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A quintessential characteristic of Mexican culture — in addition to its architecture and rich pre-Colombian identity — is its gastronomy. In 2010, UNESCO's Intangible Cultural Heritage list inscribed Mexican Traditional Cuisine. The foundation remarked that "their knowledge and techniques express community identity, reinforce social bonds, and build stronger local, regional and national identities." However, from Mole to Birria and Pozole to Cochinita Pibil, the most iconic, versatile, and tasty meal is the taco.

In honor of Mexico's rich history, tradition, and food, take a look at 7 taquerias that can inspire your next project. 

Videos

Stefano Boeri Architetti has created a new sustainable housing project for Antwerp, Belgium. Called Palazzo Verde, the design is formed with a semi-public garden at the ground floor and three large terraces of roof gardens. The project will include 86 trees, 2200 shrubs and perennials and 428,88 square meters of green surface. As the firm's first project in the country, the housing will be part of the Nieuw Zuid district to become a new landmark for the city.

Architect Amale Andraos and her firm WORKac have been selected to design BeMA, the new Beirut Museum of Art in Lebanon. Centrally located in the heart of Beirut, the project will be positioned on a site that once marked the dividing line in the Lebanese civil war. The museum’s permanent collection will include modern and contemporary artworks from Lebanon, the Lebanese diaspora and the wider region. The new project will feature 70 balconies arrayed as a vertical promenade that blends indoor and outdoor spaces to create an open museum for the city.

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For architects with travel-related New Year resolutions, software company InVision has launched a free “Design Exchange” program for professional designers eager to see the world on a budget.

The “Design Exchange” program is open to any senior designer with over 6 years of professional experience and offers one-week-long, organized exchanges during every quarter of 2019. Destinations already announced include Sydney (Spring 2019), Copenhagen (Summer 2019), and Singapore (Winter 2020).

Known for hosting the "best creative conference in the world," the Design Indaba Festival brings together internationally-acclaimed architects, designers, emerging talents, critics, and art enthusiasts all under one roof to discuss the importance of making the world a better place through design. Over the last two decades, the annual conference has centered on "design activism," with a focus on online design publications.

The multi-sensory event will take place in the heart of Cape Town from 27 February to 01 March 2019 in the Artscape Theater Center. The theater has been a pioneer in artistic expression and display for more than four decades, providing a platform of world-class productions and innovative sets.

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Tech giant Siemens is to partner with Expo 2020 Dubai in rolling out a major smart building project, encompassing 130 structures in a digital platform to control energy efficiency, comfort, safety, and security.

As reported by Arabian Business, Siemens will “digitally connect, monitor, and manage essential functions of 137 buildings across the 4.38 square kilometer site, through its cloud-based energy analytics platform, Siemens Navigator.”

Mud City, the Windy City, the City of the Big Shoulders... If there is one thing we are certain of, it is that Chicago is the birthplace of exceptionally tall buildings.

To celebrate the city's ongoing innovations in soaring skyscrapers, Orbitz has illustrated 20 of Chicago’s most iconic sky-high architecture.

View the republished content from Orbitz' list complete with an interactive timeline of Chicago's tallest buildings.

Dutch practice MVRDV has won the competition to design the new Vanke headquarters building in Shenzhen. Designed for the major Chinese real estate developer, the 250 meter tall project is a cluster of eight interlinked blocks of offices, housing and culture. The concept was grounded in MVRDV's research into the three-dimensional city. Aiming to rethink the next generation of skyscrapers, the tower rises from four separate bases to a single crowning tower.

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MAD Architects have revealed new photographs of their Nanjing Zendai Himalayas Center, as work nears completion in China. The mixed-use development, totaling over 560,000 square meters of building area, will host commercial, hotel, office, and residential functions. The development “seeks to restore the spiritual harmony between humanity and nature” through integrating contemplative spaces that merge nature with the demands of modern living.

A series of low-rise buildings and footbridges allow the scheme to unfold onto the city, with curving, ascending corridors and elevated pathways weaving through commercial buildings. The routes are activated by public gardens and social spaces, to “create a spiritual and poetic retreat in the middle of the city. 

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One of the most tragic events in Europe in 2018 was the collapse of the Morandi Bridge in Genoa, Italy on August 14th, claiming 43 lives. In the aftermath of the disaster, Genoa-born architect Renzo Piano offered to donate the design of a bridge to replace the old one, having been deeply affected by the tragedy.

In a positive development before the year ends, Genoa’s mayor has announced that Piano will lead a 200-million-euro ($230 million) project for the bridge’s replacement, inspired by Genoa’s historic maritime prominence.

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Elon Musk’s Boring Company has unveiled the latest component of their visionary plans for a network of tunnels under Los Angeles. The new “Hawthorne” test tunnel, built at the corner of SpaceX’s parking lot, forms part of Musk’s mission to reduce traffic in cities through a dual system of boring tunnels, and fully electric, autonomous transport to operate within them.

The Los Angeles project ultimately seeks to develop a large, multi-layered network with a loop of highway tunnels seeing cars traveling at 150 miles per hour. While cars will use the superhighways for a small fee, the company will also have a fleet of Teslas operating as public transport.

Videos

Danish practice Henning Larsen has created a new masterplan to reimagine the suburbs and town of Täby, Sweden. Hoping to address the desire for vibrant city life in suburbia, the 292,000 sq meter masterplan emphasizes sports, education, nature, culture and entrepreneurship. Transforming Täby from a suburb into a city, the project will focus on the town's cohesive sense of local identity, as well as its strong emphasis on education and the environment.

An active ArchDaily collaborator, architect and doctor Rogelio Ruiz Fernández, has emerged as a great enthusiast of cinema, architecture, cities and landscapes. He expresses his love for visual arts, architecture, and culture through his drawings. In these moments, he documents trips, his favorite locales, and project ideas that will later become works of architecture.

Below, Ruiz Fernandez explains his creative process and the importance of sketches in his work. 

A team of Dutch design studios have won the competition for a new high-rise development next to the Leidsche Rijn station in Utrecht. Architekten Cie, Karres en Brands, KCAP and Geurst & Schulze joined together to create a development of three towers with over 1,000 residences. Mixing social housing with medium to high rent apartments, the project weaves together collective spaces around sustainable urban living. Redefining high-rise design, the vertical village aims to bring Utrecht's landscapes into the sky.

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Videos

The organizers behind the FIFA 2022 Qatar World Cup have released new images of the Foster + Partners-designed Lusail Stadium. Merging contemporary and historical influences, the “sleek, bold shape” of the arena is inspired by the bowls and vessels used in the Middle East across centuries.

Foster + Partners were chosen for the scheme’s design in 2015, ahead of David Chipperfield Architects, Mossessian & Partners and Mangera Yvars Architects. Located in Lusail City, 15 kilometers north of Doha, the 80,000-seat stadium will host the opening ceremony and final match of one of the world’s biggest sporting occasions.

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Plans for a set of skyscrapers for Brisbane, designed by Zaha Hadid Architects, have been scrapped following a long-running controversy. The "Grace on Coronation" scheme, lodged for application in 2014, consisted of three sculptural residential towers and sought to reinvigorate a historic site in Toowong, four kilometers west of Brisbane’s Central Business District.

However, the scheme has been criticized for a perceived lack of sensitivity to the surrounding area, with its proposed 27 stories breaching the city plan limit of 15 stories. In May 2018, a sole resident won an appeal against the development due to the height violation.

Though seemingly opposite environments, cities are a lot like rainforests. At ground level, the world is dank, dark, and full of predators. Inhabitants seeking fresh air, sunshine, and privacy have only one direction to go: up.

So in the urban jungle, it’s only natural to build a “canopy” in the form of rooftop architecture. The popularity of rooftop amenities across residential, commercial, hospitality, and even health-care projects shows that’s exactly what’s happening.

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To honor renowned Brazilian architect Oscar Niemeyer’s birthday (December 15, 1907), Slovenian photographer Danica Kus published a series of black and white photographs highlighting Niemeyer’s surviving architecture. The architect, who passed in 2012 at the age of 104, is considered one of the greatest modernist architects of the 20th century.

Kus’ photographs accentuate the hyperbolic curves characteristic of Niemeyer’s design, while also highlighting the geometric harmony of rectilinear elements. In an exclusive interview with ArchDaily before his death, Mr. Niemeyer described his personal definition of architecture: “In my opinion, architecture is invention. And under this prism is how I do my projects, always searching for beautiful, expressive, different and surprising solutions.” This photo series encompasses the subtleties of Niemeyer’s premier works and spans his career.

Morphosis has revealed a design for a new 15-story hotel along the Sunset Strip in Los Angeles. The design comes four months after Silver Creek Development purchased the property and the site of the landmark Viper Room night club. At nearly 200 feet in height, the mid-rise structure would feature an a large interior opening through two connected towers. The sinuous hotel would redefine one of L.A.'s most iconic streetscapes.

As part of the programming ahead of the 2019 Oslo Architecture Triennale, the “Degrowth” curatorial team have released a book in association with Oslo School of Architecture and Design (AHO.) The book, titled “Being Tectonic” was developed with students as part of a course focusing on domestic architecture.