescence, choosing smooth, skimmed plaster finishes with unobtrusive yet forgetful recessed spots, other bolder clients recognize the ceiling’s potential for the creative outlet it is.
Heatherwick Studio has unveiled a new project to transform an old desalinization plant into the centerpiece of a new cultural district on the waterfront of Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. The industrial structure is set to be reconfigured to become The Museum, large complex offering production spaces, studios, and ateliers for artists and makers. Its program also includes exhibition spaces that can accommodate large-scale commissions to help visitors to learn and feel inspired by the next generation of artists.
Courtesy of Play-Time, Art Gallery of Ontario, Diamond Schmitt, Selldorf Architects and Two Row Architect.
The Art Gallery of Ontario (AGO) has announced an expansion project designed by Diamond Schmitt, Selldorf Architects and Two Row Architect. The Dani Reiss Modern and Contemporary Gallery design will increase the museum’s gallery space by 40,000 square feet, with 13 new galleries across five floors.
The exterior façade of the extension will quietly complement the AGO’s existing built environment, respecting the scale of the surrounding neighborhood. Sitting one story above AGO’s existing loading dock, the Dani Reiss Modern and Contemporary Gallery will be nestled between the AGO and OCAD University. It will connect the existing galleries from four locations, substantially improving visitor circulation in and around the museum.
